AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Youhaveto come,” she says, sensing my reluctance.
“I’ll go, but I need more wine first.”
She tops me up again—though I’ve only taken a sip of my wine once since the last time—almost to the rim, but it’s still not enough.
CHAPTERTWENTY-FOUR
Imani and Freya apply their lipsticks in front of the large mirror in the living room. I should be standing with them, perfecting my appearance, drinking wine. Okay, Iamdrinking wine, but I’m also cowering on the sofa, hating the fact that I’m nervous to see Casper.
Three glasses of wine, though, and there’s no sign of those butterflies going away. I’m now on the fourth, hoping that’s the magic number.
He hasn’t called or messaged all day, but neither have I.
I haven’t missed many of their parties, so it will be obvious to Casper if I skip this one. I’m not sure I want to skip it, anyway. Hopefully, I’ll know what he’s thinking when I see him.
Unless he’s wearing his poker face.
What I should have done was start laying the ‘I’m ill’groundwork earlier today. If I suddenly pretend I’m coming down with something now, the girls will get suspicious.
Plus, Casper would know that I was being a chicken even if I told him last week that I was getting ill.
There doesn’t need to be any awkwardness between us, though. We’re both adults who had sex. Very good sex that I wish hadn’t been with him. But it happened. Twice. Now we can be civil—maybe—and either move on… or we can continue to sleep together in secret.
I know which option I vote for.
“You ready, Ains?” Imani asks, locking eyes with me in the mirror.
“Sure,” I reply. ‘Sure’ has never sounded so much like ‘no’ before.
I’m so nervous, bile creeps up my throat.
I hate feeling like this. I have no control because I shouldn’t want to be anywhere near him, yet here I am. There’s a push and pull I have when it comes to him. My head wants a lot of distance between us, but my heart wants the opposite.
I’m dressed in a khaki skirt, a black V-neck vest, and my heels. My hair has been styled in loose curls, and my face glows with a little make-up. I look ready, at least.
“You want lippy?” Freya asks.
“No, thanks, I have a tint.”
Because in my idiot mind, I’m invisible without lipstick. There is no way Casper will see me with only lightly tinted pink lips, obviously. I’m a fucking moron. He’s making my IQ plummet.
Also, no one else will see lipstick on him if… you know.
“Let’s go, then.”
They’re both wearing tiny dresses, having made more effort than I have. Marvin will lose his mind when he sees Imani.
We talk the seven steps from our front door to theirs. It seems much closer today, as if someone has moved the door over a little. Imani lets us in, and we walk through the house, into the kitchen. The place is already heaving. I could’ve guessed that from the noise through the walls, though. People are crammed into the kitchen, grabbing drinks, messing around. I’ve overheard someone talking about a bet on who will go home with Mia, as well as a couple arguing over whether messaging someone else is cheating.
Depends on the content and whether the messages are secretive, to me.
The air is thick and hot with the smell of beer and whiskey floating through the hall. Casper’s aftershave is mixed in there, too. I think I smell it everywhere now, even when he’s nowhere around.
We push past the final group of people standing in front of the fridge, and that’s when I see him talking with a friend.
My breath catches at the sight of him laughing at something Mason says, then he turns and immediately looks at me. It’s a little disconcerting when he does that. No scanning the crowd, just finding me straight my way.
Goosebumps scatter along my arms.
