Listen to Ocean eyes by Billie Eilish.

When I woke up it was dark outside, I face-palmed myself when I recalled what I did. I won't be leaving my room anytime soon, I totally embarrassed myself.

I shouldn't have snapped, I should have pretended I was happy for him.
I groaned and buried my face in the pillow.

I had to avoid him till I came up with an excuse, I could tell him I was drunk.
The door suddenly opened, I pretended to be asleep.

"I know you're awake."
I was relieved it was Tristan but I didn't move.

"Are you feeling better?"
I gave up and turned to look at him.

"I'm fine."

"Adrian told me you were feeling sick because you took too much wine which is weird because I have seen you finish a whole bottle of wine."

"Yeah, my body didn't like the wine."

"You look like someone that takes anything that has alcohol in it."
That sounded like an insult but I will take it.

"If you say so." I shrugged.

"Call Morris if you need anything."
He turned to leave.

"Tristan."
I called sitting up, he stopped and turned around with a scowl.

"Can you tell me what happened last night? I know I was drunk and you were there but the rest of my memory is hazy."
He folded his arms and leaned on the door frame then smiled.

"What?" I asked getting scared of the smile on his face. He shrugged and walked away leaving me confused. Did I something stupid? Did we talk about something?

My phone rang breaking me from my train of thoughts, I was relieved it was Vina.

"Hey, girl!"
She screamed in a sing-song tone, I started crying but no tears were coming out.

"Chloe? What's wrong? Did Tristan do something to you? Should I call 911?"

"No, I made a mess Vina. I did something stupid."
I heard her sigh in relief.

"You kissed Adrian again?"

"No, it's worse."

"What did you do Chloe Simpson? Wait, did you murder Tristan? Just tell me the truth, I will come over and help you to clean up and get rid of the body, then we'll run away to an unknown place in Africa leaving no trace behind."

I checked my phone screen to be sure I was still speaking to my best friend.

"Belvina Gallardo, are you okay?"

"Sorry, I just finished this horror movie and it's messing with my head. What happened?"

I grunted before telling her my dilemma.

"No way."
She gasped when I was done.

"That was really stupid, Chlo."

"Don't remind me."
I groaned.

"What are you going to do now?"

"Go invisible when I see him."

"You didn't tell me you had powers."

"Seriously Vina, tell me what to do." I cried.

"To be honest with you, I think you should sort this out yourself."

"Any advice?"

"He already knows you like him, you can't change that. Wait and see what he will do, if he doesn't make...I'm telling you what do, aren't I?"

"Uh-huh, go on."

"No, figure this out yourself. Goodnight, love you."
She ended the call before I could beg her.

I made up my mind to avoid him, I started with switching off my cellphone.

☆
My phone had been off for two days now, I knew Vina would've tried reaching me.
I hadn't seen Adrian since my outburst and Tristan was still the mysterious Tristan.

I stayed in my room with three bags of potato chips doing research for my classes. I told Morris to only come to my room when it was time for dinner.

7:37 pm he was knocking on my door, I told him I'd be down in a minute and he left.

I cleared my bed and wore my big bunny slippers, I walked down the stairs rubbing my eyes. I froze when I heard Adrian's laughter, my heart raced.

I stepped back slowly trying not to make any sound.

"Did you forget something, Miss Simpson?"
Morris asked immediately he saw me, I wanted the ground to open and swallow me.

"No."
I said with a laugh but couldn't help glaring at him for ruining my escape.

I summoned every courage I had and went to the dining, Karen wasn't with him. I sat next to Tristan not uttering a word or making eye contact.

I watched Morris dish out our food like it was the most interesting thing to watch, I could feel someone's eyes on me and I knew it was Adrian.
Can someone please open the wine?

I saw Adrian from my peripheral vision standing up, I stopped breathing as he walked to where I was sitting. The hair on my neck stood erect when he leaned down to my neck, his hot breath fanned my cheek.

"Can I talk to you outside, it's only going to take a few minutes."
I nodded not trusting myself to say a word.

"I will be waiting for you in the garden."
He whispered and withdrew, carrying his warmth with him.

I took a glance at Tristan, he was already eating and didn't look bothered.

I stood up and left for the garden, I tried to even my breathing as I got closer. I saw Adrian's tall form touching the garden gnome.

I walked to where he was and stood next to him. There was a long silence between us, I rubbed my left elbow staring at the gnome too. He faced me and I did the same, I bit my inner cheek as I waited for him to say something.

"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry if I gave you the wrong signal."
I was disappointed and more heartbroken.

"It's fine, I was drunk and said nonsense." I laughed.

"I wouldn't have brought her here if I knew, I can't imagine how you felt, I'm truly sorry."
His grey eyes glimmered under the moon.

"Adrian, I'm over it."
I felt rejected. Adrian was like that with everyone, he cared about the people around him, he spoke sweetly to everyone, he gave everyone that special smile and he hugged everyone. I misunderstood everything.

"Any guy will be the luckiest in the world to have you, I feel lucky right now. I mean, Chloe Simpson has a crush on me, I'm flattered."
He said and we both laughed.

"Stop saying it like I'm some kind of celebrity."

"Oh trust me, you are."

"Hmmm, am I?" I scoffed.

"In my next life I will want us to meet in a different way, things won't be so complicated."
He said looking up at the stars, I smiled and stared at the stars too.

Be strong, don't get too emotional.

"Forgive me for hurting you, Chloe."
He said after a long silence.

"It's okay."
I whispered.

"I wish things were different."
He whispered and smiled softly at me.

"Believe me, dating Karen doesn't change anything between us, you still own a special place in my heart, you're still my closest friend, you're an amazing person, smart, funny..."

"Please stop."
I cut in with a brief smile.

"Sorry," he said and laughed.

"I only wanna know one thing, why did you kiss me?"

"I guess you'll never know."

He smiled at me and started walking away.

"Seriously? That's all I get?"

"I'm starving, can we go back inside?" He asked with a frown.

"I hate you," I said following him.

"Liar," he whispered.

Tristan was gone when we got to the dining, his side of the dining was clean. Morris took our food to heat it.

Adrian made a small conversation with me, after a while, we were laughing and talking like nothing happened between us.

Maybe we were better off as friends, I didn't want to ruin that.

☆
Adrian and I were cool now. Friday afternoon, I was informed Adrian was treating us to dinner in a classic restaurant.

I went online shopping for a gown and a pair of T-strap heels. Morris brought it to my room when it arrived. I couldn't remember the last time I visited a fancy restaurant or went out, I had a good feeling about tonight's dinner.

7:35 I was running around trying to put on my earring, Tristan had sent Morris like three times to come up and call me.

I had everything under control till I decided to do a neat bun which took half an hour. I suck at styling my hair but in the end, I got it. I wore my jewelry really fast.

My make-up was already done and the gown looked good on me I must admit, the heels looked perfect. It was a black evening dress that stopped above my knees, it was sleeveless and had lace around the neckline.

I grabbed my purse and left the room, I ran into Morris on my way downstairs.

"Mr. Sanchester is..."

"I'm ready," I cut him off with a smile.

"He is in the living room."

"Thanks."

Tristan was staring at the new painting on the wall, he was wearing black sweatpants and white Tee with black Nike shoes.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting."
He turned around to face me, his eyes scanned what I was wearing.

"Do you have somewhere else to be after dinner?"

"No?"
He stared at my heels then looked away, he was making me feel like I did too much, I mean it was a dinner in a fancy place, I had to look good.

"Is that what you're wearing?" I asked.

"Yeah, we are going to eat and chat not have tea with the queen of England."
He was really going to wear sweats and Tee, as long as he looked good I won't deny knowing him.

"Shall we?"
I nodded.

I wasn't surprised at the number of exotic cars parked in his large garage, he grabbed one car key and opened a sleek red Ferrari.

We got in the car and left the building, I was expecting Morris to drive us there.
Tristan kept typing on his phone with one hand while the other was on the wheel.

"Tristan, I'm not ready to go to heaven yet, you can text whoever you want when we get out of the car."

"It's important," he replied.

I kept my eyes on the road to make sure we arrive safely. I exhaled in relief when he parked the car in front of the restaurant.

It was a French restaurant, we made our way in. Adrian and Karen waved at us when we entered, I forced a smile as we approached them.

We took our seats in front of them, it was darn cold in here. I took a glance around the bright room with expensive chandeliers and beautiful paintings of Paris.

"I love your hair, Chloe."
Karen's voice drew my attention away from a couple feeding each other.

"Thanks."
I noticed she was wearing black too, Adrian was dressed in a two-piece suit. Everyone here was dressed in something fancy except Tristan even the waiters and waitresses looked fancy.

"Hey."
Adrian smiled at me, I smiled back.

A waiter arrived and took our orders, it was embarrassing to pronounce some of the food on the menu, the only language I studied in high school was Spanish.

"How are you feeling? Adrian told me what happened." Karen asked.

"I'm okay, sorry about that day." I apologized.

"It's fine," She waved it off with a nice smile.

Adrian ordered an expensive red wine. Tristan made me drink water since we were in public. I sipped it while we waited for our food to arrive. Karen was talking about her visit to Paris and the places she visited.

My phone vibrated indicating a text, I took it out of my purse and checked. It was a text from Vina. Adrian stood up from his seat with a nervous smile.

What was he so nervous about? I watched as he moved to the other side where Karen was sitting, he brought out a small black box and went on one knee.

I gripped my phone tightly, Karen looked like she was having a hard time breathing as she knew what was about to happen.

He opened the box and the diamond ring in the box caught everyone's attention, she gasped and put a hand over her mouth.

"Will you marry me and make me the happiest man in the world?"
He said sweetly, she nodded her head frantically saying YES.

She gave him her hand and he put the ring on, she had tears in her eyes, people in the room applauded

They have only been together for three weeks and he just proposed? In front of me? I gulped my water wishing it was the wine as they hugged, so he invited me here to come and witness him propose to his girlfriend.

I forced a smile as I watched them kiss, control yourself, Chloe. It felt like someone was running a sword in and out of my heart.

I reached for the wine bottle and got frustrated when I found it empty. I turned to look at Tristan, he was smiling at them. I grabbed his wine and finished it, he took a glance at me and I gave him a smile.

"Help me take a picture."
She forced her phone into my hand,  I tried to look happy as I took the pictures. She made many poses with the ring, she made me take a picture of them kissing.

I tried to look for an excuse to leave as she showed Adrian the pictures, I texted Vina and told her to call me, that way I could give an excuse of leaving to answer the call and never return.

It took her a while to cooperate, our food arrived and my stomach churned from the tasty foods but I had to leave before I lost control.

Vina finally called, I flashed them a smile as I stood up.

"Sorry, I have to answer this."
I walked quickly out of the restaurant.

"Okay, tell me what's going on."
She demanded immediately I picked the call.

"Adrian just proposed to Karen."

"Wait, that was the reason for the dinner?"

"I guess so."

"That's cruel, he shouldn't have invited you knowing how you feel about him, do you want me to come over and keep you company?"

"No, I will just go home and drink myself to sleep."

"Be careful, ok? I'm worried about your liver."

"Yeah, I will call you tomorrow."

"Don't do anything stupid."
She said before hanging up.

I called Morris and waited for him to come and pick me.

"Is the dinner over Miss Simpson?"

"No, I had to leave cause my uhmm...I'm not feeling too well."

I wanted to lie and tell him my Uncle's Goat had a miscarriage.

"Should I take you to the hospital?"

"No, just take me home."

"Okay, Miss."

☆
I took off my heels immediately I entered the house, I headed to the wine cellar and grabbed one bottle of brandy and went to the kitchen.

I grabbed one wine glass and poured some, I unpacked my hair and allowed it to fall down my back, the ends were a bit curled due to the bun.

I took a seat at the island and sipped the drink with different thoughts in my head. Alcohol was kinda my comfort drink, I took it to avoid too much thinking. With the situation I was in, it seemed really helpful.

It would have been much better if I heard the news about the proposal than witness it.

Someone walked into the kitchen, I was expecting to see Morris but it was Tristan.

"You left because you wanted more wine?"
He leaned on the seat far from me.

"No, you left too anyway."

"Adrian kept bugging me to go check on you since you were taking an eternity to return, I had to call Morris and he told me you were sick, care to explain?"

"It wasn't a lie, I was nauseous and alcohol helps sometimes."
I knew that didn't make any sense.

"Aren't you too young to be consuming this amount of alcohol?"
I shrugged.

I was twenty, maybe it was illegal but duh.

I stood up and got another glass and poured some for him, he collected it.

"How was the food?" I asked.

"Great, it tasted like paradise. We should go there some other time."
I gave him an eye roll.

Maybe I should get him drunk and get the truth out of him, I had never seen him drunk. He was always watchful of the amount of alcohol he took that was why he didn't care when I stole his drink.

"You're the first female I have ever come across that drinks like this."

"I'm honoured," I said with a bow.

He smiled and sipped his drink, I stared at his lips on the glass, it looked so soft, what would it feel like to kiss Tristan?
I shook the thought out of my head, must be the alcohol talking but I was curious.

I had this crazy idea in my head and I knew I will regret it. I took one gulp of my drink and stood up.

I stopped in front of him, he cocked an eyebrow as he stared down at me, his blue eyes holding countless secrets I wanted to know. There was no crime in kissing the enemy.

I gripped the front of his shirt and pushed myself up on my tiptoes, my eyes drifted to his tempting pink lips. I was still contemplating what I was about to do, I stopped thinking and captured his lower lip in a slow kiss, I felt him tense and suck in a breath.

I waited for him to kiss me back but he didn't, I withdrew and stared at his eyes that were now a darker shade of blue, it held raw desire.

"Are you drunk already?"
He asked observing me with his eyes.

"No."
The word was barely out of my mouth before he pushed my back against the island and claimed my lips.

The sudden movement made me moan, I responded to every movement of his lips. His one hand gripped my hip while the other was around my neck.

I had never been kissed like this, the feeling was beyond my imagination. The way his lips and tongue moved brought tingles to my feet and a sweet unknown sensation through my stomach.

He sucked on my lower lip and pulled it between his lips slowly till he broke the kiss, that was hot.

We were breathing hoarsely as we stared at each, there was hesitation in his eyes but the lust in his eyes was taking over.

I wanted more, my body was begging for his touch, I wanted to kiss him again.
Like he read my mind, he hoisted me up on the countertop, I ran my fingers through his hair as he moved closer between my legs.

The heat from our bodies increased the temperature around us. He used one finger to raise my chin as he looked into my eyes like he was searching for something, he swiped his thumb over my moistened lips and caressed my cheek softly. The gesture made me question what I was doing.

His eyes were glued to my now swollen lips, he leaned down and kissed me slowly. I wondered when last he got laid, I had a feeling I just awaken his hunger.

I didn't know if it was the alcohol but I was enjoying this, I didn't plan for it to go this far but who cares.

He ran his palm up my thigh through my dress, it left goosebumps on my skin. He gripped my skin digging his fingers, I could feel the mark he was leaving on me. I stifled another moan when he bit on my lip.

"Chloe?"
I pulled away and we both turn to look at Adrian at the doorway staring at us.