"Come home with me, baby. We would have such a good time.”
"Are you fucking deaf?" uttered a voice that stopped me in my tracks. I whirled around to see Lucas standing there in his shirt that clung to his thick arms; his sleeves pushed up to the elbows to expose the forearms I'd gazed at so often. He glanced at me briefly, making my heart scream with delight.
"Get in the car, Alice," he said smoothly as I noticed Andre open the door for me.
"I can't," I whispered as he turned his gaze to me, his emerald green eyes piercing into mine.
"What?"
"I'm gonna—”
My stomach emptied itself all over the damn sidewalk.
Lucas strode over to me as I coughed, stroking my back as he held my hair back. I heard him mutter something in Italian before pressing tissues into my hands. I closed my eyes with humiliation when a bottle of water pressed against my lips.
"Drink that. I'll take you home," Lucas muttered, moving me towards the car. I leaned against him; my body elated to be close to him once again. He helped me into the car before sitting beside me, staring out of the window as the car moved away.
"I'm sorry," I whispered as he continued to stare out of the window.
"Is this the life you want, Alice? Being propositioned against a club wall at two am by some fucking pervert? Drinking so much you can't stand or defend yourself if needed? It's disgusting."
As I felt my anger flare up, I stared at him, suddenly silenced when I realized that no, it wasn't what I wanted.
"No."
He nodded then as I gazed at him longingly.
"You were right, Lucas."
My lip quivered when he turned to me, the car stopping to a halt as I realized we were at my house.
"You're home now. Safe and sound. But I can't keep rescuing you. Look after yourself, Alice." Lucas's voice was quiet as he glanced at me before nodding to the driver.
My door opened softly as I reached out for him, my skin tingling from his touch.
"Please, Lucas..." I begged, tears falling down my cheeks as I searched his eyes desperately. He finally turned to me, his eyes cold.
"Go home, Alice."
43
ALICE
I showered the following day, pulling on my clothes mindlessly. I pulled my hair into a tight ponytail before sitting down on my bed.
I tried to steady my breathing, but all I could hear was the sound of my heart pounding in my chest.
Time to grow up, Alice.
I dialed Lucas’s number, praying he would accept my call.
“What now?” he answered gruffly, clearly annoyed that I’d woken him up.
“Lucas, it’s too early for damn phone calls...” I heard a female voice complain, my stomach freezing as I dropped the phone. I heard Lucas saying my name, but I ended the call.
What the fuck?
I stared at my reflection, feeling incredibly stupid and naive. Did I think he would be waiting for me? Of course not.
