Jesus!
"Stop being a trouble maker; and as I seem to recall, you already have a date for this party!" I pointed to myself.
"Never stopped me before," he whispered into my ear. "That's what makes these things so much fun."
"Fuck off," I hissed, leaning back. "That's your brother. Have you no loyalty?"
Something in his eyes changed, they widened, seemingly appalled. "Don't you low-blow me again. I'm warning you now."
"I thought you liked it when I talk to you like you are an asshole?" I remarked, looking away from his angry glare. "You can't pick and choose what I can belt at you. Whatever I think you deserve, I'm gonna shoot at you. And right now, you're being a prick."
"Oh, really? I'm being a disloyal prick right now? Were you here just a second ago? Do you think I forgot how golden boy just grabbed you and whispered things into your ear right in front of me? How come it's okay for him to do it?" Xander was furious.
Shit! I had nothing... silence it was.
"That's what I thought," Xander snapped quietly. "Come on; let's find our seats and get this thing over with."
He grabbed my arm delicately and led me to our table. Before sitting himself, he pulled out my chair. Which was odd, considering he was a natural-born princess boy. This guy didn't make sense: one minute-one thing, the next-another...usually something fucked-up. I couldn't keep up.
"Why'd you bring me here? You've got all these girls, probably on speed dial, that would have come with you and conceded to your ever demand," I asked, confused and slightly deflated as he took the seat beside me.
Xander avoided my gaze. He grabbed a crystal glass filled with ice water and brought it to his lips. "I have my reasons," he said after drinking his water.
"Yeah, you always do." I looked away, placing my clutch onto the table.
None of this made sense. Why was I here? He could have brought with him a hundred other girls who were probably waiting beside their phones for his fake ass.
Whatever! I'm not asking any more questions. I don't fucking care.
My stomach gurgled loud enough for me to hear. I turned to him, "Will there be food at this thing?"
"Yes," Xander responded curtly.
"Well, where is it?" I replied, irritated. "I'm starving."
"A late lunch will be served shortly," Xander explains, not bothering to look at me.
"I'm hungry now!" I whined, not caring if I mad a spectacle of myself.
I don't fucking care anymore! I'm sick of it, sick of him...of everything, and if I'm not given some food, there will be hell to pay. If he thinks I was bad before, he's seen nothing yet.
I'm famous for being bad at parties, after all.
His nostrils flare; his eyes widen at my tone and volume.
Yeah, I do that too, bitch! I silently told him with my eyes, which I hoped were also reading 'crazy ass bitch'.
"I'm hungry! I need food right now. I need to be fed. You dragged me out for this whole adventure without even feeding me!" I snapped quietly.
I mean business. I'm sure he's regretting bringing me here now.
I smiled a little inside.
Xander leaned closer, "Well, if I knew you were hungry before, I would have fed you." He leaned back, smiling to himself.
What is that smile for?
I don't have the energy to decode his shit right now.
"You're a shit date, you know that?" I groaned, finally looking away. Xander's phone rang, interrupting the tension between us. He took it out of his jacket pocket and quickly got up.
"I have to take this privately; I'll be back shortly," he said.
"Wait what?" I spat out, taken off guard. "You can't leave me!"
"I'll be back soon," he promised and disappeared into the crowd, leaving me alone.
Hmmmm...what is he up to now?
Fifteen minutes later, there was still no sign of the asshole. The pervert had completely disappeared from the party.
I was starving, especially with how little I ate yesterday, then eating nothing today. If I didn't get some food inside me soon I'd pass out.
Which would be bad, considering I was at a lavish party and in a dress I could never afford on my hourly wage back at 4Scoops.
Don't think about work. Thinking about returning to my dead-end job would only fuel the depression I could already feel sneaking in.
I hate my job, I stared at the rich crowd around me. I didn't belong here as a guest; if they all knew who I really was, I'd be stripped of this fab dress, ordered into a uniform, and handed a serving tray.
My shoulders slumped. Ehhhh...I need a self-help book right now!
"Hello, testing. One, two," a hushed but amplified voice echoed out all of a sudden. "Thank you all for coming today. Will you all please help yourselves to the hors d'oeuvres table prepared by the one and only Chef..."
What? Did I hear food, available now? I scoured the area like a hawk for any signs of food. From the corner of my eye, ten servers walked out of the house holding large covered trays.
"Yes," I hissed to myself.
Fuck Xander.
I wasn't waiting for his horny-ass to return. I was gonna go get me some food. I gracefully got up, smoothing the to-die-for dress in the process, and headed toward the veranda.
I'm going to eat...I'm going to eat! Half the party crowded around the appetizer table. I squeezed through two older men and grabbed a plate.
Now what do we have here? I eyed the selection of colourful items and grabbed the first thing I recognized: pink macaroons. I took three.
"Treat me like that again and I'll sue!" a familiar voice hisses behind me, causing me to stop chewing.
Where have I heard that before? I swallowed the sweet bite. I turned around, catching sight of an older woman with wild, curly brown hair. She's stalking away with a glass of rose champagne from a redfaced, female server who held her empty tray tightly. She stared at the woman for a few seconds before walking away.
Why is my heart beating so fast? I faced the old woman again. She wore a sidestrap, violet dress that clings to her knees; it's decorated with small roses along the hem. Something about her wild, brown, curly hair stirs something within my memory, something that doesn't feel right, but nothing comes to mind.
"What's on your mind?" a deep voice murmured into my ear, causing me to jump. Before I twist my neck to see who it is, a hand caresses my arm. My head turned and in an instant, my eyes become mesmerized by a pair of deep-blue ones that turned my stomach into a butterfly sanctuary.
It's that damn Nancy Adams again...her 'Love' song played in my head as I lowered my gaze to his lush, plump lips. The small tip of his tongue made an appearance. I felt my jaw drop a little at the drool-worthy sight of him.
Why did he have to be so gorgeous? And the fact that he's normal made it worse.
How was I going to get through this? I felt flushed, hot, dizzy, hot guy-struck.
I wasn't going to make it; it's as simple as that!
Maybe I should hold on to his hard, muscled arm for support, just in case I passed out.
Which would be bad...very bad.
Snap out of it! He's Xander's brother, nothing more! And close your fucking mouth; you're worse than a dog panting for a bone.
His bone?
Stop it!
Deep breath! I closed my mouth, not wanting him to know that he affected me.
"Well, are you going to answer me or not?" he whispered, leaning in closer, with him holding my arm. I wasn't looking though; my eyes were busy somewhere else. Like for instance, how his deep blue eyes were going hard while scanning me.
I placed my plate of appetizers down on the buffet table.
"I was thinking," I faced him, giving him a knowing smile in the process, "where the fuck did my date run off to?"
"Must you use that language at my mother's home?" Liam sighed; his eyes twinkled with amusement.
"Spoken from the man who screamed everything but the phone book last night. And let us not forget that little display of affection you shared with Xander earlier."
Grinning widely now, I leaned in and whispered, "I didn't forget; but maybe you did, old man."
His nostrils flared as I leaned back. "Last night, we weren't at a civilized party; there's a time and a place to act certain ways."
"Are you sure about that? Because I'm sure there was a 'fucking' party going on last night too, and you were clearly interrupting," I informed him, and then tried to yank my arm out of his warm grasp.
He's too strong and unwilling.
"Oh, really? So you lied about your involvement then," Liam stated smugly.
"What? No!" My eyes bulged. "I was there to a pay a debt."
"And you paid it? How? By lying on your back?" he suggested.
"No!"
He grinned. "Stop lying."
"I'm not. I had nothing to do with his 'party'!"
"Sure you didn't," Liam assumed.
"You know what," I began, exasperated out of my mind.
Liam interrupted, getting right in my face, "What?"
Why did he need to know what exactly happened last night? Why did he care so much?
"Nothing. I'm at a party. It's not appropriate at a civilized party like this."
"What? You were going to call me something bad?" Liam sneered.
"No, I was going to skull-fuck you in front of everyone. So yeah, inappropriate!" I glanced at the party that was unaware of us fighting. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a pervert to go find."
Liam stayed put, so I walked around him; my shoulder brushes against his arm, instantly growing goose bumps.
Deal with that!
I made it three steps before a firm hand grasped my arm again, pulling me to a stop.
"Don't run away from me; I won't bite," Liam whispered into my ear.
"What do you want from me, Liam? I told you the truth; what else is there?" I stressed to him.
His fingertips glided up my arm and stopped at my jawline, where he began to caress me. "Why are you here, Marisa? I told you last night, you should stay away from the likes of Xander."
"It's not that complicated, Liam. Xander asked me for a favour and I said yes," I explained.
He looked at me like he wanted to shake me. "He's trouble, Marisa; I thought you realized that by now," he whispered worriedly.
"I know, but we're sort of friends now," I told him. We're friends now? I can't believe I just said that.
"Friends?" Liam laughed in disbelief.
"Yeah, friends," I retorted.
"Xander doesn't do friends; I doubt he knows the definition of loyalty," Liam said, shaking his head, looking at me like I was a stupid idiot. "Your friendship is fictional; it doesn't exist."
I yanked my jaw out of his reach, "Well, it seems like he's trying. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go find my date!"
I swirled around quickly, leaving Liam's space.
Don't look at me like I'm stupid! I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs. I was sick of people looking at me like I was a fool.