“Absolutely.” Evin released the ball, sending it arcing over the table—and it landed perfectly in a cup. Cheers and applause erupted around them, but Evin only focused on Bas, who regarded her with an impressed expression.
“Okay, that was lucky.” He picked up the ball, twirling it lazily between his fingers before stepping closer to her again. “How about we make this interesting?”
Evin pursed her lips. “All right. What do you have in mind?”
“Simple.” His gaze briefly flicked to her lips before meeting her eyes again. “If I make this shot, the next dance is mine.”
Evin laughed softly, her heart beating faster. “And if you miss?” Bas grinned, tossing the ball in the air and catching it again.
“Then I owe you a secret.”Oh, now this could be fun.
“A secret, huh?” Evin raised her brows in mock curiosity. “I thought you didn’t have any.”
There was a part of her that knew better—that recognized the shift, the ease, the way he slipped right back into place like he’d never left. But maybe that part of her was tired. Maybe, just for tonight, she wanted to let herself sink into the illusion that nothing had changed.
“You’ll never know.” He released the ball and—missed. Evin clapped her hands, laughing triumphantly.
“So, Bas, what’s your big secret?” He laughed, stepping closer again and leaning toward her.
“Maybe I’ll tell you later,” he murmured, his voice rough as his gaze lingered on her lips.
“Maybe not,” Evin countered back, feeling the growing spark between them but refusing to back down. Before she could press him further, her next shot landed in a cup. In a burst of drunken excitement, Bas lifted her up, spinning her around before setting her down with a triumphant grin.
“Okay, that was impressive,” he admitted as cheers erupted around them.
Evin laughed, patting his chest. “You still owe me a secret.” Slowly, she let her hand glide across his chest before pulling it away.
As she turned to leave, her heart raced, and the tension between them threatened to consume her.
Suddenly Bas caught her hand, tugging her back—gentle, yet unmistakably firm." Pressed close to his body, he leaned in and buried his face in her hair.
“Do you really wanna know my secret?” he whispered, his other hand sliding to the back of her neck. “I’m fucking jealous of Ben. Every time I see you talking, laughing with him—it eats me alive. I don’t want to share you. I want you to be mine. Only mine.”
It might’ve been reckless, and the thought of heartbreak loomed large—but as his breath warmed her skin, she didn’t care.
Bas held her a moment longer than necessary, his fingers softly tracing her cheek before finally letting her go. Still slightly dazed by the intensity of his words, Evin scanned the crowd for Milka.
Chapter 13
Here We Are Again, Burning
Sebastian
Bas sat on the edge of the pool table, a cigarette between his fingers, even though he didn’t smoke. He just needed something to do with his hands, something to focus on that wasn’t her.
The game had been a mistake. He had let himself get pulled back in too easily—her laughter, the way her eyes lit up when she landed a shot, the way her hand had lingered just a second too long against his.It felt like old times.It felt good.
Too good.
And that was the problem.
For a moment, it had been effortless. Too fucking natural. Like they hadn’t spent the last five weeks in silence, like he hadn’t worked so hard to push her out of his head.
But then he saw it—that flicker in her eyes. The tiny crack in the armor she had built up, the way she let herself lean into him again.
Andthat’s when it hit him.If I keep going, I won't stop.
If he let himself have her again, if he let himself get too close, there would be no pulling back this time. No pretending it didn’t mean something. No escaping the way she had already wrapped herself around every part of him.
