Sweet Temptation

And then the song ends and I look up again, like a fool.

A

“. . . very much like to know your story,” Kopano is saying.

Oh, I bet he would like to know her “story.” On the outside, Kope is a smooth-talking picture of perfection, but I know what he’s like on the inside with his rare double curse. He’s bound by both lust and wrath. I’ll just bet he’s thinking he’s finally met his flawless match and he’d love to unleash all that withheld aggression on her.

When they stare at each other, standing far too close, and she doesn’t move away, I am overcome with deranged jealousy. Naturally she looks down at me at that very moment and I’m unable to school the expression from my face.

She sucks in a breath and looks down at her hands. My eyes move to Kopano as he looks at me, and I glare back. Disappointment seems to flash across his face as he catches my “back off” vibes.

That’s right, mate. Back. Off.

I’m all too keen to get to the party after the gig so I can stake my claim. Before I get out of my car I pull a fifth of Jack from under my seat and drink a healthy bit to hide any bond Marna and Ginger might see between A

I think of A

But it doesn’t happen that way, does it? Girls run up to me, but none of them is A

Bloody hell! The cheek of him!

I am wound tightly with fear and anxiety as the worst possibilities overcome me; did she come tonight, not to see me, but because the others forced her? Worst of all, is it possible she no longer loves me, and she fancies Kopano instead? After all, he’s everything I’m not. Would Kope plan a trip to seduce her, and then toss her off at the airport the moment things get heated?

No.

I don’t want to listen, but I feel compelled. I shove my hearing through the walls and hear A

God damn it, I feel ill. I need a drink.

I’m greeted at the kitchen counter by a platinum blond with a bottle of tequila. That’ll do the trick. The tequila, I mean. It’s loud in here. I glance through the crowd to see A

I can’t believe this is happening. I can’t believe I let myself care this much for someone. I should be glad she’s out of my hair. She can be Kope’s problem now, not mine, but I’m not glad at all. I’m so fucking sad it’s pathetic.

On the heels of my sadness comes anger, crashing through. I never would have expected A

I’m going to need a bit more tequila.

“Mind if I take this for a moment, luv?” I ask the blond.

“Only if you promise to come talk to me later.” She smiles up at me.

I touch her chin and say, “Deal.” Then I grab the bottle, lime slices, and shot glasses, and head across the kitchen to where my mates are gathering with A

“Tequila, anyone?” I say to her.

She squirms uncomfortably as others call for drinks and I hand them out.

“Kope?” I say, because I haven’t forgotten how he ignored my warning to back off. “A

They just stare at me, clearly unhappy. Good.

“Oh, that’s right,” I say. “I nearly forgot. The prince and princess would never stoop so low. Well, bottoms up to us peasants.”

I’ve made everyone uncomfortable, and I don’t care. I want to laugh. It’s all a big joke, isn’t it? This thing called life, where we hurt, where we work so hard not to care, and then a bit of feeling creeps in and people use it to hurt us further.

We take our shot and it burns through my chest. I can see A

“How’s your soda, princess?” I ask her.

“You don’t need to be hateful,” she whispers.

Her words are like a sharp pin to my inflated chest, and I feel like shite for half a second.

“If you ask me, I’d say the princess prefers a dark knight,” Ginger says.

If I’m the dark knight, Gin is wrong. “She only thinks she does,” I respond, but I’m not so sure she prefers me over Prince Kope at all. I can’t even look at A

We end up out back, and I tip up the bottle, chugging the pungent alcohol when nobody’s paying me any mind. I leave the empty bottle on the deck and head for the yard under the trees with the others. I sit heavily in a flimsy lawn chair and lean back, switching my gaze between Kope and A

Marna suggests a game of Truth or Dare, so I decide to cut to the chase.

“I’ll go first. I dare Kope to kiss A

It’s like a monk kissing a nun. Brilliant. I lean back and cross my arms, enjoying their shifty-eyed embarrassment. A

There’s my girl. I’m relieved I’ve made her feel something.

Ginger and Blake are cracking up as A

Kopano is glaring at me hard. I get to my feet.

“Is there a problem?” I ask him, holding my arms out. I sound like my bloody father. Kope only sighs, as if disappointed.

Before he can respond, Marna is yelling my name. Excitement clutches me as I forget about Kope and head for the side of the house. Marna and Jay pass me, but I ignore them because all I can see is A

“Sorry,” I whisper, shocking myself.

“I’m sorry, too, about the whole chair-flipping thing.”

“No, I deserved it.”

She looks at me, and the world clears a bit. Just standing here, the two of us, makes me feel secure. I know it’s stupid and fleeting, but I can see in her eyes that she still feels for me, and that is all I needed.

I can’t let myself sober up while the twins are around. I can’t allow anyone to know how I feel, so I pull the flask from my pocket and take a long drag. Ugh, bourbon and tequila are not a good combination.

I’m not quite as drunk as I was ten minutes ago, but I have to keep a good buzz going. I walk with A