Page 98 of Vicious Intentions
A year ago? Two years? I haven’t the slightest clue.
And it’s not because I don’t enjoy sex. I enjoy it like any other red-blooded man does. But I always viewed it as a distraction. Something that pulled my attention from the mission at hand—usurping my father and taking the crown off his head to place it on mine. Distractions just get in the way of what is truly important to me, and that’s why I avoid them at every turn. Even if my own libido suffers for it.
Still, Anna is also a distraction, and for the life of me, I couldn’t push her away even if I tried.
I stare at the phone and see that she hasn’t sent another text, waiting for me to explain myself better. But I can’t. Not yet.
I could turn the tables on her and ask her if she’s had many lovers, but sheltered as she is, I’d bet all the money in the world that Anna is still a virgin. So I go with the next best thing.
Me:My turn to ask the questions. Have you been kissed?
Anna:You mean besides the time you kissed me? No, I haven’t.
My grip on the phone is so strong that I’m surprised I don’t break it.
He kissed her. Raffaele kissed Anna.
That fucker kissed my girl.
When I hear the phone case crack in my hand, I force myself to loosen my grip. This phone is my only lifeline with Anna. I can’t let my jealousy take that away from me.
I focus only on her last three words, and not on the sentence that affirms my brother stole my first kiss. I mean Anna’s first kiss. Fuck that! My goddamn first kiss!
I breathe hard through my nose, my fingers pressing on the keys a little too hard.
Me:Did you not kiss anyone else for lack of opportunity… or did you not like the first one?
Anna takes a while to respond, my jealousy only tripling with each second she doesn’t reply.
Anna:Does lack of opportunity and lack of interest count as an answer?
Anna:I know we’ve never discussed it before, but I really am sorry for how I reacted back then when you kissed me. At the time, I saw you just as my best friend. I never… had those feelings for you.
Wait. What is she implying?
Yes, I’m happy that she confirmed she hated Raffaele’s kiss. And yes, in my mind, that’s how I read her text. That she fucking hated his mouth on hers. But it’s not that that gets my attention. It’s the way she phrased her sentence. Like she doesn’t see me as her best friend anymore. Like she sees me as more.
Me:And now?
I swallow hard as I watch her hesitate to answer.
Anna:I don’t feel like that anymore.
My blood heats instantly at her words, and I rush to send my reply.
Me:Does that mean if I kissed you now… you’d let me? Enjoy it even?
She hasn’t even responded, and yet my entire body is already burning up.
Anna:Yes.
One word…
Just one little word…
And it’s enough to coax me into doing the most asinine thing I could possibly do.
I press call.
