Chapter 21
I don't understand why I'm shaking, my heart is beating wildly, and my hands are sweating.
These are good signs before a date, right? Timur should be picking me up any minute, so I've got in and out of bed ten times, spun around the room, sat on a chair for three minutes, and now I'm standing in front of the mirror.
The white knitted sweater matches my brown long hair, and the black leather pants fit my figure nicely. I'm almost one hundred and seventytwo centimetres tall, so it's sometimes difficult to find clothes. I have a narrow waist but long legs, so I almost always have things altered or have them custom-made.
I look at my watch again. He's two minutes late. I don't like people who are late.
What if he changed his mind? I pick up my phone and check for a text from Timur, but there's nothing.
I remember that I hadn't talked to Sebastian for a long time and text him.
Me : Hey, everything good? Where are you?
Him : Hey, yeah. I’m in London.
Me : And what are you doing there?
Him : Shopping.
Me : What do you buy? Him : A new company.
Me : What? Why?
Him : I was bored.
Someone is knocking on the door. I have the urge to run and open it right away, so he doesn't think I was sitting there waiting for him. But I was.
"Just a minute," I shout.
Me : Sorry, have to go. Call you later.
I look at myself in the mirror again, although my reflection has hardly changed in the last thirty seconds.
I open the door.
"Hi." Timur's hands are in the pockets of his black skinny jeans.
His short hair is neatly styled, his white T-shirt is ironed, and he wears a black leather jacket over it. I catch myself thinking that I've seen a guy dressed like this before.
Danylo.
And although Timur looks great, I don't feel the rush of heat that I do next to Danylo.
"Hi," I answer.
"You look great," he slides his gaze down my body and bites his plump lip.
"Thank you." I nod. "You too," I add quickly and leave the room.
"I know a coffee shop, we can go there and have coffee." I don't drink coffee.
"Okay." I say.
I think you need to ask about this in advance. You need to know what your partner likes and what they will never try.
"So you're in your third year, right?"
"Yes." I answer. "And how did you know?"
"I asked my friends about you," Timur smiles.
Did he mean Danylo?
Timur is walking almost close to me.
It wouldn't be nice to move away from him, but it's not nice to have our bodies touching either.
Wait, Amelia, you wanted to sleep with this guy, and now you're uncomfortable with the touch of bare skin?
Yes, I am. There will be no sex. I'm hopeless. I'll never get used to someone new in my life.
"What about you?"
Why is it so hard to keep a conversation going? This is going to be a long fucking night. "Sixth course." Kill me.
"I like the way you're dressed," he adds after a short pause.
"Thank you. I like your style too."
I like your style too? What am I talking about?
"Wait," Timur touches the back pocket of his jeans, "I think I left my wallet at home."
Did we come all this way for nothing?
"We can go to my place, I'll pick it up quickly, and we'll go to a coffee shop, my apartment is not far away," he offers.
And I have no choice but to answer:
"Yes, of course."
"I'm renting an apartment with some friends, there's probably some party, but don't worry, we'll not stay long."
Now I notice that Timur is quite nice.
"Do you live with Danylo?" For some reason, I couldn't think of a better question, but Timur doesn't seem to care.
"No, Bondar has an apartment not far from us, he lives with Zlata." Oh, yeah, and how did I not realise that?
I wonder if I can stop thinking about Danylo just for a minute!
We enter and go up to the fourth floor. Loud music is already coming through the thin walls.
Timur opens the door and we go inside. It's hard to tell whether the apartment is spacious or not, because now almost every inch of it is crammed with drunk students.
"I'll be right back," Timur whispers in my ear and disappears into one of the rooms.
I walk a little further. I don't know who I'm looking for here, but maybe there's someone I know?
"Are you hanging out with my friend, Amelia?" someone's low voice penetrates my head.
Danylo's hand falls on my waist. I don't turn around.
"Your friend invited me," I answer without emotion.
"And what do you think about him?" Danylo's scent seeps through me.
He always smells so good.
His hand is still on my waist, but his finger is also drawing a circle on my skin.
"Do you like him?" he whispers directly into my ear, touching my skin with his wet lips.
"What's wrong, Danylo?" I ask him his favourite question.
I turn to face him and can finally see him.
His hair is falling down a little on his face, his sharp cheekbones are tense, his eyes are tired, and he is holding a glass of alcohol.
"Since when do you drink?" I ask angrily.
I don't like his behaviour, the way he is with me, the way his eyes are trying to burn all my clothes to ashes.
"You don't like it, darling?"
"You're acting like an asshole."
"It's none of your business I drink or not, Amelia, you should care about your date."
Danylo takes another drink from his glass, and only now I notice how drunk he is. His eyes can't focus on one thing. He can barely stand on his feet. His eyes are red, but I'm not sure if it's from drinking.
"The fact that he is much better than me. And what do you think? Do you like kissing him?"
Danylo words make me feel sick.
"Don't talk to me like that," I throw his hand away.
"You said you weren't interested in relationships, you said you weren't dating. What changed, darley?"
"Me. I've changed."
Danylo's face darkens, and I think he's ready to tear the whole flat apart. Anger is pouring out of him. But why is he angry?
Timur comes back just at the wrong time.
"Did you miss me?" he hugs me around the waist and inhales my scent.
I don't react in any way. There are only two people in this room now.
Me and Danylo.
I look at him steadily. Danylo's gaze is fixed on Timur's hand on my body. If he could kill him with his eyes, he would definitely do it. "Where are you going, sweet couple?" "Have some coffee," Tim answers.
"You don't drink coffee, Amelia," he turns his attention to me.
"Really?" Timur asks and takes his hands off my waist.
"It's okay," I hold his hands, "I can order tea," I smile tightly.
"Okay, what kind of tea do you like?
"Green, with two sugar packets," Danylo’s low voice comes through our bodies.
That's it.
"Stop acting like you know me," I come close to Danylo, gritting my teeth, "stop pretending that I'm important to you and then asking me to stay away from you."
Anger courses through my veins. I'm ready to kill him on the spot.
"Okay," he says quietly, nodding his head.
I back away. The anger leaves my body in a second. Now I look at Danylo, whose eyes are down, and I don't understand why I want to hug him so badly.
He is depressed. I can feel it. And no matter what he hides behind his mask, he can't hide it from me.