Chapter 32 #2
I eyed my best friend. Keira was a party girl, always had been, but it had always been fun, light-hearted.
Recently, it was becoming a compulsion, something she seemed to be doing almost against her own will.
Like she was running a marathon for a prize she didn’t even want.
But if this was how she was choosing to process whatever was bothering her then I would assume the role of supportive friend until she said otherwise.
Her phone buzzed and her jaw tightened as she swiped the screen.
“Everything okay?”
She looked up at me, her eyes dark and laced with liquor. “Did you invite him?”
“Who?”
She stuck her phone in front of my face, displaying a text from someone called ‘Eight’ .
Greece is nice this time of year, don’t you think? This little town is no Mykonos though, no wonder you’re contemplating a foursome just to keep the itch off. Don’t worry, I’ll be there soon, let’s see what I can do about that itch…
What the hell? I looked up at her. “Eight? Who’s eight?”
“Damien,” she snapped. “Did you invite him?”
“No, of course I didn’t!”
“Then how did he know where I was?”
“He’s a Teller. They know everything. Besides,” I snatched her phone out of her hand and opened her instagram.
I scrolled through all the photos she’d posted from the last few days, including one taken a few hours ago outside the bar, the sign right over our heads.
I showed it to her. “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist.”
She stared at it, chewing her lip.
“Do you want to leave?”
Before she could answer, her gaze locked on something over my shoulder and she glared. “Too late.”
I turned to see Damien Marx heading our way, looking cool and relaxed in black jeans and a white t-shirt. Her scowl turned to confusion as she continued looking behind me. “What’s he doing here?”
I turned again and…Eli West was here too? I looked at Maia whose jaw was clenched, eyes blazing. I don’t think I’d ever seen Maia angry before. She looked downright scary.
“Maia, did you invite them?”
“No,” she whispered, not taking her eyes off the two men.
“Ladies,” Damien addressed the three of us but kept his gaze firmly on Keira.
“What are you doing here?” she snapped.
“I missed you, Six.” He smirked at her. A silence fell over the table.
Six? What was with the numbers?
I looked between the two of them, Keira was pissed and I felt like I was intruding.
“Do you want me to go?” I whispered.
“You should stay,” Damien turned that wicked grin on me, “you didn’t really think we came here without him, did you?”
I stared at him, my mouth running dry.
“Where…?” The question trailed off, dry in my mouth. He nodded behind me and I looked to the bar where Alfie was talking to our three companions.
“He’s making sure we won’t be bothered.”
“Seriously?” I turned back to see Keira rolling her eyes and giving me an ‘I told you so’ look.
“Usually I don’t mind competition, but not tonight.”
I looked between the two of them. Damien was having fun, his dark eyes alight with excitement but Keira wore a stone cold expression that had no place on her usually vibrant face.
“You wasted your trip.” She stood, pushing away from the table.
“Keira…” I reached for her hand but she snatched it away.
“I’m fine.” She looked at Damien. “You’re going to have to find someone else to play with.”
“No,” he replied and Keira blinked, surprised.
“No?”
“No,” he repeated, shrugging.
Flustered, she scowled at him and turned on her heel, marching away into the crowd. Damien grinned at me. “I love this part.”
I watched them go, concerned. Should I go after her? Keira hated being coddled and I had no doubt she could handle Damien Marx. Besides, I’d already interfered in her business once, if she’d wanted me with her she would have told me so. But none of that stopped me worrying.
“He won’t hurt her,” Eli said, stealing my attention. He turned back to Maia and silently offered her his hand, confirming a suspicion I’d been brewing for a while that they’d connected at the Clubhouse. Maia paused, glancing at me.
“I’ll be fine if you want to go with him,” I said but she hovered another moment until Alfie appeared. He exchanged a brief nod with Eli and that seemed to seal the deal. The moment we were alone I rounded on Alfie, furious. He didn’t miss a beat.
“Before you lose your shit, just know this wasn’t my idea.”
“Yeah, right.” I rolled my eyes. “Because this is so out of character for you.”
“Lola,” he sighed, “we didn’t even come here on my plane. Marx wanted to come and West came too, so I joined them.”
“Why?”
“The goals I set with Priya? Find happiness outside of you, remember? They’re my friends, I’m trying to…reconnect.” He grimaced as if the word was uncomfortable in his mouth. “We went kite surfing this morning–do you know how long it’s been since I just hung out with my boys?”
“About twelve years?”
He let out a humourless laugh and ran a hand over his jaw.
“I wasn’t going to come tonight I promise, but I knew you’d be left on your own once they paired off with Maia and Keira and my worry got the better of me.
I’m sorry.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets, his grey suit out of place here.
I studied his face, searching for the duplicity but so far, all I could see was honesty.
“For what it’s worth, I tried calling you first.”
“My phone’s off.”
He tilted his head, eyes narrowed. “Why?”
“I didn’t want to be tempted to call you.”
“I see.” He wasn’t happy that I’d held back from getting in touch with him. It was exactly what he’d feared would happen when we agreed to put power in my hands.
“I’m on a girls trip, Alfie. My focus is supposed to be Keira, not you.”
“Fair enough. My being here changes nothing. I only came here to see that you would get home alright, not to interfere.”
“Not to interfere?” I scoffed. “You just got rid of our dates.”
As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I knew it was the wrong thing to say. Alfie glared at me, taking a step closer.
“Your dates? Don’t be ridiculous, Lola.” He sneered as if the very idea of me having a date was laughable.
“Those aren’t your dates, they’re Keira’s.
If I thought that you had opted to date another man behind my back, you and I would be having a very different conversation.
” His gaze ran cold and I shivered. He held me in that moment, freezing me until I felt like I might wither before finally relenting with a soft huff.
“Believe it or not, I am trying to follow Priya’s rules.
This trip isn’t about you, if Marx hadn’t come I would have stayed away I swear. ”
I stared at him, his grey eyes clear in earnest. He was telling the truth.
“I’ll be here for the next few days, luckily I can work remotely out of my hotel, but the same rules apply here as in London. Contact is on your terms.” He paused. “So, tell me what to do. Do I leave or do I stay? What do you want?”
What did I want?
Was I angry with him for being here? A little, but his reasoning made some sense.
So, what now? For so long, every decision I’d made about Alfie was based on what I thought would keep my heart safe but I’d promised him that I would try to be open to him, try to let him in.
I took a deep breath.
Be brave, Lo. Try to be brave.
“I want you to buy me a drink.”
We talked for hours.
We talked about work, about travel, about Greece, he knew so much about the history here.
We talked about the people at the tables around us, who they might be, the kind of lives they might lead. Unsurprisingly, Alfie was very good at guessing things about a person based on clothes, hairstyles, even nail polish. If I was honest, it was a little scary.
We ate kebabs and drank lemonade. Alfie encouraged me to have a real drink if I wanted one, not wanting me to feel obligated to avoid alcohol just because he did, but I wanted a clear head tonight. I didn’t want to miss a moment of this.
His jacket came off, so did his tie, his sleeves rolled up and Alfie looked relaxed. Happy. Normal. This was a man I hadn’t known. A man I didn’t think he had ever known either.
I texted Keira and Maia and received replies back that they were both fine.
Midnight came and went, the music slowing to a gentle croon to welcome the early hours of the morning.
Feeling like it was the most natural thing in the world, I stood and looked down at this man that seemed so close to being that good man I wanted.
“Dance with me?”
His grey gaze didn’t smoulder, instead it lit up. “Always.”
We swayed softly until the floor emptied around us, every other patron wandering home. But I didn’t want to leave, I didn’t want this night to ever end. The next night might bring a different Alfie. I wanted to keep this one forever.
My cheek pressed into the soft cotton of his shirt, his arms warm, solid around my body. I yawned. Exhausted from the day but so, so relaxed. I could sleep standing up as long as his arms would hold me.
“Come on, let me get you back.”
I pulled him closer, leaving was the last thing I wanted to do. “I need Maia, she has the keys.”
“I think she’s still with West.” Right. I’d forgotten about that. Keira’s parents weren’t going to be too happy about having to get up to let me in. “You could come to my hotel. I’ll be on my best behaviour I promise.”
“I believe you,” I mumbled, and I did. I believed Alfie now.
I don’t know when it had started but slowly over the weeks, my distrust had started to fade, replaced by a blooming hope, a tiny seed that he’d watered and shone his sunlight on everyday until it grew stronger, stood tall and looked to Alfie for nourishment and protection. “Let's go.”
With his arm around my waist, he led me outside where of course Elliot waited by a sleek Rolls Royce. I greeted him and slid into the back seat, too sleepy to argue as Alfie fastened my seatbelt for me.
Alfie’s hotel room reminded me of his presidential suite at The Carlton Hotel. Vast, sleek but with details in the decor that leant it to Greece rather than England.
We’d been silent on the way here, relaxed in our peace with one another. Silence used to mean a fight between us, now it meant something different. It meant our comfort.
I’d never fully realised until these last few weeks how little time Alfie and I had spent together that didn’t end in a fight or a fuck. Our every meeting before had involved one or the other or both, breeding infatuation and toxicity. This new relationship was sweeter, calmer.
I stepped out onto his balcony, there were two swimming pools below lit up by tiki torches, and beyond was the gentle lull of the ocean. I felt like I was on a cloud looking down at paradise.
“The view is beautiful from up here.” I looked over my shoulder, softly smiling at Alfie as he leaned against the door frame, watching me.
“Come on, you look exhausted.” His arm came around me and where once I would have pushed him away, tonight I welcomed it. He led me upstairs, past a series of rooms until finally stopping. He opened a door revealing a stunning bedroom suite.
“You can sleep here tonight. My room is next door and I’m using the office at the end of the hall. If you need anything come find me, or order room service. It’s all on my bill.”
“I can pay my own way, Alfie.”
Alfie let out a soft laugh. “I know and I’ll always be grateful that you think like that. But I’m a fucking billionaire, so it’s okay for me to buy you breakfast sometimes.” His eyes shone with amusement and slowly, I relented, nodding.
My heart swelled as he reached to cup my face, fingers slipping into my hair to caress me in a way that sent shivers down my spine. My eyes fluttered closed. I’d missed his touch, the way it could soothe or burn depending on his mood.
“Is this okay?”
I looked up at him, feeling him pull me to that familiar edge, the precipice I’d once lived on.
It would be so easy to take his hand and pull him to the waiting bed right behind me.
My body cried out for it, for a release only he could give me, not for pleasure, but for unity. My body was missing its other half.
“It’s painfully perfect.” A sleep-soft smile played on my lips.
I pressed my cheek into his hand, relishing his touch.
“Don’t hurt me, Alfie…” my voice broke and I swallowed.
“I’m so close to letting you back in, you’ve pulled down my walls so carefully I didn’t even notice it happening. It scares me how easily you did it.”
He stilled, a frown forming between his brows. “I scare you?”
“You’ve always scared me a little. We’re so dangerous for each other…” my words trailed off as I thought of every toxic moment we’d pasted over with our passion, covering it up so we didn’t have to look at it.
“Baby, that’s part of what makes this feel so good.” His voice was like liquid silk pouring into my bones, my legs felt like they might buckle.
“I know and I don’t want to ever lose the way I feel when I’m with you but Alfie…you can’t hurt me like that again.”
I peered up at him in the darkness, willing him to understand. If he betrayed me again like he had before, we would be finished and I didn’t know how I would repair myself again. He gazed down at me, the familiar tick in his jaw clenching. Something was wrong. “What is it?”
“Nothing,” he cleared his face, “I’m just tired.”
He’d dodged my question but for once I didn’t mind, I knew what plagued him. Guilt over his past actions, guilt that we didn’t need to pick apart again. I was trying to leave the man he’d been in the past behind and focus instead on the man he was now.
“You’re tired? The great Alfie Tell is admitting he actually needs sleep?”
“I’m working on my humanity,” he said with a wry smile. My breath hitched as he leaned into me, our bodies pressing flush. He bent, pressing a kiss to my cheek. “Good night, O’Connell.”
“Goodnight, Tell.”
With a knot in my stomach, I pulled away from his arms, my skin running cold without him there to warm it. I closed the door and leaned against it, catching my breath.
That gorgeous man was going to be the death of me.