Piece by Piece

Chapter 62

Sebastian

"There you are, birthday boy. I know you said no present but it's not wrapped so it doesn't count," Lily says, hugging me tightly before shoving a box into my hands. A look confirms that it's from my favorite bakery.

Despite hating presents, with the exception of that which Aliena gave me, my chest warms at the sight. The bakery is across town so I rarely go, but my mom used to take me there a lot as a child, knowing the owner and all that, so it holds some sentimental value.

I lean down to kiss Lily's cheek before she can saunter deeper into the private room to greet her best friend.

"Damn, Babe, you look fantastic," I hear her tell Aly, who's waiting on the couch. I don't have to turn around to know she's right. The memory of her coming down the steps to meet me downstairs before the party started is burned onto the back of my eyelids.

I thought green was my favorite color but after seeing her in that midnight blue, I might have a change of heart. The dress, while beautiful, is risky as hell. The slits on the outside of her thighs up to her waist make me wonder where the hell her panties are, and her low back makes me know with certainty that she's not wearing a bra.

To say that I got hard just thinking about it would be the unfortunate truth. She drives me crazy.

"What got you scowling like that, Will?" Andrew teases me, clasping my shoulder in a way of greeting. From behind us, I can hear Aly ask about my nickname.

"Will? What's that all about?"

"That, dear Aly, is Sebastian's favorite nickname of all time," my best friend provides.

"Oh? How come I've never heard it?" she asks, intrigued.

"Sebastian hates it. His middle name is William, you see, which is also his father's name. Andrew likes to tease him with it," Mattheo explains, waking past me with a pat on my shoulder before leaning down to kiss Aliena's cheek. "Hey, Amo. Long time no see," he adds, a sultry note to his voice that wasn't there a second ago. I grit my teeth against my growing irritation and look away before anyone can notice it, getting myself a drink.

When I come back, my friends are all happily conversing. For once, at least, I see that Aliena and Mattheo aren't touching.

By the end of the hour, the private room has filled with a few selected outsiders. One of them is the red-haired girl Mattheo chewed my ear off about at school one day, Miriam or something. Once she arrived, I felt the tension ease out of my body.

It's clear that he's head over heels for her. He hasn't taken his gaze off her since she settled on the couch between him and Aliena. Or his hands, for that matter.

Aliena is mostly catching up with Lily and I'm glad to see that they are fine again, no strain in their talks.

At one point, my best friend grows sick of me and gets to his feet, reaching out to take Lily's hand. "You guys, it's been a pleasure but I feel like dancing with my girl for a bit. See you later," Andrew says, already dragging a giggling Lily behind him.

Right on cue, Mattheo shoots his date a questioning glance and the pair gets to their feet too. "Well, I think we'll join them downstairs," Mattheo says, looking at Aliena sheepishly.

Realizing that he probably feels weird or guilty for ditching his old dance partner, Aly smiles comfortingly. "Have fun," she tells them. Seeming relieved, Mattheo leaves with his girl, leaving my roommate and me alone with a few near-strangers.

"So," she starts awkwardly. "I'm guessing you don't care to dance?"

"You're guessing correctly. All our friends are downstairs and I don't feel like answering their million questions," I confirm. It occurs to me that I should probably pick my words with more care but honestly, I'm still on edge because of my conversation with Aliena earlier. I wish things could just be easy between us.

She huffs and gets to her feet. "Right. Have fun up here, then." She tries to head to the door but as she passes me, I reach out to gently grab her wrist.

"Where are you going?"

"To dance." Her eyes narrow on me, the defiance I thought we'd gotten past rising in those honey eyes. "I'm not going to stop doing what I love just because you refuse to do it with me."

"Mattheo is dancing with Miriam," I try to reason with her. Dammit, we talked about exclusivity just this afternoon.

"Then I'll just have to find someone else to dance with," she retorts, the challenge thick in her words.

"I told you what happens when you let another guy touch you, Aly. I wasn't kidding."

"Then grow some balls and join me," she fires back. I gape at her. Where the hell is this coming from? It's like she has to prove a point again, same as when she refused to sleep in my bed anymore. For the life of me, I don't know why she's doing this now, though.

"You're the one that doesn't want to tell our friends where you live!" I remind her.

"Yes, I know. But you not dancing with me has nothing to do with that. That's all you and your stupid fear of damaging your fucking image. I thought we were done with this after we shook on being friends. I guess what you meant was that we'd be friends in private. What a shame it would be if the great Sebastian, grinch of Hartford U would be seen dancing and having fun with the same girl twice."

"Oh, you're talking about stupid fears now? Never mind that your fear of being dependent on anyone but yourself is full-on self-destructive," I snap right back, my own temper triggered now.

"You know what, I don't feel like arguing with you right now. I'm going dancing." This time when she turns, I don't stop her, glaring at her back until she slams the door shut behind her. If anyone in the room wasn't staring at me before, they sure are now.

Fantastic.

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