• [ t w o   t o   t a n g o ] •

♥ louisa ♥

GABRIEL LOOKED MORE stressed than I'd ever seen him before as he ripped off his Venetian mask, his brown waves looking wind swept as he did so. One glance at the desperation lurking between the crevice of his furrowed brows and I'd completely forgotten about my previous attempt to run away from him.

I had been too overwhelmed by how well we were able to hold a conversation. It had flowed way easier than I'd have liked.

"Louisa, thank God you're here," he sighed in relief, passing me my drink from earlier. With his free hand, he took mine and pulled me towards the quieter side of the club. Perplexed, I followed him occasionally glancing at the flashing lights that reflected off his sharp cheekbones.

I'd been on my way to the bathroom to top up my make up when Gabriel had seen me. Before that, Logan had been telling me what he planned to do to Lexi using the information he'd found out about her. I should have noticed it earlier. The frequent trips to the bathroom. The dizziness. It made sense.

"What happened? Wait, where's Talisa? I left her with you."

I was slightly freaked out by how serious Gabriel was acting, a contrast to his usual personality. This definitely had something to do with her and I hoped it wasn't what I thought it would be. "Oh fuck, did you argue?"

Finally, we stopped walking and I took my mask off as he lifted his hands up in defeat. "No. I mean yes. It wasn't really an argument. It was- I don't know." I raised my eyebrows at him as he struggled to string a sentence together.

"What happened?" I asked, leaning against the wall and listening as he filled me in in their conversation after I had left.

"So you led her on?" I asked bluntly, staring at him as he wavered. His full lips opened and closed; speechless. It was almost funny. Of course I knew that wasn't the case considering Talisa often jumped to conclusions yet I was interested in seeing how Gabriel would react.

He knew how to push my buttons and I thought it would only be fair to give him a taste of his own medicine.

What I didn't expect was for his face to drop completely, a strong emotion consuming it. Was it shame? No. More of a mix of disappointment and a tad of self loathing. "M-Maybe unknowingly. I didn't think I did but perhaps. I don't know. I hate this sort of stuff," he said, clearing his throat when he stammered.

I tensed awkwardly before laughing and lightly pushing his shoulder. "I was joking, you psycho. Chill out, Gabriel." Talisa was pretty bold but I didn't think she'd do anything drastic. "She'll be fine, don't worry too much. Talisa would want to be alone right now. Give her some space."

I glanced at him and the smile dropped from my face.

He wasn't listening to me.

Gabriel's grey eyes that usually shone like a soft moon - however much I hated to admit it - had turned distance ever since I said the word psycho. He was fixated to the spot and I knew in that moment, he wasn't in this club. He was miles away in a memory.

I wrapped my dainty hand around his bicep and shook him slightly, a little worried.

"Gabriel. Gabe. Snap out of it."

My cocoa eyes searched his hard for a couple seconds, close enough to count his long dark eyelashes. A thin sheen of water coated them yet rapidly dissipated as he blinked hard a couple times, shoving away the memory he was reliving. "Huh? Sorry, Lou. What did you say?"

"I said not to worry about Talisa. But Gabriel, what was that?" I asked, concerned whilst taking a seat on the chairs at the side. He tried to play it off but I could see his chest heaving as he tried to control his breath.

He shrugged his shoulders, "Ah nothing. Just thinking about something." A forced grin made its way onto his face as he indiscreetly pointed at some guy dancing next to a woman in a red dress. "Look at that guy's jaw. It looks like it's just been whacked with a cricket ball. Bit like Logan's, right? Only less ugly."

I rolled my eyes partially at his dig towards Logan but mostly towards his subject change. "It didn't seem like nothing. It looked pretty intense. What were you thinking about?"

"Just stuf-" Gabriel started before sighing and rubbing his eyes. He looked at my face for a couple seconds as if deciding whether I was worth sharing it with before exhaling slowly. "It's a long story you probably wouldn't want to hear. Congrats on your engagement by the way."

His tone went from sincere to sarcastic within seconds. "It's a great sacrifice by the way, St Darling."

I crossed my long legs over each other and sat up straighter in my chair. "What is?"

"Marrying Logan."

Did he know?

"Marrying Logan and saving another girl from seeing that irritating douchbag's face on the daily. Imagine waking up next to that. Gives me nightmares." A laugh slipped out my mouth as he shot me a grin. "I have no idea how you deal with it."

My full ruby lips twitched. "It's an art."

Gabriel raised his eyebrows, faking an impressed look. "Well, cheers to that."

It was scary how fast he could push those memories and emotions away. It made it seem as if he had a lot of practice at it. I wondered what he was hiding. He didn't remember anything about that day.

The sound of my cocktail glass and his tumbler clinking together was masked by the music as I shivered slightly. Daiquiri and whiskey.

Just like on that evening when we were at the party in Brixton together. The first and last time I'd ever seen him before Forteaux.

Taking a too large sip, I let the taste of rum tingle upon my tastebuds. This was the best opportunity I was going to get to talk to him and find stuff out. I just had to make sure I didn't get overwhelmed.

You've got this, Louisa.

"Anyway, I'm all ears," I said sincerely, tucking my hair behind my ear. "It's going to be a long night considering how drunk everyone's planning on getting. I've got a lot of time. Let's hear it."

Time wasn't the main reason I was asking. I needed to know if what he'd been thinking about had anything to do with that night. I still didn't know how much he remembered.

He sat back in his chair and unbuttoned the top button of his shirt. It looked like he was having a conversation with himself in his mind. A really serious one. I chuckled to myself thinking I was imagining it.

Who would he be talking to? His conscience?

Nobody did that. Don't be stupid, Louisa.

"You can trust me," I added, unsure one whether I was lying or not.

He shook his head as if that hasn't even entered his mind. "Yeah, I know I can. After all, you were the one who warned me to get away from the hospital before I got caught."

I nodded, urging him to continue. "You haven't heard anything else from that anonymous texter, have you? The one who knew about your father and Lexi."

I'd forgotten about the false story I'd made up about some secret texter. Logan was the one who had told me. My spine straightener at the mention of my father and Lexi's affair. Nobody apart from Gabriel knew about that.

"Nothing."

"Okay." Taking another sip of my daiquiri, I hoped he would just tell me already. Obviously, he wasn't completely stupid either. "As long as you tell me what's going on between you and Logan," he added quickly.

"What do you mean? We're engaged. Of course something's going on between us. I'd be a bit concerning if there wasn't." I laughed too loudly knowing we were on thin ice as he snorted. His grey eyes intensely flicked onto mine.

"No shit, Lou," he said satirically before clasping his hands and leaning forward. He grabbed the side of my chair and pulled it towards him before speaking lowly. "I'm not talking about that. I'm referencing that conversation you were having with Logan in your room at the yacht."

I'd seen him earlier and knew he'd been listening.

Keeping my cool, I raised an eyebrow. "Eavesdropper too, Gabriel? Let's add that to the list. Alcoholic, reckless, impulsive-"

"Attractive Casanova, Greek sex-god and simply so damn irresistible." he completed arrogantly, pursing his pink lips that contrasted against his dark hair. "Did I miss anything?"

He hadn't but I certainly wasn't going to tell him that. I didn't give him the satisfaction of a response. "Fine. I'll tell you."

"I wasn't done yet. You gotta tell me about that day a couple weeks ago," he gestured with his hand and dread filled me hoping he wasn't talking about that time.

One look at the shimmering silver waves that were crashing wildly in his eyes and I knew he was.

"On the bus."

For God's sake.

I gritted my teeth and took another gulp from my drink. Smiling pleasantly, I nodded, telling myself I'd figure a way out whilst he was talking. "Okay, that's fair. But you first. We established earlier that you're the real lady."

He pulled a face at my comment before sinking back in his chair a little deeper as if mentally preparing himself. "Alright, fine. It happened over a year ago in the summer holiday before I turned eighteen. Well, my 'drinking problem' or at least that's what my parents called it anyway, started earlier but that's irrelevant." He threw his head back laughing emptily.

I wasn't surprised to hear about this 'drinking problem.' He put mocking bunny fingers around the word when he said it however considering our past encounters, that day when he was in the roof and his general behaviour, it was probably more serious than I knew.

It reminded me of someone else.

"I used to live in Brighton, you know?" he said, eyes staring distantly into the crowd of people trying desperately to lose themself in the music. I had heard him mention it a few times previously but he'd never elaborated upon it.

A small smile graced his lips. "My mum, dad and I lived in a small house overlooking the coast and the waves. When I was younger, I used to get angry at why our home was so small. I knew we could afford better considering Nanna was so wealthy and lived in a damn mansion so why couldn't we just do the same?" Gabriel laughed shortly, bitterness infiltrating the usually sonorous sound. "I failed to see that my parents were in love with the beach, the people and location. To them, a size of a building didn't matter if it meant living in the same town where they first met and fell in love."

Without realising it, the corners of my mouth had lifted at the mentioning of his parents relationship. "They sound like a lovely couple, Gabriel. It must have been nice growing up in an environment like that."

They were a total contrast to my parents who couldn't look each other in the eye without being disgusted. What did that make me? Nothing more that the fruit of a loveless marriage.

"Not if they abandon you, sending you away when you actually need them to be there."

Gabriel shook his head to himself and scoffed slightly. "That was at the start, Lou. As I got older, they didn't understand that I wasn't a little kid anymore. I was changing and needed more freedom. Instead they just tried to control me even more which didn't bode well with me."

"Well, it's better to have parents that try and control you than those that don't really talk to you or even see you. Parents that don't care." This time my breathing had increased a little and the curious look he was giving me showed he was about to ask me something. "No, you first," I said to which he nodded.

He took a drink of his whiskey, his adam's apple bouncing as he did so. "Then that night happened."

My hands tensed, my long nails digging into the centre of my palm. "What night?"

"I'd tell you if I could remember it, Lou. Trust me, that would solve majority of my issues. No joke."

Sections Gabriel's face was shaded as the moving strobe light drifted away from him however I could perfectly imagine the wry smile on it. My heart squeezed against my chest. I had the power to solve many of his problems by simply sharing the details of that day with him. Yet I knew very well that I couldn't. "Alcohol blackouts they call it."

If you told me a couple months ago that Gabriel had suffered from an alcohol blackout on that night, I'd be overjoyed knowing that my potentially life ruining mistake would never get out. Even now, part of me knew I should feel like that. But however much I tried as I sat beside a drowning Gabriel, I could feel nothing but sympathy and guilt.

"I'd gone out with my friends to a  party in Brixton. It had been wild night or perhaps that had just been me. Still am." He grinned and winked at me as if being 'wild' was a compliment as I rolled my eyes. "Regardless, I woke up in the drivers seat of my fathers crashed Land Rover in a Knightsbridge residential area."

"Oh." I gulped down the rest of my drink to bite back a string of curses. You fucking idiot Louisa. If Gabriel found out I lived in Knightsbridge, alarm bells would start ringing. Why did I leave the bloody car a block away from my home that night? That had been incredibly stupid.

Well, you had to get home somehow didn't you?

"I didn't have any recollection of getting in a car crash nor was there any wrecked cars around me. It was 3am and the road was dead." Gabriel's voice was monotone, as if he had told this story to himself a thousand times. "When I asked my friends where I'd been, they said they hadn't seen me for a while. One mentioned that there was a girl with me but it was normal for me to be surrounded my girls."

I raised my eyebrow at him and he shrugged his shoulders. "What? It is. Just being honest."

For once, I was thankful that Gabriel was surrounded my women. It meant that there was a very slim chance of him finding out that that girl had been me. Dropping it, I asked him what had happened next.

"They thought I was a psychopath when I told them about the car and where I'd woken up. A fucking maniac who was losing his sanity after becoming too reliant on alcohol. Others thought I was lying and making it all up for attention. One thing was in common. They distanced themselves from me and thought I was going crazy. After a while, I starting to think that too."

This is your chance, Louisa.

I chewed at my lip absentmindedly, my heart tightening as I listened to the trauma he went through. "I probably shouldn't be telling you about this either considering you'll just do the same but old habits die hard I guess." Gabriel rubbed at his forehead, splaying his hair messily.

"No. I believe you." The words slipped out of my mouth before I could decide whether it was the most tactful thing to say. Although he smiled confidently, I could see the relief rushing through him. "Do you know who that girl was?"

"No." Gabriel shifted uncomfortably in his seat as if realising he'd been talking for too long.

"Anyway, those friends left me so I joined other groups that taught me how to do drugs and other stuff. My parents were already furious about the car and after a couple more months, this pushed them over the edge. They sent me to a series of boarding schools all of which I rather impressively got myself kicked out off."

A smile quirked onto my lips as I chuckled. "That's really not a good accomplishment, Gabe."

"It kinda is but sure," he debated. "After that, they'd practically given up and Nanna stepped in, offering for me to live with her instead. And that's it. Here we are." He lifted his hands up and gestures to the two of us sitting beside each other.

My heart strings tugged at how much his life had deteriorated after a single night, half of which I was responsible for. I really was horrific, wasn't I? Completely destroying two peoples life within the expanse of 24 hours.

I tried to tell myself that Gabriel was responsible for that night more that I was yet I knew it was a pointless effort.

It took two to tango.

My heart rate sped up at the hurricane of emotions flooding through me.

Come on Louisa. Stop being so emotional. Be more logical. You'll never get this opportunity again. Ask all you can.

"Do you remember anything else from that night?" I asked, leaning towards him so that I could see his eyes. A mix of emptiness and regret was lurking in them. "Or anything at all about that girl? Maybe a name or what she looked like?"

Gabriel fell silent for a couple moments, tendrils of his coffee hair falling upon his forehead.

I immediately regretted asking those questions as his eyebrows furrowed inquisitively and his eyes held mine.

"Tell me something. Why are you so interested in that girl, Darling?"

Yas, it was the chapter you were waiting for! There was a tonne of information about that night here so go crazy asking me questions about it now so you don't get confused later on (: Some of you readers are super smart cookies so let me know if you think you've figured out what happened in 'that night.'

Even better, the conversation will continue in the next chapters so get ready for our casanova's take on it all ;)

♥ 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫! ♥