•6•Sense Rattling

"You guys know each other?" Luca scanned the three of us with knitted eyebrows.

"No!" I denied sharply. Way too sharply. "I guess we've seen each other somewhere. I mean, maybe."

David raised an eyebrow at me, obviously wondering why I was lying. "Hey, cousin, you have great taste." He said, causing me to glare at him.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Skylar." David stretched out his hand tentatively.

"Likewise." I flashed him a sweet smile as I shook his hand, wishing my eyes were bullets.

It's been three years since he broke my heart and he is happy with the woman he cheated on me with.

"Anyways, I think we will go greet the others now. See you." David announced, taking his wife's hand and leading her away.

Luca turned to look at me before I could unclench my teeth. It's more than obvious that I'm upset by David's presence and he's sure to notice that.

"Hey, let's dance."

Looking at him, I wondered why he was acting like he hadn't sensed the tension.

I didn't know why I'd lied about David and his wife, but if Luca was pretending not to have noticed anything, then I had some questions to answer later.

"A dance?"

"Yeah." Pursing his lips, he rubbed his hand at his nape. "Mum won't stop looking expectantly between us even though I'm dancing with dad. So I figured she expected us to dance."

"I see." I intoned, snorting.

Where did the disappointment that he wasn't asking me to dance because he wanted to come from?

"Fine, let's dance." I needed a distraction anyways to help me drown the memories which were trying to resurface.

Following him as he led me to the dancefloor, I caught Cornelia's eyes. The woman, dancing some distance away with her husband, beamed at me.

A shiver of delight rippled through me when Luca placed his hand on the small of my back, pulling me close to him.

He leaned down a bit, and for a bit, I thought he was going to kiss me until his lips descended past my lips to my ear.

"We've been acting like siblings for far too long. We need to give them something substantial." He whispered against my ear, the timbre of his voice making me shiver.

With that, he pulled me even closer, almost flush against his body as he rocked me and himself to the somewhat fast-paced song.

I knew I was being held and moved and turned and twirled, but I felt myself floating in wonderland.

This closeness was like never before. The enchanting smell of his cologne intoxicated my senses.

None of us broke eye contact as we eased into a rhythm of our own, the tune of the music forgotten as he lowered his head slowly.

"People are watching." His breath fanned against my face.

"Let's give them the show of their lives." I whispered breathlessly.

In the next breath, he captured my lips. An electric jolt zapped through me when our lips touched for the first time, unleashing excitement in the pit of my belly.

The kiss was meant to be brief, I sensed it, but as soon as our lips touched, it felt like that was where they belonged.

His lips were warm and soft, tasting like the wine he'd been drinking, and I could barely hear myself breathe as the pressure of our kiss increased.

His tongue brushed against my lips as if he'd forgotten where we were, seeking entrance. I was just about to grant him entrance when the sudden applause jolted us out of the moment.

we pulled apart so quickly from each other that it sent my senses reeling from the sudden loss of his lips.

As the applause went on with shouts of "Eww.", "What a lovely couple" and "Get a room," I found myself in a trance as I stared at the man who'd just rattled my senses with his kiss, trying to catch my breath, dazed by all the things the kiss had made me feel.

He looked just as startled for a bit, but then he smiled as he pulled close to me again, placing his hand at my waist again.

"These people are so cheesy." He muttered, grinning as he kissed me again.

He kissed me so casually like it was something we usually do.

But he didn't even look a bit affected. Obviously, to him, we were still pretending. To me, I'd never felt this way before because of a kiss.

A moment later, his parents walked over to us with the woman wanting them to change partners. I danced with his dad while Luca danced with his mother, looking annoyed by something she was saying.

I couldn't help my smile as I watched them, knowing his mother was probably teasing him. Luca's father and I danced in comfortable silence till the song ended.

Luca practically run after the song ended with his mother laughing teasingly behind him. "Dad, can I have my girlfriend back please?"

His father quirked a teasing eyebrow at him. "So soon?" He smiled, showing his dimples. He was a handsome man, and it was easy to tell where Luca got his good looks.

Luca nodded earnestly, throwing an annoyed glance over at his mother who merely chuckled. Raymond took his wife's hand and led her away.

Neither I nor Luca said anything or commented about our kiss as we danced to a new tune.

I could barely contain the bitterness from being the only one who'd felt something from the kiss.

Calm down, Skylar. You knew it was all acting from the very start.

Then I saw David and Becky approaching and my heart picked rate as I wondered what they wanted.

"Would you mind me dancing with your girlfriend?" David asked.

Luca agreed without even asking if I wanted that.

"May I?" David asked, placing his hand on my waist without waiting for a response. I was too vexed to speak.

"So how have you been doing, Skylar?" He had the guts to smile at me.

Finally finding my voice, I snorted. "In no way that concerns you."

"My God! Three years and yet so much bitterness."

I scowled at him. "Three years since you cheated on me alright. I'm glad you remember."

David was the first man ever who'd made me dare to take the plunge for a relationship after my first relationship had ended nastily, only to have my heart broken once again when I found him cheating on me with Becky.

"My cousin is a good guy." David sighed. "Is his love not enough to make you forget what I did to you? Why did you lie to him about us anyways?"

"I don't have feelings for you anymore David, but I don't hate you either. Besides..." I was about to say Luca had no right to know about our past relationship when I remembered we were supposed to be dating. "I don't hate you."

"You don't hate me and yet you can't let go of the past. This is the fourth time in three years I'm seeing you and apologizing, but you still have that rancor in you. You should know that to be able to live normally, it's better to let go of the past, the painful ones to be exact."

Thankfully, the song ended right there. I pulled away from David and walked away. I was upset, but I couldn't stop thinking about what David said.

Move on, he'd said like it was the easiest thing on earth.

No way was I going to give another man the chance to break my heart.

Needing to breathe some fresh, invigorating air, I stealthily made for the garden. I passed through the kitchen where the staff were still preparing dinner and went out through the backdoor, trying to behave as normally as possible.

I came to a halt, startled when I caught Ramiro with a girl I hadn't seen before on his lap on one of the long garden chairs.

They were making out and sucking each other's faces like there was no tomorrow. His hands had ridden under her top while he groped her breasts like a lifeline.

Gah. Could this guy be any more disgusting? His family was like just a few meters away and he was here probably intending to fuck the girl right there.

Even I wouldn't be stupid enough to have sex in a public place.

Appalled, I deliberately cleared my throat, watching as they abruptly pulled apart and the girl jumped off his lap.

The girl's cheeks flushed, and Ramiro flashed me a smile I didn't bother to return as I wandered to another part of the very large garden.

There were several flowers. From red roses to peonies to peaches to sunflowers to forget-me-nots, with a centerpiece of tumbling bougainvillea and a well-manicured lawn.

Plucking a handful of the peony flowers, I brought them to my nose, inhaling deeply and letting calm wash over me. I'd always been one in nature.

"I see you are no fan of parties just like me." A voice said from behind me.

I'd known it for just two days, and yet that snug, grating voice wasn't hard to recognise. I rolled my eyes without turning to look at him.

"My cousin doesn't deserve you, you know." Ramiro said.

"And who does?" I snorted, walking away to pluck some more flowers. "No, don't tell me, let me guess. You?"

"You're one intelligent woman. Admit that I'm hotter than Luca."

You wish.

I reached up for a forget-me-not from it's tree when Ramiro suddenly placed his hand at my waist. Horrified, I spun around to face him, throwing his hand off me while I glared at him.

"Don't ever do that again." I warned.

If anything, his smile grew even more arrogant. "You don't remember me, do you?"

A jolt went through my chest. "Why would I have to remember you when I've only known you for two days?"

"Two days, huh?" He chuckled, the sound bringing an uneasy feeling to the pit of my belly. "I bet you wouldn't remember. It took me a while myself, but I finally figured it out."

Then he smiled confidently. “You're the girl who let my best friend fuck you while I watched and jerked off.”

My heart skipped a beat.