Chapter 62 Fallen God 17

Chapter 62 Fallen God 17
Dion

I loved my band mates like brothers, but Christ, they were annoying. It was more than the fact that they just wouldn't leave despite every single one of them knowing I wanted alone time with Lola. And that it was causing me to have the worst case of blue balls in the history of the world. There was also the fact that they seemed hellbent on keeping her away from me. 

Every time I went to pull her down next to me, one of them called her, or caught her hand and dragged her towards them.

Elodie and Jax seemed to be the worst. And one look at their faces told me they thought it was hysterical. I didn't. I wanted to remind Jax that it had been me who had pushed him into admitting his feelings for El to begin with. I liked to think that without me they wouldn't have become a couple and yet there he was, trying his hardest to cock block me at every turn. 

The only person who seemed to not want Lola's attention was the one person I thought would be actively trying to keep her away from me. Louis. Her brother remained almost silent as we wrapped up the actual work part of our evening and moved onto what we liked to call our wind down.

Which was just another word for drinking. Even the hot chocolate ruse had been discarded. No one had any inclination for pretence anymore. They were too busy getting into the Christmas spirit, knocking back shots around the cluttered coffee table. 

Everyone but me and Elodie.

I glanced at her perched on Jax's lap. She didn't seem bothered at all that he had a glass of liquor in his hand. She was all smiles.

Her eyes met mine, and for a second that smile slipped. It was just an inch, but it was noticeable. And I knew I was the reason why. 

Elodie was worried about me and with good reason. She might not be affected by the look and smell of the alcohol, but I was. 

Getting sober hadn’t been easy for me. And it was a daily struggle to stay that way. I thought I'd mastered it, but being with them as they sank enough alcohol to put the British Navy in a coma, I realised I wasn't even close. 

It was just too tempting, and even the smell of it was turning my stomach. My fingers itched with the need to grab a glass for myself. Because hell, one drink wouldn’t hurt, right?

A flowery smell hit my nostrils the second I started to move forward. Freezing, I looked up into the frowning face of Lola as she perched on the arm of the chair, her perfect ass crinkling the papers I had left there. Not that I minded that. Papers could be smoothed out. The fact that Lola had purposely put herself next to me, within reach, even in front of her brother, was a massive step in the right direction. 

Instinctively, I reached for her, pulling her fully onto my lap. Letting my chin rest on her shoulder, I sucked in breath after breath of the smell of her shampoo and the raging beast that demanded alcohol quietened. 

If I hadn't known before, I did now.

Lola was the one.

Tightening my arms around her waist, my eyes met Louis over her shoulder. He was staring openly, but the second I met his gaze, he looked away. Seconds later, he lifted his eyes to mine again.

His nod came as a surprise. 

Dropping my lips to Lola's shoulder, I smiled against the softness of her sweater. If I wasn't mistaken, then her brother had just given me his nod of approval. I wasn't sure what had changed his mind, but I wasn't about to argue with it. 

Louis had been the thing that Lola had worried about the most. She had feared what happened between us would affect her brother.

There would be no stopping us now.

My chest suddenly tight, I used my fingers to move her face towards mine. I wanted to kiss her, to seal the deal, so to speak. 

Her lips parted under mine instantly, her small hands reaching up to tangle in my hair as she twisted her body to press against mine.

A low, inebriated cheer went up from around the table.

But I barely heard it.

Lola's lips were so soft.

But the taste of her…my stomach rolled as the combined smell and flavour of the alcohol she had drunk assaulted my taste buds. Nausea turned my stomach into knots and rushed up my throat. 

Stiffening under her lips, I fought for control over my own body and failed.

The nausea turned into something else, something that burned a trail up my throat and threatened to explode out of my mouth.

Unceremoniously, I stood, dumping a startled Lola on the chair. I couldn't bring myself to look at her face because I knew she would be hurt. And I couldn't do anything but clamp my hand over my mouth as I rushed toward the bathroom. 



Hugging the toilet bowl, I rested my sweaty head against the cool porcelain. Wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, I sucked in a shaking breath and waited for my heart to slow down. It was hammering in my chest. A steady boom, boom, boom against my ribs.

It had come out of nowhere. The vomit had just rushed up.

Even when I had been drinking as a semi full–time job, my body had never rebelled against me like that. Well, maybe once.

The time I had puked all over Jax’s shoes.

God. I groaned, gagging on the disgusting taste in my mouth. Lola. What the hell must she be thinking right now? I had just dumped her there, left her so I could vomit loudly for everyone to hear, and I had done it after kissing her. 

“Here.” A wet face cloth was thrust in front of my face and I turned bleary eyes up to my manager. Erik's face was troubled, caught and frozen halfway between a frown and a sad smile. Gladly, I wiped my face with the damp flannel, and it felt amazing against my blistering hot skin. 

“Are you ok now?” Not waiting for me to answer, a glass of water was handed to me. I gulped it down gratefully. It didn't do much to take away the sour, rancid taste in my mouth, but it helped a little. When I got myself together, I would brush my teeth and…

“Lola?” Her name came out as a croak. God, she must feel so embarrassed. More than embarrassed, she would be mortified.

From somewhere out in the apartment, a door slammed and my heart went with it. Was that Lola leaving?

Scrambling up, my fingers gripped the sink, but I slipped and crashed back to the ground with a grunt.

Shaking his head, Erik placed a hand on my shoulder, urging me to stay where I was. “Get yourself under control, Dion. It’s the others leaving, not Lola.” His blue eyes crinkled. “Elodie is with her.”

“She…” I couldn't get the words out. “God, is she ok? It just–”

“Elodie is explaining it to her, Dion. Don't worry about that. She will help her understand that it isn't her. It was the drink.” He shook his head. “We shouldn’t have put it in front of you. I should have told them not to. This is on me.”

“But Lola, she's going to think that kissing her was what made me sick, and it wasn't.” A fresh wave of pain twisted my gut. I heaved and nothing came out. 

“She will understand, Elodie will explain what happened and if that doesn't make her understand, then I will. This is my fault. You've been doing so well that I forgot. I shouldn’t have put that much temptation in front of you, Dion. I hope you will forgive me for that.”

“There's nothing to forgive. Temptation is around me every second of the day. It was just tasting it on her lips, on her breath–fuck,” I groaned. “I've got to talk to her.”

“Clean yourself up first, Dion. Shower and brush your teeth. Lola isn't going anywhere, believe me.” Something passed across his face. “I thought it was a faze,” he admitted so softly that I had to strain my ears to hear him. “I thought you were using her to get over the shit with Isla. I thought she was a distraction. Just another girl in a long run of girls who fell into your bed.”

Raising an eyebrow, I waited for him to continue. He didn't. “And now?”

“The way you watch her, it's like you're blinded by her and sometimes she looks at you and…” Erik shook his head. “I’ve rarely seen two people look at each other like you two do. She's a good woman. A keeper.”

Nodding, I smiled. Yes, she was. I wasn’t going to argue with him about that. 

“Don't fuck things up with her, Dion, because you're going to need her over the next few weeks.”

“I don't plan to.” And that was the absolute truth. I knew things were going to hit the fan with Isla again. And this time it might even be worse than it had been before. Maybe not for me, but for her. Isla and that sweet, innocent baby boy were in for a rough time. 

Sure, Isla had brought it on herself, but I couldn't help feeling a twinge of sympathy for her. She had been one of my best friends once. 

I missed her as a friend.

But I wanted Lola as my woman. 

And I wasn't sure how I got to have both. 

“Go to her, Dion.”

For a second, I thought he was talking about Isla and did a double take before I realised he was talking about Lola. 

“Explain it all to her. And I mean all of it because you don't want her finding out about anything from the papers.”

Papers? For a heartbeat, I gazed up at him. “What's going on?” It was clear that something was.

“Isla has–”

I didn't let him finish. Heaving myself up, I straightened my spine. “Of course she has.”