Page 70 of Piece By Piece

When I come back, my friends are all happily conversing. For once, at least, I see that Aliena and Mattheo aren’t touching.

By the end of the hour, the private room has filled with a few selected outsiders. One of them is the red-haired girl Mattheo chewed my ear off about at school one day, Miriam or something. Once she arrived, I felt the tension ease out of my body.

It’s clear that he’s head over heels for her. He hasn’t taken his gaze off her since she settled on the couch between him and Aliena. Or his hands, for that matter.

Aliena is mostly catching up with Lily and I’m glad to see that they seem fine again, no strain in their talks.

At one point, my best friend grows sick of me and gets to his feet, reaching out to take Lily’s hand. “You guys, it’s been a pleasure but I feel like dancing with my girl for a bit. See you later,” Andrew announces, already dragging a giggling Lily behind him.

Right on cue, Mattheo shoots his date a questioning glance and the pair gets to their feet too. “Well, I think we’ll join them downstairs,” Mattheo says, looking at Aliena sheepishly.

Realizing that he probably feels weird or guilty for ditching his old dance partner, Aly smiles comfortingly. “Have fun,” she assures him subtly. Seeming relieved, Mattheo leaves with his new girl, leaving my roommate and me alone with a few near-strangers.

“So,” she starts awkwardly. “I’m guessing you don’t care to dance?”

“You’re guessing correctly. All our friends are downstairs, and I don’t feel like answering their million questions,” I confirm more harshly than intended.

It occurs to me that I should pick my words with more care but it seems our earlier talk is bothering me more than I thought. Suddenly alone with her now, my frustration and the sting of her rejection make me sound angrier than I am. All I really want is for things to just be easy between us, but I don’t have a single clue where I’d have to start to get there.

She huffs and gets to her feet, clearly fed up with my tone. “Right. Have fun up here, then.” She tries to head to the door but as she passes me, I reach out to gently grab her wrist.

“Where are you going?” I ask, trying and failing to soften my voice so she knows I’m not trying to be a jerk.

“To dance.” Her eyes narrow on me, the defiance I thought we’d gotten past rising in those honey eyes. “I’m not going to stop doing what I love just because you refuse to do it with me.”

“Mattheo is dancing with Miriam,” I try to reason with her. Dammit, we talked about exclusivity just this afternoon.

“Then I’ll just have to find someone else to dance with,” she retorts, the challenge thick in her words. All my thoughts of keeping the peace go flying out the nearest window as my blood pressure rises.I’m losing her.

“I told you what happens when you let another guy touch you, Aly. I wasn’t kidding,” I say like a controlling, violent bastard I never thought I’d be.Just like your father. The first hint of trouble and you’re turning into the man you despise.My heart pinches painfully in my chest, blood rushing in my ears.

I always thought my need to be respectful with women at all times was ingrained into my very last cell, so why am I losing my temper now when I want to make thingsbetter.

It’s like I’m a bystander, watching myself from outside of my body. I know what Ishoulddo, and yet I lack the control to make myself comply.

“Then grow some balls and join me,” Aliena fires back, her words more cutting than I ever heard her.

For a second, I gape at her.Stay calm. Fix this.But a much louder voice in my head bursts at the seams with indignation. Where the hell is this coming from? It’s like she has to prove a point again, same as when she refused to sleep in my bed anymore.

“You’re the one that doesn’t want to tell our friends where you live!” I remind her.

“Yes, I know. But you not dancing with me has nothing to do with that. That’s all you and your stupid fear of damaging your fucking image. I thought we were done with this after we shook on being friends. I guess what you meant was that we’d be friends in private. What a shame it would be if the great Sebastian, grinch of Hartford U would be seen dancing and having fun with the same girl twice in a row,” she spits.

I lose my temper entirely, my grip slipping. “Oh, you’re talking about stupid fears now? Never mind that your fear of being dependent on anyone but yourself is full-on self-destructive,” I snap right back.

She huffs and crosses her arms. “You know what, I don’t feel like arguing with you right now. I’m going dancing.” This time when she turns, I don’t stop her, glaring at her back until she slams the door shut behind her. Ifanyone in the room wasn’t staring at me before, they sure are now.

Fantastic.

I brood in the room for about twenty minutes before I can no longer stand it. My mental clarity is still lacking and maybe it would be best to wait until I’m feeling more rational, but I can’t sit still anymore. Not even sure what my intentions or next steps should be, I walk down the hall and gaze upon the dancefloor. My eyes look for a certain golden-haired woman on their own accord.

Quicker than should be possible, I find her swaying figure. My rage dims, my thoughts come to a stop, and my breath catches. I almost forgot how mesmerizing she is when she dances.

So much has happened since I last saw her like this.

The short moment of admiration is interrupted when she turns to look over her shoulder, her features lighting up with a megawatt smile as she faces the guy behind her. The guy, who I now realize has his hands all over her as she pushes her body up against his.

The kindle of good feelings snuffs out in my chest.

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