'Kiss Me Senseless'

Song : As long as you love me - Justin Bieber .

I just think the song matches the mood of this chapter.

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Cool music resounded from the speakers, masking the words everyone was uttering. I leaned against the wall close to the stairway and observed every single activity going on in the living room.

Tamara was in a hearty discussion with Alice a little distance away from me. Judging from the excited looks they were bearing, I knew they were talking about celebrities. Tanya chatted with my mom close to the dining table and Philip sat comfortably next to John probably exchanging business ideas. Hannah had headed back home to check on their kids left in the custody of their housekeeper. Joshua, a brown-haired guy was conversing with his girlfriend Chloe and she laughed at something he whispered into her ear.

So far, everyone was content with the celebration and that warmed my heart.

I lifted my phone to my face and checked my notification bar. A little message from Sebastian flashed.

Sebastian, how could I ever forget him?

I smiled as I clicked on the message box.

📥📥📥
Hey Florence! It's been awhile, what's going on?

I felt a pang of guilt in my chest as I stared at the words he sent. It's been awhile since we saw each other, the last time being at the hospital where his sister was admitted during her asthmatic attack.

📤📤📤
Sebastian! I'm so sorry about not being able to reach out to you.

His reply came in few seconds later.

📥📥📥
An apology isn't necessary, you know, I totally understand.

My lips curved upwards in a smile as I quickly typed my response. Before I could tap on  the 'send' button, someone slipped a hand around my waist. I turned sharply to see Alice's smiling face.

"Hey Alice," I lowered my phone and gave her a brief side hug.

"Girl, you have much explaining to do," she whispered and led me away from the stairs to the kitchen. I didn't fail to notice Philip's eyes following my movement.

"No?" My reply came out as a question which was a result my present state of confusion. Alice narrowed her eyes at me and placed a hand on her waist in anticipation.

"You, my brother..." She spelled out.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Well, that was a lie. Knowing my sister, she had probably told Alice about the kiss I shared with her brother.

Trying to keep a straight face, I walked to the water dispenser and gulped down a glass of water.

"My brother kissed you!" She yelled, I rushed over and covered her mouth with my hands.

"Not so loud, Alice." I pleaded and stared at the door hoping nobody heard her yelling.

She licked my palm and my face twisted in horror as I withdrew my hands from her mouth.

"You're so immature." I grumbled. A cheesy grin appeared on her face. She folded her arms over her chest while I restrained myself from tackling her to the floor and wiping off the mischievous grin on her face. After giving Alice a sour look, I walked straight to the sink where I washed off traces of her saliva lingering on my palm.

"I know babe, I know." She drawled out in a honeyed voice. I rolled my eyes as I dried my hands with a white napkin positioned above the sink.

"How's Josh by the way?" I demanded in an effort to steer the conversation away from me and Philip. That wasn't working because the only thing I gained was a smirk from Alice.

"Nice try, Florence, but you're going nowhere out of this discussion."

"You're so unbelievable." I huffed and explained everything that transpired between Philip and I. She sat on the counter and listened to my words like they were what her life friended depended on.

"This is amazing! so you two are like boyfriend and girlfriend now right?" Alice questioned and let out a girly squeal. She jumped down from her position and seized my hand in a friendly grip.

"Chill girl! It's not like that between us." I protested and  checked my phone with the hand Alice wasn't holding. I smiled when a message from Sebastian came in, his message made me feel less guilty about not making time to chat with him.

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I couldn't stop thinking about you, that's why I decided to chat  you up. And it's not in a bad way, rather it's in I-haven't-seen-a-good-friend-in-a-long-time way..

I prevented a snicker from escaping my lips so that Alice wouldn't butt me with a torrent of questions arising from her insatiable curiosity.

"More like a one night stand? I like that." She dropped my hand and walked to the silver-coloured refrigerator and flung it open.

When I registered what she uttered with so much mischief, my eyes shot up in response and I could tell my cheeks were as red as a tomato. I blushed because even though her guess was wrong the mere thought of Philip and me lying together in a bed was capable of setting me ablaze. I imagined myself dressed in a flimsy nightwear and sexy underwear hidden underneath, sleeping next to Phillip and having a full view of his abs...

I felt something hit my arm"Ow!" I yelled and rubbed the arm which hurt badly. I stared at the nearly empty cuboid cereal packet trapped between her fingers.

Her intervention was just at the right time, keeping me from having  more improper thoughts about  Philip. But I didn't admit it aloud though.

"What was that for? And where did you get that?"

"That was for having a sexual fantasy about my brother." She sneered and waved the cereal packet at me.

"I wasn't having..." I tried protesting but she shut me  up.

"You were, your face was as red as beet."

"I wasn't!"

"You were."

"Wasn't."

"Were."

"Shut up, I wasn't."

"You shut up, you were." I dodged the cereal packet Alice aimed at my head.

"Tell me where you got that, I wasn't!"

"Not telling, you were!"

I was surprised that no one had come to tell us to keep it low. We were fighting like kids struggling over a few cookies.

"I narrowly missed a broken bone."  I glared at her and bent over to pick the cereal packet. I'll hurl it at her later when she forgets.

"By a cereal packet? Great." She eyed me and folded her hands on her chest.

"You're such a bully." I commented and listened to the rising and falling of voices in the living room. I could make out what each person was saying because the music playing earlier has been toned down.

The only voice I longed to hear was sadly not among them and I imagined where he had gone to. Maybe he had to make an urgent call or he went to the restroom.

Totally drowning out Alice's presence - I guess she left after a few minutes of ignoring her - my eyes dropped to my feet as a lot of things passed through my mind.

What would I do now? Philip has shown genuine interest in me now and as much as I'd like to take things further with him, Peter was still there.

What could I possibly do? Choose Philip over Peter just because Peter had cheated on me with Maya  or choose Peter because I knew him more than I did Philip. The thought of having two men to choose from left my brain in a muddle.

"What are you thinking about? I turned my head in the direction of the voice. Philip was leaning against the counter just like I was and I noticed the absence of his suit jacket.

"I was only reflecting on some things." I pushed myself away from the counter, never breaking my eyes away from his. His face betrayed no emotion whatever but by the ruffled state of his hair, I knew something was bothering him.

"I'm tempted to ask what they are, but you wouldn't tell me even if I did ask right?"

I nodded and at the same time wondered could he possibly know so much about me.

"Yes you're right but how did you know that?"

His eyes which had been roaming around the kitchen settled on me briefly.

"I know a lot about you." A smile  tugged at his lips.

"Stalker." I teased him and let out a nervous laugh.

The air around us  suddenly changed from normal to tense. I guess he noticed the change because he ran a  set of fingers over the surface of the counter and rearranged his tie with  the other, something he did whenever he was anxious.

What happened during the next few minutes was beyond my comprehension.

We were desperately shoving our tongues down each other's throat. I was pressed against the wall close to the refrigerator and Phillip's chest pressed mine lightly, his left hand was around my waist while his other hand was used in cupping my face while his lips worked in sync with mine.

His lips demanded dominion over mine and I willingly gave in. He bit lightly on my lower lip and continued intoxicating me with his fiery kisses.

We broke away to regain our breaths which were unsteady as a result of our close proximity.

He placed his forehead against mine and we stared long and  hard at each other. I rubbed the side of his head and traced a line from his ear to his chin. He closed his eyes took in a deep breath in response.

I liked the way his hands on my waist twitched as I continued tracing a pattern all over his face.

"Florence." He whispered. My eyes shot upwards to meld with his gaze. His eyes moved to my lips and lingered there. I took this as a cue to continue caressing the side of his face.

He seized my fingers before they could get to his lips. "Don't continue, please. Let's not do something we'll both regret." He pushed himself away from me and turned his back to me. 

My mouth went slack and my brain wasn't able to function properly for awhile as I stared at his back which rose and fell with each breath he took.

I felt disappointed that he released me from his strong grip. I longed for another dose of his touch that had the same effect as a drug would have. 

His kisses were so addictive and I knew I could never get used to them. Even though this wasn't the first time he kissed me, I still had the fluttery feeling in my stomach that made me reason like a lunatic.

Didn't he know how badly I wanted him to kiss me senseless, how I wanted to tear his clothes off his body and do unmentionable things to him?

After a few minutes when the addictive effect of Philip had washed away, I was able to think properly. I agreed that Philip did the right thing in stepping away from me before things spiraled out of control, before our emotions made us do things we'd regret later.

Reluctantly, I rearranged my gown and my hair before storming out of the kitchen to meet baffled faces staring at me.

"What went on in there?" Mom asked. She was standing next to Mr Adam, with an arm locked in his. While I wondered what he was doing at our house without an invitation, mom raised an eyebrow as the door behind me opened to reveal a composed Philip who didn't look like he was in a heated make out session with a certain person.

"Florence and I were having a little discussion."  He replied and walked to the main door which he threw open and made his way outside the house.

Everyone lost interest in the scenario and returned to dancing and talking. I sighed in relief, thankful that no one suspected any thing or pretended not to.

I was about heading to my room to clear my thoughts when my sister intercepted me with a smug look on her face.

"What happened in there?" My shoulders fell slack. Here I was thinking I had escaped an interrogation.

"We had a little discussion, that's all."

"A discussion which forced your bra strap out from its proper position? That  was a very convenient discussion."

My eyes snapped down to my shoulders. Truly, my bra strap was out of place. I wished I had used a mirror before stepping a foot out of the kitchen. My gaze moved back to my sister who wore a goofy smile, probably praising herself for discovering something no one else did.

Loud noises from outside the house blocked out whatever Tamara was about saying. We exchanged glances when we noticed that our guests weren't in the living room anymore but were outside, crowded around two men who looked two bulls ready to charge at each other.

A path was made for Tamara and I to get to the front. Tamara was about moving to where the glaring contest was held when I stopped her.

"Go take care of them," she spoke into my ears. Mom beside me gave me an encouraging nudge.

"Everyone, get back to the party!" I yelled and mom began ushering our guests back into the house. Peter's and Philip's eyes landed on me and they moved far from each other.

I could tell they were embarrassed by the way they failed to fully look  into my eyes.

Peter made slow steps towards me and I raised a finger up, discouraging him from advancing further.

"I need the both of you to sort out whatever you need to, quietly. And do not talk to me till whenever you are done." I spoke, making sure they knew how disappointed I was.

I didn't expect them to create a scene  in front of my house. although I knew that since Philip saw Peter here the other night, their relationship was severed, I didn't think they'd fight it out in front of my house and in front of our guests.

"It wasn't intentional." Philip tried explaining. His speech instead of calming me flamed me up.

"I don't care if it was intentional or not, all I'm saying is that the  both of you should keep your distance from me till you settle whatever issues you have."

Without waiting for Philip or Peter to speak, I hurried to the kitchen and grabbed my phone which resting on the counter. I looked at the refrigerator which reminded me of Philip kissing me and doing those funny things to my brain.

I wouldn't be thinking about him or Peter for awhile, though it would be hard, I needed to get things straightened out.

I headed back to my room discretely and changed out of my gown into my nightwear. As I lay on my bed, my phone beeped and I stared at the screen where Sebastian's name came up.

With a smile, I opened the message he sent.

📥📥📥
I know you're not always available, but we can hang out tomorrow, what do you think?

I saw his offer as an opportunity to rid my mind of the two men I  didn't want to associate with for a while.

📤📤📤
It's been awhile since we last saw each other, why not? Send me the venue and time

Even though I knew Sebastian had a little crush on me, I wasn't agreeing to hang out with him for my selfish reasons, I just needed a break from everything and I knew he'd be capable of giving me the break I desired.

📥📥📥
I'll like it to be a surprise so I'll pick you up by seven p.m tomorrow, be prepared.

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You didn't expect Peter to show up, did you?

What do you think of Peter and Philip's arguing at Florence's house?

Do you think Florence should hang out with Sebastian?

Thanks for reading this chapter, there's more ahead, I can assure you.

Candice_Is_Crazy, my Wattpad buddy runs a cover shop and her covers are really amazing, If you need her to make one for you, she'll be glad to help.

There's another book I published and it's titled ' Twisted '. I know many of us love good fairytales.  ' Twisted ' is unlike the normal Cinderella stories you've read on Wattpad. You may check it out  here Tris_Pryer

Next week will be a really busy week so I might drop an early update if I can.

Tris❤