A Pearl In The Oyster ☑️

28. Le jeu - The Game

My throat felt so dry, like I hadn't watered it in days. It screeched and scratched against my body, itching to find its liberty to speak again. But it wasn't possible. Not when the man in front of me was staring down at me like a predator.

Softly, he whispered, only for my ears to hear, "She really did a great job."

I stood in absolute silence, still, like a statue. Without knowing what to say, or do next, I felt silly and foolish. How could I have such an intense reaction to the man I loathed so intensely? Was it even hatred at this point?

I realized we were standing close, too close to each other. But I didn't dare pull back this time. My excuse to myself was that I didn't want Lily to suspect anything, but even my subconscious knew I was lying. It knew how I wanted to feel his warmth as I stood in front of him. It knew how I suddenly longed to be nearer to him, and wasn't afraid of the consequences as well.

"Hey! You can't just shower her with compliments that I can't even hear! Let me in on the fun too!" Lily hollered from the top of the staircase, her voice full of excitement and glee.

Suddenly, it felt like a veil had been lifted from my eyes. Where I found André so charming and irresistible just two seconds ago, I couldn't get myself to look at him anymore. It was as if I'd been put under a spell, but it had finally broken now.

Stepping away from him in haste, I didn't realize that right behind me was the foot of the stairs, and that I didn't actually have any space to step back. Considering my high heels and the dramatic skirt of the dress, I was bound to trip over and fall.

But that didn't happen. Instead of landing painfully on the stairs, amidst Lily's high pitched dramatic scream, someone caught me by the waist. A warm hand landed on the small of my back, where no one had ever touched me. Slowly, I was brought closer to him, even closer than before.

The touch of his body against mine left me with my lips open, panting hard. It was all too much to bear – the sensations of his hand on my body, the storm in his eyes as they fixed on my mouth. Our breaths intermingled, making me lose my mind. This was bad, so so bad. Yet, I couldn't pull away.

"Tu n'as rien?" André asked me softly, suddenly switching to French. The way his soft lips moved when he talked suddenly looked so mesmerizing, and I forgot to breathe.

He had me in a choke hold, literally. A gasp was heard above me, but this time, it didn't deter me at all. I was positive I wouldn't want to move away if the universe didn't take the initiative to pull us apart.

But the spell came to an end, again. André cleared his throat and stepped back. The space between us finally allowed me to breathe, and I heaved a sigh of relief.

"Goodness gracious, that was fucking intense! I didn't know you were down so bad for her, André. You guys are perfect together!" Lily gushed excitedly as she came down, holding her silver gown in her hand.