“I did.” His breath brushed her lips.
Her heart stuttered. Maybe it was the rush of victory, maybe it was the way his eyes were still locked on hers like she was the only thing grounding him, but she leaned closer, her words barely a breath.
“I think you deserve a treat,” she murmured, soft and daring. “Something to make this look a little more believable.”
And then, before she could talk herself out of it, she kissed him. The noise around them vanished. His arms cinched around her waist, pulling her closer, and for a heartbeat the whole world seemed to tilt. His lips moved against hers, firm, sure, reverent, and something inside her cracked open. The taste of salt, the heat of his skin, the rush of his breath, it was dizzying, real, alive.
When they finally broke apart, foreheads resting together, he smiled, slow and disbelieving.
“What a treat,” he whispered, still breathless. “I knew you’d be amazing.”
And before she could find a single word, the crowd surged forward, sweeping him up and away, chanting his name.
She stood there, heart pounding, lips tingling, still feeling the echo of him everywhere he’d touched. He kept looking back for her as he was lifted above the crowd, his smile turning softer each time their eyes met.
That’s when she knew. She was in trouble.
Because now that she’d really kissed Ilias Ríos El Idrissi, she wasn’t sure she could ever pretend again. He was everything she wasn’t supposed to want, heat and chaos and heart, and yet, he made her feel more alive than she’d felt in years. And that terrified her more than anything.
24
ILIAS
Anyone For You (Tiger Lily) – George Ezra
What Ilias hadn’t expectedto witness, after winning another USL tour, after coming back from suspension, after that cock-hardening, heart-wrecking kiss from Sofia, wasdrunk Sofia.
They were all at the USL party. Alejandra and Sofia had started drinking the moment they walked in, “memory of old times,” they’d said. Amira had followed closely behind, and now the three of them were dancing on top of a table to some ABBA song.
“Why do all girls love ABBA?” Carlos appeared beside him, holding a glass of something alcoholic.
“Default setting, I guess. Like how we all pretend to care about cars and ‘man shit,’” Ilias replied dryly.
“Not drinking?”
“I quit two years ago.”
Carlos nodded. “How’s it going? You miss it?”
Ilias appreciated that he wasn’t trying to shove a drink into his hand like others had.
“I don’t miss it. I was a terrible person when drunk. I like seeing everyone else enjoy themselves.”
Carlos hesitated, then gulped. “Can I ask you something?”
Ilias arched a brow. “Go on.”
“Do you think Amira might be into me?”
His eyes widened. “She’s like... a baby.”
“She’s twenty-eight.”
“And you’re what, forty?”
“I’m thirty-five, idiota,” Carlos shot back, offended.
Ilias laughed, shrugged. “As for your question, I’ve no clue. She doesn’t talk about her feelings much. Especially not after what happened with Steven.”
