Chapter 3 #2
“Doesn’t she look beautiful? I don’t know how I got so lucky,” Nick murmured and the knife in my heart twisted in response as we looked over to where Ember danced with Harper underneath the gently sparkling snowflakes that had been hung across the width of the entire ballroom.
“Find yourself someone to dance with and come join us.”
He walked away before I could respond and I was grateful for his inadvertent rescue so I didn’t have to formulate a polite way of saying fuck off.
The ball was bustling, friends of my parents’ gathering and laughing like they did every year, and for the first time I wished I could be anywhere else.
“Wanna dance?” A dry voice called out from the other end of the table and I looked up, a grin snaking across my face as relief crashed over me.
“Who let you in?” I teased, gulping the last of my drink as I held a hand out to Leigh. She was one of my best friends and, as far as I knew, was living in Australia now. “I didn’t know you were stateside.”
She grinned, her short blue hair framing her face perfectly as we moved onto the dance floor and she looped her arms casually around my neck. “I moved back.”
I rolled my eyes. “Nice of you to let your only friend know.”
She spun and I caught her. “What do you think I’m here for?”
We laughed as the song morphed seamlessly into Lights by Ellie Goulding and I watched her try to place which cover was playing. “Ugh I give up.”
“We’ve already had Taylor Swift and BTS tonight and I’ve barely been here ten minutes.”
Leigh nodded, clear blue eyes sparkling with mischief. “Did I see your cousin earlier?”
“She’s staying with us for the holidays,” I confirmed and tapped Leigh on the nose. “And she’s still straight.”
“A waste,” Leigh muttered. “And the blonde? Think I have a shot there?” I winced and Leigh’s brow rose. “I sense a story.”
I shrugged. “Nothing to tell. She’s Nick’s girl.”
“What’s that saying? I don’t see a ring on her finger?”
I twirled her to stop her from talking and smirked when she cursed. “He’s my brother.”
When her mouth opened again, I knew something ridiculous was going to come out of it. So I maneuvered us closer to where Nick, Ember and Harper danced.
Leigh wasted no time in flirting with Harper, her grin a seductive curl that I’d seen work on a lot of women — some gay and some… not. “Littlest Hart. What a delight. You look breathtaking.”
Harper snorted. “Hi Leigh. How are you?”
“Lonely,” she pouted and led a laughing Harper away to dance.
Abandoned, I hesitated in place next to Ember and Nick.
“So, who was that?” Ember’s eyes were on me, her voice a little higher than usual and Nick looked like he was fighting a grin. “The, ah, blue-haired girl. You were dancing together.”
She had been watching me? “That’s Leigh.”
Ember rolled her eyes, pink flushing her cheeks. “I got that. But who is she?”
Nick leaned in and murmured something in her ear, making Em’s eyes fly wide, before Nick backed away. “Be right back. Keep her company.”
I didn’t know whether to cry or laugh, run or enjoy every second spent with her. Ember made the decision, sliding her hand into mine and moving with the music.
“Are they playing covers of contemporary songs? Like Bridgerton?”
I chuckled, holding her close as we swayed, enjoying her warmth and the scent of her shampoo drifting to me from where her head fit under my chin. “Yeah, we make a game of trying to guess all the songs. Last year, Mom made it really hard.”
We danced in silence, our breaths in sync, until Ember pulled me to a stop.
“You and Leigh… Are you together?” Her blue eyes swallowed me up, like this was the most important question she’d ever asked — what I couldn’t figure out was why.
“No.” I hesitated, trying to decide whether to leave it there, or explain further. “We’ve been friends forever. Since we were kids.”
Her mouth puckered, like this wasn’t what she’d wanted to hear. “I see.”
If I hadn’t known better, I might have thought Ember was…
jealous? “She’s gay,” I blurted and Ember jumped, the force of the words clearly taking her aback.
I cleared my throat. “Ah, that is — Leigh likes women. I don’t have anything that interests her.
” Ember’s mouth tilted up and I rambled on.
“She, ah, wanted to ask you out actually. I told her you’re with Nick. ”
“That’s nice of you,” she said, humor colouring her voice. “It’s good to know the dress is working for me.”
I nodded quickly. “Definitely working for you,” I said, and then wanted to kick myself. “I mean, ah, you look fine. Nice.” Her brows were rising higher and higher so I opted to snap my mouth shut altogether. “Where the hell is Nick,” I muttered and when she laughed, I couldn’t help but relax.
“Easy, it’s okay. He went to get drinks, I think.” She smiled and it was gentle. The music shifted and I drew her closer, goosebumps running across my skin everywhere we touched. Her pupils were blown wide, the black nearly swallowing all of the blue as we leaned into one another as if magnetized.
A pair of hands slid around her waist, and I barely noticed, too lost in her eyes on mine, her mouth just inches away, her breath and mine becoming one as the violins soared.
Ember looked up and away, the heat melting into a more comfortable flare as she smiled up at my brother behind her and reality hit me in the face.
I dropped her hand and made to step back, freezing when her hand fisted in my shirt, a wordless plea in her eyes that was at odds with the challenge in Nick’s when I looked at him in question.
But this was Ember, and I would have done anything she asked of me. So I stayed.
Her hands rested on my shoulders as she swayed to the music and when Nick reached for her, to spin her out into the room, I anticipated her return.
Caught safely in my arms, with Nick on her other side, Ember became boneless between us, her arms around me, her head on Nick’s chest, our steps in sync as the sound faded away around us.