Wildfire

(07)

Kenneth Deora

"Mariana, you're drunk." I stated trying to hide the concern in my voice.

"How did you figure it out?" She deadpanned.

"I'm known to be an excellent observer." I quipped walking closer.

"I bet." She tried to pin me with her gaze but before she could glare at me, I was already taking a seat beside her. You're gonna get shot. I brushed away my overdramatic inner monologue.

"What are you doing here, wildfire?" I tried to hide as much concern as I could.

"What are YOU doing here?" She rolled her eyes. I sighed. This was not gonna be easy. "I wanted a drink.... You tryna get me one?"

She rolled her eyes and god I'd do anything to have those eyes roll because of a different reason. "I actually would do it just to shut you up. Except they're closing up."

Let's, hypothetically, say she didn't know I bought it a few hours ago and when I saw her here like that I told the staff to close the club for tonight.

"You don't listen to rules anyway, wildfire." I tried. Don't want her to leave. Do you? No, she was good for my health. What do you think?

"Yeah but what would I do in a closed club?" She stood up, almost falling on her face. My hand shot under her waist before my mind could process. I felt her body tense up as she processed what had happened.

Our eyes clashed against each other. Her green ones consumed my brown ones but for once there was something in her eyes I never thought I'd see. Fear in her eyes, felt so foreign yet so familiar. Like it didn't belong there but it has been there a lot.

I slowly guided her back to her feet. "Are you okay?" She nodded in response. "You need water." She didn't argue so I turned around to find a clean bottle.

Shouldn't have kicked the staff out. Yeah Yeah. I spun too fast when I heard the sound of heels clattering on marble "Mariana! What are you doing on the bar?" She was literally ON the bar. Oh lord. Oh lord.

"Trying to get that." she claimed pointing to the stash of water bottles on a shelf. Goddamn and I thought sober Mariana was something.

"Sit down, wildfire. I'll get it." I tried. "I can get water myself." She said partially glaring at me. I couldn't help but chuckle "I know you can. But let me." My eyes softened at seeing her trying to reach the shelf that was clearly out of her arm's length "please?" I said, trying to get her to sit.

"You don't get to hold it against me later." She sat down on the bar table. "I'm not gonna hold water against you."

I wasn't a violent person but in that moment I wanted to hurt everyone who has ever held anything against her. In brutal ways.

I handed her the opened bottle and sat on the stool right in front of where she was sitting on the bar. She stared at me for a second before taking a sip and either I was schizophrenic or she just blushed.

"You look kinda pretty from here." She mumbled and I couldn't hide the smile from that. "You know I'm pretty from everywhere, fire. Especially from my bed if you wanna check sometime."

A sharp pain invaded my chest. I looked down to see a heel on my chest. Our eyes connected in shock. I recovered first "Are you flirting with me, wildfire?"

The shock from her eyes disappeared and now she was staring at me with sort of siren eyes which made every alarm in me go off. "Maybe." She said pulling the stool closer with her other leg and pushing the other one on my chest harder.