The consequences of falling

Chapter 14

At the reception...

Why? WHY? Allah, have mercy on him, WHY?! Why has she decided to wear red?!

Oh, by the looks she gave him, Can knew exactly 'why' – Sanem was doing it on purpose, to keep him on his toes as she was gliding through crowds, greeting people he didn't notice and smiling to others who were not him. And then, occasionally, she would look him dead in the eyes and Can would stumble or choke or both – overall, short-circuit – Sanem knew EXACTLY what she was doing to him.

More interesting question was still 'What was she doing it for?'. Sanem didn't need to go to these lengths to get him unravel like this, she barely needed to enter the room and he was a goner. Why the effort?

... And few hours later Can wasn't so sure it was even for his benefit that she'd looked so stunning. Yigit was there every step of the way. Introducing her to new people, touching her elbow to lead the way further into the crowd, bringing her drinks (Can checked, nothing alcoholic!), fixing her hair... Can never felt so eager to wring anyone's neck like he did today – that man was simply asking for it! And to add to the matter, Yigit payed no attention to Can's visible anger! Not a glance, not even a victorious smile that he can be with her and Can can't – Can was simply a non-entity for that lucky bastard!

That was until Omer showed up. The room lit up with smiles and cheers automatically – seemed like the man was universally liked! To be really honest, Can could see the appeal – Omer was effortlessly charming, chivalrous and very fancy in his well-fitted suit. What Can also had to be honest about was that Omer and Sanem – yes, Sanem... his Sanem! – made a really beautiful couple as they were making another round and Sanem introduced the new hot author to everyone she'd just talked to half an hour ago.

Deren tried to get Can's mind off of following Sanem with his gaze but after many futile attempts she'd abandoned this hopeless task and went to mingle into the crowd. Can was left to sulk by the tables unsupervised.

With some dark satisfaction Can noticed that Yigit lost his good mood too – affection between Sanem and Omer was palpable and Yigit drifted behind them like a forgotten balloon. Few times Sanem turned to him to say something and Yigit's face would beam with a smile. Can knew the feeling – that warm and peaceful feeling of Sanem's attention. Just not for him.

Sanem did come to meet him and then few times more to talk briefly about the reception, people she'd met, things she'd wanted to remember from tonight... She'd apologized for not being able to stay with him more – Sanem was genuinely surprised to be so busy at the event where she wasn't the main attraction. Can would argue that she WAS a main attraction, at least for him, but it seemed like many other men would argue the same – both Yigit and Omer couldn't be without her even for a moment and would come to take her away from Can before he can talk to her for real.

Things started looking up for Can when Emre showed up at mid-point of the evening. Can was surprised to see his brother, Emre usually wasn't for these public events and this time his presence wasn't strictly required as Can and Deren were already there. But Emre still came and Can was grateful for his support.

Only it became very obvious that Emre wasn't there to support anyone – Emre's eyes were searching the crowd meticulously and he barely responded with monosyllables to Can's stories about today's evening so far. It took Can half a second more to figure out the real reason behind his brother's unexpected appearance:

- Leyla?

Emre's searching gaze turned to Can immediately:

- Where?!

Can chuckled and shrugged:

- Don't know, man, haven't seen her today...

Emre's shoulders slouched and Can hurried with silver lining: