Sweet Flames✔️

♡14♡

✧✧✧

"What?" I asked flabbergasted.

Brenda burst out laughing, clearly enjoying the shock value of her revelation. "Gotcha!" she exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

I turned to Mira, who was already watching me with a stern expression. Her eyes conveyed a silent warning: don't go anywhere near Clyde tonight. I nodded subtly, understanding the unspoken message.

We stepped out into the night air, Clyde was waiting by the car, his dark attire making him almost invisible in the shadows. But his presence was palpable, like a magnetic force drawing me in. His black button-down shirt was undone to reveal a tantalizing glimpse of his chest, and his piercing eyes seemed to gleam in the dim light. He exuded a feline grace, like a panther stalking its prey, and his gorgeous features made him a vision of masculine beauty. I couldn't help but be drawn to him, my senses heightened by the subtle hint of danger and excitement that lurked beneath his captivating smile.

As we approached him, Clyde's gaze was fixed on Brenda, his eyes lingering on her with an intensity that made my heart ache. "You look beautiful," he said, his voice low and husky, without even acknowledging my presence. I felt a pang of hurt and invisibility, like a sudden sting to my soul.

Brenda playfully tapped him on the arm, trying to include me in the conversation. "What about Soma? Doesn't she look gorgeous?" she asked, her voice laced with a hint of mischief.

But Clyde's response was curt, his smile tight and forced. "Of course," he muttered, still refusing to meet my eyes. The omission felt like a slap, leaving me feeling seen but not truly acknowledged.

Clyde opened the back seat door, and we slid in, waiting in silence for him to start the engine. The air was thick with tension as we set off, the only sound being Brenda's enthusiastic chatter, which only seemed to accentuate the awkwardness. I felt like an outsider, trapped in a uncomfortable silence, while Brenda's attempts to fill the void with conversation only made me feel more like an afterthought. The drive was suffocating, the silence between Clyde and me a heavy, unspoken weight.

As we pulled into the Kuban Hotel, I couldn't wait to escape the suffocating tension. The moment the car stopped, I flung open the door and stepped out, not bothering to wait for the both of them. I wasn't about to be a third wheel, watching Clyde's obvious fascination with Brenda. I strode away, leaving them to their own devices, my heels clicking on the pavement.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down, who pissed my beautiful date off?" Kelvin asked, his eyes sparkling with amusement as I approached him. I couldn't help but notice that my heels gave me a slight height advantage over him.

"I'm not mad," I said, trying to sound convincing.

Kelvin raised an eyebrow, clearly unbuying it. "Right," he drawled, his tone dripping with skepticism.

"I'm okay," I insisted, trying to sound casual.

"Okay," he repeated, his voice laced with doubt.

I sighed, realizing my attempts at nonchalance were failing miserably. "Wait, is it obvious that I'm pissed?" I asked, my frustration getting the better of me.

Kelvin's response was a simple, yet devastatingly accurate, "Mmhmm."

I let out a sigh and took a deep breath, trying to shift the focus away from my own frustration. "I'm sorry, I forgot to ask how your visit went," I said, genuinely interested.