Trace of Innocence | Sweet and Sour (Book 4)

Chapter 8

(No Control | Holding Me Ransom - 8 - Impossible To Resist)

We play Gothenburg on Tuesday, and as soon as I board the jet at Heathrow Louis is on my case.

"What's up with your face?"

I scowl at him. "Why do you do that?"

"Do what?" he asks, innocently.

"Say stuff like that. It immediately pisses me off, even if I wasn't pissed off before."

"Sorry," he grins, unapologetically. "But what is up with your face?"

"Nothing is up with my face," I answer as neutrally as I can, leaning back in my seat and closing my eyes.

Silence.

"You look like a bulldog chewing a wasp," he says, his lips practically touching my ear, making me jump out of my skin. He cracks up laughing as I throw my aircraft safety card at him, narrowly missing one of the cabin crew as she carries a spare life vest to the back of the jet.

"Sorry," I apologise hastily, smiling at her, and she smiles back flirtily as she continues to the rear section. Louis and I exchange amused looks, and I sit back in my seat again.

"So are you gonna tell me what the deal is?" Louis asks.

I sigh in annoyance. "Will you fųck off and leave me alone if I do?"

"Can't promise that," he replies with a smirk, and I roll my eyes.

"Nadine tried to set me up, in New York," I mutter. "But it backfired pretty spectacularly. She lost a friend in Sara, and I lost Jess. So everyone's a loser."

"What do you mean, she set you up?" Louis frowns.

"Long story," I sigh.

"It's a long flight."

"It's two hours... fine!" I relent, when I realise there is no getting away from this. "The Speed I took in New York was mixed with something. It was some kind of libido enhancer, and it made me horny. I ended up in bed with Sara, and it turns out Nadine engineered it all. Well, the drugs part anyway. It was my choice to hook up with Sara."

Louis is staring at me with a mixture of confusion and scepticism.

"A libido enhancer?" he echoes.

"Don't ask," I say, flatly. "I'd never heard of this stuff, but Jeff did his homework, and when I confronted Nadine she confirmed it. If I'd not taken it, I probably wouldn't have cheated. So that's where we are with it."

"Fuckiņg hell," Louis breathes. "Does Jess know?"

"No."

"Why not?!" he exclaims. "This explains everything! This will get you off the hook!"

"It's not that simple," I mutter.

"For fuçk's sake," he sighs, rolling his eyes. "And what ways have you found to complicate it this time?"

"I'm not complicating anything," I defend. "Me and Jess... we're over. All we did was hurt each other. I'm no good for her, I just end up ruining everything. She's better off without me."

"So noble," Louis says shaking his head in mock admiration.

"Fucķ off," I tell him.

"You're being a ţwąt again," he says, matter-of-factly. "You love her, she loves you. Why are you so determined to fucķ it up?"

"I don't love her," I mutter.

"You do, you prick. You're fooling no one. Least of all yourself. Just call her and tell her what really happened. She deserves to know that, at least."