by Abbi Glines
“Me!” I blurted, jerking my hand out from under Heath’s, thankful for a reason to break that contact. I held out a hand toward Duely a little too anxiously. This was all too much to work through in one day: losing Mattia, realizing I have a thing for Rathe, needing a new job, and finding that my best friend may be suffering from the effects of the enchantment inside me I thought I’d protected him from. Wine sounded like a fine idea right now.
“That’s my girl! Drink up. I may make an alcoholic out of you yet. Two days in a row,” Duely said, walking over to place the wine in my outstretched hand. I wish I could enjoy this wine instead of needing to chug it down. Greta had left instructions with Jacque that the wine cellar and bar were to be cleared out. She said to send it home with responsible employees. Jacque had sent ten bottles of more expensive red wine with Heath, and he’d given me a box of white wines and the only bottle of Titos they had left in the bar. There would be no savoring the rich liquid. Duely was just a drinker. He wouldn’t savor it the way it should be either. Hopefully for Greta’s sake, someone enjoyed it properly.
Heath took the other glass and thanked him. Without waiting on him or anyone else to take a drink, I took one long gulp. It was delicious but I didn’t care about that right now. I just needed to relax. The ball of tension building in me was very close to exploding.
“Damn, girl, enjoy it. Don’t chug it,” Duely said, giving me a look that said we’d chat later. He knew my expressions too well. I had to cover up this sudden stress over Heath before Margo walked in and asked me what was wrong. Duely rarely savored wine. He didn’t care that I was drinking it fast.
“It’s been a day,” I told him sourly. He needed to let this go.
He didn’t look convinced. “I’m almost done. Y’all ready to eat or do you want to try the appetizers Margo made? I watched her do it, so they’re edible. Some crusty bread shit she put a lot of cheese and mushrooms on.”
Margo walked in carrying a plate and flashed us all a bright smile. Her cheeks were flushed, and I knew it had nothing to do with the wine. Duely had been up to something in there. I shot him a quick warning glare. He needed to keep his hands off my friends. All of them. I loved him, but he was too sexually promiscuous. He knew my rule.
“I made crostinis, and you forgot to mention the bacon. I added bacon to them. They’re delicious. I swear. Mom makes these and I used her recipe,” Margo explained as she held out the plate of appetizers with pride in her expression.
“If it’s mom’s recipe she’s right, they’re killer,” Heath said. “But Margo can’t cook for shit so I’ll be the one to test it first.”
Margo stuck her tongue out at Heath and handed him the plate to take a crostini. I didn’t wait for him to eat it and give a review. I went ahead and took one, too. I needed some food in my stomach since I had gulped the wine. Food had been something I hadn’t been in the mood for and drinking on an empty stomach would have me drunk in two more gulps.
“Brave,” Duely said to me, but he was doing it to tease Margo. He needed to lay off that. I was not in the frame of mind to deal with the drama that would cause.
“Not mom’s… but close,” Heath said, giving his sister a brotherly smirk. His sibling affection was clear when he spoke to her, even if they had their share of fights. I had always thought I was like a second sister to him. Did he smile at me like that? Maybe once he had, but he didn’t anymore, and I wondered if I had missed the moment when it changed. When had the difference started with him? My feelings hadn’t changed. Heath was my dear friend just like Margo. Was this all my exhaustion messing with my thoughts or was I just now seeing what I hadn’t noticed before?
I gave Margo a pleased smile when I realized she was looking at me. Margo wasn’t as observant as her brother. I didn’t need to give her cause to start asking questions. “These are excellent,” I assured her. I wasn’t sure if they were excellent or if I was just hungry from the stress. It didn’t matter because I was going to eat another one.
“Thank you,” she said and curtsied then set the plate down on the oversized round ottoman that they used as a place to prop feet and to set food in the living room. She didn’t seem to notice the mood change in here. She was probably slightly tipsy from the wine she’d been drinking in the kitchen while cooking with Duely.
“Where did the sex god go?” Duely asked looking around the room. That got my attention and I scowled in his direction. I wasn’t going to answer him. I didn’t want to think about or talk about Rathe. I wish he hadn’t brought him up. I wanted to just drink and eat.
“He had a date,” Heath confirmed my suspicion and then he took another crostini.
My chest felt that sharp pang I wanted to make go away forever. I hated feeling this way. This was so wrong. I wasn’t supposed to care. I couldn’t care. Rathe was so sure we’d be great friends; yet, I wasn’t sure I could let myself be near him.
“Ah, I see,” Duely said the words in a way that held inflection only I understood. He was calling me out on my mood. He thought this was all about Rathe being on a date. He had no idea the mountain of crap that had caused this need to drink. I felt like shoving a sock in his mouth. I could shut his mouth easily enough, and he knew it. I’d done it before with the brilliant addition of a zipper to replace his lips. Sure, it was childish, but then I was thirteen at the time.
I didn’t look at Duely. I took another drink of my wine instead. It was definitely smooth, and there was a fruity aftertaste that I should be enjoying and not gulping down like water.
“Easy, Snow White,” Duely warned, and I continued to ignore him. His nickname for me, to remind me of my naivety, was annoying. I turned my attention to The Office to see it was on the next episode. I tried to focus on the antics that normally made me laugh. Even with the wine, I still wasn’t finding it funny.
“Ignore him,” Margo said, walking back into the room carrying a new bottle of wine. “Looks like we need to break open another one.” She walked toward me. “You never drink. Enjoy it. We all need it tonight.” I let her fill my glass back up, and I felt the relaxing warmth that was starting to flow through my body. Taking another drink, I sat back and sighed from the slight numbness it was creating. She was right; I needed this. I was thankful for the yummy liquid.
I watched as Heath retrieved the cover that had fallen from my lap to the floor when I’d sat up so abruptly earlier. He covered my legs back up and that was nice. He was always nice. I smiled at him without worry that he felt other things. I was sure that I had been overthinking that. It was easier to relax now and not make things up in my head to stress about that weren’t even there. “Thank you,” I told him. “This wine is good.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, Cat, it is,” he agreed.
“I wonder how much it cost. The bottle that is, like, the whole bottle of wine,” I clarified.
“Oh shit,” I heard Duely mutter, and I wondered what was wrong with him. I didn’t glance at him though. He was getting on my nerves, and I was trying to enjoy my buzz.
“The restaurant got it at a discount, but this bottle normally sells for one hundred dollars give or take a few,” Heath told me. His shoulders were brushing mine as he leaned back and propped up his feet on the part of the ottoman the food wasn’t on. “We have two more bottles of the more expensive stuff in there. I put it up for a special occasion.”
I wondered what would qualify as a special occasion to Heath. “Graduation!” I said when I thought of it. Duely found my response funny for some reason, and I heard Margo laugh loudly with him. Heath just grinned down at me like he agreed that graduation was an excellent idea.
I took another drink and turned my attention to the television. Dwight and Michael were plotting in the staff kitchen and for the first time this evening, I laughed out loud. I knew what was about to happen next to Michael. The others were talking around me, and I felt the warmth from Heath’s body beside mine. We were
sitting closer than normal. My entire side felt his and I wondered if he realized we were this close. I started to asked when Duely walked back in the room with a plate of food he placed in front of me.
“Eat up, now.” He sounded rather demanding. I didn’t like to be bossed around, but I wasn’t going to argue. I was hungry, and I took the plate while adjusting my position by sitting up straight. I couldn’t eat while leaning back. I focused on my plate and tried very hard to get the food on my fork. It was more difficult than it should be. The noodles were very slippery tonight. It seemed they didn’t want to stick when I tried to spin them around properly.
“Help her, Heath!” Margo said loudly then laughed.
I glanced at her, and she was laughing at me. My noodle situation was what she found so funny. I probably did look ridiculous, and I laughed with her then I turned to Heath.
I smiled at him feeling all cozy and nice under the covers with the familiar scent of Italian food filling the space around us. He was watching me with such a sincere smile that I wanted to hug him, but I was holding my food and that was impossible. He reached for my plate “Here, let me,” he said. I willingly gave my plate away because I couldn’t make it cooperate. He, however, had no problem spinning the fettuccine around the fork. He was a pro at slippery fettuccine, and I had never realized it.
“Open up, Cat,” he said, and I did as directed, thankful for the help. The warm creamy taste hit my tongue, and I closed my lips around the fork. Duely had done a fantastic job with the sauce. He should keep more food in his fridge if he could cook like this. It was also possible he’d used magic to create this and that made me grin. He probably couldn’t cook at all.
“Is Catalina unable to feed herself?”
The voice. It was back. He was back. Happiness at his return was the only emotion I felt, and I didn’t mind at all. I opened my eyes to see Rathe across the room. I wanted to sigh or maybe I did sigh at the sight of him standing there in all his beauty. His perfect face was scowling. He looked beautiful when he was angry, too. I swallowed my bite of food then beamed at him. Maybe he was hungry, too. That always made men angry. When they were hungry, they got ornery. It was something one couldn’t miss when they served people food for a living. “Hello Rathe!” I said a little too loudly. Why was I yelling? Or was I?
He studied me closely, and I wiped at my face with my hand, thinking that the sauce might have gotten on me. I didn’t feel anything there, but then I was feeling a little light headed, so my judgment couldn’t be trusted.
“Why is Catalina drunk?” Rathe asked, glancing over to Heath then to Duely. He seemed unhappy about this.
“I’m not drunk,” I quickly assured him. I held up my wine. “This is only my second glass. I may be tipsy, though. Yes, I’m sure I am tipsy. If there is food on my face that is why.”
“It’s your third glass, and yeah, you’re a little more than tipsy, Snow White,” Duely said, and I studied him as I thought about his words carefully. I didn’t remember getting a second refill. When had that happened?
“She needed it. We all needed it. The break from everything,” Heath said. I agreed with that completely. I nodded my head. This was a much better feeling than what I’d been feeling before the wine.
“The wine is delicious. It’s the good stuff. Why is your date over already?” I hadn’t meant to ask him that. It had just come out of my mouth before I could think it through.
He wasn’t frowning as severely anymore. Possibly he was getting in a better mood. I hoped so. I wanted us all to be happy.
“It was a commitment. I fulfilled it,” he replied then walked toward the kitchen.
“Do we need to go?” Duely asked Heath.
Heath shook his head. “No, he’s good. Must have gone badly,” he said the last bit in a quieter tone.
Duely leaned back in the chair and kicked his feet up on the ottoman across from us. “Then let’s find something to watch that’s not stupid as shit,” Duely suggested.
Heath tossed the remote to him, and I drank some more of my wine. Then took another bite of my food as Heath held it out for me on the fork. I had missed him spinning it on the fork this time. “Eat if you’re gonna keep drinking,” he told me.
I chewed my food up and swallowed before replying “Yes sir.”
He gave a low laugh and held out another bite for me. I was chewing that up when I felt the sofa on the other side of me sink in as a warm body moved to settle beside me. I could smell the intoxicating sandalwood scent and closed my eyes to breathe it in deeply.
“What are you doing?” Heath asked, and I opened my eyes then swallowed.
“Rathe smells good,” I explained, then took a drink and sat back on the sofa my other shoulder now brushing against Rathe. That entire side of my body tingled with excitement from his nearness. I couldn’t make my body not like him. My body was of its own accord. Damn traitor. I was supposed to be his friend. My body needed to react to Rathe the way it did to Heath.
Turning my head toward his shoulder, I inhaled near his neck deeply. “It’s not fair you look like you do and smell that good,” I told him.
Margo giggled, and I thought I heard Duely say “Mother of God.” I wasn’t sure because the deep rumble of a laugh coming from Rathe was too distracting. He had a wonderful laugh, too. All these mesmerizing things about him and I had to be his friend. I needed him to be like Heath if he wanted to be friends.
Suddenly, I was sleepy. My eyes were heavy, and I was cozy near Rathe. Closing my eyes, I inhaled one more time then the darkness wrapped me up.
Sixteen
The Kiss
If there was a Heaven, belief was that I’d never make it through the gates. I was born with the dark soul that would keep me out. However, the warmth and scent surrounding me was my idea of Heaven. I couldn’t think of a more intoxicating place to be than where I was, and I felt the sleep slowly fade. My thoughts began to clear as I blinked once, twice, then opened my eyes widely when the black fabric covered chest under my cheek rose and fell slowly.
I didn’t move. I should have moved away but the smell was so good I wasn’t sure I wanted to leave it. I let things sink in as I scanned the darkness of the room to figure out where I was at exactly. The living room… I was still in Margo and Heath’s apartment. I was on the sofa and I was warm and cuddled up against… I inhaled the scent again and closed my eyes tightly. Rathe. That smell was Rathe.
I took in my position without moving a muscle. I didn’t want him to wake up. Especially while I was draped over his body like this. My right leg was thrown over his legs, and I was lying on one side of his body with my arm thrown over his wide shoulders. I could only blame this on the smell. In my sleep, I had been drawn to his scent and apparently climbed on top of him or at least tried to.
The warmth from his breath was near the back of my neck. It was so close that his exhale caused goosebumps on my arms. I shivered wishing this didn’t feel so amazing. His hand moved… sliding around my back.
He was holding me. I wasn’t sure where his arm had been before, but he was holding me in place now. In his sleep, he was pulling me closer, too. That made me feel marginally better. It probably shouldn’t. He was a man and I was pressing against him.
I tried to stay still and calm as not to wake him. I needed to remember why we were cuddled up asleep. I’d been drinking wine, it had started to relax me and make me think less. Rathe had returned from his date, and I grimaced then, remembering he’d been on a date and I’d been upset about that. He’d sat beside me. I had wanted to smell him more because I was possibly drunk. I hadn’t been sleepy, though… yet, I remembered little else. Had I fallen asleep so easily? I wasn’t drunk enough to pass out. Three glasses was not enough to knock me out so quickly.
“If you want to stretch out you can,” Rathe’s voice was a raspy, deep whisper I wasn’t expecting to hear. I gasped in response to hi
s voice. He was awake, and here I was sprawled all over him. What should I do now? Thank him and go to Margo’s room? Or was Duely in there? I lifted my head and scanned the room for the others. As expected we were alone and I doubted Duely left me here. We still had the stranger following me. Duely knew I was unsure about that and I wanted the extra magic if I was being stalked.
Needing to say something to Rathe, I was thankful for the darkness. I sat up and looked down at him. His hand fell from me as I put the distance between us. “I’m sorry,” I said, still not sure how I passed out so easily. I wasn’t a big drinker, but it took more than that to get to me normally.
He stretched his long muscular body, and I had to fight hard not to admire the movement. I kept my gaze on his face, yet his expression seemed to be amused, knowing I was struggling not to look at his body.
“Why are you sorry, Catalina?” he asked, his sleep affected tone making me shiver again. Dang it. I had to get control of myself, or I was going to embarrass myself yet again.
I tried to sound unaffected when I replied, “I didn’t mean to fall asleep on top of you. I guess I was more exhausted than I realized. You should have pushed me off and gone to your bed where it’s more comfortable.”
He grinned that half smile that made his dimple appear. “You were peaceful and I didn’t want to take my delicious scent from you.”
I covered my face and groaned. I had said that out loud. Great. I had hoped that was the only thing I shared with him.
“I do smell pretty damn good.” He was definitely amused.
I dropped my hands from my face and asked “Is Duely here?” I didn’t want to know if I’d said anything else humiliating. I needed to leave.
He shot his gaze toward Margo’s room. My stomach dropped. He knew he wasn’t supposed to go there.