Chapter 5 #2
Then she found herself literally running into Hottie McDanger again.
Her first thought was, why was this the person she saw whenever she was on the receiving end of Sameer’s shit that night?
And then she realized, but of course, here was an opportunity too good to pass up.
She’d use this guy to make Sameer jealous.
If he could be out and about with someone else, well then, so could she.
She’d find a way for him to see her there, with this guy, having the best time ever.
It was perfect. They’d flirt, pet a little, dance, and Sameer was bound to come back in and see her.
Or, she could find a way for them to run into him.
But Danger’s idea of social media pictures made more sense. It seemed to be going great, but then she went and fumbled the whole thing, with her dumb kiss to the cheek idea.
She took a deep breath now, trying to hide her mortification. She knew she was on the path to unpredictable behavior. A break-up will do that to a person. So, she lifted her eyes to him, ready to apologize and get out of there.
His grey eyes were darkened to a rich charcoal-grey.
The intensity in them took her breath away.
She suddenly wondered what his entire face looked like underneath that black mask, because the rest of him was unreadable, with his thick lips set in a straight, hard line, but God, he was still handsome.
He swiped around on her phone, which was already open to the app she’d be posting to, and handed it back to her.
“I think I captured some pretty good footage there,” he said, his voice deep and gruff.
She looked down at the screen and saw that he’d posted a picture of them kissing, and it was a great shot.
Both their eyes were closed, and their expressions were lost in abandonment.
Whoa. It was really good—like he’d accidentally walked in on a real couple’s passionate embrace. She choked on her own saliva as she stared at it.
But wait, he’d tagged an @S.A.Shoots in the picture, too.
“I went ahead and tagged myself,” he said softly. “You know, to make it more convincing.”
And before she knew what was happening, he gently pulled her back into him, leaving no space between them again, both of his hands pressing into her back this time, as his lips descended to hers.
The pressure was less than before, but the touch was sweet and gentle, as he sucked softly on her mouth.
It was definitely far better than that first awkward kiss, though the man had made the last one pretty enjoyable, too.
Unquestionably, he had a great kissing game.
He moved his lips over hers slowly, sensually, plucking her desire from the shambles she’d been in only moments before.
Her body lit up, came alive, and she tentatively rubbed her pelvis into him, a small sigh of pleasure escaping her.
She felt the rumble of a muted groan from his wide chest before she heard the deep, sensual sound.
Was it the one-too-many glasses of pumpkin martinis she'd had that made her act this way—bold and unchained (more so than usual) like a tether ball that had ripped off the pole and shot over the playground fence?
Or was it that seeing stupid Sameer here, at the Halloween party, when he said he would absolutely not be there, and with someone else, had pushed her over the edge?
All of the above.
“Fuck it,” she mumbled, her hands sliding up his wide shoulders and around his neck, pulling him closer.
This time, his grunt rang in her ears, his hold on her tighter, and Lord, it felt amazing.
When the tip of his warm tongue licked the seam of her lips, she opened obligingly, getting lost further into a haze of not giving two fucks about her behavior.
The clatter of her phone onto the floor as it slipped from her hand had him pull back, his eyes hooded but charged, as they stared into hers.
His breathing was heavy and hurried, his thick lips wet.
He licked them and pulled further away from her.
And of course, like clockwork, they both stumbled down to retrieve her phone simultaneously, their heads just aiming to knock into each other once again.
She cleverly (or so she thought) shifted her weight to the right to avoid him, happy that they wouldn’t repeat that blunder.
It was the most gigantic mistake ever in the recent history of Reyana Madhumita Sharma’s life.
It would’ve been so much better if they’d knocked into each other again.
She could have told her grandkids about it one day—that it was the most disastrous, sweetest of meet-cutes in the history of meet-cutes with a stranger.
Instead, she tottered, crouched down on her heels, the alcohol—or was it the amazing kiss—making her dizzy, and though she avoided them bonking heads again, she promptly toppled over and crashed into the glorious tower of Off With Her Head champagne cocktails.
Damn. She hadn’t even tried them yet.
The smash was deafening, and the sweetened, pink fizz sloshed all over them, into her hair, down her back between her skin and her costume. And she just lay there on her side, stunned, in an ever-widening puddle of champagne, not sure if the night could get any worse.
“Violette,” Danger asked, crouching down next to her. “Are you all right?” The front of his black shirt was soaked, as were his black pants.
He reached down to help her stand up. Wobbly on her feet, she inspected the mess and shook her hands, spreading more droplets onto him.
All eyes were on them, shocked. Some tittered and laughed, thinking it was part of the entertainment, while others turned to the waitstaff, asking for assistance.
Some were disgusted, shaking their heads.
Meanwhile, the DJ continued, and as it so happened, his next track was one of her and Sameer’s favorite songs, Michael Jackson’s Thriller, which she’d requested when she’d first arrived.
“You have got to be kidding me,” she said, laughing, trying not to turn hysterical, as she stood up straighter, getting a better handle on the nightmarish situation she was in.
She turned to her handsome stranger. “I’m so sorry, Danger.
” She said it as solemnly as she could. “As it turns out, I’m the most dangerous one between the two of us. ”
He asked her if she was ok again, but she noticed the twitch at the corner of his mouth. Something soft and warm twirled in her belly as they shared a look. But then he sobered up, standing straighter, looking past her.
She wanted to tease him, as she had earlier, but didn’t get the chance. From the corner of her eye, she saw Sameer rushing over. He grabbed her arm in a vice-like grip and dragged her away from the carnage.
She stumbled over shards of delicate glass, the resounding crunch underfoot making her wince.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Sameer hissed loudly in her ear.