White Party (59)

We all walked toward the entrance of the cinema, but all I could think about was how badly I needed to talk to Bella.

It was obviously she was off.

Before I knew it, I stopped and grabbed her arm, guiding her toward the bathroom.

"You guys go grab the seats. We'll go to the bathroom," I said, holding her arm firmly.

"What are you doing?" she asked, her expression uneasy.

"Just come with me."

She hesitated but then followed me into the restroom.

The moment I shut the door behind us, I turned to her.

"Ellie... you couldn't wait until later?" She asked impatiently.

"I was about to put him in his spot," she muttered.

"No."

She huffed, looking at me like she wasn't having any of it.

"Please, don't give me that look," I pleaded

"I'm not giving you that look, Ellie. I'm just trying not to completely lose it because of someone," her voice tight.

"I hope that someone isn't me..."

She crossed her arms.

"You know exactly who I'm talking about."

Her eyes searched mine, and I reached for her hand.

"I'm so sorry, Bella. I know it's not enough, but I feel awful about this. I just can't stand him, I hate him."

"Believe me, the feeling is mutual," she sighed, clearly frustrated.

I leaned in closer, squeezing her arm urgently.

"Will you forgive me?"

Her fingers grazed my face as she stroked my cheek.

"It's not your fault, baby, whatever happens... but..."

"But...?"

"Do you think he knows or suspects?" her voice quiet but sharp.

"If he did, I doubt he'd leave us alone like this..."

"I don't know, Ellie... his question about hiding a secret relationship..."

She nervously ran a hand through her hair, her eyes searching mine for some kind of reassurance.

"His ego is stronger than considering the possibility of me and you having an affair," I affirmed and she nodded lightly.

"Let me handle him, okay?"

She rolled her eyes.

"Why can't I handle him?" she teased.

"Because if you did, we'd both end up in jail," I smirked as I pulled her toward the sink.

For a moment, Bella stood still, staring at me like she couldn't decide whether to laugh or just be annoyed.

I didn't wait.

I leaned in and kissed her lips.

Her arms wrapped around me, spinning me around and pressing me back against the sink.

"Jeez, you should get mad more often," I joked breathlessly.

Bella pressed her knees on my lap, giving me a teasing smile.

God, her body is perfection.

"Ha-ha. Very funny. Try me," she replied.

Her lips parted, and the kiss deepened—slow and intense.

"I'm not sharing you," she murmured.

I hummed in her direction.

What started off gentle quickly turned urgent, and honestly, it was getting harder to keep our hands off each other at this point...

When we pulled apart, we were both breathless, and I laughed softly against her chest as she rolled her eyes playfully.

"Hey, you know what? I think we should start fighting for real," she said seriously, lifting my chin.

"What do you mean?"

"To avoid suspicions, it might be better if we pretend to argue or something." She giggled.

"Do you think that'll help?"

"At the very least, it'll be entertaining..." she replied with a smirk.

Her fingers trembled as I intertwined them with mine.

"Do you know that I love you?" She whispered with the cutest smile.

"Yes, and I love you too," I replied softly.

One last slow kiss, and we had to pull apart again...

Ugh, I hate this.

Joe was waiting at the door of the theater.

"Finally," he muttered. "Took you long enough."

"Your girlfriend is always wasting time." Bella snapped, before brushing past him.

I almost laughed but managed to stay serious.

"She's a pain in the ass," I said, hoping to sound convincing.

Joe laughed, clearly enjoying my comment.

Making fun of him was so damn easy...

I had to sit where he was demanding, practically away from her, but Bella quickly walked past Leo and sat to my left.

As the lights went out, I tried to focus on the screen, but I couldn't...

And for some reason she couldn't sit still...

Her knee suddenly brushed against mine, and I slowly moved closer until our legs were touching.

My patience was wearing thin as her fingers brushed against mine.

I couldn't resist any longer, so I slid my hand into hers, making sure no one was watching.

Bella cleared her throat loudly.

"Don't stop," I whispered.

"Not a chance," she whispered back.

I slipped my other hand onto Joe's leg, making sure his attention was focused on that, and not on other things...

He smirked and moved it up to his... chest.

Two hours after, the movie ended, and so did our contact, which honestly sucked...

"The ending totally surprised me," I said.

I didn't see a single frame of the movie.

I'd been way too busy... doing other things.

"I could tell from the start, but I guess you're too clueless to figure it out..." Bella said.

It's so fucking funny.

And she's so good at faking.

"Unlike you, I don't just sit there pretending I know everything..." I replied, keeping up the act.

"Uh, whatever you say."

She sighed dramatically and walked past me, pretending to look annoyed.

I'm dying to laugh, but I can't.

Joe leaned in with a grin.

"Nice one, Ellie. Didn't expect you to say that to her," he said, pleased.

He's dumb.

It was already evening, so we had to head back to the hotel.

Which totally terrified me.

Once we were walking through the resort, Joe grabbed my arm, making me stop.

"Hey, come on, come with me, Ellie. I'm going to check the hotel board to see what kind of party's happening tonight."

The hotel board... right... I couldn't give a damn.

"You go ahead. I'm heading to the room," I replied.

Before he could argue, I darted into the elevator with Leo and Bella.

"So, see you at the party tonight... guys," I suggested, before they left.

"Yeah, see you there," Bella replied, playing it cool.

I entered my room, locked myself in the bathroom, and hoped Joe would come back as late as possible.

The redhead texted me.

>

>

I texted her back.

I came out of my relaxing bath about two hours later and found Joe lying on the bed, staring at some random spot like he'd seen a ghost...

At this point I couldn't tell if he was just playing it up or if something deeper was going on...

"So... what's the party tonight?" I asked.

He really looked out of it. Or pissed. Or even smug.

He turned and then said:

"White party."