Dusk

2| tantalise

Ava

I couldn't move an inch even though I so desperately wanted to. He was still smiling, but it more in a taunting way rather than the warm, welcoming smile. His hand was still around my neck, making me look up into his eyes. They were so hypnotic, and it seemed they had cast me into a spell. 

"When you punched him, I swear I've never felt that proud even over winning a match, Ava." He said. His voice was music to my ears. He could talk for hours and I'd listen like a child.

"I had a good teacher." I said back, unwrapping his fingers from my neck.

That just widened his smirk more. "Yeah?"

I chuckled, my hand reaching up to cup his face. He closed his eyes as if my touch had scorched him, and when he opened them again they were softer than before. "You look good."

"Just good?"

"You have enough people to compliment you. Don't expect that of me unless you look absolutely breathtaking." I replied.

"Which I don't right now?" He asked. "I remember you telling me I looked deliciously stunning all the time. My sleep included."

I tried keeping a straight face, but then my lips twitched into a smile. "I do not remember saying that."

"No?" He murmured, shifting closer. "Maybe I should remind you?"

I gave a small chuckle, pushing him back. He stepped back, and I knew he'd done it on his own because there was no way my light shove would push him back even an inch. A look of hurt crossed his eyes before it was gone, and he shook his head, giving me a smile. "Of course, always playing by the rules."

"Rules are easy."

"And easy is not something you want, Ava." He whispered to me. "Or has it really been that long and I don't know you anymore?"

It was a rhetorical question. There was no way in hell he didn't know me, and he knew that. Elias and I had a much deeper bond than a mere relationship. We'd never been in one, we'd never put a label to us. Maybe that's why things turned upside down at a point of time. He was the only reason I didn't do casual hookups. He taught me they never work. He taught me they didn't remain casual always.

"We agreed it won't happen again." 

"We didn't agree. I never agreed." He said, crossing his arms. He was wearing a sleeveless white tee and his muscles bulged at the move. "Is that why you ignored me these four months?"

"You- you ignored me as well!"

"Because you fucking asked me stop calling." He said, his eyes now losing the softness and being replaced by another emotion I was quite familiar with. Anger. "And you know I always do as you say, Ava. Always."

"Look, I don't want to fight-"

"Sure. Why did you come tonight?"

"I-I didn't know you were going to be here." I looked down.

"That doesn't matter. I asked you why you came to a boxing ring of all places on your second night in the city. You could have gone to a club and had fun. But you didn't. Why?"

When I didn't look up, he softly grasped my chin and forced my head up. His face was confronted into an expression of fury but his hold was the gentlest it had been in a long while. His eyes didn't soften when I fumbled. "Use words, Ava."

"I missed you." I said, barely above a whisper. "And this place felt the closest to you."

The smile that spread across his face lit up my entire world. His face brightened at my words, and he seemed to have forgotten he had been angry at me just a minute before. He had known I missed him, but he'd never expected me to say it out loud. I never said it out loud. I never expressed. My confession surprised me as well.