More Than Once by Dominique Wolf

CHAPTER 11:

S

aturday night rolled around and we were all in the VIP section of Mala Mía for Reyna's birthday celebrations. It was a full house tonight with Reyna inviting her friends from work to join our usual group. Diego also brought a few of his friends around but thankfully Matías wasn't one of them. The last time I saw him was humiliating enough. We had been here for a few hours now and Reyna was having the best time with Diego. She was glowing. Just watching them interact with each other brought on a wave of jealousy I couldn't control. There was a connection there and they were both happy to explore it. I hadn't figured out exactly what I wanted at this point in my life but I would never turn down the opportunity to have what they were starting to have. I mentally scolded myself and pushed all unnecessary thoughts out of my head. I was here for Reyna and that was all that mattered. We had all made our way through several bottles of alcohol but I needed another drink. I reached over the table and grabbed the bottle of tequila from the ice bucket we had. I scanned the area for shot glasses but was unsuccessful.

“Fuck it,” I mumbled to myself.

I stood up and walked over to Reyna and Diego. They were leaning against the railing looking down at the dance floor. I tapped her on the shoulder and she turned around.

“There you are!” she exclaimed. “Please can we go dance?”

“We can,” I said as I presented the bottle up in front of her. “But first, you and I are taking a shot of this.”

“Where are the shot glasses?” Diego asked.

Reyna laughed, “As if we need one.”

She reached for the bottle from me and removed the lid. One quick motion and she took a big swig. She pushed the bottle back to me, laughing at how she successfully managed to down that without gagging. I took it back from her and repeated the action, trying my hardest to keep my face composed. I was clearly unsuccessful since both she and Diego burst out laughing.

“You did not enjoy that.” Diego mused.

“And what about you?” I shoved the bottle in his face. “You can't let us drink alone.”

He smirked and took a sip. The alcohol was still burning my chest and I could feel it slowly traveling to every inch of my body. I could physically feel the tension I was holding started to melt away. I was reaching for the bottle again when I suddenly noticed Giovanni casually stroll into our section. I held my breath. That man literally takes my breath away. I had forgotten how damn attractive he was. He was wearing that leather jacket I loved so much and I rolled my eyes at his typical chosen bad boy attire. I decided to take Sergio's advice and remove myself from the situation. He was so sexy though and it took everything I had to avoid him. I wanted Giovanni badly but I also knew myself. I grabbed the bottle from Diego and turned to go put it back in the ice bucket, happy that it was in the opposite direction to where Giovanni was headed. I snuck one more sip, knowing I was going to need it. I placed it down and felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned and was surprised to see Alessandro, one of Diego's friends that I met earlier. There was no denying that he was attractive as well but in a very different way to Giovanni. His long dark hair was pulled into a bun and even in the dark lighting of the club, I could notice his pretty grey-blue eyes.

“Are you not going to share?” he mused, eyeing the bottle I just put down.

“Help yourself,” I gestured to the bucket. “It's a free for all around here.”

“I can tell.” he reached past me to grab the bottle. His movement was deliberate in ensuring he was in close proximity to me. He removed the lid and downed some, never taking his eyes off me.

“Good?” I smirked.

“We can all agree that it tastes pretty shit,” he quipped. “But we don't drink it for the taste.”

“Ain't that the truth.” I laughed.

“You've got a great laugh.”

I blushed, “Are you flirting with me, Alessandro?”

My inebriated state came out to play now and there was no way I could control what was coming out of my mouth.

He cocked an eyebrow at me and smiled, “Would that be a bad thing?”

“Not at all.”

There was tension between us but not even close to what I experienced with Giovanni. I shouldn't be comparing but I couldn't help it. The thought of him made me quickly scan the area. He must have left because I couldn't see him anywhere. Maybe that was a good thing. Here was a cute guy flirting with me and I was looking for someone else. I needed to stop and focus on Alessandro. Even if it was just for tonight.

“Can I buy you a drink?” he shouted over the blaring music. “I think we could both do with something better than tequila.”

I nodded and grabbed his hand, “That would be great.”

I led him through the crowd and down the stairs. We had to slip through the main dance floor to get to the bar. As we made our way through the crowds of people, Giovanni caught my eye. He was on the other side of the bar now standing with Alonzo and Sergio. I tried to avert my eyes but he was staring at me. The way he was looking at me brought my body to life. There was something more to it. The desire was there in his eyes but so was the jealousy. Was it jealousy? Was he jealous of Alessandro right now? We made it to the bar and I could still feel his eyes on me but I forced myself to ignore it.

If he wanted me, he would come and get me.

“What can I get you?” Alessandro asked, leaning in closer to me so I could hear him.

“Surprise me.”

His hand slid down to the small of my back and he rested it there. It made my body tingle but only because thoughts of Giovanni running his hands down my body decided to pop up. What the fuck was happening to me? Every thought was of him and our time together. He had me addicted and I didn't know how much longer I was going to last without another dose. I shook the thought away as Alessandro passed me my drink.

“Thank you.”I brought the drink to my lips. I had no idea what I was drinking but it was great.

“This is pretty good.” I said. Which was going to be a problem honestly, because it was way too easy to drink.

Alessandro leaned against the bar, “So, have you always lived in Barcelona?”

I shook my head, “No, I'm originally from London.”

“Ah, I thought I sensed a bit of an accent,” he commented.

“I moved here about five or six months ago.”I couldn't even remember anymore. These past few months have felt like a blur and it gave me a warped perception of time.

“Change of scenery?” he asked.

“I guess you could say that.”

I couldn't help but flick my eyes over to where Giovanni stood. Some girl I had never met had joined him and they were in close proximity to one another. Too close for my liking. I had to physically hold myself back from allowing my jealousy to consume me, yet again.

Was he trying to make me jealous now?He couldn't do that. I had already experienced an annoying amount of jealousy the last time I saw him. Witnessing the way he was with that brunette at the beach was one of the many red flags that wouldn't stop waving excessively in my head and yet here I was unable to get him out of my mind. Just knowing he was in the same vicinity as I brought my desire to life. Why did he have this effect on me?

“So you moved out here to Barcelona months ago,” Alessandro recaps. “Why'd you leave?”

Sober me knew I didn't want to have this conversation right now but unfortunately, she wasn't here at the moment.

“I got dumped.” I announced, laughing at the ridiculousness of that statement.It was the facts. Nate dumped me but I was more upset at the fact he turned my life upside down rather than him actually leaving me. I wasn't even in love with him anymore, so shouldn't I have been happy that we broke up? Did I want to end up marrying someone I wasn't in love with? Did I want to end up with someone that I had no passion with? No - I wanted it all. I wanted the hearts and flowers and sex and passion. I wanted to have my life under control again. I wanted to live the life I had always dreamed.

But what was that now? What did I want?I pushed all those thoughts out of my mind. Now was not the time to let all that consume me.

“I'm sorry to hear that.” Alessandro said sincerely.

There was a kindness to him that I found endearing. I smiled at him, “That's okay. It happens to all of us.”

“I'll drink to that,” Alessandro smirked, sipping his drink. “My ex-girlfriend left me for someone else.”

“What a bitch.”

Alessandro laughed and shrugged it off, “What can you do hey? Like you said, it happens to all of us.”

“Well, it doesn't need to,” I said, smiling at him. “So how do you know Diego?”I wanted to avoid any further talk about either of our exes. I didn't know him and the last thing I wanted to do was explain anything more about Nate and I certainly didn't expect him to do the same with his cheating ex. He jumped right into explaining how they had known each other since middle school and they'd been inseparable ever since.

“You wouldn't know it, but Diego became a naughty shit all throughout high school,” he chuckled. “And I always went along with his crazy plans.”

“Sounds just like Reyna.”

“Yeah it would seem that those two really have something,” he commented. “I think Reyna is great for him.”

“I'm glad you feel that way. She's the best and I just want her to be happy.”

“I've never seen Diego like this with anyone.” he mentioned.

“That's the same with Reyna. She always had a tendency to run away from any real commitment.”

“It's starting to sound scary at how many similarities those two have in common.” he joked.I laughed and placed my empty glass on the bar.

“I'm guessing you enjoyed that.” Alessandro laughed, eyeing my empty glass.

I shrugged, “That was actually really, really good. Unlike that tequila we had.”

He chuckled, “You want me to order another one?”He was sweet. He was really trying with me but in the back of my mind, I was just too distracted to give him the attention he deserved. Over and above everything going on in my mind, I was insanely jealous of the blonde with Giovanni right now. I couldn't even bring myself to look over at him again. I was already on the edge and something as simple as seeing that could easily push me over.

“I'll get us another round,” I said to him. “Can you go get Reyna and Diego? We should get a drink together.”

He nodded and turned to head back upstairs to the VIP section. I leaned against the bar, trying really hard to stop the room from spinning right now. I was more intoxicated than I realized. I didn't seem to care though as I ordered another round of drinks from the handsome bartender behind the bar. I ran my fingers through my hair and leaned my head against my hand.

“Who's the guy?” I heard him say from behind me. “Another date of yours?”

I turned to the side and Giovanni took his place next to me. I rolled my eyes at his reference to the previous interaction we had around Matías being my date. I had done plenty of overthinking since the last time I saw him at the beach and I was not in the mood to get into anything with him right now. But that didn’t stop my body from awakening at his mere presence and I scolded myself for my lack of self-control. I had managed to pull myself away from him a few weeks ago but my body felt so deprived, I wasn't sure how much longer I was going to be able to keep this up.

“Not that it's any of your business but he's not my date.” I slurred.I had to force myself to look away from him. I couldn't help that he was so damn attractive but my drunken self couldn't handle looking at him for too long without my mind wandering off again.

“And so what if he was my date?” I shouted over the music, the words flowing out of me, “There's nothing going on between you and I anymore.”

“Isn't there?”

“Is there?” I turned back to him. “As I recall you said you weren't looking for anything.”I blamed the alcohol again for my inability to keep my mouth shut right now. He moved closer to me and leaned on the bar. He was calm and collected and I was using every ounce of my self-control to keep it together.

“You said it first.” he reminded me.

Touché.

I could see the amusement in his eyes again. He was enjoying this back and forth banter. I wanted to see if I could make him jealous. I already knew that my jealousy was there and I couldn't control it but what about him? Was he jealous I was with someone else? Did it bother him if I was? What if I left with Alessandro? Would he come after me?

“Well I've decided that I need to stay away from you so might as well have something casual with him.” I shrugged.

The bartender placed our next round of drinks in front of me. I couldn't carry all four so I decided to get a head start and reached for mine. I brought it to my lips and sipped on it. My body warmed as the alcohol burned through it, creating the illusion of a sense of calm in this rowdy environment.

Giovanni laughed and leaned closer to my ear, “He can't drive your body crazy like I can.”

Oh my.I squeezed my thighs together to try to contain the excitement that just came to life. Fuck. He was so sexy. His words, his looks, his body - he was just too much for me and after making a comment like that, I had no idea how I was going to keep my distance. I downed more of my drink.

“There's that arrogance again.” I commented.

“Confidence.” He correctedme, just like he did last time.

He was so close to me now. I turned my body to face his and looked up at him. He was ready for me just like I was ready for him. I wanted nothing more than to reach out and kiss him. I needed to feel his lips on mine again. I needed his hands on my body - the sexual tension consumed me.

“This is a bad idea, I need to stay away from you.” I breathed.

“Why would you want to stay away from me?”

“I can't control myself around you, Giovanni.” I let out a breath and reminded myself not to give into him.

“Don't…,” he lifted his hand to my chin and ran a finger across my cheek.

That single word was hypnotic. Every inch of my body called for him. He was so close that I could smell his cologne. I groaned - it was intoxicating. I regretted the amount of alcohol I had up till now because I was slipping further from my sane thoughts and closer to my deepest desires.

“I know you love it when I touch you.” he ran his other hand up my thigh, lifting my dress just enough to get his message across.

I bit my lip trying to control my arousal. Here we were again in a crowd full of people but all I saw was him and what I wanted him to do to me right here, right now. I was staring into his eyes and was just about to hand myself over to him when Alessandro returned with Reyna and Diego.

“I've been looking for you.” Reyna said.

Giovanni and I broke out of the trace we were in. He stepped away from me and we turned to the group. I didn't want any of them to be here right now. I just wanted him.

“Here I am.” I smiled, reminding myself I was here for her.

Alessandro came to stand on the other side of me. He noticed Giovanni and extended his hand, “Hola, I’m Alessandro. Nice to meet you.”

Giovanni nodded and returned the handshake, “Likewise.”

Liar.

I flicked my eyes over to him and I knew he was still reeling from the unfulfilled tension just like I was. I turned to grab the drinks I ordered and handed them out.

“Okay this is my last one,” Reyna took the glass from me. “I actually came to let you know that Diego and I are going to get out of here. He says he has a surprise for me.”

I raised an eyebrow at her and she winked.

“I just wanted to find out how you're going to get home,” she continued. “Cause I'm probably going to stay with him and Kat just left with Sergio.”

“She's actually going to stay with me.” Giovanni announced, interrupting our conversation.

I flicked my eyes over to him, surprised by his interjection. How could I possibly convince myself not to leave with him when every inch of my body was ready for him to take me right now?

“Oh?” Alessandro didn't hide his surprise, “I didn't realize you had a boyfriend.”

“He's not my-” I started to say but Giovanni interjected again, “She's a forgetful one when she drinks.” He placed his arm around my waist.

This was awkward. Reyna jerked her head back, eyeing me at this new piece of information that just came to light. Of course, she knew we weren't dating but she wasn't dumb, this was a classic clash of the egos. She leaned into Diego and whispered something that made him smile. I wanted to tell Giovanni off but his hand on my body was making it difficult to do so.

“Bad thing to be forgetting.” Alessandro murmured softly, probably hoping I wouldn't hear although I did. I felt bad for him.

“Anyway!” Reyna shouted, saving me from his incredibly awkward situation I was in, “I'm leaving now. You be safe. I'll text you in the morning,”

We exchanged goodbyes with everyone and then they were off. Alessandro left with them without so much of a goodbye. I couldn't blame him. He was trying really hard and I was blatantly flirting with him too. I turned to face Giovanni. I contemplated confronting him about why he didn't correct Alessandro, but I was too tempted by the possibility of being alone with him right now that I let it slip from my mind.

“So,” he started. “Your place or mine?”