floating | ✓

18| heartbeats

“His eyes search the crowd until they find my face. My heartbeat lives in my throat; lives in my cheeks.”

-Insurgent

18| heartbeats

Oliver is still sitting the same way: his arms around me, holding me close like if he let me go, I’d go away.

I won’t.

I gaze at his face. His blonde hair looks soft, his eyes are fixed on me, his lips are still curled in a smile, and with his arms around me and my heart beating too fast, I am jealous of the fact that he has so much effect on me. I need to have the same effect on him.

Oliver is smiling. Should I count that?

“So you say you know what’s going on,” I say.

“I have known for a long time.” His arms around me tighten. I shudder a little. This is so unfair.

I hope his heart is beating as fast as mine.

“What do you know?” I whisper, almost. I am too scared.

“I see you,” Oliver whispers back.

I release a breath I have been holding for so long.  “And I see you too,” I reply. 

Oliver’s face softens in the gleaming moonlight. Then I remember something, and it doesn’t make me happy.

“But-” I look back at the beer bottles that are in the corner. Oliver is drunk. So everything he has been saying, it’s not him. This soft smile and his arms around me is because he’s drunk.

Oliver is only sharing his feelings with me because he is intoxicated. He would have never done this if he was sober.

I feel hurt. So I look down, suddenly not wanting to see his face.

This is all a lie. This is a scam. Oliver won’t remember this.

I feel Oliver’s palm on my face. He makes me look at him. “I am not drunk Gwen. I don’t know who left those bottles.”

I say, “But you said-”

“Did I?” Oliver asks back.

I try to remember. No he didn’t say he was drunk. Hr asked me back if I was.“Oh.”

“And I know you are not drunk either,” Oliver states.

“How would you know?” I say, raising my eyebrow.

“Well, you still haven’t decided to jump into the pool from here, so that says something,” Oliver says with a straight face.

I smack on his arm. “Hey! I’m offended!”

Oliver shrugs. “I mean, that’s not impossible. I am pretty sure you would have done that.”

“Don’t forget I’m a vampire. I’m going to bite you, just laugh at me again!” I warn.

Oliver’s eyes bore into mine and flash. “Really?”

I stare into his dark eyes and forget to breathe. “Yes.”

Oliver pulls me a little closer. “And where would you like to bite me, Gwen?” he asks darkly.

Oh crap. I am getting played by my own words.

“Umm, your nose seems like a nice choice,” I say, unsure of myself.

Oliver’s eyes twinkle. It’s the same look he had before he dropped me in the pool the other day. The look of mischief.