3. Darby
Darby
Idon’t take my eyes off Selene as I kiss this woman whose name I don’t remember.
She tastes like champagne and cherry blossoms. The latter, I suspect, is her lip gloss. Her perfume is powerful, and the smell bites my nose. But I’ll be damned if I pull away.
Selene is still watching, and her lips part slightly.
The woman moves closer, shoving her tongue into my mouth and pressing her tits on my chest.
My hand slides down her back, settling on her hip. Selene is still watching. It’s almost like she can’t stop watching.
So, I lower the hand on her hip and cup her ass. Then with my free hand, I cup her boobs. She’s not wearing a bra, so it’s easy for me to squeeze her tits. She gasps and moans into my mouth.I should stop. I know I should stop. But I don’t want to.
Not yet.
I turn sideways so Selene can see when I run my hands up the woman's thighs and between her legs. If she isn’t wearing a bra, perhaps she isn’t wearing…oh. She really isn’t.
As freaky as that is, it doesn't turn me on
I break the kiss and look down as she bucks her hips against my hand.
My gaze flicks up, scanning the room. There’s no sign of Selene.
I take my hand away and run it through my hair. I don’t know what I was expecting. That she would stand there watching me make out with a stranger all night? What would that even prove? That she cares?
I know she doesn’t care. Her actions eight years ago were enough proof that Selene Harper didn’t give two fucks about me and the things I did.
The woman leans into me, reminding me she’s still standing there. She sucks on my earlobe and whispers, “Want to take this somewhere quieter?”
A chill runs through me—and not the good kind.
My eyes continue to scan the room for red hair, but I don’t see one. Not even the first one I mistook for Selene earlier. It’s like she disappeared into thin air - but that’s her specialty.
Or she’s just outside.
Why do I even care?
I pull back from the woman and loosen the tie on my neck. She blinks at me, confused, but then she smiles again, tilting her head. “What do you say?”
I reach into my pocket, pull out a few mint bills, and shove them into her hand. Her expression changes, from confusion to irritation.
“You’re kidding me,” she sneers, “Do you think I’m a-”
I don’t wait to hear the rest.
I turn and walk away.
My pulse is uneven, though I can’t tell if it’s from the woman or from seeing Selene. My jaw clenches as I weave through the crowd, looking for her.
Eight years ago, I looked for her, too.
Days passed, and I couldn’t eat, sleep, or even think properly.
My beard and hair was overgrown, and every day that passed, I lost a little piece of my mind.
At first, I thought something bad had happened to her, but I heard from the university that she had canceled all her classes and left the campus.
Which means she didn’t just wake up one morning and disappear. She had planned it for at least two weeks. Two weeks of lies and pretense.
I finally spot her by the bar, talking to Garrett and Olivia and I let out a huge sigh of relief.
I didn’t even realize I was holding my breath. My heart is pounding in my chest, and it takes a few deep breaths to slow it down.
Her shoulders are tense, and her fingers grip the stem of a champagne flute like she’s ready to snap it in half. She’s nibbling on her lower lip, which is her tell that she’s nervous.
Olivia is laughing, her arm linked with Garrett’s, but Selene doesn’t join in.
I stop a few feet away, taking a moment to breathe.
“Darby,” Garrett says, waving me over. “Finally. Thought you’d vanished.”
“Just needed some air,” I say. “You know I’m not one to vanish without a word.”
Selene's eyes widen, and I see her jaws twitch, but she doesn’t look at me.
Garrett raises an eyebrow but doesn’t press. Olivia smiles—one of those wide ones that make her look younger. “We were just telling Selene there’s no way she’s missing breakfast with us tomorrow. It’s all set.”
“Breakfast?”
“Yeah. She suddenly wants to get out of it.” Olivia says with a slight pout. “We’ll go over the article and talk more about the wedding coverage. It’ll be fun.”
Fun. Sure.
I glance at Selene. Her expression doesn’t change, but her knuckles whiten against the glass. This must be a lot for her. Not just the breakfast. The loud sounds, the heavy mixture of smells, and the room filled with people.
She’s usually sensitive to things like this, and I’m surprised she hasn’t escaped the sensory overload yet.
“Honestly, if she doesn’t want to join us for breakfast-“
“I do,” Selene says. It’s the first word she has uttered to me outside of being interviewed.
I look at her.
She sets her glass down on the bar, takes a deep breath, and looks at me. “I want to be at breakfast.”
Olivia grins then grabs Selene's hand. “Come on. Let’s dance.”
I seem to be the only one who notices the sweat on Selene's forehead and the tremble in her hand. She’s wildly uncomfortable. The last thing she’d want to do is dance.
“Olivia, I-“
“Dancing really isn’t her thing,” I say before I can stop myself.
The three of them look at me with wide eyes.
Well. Shit.
“What?” Garrett asks.
“I mean, like, she…she, err, doesn’t look like someone who knows how to dance.”
Their eyes widen even further. What in God's name am I saying? Selene is the first one to break the silence.
“I’d love to dance, Liv. Besides,” she unbuttons the second button of her blouse and removes the pins from her hair, running her fingers through it.
My heart stutters at the immediate transformation.
“I think a really cute guy over there has been looking at me.”
And with that, Olivia drags her to the dance floor. I watch her go, my chest tightening again.
Garrett taps my shoulder. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” I say dryly. “I’m fine. I’m gonna turn in early tonight. I’m not really in the mood to party anymore.”
I seem to have been throwing a lot of bombs around today because Garrett is looking at me like he doesn’t recognize me anymore. “Err, okay. Okay. No problem.”
I walk out of the building without looking back and head straight to my room.
I sink into the soft bed without taking off my shoes and stare at the ceiling.
The fan spins slowly, creating uneven shadows on the walls. I stare at it, arms folded behind my head, willing it to send me into a hypnotic state so my brain shuts off. It doesn’t. It keeps looping back to her. Selene.
I’ve replayed the moment I met her on the terrace over and over again in my mind.
Where have you been all these years?
Why did you disappear without a word?
You look beautiful.
I groan and sit up, raking a hand through my hair. The sheets are twisted around my legs, hot and uncomfortable.
I swing my feet to the floor and stand. I drink a full cup of water and return to my bed. I close my eyes and try to remind myself that it’s a good thing I didn’t ask those questions.
It doesn’t matter. She doesn’t matter. Not anymore.
But I don’t sleep.
Morning comes too quickly, and I’m already in the dining room when Garrett and Olivia walk in with Selene.
She looks… radiant. It’s infuriating.
Her red hair falls around her shoulders in bouncy waves. The sunlight filtering through the windows reflects on it and makes it shine. Her simple, soft blue dress is cinched at the waist and ends mid-thigh, exposing her beautiful long legs.
The dress itself is nothing flashy, but on her, it’s stunning. Her skin glows, making me wonder if it’s still as smooth as the last time I touched it.
She smiles politely as Olivia pulls her toward the table, and I grit my teeth.
I focus on my coffee, stirring it though I didn’t add sugar, so technically, there’s nothing to stir.
But it makes me look busy, at least.
Olivia and Garrett take the chairs opposite me, leaving the chair beside me empty.
“Where are Mimi and Aden?” I ask Garrett.
He exchanges a look with his wife. “Apparently, they had quite the night yesterday and are too exhausted to join us.”
Olivia giggles while Selene and I exchange a look.
Then, with a shaky breath, she sits beside me, her chair creaking slightly as she settles in. The faint scent of vanilla reaches me—my stomach knots.
She's still using the same brand of perfume.
I try not to look at her, but my resolve breaks when her hand moves to adjust her napkin. My fingers brush hers.
It’s a split second.
But it’s electric.
Heat shoots up my arm and straight to my cock.
It hits me before I realize what is even happening. I feel like I’m back in that dorm room, tangled with her under the sheets, our laughter mixing with shallow breaths. My hand between her legs, under her bra, inside her…
I pull back quickly, clenching my jaw.
The spark stays, crawling under my skin like an unwelcome parasite. It makes me mad.
She’s the one who left. She made her choice. Why do I have to suffer these memories and these feelings?
Olivia’s voice cuts through my thoughts. “Selene, I’m dying to hear your ideas for the article. Garrett and I were talking about it this morning.”
Selene nods, setting her notepad on the table. She looks excited, too, but her tone is calm when she speaks. “I was thinking we could focus on the personal side of the wedding. Not just the event but the people—their stories, their connections. It makes it more relatable.”
Olivia beams. “I love that.”
I can’t help myself. “Sounds sentimental.”
Selene glances at me, but she doesn’t look offended. “People like sentimental.”
I lean back in my chair, folding my arms. “It’s not exactly groundbreaking. Isn’t the point of a wedding article to sell the event? Not the feelings?”
Again, she doesn’t rise to the bait. Instead, she meets Olivia’s gaze again, continuing. “It’s not just about the wedding. It’s about what it represents. People connect to that. It makes them care.”
Her voice is smooth, and it makes me angrier.
Things are always so easy for her to say. And do. “You sound like you have some really big ideas for this. Let’s hope you finish them this time.”
Olivia’s spoon clatters against her plate, and Garrett almost chokes on his water.
Selene looks directly at me, and her eyes glare.
“What’s that supposed to mean, Darby?” Olivia asks.
I shrug and stir my sugarless coffee again. “She’s not exactly known for following through. College, for example.”
Selene sits straighter, and it’s only because she’s sitting beside me that I can see how hard her hands are trembling. When she speaks, her voice is cool and void of any emotion. “I didn’t finish college because I couldn’t afford to. It wasn’t a commitment issue.”
My stomach twists.
I didn’t know that.
She pushes her chair back and stands. “Excuse me,” she says to Olivia. “I think I’ve lost my appetite.”
We all watch as she leaves that room, and Garrett glares at me. “What the fuck was that, Darby?”