Chapter 3 - Jade #2
The idea of his impending torture calms me enough that I can breathe through my rage and manage to keep up the charade. You’d think after years of acting in the rings, I’d be better at this, but I think my time out has made me more stabby.
We talked, mostly about him, for the rest of the night, and he ensured I always had a drink in hand. I have a pretty good tolerance, but after five drinks, I started to feel it. Thankfully, not as much as he thinks I am.
Finally, the host comes over the mic on the main stage and thanks everyone for coming out, bidding on the auction items, and for how much help the donations will be to the city and schools.
It’s a load of shit, but most people here know it. It’s a tax write-off and an excuse to flaunt their money and status, which is much more important to most of them.
It’s disgusting.
“Wow! Is it really so late already?” I ask a little louder than necessary, but he doesn’t seem to care.
No, he hasn’t stopped smiling at me since he sat down beside me hours ago, and honestly, even if I didn’t know what this guy was capable of, it would be a little odd.
“Usually, these things feel like they take forever, but it really flew by this time!”
With a huge smile, I reach over and rest my hand on his arm before swaying toward him until my head rests on his shoulder. I don’t need to look up to know his eyes are stuck on my tits. I can feel them, and it makes my skin crawl.
“Yeah, this was great. I think this is the first time I’ve been sad to have one of these events end.”
“I should probably go and see if my aunt is still here or if she left me again.” With a laugh, I push to stand faster than I should for how much I’ve drunk and stumble. It wasn’t exactly fake, but it also wasn’t real.
Not that he needs to know that.
“Whoa, careful.” He grabs my arm and helps me to steady myself as I continue to laugh.
“I think they made the drinks a little stronger this year.” He smiles, and I lean into him a bit as if I need him for support. “I probably shouldn’t have had that last one.”
Again, that’s not a lie. If I were alone or less experienced with this type of ‘date’, I might delay my plans, but I’m not alone, and I’ve been doing this long enough that even if I were, someone like this couldn’t stop me.
“It’s okay to let loose every once in a while.” He reaches out and pushes a piece of hair behind my ear, and I look up at him with a shy smile.
He thinks he has me eating out of the palm of his hand, when really it couldn’t be more the opposite.
“What was it you said about your aunt?”
“Oh!” I move back from him enough to look around the room for a woman who doesn’t exist. “My aunt isn’t exactly known for telling me when she’s headed out, despite the fact that I usually ride with her.
” I keep my hand on his arm as if I rely on him to stay upright, and if he has an issue with it, he doesn’t say.
“Ever since my uncle died a few years back, she’s been,” I bite my lip before turning back to look at him in what I hope is a shy or embarrassed expression. “Exploring.”
His eyes widen a bit before he shakes whatever thought he just had away.
“No shame in that. Nobody wants to be lonely.” He pushes in his chair before covering my hand with his and backing away from the table we sat at all night, with me in tow.
“No, I can’t imagine the heartbreak she felt losing him after twenty years together. I think that’s why she is so insistent on me finding someone.”
I keep looking around as he moves us around the hall. Most people have cleared out by now, and the few that linger appear to be near the bar, including one very annoyed-looking Trent.
It doesn’t matter how many times we do this; they never get better at controlling their faces.
“Oh, he seems angry,” I whisper a little too loudly as we walk past him. I can feel his eyes as he continues to watch me, though I don’t dare turn around.
I don’t need to. I can picture the way his brow is no doubt cocked up right now as he watches us move around the rest of the room.
“Yeah, that’s strange. I’ve always heard he’s a pretty laid-back guy,” he tells me, and I almost laugh out loud. Trent is laid back, especially when you compare him to the others, but right now, he's in chief mode, which is about as serious as he gets.
“Maybe he doesn’t like having to babysit a bunch of drunk snobs all night?”
Or maybe he doesn’t like seeing his woman on the arm of another man…
Probably both.
“Yeah, I can’t say I envy his job tonight,” Nash says with a chuckle as we finally make it to the main doors that open to a grand hall, which is deserted.
“Crap.” I huff in annoyance and let my shoulders slump in defeat.
“What’s wrong?” he asks, and honestly, if I didn’t have concrete proof of this guy's sins, I wouldn’t believe it. He’s damn good at the whole innocence thing—so good it’s scary.
Which is exactly why we do this. Not all monsters look like monsters, something we understand and use to our advantage as well.
“I’m pretty sure she’s gone.” I drop my hold on his arm and fumble around with my purse before pulling out my phone.
“It’s a wonder anything fits in there,” Nash says with a laugh, and I giggle, too.
“Yeah, this is about it, honestly.” I wave my phone in the air to show him, and he shakes his head in disbelief. “Clutches are not practical at all, but considering most things don’t have pockets, a girl needs somewhere to stash her stuff.”
“Yeah, well, that dress doesn’t seem like it has enough fabric to have pockets, even if they wanted to add them.” His eyes roam over my body, and I know he’s looking at more than just my dress. I ignore the ick it gives me and slap a smile on my face instead as I do a little shimmy.
The lack of fabric is why I chose this dress.
I wasn’t the only one who might have gotten his attention tonight.
A lot of people brought their daughters, and he could have gone to any of them.
It wouldn’t have made tonight impossible, but I would have had to do more work, and why do that when I could make him come to me?
Messing with my guys was a bonus.
“It wasn’t my most practical dress, but it makes me feel like a dark fairy, and I never have anywhere to wear it, so I couldn’t miss my chance.”
“Oh, I’m not complaining, believe me.” His eyes heat as he looks me over, not even trying to hide how much he enjoys the dress.
With a bashful smile, I quickly turn my attention back to my phone, but I can still feel his eyes on me.
“Yeah, she left me…” I pinch the bridge of my nose and sigh before once again turning my attention to my phone. “No biggie, I’ll just have to order an Uber.”
“Or, if you wanted, I could always take you home.” His offer is exactly what I was looking for. People are very easy to read if you look past the bullshit they try to sell you. Most people operate behind a mask. Too bad for him, I’m better at it.
“Oh, I couldn’t. I’ve already taken all your attention the whole night. You don’t need to keep babysitting me.” I quickly reject his offer, not wanting to seem overly eager while also giving him the chance to be the hero.
He moves back into my space, close enough that I have to look up to meet his eyes, looking down at me with a frown.
“I wasn’t sitting with you all night to babysit you, and I’m not offering you a ride home because of that either. I genuinely enjoyed our time together talking, and while it sucks your aunt left you, I can’t deny being a little happy to get some more time with you.”
“Oh,” I say, pretending to be caught off guard. “Okay, well, if you're sure you don’t mind. That would be wonderful.” And just like that, his frown morphs into a smile.