Untouchable(15)

The sound of Raven’s laughter soon fills the air as I see her, Bryant, Tessa, and that same guy they were all with at the bar last weekend, leaving the party and heading down the grassy hill towards the line of villas we’re all staying in.

Raven glances up the hill where I’m sitting, her eyes staying focused for a few seconds. Looking for me, maybe?

Even if she is, I doubt she can spot me up here drinking myself into a stupor, because I’m hidden by the shade of the tree I’m lounging under.

They put their hands over their heads and begin jogging down the hill faster as the rain starts to come down harder, all except Raven, who’s still wearing my jacket and pulls it up over her head. As they begin to fade into the distance, I decide it’s time to climb to my feet and follow them, so I can see if Raven goes with Bryant, or him with her.

I stagger down the hill, with my bottle in one hand and my glass in the other. Thanks to the rain, the grass beneath my dress shoes is now slippery, causing me to skate halfway down on one foot. How I keep myself from falling down face-first baffles me.

Within seconds, I’m at the bottom of the hill, and miraculously still on both feet. The smell of the vineyard mixing with the scent of rain and wet grass engulfs the air. It’s amazing being able to breathe in air that’s crisp and fresh, compared to the thick city air of San Francisco.

I’m so lost in my thoughts that I don’t notice someone is walking back towards me until they’re illuminated under the lights lining the hill leading up to the party tent.

“Shit. Shit. Shit,” I curse as I try to keep my head down and pretend to be heading over to the bar.

“Are you following me?” Raven’s voice cracks across the darkness, snapping like a firecracker going off in my face.

Fuck.

Forcing my eyes to look at her, I swallow hard, trying to wet my now parched mouth. This is not going as planned. “Hey, Spitfire! Where did you come from?” I try to play it off as if me being here is a total coincidence. But I can tell by the look of anger bubbling in her eyes under the twinkling lights that she isn’t buying it.

“Don’t try to ‘hey’ me, Linc. I saw you up on that hill drinking—and watching me—a moment ago. I want to know why. Why are you doing this? All of this? Why are you making this so hard?!” she shouts, waving her hands out in front of me.

Her chest is heaving as she stomps her way toward me, closing the space between us. Before I know what’s happening, she’s only a few inches away from me. I breathe in a shaky breath and try to stay standing without falling over as my legs feel like they are swaying beneath me.

“That’s a lot of questions…being asked…all at once,” I slur slightly as I try to speak clearly. The liquor is hitting me all at once, now that I’m up and walking around. “I wasn’t following you, per se…I was drinking under a tree and just so happened to see you and Bryant leaving this party together. So…I decided I’d see if you were going to go to bed alone or with that douchebag. And what are you talking about? What am I doing? I’m not doing anything! And making what hard? I don’t know what you want me to say!”

Throwing her hands up in the air, she lets out a loud growl of frustration before slapping her hands hard on her bare thighs. “Oh, my God! What the hell is with you and constantly obsessing over Bryant and me? Why the hell do you even care, Linc? It’s not like your dick is feeling neglected—you can’t deny it, because Tessa told me how you’ve been as much of a manwhore now as you were before anything happened between us back in April.”

This is definitely not how I pictured us having this conversation. I’m too drunk and too horny to stand here arguing with her. Especially with us so close to this stupid wedding reception, where anyone can overhear us at any time.

“I think it’s pretty fucking obvious, Spitfire! I don’t want you around that jackass, because I only want you with me. I know it’s fucked up and completely insane, but I can’t help it. That’s how I feel. And who the hell cares if I fucked a hundred women since April! I’m single. You’re single. I doubt you’ve spent the last three months acting like a damn nun.”

Slamming her hand against my chest, she causes me to stumble backwards slightly. I sway my hands in the air, trying to avoid spilling my drink all over myself. “This is all crazy! And for your information, even though it’s none of your damn business, I haven’t been with anyone since you. After dealing with Heath dumping me, and then the blow up between you and me, I decided I’d focus my energy into work and my future career and try to forget about the whole dating scene for a little while. The first time I’ve been out on a date was last weekend with Bryant, and even then, I made it very clear we were going out as friends, and he was respectful of that.”

Steadying myself, I empty the remaining contents of my glass down my throat before tossing it onto the ground. With my hand now free, I reach out and grab her hand and gently pull on it. “We can’t do this here. It’s too risky. Plus, we’re going to be soaked to the bone if we continue to stand here hashing this out. Please, come with me to the bar. We can talk there in private and out of this damn rain.”

Looking towards the party tent, she drops her shoulders and lets out a defeated sigh. “Fine. Lead the way—and try not to fall on your face, because I’m not carrying your drunk ass back to your villa.”





The bar is packed with people as we make our way towards the line of barstools. I grab a few napkins off of the bar and dab my face, wiping away the drops of rain running down my jaw while we wait for the bartender to make his way down to us.

“Don’t you think you’ve had enough to drink?” Raven asks with a clipped tone as I slide up onto a barstool.

“I’m still standing and I still remember the fucking wedding, so I’d say no. I haven’t had nearly enough to drink. I tossed the bottle of scotch in the trash on our way here. I’m ready to kick it up a notch and do some shots. One specific shot, as a matter of fact.

“You’re going to give yourself alcohol poisoning. You can be such an idiot sometimes. A stubborn, pigheaded idiot.”

Grinning at her beside me, I say, “Thank you for the compliments, Spitfire. If I get alcohol poisoning, at least I have you to take care of me.”

Rolling her eyes, she waves the bartender over, making it clear she needs another drink as badly as I do. “For all you know, I could leave your drunk ass lying face down in a toilet.”

“You wouldn’t do that, and you know it. You like me, even if you refuse to admit it to yourself or anyone else. You’d never leave me to die in my own vomit, because you’d miss me too much,” I tell her sweetly as I slowly run my fingers down her back, tracing the bumps of her spine. I feel her melt slightly into my touch as my hand comes to rest on her hip. Raven says she doesn’t want me, but her body speaks the truth, even when her lips say nothing but lies.

Whipping her head at me, she causes her ponytail to come around her head and hit her in the cheek. She blows a puff of air out, trying to blow the few strands stuck to her lip-gloss away from her face. Using my other hand, I shift more to face her and affectionately brush the hairs away from her face before setting my hand back onto the bar.

Her eyes soften momentarily as my fingers lightly graze her cheek. The magnetic pull between us is still as strong as ever, even with her trying to fight it with everything she has. It’s too strong to ignore.

“If you were smart, you wouldn’t test me, Linc. Because at this point, I very well may do just that if you continue to do everything you can to drive me crazy.”

Before I can respond, the bartender cuts in, “What can I get you?”

Raven speaks up first. “I’d like a shot of tequila, please.”

Tequila…

Suddenly, I find myself humming, Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off. Let’s hope that to be true for her too. If odds are in my favor and my luck turns around tonight, I’ll get what I want: Raven naked in my bed.

“One shot of tequila coming right up for the beautiful lady.” He brings his attention from Raven to me as I tell him my drink.

“One Jager Bomb, please. Made with Red Bull.”

“Coming right up,” he says, knocking on the bar twice before getting to work on our drinks.

Raven spins to face me and grabs my arm. “You can’t be serious. You’ve already drank enough tonight to make ten men drunk, and now you’re having a freaking Jager Bomb! When you’re stuck in bed with the world’s worst hangover for days and miss the flight back to San Francisco Monday, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

I give her hip a little squeeze and lean in closer to her. “You need to loosen up. I can picture you back in Long Beach with your nose buried in textbooks and spending your free time wondering around collecting water samples. You need to live, Spitfire…and I’m going to help you do that tonight.”

“Live? I lived enough with you during spring break, and look where that got me,” she mutters under her breath as her shot and wedge of lime along with a saltshaker are set down in front of her. She leaves her hands resting on the bar beside her shot, waiting to take it until after I get mine.