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Part 26. Alex

That goddamn prick Alain had his way with words.

Unfortunately, that was the one thing Alex was so completely sure of. Who would have thought? He, the one guy who could proudly call himself a songwriter, a poet if you wish it pompously, knew it better than anyone else in that gorgeous estate. But it wasn't Alain's oratory skills he was so concerned about.

It was the fact that Lili out of people seemed to enjoy it.

Since they'd appeared on one boat the day before, he could barely hold himself back from staring into her direction. It was hard, a role one of a kind, that he, though, practically perfected. Unluckily, there was no satisfaction in such play. Her presence on that trip was exhausting, disturbing, and infectious. He was trying to put his mind in the right place. But I wasn't sure what "right" meant anymore.

Alex never seemed to fail at games. On the other hand, these days he'd been only losing. First, it was going on well with getting distracted and ignoring her "now and then" judging glances. But when the Alain guy showed up, he didn't hold himself back from a few very much unnecessary and dangerous remarks. Getting alone with Lili, he just had to warn her about Alain.

Yeah, to "warn". That should've sounded funny if not absolutely amusing. Well, sure, it's all out of the noble reasons, don't you know?

'Alex, stop staring and do something already, this behavior is ridiculous. You've made a fool out of yourself enough.'

The serious parental tone of Matt was ringing in the air as the sound of the pacing shoes around the room got muffled by the soft patterned carpet. It should've been the only reason why Alex heard that comment in the first place. Standing near the window and leaning his arm on the white wooden window frame, he could barely hear any sounds. There was a glass of whiskey in his other hand with too much ice in it and not enough lemon. But his mind could barely remember it.

He'd been staring out of that window for about ten minutes now. There was a tennis court on the green lawn right in front of his sight. He never considered himself too interested in the game but what got his attention were two figures, playing on the court: Alain and Lili. A crowd of people as well around them. But how could I care?

They were all dressed in blindingly white tennis uniforms shining in the rays of the morning sun. The only one pleated skirt he could notice, however, belonged only to Lili. He watched her jumping and hitting the ball with a racket, laughing and sending some mocking phrases to Alain that he couldn't quite distinguish. The picture seemed to be annoying and irritating. And of course, it was only because I did prefer her wearing black.

'What exactly do you want me to do, Matty? With the sound of your voice, I can imagine you already have some kind of plan.'

Alex finally scoffed sarcastically without any actual urge to do so. He put the glass to his lips and made a small meaningless sip as Lili's figure on the court moved fast, all engaged in the game, letting the competitive spirit overtake her. Alain hit the ball skillfully, it hang high in the air for a breathless moment and Lili hit back with no hesitation. The small crowd of spectators was cheering and applauding. They did seem like they had a lot of fun.

'Oh, I don't know. Perhaps, leave Lili alone or tell her that you have feelings for her and that you need her back. Stop torturing her' Matt answered in a tart voice, sitting on the couch on the other end of the room, clearly highly irritated by the response he received. 'And let me think, maybe, apologize for everything you've done' he put his fingers to his chin to make a thoughtful grimace before spilling the poison in his tone. 'How does that plan sound to you?'