Chapter 7 - Niccola Fairchild

Niccola Fairchild

“No, no, we can’t do this,” I say as I place my hands on Cole’s chest and push him away from me, but, opposed to what you see in the movies, he doesn’t budge. His entire body stays in place, against mine as his eyes scan my face, his eyes moving from my eyes to my lips and back to my eyes.

“No, what we can’t do is stay away from each other; you feel it. I know you do,” he says, and I almost give in. It’s like his voice has mind-controlling power or some shit. I shake my head, trying to clear my head as Cole’s hand rests on my face. Slowly, he moves his fingers, resting them under my chin, forcing me to look up at him.

“Fucking look at me, Niccola,” Cole says, and I snap my eyes open to meet his blue ones, and I can’t help but smile slightly. “I can’t stay away from you, I don’t know what kind of spell you put on me, but I just can’t,” he says, and I nod slightly before his lips meet mine again.

His kiss tastes like hell and heaven at the same time. I don’t know how that is possible. How something so wrong feels so right. “I am ending this right now,” Cole says, breaking up the kiss and walking away from me, leaving me wide-eyed as I watch him leave the bathroom. What the hell? I quickly follow him down the corridor, but before he reaches my mother, he is stopped by someone, and their faces are not happy. Cole looks at me over his shoulder quickly before he stares at the man in front of him again.

My heart is beating fast. I didn’t know my heart was able to beat this fast. I can only imagine if it keeps going like this, I will end up with a heart attack. I watch as Cole walks to my mother, and I rest my hands against my stomach as Steph walks to me, frowning.

“You need to fix your lips,” she says, and I frown as he passes me a small wipe. “The red is everywhere but on your lips,” she adds, and I nod, turning around and wiping my mouth, but when I turn, I regret it immediately.

My mother, standing next to Cole, wipes his lips and looks at me and then at him. No, no… her eyes meet mine before she smiles and looks at Cole again. He stands still with his hands in his pockets, his back turned to me, while my mother speaks.

“It’s time,” Steph says, and I look at her as everyone moves to the dining room. I watch as people sit. Everything seems to be moving in slow motion as I watch Cole stand next to my mother. Her arm wrapped around his even though his hand was still in his pocket, and his smile disappeared. He looks stoic. Cold. A man I don’t recognise. The man I know was hot, adventurous, skillful, and delicious. The man I see right now is the opposite.

“You have to go sit down,” Steph says, and I shake my head slightly, trying to break the spell, but her eyes meet mine as she stands in front of me, blocking them from me. “You are not working now, you are the daughter of the hostess, and I need you to sit down and let me do my job,” Steph says as she wraps her arm around mine and pulls me to sit next to Cole.

I take a deep breath as I take my place and stand still, staring straight, not looking at anyone. Yeah, I think this feels like a heart attack. As I try to control my breathing while people take their last seats before the first course is brought out, I feel a hand on my knee. My head moves, looking down and then looking at Cole, who keeps his eyes straight at the people in front of us.

I move my hand and try to get his hand off, but his grip tightens, and I whimper lightly at his touch. “Wine?” I hear someone say, and I nod before wine appears in front of me. I immediately hold the glass and bring it to my lips, but someone clears their throat, and I watch as my mother stares at me with the most disgusting look ever.

I know I was never her favourite person in the world. She always blamed me for ruining her body. She doesn’t have a maternal bone in her body. Pretending we are a happy family is only that. Pretend. I was never family for her. I was always a bank account. A way to get more money out of my father.

The entire dinner passes as a blur. Cole’s hand stays in place most of the dinner as I try to control my breathing and the blush on my face. As soon as dessert is brought, I clear my throat and throw my napkin on the table, and push my chair back, making more noise than necessary.

As I stand, so does Cole, and I frown as my mother shakes her head and I offer the couple a timid smile. “I need to excuse myself,” I say, not giving any more details. As I walk away from the table, I watch as Steph walks fast towards me.

“Get me out of here, I can’t be here,” I say as Steph wraps one arm around my shoulder and walks me out of the room quickly.

“I have a car waiting, he will be taking you to the hotel, stay there, I will be there as soon as I am done here with ice cream and a lot of booze,” she says, and I nod as she keeps guiding me through the back corridors that lead to the back door.