She had no fucking idea.
“So, Norlan. Have you finally gotten yourself a woman?” She asked, her attention still on the Tab.
I saw the way Norlan froze, unsure of how to answer the question. His fingers tightened subtly around his glass, the easy amusement he’d worn a second ago slipping, if only for a fraction of a second.
I almost smirked.
Almost.
He exhaled, “That depends. Are we counting fleeting encounters or just the ones that last longer than breakfast?”
She let out a breathy chuckle. “Oh, Norlan. You’re still the same, aren’t you?”
Something flickered across his face before he took a slow sip of whiskey, masking whatever reaction had almost surfaced.
Norlan set his glass down slowly, fingers lingering on the rim before pulling away.
“You wound me, June,” he said in a teasing voice. “I’m entirely capable of holding on to a woman for longer than a single night.”
Her lips curled, playful. “Oh? Since when?”
The comer of Norlan’s mouth twitched, but the humor didit quite reach his eyes. “Since the last time you asked me that same question.”
She let out an effortless smile, oblivious to whatever she was stirring within my friend I don’t give a fuck about it, though.
Notlan’s fingers tapped against his knee in a slow and thoughtful manner. And then, for the briefest second, his gaze dropped to the curve of her jaw. But he caught himself quickly, masking it behind another sip of whiskey.
I said nothing. Just leaned back, taking in the silent struggle playing out across his face.
June, still focused on her tab, kept talking. Something about floral arrangements now.
And Norlan-he responded when necessary and played along, but there was something off about the way he did it. A fraction too careful.
Because June wasn’t his to want.
She never had been
And yet, his eyes kept betraying him.
Like now-when she tilted her head, her hair slipping over one shoulder, and his gaze flickered down before he could stop it.
My best friend was losing his grip.
“I can’t decide between peonies or garden roses,” June mused, tapping a finger against her chin. “Peonies feel more elegant, but garden roses have that classic charm.”
Norlan swallowed hard, then forced himself to smirk. “Oh, is this where I’m supposed to pretend I have a strong opinion on flowers?”
She laughed, nudging him lightly with her elbow. “It wouldn’t kill you.”
His lips parted like he wanted to say something-something real, something he’d never let slip-but he hesitated. And that hesitation cost him.
June had already moved on, already typing something else into her Tab.
I watched Norlan’s jaw tighten, his grip on his glass, just a little too firm.
The poor bastard.
He was holding on to something he wasn’t even allowed to reach for.
And she completely, stupidly, recklessly didn’t even see it
Maybe if she had, she would have left me the fuck alone.
KASMINE
I have been feeling a bit too weak lately. It had been four days since we returned from the Maldives, yet my body still felt sluggish and drained.
At first, I thought it was the stress from the entire trip, but how I was beginning to think otherwise.
Could it be that I caught the flu during our stay there?
I couldn’t afford that right now. My birthday was in eleven days, and the last thing I wanted was to look pale and exhausted on a day that was meant to be… perfect.
The reality hit me mildly.
Eleven days
And Thadn’t even begun preparations yet. Murn was probably already deep into planning, shaping everything into her own version of perfect. But I also had some things I’d like to add to her ‘perfect’ list.
Scrap that.
This year’s birthday is meant to be very significant. I needed to be in full control, not just a passive guest at my own event.
She would have to work with me. Not the other way around.
I pulled open the drawer beside my bed, my fingers finding the small bottle tucked inside as I took a tablet of my birth control pills.
I was left with just a few. I hope we’ll return to Kester’s house in time before I exhaust them. I’d have to restock soon, but not from here-not anywhere near the house. If Mum ever found them, I wasn’t sure how she’d react, and I wasn’t about to find out.
It feels weird.
Some things were better left undiscovered.
Dropping the bottle in the drawer, which I always lock because I wouldn’t want Kester to find out that I’m on the pills, my fingers brushed the jewelry box Jake had given me, and a smile spread across my face.
I borrowed Mum’s phone last night and called Jake. We spoke at length, and I couldn’t help the velvety tips of butterfly wings that brushed against my heart at all the sweet things he said to me.
“This if love.”
I kept repeating the mantra each time I thought about Jake. Not that I was trying to convince myself, but… I mean… I was already convinced what I felt for Jake was love. I didn’t need anyone to explain that to me.
What I felt for Kester was nothing more than… I could call it a thrill… I didn’t feel anything other than that for him.
Even though he made my heart flutter in ways that felt… dangerous.
Even though his presence unsettled something deep inside me, something I refused to name.
Even though a single glance from him sent fire licking up my spine, spreading low in between my thighs and dec inside my core until I could barely breathe.
Even though my body, my mind, my very soul bent to his will, answering him before he even spoke.
Even though two days without seeing him left me restless, unraveling, and on the verge of losing my mind.
Even though he wielded my senses like a master puppeteer, bending them to his will with a mere flick of his paze
None of that meant I loved him.
Right?
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