Chapter 24
ILIAS
Anyone For You (Tiger Lily) – George Ezra
What Ilias hadn’t expected to witness, after winning another USL tour, after coming back from suspension, after that cock-hardening, heart-wrecking kiss from Sofia, was drunk Sofia.
They were all at the USL party. Alejandra and Sofia had started drinking the moment they walked in, “memory of old times,” they’d said. Amira had followed closely behind, and now the three of them were dancing on top of a table to some ABBA song.
“Why do all girls love ABBA?” Carlos appeared beside him, holding a glass of something alcoholic.
“Default setting, I guess. Like how we all pretend to care about cars and ‘man shit,’” Ilias replied dryly.
“Not drinking?”
“I quit two years ago.”
Carlos nodded. “How’s it going? You miss it?”
Ilias appreciated that he wasn’t trying to shove a drink into his hand like others had.
“I don’t miss it. I was a terrible person when drunk. I like seeing everyone else enjoy themselves.”
Carlos hesitated, then gulped. “Can I ask you something?”
Ilias arched a brow. “Go on.”
“Do you think Amira might be into me?”
His eyes widened. “She’s like... a baby.”
“She’s twenty-eight.”
“And you’re what, forty?”
“I’m thirty-five, idiota,” Carlos shot back, offended.
Ilias laughed, shrugged. “As for your question, I’ve no clue. She doesn’t talk about her feelings much. Especially not after what happened with Steven.”
Carlos nodded again. “Could you, I don’t know... check if she might be into me?”
“I’ll do what I can, but man up and ask her. Aren’t you as old as my grandpa?”
Carlos flipped him off, but Ilias was already stepping away because Sofia was stumbling off the table. Before she could crash into the floor, he caught her. She melted into his arms like she belonged there.
She looked up, her usual bright brown eyes hazy with alcohol but still, dios, wasn’t she the most gorgeous drunk woman he’d ever seen?
“Ilias,” she slurred but chirped, beaming. “I’m so happy you’re here!”
“Are you now?” he said, wrapping her tighter against his body.
She nodded eagerly, arms going around his neck, fingers threading into his curls.
“Yes. I’m always happy when you’re around.”
It was sloppy, blurry, and soaked in vodka, but drunk people were like kids, weren’t they? No filters. Just truth.
And he clung to that truth like it was oxygen.
“And I’m always happy to have you around,” he replied, caressing her back gently. “And I know you’re very, very drunk right now... and sober Sofia is going to be mortified about confessing this.”
“Sober Sofia is boring.”
“I think she’s cool. And smart. And hot as hell.”
Sofia giggled. “Do you remember we kissed today?”
Ilias exhaled hard through his nose and immediately turned her away from the crowd.
He spotted Coach hauling Amira over his shoulder and Carlos leading Alejandra away.
Good. He could focus all his energy on the intoxicated goddess melting against his chest, saying dangerous things with dangerous eyes.
He had to think of anything—literally anything—not to get hard. Her body was flush against him, soft and warm, her voice sweet and slurred and dripping with temptation. This might be more complicated to handle than Snapper Rocks.
“I do remember,” he said, slipping his arm beneath hers to keep her steady.
Yep. She was deep in it.
“I liked it a lot. You’re a very good kisser,” she said, booping his lips with her finger. “Do you wanna kiss me now?”
Joder.
“Yes, Sofia, I desperately want to kiss you,” he said, his voice low, nearly begging. “But not while you’re clearly drunk.”
“I’m not drunk. You’re drunk.”
“I agree to disagree,” he said with a soft laugh.
“Would you kiss sober Sofia?”
He couldn’t hold back a real, guttural laugh.
“I would do many things to sober Sofia.”
“Like?” she asked, voice lower now, sultry. Her eyes, though glassy, were pinned to his.
He felt his throat tighten.
“I’ll tell you when you’re very sober. Because I want you to remember every single detail.”
He gripped her chin gently, bringing her face closer to his.
His breath caught when she didn’t resist. Her warm, alcohol-sweet breath mingled with his. Their proximity felt like gravity at war with sanity.
Sofia studied him. Her brown eyes fluttered slightly, and then—
“I love the color of your eyes. And your smile. And your curls. And if we have fake kids, I want them to look like you.”
Joder. Joder. Joder.
He blinked. Speechless.
She had no idea what kind of emotional nuclear bomb she’d just dropped. Because yeah, he’d have babies with her. Right here, right now, if she asked. But his fucking morals had him holding the line.
“Thanks,” he whispered, voice rough with feeling. “And I’d love for them to look like you.”
Sofia blushed, then buried her face in his chest like she was hiding from her own words. He held her tighter, stroking her back.
She mumbled something into his shirt.
Then, without warning, turned her face to the side and vomited into the sand.
Okay. That was the cue.
“Alright, Drunk Sofia. Let’s go home.”
“I’m Sofia,” she whined.
“Yes, you are.” He scooped her up easily, one arm under her knees, the other behind her back. She curled into him again like she was exactly where she belonged.
“Please don’t throw up on me.”
“Not sure I can promise that,” she mumbled.
Ilias laughed softly, but his heart was thundering.
Was this it? Was she warming up to him? Was the kiss real? Was it really hers to give, not just an excuse for their PR stunt?
He didn’t know. But he wanted to believe. And if, on top of winning Snapper Rocks, he somehow won Sofia too? Then this wouldn’t just be one of the best days of his life. It would be the start of something he’d been aching for since the moment he saw her.