Circles - Post Malone

Twenty Two

Dahlia ignores Austin for the rest of the day, which is not hard as he seems to be ignoring her too. She hates the feeling his stern steel eyes leave every time they accidentally make eye contact. But mostly she is annoyed that she fucking cares that he is mad at her. She hates that they are at odds and she hates that she hates that. It's fucked up. She's fucked up.

Lunch is fucked up and she hates it too, It's some fancy gourmet shit and all she wants right now is comfort food that will make her feel better about being in Austin's bad books. So as soon as lunch is over she slips away from the group and makes her way to the kitchen where she convinces the chef to make her an egg and bacon sandwich. By the time she makes it back to the main deck, everyone is off doing their own thing and she can't see Austin anywhere.

So she settles for watching daytime TV in the lounge with the twins who buy a blender and a sewing machine after watching the online ads. When they start fighting about who gets to use the blender first Dahlia slips away back to her cabin where she showers and dresses for dinner. Austin comes in just as she is slipping on her shoes but he acts like she is not even there. Which just pisses Dahlia off all over again because she cares and she hates that she fucking cares. She lays on the bed and plays on her phone while Austin showers and gets dressed.

"Ready?" he mumbles as he comes out of the bathroom. "Are you fucking kidding me? Did you tip the whole bottle of cologne on you?" Dahlia complains crawling off the bed. Austin sniffs his shirt and frowns, "it's not that bad. Besides, I think it smells nice," he says. Dahlia rolls her eyes and stands in front of him with her arms crossed and her hip jugging out - a challenge stance. "Well I hate it," she says. Austin cocks his head and frowns. "What are you on about? This is the cologne I wear every - oh," he stops himself when he realizes what Dahlia is doing. She is finding an excuse to talk to him.

He cocks his head and smiles at her. "What? Why are you smiling at me like that? It's creepy," Dahlia complains. "If you are sorry you can just say it, baby," Austin says - still smiling. Dahlia glares at him, how fucking dare he. "I will not say sorry as I have nothing to be sorry about," Dahlia says. Austin opens his arms and widens his smile. "How about I say sorry and you just step into my arms...I will know, baby," Austin says. Dahlia rolls her eyes, but steps into his arms anyway and buries her face in his chest as she wraps her arms around his torso.

"I am not sorry though," she mumbles. Austin pulls her in tight and lifts her chin with one hand. "I know, baby. But I am. I am sorry I shouted at you and ignored you," he says. "You also called me crazy," Dahlia reminds him. "I am sorry for that too," Austin says then kisses her. She feels like she forgets how to breathe and has to cling to him just so she does not pass out. "This does not mean anything," she says when he pulls back. "Means nothing at all, sweetheart," he says then takes her elbow and leads her out of the cabin.

He drops her elbow as soon as they reach the main deck where the dinner table is set up. Everyone is there and they are all already well on their way to getting pissed on very expensive-looking champagne. "There you two are! I was just about to send a search party out for you guys," Gina says to Austin and Dahlia. "We were the search party," the twins say in unison. Dahlia subconsiously steps a little closer to Austin. "You both have some very real issues," Austin says to them. Gina giggles at his seriousness and the twins follow suit. Austin pulls Dahlia another step closer to him.

Just as Austin gets a beer for himself and Dahlia from the bar the hostess announces that dinner is ready and they all make their way to the dinner table. Dahlia follows Austin but then is accosted by one of the twins, Paris. "Oh, Dahlia you must tell me where you got your shoes. They are so cute," he says. Dahlia frowns at him and then looks down. Her shoes? "K-mart...I think. They are trainers," she says. "K-mart? Is that an exclusive brand? I have never heard of that brand before," he says. Dahlia shrugs, "yeah, it's exclusive...if you are normal," she says sarcasticly. "Well you must take me one day," he says and then looks back, "oh dear. Seems your chair has been taken. You will just have to sit between my brother and me," he says and then takes her arm and pulls her to the other side of the table where Orlando is waiting with a grin while pulling her chair out.

She sits down and finds herself between Orlando and Paris. Opposite her are Austin and Lou-Ann who already has her hand on his thigh.  "It's better this way. Now you will talk to all of us instead of focusing all your attention on Austin," Orlando says. "I do not focus all my attention on Austin," Dahlia tries to defend herself but both twins shake their heads and tutt at her. "Lies never prevail, Dahlia," Paris says. "Speaking of lies...why are you and Austin a secret?" Orlando asks. "I am not having this conversation with either of you," Dahlia says.

Then suddenly there is a little commotion on the other side of the table that draws all their attention. Lou-Ann has accidentally spilled her champagne into Austin's crotch and is diligently moping up her mess no matter how much Austin insists that it's not necessary. Dahlia should at least try and save him, but she has had a long day and this is pretty entertaining.