the Devil and the Sea

80| Bad romance

We are interrupted by Phil's call, and Vincent reluctantly releases me from his arms. Phil says that he has already arrived with Marina and asks to go to a prearranged meeting point.

And as we walk, I try to keep a distance of two meters from Vincent. And it seems to amuse him. He looks at me as if I'm a kid who's decided to play pranks.

We get into the car in the back seat. Marina gives me a hoodie, and I put it on, and Vincent takes out his windbreaker.

As we drive to the cafe, I calm down, or rather, it calms me down that Vincent has enclosed my palm in his, stroking the skin with his thumb.

I watch Vincent smile while talking to Phil and I realize that I want to see that smile more often than in one summer.

Phil stops at a cafe near the train station.

We enter the room and go to a free table, I sit on the sofa closer to the wall, Vincent sits to my right, throwing his hand on my shoulder. On the other side of the table, on the other hand, are Marina and Phil.

I close my eyes and let myself inhale Vincent's scent, enjoying the illusory moment of possessing this guy. This will be over soon, I remind myself with a bittersweet sense of loss.

The waitress approaches, Marina orders tea, and Phil orders coffee. I want coffee too, but Vincent tries to convince me to try a cherry cocktail, I refuse because I don't like cherries. But I still have to give in under his gaze, so I choose a citrus cocktail and Vincent orders a cherry one. We also order four huge burgers.

Vincent hugs me at every opportunity, and at an inconvenient one too. I'm not used to this kind of attention from him in front of strangers, but I can't help but admit that I fucking love it. I thought that after a quarrel between us there would be tension, but Vincent quickly cooled off.

Vincent wraps his arm around my neck and pulls me towards him, burying his face between my neck and shoulder. From the touch of his lips to my neck, I feel drunk, and silently pray for time to go as slowly as possible.

Vincent starts kissing me in front of Phil and Marina, and it makes me uncomfortable that we let others into our fragile world and let them into our secrets.

His soft and calm kiss is a real contrast to my pulse. His right hand slides smoothly to the back of my head, while his left hand moves down to my lower back. He slowly explores my mouth like he plans to never stop. If he keeps kissing me like that, I'll lash out at him in front of everyone.

I gather all my will into a fist, refraining from wanting to wrap my legs and arms around him. At this moment, I wish more than anything in the world that Phil and Marina were not sitting opposite us, that we were alone. For us to be in his bedroom.

And so that Vincent doesn't go anywhere.

I break the kiss and return to my original position, reading the astonishment on Phil and Marina's faces.

"And you are not at all shy about expressing feelings in public." Phil says with a wry smile.

"Now that we've figured everything out, I don't see the point in hiding." I hear Vincent's low voice.

Figured everything out?

"Good for you," Phil takes a sip of coffee, "you're leaving for London, then?" He's talking to me.

I fidget in place, not understanding where all my confidence has gone. I can't find the answer, so Vincent responds to Phil instead.

"You forgot? She will come to me with you, as we agreed with you." Phil nods, "I'll sort everything out in that time."