#Chapter5

PARIS: THAT AWKWARD MOMENT-01

JOY

By the aura Vince carried, I wasn’t surprised to see how quickly he had booked a VIP area for us. The area was larger than the lounges—a semi-round couch around a round table that had a champagne bottle dipped in a bucket of ice.

"Deux verres, s'il vous plaît," said Vince, turning to the waiter.

The waiter handed him the glasses and walked past me with an odd grin glued to his lips, making me scrunch my face.

"They are not used to seeing such an entrancing woman like you," Vince said.

“Entrancing?” I asked, sitting on the couch with a leg over the other. He only nodded. "So, do you come here often?"

I tried not to ogle at him and pulled out my phone. My eyes caught glimpse of a few messages from Aubrey and I laughed. Aubrey worried more than my mother ever had whenever I went off to a club or a party. I quickly replied to Aubrey with a few heart emojis and strode the phone back inside my purse.

I looked up to find Vince watching me intently and my heart skipped a beat. He sat beside me, awfully close to my liking.

"No, I was here for some business purposes, which had ended faster than expected. So, I came here to get some escape from work and you know the rest." He shrugged. "What about you?"

"This is my first visit to Paris and I was here for business as well, which had also finished early. So, here I am."

"A businesswoman? I like it."

"I'm not but I'm a daughter to a businessman."

"So am I." He smiled. "I mean I'm the son of a businesswoman."

"Interesting." I couldn't help but wonder why a man like him seemed shaky around me. His Adam's apple bobbed while he took deep breaths and kneaded his shoulders. "Why do you seem nervous?" I asked with an arched brow.

"Will it be weird if I said you’re making me nervous?"

"I’m making you nervous?" I snorted. "Are you serious?"

"Yes." He licked his lips and stared at me as I chugged the entire glass of champagne, all the while holding his gaze. Who drinks like that? I scoffed at myself at the back of my mind.

"You are different." I quirked my eyebrows at him to which he added, "Any other girl would've jumped over me by now, especially with my looks and personality, so either you don't know me or you are already committed."

"If I was committed, I wouldn't have been here with you.”

He laughed. “Trust me when I say this that many committed ladies have had no problem getting into my bed.”

“Oh god, that’s...” I gulped, stopping myself.

Of course, he was promiscuous. With looks like that, I would’ve been worried if he weren’t. And he was narcissistic. A very lethal combination.

I added, “I have to say you’re handsome. You can brush your ego with that.” He was trying hard to subdue the smile tugging the side of his lips. “But being handsome doesn't necessarily mean that I'd have to lick your face. And do I need to know you? Are you in the mob or something? You should warn me if I’m in trouble or something."

As embarrassing as it sounded, I’d indeed thought of jumping on him...because I was that drunk, and he was marvellous. The alcohol was playing with my hormones and my entire body was warming up under his intense gaze.

"You’re in huge trouble.” He grinned, pursing his lips to one side. “I am just used to people, particularly, women talking about my looks all the time. It’s either to get into pants or my pockets.”

“That’s awful,” I said.

“You looked like the only normal person in the club."

"I'd take normal as a compliment. It's so nice to hear someone say that."

"Would you like anything else?" The waiter interrupted once again as Vincent was about to speak. He looked at me and I shook my head. Perhaps more drinks would be a bad idea, I sighed.

As soon as the waiter walked away, he retorted, "You are not normal...you are incredible and—"

"Okay, okay, I get it. Enough with the pickup lines already." I flung my hand around, realizing I was blushing.

"It wasn't a pick-up line, Joy." Tugging a strand of hair behind my ears, he drew his face close to my ears and whispered, “I’ve wanted to do this since I saw you.”

The way he said my name was enough to play with my mind and his hoarse voice, on top of it, sent a tingling sensation down my stomach.

I turned to look at him, his eyes boring into mine, our noses brushing. He shifted closer to me, his silver eyes glistening under the dimmed yellow light. He brushed his lips on mine, his warm breath hazing my senses. My entire body was calling out to him, which was a new sensation to me. I’d never let people touch me but with him, I didn’t want him to stop.

In seconds, his hands slid back and gripped my neck to keep me from moving away before he pressed his lips on mine. I stiffened, my hands fisting over my knees as a familiar ache followed its way into my heart. I could hear my own muffled screams ringing in my ears, yelling for help.

But the next moment, Vince pulled back and looked at me, his eyes filled with so many emotions but above all, desire and longing. My chest heaved and I gulped, not knowing how else to react. I didn't get to kiss him back and I was regretting it immediately after.

He rested his forehead on mine and moved one of his hands to caress my cheeks and brushed his thumb on my lips. The tenderness in his touch was enough to make me forget all the thoughts that were starting to cloud my mind in just moments. How can a touch feel so good?