We’ve been taking swigs back and forth for the past half hour as we quietly stare down at the auditorium.
“I can’t believe this is mine,” Connie says with an awed sigh.
She has her feet pressed up against the guardrail, her arms over her thighs, the bottle of tequila hanging loosely between her legs. Her red hair is down, almost disappearing against the color of her black knit sweater.
I’m too wrapped up in drinking her in to say anything of substance, so I stay silent.
She looks at me with a sated smile, handing me the tequila bottle. I keep picking up on the warm florals of her perfume anytime she offers me the bottle, and I can’t stop imagining myself burying my nose into the crook of her neck anytime I get a hit.
“You know …” she starts, looking for her words. “Money has never been an issue for me, most of the things I’ve ever wanted I’ve gotten, but —” She looks back down at the stage and her smile widens. My heart swells with it. Her eyes meet mine again. “Buying the Remington feels different. It’s not just another frivolous purchase simply because Icould, it feels …”
She falls silent again as if considering her next words. I decide to finish her thought for her.
“Meant to be?”
I take a swig of tequila as her face turns pensive, slowly nodding.
“Yeah, meant to be,” she repeats softly.
I smile but don’t say anything. We fall into a comfortable silence for a few minutes. Her fingers graze mine when she takes the bottle back. I pretend I don’t feel it all the way up my arm.
She’s touching me. It’s fucking bliss. A hand on my cock. My fingers finding her soaked. Breathy moans against parted lips. Heatedexchange of words. Pleading. Begging. I shove her pants down. Bend her over the sink.
Eventually, Connie breaks the silence with a question. “Do you believe that coincidences aren’t just coincidences?”
I don’t answer immediately. Instead, I mirror her posture and press my feet against the railing, settling deeper into my seat. Folding my hands over my stomach, I let out a long exhale before my head drops toward her. She hasn’t stopped staring at me, waiting for me to answer her question.
“Elaborate,” I finally say.
I know what she’s implying, but something in me just wants to hear her muse out loud.
“You know,” she says impatiently, elongating her last word. “Do you believe everything happens for a reason? That somehow every decision you make leads you right where you’re supposed to be?”
Foil wrapper ripped between clenched teeth. A hand trailing down her back, pressing her down. Groans. Moans. Breathing. Panting. The head of my cock pushing against her wet slit. A thrust of the hips. Bliss. Fucking bliss.
I collect my thoughts before I give her an honest answer. I distance myself from the hard truth instead.
“You’ve been living in LA for too long.”
Connie snorts a laugh before gulping down a healthy amount of tequila.
“I’m being serious, Hux.”
The shortening of my name tickles my nape again. I chew on my words, my thoughts turning bitter. I don’t want to ruinthe moment, but how can I tell her that her woo-woo belief is one of privilege?
What a comforting thought to have, when everything has come so easily for her, while herfategave me a shitty childhood and a one-way ticket to prison.
“Even the bad stuff, you know?” she says, breaking me out of my train of thought. She hands me the bottle. “If my ex hadn’t cheated on me, I wouldn’t be here now.”
I study her for a little while longer before speaking again. “Ask me again when something goodactuallyhappens in my life. Maybe I’ll have a better answer then.”
Pain flits across Connie’s face when she realizes the implication of what she was just inferring. This time, her reaction doesn’t bother me. Maybe this girl needs a reality check. Life isn’t a fucking magical journey full of wonder. Not for a lot of us, anyway.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it that way,” she says helplessly.
I shoot her a crooked smile, trying to lessen the tension. “It’s fine. I don’t believe in that shit anyway.”
She watches me take a large slug of tequila, the burn almost as soothing as her eyes on me. Her expression is serious when she speaks again.
