Heart of Stone

Shattered

Eloise took her hair down from her now messy bun, running her fingers through it to style it a bit as Alexander finished dressing behind her in the reflection of the glass wall. He walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, leaning down and kissing her neck. Her heart fluttered and somehow, she felt lighter, as if the smile came easier to her face than usual, none of her worries and stresses present for the moment. But he seemed to do that to her whenever they were together, but especially when their bodies came together. She was...joyful, she realized. Joy. She hadn't experienced such a thing since she was a child.

She turned in his arms and hugged him back, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Alex...you make me so happy." She confessed.

His arms tightened around her, and he pressed a lingering kiss to her temple.

"I've never met a woman like you, LouLou." He murmured.

She smiled in contentment, and they stayed wrapped in each other's arms for a few moments, just reveling in one another's company. She never wanted her time with him to end, and she could feel that he felt the same way, from the way that he looked at her with that intense smoldering gaze, his fingers feather light on her face, or his hands gripping her hips firmly. For once in her life, she felt wholly and utterly loved.

When they returned to the party, Sebastian and Violet had abandoned the private booth for the dance floor. Music had begun to play as it was getting later in the night now, and many other couples were dancing as well. Alexander didn't protest when LouLou led him into the crowd, he simply smirked in amusement and followed her. The time passed in a blur as they danced for song after song, ignoring the aching in her feet and legs. Violet and Sebastian were having a blast on their own, but eventually how tired she was began to catch up to her. They ended their dancing after a slow song and joined Violet and Sebastian back at the booth.

Violet's face was flushed, and her hair was wild around her head, but she looked happier than Eloise had seen her in quite some time. She giggled at something Sebastian said and pulled her phone out of her bag to add his number to it. Concern clanged through Eloise as Violet's face immediately crumpled into worry.

"Is everything okay?" She asked, watching Violet's fingers fly over the keyboard.

She shook her head as she sent a text to Sebastian's phone.

"Uh, I have 14 missed calls from my mom and 27 text messages." She said.

Anxiety gripped Eloise, wondering why, but knowing in her heart the answer. Violet's mom was just as possessive over her as Eleanor was with her own daughter, and she was likely upset that Violet wasn't home yet. She checked the time. 12:13.

"Well, it is kind of late. I can take you home if you'd like." She offered.

"Yeah. Is that okay?" She asked as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and looked at both Sebastian and Alexander in uncertainty, suddenly looking much younger than her age at 22.

"Of course." Alexander answered.

"Thank you for dancing with me." Sebastian said, tipping his hat to her in a very old-fashioned way.

Despite the anxiousness, Violet smiled at him.

"Anytime."

"Why don't you let me walk you to your car?" Alexander offered.

"That would be lovely." Eloise said, giving him a quick kiss.

Standing, Violet bid farewell to Sebastian with a little shy wave and he gave her a devious little grin that sent her blushing as she turned away.