“You know you’re way better than me with drunk people. Check if she’s really alright, please.” I gently shove Sarah next to Xander on the couch.
Olivia nods and smiles as she sees something behind me. I turn around and jump, startled by Liam’s pale face barely two inches from mine.
“Jesus Christ Liam! You scared the shit out of me,” I snap, clutching my chest.
“My bad,” he mumbles, seeming completely sober but a rosy tint lingers on his swollen lips.
“Where the hell were you? I was worried!” I wave my hand and sigh. “Whatever, it’s fine. I’m glad you found us before I had to go look for you. We’re leaving soon.”
29
Aoi
Deafening silence welcomes us as Jason leads me into his place. It’s been ages since I stepped foot in his apartment. It brings back memories of the old times when I was still sixteen and blissful.
“Do you want a drink?” he asks, his tone dropping to a lustrous spark, igniting a flame in me.
I raise a brow. “I’m driving.”
“Just one,” he says, handing me a glass of whiskey. “For me.”
“I’d rather not.”
“I’ll give you a ride home. Don’t worry.”
“After you drank?” I scoff. “You’re certainly not into respecting the law for a lawyer.”
“Then you can just stay over?” He holds the glass under my nose. “At least until you sobber up?”
I eye the glass and give in. I take it from his hands, raising it to my lips and wincing at the biter warmth of the golden liquid. “I still hate whiskey.”
Jason merely laughs and gazes at me tenderly or maybe I’m just imagining the softness in his eyes. It’s easier to ignore everything that happened even if it’s already been three years sincethatnight.
“It gets better with time.”
I stare at him, holding back from telling him my true thoughts. He steps closer to me, never breaking eye contact. Ihave to keep it in to make this work. We will never be able to move on if I spill the vase now.
But-
“Say it.”
“Say what?”
He tilts his head as if the answer is flagrant. “You want to say something and it’s eating you up from the inside. Just tell me.”
“It’s nothing. I was just…thinking.”
This place hasn’t changed one bit since I moved out. The couch is still where it used to be next to the balcony window, sending fragments of passionate memories through me.
A large hand slides over my waist, pulling me into his broad torso. “What are you thinking about so deeply?” he murmurs against my ear.
I lean my head to the side, bestowing my neck as an offering to his lips. He presses gentle kisses over my nape and pulls me further against him.
I close my eyes and part my lips, momentarily forgetting where I am. “I just remembered my first time.”
It’s true. This place reminds me of how it all started.
He halts, his lips hovering over my shoulder and spins me around. “Oh really?”
