Chapter 28: Chapter 28

: Temptation

→Narrator: Kam

It was past midnight when I stumbled into Asa's room, still riding on waves of anger and fury, but the moment I saw her, asleep in her bed, safe and sound, all the anger left my system.

Our father, who art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name.

She had the most beautiful, peaceful expression on her face.

My girl was safe.

Carefully, I climbed into her bed, kicking off my shoes. I didn't know how she'd react with me waking up next to her, tomorrow morning, but I just had to hold her close, to make sure she was safe and alright.

Stretching beside her, I gazed into her sleeping, peaceful face, awed by her beauty.

This must be what an angel looks like.

My fingertips traced her cheek, her lips, struck by her calm, unassuming beauty, when suddenly, her eyes flew open.

Plane crashes and thunderstorms.

No, she was no angel. She was a queen. She was a goddess. A sorceress and a witch, wrapped in one human body.

Mine.

"Kam." She breathed, relieved. "You're back!"

Her slim hands wrapped around my waist, pulling me to her and she plastered her face to my chest, inhaling my scent.

"You're really here!"

I chuckled, hugging her back. We stayed like that for a while, content with cuddling each other and basking in our safety.

Suddenly, she sat up, groaning. "Geez, I can't believe I slept in this cursed dress." Kicking off the covers, she sat at the edge of the bed. "Go away, Kam. I need to change."

I grinned, sitting up with her. "What's the point? I've seen all of you, already."

She blushed as red as her melanin would allow. "It was different that time." She replied through gritted teeth.

I stared at her flawless back that held a pale glow in the moonlight.

Against my will, I reached out, tracing invisible paths on her skin.

She made a soft sound. In between a moan and a whimper.

"I want to help you take it off." I whispered to her, my voice coming off deeper, huskier.

This time, she agreed, holding up her hair.

I shifted towards her until she was encased between my legs.

I couldn't deny the obvious attraction a certain path of my body had towards her now. It was poking her back but she gave no inclination that she felt it.

She had turned me on without lifting a finger.

Gently, slowly, like I had all the time in the world, I tugged on the string tied around her neck and her outfit pulled down to her hips.

Taking in a ragged breath, I touched her smooth back, content with feeling her shiver against my touch. Goosebumps erupted on her skin.

Suddenly, she turned to face me and I held my breath, drinking in her body I remembered all too well from the night before.

And lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from every evil.

But what happens when you wanted the temptation. Craved it. Was obsessed with it.

Reaching out, she took the hem of my shirt. Tugged it off.

She kissed me, softly at first, tongue stroking my lips softly, shyly. Her hands coming up to my hair, fingers grazing my locks, digging into it. Sweet lips. Sweeter skin.

What little clothing we had left, came off in seconds as we collided into each other, collapsing into her bed.

Protection in place, I sighed, when my back hit her bed, her body, so soft on top me, still kissing her with a fervour and passion I never knew I had in me.

She felt so right. Her body. Her lips. Her touch. Her.

"Jesus." I moaned, when she finally took me in, slowly.

She was biting her lip, trying not to moan out loud, her eyes wouldn't leave mine.

Plane crashes. Thunderstorms. Beautiful. Mine.

I sat up, hugging her, claiming her lips. Her body was trembling, her skin, warm, as we moved against each other, giving ourselves what we wanted and taking pleasure in all of it.

Her soft sighs filled my ears, her fingers dug into my skin and I buried my teeth in her shoulders, unable to control myself, her soft, warm body, driving me over the edge of ecstasy again and again until I saw the heavens and I touched the stars.

Losing control of myself, I placed her on the bed, growling into her lips and burying myself into her, at the pace I wanted. Faster. Deeper.

The lights in her eyes, blinded me and when we finally collapsed into each other, spent and sated, I knew I'd do anything to keep her with me.

Forever and ever. Amen.

*

I woke up a little before dawn, smiling like a love drunk fool. Asa was still asleep beside me and when I kissed her cheek, she grumbled sleepily, pushing me away.

Certainly not a morning person.

Grinning, I slipped out of her bed and left her room, planning to surprise her with a big breakfast. I was going to walk downstairs, but two voices, talking in the balcony shocked me.

I used to think only Asa and Kosi stayed in the west wing. Guess I was wrong.

Walking in the direction of the voices, I realized they belonged to Amir and Jemi.

"Like, guy! I don't understand Kosi's way at all. She's kissing me one night and twerking on another guy the next. I don't want to play games with her but I don't want her fucking with my feelings just because she can't sort out her shit." Jemi hissed.

"I feel you, bro," Amir said calmly, "but go easy on her. She's just out of an abusive relationship. Won't be easy for her to give her heart out so freely. Maybe she's not into Devontae, the way you're thinking. They were just dancing."

"Not the way I saw it." Jemi snorted. "I've liked her forever and when I finally come clean about my crush on her is when she starts feeling another nigga."

Amir sighed. "Guys like us are always the unlucky ones, ain't it?"

"What would you know about unrequited love?" Jemi scoffed.

There was silence for a moment.

"Everything." Amir's voice was wistful.

I stepped into the balcony and their conversation halted.

"Hey," I nodded a greeting at Jemi. He looked tired and defeated, a lighted joint in his hand.

Guess he got more weed from Zico before leaving the party.

Amir acknowledged me with a nod of his head and went back to fine-tuning the guitar, resting in his laps.

"Dude, did you or did you not come out of Asa's room just now?" Jemi frowned at me.

My grin was all the answer he needed.

"Can't get enough now, can ya?"

I drew an imaginary zipper across my lips. "I don't kiss and tell."

"Good," Jemi quipped, blowing out a puff of smoke. "It's not like I want to know about your sexcapades with my best friend, either. Keep it to your nasty self."

I chuckled at the expression on his face.

He suddenly yawned, stretching. "I should better catch some sleep. I swear I'm about to drop dead any second," he said, before slipping out.

It was quiet after he left.

I spoke up after a few minutes, leaning against the railing, hands shoved into my pockets as I looked at Amir, plucking a solemn tune on his guitar.

"Wanted to apologize about yesterday... How I acted to you. It wasn't cool."

His reply was only a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders, rolling my apology off of him as he continued strumming the guitar, refusing to look at me.

I frowned.

What's his problem?

"Hey, we're cool, right?"

"Peachy."

I didn't understand why he was clipped with me. He seemed so talkative with Jemi just a few minutes ago.

Suddenly, I remembered something.

"Hey, what about that thing you wanted to talk to me about? You tried telling me before the party."

"It's nothing. Forget it."

"Amir, what's wrong?"

"I said I'm fine!" He snapped. "Fucking leave me alone, DeAngeles!"

I lost it.

"Dude! What's your problem? We're bros. If you've got beef with me, come at me and fucking let it out."

Here's the thing about Amir. He has very cold, very expressive eyes. And right now, the full force of his eyes zeroed on me in one furious glare.

As taken aback as I was, I matched his glare with one of mine, our stare down, festering for a few seconds.

"It felt good, didn't it?" He finally asked.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about you, fucking Asa!" He barked, standing up. "I'm talking about how you're only going to fuck her up when you're done using her 'cause you don't have it in you to keep her!"

"Jesus, Amir, have you gone insane?" I whispered, partly in shock at his outburst and partly in annoyance, what he was saying, just beginning to register in my brain. "Wait, do you think I'm with Asa only because I want sex from her?"

His silence was a loud answer.

"Amir, I love Asa. You know that. Everyone knows that."

He wouldn't stop glaring at me, dark grey fire in his eyes. "No, no! Fuck you, man! Spare me that bullshit! You probably only invited her here under pretence so you could screw her and dump her next session."

I was too shocked to be angry. Amir and I were cool less than twenty four hours ago.

"Dude, what's your deal? Why're you on Asa's case all of a sudden?"

"My deal is that you're doing it again! The exact thing you did to your exes and when you're done screwing them over, you dump them."

Jesus Christ. What?

He wasn't finished. "You're treating her like the others and she doesn't need that shit! She's not Ivara. She's not Dara and she's certainly not Haliya!"

"I never said she was! Get to the fucking point!"

His only response was more silence, tossing me the middle finger and moving to walk away, but I caught his arm, matching his heated glare.

"I know what's up with you, Amir."

His eyes narrowed at me. "What?"

"I know you like Asa." I confessed, releasing his arm and shoving my hands back into my pocket, watching and gauging his every reaction.

"How did you-"

"It's kind of obvious. I'm not blind. I see the way you look at her." I cut him off, done with all this bullshit.

He wouldn't look away from our stare down. Cold grey eyes with burning intensity. "And you didn't say anything about it."

"There was nothing to say. My opinion wouldn't have changed anything."

More silence.

"We kissed."

And it felt like I got hit by a bucket of ice cold water.

"What?!"

Hoping I didn't hear him right.

Amir faced me head on, now. "Asa and I kissed. Three times now."

My heart skipped one painful beat and I stumbled back as if I just got shot. "That's not true. She would have told me."

Why didn't she tell me?

I looked at him now, trying to decide if this was bullshit or not.

If this was still the same Amir I knew and cared about like a brother...

His eyes said everything. Hard and cold as they've always been, the intensity crippling me... And I saw it..

The raging envy. The blinding jealousy.

I knew Amir has liked Asa for a while now, but that didn't stop me from trying to get her. No matter how much I tried to ignore the fact, in the back of my head, I knew that all this shit would blow up in my face.

Like it was happening, now.

I had hoped it was a passing crush. Something not serious enough to betray a friend for. But I was wrong.

How long have I been blind to the fact that he resented me for having Asa? That he was jealous of what we had and regretted not reaching out to her first? How long has he been in pain, watching us, wishing he were in my place?

How long?

Suddenly, all his past actions started making sense now.

I was wrong to have thought that a person like Amir would have crushes on girls. No. People like Amir were too sensitive and deep for that kind of shit. They went all in. Giving in to the obsession... Madness.

The cold glare in his eyes made me want to take a step back.

"That's a lie, Amir."

My heart felt like it was ripped out of my chest and mauled to pieces. Stabbing. Aching. Painful.

I don't even know which one of their betrayals hurt more... The girl I trusted with my life or my best friend I trusted with my life.

He cocked his head to the side, a sad wistful smile on his lips. "Why don't you ask Asa if I'm lying or not?"

Asa... I gulped.

Asa. Asa. Asa.

Fuck!

I suddenly felt sick.

When did this happen?

How did this happen?

How far did they go together?

Just the thought of it made me feel sick.

Overwhelming tiredness suddenly took over me.

Amir's eyes narrowed, studying me. "Don't go yelling like a madman, now. I came on her. She told me off."

I gulped, feeling like my entire world was tipping over, barely even listening to what he was saying.

My eyes narrowed at Amir, unable to stop the biting blame and suspicion eating my soul.

He was quiet for a while, his next words, slow... Guarded.

"If you knew how I felt about her all this while, why didn't you do shit?" He asked me, those cold grey eyes, still regarding me with crippling intensity.

"I wanted Asa to chose who she wanted to be with without being pressured."

"And what if she had chosen me? Would you have backed off?"

"Never." I deadpanned.

"Good, so you can understand if I don't back off either, eh, Kam?"

I ground my teeth murderously.

This guy.

"Amir, we're friends. Bros. I don't want us to fight over my girl."

He adjusted the hoodie he was wearing, pulling the hood over his head and tossing me a smile. "Your big mistake is that you think you call the shots around here. You're not my boss, Kam. I can do whatever the fuck I want. And right now, what I want is Asa."

The only thing stopping me from rearranging his face with my fist was the fact that I wanted to hear the whole story from Asa herself.

She won't lie to me.

You sure?

Shrugging the insecure voice off, i looked at Amir and warned, lowly, tightening my fists into hardened balls. "Don't start a fight you can't win. Don't do this to our friendship."

His reply was a taunting smile, "There's no turning back from this, Kam. I knew what I was doing the moment i said 'fuck it' and kissed her... And right now, I don't even give a fuck anymore."

"Amir-"

He cut me off, turning around and walking away from me. "May the best man win, DeAngeles."

I glared at his retreating figure until he rounded the hallway, feeling maniacal anger licking through my veins.

So be it.

..

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