Page 101 of Awestruck at Dusk
William licked his lower lip and said, “Yum.”
My body shrank at the sight of him doing that and the way he saidyum. So I took a drag on my cigarette because, again, it was my best friend in situations like these. You smoke instead of replying, and it fills the silence.
Zara stepped out of the house in the distance, so I stood up to join Nathan. I saw her struggling to connect the iPod to the speaker.
“Wait,” William said in that deep, husky voice of his.
“No. Zara will be back any second now, and I don’t want her getting any more jealous than she already is. Besides, she’s drinking Nemorino’s, and we both know it does wonders for her.”
“I wouldn’t know,” William said with an expressionless face.
“I’m sure she can pull a last-minute switcheroo with Tobias,” I replied in a hushed voice and a wink. “Besides, the walls here are thicker, so you don’t have to worry about anyone listening.”
“Sit.”
I laughed and pointed at him with my cigarette. “No.”
Zara finally managed to connect the iPod, and the loud house music flooded the garden. She went back inside the house, probably to get William’s beer.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, and something tells me you don’t either,” William said, standing up, his palms rooted to the table. He leaned in and said, “You’re so jealous you can’t even stand yourself.”True. “It’s as if you wanted a tailor-made excuse to help you choose between him and me. But I’m sorry to tell you this as much as it burns and makes your mind want to flip. I’mnota dick. Deal with it.”
I picked up my spritzer and said before walking away, “Zara’s gonna be here any minute now, and I need to go back with Nathan.”
“Guillermina.” William’s commanding voice made me stop after a couple of steps and look over my shoulder. I lifted my brows as in,what can I do for you? “Don’t you fucking dare have sex withhimin this house.”
I laughed, just to piss him off. But it wasn’t funny at all. Besides, for all I knew, he was taking that Rachel girl to bed back in South Africa, and knowing how he was, he would probably find the way to get Zara into his bedroom tonight. So it was more than infuriating for him to ask that of me.
William walked around the table and closed the distance between us. He leaned in to say, “I willburnthis house to the ground if you do.”
“That would be a shame,” I said with a blank smile.
“I’m dead serious. If you ever have sex in this house, it’s not going to be with him.” His jaw popped, and his hands clenched into fists. “Now go use that creative mind of yours to make up an excuse when Nathan tries to take you to bed tonight.”
“I won’t make promises I can’t keep.” Let him burn on the thought and the possibility just as I would. I lifted my glass and said, “But thanks for the drink.”
The Vasovagal Syncope Convenience
THE REST OFthe evening was pretty uneventful, William-wise. But I sensed a shift in his saucy attitude after our little talk. He’d turned it down a few notches. Or better said, he ignored me.
We all managed to get through the diverse activities that Lily had planned for us without any issues and getting along just fine.
Everyone drank as usual except for Lily and me. I still hadn’t forgotten the vomiting episode on my birthday, so I tried to be aware of my alcohol intake today. And Lily was busy playing host and making sure everything was perfect. I only saw her having a single glass of wine while eating.
Nathan was in a cute-drunkish, still-very-much-operational level. I was happy to see him relaxing and having fun since he was so busy and stressed out all the time. I thought it’d do him good to blow off some steam.
Zara wascomfortably numb, to put it mildly. But at least she mingled with everyone and didn’t follow William around like she usually did.
It was 8:00 p.m., and the sun was beginning to set. I chatted with Lily when I felt Nathan’s arms wrapping around my waist. He kissed my hair and said, “Lily, can I steal her away for a minute?”
“Sure.” Lily smiled and walked away.
“What’s up?”
“Nothing, I just wanted to tell you that I have to travel to London this Monday,” Nathan said. “For a week.”
Damn it. We had tickets for a Broadwaymusical next week. Nathan had to convince my father to allow me to go since he was apprehensive about me going to the theater.
When I asked for permission to go to the Metropolitan Opera back in December, he agreed because we had boxed seats, but we didn’t this time. My father’s mind worked in mysterious ways. It was hard for me to understand his judgment sometimes.
