7. Sage #2
As my mothers asked, I was very good through Sorcha’s entire ceremony and reception, only having one, maybe two, glasses the whole time.
It was afterwards, when that same Duke invited me to an after party at his place that things got a little… wild.
I briefly recalled a fumbling handjob, lazy hands that didn’t get me close to finishing, and an empty promise to see him again the next day. He must have seen us sneak off that evening.
“No, he just invited me to a party,” I informed him.
He nodded. “Yeah, he told me.”
I furrowed my brow. “What do you mean?”
The Lord shrugged. “He seemed to think you two would start courting, considering the way he described the evening.”
My jaw tensed. “And how did he describe it, exactly?”
The man whose name I was still unsure of suddenly looked nervous, realizing he’d said too much. “Just how… lovely your company was,” he clarified, as if that made it any better.
“I see.”
We sat in an uncomfortable silence for only a few more moments before he excused himself, leaving his reason vague.
Good first conversation, I thought to myself.
I downed the rest of my glass before leaving in on a tray and exchanging it for another one.
Should I have been slow and tried to keep out of trouble?
Probably. I was cornered into coming here by drinking too much and putting myself in a situation I couldn’t get out of, so why would I put myself there again?
But halfway through the second glass was always when I let logic go to the wayside and started doing what I wanted. And I wanted to finish this glass, and probably have another, until I had a nice, comfortable buzz.
In between the drinks I had more conversations, now that someone had broken the ice.
Mostly people fishing for something in the conversations—were my mothers’ planning to hand over the throne soon, plans for Sybil’s marriage, was Sorcha really happy in Valcor—though as the glasses continued, their exact reasoning started to get a bit unclear.
And at that point, I was ready to go dance. It was my favorite part of these gatherings, and with the gentle warmth of the drinks, I didn’t feel concerned about what people might think of me and was able to just dance.
When I entered the dance floor, I found a partner quickly and got lost in the music.
It was upbeat and freeing, flowing through me easily.
The steps were burned into my memories from years of lessons, letting me add my personal spin on them every once in a while and never worrying about missing a beat.
I was passed between partners, as the dance intended, until I eventually landed in front of a green pair of eyes I recognized well.
I was in Octavio’s arms, being spun around expertly. Everyone I’d danced with thus far knew the moves, but he seemed to be the aficionado, moving with a precision that made him a perfect partner.
When we were meant to switch partners again, he didn’t, sidestepping and keeping me in his arms, to the obvious annoyance of the man next to him.
“Looking to continue?” I asked.
“Best partner I’ve had all night,” he said. “How can I give that up?”
“You’re not bad yourself.”
“I’m excellent,” he retorted.
“And humble.”
“Always.” His smile was charming. I saw why Paige was interested. Hell, I was starting to feel interested, but that may have been that fourth glass talking.
We continued our banter and dancing for a bit longer, until I was breathless and told him I needed a break.
“I’ll come with you,” he said, keeping his hand in mine and leading me away.
“Thank you for the dance,” I said as we made our way to the outskirts of the group.
“No, it is I who should thank you for the honor.” He leaned down and kissed my hand.
It was probably just a polite gesture, but it felt a bit… forward. Though I could have been reading into it.
“This is an excellent party,” I told him. We ended up wandering towards the edge of the room, away from the swaths of people who had now mostly made their way to the dance floor.
“I’m pretty pleased with it.” We stood together, leaning against the wall next to each other.
“Are you excited for your grand tour?” I asked.
“I suppose,” he said.
I turned to him, spotting that pensive look on his face. “Who wouldn’t enjoy traveling the world?”
“Someone who knows what they’re coming back to.”
I turned to him more fully now. “What does that mean?”
A smile that felt a lot like my practice one plastered to his face. “I’m being sent off for one last outing because when I return I’m expected to take up the lordship.”
“That must be nice, though,” I said. “Don’t most people want to be successor?”
“I suppose,” he said. “Comes with a lot of responsibility.”
“That is true. The best part of being the youngest.” Taking the crown had never even been on my radar. I wasn’t the heir or the spare. I just… existed, and while sometimes boring, at least I didn’t have the weight of the whole kingdom on my shoulders.
He huffed. “Yes, everyone is always looking at you, needing something from you. It’s quite a bit of pressure.”
“I’m sure.” I couldn’t relate to anything less. There was no experience where anyone needed something from me, how would I even handle it?
“Sorry,” he scoffed, turning towards me more now, so his shoulder lay on the wall. “I shouldn’t bore you with my up and coming responsibilities.”
“I don’t mind,” I told him. “I find it quite interesting.”
“You’re too kind to me.”
I smiled up at him, one that felt genuine for the first time tonight. It felt nice.
“Have you seen Paige this evening?” I asked, remembering her earlier quest.
“Yes,” he said. “We had a nice conversation.”
“She’s quite striking,” I said, trying to help out my friend while I was here.
He hummed in agreement. “Very pretty.”
“And quite smart.” Though I did watch her open doors the wrong way fairly often.
“Is that so?” As he asked, he moved closer, his hand tucking behind my waist, pulling me close. “I find you to be quite smart. And striking.”
“O-oh,” was all I could muster up. “But Paige—”
“Is off somewhere else,” he jumped in, “and I thought we’ve been hitting it off nicely, yes?”
“You’ve been an excellent host,” I said. One of the platitudes my tutor fed to me to say.
“Is that all?” His body heat radiated against me, but only served to overheat me.
“I-I…”
Before I could stutter to find any words, a man I didn’t recognize approached us. “Octavio,” he said. “Your mother asked me to fetch you. They’re making the toast soon.”
Octavio’s jaw set, but he stepped away from me. “I’ll come find you after,” he promised, leaning down to kiss my hand and walking away before I could confirm or deny that.
I fell against the wall, feeling like I dodged a bullet there. It was obvious Paige was interested in him, and I had no intention of getting in the way of that.
“Doesn’t he just bore you to tears?”
I jumped. Behind me was none other than the man from this morning. I hadn’t even caught out his name. Not knowing made the entire situation almost more interesting, though it shouldn’t have.
“Octavio is perfectly nice,” I said, defending him.
“I’m nice,” the man said. “I was on my hands and knees in the dirt this morning, you know.”
“You don’t even have knees,” I quickly shot back.
“You caught me.”
I had to bite my lips to hold back my smile that threatened to come too easily.
“If you’ll excuse me,” I started, stepping away and towards the bar.
“Wait—” he was quick, his hand darting out to grab my wrist. I didn’t expect it, but it wasn’t unwelcome either.
“Yes?” I looked at him through my thick lashes, knowing exactly the face I was putting on. And could tell by his eyes it was working. But normally, when I caught them in my trap, I felt nothing. Sometimes maybe satisfaction that men were so easy, but for once, the feeling was almost returned.
Was I okay?
He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bouncing hard as he did. “Would you like to go for a walk?”