Hades Legacy (Hades Series #3)

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

I gulp and turn around, intending to head back inside and find somewhere else to collect my thoughts. Eric speaks up before I manage to take two steps away. "You don't have to leave, Bambi."

"Oh." I freeze, slowly swiveling back around. "I uh..."

He turns around to face me, the glow of the moon washing his handsome features in cold silver. The corners of his mouth quirk up slightly when he notices the deer-caught-in-headlights expression I still have on my face. "Don't tell me you lose your sense of articulation when you're drunk. I don't think I'd ever stop laughing."

"Of course not." I retort, his wise-crack breaking the tension in the air enough for me to feel comfortable to move again. I timidly walk towards him, confusion lacing through me. "Why are you talking to me?"

The middle of his forehead furrows as he frowns. "What do you mean?"

"Well, judging by the way you were glowering at me earlier, I was under the impression that you were infuriated at me."

"How the hell are you managing to use bigger words than you normally do? You're drunk." He says, sounding genuinely perplexed.

I glare at him. "I'm not drunk."

I then completely contradict my assertion by losing my balance and toppling towards the pool.

Eric moves like a flash and catches me before I hit the water. His eyes glimmer in amusement. "Yes, falling into the pool is a definite way to convince me you're not drunk."

"Shut up." I grumble. Suddenly, I become hyper aware of how close we are, with his arms wrapped around my waist and my own grabbing onto his shirt in tight fistfuls. I blush scarlet and slowly let go of his shirt, taking a small step back. He doesn't say a single word, not taking his eyes off me the entire time. "You still didn't answer my question."

"What question?" He asks, purposely being obtuse.

"Why are you suddenly talking to me if you're infuriated with me?"

"I'll take this moment to remind you that you're the one who ignored me for four days, Bambi." He retorts. I fold my arms over my chest tightly and give him a pointed look. "I wasn't pissed at you."

"Who then?"

He humphs, his eyes darkening. "Nobody."

"Oh yes, nobody. That's why you've spent most of the party out here in the dark by yourself. Because Odysseus pissed you off." I quip sarcastically. He stares at me. "What?"

"Nothing." He says dismissively, but I can tell he's barely managing to hold back laughter. That only infuriates me more.

I narrow my eyes into slits at him. "Eric."

"Pretending to look angry isn't going to spontaneously convince me to tell you why I'm pissed, Bambi."

"Aha!" I point my finger at him, under the impression that I'm getting somewhere with him. "So you admit that you're infuriated."

"Would you stop using that word?" Eric retorts. "It's weird as hell. It's like you become a walking, sarcastic, repetitive thesaurus when you're drunk."

"Would you stop being stubborn and tell me why you're angry?" I shoot back, and he shakes his head, jutting his chin out stubbornly. I groan, throwing my hands up in exasperation. "Fine. Will you at least tell me what you're doing out here all by yourself?"

"Yes." He replies, and I grin triumphantly. His shoulders relax a little once he realises that I've given up hope on getting what I want out of him, and he finally breaks eye contact with me, returning to lean on the edge of the glass fence. I suddenly get a funny feeling that he was being overly defensive for a reason. "I'm thinking."