I Wish I Were Heather

Chapter 18 "I want to taste her lips"

~Macaria~

9/8/24

"There is our queen!" A boy from the Alpha house screamed the second he saw me, instants later every Alpha present in the place began to applaud and cheer me.

Since yesterday, the Alpha students have been screaming that whenever I entered a different room in the house. My first reaction would have been averting the gaze... but I didn't need to take my look down because I didn't feel my cheeks burning in modesty at all, my smile was triumphant, well earned.

I had worked hard to get such recognition.

Enjoying the noisy compliments almost made me feel bad, yet... was it really narcissist? To like a little bit of selfless attention in a world where I felt like I pretended even the way I breathed. If it was so, then I was narcissist and very likely arrogant too.

I was so selfish that I loved someone who didn't love me back just so he could love beyond me and I was so mean that I smiled when people applauded me for being good at something I truly enjoyed.

"And our king!" Octavia's tone was slightly mocking, though mostly amusing; she played with the collar of Flynn's shirt as she turned to us. "Give us a helluva big kiss, powerful couple."

As if on cue, everyone around us claimed that kiss encouraged by Octavia. I rolled my eyes before reaching out to grab my light purple scarf, feeling butterflies in my stomach to imagine that big kiss, a truly big kiss that wouldn't taste empty. For the moment I had to settle for feeling his arms around my waist and his body behind my back.

"Not to your request." Atlas hugged me from behind, resting his head on my shoulder.

He did kiss me to please the crowd, a soft kiss on the cheek without the passion I craved, just the wet memory of his lips over my skin.

Not enough, I want more.

"Tell us, Dr. Mackay, what's your secret?" Flynn sang with a funny -and superior, always superior- tone.

"Yeah, doctor..." Atlas looked at me with a teasing frown, still attached to my body. "Share your secret."

I forced the honest smile in advance of softening Atlas' grip to be able to turn around. If it had been anyone else asking, I would have made up that my boyfriend -the medicine major- and I study together and watch a lot of The Good Doctor, but that excuse wasn't suitable for Atlas. With him I had to be more creative... I started with a basic, distraction.

I surrounded Atlas's neck with my scarf, pulling from the soft fabric until he could breathe my breath. I couldn't take my gaze off his lips, so close to mine and tempting, but he just looked me in the eyes, with no desire to even glance down to my own lips painted to match the scarf.

I didn't kiss him, I held my breath as close to his mouth as I could, only that I waited for him to start the kiss. It was always me the one who started everything, I just looked for a reaction from him... Even though moments like these make me realize how, if it weren't because of the deal, he would never touch my lips.

"I practically grew up wanting to be a surgeon until I turned fourteen and my father took me to the Monaco Grand Prix." I lied shamelessly. Atlas still had that shine of mistrust in his eyes so I added something else. "I spent last year watching everybody play at the Olympics, I learned a thing or two." I ended my excuse with a fleeting kiss over Atlas' lips. The rest of Alphas seemed to have bought it, but like I didn't want to give my Alpha time to think further, I grabbed his hand and pulled from him towards the house front door.

Holden Mackay had never taken me to a single F1 race. However, that was my star explanation for my choice of degree. A mechanical engineering was often judged as a nerdish major, nothing like the obvious degrees the daughter of a prime minister and granddaughter of a president could be thought to study. Thus, as long as it concerned my friends, acquaintances or any other nosy soul, I fell in love with a racing Ferrari in 2019.