“Good evening, Mr. Cane,”the driver says as he opens the back door for us.
After Edwin and Genesis took off, we spent another five minutes on the dance floor before JP escorted me toward the back of the ballroom and sent a quick text. He then led me to the bar, where he handed me a heavy glass of wine and said we weren’t leaving until I finished it.
It took me no more than a minute.
With a wine belly and heavy heart, we made our way to the front of the mansion where JP’s driver just happened to be waiting. I’m not sure if Huxley set it up that way or if JP’s driver can drive at lightning speed, but I didn’t have to hang around the event for longer than I needed to.
JP helps me into the car and then slides in beside me. We both buckle up, and when the driver sits in his seat, JP says, “My house.”
I don’t have it in me to discuss the details, to consider if JP has any idea what’s going to happen tonight, so I lean my head to the side and look out the window.
The dark, starry sky looms over us as we drive through rows and rows of impressive houses. And with every gated home that we pass, I can’t help but wonder if the people who live inside that home are actually in love, or if they live in a world where ditching a date for someone else is the norm.
God, I expected so much more from Edwin, the bird-loving prick. He was so... nice. A bit of a nerd, but definitely someone I thought I could trust. Sure, we only went out for a few weeks, but I feel like I’m a good judge of character.
But Edwin’s actions reflected something I’d almost expect JP to do. And yet, JP was the one who made sure I didn’t look foolish, the one who carried me around the dance floor, and the one who made me forget, even if it was momentarily.
There seems to be some good in him, after all.
“He’s an idiot,” JP says as the car makes a right-hand turn and Huxley’s house comes into view.
“What?” I ask.
And instead of turning right into Huxley’s circular driveway, we turn left, to a large, looming gate that opens as we approach.
JP is silent for a moment, and when the car is parked, he holds his hand up to the driver and opens the door himself. Once outside of the car, he dips back in and holds his hand out to me. Disoriented, I take it and he helps me out of the car. The moment he shuts it, the driver takes off, leaving me alone under the stars with JP.
Together, my hand still in his, we stand in the driveway, the darkness of the night enveloping us. “Edwin,” JP says. “He’s an idiot.”
“He’s not an idiot, he was just—”
JP lifts my chin, forcing me to look him in the eyes. This time when he speaks, it’s more authoritative. “He’s an idiot, Kelsey. Do you know how I know he’s an idiot?”
From the sincere look in his eyes and the firm grip he has on my chin, I’m rendered speechless. I feel captured, captivated, and looped into this unexpected whirlwind of a night with JP. And I don’t know how to handle it.
JP takes a step closer and says, “Edwin is an idiot because he didn’t appreciate something other than the color of your dress. What he should’ve said the moment he saw you was how fucking breathtaking you look, how the yellow in your dress makes the gold in your eyes sparkle even brighter. He should’ve lifted your hand and pressed the lightest of kisses to your knuckles, just so he could claim you in front of everyone around him. His eyes never should have strayed from yours. And when he lowered your hand, he should’ve taken one more step closer to you, leaned inches from your ear, and said how intoxicatingly beautiful you smelled.”
My lungs have seized.
My legs have melted, like ice cream on a scalding day.
And my hand laced with JP’s trembles in his grasp.
What... what’s he doing?
Why is he saying these things?
What’s his end goal?
The romantic in me would love to believe he means what he just said. That hethinksthose things about me. But sadly, I suspect there’s only one end goal when it comes to JP and a girl, late at night, standing outside his house. I’m confident I know what he expects.And I’m not blind. I can understand the appeal. He’s an extremely handsome man, after all. He can pull you in with one look, one flash of his rakish eyes. You canfeelhis gaze.
Just like I can feel it now.
The flash of his eyes to my lips.
The dip of his tongue over his lips, wetting them. Preparing.
The step he makes to close the space between us one more time.
