Page 55 of Strings

Bella’s nostrils flare. I think she might have said something nasty back to me if she hadn’t been so distracted by him standing and holding his hand out to her.

I turn in my chair to watch them. Her long black hair flows around him as they dance. They look good together. They might have been a good couple if her heart matched his. She’s beautiful on the outside, but her soul needs some work.

“You call him Bash?” Michael asks.

Rotating back toward the table, I answer him. “Yeah. I think he hates it.”

“Has Constance heard you call him Bash yet?”

“Constance?” I question. “Oh…his mother. No, we haven’t met. I’m fairly certain she’ll hate me. At least that’s what I heard Bella say, anyway. Speaking of Bella, you seem like a good guy. Explain to me why you like her?”

He snickers. “Look at her.”

I turn to see Sebastian twirling her around. She looks like this dance made her whole year. “Yeah, she’s pretty. She has great tits and a nice ass, but geez, Michael. You could pick someone with a little less black on their heart.”

“You are not what I expected at all.”

“How’s that?” I ask, downing what’s left of the wine in my glass.

“What I mean is that when I heard he had a girlfriend, I was stunned. I had to see it with my own eyes. Bella said you weren’t right for him and that she thought the whole thing was a farce. I expected another snobby rich girl with her head up her ass. But you’re not like that at all. I see the way you look at each other, and I can tell how happy you are. You’re good together.”

What? Who’s happy? I toy with my glass and wish there was more to drink. I glance over my shoulder.Where’s the waiter?

“He’s extremely picky and he rarely dates anyone seriously. But now that I’ve met you, I can see why you won him over. He’s been surrounded by so much pretentiousness his whole life, having someone brutally honest like you around must be refreshing for him. Plus, you’re easy on the eyes.”

I smirk. “I’ll take that as a compliment. What’s a girl got to do to get a refill around here?”

Michael raises his hand and a waiter rushes over. “Another glass of Chardonnay, please.”

“Thank you.”

“Anytime. It’s nice to see Sebastian smile. He’s been really down since…” Michael pauses as if he’s filtering himself. “It’s nice to see him smile.”

“He’s been down since what?” I question.

“Uh oh. You’d better go save him,” Michael says as he lifts his glass first to Sebastian then his lips. “He looks like he may die at any moment.”

The music has shifted to a slow song and Bella is pulling on Sebastian’s arm as he tries to walk away. She appears to be begging him. My new glass of wine is on its way to the table. For a moment, I try to decide which one is more important. My gaze shifts back and forth between Sebastian and the wine. Sebastian or the wine? He looks miserable. I feel bad for making him dance with her, so he wins. My drink will have to wait.

“Sorry, Bells. He’s mine now. You had your one dance.”

Sebastian smiles as he takes my hand. He shrugs to Bella, who’s pouting.

He leads me away from her and whispers, “Thank you. Although, you’re the reason I had to dance with her to begin with.”

“I figured you deserved to suffer a little for making me come tonight.”

He holds my right hand in his and places his left hand on my waist. “Suffer a little? That was like being beaten in the head with a bat.”

He moves his eyes from my face to our hands and stops for a moment. “You have a scar on your palm.”

“I do? Oh my God! What the fuck?” I stare at it as if it’s the first time I’ve ever seen it. Sebastian rolls his eyes.

“Well, obviously you know you do. I’m just surprised I didn’t see it before.”

“I’m not. You’re not very observant.”

His lip curls on the side as he takes my hand back in his and starts to sway. “How did you get it?”