CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Baby, it's just me and you
Baby, it's just me and you
Just us two
Even in a crowded room
Baby, it's just me and you

×××××

"Cheers!" I clicked my glass of champagne with Austin's glass, offering him a flirtatious smile before taking a sip. Austin was saying something, but I wasn't listening. My eyes were on him, but my attention was focused solely on Evan.

"—and so my grandmother's cat died that day."  I noticed Evan walking towards us from the corner of my eye. My adrenaline pumped with excitement and fear. I slapped Austin's shoulder in a frivolous manner, throwing my head back in laughter.

"God, you're hilarious." I chuckled, my hand tracing his arms coyly. I glanced towards Evan and a chill ran down my spine. Pissing Evan off was becoming my new favorite game and judging by his expression, I was getting better and better at it every day.

"Uh, thanks." Austin laughed hesitantly. "Was it really that funny though? I mean my grandmother was pretty upset and—"

"Oh my God, are you kidding me? You're literally so funny and so sweet. It's been so long since I met someone like you." I said loud enough for Evan to hear. He was lingering by the bar, just metres away from us.

"Really?" Austin grinned at me. "Do you want to get out of here? I mean, once the dinner is over and you're done with your work."

I cringed inwardly. I would've felt guilty about not paying attention to what he was saying before, but I could tell he had the personality of a peanut. As long as I was ready to sleep with him, anything I did or said probably didn't matter to him.

"I—"

"Here you are! I've been searching for you everywhere, babe." Evan swooped in between us and I couldn't help but smirk in victory. But my smile disappeared as soon as it had appeared on my face and got replaced by shock. Evan pulled me into a hug making a l blush rise on my cheeks.

"You've made your point. Stop this now." he leaned in and whispered lowly so that Austin couldn't hear him.

As flustered as I felt by his move, I was still angry at him for saying he didn't care. His arms felt warm and homely, but I had to keep myself together if I wanted to prove him wrong.

"You don't get to tell me what to do." I said defiantly.

"You'll regret this if you don't stop right now." he threatened lowly.

"We'll see."

I removed his arms from around me and took a step back, grabbing Austin's hand. Evan's eyes zoomed in on our entwined fingers, before moving to my eyes. His jaw tightened in anger and a delicious chill ran down my spine.

"Austin, this is Emily's cousin, Evan. Evan, this is Austin." I introduced, smiling at Evan mockingly.

He just stared at us with stone cold eyes while Austin offered him an awkward smile. The silence became unbearable and to cut through the tension (or add to it) I spoke again.

"Evan was just worried about me as I got really drunk at the last party." I laughed. "Don't worry, this time I have something to keep me occupied."

Austin grinned at me as I moved closer to him. "Let's go Austin. Perhaps some place quiet where there is no one to disturb us."

We turned around and started walking while I thought of an excuse to ditch him after we were out of Evan's sight.

"I must say, you're the prettiest girl here without a doubt." he whispered into my ear. I resisted the urge to push him away.

"So, where do you want to go?"

"Austin, actually I—"

Someone grabbed my hand from behind, cutting me off and spun me around in one quick motion.

"I warned you, you would regret this."

Before I could process what was happening, Evan closed the distance between us and crashed his lips against mine. He kissed me with great intensity, devouring my taste hungrily. I met him with an equal amount of passion, my mind lost in ecstasy. There was a fierce yearning in the way we touched each other. We had ached for this moment since a long time and now that it was here, nothing else mattered.

We broke apart, breathing heavily. His gaze still lingered on my lips. I opened my mouth to say something or to connect it to his again, but before that could happen a loud voice boomed through the air.

"Oh, my God." Emily shrieked in excitement. "I knew it! I knew there was something between you two! You owe me two puppies, Zac."

"But darling, we already have three!" Zac exclaimed.

"Sorry, we had a bet. You lose!"

Suddenly I became very aware of our surroundings, my cheeks turning a deep shade of red. Almost everyone was watching us and I just wanted the ground to open up and swallow me whole to save me from this embarrassment. The adrenaline from the kiss had worn out and I was left to deal with its consequences.

"I can't believe you didn't tell us, Evan! And I certainly didn't expect to find out like this." Emily chuckled. "I mean get a room!"

My face was burning red. Just when I thought this couldn't get more embarrassing, she had to say this. Emily was a sweet girl, but I was ready to punch her just to shut her up.

I glared at Evan, my veins pumping with anger. He seemed cool as a cucumber while I stood there absolutely flustered. It only pissed me off further.

Austin's eyes shuffled between me and Evan, completely baffled. Evan gave him a terrifying smile, making him quickly back off and leave from there hurriedly.

I shot him another glare while he just smiled at me. Oh, this was so not over, Evan Carter.

++++

I was pouring myself a drink, still pissed with the way things happened. The main part of the rehearsal dinner was over and Emily and Zachary were busy with the guests. I had nothing better to do than drown my anger in alcohol. Yes, I never learn.

To get my revenge on Evan, I had tried hitting on other guys, but after the little kissing stunt he pulled in front of everyone, every guy thought I wasn't single. After a kiss like that, it was pointless to even try and convince anyone that I was. Besides, no one had the guts to hit on “Evan's girl” as I heard one of the guys whisper at one point during the night. I gave up soon after that.

"You're not drinking that." He snatched the drink from my hand before I could even take a sip.

"You!" I hissed at Evan. "What's your problem? Just leave me alone."

"I told you to stop. You should've listened." he shrugged.

"And who are you to tell me what to do?" I demanded.

"You were only doing it to get back at me!"

"So what if I was? If you can say things just to piss me off then I can also do things just to piss you off!"

"So you're not denying that you did it on purpose."

I clenched my jaw in annoyance. He was getting on every single nerve of mine. His actions always left me completely confused. At times I genuinely doubted if he still cared for me even a little and then other times I was convinced that he never stopped. It was hard to tell what was going on in his mind and I was losing mine while trying to figure out his.

"Why did you kiss me, Evan?" I demanded. "There were other ways to stop me."

He seemed surprised by my question for a moment before he quickly covered it up. "I don't know." he shrugged nonchalantly.

"What do you mean you don't know?" I exclaimed. "You can't just go around kissing anyone like that!"

"You don't say." he smirked arrogantly.

I sucked in a deep breath, looking away. I could feel my cheeks heat up yet again.

"Besides, I think we can both agree, you're not just anyone to me, Flora."

My eyes shot up to meet his and I gulped.

"And there is nothing either of us can say to change that."