34. The chapter of the frustrated Halloween party

Christian

We gathered in front of the house where Theo’s car and Brigitte was parked, we would have to split up once more, and now I was not inclined to go by motorcycle.

" Same division as on the trip? " Theo asked.

"I'll take the front seat," Liam warned me, heading toward Rose's car door.

" No you won't," she interrupted him, giving us a cross look.

" Why not?”

" I am angry with you for talking to this idiot, so I am not going to spoil you, and besides, if you go in the front seat, I will be tempted to throw you out of the moving car.” She opened the driver's door, then went inside. “Just get in.”

Liam watched us for a moment before turning to the other group who were getting into the car.

" Peterson, I'll take the front seat," he shouted, running to the other car.

I got into the car, buckling up under Rose's angry stare. I thought she had calmed down after her little performance earlier, but apparently I was wrong. I watched her legs exposed by the almost obscene costume she was wearing, and I would give anything to feel the texture of her skin at that moment.

" Are you still angry? " I tried to make conversation.

" What do you think? " she returned grudgingly.

I took a deep breath, getting really irritated by the subject. She still has the nerve to say that she's not jealous!

" Why are you making such a big deal out of this subject? It's not like we're in a relationship for you to react this way," I returned, feeling a small discomfort in the pit of my stomach. “In fact, I'm the one who should be angry after what you did!”

" You should be angry? Is this serious, Davis? And you don't have to tell me we're not in a relationship, this is nothing like a relationship, Davis," she pointed her finger at both of us. “I don't get into relationships.”

" Then what the fuck is going on? We agreed that we could be with whoever we wanted," I returned.

" Great, then why don't you get on your damn motorcycle and go after her? " Rose raised her voice in frustration.

" Is that what you want me to do? " I stared at her.

Rose gave me a death glare, turning her attention back to the street, then ignoring me. Why does she have to be so complicated?

Taking a deep breath, I decided on a new approach. A slight wave of nausea passed through my stomach along with that discomfort, and I squirmed in my seat trying to relieve that feeling.

" Rose, I just want to understand what is going on here. So I'd appreciate it if you'd let your guard down a little and explain to me what's bothering you so much.”

She looked at me for a second before sighing, seeming willing to give in.

" Chris, this thing between us is great, but that's all it is. A fling... it won't go beyond that ever, and that means that I won't be jealous of you and you won't be jealous of me.” She murmured.

" So…”

" I'm not jealous, if you tell me you want to have sex with someone different tonight, I'll introduce you to someone at the party myself, and I don't care if it's my friend or not," she continued, making me arch both eyebrows.

" And your reaction? " I didn't buy your version.

" My problem isn't what you do, Davis, it's who you do it with," she returned sharply. "Come on, do you really think it's a good idea to tell me, the girl you've been having sex with for the last few weeks, that you want to have sex with the person who's made my life hell for years?”

I frowned as I realized that I hadn't seen things from that angle.

" I put a target on my back just so you could regain some of the ego that was bruised at that party, all for what? So you could run to her bed at the first opportunity?”

I had no way to fight back, in fact, your words made me feel like a real jerk.

" Do you want to have sex with her? Enjoy it, but don't tell me about it," she continued, "In fact, yes I want you to tell me, because I don't want to have sex with you for a long time after that.”

And now I felt like the biggest asshole in the universe. Rose was right to feel that way, and I hadn't helped by picking on her so much in the afternoon. I never planned to do anything with Alicia, not after everything, but after what Liam had told me, I couldn't resist picking on her, actually thinking that she was jealous of me after only two weeks.

Rose parked the car and you could hear the lively music coming from a house a few meters ahead. Theo parked in front of us and it didn't take long for our friends to start disembarking, showing that our time was up.

" I'm sorry, I didn't know you felt this way," I held her hand, preventing her from getting out of the car.

" But I am. I can't and won't stop you from being with her, but you know how I feel about it, and you can call me crazy, or childish, or whatever, I don't care," she declared looking into my eyes.

" You're not crazy. I mean, you are crazy, but not because you feel that way," I assured her, "I promise you that I will not making out with her.”

" You don't have to…”

" I'm promising as your friend and not as the guy who fucks you," I interrupted her.

We stared at each other for a few seconds, and if it weren't for our friends staring at us from outside the car waiting for us to get out, I would have finished what we started in that room.

" We better get down, let's enjoy the party," she smiled, opening the door.

And that's what we did. Rose obviously attracted attention as soon as she got out of the car, our group entered the house enjoying the atmosphere, the girl knew many people there, and made a point of introducing us to each one. She took seriously the part where she said she would introduce me to any of her friends, and when one of the girls commented to her that she wanted to meet me, she did, walking away after winking at me.

Monica was our hostess, an Asian girl with short colored spiky hair. She had studied with Rose during High School and had gone to a university in the city, but still didn't know what profession she wanted to follow. I sipped on some of the cocktail made with dry ice that made a steady puff of smoke come out of the glass, trying to hear her through the music when a new wave of nausea came over me. Maybe I had too much to drink.

" What is it like living in Grayfox Mills? I was accepted to Dalton University, but I confess I felt insecure about moving so far away from my parents. I still live on campus, but I come home every weekend," she said.

Does she consider a travel of just over an hour to be too far? I am almost thirty hours away from my family.

" Grayfox mills are great, the town itself is very small and quiet and has great scenery " I assured her.

Looking around for Rose I found her in a corner, talking to a guy. Or rather, she was smiling as he whispered something in her ear, and I must say that the two of them were much closer than would be expected for two people who had just met.

" I love your costume, it's perfect, this jacket really looks like a biker club jacket," Monica ran her hand up my arm, drawing my attention back to her.

What am I doing? I shouldn't even remember Rose with a girl like that paying attention to me.

" Well, it's an actual biker club, my family are founders of the Wandering Falcons," I explained with a small smile.

Her expression was surprised before she smiled, moving closer to me.

" So, you broke the rules about having to wear a costume to my party?”

" Yeah, I'm guilty of that," I leaned a little closer to her face, "Are you going to kick me out?”

" I think we should discuss your punishment elsewhere. I have a great room upstairs," she proposed, making me smile.

Great, I could finally get rid of some of the sexual energy Rose had awakened me to earlier. Taking my smile as confirmation, she held my hand, guiding me to the stairs. I hadn't taken many steps when the discomfort from earlier hit me hard, accompanied by intense dizziness. I stopped walking, closing my eyes for a second.

" Christian? Are you all right? You've gone pale," Monica approached, although her voice sounded very distant, as did all the sounds of the party.

I'm about to pass out here!

" No, I think I drank too much," I admitted, opening my eyes again.

" I thought you'd only had this one drink since you arrived," she frowned, pointing to the half glass I was still holding.

" I did, but... I think I need some air," I gasped.

" Go outside for a while, I'll get you a glass of water," she offered, to my relief.

I staggered toward the exit, breathing a sigh of relief when I found myself on the manicured lawn of the house, feeling the cool autumn breeze on my face. It made me wonder how Rose could stand to wear that costume in a temperature of less than twenty degrees. On the side of the house, near the driveway, there was an empty bench, and I threw myself on it, taking a deep breath for comfort, but instead of feeling better, I was hit with a sharp, searing pain in my back, causing me to roll over onto my side, lying on the bench, gasping for air.