Hunting Love

Chapter 15

Sabrina's mask to the side

Chapter 15

It feels like I could melt just by his stare and I quickly drop my hand from the handshake. He clears his throat and rubs his hands together before placing them at his sides. "You're really beautiful, but what's your name?" he asks. I open my mouth to reply when I realize two things.

One, I can't tell him my name! That'll be too suspicious and there's no way I'm going to expose my secret and risk everything. Not when he's this close to sitting in the throne.

Two, he called me beautiful.

Drew...called me beautiful. Me. Of all the people in this room, he called me beautiful and looked directly in my eyes when he said it. That 

I look down to hide how my smile is growing. No doubt by now that my cheeks are starting to match the dress in color. I feel him grab my chin before pulling it up so I could look up at him. "What's your name?" he repeats, stepping closer.

"My name's...Briana," I reply, wincing internally at myself. Nice going Sabrina. Use the last part of your real name for your fake name. Brilliant. Although, because it is a part of my name I'm not technically lying to him, right?

He smiles at my response and the feeling in my stomach grows in intensity. It's sad how he doesn't show that smile more often. "You're smiling," I point out, keeping my gaze on his face.

Drew chuckles and drops the hand that he was holding my chin with. "You don't like my smile?"

"No!" How could anyone not like his smile? "I mean, your smile is so nice. You should smile more often," I tell him. 

His eyebrows furrow in confusion. "You've seen me somewhere before?"

You just had to open your big mouth, didn't you Sabrina? "Yeah. Girls see their soulmates first, remember? I was trying to make my way over towards you but then I lost you and...well you found me," I breathed out, smiling at the end to make my story more believable. I absolutely hate lying to him, but I have no other choice. 

"Oh. You must have seen me with a girl in a blue dress, right? Don't worry about her, she means nothing to me," he reassures. Wasn't Karla bragging about getting a really expensive blue dress to wear for the ball? He was with her?

My heart breaks at the thought but I push down the feeling. "Oh. She's awful- I mean awfully pretty though," I grumble, crossing my arms. Karla probably looks like a goddess in her dress while I look like a monkey that got stuffed in one. 

Drew shrugs. "Sure she's pretty." I didn't have time to dwell in the stomach-churning feeling I have before he steps closer to me. "But she's nothing compared to you."

My breath hitches when I realize how close we are together. One tilt to the head and he would have taken my first kiss...but I can't kiss him! Not with the stakes at risk. No matter how bad I want this, I can't have it.

I scoff and move my head away from him. "How could you know? I have a mask on," I say, tapping the fabric to further my point.

"I can see your sparkling green eyes," he responds. "The gold specks in them look like the freckles across your cheeks and nose," he continues, placing a light kiss on my left cheek.

My legs feel like jelly at the action and I grip his arm for comfort. "Um...thanks," I say awkwardly. Now he probably thinks I'm a weirdo who doesn't know how to take compliments. Truth is, I've never received them from anyone aside from Maybelle and the twins. Layton too. 

Speaking of which, where are they?! They need to get me out of this situation!

"Want to go with me somewhere? Get away from all this noise?" Drew asks, looking around with a grimace as he scans the room. I was about to shoot down the idea when a thought occurs to me.