“Nothing. Nothing at all – their dad is a surgeon, and their mom is a therapist. Great family, nice boys. He was very sweet, and it was actually really good the second time, and it got better from there on out,” she insisted. Wulf snorted.
“Did he need to step on a stool to kiss you?”
“He wasn't that short.”
“They're all short.”
“Like how short are we talking?” Liam asked, looking between them.
“Not that short,” she insisted.
“Extremely short,” Wulf spoke over her. “As I remember it, the oldest kid was around five-foot-four.”
“So he was shorter than you?” Liam chuckled. She rolled her eyes.
“You know what? Yeah, he was. But he was also amazing in bed and is now worth more than both of you combined, so shut up.”
There was silence for about three seconds, then Wulf cleared his throat.
“Wow, you really missed the boat, Tocci.”
Liam burst out laughing and Katya couldn't even be mad. It was pretty funny, and it was also sort of amazing – the three of them, sitting together, and all smiling. All having a pretty good time. She would never admit it out loud, but it was kind of … nice. It made sense, she supposed. She'd gotten along immensely well with both of them in the past, so it stood to reason they'd have a good time now. So long as they all conveniently forgot just how fucked up their little threesome was.
Their drinks were eventually delivered and they ordered dinner, but after the waiter left, Liam realized his cocktail had gotten screwed up. Instead of waiting for their server to return, he decided to head to the bar on his own to get it remade. Katya smiled as she watched him go. He cut across a large dance floor, moving in between people, flirting with girls, stopping to even twirl one.
“He has so much charm, it should probably be illegal,” she laughed, finally looking at Wulf. He wasn't watching Liam, though. He was watching her.
“Come dance with me.”
“What, now?”
“No, tomorrow. Yes, of course now.”
He didn't give her a chance to accept or deny, Wulf just grabbed her arm and hauled her to her feet. She stumbled onto the dance floor behind him and before she could kick up a fuss, he had his arms loosely draped around her waist. She frowned at him, but eventually put her arms around his shoulders.
“Tell me something,” he started talking after they'd been moving around for a minute. Katya glanced up at him once, but standing so close to him made her nervous, so she leveled her gaze to just over his shoulder.
“What?”
“What are you getting out of all this?”
She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment. Could feel him staring down at her.
“Closure?” she offered finally.
“Hard to get closure when you're the one prolonging it all.”
“I'm having fun,” she snapped, finally looking him in the eye. “Seeing you and Liam having to interact with each other, knowing he's going to be sleeping down the hall from you. Watching you both fall all over each other for something that will never happen.”
“Hmmm, never. That's a bold statement. Almost seems like a challenge,” he said.
“No,” she replied quickly, shaking her head. “It's closure. If you two can feel a small modicum of what you made me feel, then I will have closure. Get it?”
He didn't look annoyed or intimidated or crestfallen, like she'd kind of hope for – no, he still had that annoying smirk on his face. His eyes still looked at her like he knew more about her little scheme than even she did.
“Do you really think it's that simple?”
“Yes.”
“It didn't work so well for me and Eden when we decided to have fun with someone,” he pointed out. Wow, she hadn't been expecting that, at all. She finally looked away.
“Well, there's a big difference between the two situations,” she said.
“And what's that?”
“With you two, the end goal was me,” she reminded him. “But with me, the end goal is just to be left alone.”
“See, I don't think that's true.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes.”
“And why's that, Mr. Stone?” she asked in a bored sounding voice.
He suddenly stopped moving, surprising her a little. She glanced around, but there were still surrounded by other people dancing. They were near the edge of the terrace, which was lined with tiki torches. The flames danced off Wulf's face, making him actually look a little warm and inviting as he stared down at her.
“Because at that wedding,” he said.
“Huh?”
“You were challenging yourself, when you kissed Eden,” he informed her. “But with me, you didn't do anything. I kissed you. And you couldn't handle it. And do you want to know why?”
She refused to look at him. She stared into a flame until she felt his hand on the side of her neck, his thumb pressing underneath her jaw. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to fortify herself against him.
“Because despite everything,” he spoke softly, moving closer to her. “The fighting and the lying and the game playing,” his lips were actually brushing against her. “You still feel … exactly ... the same … about me.”
A person could stand as strong and steady as they wanted, but they were no match for something made of stone. He bowled her over, always. Knocked her down and suffocated her and boxed her in. She gasped against his mouth, moaned as both hands moved to cup the back of her head, tried not cry when his entire body came into contact with hers.
He's not right. He's not right. He can't be right. Please, god, this isn't right. I don't want to care about this man anymore.
“See what I mean?” he sighed when he pulled away, his fingers massaging her scalp lightly.
Disgustingly, she felt like crying. For a moment, she really thought she was going to. But she refused. Refused to let him see that he'd gotten to her. She took a huge breath, held it in for a second, then blew it out quickly.
“Mean about what? A half rate kiss in the middle of a cheap bar? Geez, Wulf, I expected better from you.”
Without waiting to see his reaction, she turned around and strode back to the table, her skirt sweeping along behind her.
*
The rest of dinner had just been an awkward shit show. Any of the joviality from before had been swiftly murdered by Wulf's kiss. When she'd gotten back to the table, Liam had been standing there, looking like a wounded puppy. She'd actually felt bad for a moment, but then she remembered that none of this was her doing – it was all them. If they had just been decent goddamn human beings, none of them would be there and she would be at home, prepping for work the next day.
And basically being the most boring bitch that ever lived. I hate everyone.
Wulf ate without any outward sign that he was bothered by the uncomfortable tension. Liam and Katya pushed their food around, refusing to speak unless absolutely necessary. Eventually, Wulf got up and paid for everything, then their depressing group marched out to the car.