~~Daniil's POV~~
'What am I even doing? If I really harbor no feelings for her, why am I taking things this far? If I merely want her to swoon over me, there are other methods I could use to achieve that.' Was I the one smitten while waiting for her to be? Her cold silence throughout the ride until now gave me time for a reevaluation.
I heaved a sigh. 'This isn't me.' Daniil Smirnov never had second thoughts and simply plunged head-on notwithstanding the consequences. But here I was battling with conflicting thoughts.
I tilted my head slightly to the side, to her. The whole time, she's been staring out the window, clung to the door. Was it that much of a hassle being in an enclosed space with me? I also wondered if I didn't look attractive enough to trap her attention. And if I didn't already know better, I may just have questioned my finesse.
My eyes randomly drifted to the rearview mirror. Knox quickly averted his gaze the moment our eyes met though but it was too late; I already caught him stealing glances.
"Hmmm…" I cleared my throat to stick my head out the barrel of quietude we'd been sitting comfortably in this whole time. "So um…," I stressed, still not knowing what to say. Then I suddenly remembered her mom calling me 'Luke.'
'That's right, I said I'd ask her about it. Did she actually not know my name yet?
"Your mom called me Luke. Why's that?"
Silence…
'Lord, help me.' She really had a knack for ignoring people, and right now she was wearing my patience out.
I sucked in air, clenching my left fist softly, and then called: "Ashley?"
"The deal was to be your date. I don't think I'm obligated to speak to you before we get there," she recited without ungluing her gaze from the window.
"But we also agreed you'd treat me as a friend."
"For now, I'm on my way to be your date. That can come later," she replied brusquely.
I scoffed in disbelief. She was really something.
"Does that even make sense? You're only going to speak to me when we get there? What kind of date would do that?" I was this close to snapping at this point. Normally I remained calm whenever it involved her but tonight, I felt different. I wasn't myself. First and foremost, my heart was still beating faster than usual. Secondly, I was feeling funny…aroused? Anyway, the point was I was still struggling to let go of the obscene images of her that raced through my head after what I saw minutes ago. These feelings that fled away were somehow pressing in on me again all at once.
I heaved a sigh and adjusted my tie. Great! Now I was feeling hot in an air-conditioned space.
"You should have thought about that when you made me wear this dress, you pervert," she scorned.
'What? Pervert?!'
My balled-up fists hardened as I was now gnashing my teeth as well, psyched up already. The feeling of self-gratification that came from thinking I already got her dancing to my tunes crumbled alongside my pride in the face of her humiliation once more. It was more like she awakened all the feelings that proved I was a man with blood running through my veins, and yet she wasn't moved the slightest by my breathtaking appearance as if she saw through my guise and would rather croak than fall for it. I saved her ass, helped her a couple of times, exploited her fear, and even made her feel guilty at some point. What more did I need to do? Was she that furious because I made her do this? I wasn't the one who asked her to pay me back; she offered to.
I exhaled sharply in frustration and just relaxed. With my eyes now looking through the window, I let the silence prevail.
At the location …
We arrived at the five-star luxury hotel – located somewhere in Wabash Avenue, Chicago, IL – at exactly 7:pm for the event scheduled to start at 8. I had fifteen more minutes to goof around.
There was a water fountain situated in the midst of a sit-out just in front of the main entrance, apparently to create a welcoming scene for their guests. As we rode further into the parking lot we experienced slow traffic thanks to the long line of cars presumed to belong to other students as we were all driving in simultaneously. A bunch of assorted cars went on to find themselves good parking spots while some stopped briefly in front of the hotel to let their passengers alight, thus the slow traffic.
Extending my gaze a little further through the front windshield, I saw Jordan and Yoshida walking in through the other side of the sit-out facing the entrance diagonally. The duo already made up. A dark smirk curved my lips when a sinister idea crept in.
"Stop the car."
Without sparing as little as a mini second, he touched the earpiece hanging in his ear. "Stop the car," he repeated to the others. Before long, all three cars came to a halt directly before the main entrance – the perfect spotlight.
"Only open the door for me. I'll do the same for her," I instructed then reached out for her hand resting on her thigh. She swung her head sharply down to our hands in contact before raising her blazing eyes to me. 'How dare you touch me?!' her furious eyes said.
"We're here now," I simply reminded. "Go on," I said to Knox who got lost in our drama, my eyes never unlinking Ashley's.
"Ye…yes, boss!" He jumped down aptly to do as instructed.
Shortly after, my door flew open.
Gracefully, I let down my left leg, allowing the light to hit the luster on my designers shoe, accentuating it even more before alighting completely. Oddly, that left a delightful aftertaste.
Following the lousy couple with my eyes and hands sitting proudly in my pockets, I wore a smirk, knowing it was only a matter of seconds until she noticed me.
Aaand…she did.
Randomly swerving her eyes around the scene, they met mine, compelling her to halt in her tracks just before the steps leading up to the lobby, and just gawk. Naturally, Jordan too noticed me and clenched his jaw. Oh, how I enjoyed messing around with these two. I never missed an opportunity to flex my superiority in everything and anything. I could easily make his confused so-called girlfriend ditch him tonight and run to me. But I'd never do that. An even bigger catch was sitting in the car and I was already itching to see her twisted reaction when Ashley would eventually come out.
I huffed and went around to get Ashley.
"Come on," I beckoned, holding out my hand to her.
She pouted her lips, looked me up and down before grudgingly taking my hand.
"Easy." I tightened my grip when it looked like she was losing balance the moment her feet reached the ground. She was shorter than I was; it's no wonder I had to help her get down.
'Ouuuu how nerve-racking it must be to lose your beloved to a girl deemed unworthy.' My speculations proved true. The instant Yoshida saw Ashley, ire viciously slapped away the bland look she had on. I was forced to stifle a laugh. Drifting to Jordan, even if it was only by a few inches, his jaw dropped, and his face was flushed away by awe. 'I know, right? You undermined her because you didn't imagine she'd be this big, a catch.'
I then veered to Ashley standing beside me and saw her attention was elsewhere. Following its trail, it left my eyes on Archer staring at her with a raised brow like he was confused, and Hana just standing there beside him, looking unbothered. She was a lot colder then the other Yoshida for reals. The duo were standing across the other couple, coming in from the other side. The party's just getting started, I thought.
I redirected to Ashley who already tore her eyes from their path and was staring directly at the entrance with a raised chin, holding her head up high. Instead of being intimidated, she was rather daring, even intimidating if I must say. She didn't seem afraid of the sly cousins anymore.
She unlinked our hands and wrapped hers around my arm instead. I just stared, over my shoulder, down at her with an amused smile pasted on my lips. To complete, I raised my shoulders and slid my hands into my pockets. Now we were looking like a power couple.
Sweeping the vast space before us again, these folks remained unbudging. Jordan and Archer gaped, Hana remained nonchalant while of course, Yoshida was still fuming in silence. The other ladies like Ashley wore red dresses but none were as refined as hers. This was an unblemished scenario reminiscent of groomsmen and maids of honor paving the way for the bride and groom.
With a nudge, Ashley uttered in a hushed dulcet tone: "Come on."