Then, we’re going to go to our parents and announce the good news—that we’re back together. You know they’ll be thrilled. Then, we’ll leave. The first thing you’ll do when we get home is throw this fucking dress in the bin. I never want to see you in anything this tight again.”
But his words have no power over me anymore. I’m done. Mentally, I’ve finally severed all ties.
I press my lips together and wait until he’s finished, and then I coolly shake my head. “No, Lucas. The era of you telling me what to do has ended. So, here’s what’s actually going to happen now. You’re going to eat a bag of dicks.”
His mouth pops open comically, his eyebrows shoot up into his hairline, and his eyes widen with shock at my words. I burst into a fit of giggles and catalogue his expression, taking a mental picture purely for my own future replaying pleasure.
Extending my free hand, I flip him the bird. “This conversation is over. You are officially cancelled,” I say confidently and then wrench the door open and stride through it without looking back. I’ve never been prouder of myself.
twenty-three
Lucie
In eight years, I don’t think I ever fully breathed.
As I walk down the hallway, heading back to the hubbub of the party, I feel like a weight has been lifted off my chest. I never realised how toxic our relationship was. I thought I was so happy with Lucas, but looking back at it now with a fresh perspective, maybe I never was.
I spot Theo. He has his back to me and is chatting and laughing with a group of five people I vaguely recognise from previous parties. My heart leaps at the sound of his laugh, and I chew on my lip as my tummy fizzes with excitement.
This man likes everything about me.
Grinning like a moron, I head straight over to him, ignoring the small, uncomfortable twinge in my ankle each time I take a step. When I get to him, I slip my hand into his and squeeze.
He turns and smiles down at me. “Hey, there you are. I was beginning to think you’d ditched me or that you’d eaten a bad prawn …” He teasingly raises one eyebrow, and I burst out laughing.
Not bothering to answer, I step into the heat of his body and wrap my hand around the back of his head, pulling his mouth down to mine.
He grunts in surprise but immediately kisses me back. His soft lips feel so good against mine that I melt against him, my insides turning to goo. One of his arms slips around my waist, holding me steady when I wobble on my tiptoes, and the other comes up to cup my jaw. His smell, his taste, the feel of him against me—all of it combined is a heady mix that intoxicates me. I feel drunk on him; it’s beautiful. The little moan he makes in the back of his throat sets my body on fire, and his lips part against mine. As the kiss deepens, every nerve ending in my body seems to zing, and I smile against his lips.
This is how it’s supposed to feel when you’re kissed by a man.
He smiles, too, and pulls back a fraction, his arms tightening on me. “Oh, so you missed me, too, huh?” he whispers, his lips brushing against mine as he speaks.
I smile and nod. “I did.” There’s too much truth in that sentence.
He grins and lightly kisses me again. “Where were you?” he breathes, his fingers tickling across the skin at the back of my neck.
I brush my nose up the side of his and sigh. “Fighting with Lucas.”
His body stiffens, and he pulls back to look at me, his expression hardening. “Do I need to kick his arse?”
I chuckle at the venom I could hear in his words. “I already did.”
A smile twitches at the corner of his mouth. “You did? That’s my girl.”
His words hit me hard. “That’s my girl.”
God, it sounds incredible.
I glow with pleasure as I chew on my lip to try and suppress my loony grin. Before I can say anything back, a hand closes around my shoulder, and I’m yanked from Theo’s embrace with so much force that my ankle instantly barks with agony. I stumble, barely managing to regain my balance before I completely fall. I yelp and wince, grabbing on to the wooden sideboard for support, lifting my foot from the floor as the pain burns