Page 35 of King of Clubs

All of the air left my lungs with the pure possession emanating from his kiss. One hand firmly on my lower back, the other gracefully skating up my arm before lazily wrapping itself around my neck.

I held fists full of his shirt, desperate to remain upright as he took and I gave. His touch, his taste, superior in every way and when a sound akin to a growl rumbled in his throat, I knew I was done. I was putty, his to do whatever he pleased regardless of our friends sitting less than fifteen metres away. The rush of being with him, in the middle of the hallway where we could so easily be seen, euphoric. The intensity of his tongue pressing against my own made me dizzy. Any coherent thoughts gone. At that very moment, if he asked, I would have stripped naked and let him destroy me.

But like a jolt of cold reality, a chair pushing against hardwood flooring, brought me out of the passionate embrace and back to the hallway. I jumped backwards, my hand instantly pressing against my swollen lips, my eyes wide. Correspondingly, Seb’s hands fell to his sides, the hunger in his hazels the only indication he was also affected by that cataclysmic moment.

Hastily kissing my cheek, he stepped around me with a brief wink and entered the bathroom. The sound of the faucet the only indication I wasn’t delusional and the past five minutes wasn’t in fact a dream.

Grabbing hold of the wall with one hand, I reached around the back of my neck, my skin still tingling with the heat left from his touch.

When Arna turned the corner, I somehow managed to smile and walk towards her, internally wondering what the heck just happened and how we could recreate that exact moment again.

Sebastian

Chapter Thirteen

Metwithaseaof brake lights, I joined the evening chaos chaperoning the highway. I could have left earlier and avoided the stop-and-go of workers fleeing the city after a day at work, but the accompanying dread of heading home always saw me leaving later. The less time I spent in the place I called home for seventeen years, the better.

I tried using the trip to prepare responses to the predictable barrage that was my well-meaning but intrusive mother. Eva would do her best to take the heat off the fact that I was visiting again without any relationship prospects but it didn’t stop Mum pestering. Tonight was going to be worse than a regular family dinner though, because apparently I was meetinganothernew boyfriend.

This onewas different,as they all were, andgenuinely made her happy and feel loved. Again, so had the last five men I was forced to meet before they called it quits, leaving a broken version of the woman who raised me in their wake. As I usually did, I hoped this time would be different and he would stick around long enough to see that despite her intensity, she had a pure heart. But I was getting tired of the pressure it placed on Eva and I when we had to put her back together. It meant more trips home and a truckload of stress my sister didn’t need.

Exiting the highway, I drove through the familiar run down streets that indicated I was nearly home. Life wasn’t easy for the families living in Moorway and I felt fraudulent when I subconsciously worried about parking my Mercedes. I used to be one of those kids who was outside running around long after dark. Throwing little firecrackers on our neighbours’ porches and watching from afar as they blasted through the streets. But, I’d also been the child who spent many nights hiding under the covers while the neighbours screamed at each other, flinching at the backing track of slammed doors and breaking glass. I was only six when my father left after another loud argument where he blamed Mum for all of his weaknesses. I watched through my opened curtains as he swerved down the street and he never once bothered with Eva or I after that. Hence, the memories were bitter and coming back to the last place I saw him sometimes felt stifling.

As I grew older though, I was the teenager who dreamed of more while simultaneously feeling grateful for the support and care that Mum always provided. She did her best to raise us on a single income and her love was always reinforced with herus against the worldmentality. She sometimes still referred to us as the three Micalleteers and while I would openly groan and mock her, the sentiment reminded me of the times we were lucky enough to live in a house where the love was both unconditional and plentiful. Which was a lot more than many of the other residents in the dilapidated suburb received.

Once I arrived, I didn’t bother to knock, opening the familiar door and giving the chocolate-brown poodle a quick pet.

“Hey, Bud.” Eva and I bought him for Mum’s birthday a few years back when she was in one of her darker periods after another of her boyfriends disappeared without so much as a goodbye. Buddy provided a reason for her to get out of bed each day and now, with Eva often occupied working or studying, it was comforting knowing she wasn’t alone.

My sister sauntered down the stairs, her curls wrapped in her green satin bonnet, only adding to the sleepiness of her avocado pyjamas. “Thanks for dressing up for me, Sis.”

“Of course. Only the best for you, Sebs. Did you bring Marlee for dinner too?” Her tone was light but when I glared at her, her shoulders shook with suppressed laughter. Until now I’d been so focused on Mum giving me grief about my continued singledom I hadn’t even considered how much Eva would be itching to grill me.

“Don’t start. Nothing is going on,” I whispered. “If Mum gets a whiff ofanythingI will never hear the end of it and she will have a wedding planned for spring. It was a coincidence we saw them at the game,” I lied.

“Bullshit,” she whispered back, as Mum’s voice floated through from the backyard. “You better fill me in or I’m going to out you at dinner. PS – wait until you see Toby’s–” she was interrupted as Mum waltzed through the door, followed by a man who scarily resembled Humpty Dumpty.

My mother was quite beautiful and generally prioritised her health resulting in her looking much younger than her sixty years, however, she had a history of choosing men who did not afford themselves the same level of care. Toby, as Mum introduced him to me, appeared to be at least ten years older than her and definitely did not share her love of fitness. He thrust his hand out to me and I shook it in greeting, ignoring the soft grip, and reminding myself that he was making her happy.

For now.

“Sebastian, good to meet you, mate, your mum has told me a lot about you,” I nodded politely and did my best not to stare at the large gap that sat where his front tooth should have been. Eva was standing behind him, slightly higher as she moved to stand on the bottom stair giving her a clear view of my face.

She was grinning like the Cheshire Cat as she pointed to her own teeth. Again, her shoulders shook with what had always been her silent belly laugh and I bit the insides of my cheeks, doing my best not to upset my mother within the first five minutes of arriving.

There was still plenty of time for that.

“Good things I hope,” I replied, before kissing Mum on the cheek and embracing her.

“Hey, honey,” she said, her hands still on my waist as she assessed me like only a mother can.

“You look tired, are you sleeping?” Her eyes crinkled with concern. I wanted to feel annoyed at how she was constantly treating me like a child, yet I was overwhelmed with a sense of thankfulness that despite not seeing me in a few months, she never held a grudge.

“I’m fine, Ma. The club has just been busy,” I lied, knowing if I told her I had been spending my nights researching a woman I barely knew and a man she used to date, she would be all over me like white on rice.

Shetsked, appraising me, before, to my relief, changing the subject. “Dinner is ready. Get the drinks while Toby and I grab the food. Eva, set the table.” My stomach growled in response. My mum was an incredible cook and tonight would be no different. I headed for the fridge, stocked full of our favourite drinks; a supply of sparkling water with lime for me and a cola for Mum and Eva. I noted there was now a neat line of beers and knew it must be Toby’s drink of choice.

“It smells good, Mum, definitely better than the tuna and rice I would have eaten at home.” Handing Eva her soda, I placed a couple of the beers in the middle of the table and sat down with the water I grabbed for myself.

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