Julian’s POV
I was leaning against the hood of my car, the tal warm through my jeans, but I barely felt it.
My mind was stuck in that empty lecture hall. I could still feel her lips on mine. I could taste that mix of mint and the sharp tang of fear that was always made to look like a challenge.
My fingers trailed around my lips, subconsciously. I let out a breath and found myself grinning at the pavent.
She could say whatever she wanted, she could lie to herself and she could try to convince everyone that she belonged to that suit-wearing idiot Dante, but her body didn’t lie. The way she had arched into , the way her breathing had hitched when I bit her lip showed that she was mine and mine alone.
I just had to keep pushing. I still had a few more taunts up my sleeve. I would have to corner her a few more tis, seducing her until she couldn’t breathe, and she’d crack. She’d co crawling back to just to get that fix she was trying so hard to deny.
"You look like you just won the lottery or like you are thinking of banging a hot chick. It’s hard to tell with you. What’s up?"
The voice snapped out of it instantly. I felt the muscles in my face stiffen, the grin vanishing as fast as lightning as if it had never been there. I looked up to see Gabriel standing a few feet away, his bag slung over his shoulder. He was looking at with an inquisitive, annoying expression, stepping closer and stopping three steps away from .
"What are you talking about? I wasn’t looking like anything," I snapped, straightening up and pulling a pack of cigarettes from my pocket.
"Hmm. Doesn’t seem so. I’m not blind. Your expression gave you out. So tell what was making you grin so hard?"
"You are being dramatic. I’ve told you once in the past, to stop trying to figure things out from my expression."
He took a step closer, his eyes scanning my face with a slow, calculating look. "Hmm. You were grinning from ear to ear, Julian and now you are becoming very defensive. There can only be one reason why a man would act this way."
I stared at him with an eyebrow raised, waiting for him to co with so nonsense. "You have fallen in love?"
His words seized my voice and made question myself. Have I fallen in love with Catherine? Is what I feel for her more than I think?
"I’m right. Fuck! This is a little disturbing." Gabriel’s voice ca again while I stared at him, wondering what he was insinuating now.
"Of all won to develop feelings for, you chose that pest, Lucy."
I almost coughed out when he ntioned Lucy’s na.
"Bullshit," I replied, my voice cold.
"No need to feel ashad. I didn’t believe you were capable of that much emotion either but it’s happened. The only problem now is you fell in love with a mad woman."
"I’m not in love with Lucy, you are making up stupid thoughts," I muttered, flicking a lighter. "If I was grinning, then I think it’s because of the weed," I added, raising the cigarette higher for him to see.
"Oh. Yeah. Could be that," he accepted with his words, but his voice dripped with sarcasm, thought didn’t push. He just held out his hand. "Almost forgot I ca to you for my phone."
I reached into my pocket and tossed the device at him. He caught it effortlessly, and imdiately started going through it. I watched him out of the corner of my eye, watching as his brow furrowed like he saw sothing. It made feel a bit uneasy, so I asked him, "Is there a problem? Did you see sothing."
"That’s weird," Gabriel muttered, looking back up at . "You said you needed to make a call, but the call log is completely empty. You didn’t even dial a number?"
Relief washed over when I heard him. He didn’t see anything that hinted I used his phone to reach out to Catherine.
I blew out a cloud of smoke, staring him down like he was being a nuisance. "That’s because I deleted it."
"You deleted it?" Gabriel repeated, sounding genuinely confused. "Why would you bother doing that?"
"Because it’s private," I said, my voice hardening. His eyes remained on , like he was expecting more explanation. "What, Gabe? After I used your phone to make the call, I wiped the log so you wouldn’t be in my business. End of story."
He gave this look like a detective trying to spot a lie in a witness statent. He wasn’t convinced I was telling the truth.
"Right," he said slowly. "I get it now. Bravo! You used my phone to reach out to one of those girls you’re seeing behind Lucy’s back. You didn’t want the number traced back to you if things got ssy."
I felt a sudden jolt of guilt in my chest, but I shoved it down. I was about to tell him to fuck off when Gabriel’s tone shifted, getting a bit louder, his eyes dropping back to his screen.
"Well," Gabriel began with a tight voice. "I hope she knows she shouldn’t try calling this line to reach you. You know how much I hate the feeling of living in your shadow."
I turned away, scratching my left eyebrow to hide the flicker of frustration on my face. "If only you knew it was Catherine," I mumbled under my breath.
"What was that?" Gabriel asked, looking at sharply. "Did you say sothing?"
"Nothing," I barked. "I said nothing. Just give it a rest and focus on scrolling through your phone, bro."
"Maybe you are the one who needs to give it a rest," he shot back and turned, walking away.
As for , I was about to get into the car and leave when sothing caught my eyes. Catherine and Dante stepped out into the afternoon sun.
What’s she still doing with that guy!
My grip tightened on the car door until my knuckles turned white. From where I stood, I locked eyes with Catherine. She looked different than she had in the hall; more composed but I knew what was under that mask. I wanted to scream at her, to remind her of how she had just felt in my arms.
But then my gaze drifted lower, and my breath seized.
Dante was walking beside her, too close. But it was their hands that made my blood turn to ice. They were holding hands, fingers intertwined, swinging slightly as they walked toward his car like they were so perfect, happy couple.
I felt my teeth clamp together so hard I thought they might shatter. The happiness I felt earlier about finally getting Catherine back— little by little, now sounded like a big joke to . He was touching her in public and the worst part was, she wasn’t pulling away.
A question popped into my head. "What if she is truly in love with Dante?"
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