"Why are you so nervous? You've been to these events before," Ash said after I downed the third glass of bubbly.
"Why do you think I always drink so much every time?"
"I just figured it was because you're an alcoholic in denial."
"Which I am," I joked. "But tonight is different."
"How?"
"You always took me just so I could hang out with the rest of the guys and not feel left out because I was an extra."
"So?"
I gave him a sideways look, reminiscing our walk through the red carpet, where he casually slid his hand around my waist and pulled me close under the flashes of the several cameras pointing at us. I was glad Ada had the idea of dressing me up in a black suit, cause even with Ash's curious display of possession, I still blended nicely with him and his college friends.
"Look, tonight..." I hesitated. "You're just taking me. This feels a lot like a date. Don't you think it's weird?"
"Val... I fucked you on my dinner table... In front of Noah. And you think this is weird?"
"Why did you have to talk like this?" I snagged another drink from a passing waiter.
"I don't know." He looked around. "You just look so hot right now, I can't help it."
"That's the alcohol talking."
"That's something else talking, but I'm not gonna make that joke while in this fancy suit." He quickly looked down at his lap and back up at me.
We both laughed, and I marveled at how easy it was for him to make me relax.
"Thanks," I said, "you're right. I'll chill."
"Of course, I'm right. Now let's sit back and enjoy the night. I'm making my personal mission to make you forget all your problems this evening."
He was right about that. Even though that wasn't the kind of distraction I was hoping to get that weekend, for once I didn't think about my family, or the convention anymore, or about the man sitting next to me, for that matter. I just relaxed and enjoyed my free time, ate, drank and got to know some of Ash's friends a little better. One of them, Frederik seemed to take an interest in me since he wouldn't let me go the moment Ash introduced me.
"Are you one of Ash's friends?" he asked in his thick Scandinavian accent.
"Let's say you meant what I think you meant," I answered, "no. We're coworkers."
"Oh... I don't really watch the show, so..."
"It's okay, it was an honest mistake. We all know Ash's fame."
"We do," he said, a little condescending. "So you're not with him."
"No." I chose an easy answer. It was none of his business.
"That's odd... He usually fucks everything that breathes."
The evening wore off delightfully. The guys won an award and some of us headed to a club after to celebrate with drinks and dancing. Ash and I danced together most of the time until I got a little tired and excused myself to the VIP lounge. A swarm of girls started dancing with Ash as soon as I set foot out of the dance floor.
"Look at him go. Always been like a girl magnet." Frederik looked at Ash. He was now taking selfies with the girls and singing along to a Rihanna song.
"So I've been told. But not just chicks, you know. Back in Dublin, he's friends with like half the crew."
"Sounds like Ash indeed. Anyway, I was dying to ask you to dance, but I guess I'm too late."
YOU ARE READING
The Worst Love Story Ever (18+)
ChickLit⚠ Mature content ⚠ Ash is a womanizer. Val is anything but pure. She never saw him as more than a friend, but after he picks up the pieces of her heart for the thousandth time, she starts seeing him in a different light. Now that she knows him for...
