Page 63 of Lilies from Hell

The screams of a woman a couple of tables away catch our attention when we already sat our arses. They’re coming from his table. The woman is totally enraged, spitting furious words at one of the burly men there. I gasp when she throws a drink at him. He looks at her furiously and stands up, slapping her so hard that I almost believe he broke a bone. Then he drags her by her hair to somewhere far away from the room. Romina’s blond friend is also there, but he just laughs his arse off and watches the scene with amusement.

“Wow. Now that’s a good show,” Grace says, taking a swig from the flask.

I look back at that place again, this time his blue eyes stare at me angrily, making me frown. What am I supposed to have done now? It’s his friends who are causing a scene.

“Isn’t that Sergei?” Grace says beside me, her eyes fixed on his table. “And he’s in good company.” I stay silent, pressing my lips together and ignoring his icy stare that is beginning to pierce my forehead.

“Ladies, here you go.” Liam appears out of nowhere with a couple of unopened cans of Coke.

It is then that I remember his words and understand the reason for his sudden anger, but I do nothing. If anything, I’m planning to make him more pissed. I refuse to be the only one dying of jealousy here. It’s not like I’m jealous of the two girls, anyway. I just want to know what they were talking about before. I’m dying to know.

22

“Thanks, but you really didn’t have to bother,” I say.

He smiles back at me and sits down to my left. Grace on my right is pouring some soda into the two glasses.

“How have you been? What have you been up to these days?” He puts one of his arms around my shoulders, but I don’t bother to push it away. He has some strange scars on his lips. They don’t look very recent.

“Nothing interesting. How about you?” I say, taking a sip from my cup.

“Apart from missing you, trying to enjoy my holidays,” he murmurs shyly, after licking his lips. Grace makes a sound like she’s about to gag before getting up.

“I’m going out dancing,” she says before leaving.

“I don’t want to offend your friend, but we’re much better off alone, don’t you think?” He asks in my ear, making me grimace uncomfortably.

“It depends,” I push his arm away. Then I take a long sip from my glass, trying to erase the awkwardness of the moment.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. Sometimes I’m very impulsive.”

“It’s okay,” I say, looking back at him and taking another sip of my drink.

You can tell from a mile away that his jaw is tense and his eyes are brighter than before. The brunette girl next to him is talking nonstop while hugging his biceps covered by the black shirt he’s wearing. Every now and then, the same girl glances at me with a smile that I would love to wipe off her face with my fist.

“Do you know him?” Liam asks.

“No,” I hasten to say. “He’s just a business partner of my mother’s.” He nods slightly, fixing his gaze on my eyes.

“He seems jealous,” he murmurs with a smile I can’t quite read.

“I don’t think so.” I smile, leaving the empty glass on the table. Then I point to his lip with amused eyes. “Your girl’s pretty feisty, huh?” I ask with a smile. He shakes his head with a weird smile.

“The only feisty thing was my fall,” he says, shrugging his shoulders. Then he moves a little closer until our faces are inches apart. “Why don’t we do something to see who’s right? If I win, you let me buy you a drink, and if you lose, you buy me one. How about it?”

“Something like what?” I ask, raising my eyebrows.

He just stays silent. Then I watch in horror as he closes his eyes and brings his face closer to mine. Before I know it, his lips are on mine, but it only takes a few seconds before I push him away.

“Why did you do that? You shouldn’t have done that.” My words come out rushed.

“I was just playing around, I’m sorry,” he says, biting his lower lip. “Don’t be angry.” I pull my hand away before he can take it.

“I’m going to the bathroom,” I mutter brusquely, feeling uncomfortable and strange.

Does he plan to steal kisses from me every time he sees me now? We’re not teenagers playing around kissing in front of everyone.

Without waiting any longer, I turn around, wanting to disappear from that scene as quickly as possible. I snort when I see the long line of people waiting. No way am I going to wait in that line. Then I return to the VIP area. However, he blocks my way with a very unfriendly look on his face before I could even make one more step. I want to turn around and go somewhere else to avoid him, but he grabs my arm and stop me. The next thing I know is that I’m on his shoulder with my arms and head hanging as if I were a ragdoll.