Chapter 3 Alone With The Playboy

Inez's POV 

Sweatface was the name Adrain tagged me on our first meeting. Irene and I were excitedly playing but the moment Adrain stepped in, I lost my voice.

And I began to sweat. 

"I _ didn't mean to," I stuttered, unable to breathe.

Adrain scoffed.

The girl in his arms looked between us awkwardly. "You didn't say you will be having someone else here." She uttered, clearly disappointed.

Adrain straightened, his jaw tight.

"You were watching?" He asked me, his tone unreadable.

I swallowed hard, unable to answer while my pulse hammered in my ears.

Without thinking, I bolted towards Irene's room, my heart pounding as though it wanted to explode.

Yet it felt as if my feet were taking forever. Along the way, my feet tripped - I stumbled and hit my head against the doorframe of Irene's room.

I bit my lower lip to fight myself from spitting out a groan, managed to close the door behind me while my temple burned.

"What was I saying to him?" I clammed a hand to my heaving cheat, resting my back against the door.

Will he hate me for snooping in on them?

But I wasn't snooping in on them? I queried myself instantly.

I was only trying _

But the fact remained that they had both caught me.

The image of Adrain's lips pressed against that girl's lingered in my mind like a cruel echo. I collapsed onto the bed, clutching a pillow whilst trying to silence the storm inside me.

Whenever Ethan touch me, it irritated me. Sometimes, we pulled through body contact like hugging but I had never enjoyed kissing him.

But watching Adrain was different. It felt like I was the girl he was kissing. 

I couldn't pinpoint why I was always breathless whenever Adrain looked at me.

I grabbed my diary and lay it open on the desk, its previous pages already stained with secrets. 

March 31

'Why now, why him? I shouldn't have looked. I shouldn't have stayed. But my ears betrayed me. Adrain's lips on her - it felt like a knife twisting inside me. Why does it matter so much? He's my best friend's brother. He is trouble. And yet, my heart races whenever he is near. I hate myself for wanting what I can't have."

I began to scribble furiously.

I thought I was done crushing on Adrain. But it had been seven years since I'd last seen Adrain. Over the years I'd been lucky to grab snatches of stories about him from Irene.

But I wasn't nine years old anymore. Why couldn't I move past him?

Was this the reason why I hadn't been comfortable to letting Ethan touch me?

I swallowed, trying to calm my shaking breath. After scribbling my awkward thoughts into my diary, my throat felt suddenly parched.

I stared up at the wall clock; 11:45.

Perhaps, Adrain and his girlfriend were fast asleep and I could possibly get myself a bottle of water.

I padded towards the kitchen taking my diary with me. I was already changed into one of Irene's pyjamas.

The cool hum of the fridge was a comfort. I reached upwards for a drink that caught my eye but I couldn't reach it.

I decided to stand on tietoe yet I couldn't reach it still.

A presence gnawed behind me, another hand reached for the exact drink I was going for.

I flinched, recognizing his hand as his smell hit me.

Adrain.

His body pressed too close that I was afraid he could hear my heart beat.

I swirled round at once meeting his face.

"Is this what you want?" He studied the fruity drink.

His gaze shifted to me.

"I _ was _ I was just _uh - getting...." My words tangled in utter nonsense, my cheeks flamed in fire.

I couldn't think when he was near. I thought he was fast asleep, what was he doing here?

It was worse that he wasn't putting on a shirt. All he had on was a short. 

"Why do you get all sweaty when you see me?" He waggled his brows.

I effortlessly fought the urge of looking past his broadened chest, his perfectly wild untamed hair and those lips.....

"I - was thi-rsty." I found my voice, stepping closer while I shut the fridge behind me.

He still wouldn't budge.

I tried to move past him after he handed me the drink but each time I tried to, he stood in my path.

"Each time we get to talk, you find it hard to breathe. Which leaves me wondering if you have a boyfriend?"

My eyes snapped to him. Where had that come from? Why was he curious about that?

"Yes," I blurted, too quickly, clutching the fruity drink like a shield.

He still took another step. I took a step back, it was only a matter of time before my buttocks hit the fridge.

His eyes narrowed, curiousity sharpening. "And have you ever been touched by him?" 

My lips parted, I was losing it.

Sweats beaded across my forehead. I felt a trickle run down the valley between my breasts.

The question sliced through me, leaving me breathless each time his eyes probed me into their depths.

Adrain was a playboy, everyone knew that, something snapped inside me.

He had a girl inside his room, and he was here trying to know if I'd ever.....

I shook my head, forcing myself to step away . "I can take care of myself. You're... you're not what I need, Adrain." My voice cracked, surprisingly my resolve held.

I fled before he could trap me again, my pulse racing. One part of me longed for whatever Adrain was planning to do with me. While the other side of me stung with fear.

It took awhile before my racing heart calmed. I grabbed my pen, intent to write what I had just experienced.

But I couldn't find my diary, it wasn't in the place where I must have left it.