Page 6 of Deepest Obsession

With a glance behind me, I keep dancing. It’s been too long since I let loose. My roommates ask me out with them all the time, but I usually make some excuse. I keep telling myself that soon I’ll be able to write full time and quit my job, and then I’ll have time for fun.

But now that I’m here, I’m beginning to think that I have the wrong idea.

A hand on my hip makes me turn. Alexander got those drinks fast.

But I find a pair of sharp green eyes staring back at me, instead of Alexander’s soft brown ones.

“T-Tristan?” I stumble backward, only to bump into someone. He’s barely changed a bit. Light ruffled hair, terrifying eyes, and sharp cheekbones.

“I never thought I’d see you here.” He steps closer to me, and when I try to squirm away, he holds me close to him. “You’re more the stay-in-and-read type.”

My chest tightens. I’d dated Tristan for a few months before Alexander, and it’d been a rollercoaster of manipulation, anger, and bullying. Needless to say, Tristan Goodwin is the last person on this planet I’d like to run into.

“Fuck off.” I shove him away, but he doesn’t budge.

“Just dance with me.” His fingers are digging into my hips, and there’s a sadistic twinkle in his eyes.

Looking around at all the bodies crammed onto the floor, I contemplate screaming. But is making a scene worth it? He just wants a dance. And Alexander will be back soon.

“I’ve missed you,” he says into my ear, and I shiver.

“Can’t say the same.”

While Alexander had been a catalyst to finding the little bit of freedom I had in high school, Tristan had kept me in a mental cage. He could get under my skin with a few words and force me to do anything for him with a few more.

Fuck this.

I turn around, letting him grind against my ass. Then I slam my heel onto his foot as hard as I can manage. But he just grips my hips tighter, pulling me close until my back is against his chest.

“Careful, Sophia, or I’ll have to punish you. But you’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

“You’re disgusting.” I elbow him in the ribs, but he just laughs.

Everyone around us is too drunk and self-absorbed to notice my struggle, and the music is too loud to hear us arguing. But I continue trying to squirm out of his grasp.

He leans down and bites my earlobe. “Just dance with me or I’ll drag you out of here before you even have a chance to scream.”

I still, my breath frozen in my lungs. He whirls me around so I can see his satisfied smile.

“Much better. Now dance.”

“You mons-”

“Get your fucking hands off of her, Goodwin.”

I snap my head around to see Alexander glaring at us. No, not at me. At Tristan. Relief floods my body, and I let out a breath.

Tristan releases me, shoving me toward Alexander. “Of course she’s with you. You never quite got over her, did you?” His eyes cut to me. “Piece of trash.”

Then he disappears into the crowd.

Without a glance, Alexander hands me my drink and pulls me to the side of the room. It’s packed in here, but people seem to move out of his way the second he looks at them.

“I’m fine,” I shout, but the truth is I’m shaking so badly I’ve spilled the blue liquid in my cup all over my hand.

“Just sit.”

The leather couch against the wall is mostly full, but there’s a spare seat on one. He slides onto the edge and then pulls me onto his lap. As he does, I lose my balance and start to fall—but he keeps me upright, his free arm wrapping around me.

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