Chapter 23 #2
A noise of complaint rumbled from his throat, but at least he stayed. His face was even more perfect up close, and if I’d met him randomly at a bar in the US when I was younger, I would’ve been smitten.
Now? I didn’t feel a single flicker of attraction. I admired him the way I’d admire a sculpture of a Greek god—appreciative of the details but devoid of any romantic or sexual attraction.
There was only one person in this club, in this world, who could make my heart race, and he was nowhere to be seen.
Where is he anyway? He’d vanished after that first round of shots. Was he with the other guys somewhere, or was he with a girl?
I missed a beat and accidentally stepped on Noah’s toes. I apologized profusely, my face flaming.
“It’s okay.” He placed a reassuring hand on my hip, steadying me. “I—”
“What’s going on?”
Our heads whipped around at the same time. Vincent stood next to us, his gaze roving from our faces to Noah’s hand placement and back again. His jaw was tight.
It was like I’d conjured him up with my thoughts, though my imaginary version of him was less…aggravated.
“We’re dancing,” Noah and I said in unison.
We glanced at each other in embarrassment before looking away.
“I see.” Vincent smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Do you mind if I cut in?” He slipped in between us before we could respond. He’d turned his back on Noah, effectively shutting the other man out.
Noah’s frown cleared, replaced with a small smirk. “Sure.” An uncharacteristic hint of laughter ran beneath his voice. “It was nice dancing with you, Brooklyn.”
“You too.” I waited until he was out of earshot before I glared up at Vincent. “Do you know how hard it was to convince him to dance? He promised me one song, and you interrupted it.”
I ignored the butterflies zooming through my stomach. I was happy to see him, but that didn’t mean I liked being robbed of my victory.
“How did you convince him to dance anyway?” Vincent ignored my last statement. His hands bracketed my hips, guiding me through the beats with effortless ease despite the stiffness in his voice. “I’ve known him for years, and I’ve never seen him on a dance floor.”
“The same way I do everything else. With charm and persistence.”
“He looked charmed, alright. His hands were all over you.”
“I lost my balance. He was helping me.”
“Is that what they call it these days?”
I stopped moving to stare at him. Vincent stared back, his eyes burning with barely concealed irritation.
“Are you…jealous?” The prospect sent a breathless thrill down my spine. It shouldn’t, but our relationship was built of shouldn’ts.
“Please.” He scoffed, his cheekbones tinged with red. “Why would I be jealous of Noah?”
“You tell me.” I couldn’t stop a smile from blossoming.
The red darkened against his skin. He didn’t respond right away, but the answer was in his heartbeat, quick and heavy against mine. Somehow, we’d ended up pressed together, our bodies moving in sync. I didn’t have to think about it the way I had with Noah. Our rhythms just matched. Perfectly.
“And if I did?” Vincent’s voice was low in my ear. “If I told you how fucking jealous I was when I saw you with Wilson, what would you do?”
My smile evaporated. His palm seared through my dress, and it was my turn to blush. The heat crawled over my chest, up my neck, and across my face, muddying my thoughts.
What would I do? Question of the year.
Say something. Anything. A dozen responses teetered on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn’t focus on one long enough to get it out.
“Kidding. Don’t think too much about it.” Vincent stepped back. A chill replaced the warmth of his touch. “Actually, I’m starving. There’s a great pizza place next door. Want to come with me?”
I blinked, so thrown by the abrupt shift in tone and mood that my brain scrambled to catch up. “What?”
“Pizza. You in?”
“If we leave, we won’t be able to get back in.” That was the first reply I could come up with.
What was happening? How did we go from jealousy and what I could’ve sworn was sexual tension to talking about freaking pizza?
Vincent cocked an eyebrow at my concern.
Right. He was Vincent DuBois. Of course he could get back in.
I looked around. The rest of our group was still MIA. Even Noah was gone. And to be honest, even if they were here, I’d choose pizza with Vincent over dancing in the club.
“Sure.” I smiled past my confusion. “Let’s go.”
Eating pizza this late at night wasn’t the healthiest choice, but what the hell. I was off the clock, and we were on break. If there was ever a time to indulge, it was now.
Vincent and I grabbed our coats from the coat check and made our way to the exit.
The pizza place was literally right next door to the club.
It was packed with drunk tourists, but we were able to place our orders without Vincent causing a ruckus.
I assumed everyone was too inebriated to recognize him.
Since there weren’t any empty tables, we took our pizzas to-go. We wandered down the street, trying to eat our slices before it got cold.
Vincent didn’t mention Noah again, and I didn’t ask about his sudden change in attitude. The night was too beautiful to ask questions I might not want answered.
“So, how does this birthday rank against the others?” I asked. Maybe it was the lingering alcohol in my system, but the weather didn’t feel as cold as it had earlier.
We finished our pizza and washed it down with water. We tossed the empty bottles into a nearby trash bin before resuming our walk.
“Honestly, I don’t remember most of them,” he admitted. “Vegas? Gone. Ibiza? A blur. But if I had to guess, this one would probably rank pretty high.”
“It’s the villa, isn’t it?” I quipped. “It looks like a palace.”
We turned right onto a quieter side street.
The club was located on one of Budapest’s main thoroughfares.
It was packed to the brim with bars and restaurants, so busy that the Saturday night crowds spilled onto the pavements outside.
But the street we were on was lined with small businesses, all of which had already closed for the night.
The noise from the main avenue faded the further we walked.
“Nah, it’s the underwear with my face on it,” Vincent said. “Best present I’ve ever gotten.”
I laughed. “I suck at Photoshop, and it took me forever to create that image. So I’m glad you like it.”
“I do. But there’s another reason this trip ranks high.”
“What’s that?”
“You.”
My laughter subsided. Vincent said it easily, as though it were no big deal, but the word landed like a match in gasoline. It was impossible to breathe through the sudden haze clouding my mind.
I came to a standstill. He followed suit, his body angling to face mine. The white puffs of our exhales mingled in the air between us.
“You enjoy my company that much, huh?” Somewhere in the distance, thunder rumbled. I barely heard it over the roar of my pulse.
“Only in comparison with other people.”
“As opposed to…”
“Truffle the pig. Noise-canceling headphones. My custom Zenith sneakers.” His tone was flippant, but something softer, more intense, flickered beneath the surface.
“I know you’re not ranking me below a pig and footwear.”
“No mention of the headphones? Interesting.”
“I like them more than you too, so I understand.”
“I highly doubt that.”
“Sorry,” I said with a shrug. “Bose wins over DuBois every time.”
A smile shadowed his mouth. “I’m glad you’re here,” he said softly.
The haze in my mind thickened. “Me too.”
It struck me that this was the first private moment we’d had since he moved out. The Blackcastle hallway didn’t count; that was at work. And while it’d been just us that morning, when I gave him his birthday gift, we were still in the villa where our friends could walk in at any minute.
Here, on a side street at midnight in Budapest, we were alone, with only the whispers of old memories to keep us company.
I hope you stay. It wouldn’t be the same without you.
Who made you cry?
I’m glad you’re here.
A droplet of water landed on my nose. Thunder clapped again, followed by a streak of lightning. The skies threatened rain, but my feet were rooted to the spot.
I’d spent my whole life feeling like a background character in the movie of my own life. There, but insignificant. I could disappear, and the lives of those around me wouldn’t change in any major way.
I wasn’t arrogant enough to think I should be the main character everywhere I went. I didn’t need to be the center of everyone’s world. But just once, I’d like to be with someone who thought I was as important to them as they were to me.
Scarlett and Carina were the closest I’d gotten to that feeling of reciprocity. But Vincent was the only relationship that felt truly equal.
When he showed concern, it was genuine.
When he said he wanted me there, I believed him.
And when he looked at me the way he was doing now, with dark heat and aching tenderness, I never wanted to look away.
My heart pounded loud enough to eclipse the thunder. Thunderstorms were rare at this time of the year, but I couldn’t deny what I heard.
A light drizzle misted over us, turning the streetlights into hazy orange glows.
I wanted to step into his warmth and finally give in to this pull between us. But before I did, I had to know. There was still one conversation we’d never had.
“That day at my flat. If the fire hadn’t happened, and my dad hadn’t shown up…” My voice sounded almost too breathy to be mine. “Would you have kissed me?”