Chapter 12: The kiss

As I read the message from Chris, my eyebrows shot up in surprise. He was at the party? I scanned the room, but I couldn't see him anywhere. The music was loud, and the crowd was getting rowdier by the minute. I spotted Mia laughing and chatting with the bartender, and Sarah was still in the bathroom. I downed my remaining drink and decided to wait for her by the stairs.

When Sarah came out of the bathroom, she smiled and made her way over to me. We decided to hit the dance floor together. The music was loud, and the crowd was energetic, but I couldn't shake off the feeling that I was being watched. I kept looking over my shoulder, expecting to see Chris standing there, watching me with his piercing eyes. But every time, there was no one there.

It wasn't until we took a break and stepped outside for some fresh air that I saw him. Chris was standing by the porch, leaning against the railing and watching me with an intensity that made my skin crawl. I looked over at Sarah to see if she had noticed him too, but she was too caught up in the music and seemed a little intoxicated.

My phone buzzed, and I checked it to see a message from Chris: "Come, let's talk." I scoffed at the audacity of the message. Who did he think he was, ordering me around? I typed out a response: "I am not your puppet that you can order around." I looked over at Chris and saw him reading my message, a smirk spreading across his face as he started typing out a response.

"Darling...I am not ordering you, I am just giving you a chance to come at your own free will," his message read. "Actually, now I am threatening you. If you don't come here now, I would walk over to you, drag you by the hand, and if Sarah asks any questions, I would just have to tell her about our past involvement. I am sure you won't want that."

My heart froze as I read the message, and I glared at Chris, seeing him smirk at me before taking a drag from his cigarette. This bastard! My mind told me that he wasn't joking. But what did he want from me? And Sarah was here, so I couldn't just leave her.

I sent him a response: "Asshole! Sarah is here, what if she sees me going to you?" I looked over at Sarah, my heart skipping a beat as I saw her looking at me. I immediately put my phone in my pocket and smiled at her.

"Who're you chatting with so seriously like that?" she asked, looking at me with a teasing smile. "Is it a guy?" she asked again. I immediately replied, "What! No! Of course not!" She looked at me surprisingly, "Why are you being so defensive? You're an adult, and talking to a guy is not bad. We're at a party, you should stop sticking with me and go find yourself a guy, okay? I'll just go and get another drink and maybe find a guy for myself too."

She patted me on the shoulder and headed inside. I felt a hand on my arm, and it was Chris, pulling me outside with a mischievous glint in his eye. "The coast is clear now. Come on, let's go," he said, his voice low and deep. I wanted to pull away, but then I remembered his earlier threat, so I just allowed him to drag me to his car.

He opened the passenger door, and I got inside. He got into the driver's seat and started the engine, driving away from the frat party. I immediately sent a message to Sarah: "I found a guy as you suggested, and we decided to go somewhere quieter. I'll call you if anything comes up." As I sent the message, waves of guilt started to eat at my heart.

My phone buzzed, and it was a message from Sarah: "Enjoy, girl! Don't forget to use condoms!" I looked over at Chris and glared at him. He smirked evilly, "Who would have known that sneaking around would be fun?" he said. "We're not sneaking around, you asshole! You forced me to be here," I replied, continuing to glare at him. He tore his eyes from the road and looked at me, "Same thing, princess," he said calmly, looking back at the road.

A surge of anger coursed through me at his response, but I knew I had to keep my cool. I wouldn't put it past Chris to call Sarah and reveal our past, potentially destroying our friendship in the process. "Where are we going?" I demanded, trying to keep my tone even.

Chris just smiled and continued driving, his eyes fixed on the road ahead. "No questions, princess," he said, his voice low and dismissive.

I took a deep breath, attempting to calm my rising anger, but it wasn't working. The tension inside me was building, and I felt like I was going to explode. I opened the window, allowing the cool air to hit my face, and only then was I able to breathe. The wind rushed in, carrying the scent of the night, and I felt a slight sense of calm wash over me.

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After I calmed down a little, I looked at Chris and tried to reason with him. "Look, Chris, what exactly do you want from me?" I asked, trying to sound calm. "We knew each other, so what? You were the one who left me, why are you back now to make my life miserable?"

Chris whipped his neck around and looked at me so fast that I feared he would break it. "What do you mean miserable? Are you behaving this way because of Sarah?" he asked, his eyes flashing with anger as he gritted his teeth. He looked back at the road, his expression darkening.

I stared at him, incredulous. Was he crazy? Had he lost his memories along with his mind? I knew what he was trying to do - he was trying to blame Sarah for this. He continued, "Look, if I had known that Sarah was your friend, I wouldn't have slept with her, but in my defense, I never told her I was interested in a relationship." He glanced between me and the road ahead, his eyes narrowing.

My mouth hung open in disbelief. "You really are crazy, aren't you?" I exclaimed. "How dare you try to blame Sarah for your bullshit? You're so freaking manipulative it's disgusting!" My chest heaved with anger, and Chris looked at me in surprise, but I wasn't done. "Since we saw each other again, what have you been doing? Threatening me to follow you, using our past to blackmail me... and thinking about it now, it's not even relevant in the first place. We didn't kiss or have sex. Maybe I should just come clean to Sarah so you wouldn't have anything to blackmail me with."

I stopped talking when Chris suddenly stopped the car on the side of the road. I let out a startled yelp as he lifted me effortlessly onto his lap. He looked up at me with an intense gaze that made my heart vibrate. I was genuinely surprised by his strength - I wasn't a thin person, and I hadn't expected him to be able to lift me so easily.

The cold air bit my skin as silence descended in the car. My hands instinctively grasped his shoulders, and I felt a shiver run down my spine. "What are you..." I started to ask, but Chris locked his lips with mine, cutting off my words. It was an angry kiss, like he was pouring his frustration into me. I tried to struggle, but he held me tighter and deepened the kiss. I eventually gave up, knowing it was futile.

He let go of my lips, and I could feel a sting on my mouth. I saw a bite mark on his lip as well. We looked at each other, and I could feel the tension growing in the car. We were alone, with me on top of him, and our faces inches apart. Before I knew it, our lips touched again, but this time it was different - it was slow and sensual. I moaned as his tongue started to explore my mouth, and the kiss inevitably deepened. I closed my eyes and surrendered to the feeling, my hands roaming his chest as his hands went under my shirt and rubbed my bare back.

I started to feel hot all over and pulled my jacket away. He trailed his lips to my collarbone and sucked on it. When I started to move my hips over his already hardened bulge, he held my legs to stop me. "No," he said, his voice restrained. Still in the fog of the moment, I asked in a whisper, "What?" My breath came in pants, just like his.

He replied, "Let's stop here, princess, or we'll do the other thing you talked about." It took me a second to understand, and when I did, I immediately got off his lap and returned to my seat. My mind went to Sarah, and I realized I couldn't come clean to her now. I glared at Chris, who smirked at me and started driving again.