Chapter 9: Discord

“Want a tour around the house?” Glace asked after we finished eating. She washed the dishes right after without asking for my help. How cute was that?

I nodded and hooked my right thumb inside my jeans pocket. “Sure.”

“Let’s go then,” she said while walking briskly out of the kitchen. I watched her retreating back and followed several steps behind to observe her. Her posture was straight, her sexy butt swaying slightly with every movement. Her raven black hair was completely dried off and now styled in a ponytail, exposing her nape. She was feminine and graceful—a deadly combination.

I bet she was a good kisser too. My cheeks flushed at the thought. I shook my head. Thoughts like that shouldn’t cross my mind since she was already in love with someone else. If I made the mistake of falling for her, I’d be in for BIG heartbreak. No, heart of mine. Just think of her as a friend.

Her childhood sweetheart must be a lucky son of a gun to capture her like that. If this were a sea and we were all fishing for mates, Glace was the biggest catch anyone could find. I couldn’t help but envy the girl. My mom would probably agree that it would be best not to get myself involved.

Oh, snap! Mom!

“Glace,” I called out and stopped walking. She twisted and faced me, arching her eyebrows up in question. Blood rushed to my face. “What should I do?” I said in a panic. “I forgot to tell my mom that I was going to a party last night. She’s probably worried sick that I didn’t go home.” I brought my hand to my forehead.

“I took care of that, Dulce. Don’t worry,” she said calmly.

My left hand fell to the side. “You did?”

“Yup. I called Andrea right after I brought you here. I told her that we were having a sleepover.” She smirked. “And what a sleepover it was. Anyway, your mom loved the idea of you hanging out with me, so maybe let’s do another one of those sleepovers again.” She winked.

The image of Glace and me hugging this morning flashed in my mind, making me gasp lowly. I had almost forgotten about it. “Hey! Why were we in our underwear?” My voice was accusing while my eyes narrowed at her. “I understand that you had to drag me from Denise’s death grip, but did you have to strip my clothes off?”

Glace stared me up and down and smiled coyly. I did the same and noticed for the first time that both of us were barefoot. It was kind of sexy. I snapped my fingers to get her attention. “Answer the question.”

“After I hauled you out of the guest room last night, you happened to puke all over yourself. That’s the reason why I had to remove all your clothes. Unless you wanted to sleep in barf—which isn’t very hygienic, in my opinion,” she said with a straight face.

“Oh…” Another thought crossed my mind. “Then why were you in your underwear, then? Did I puke on you, too?”

A smile flitted across her face before she turned around, her ponytail swinging slightly from the action. “I always sleep in the nude,” she chortled. “I should have removed everything, but I doubt that you’d like that.” I blushed at her confession.

She continued walking while I followed behind her. When we reached a door, she opened it slightly, revealing a music room. I studied the area as we entered. A black grand piano stood marvelously in the middle of the room. It was polished to perfection, and sunlight streamed inside from the big bay windows, lighting up the keys.

I nearly skipped to the piano and sat on the black chair in front of it. “It’s beautiful,” I said earnestly. Glace walked to my side and sat beside me. The chair was built for one person, so we had to scoot close together. Our elbows and arms touched, which bothered me. A lot.

Her slim and long fingers moved expertly to the keys and played a song—an classic one. I recognized it immediately as Beyonce’s “Halo.” I had learned how to play it years ago, so I glided my fingers on the piano and played with her. Our hands did all the talking and singing.

We made beautiful music together, and with every touch of the keys, my heart pounded a little more. When Glace turned her head to me and gave me a heartbreakingly gorgeous smile, my heart totally melted. All I could give her in return was a crooked smile, but she quickly looked forward and continued playing.

When the song ended, my breathing was already harsh. It was like the two of us had kissed without even touching. What was happening to me? Glace touched my right arm, making me squeak lowly. “I knew that you played, but that was great, Dulce.”

“No, you were better at playing, Glace. I just followed along,” I said weakly. She stood up and walked to the other side of the room, where three guitars were situated—a blue electric one, a bass guitar, and a classic Fender. She picked up the classic guitar and sat with her legs crossed in front of her on the floor.

She began to tune the guitar deftly with her hands while plucking one or two strings. Her eyes traveled up to mine. “I also play the guitar.”

“Let’s hear it,” I said.

She strummed the instrument, and I instantly recognized the song as “The Man Who Can’t Be Moved” by The Script. She stared me directly in the eyes and dove right to the next stanza of the song.

“Some try to hand me money, they don’t understand I’m not broke \ I’m just a brokenhearted man I know it makes no sense, but what else can I do? \ How can I move on when I’m still in love with you? \ ’Cause if one day you wake up and find that you’re missing me / And your heart starts to wonder where on this earth I could be / Thinking maybe you’ll come back here to the place that we’d meet / And you’d see me waiting for you on the corner of the street.”

Glace finished her acoustic version of the song but continued looking up at me. My breath hitched. Her voice was angelic and her guitar playing perfect, but more than that, she sang the song with such feeling that it felt like she was singing directly to me. But I knew it wasn’t true.

Glace smiled sadly and asked, “What would you think my first love would do if she heard me sing that song for her?”

“She’d totally fall for you,” I said and then followed it with a shaky laugh. “I mean, look at you. You’re beautiful and even great at singing. I’m surprised that you haven’t released your own album. She’d be stupid not to love you back.”

She closed her eyes briefly. “She’s not stupid, Dulce. Just innocent.” When she opened her eyes, she stood up and placed the guitar back in its original position. “Let’s go. I haven’t shown you my favorite part of the house yet.”

Once again, I followed her out of the room, and we walked to the hallway. When we reached the end, she pushed a door open, revealing her own personal library.

“No freaking way,” I gushed. “You have a library?”

I stepped inside the room and glanced around in delight. Rows of bookshelves lined the walls. A big mahogany desk stood in one corner of the room, complete with a matching chair. White plush sofas were located in the middle. Perhaps my favorite part about it was the reading nook next to the big windows. It looked comfortable and had purple pillows.

I looked at Glace. I could just imagine her curled up in that nook while pouring over her favorite novels. Come to think of it, I didn’t know that she liked to read. Beauty and brains, huh? She was definitely something.

I walked to the shelves and studied the titles there. The classics were present—Shakespeare, Dickens, Austen, Homer, and so much more. The next shelf contained different encyclopedias. People still read that? I thought they preferred Wikipedia now. Another shelf contained new book releases ranging from Cassandra Clare’s books to E.L. James novels.

With all the different genres of books here, she had to be a voracious reader. If I were to have a type, she was definitely it. Too bad her heart was taken.

I went to the reading nook and sat on the cushy mattress. She followed and positioned herself comfortably next to me, leaning her back against the window.

“Okay, Glace, you totally debunked my conception about Hollywood stars.”

“And what misconception was that?” she asked with her eyes closed.

“I thought people like you love to party, drink, pick up people from clubs—and forgive me for saying this, but that they’re total douches who don’t like to read,” I finished.

“Give me a little credit, will you?” she murmured. “But they definitely got one part right. I am THE Ice Princess.” She chuckled.

“Not to me,” I whispered while leaning near her face. Her lashes were so thick that I couldn’t help but glance at them. She had her eyes closed anyway, so she wouldn’t see me. Her skin looked soft too.

“Not to you,” she whispered back, and I felt her honey-scented breath on my cheek. She opened her eyes and didn’t look surprised when she saw me face-to-face with her. We held each other’s gaze, and all the while, my heart fluttered helplessly against my chest, the beat increasing with each tick of the clock. She brought her face closer to mine. “You’re even more beautiful up close,” she said.

I added proximity by moving several inches more. “What about your first love?” I asked.

“What about her?” she said under her breath and leaned into me. My eyes closed automatically, and I had no doubt that hers were too. I felt her right hand slide against the small of my back, making me shiver.

“Am I interrupting something?” someone asked. My eyes immediately opened, and I turned to see a beautiful woman standing by the door. I studied her features as she walked to the center of the room and plopped down gracefully on one of the sofas.

She had straight red hair that ended just below her shoulders. Her caramel brown eyes stared directly at Glace and me. She crossed her long legs and leaned back on the sofa. Her thin lips were currently positioned in a smirk. I’d know that signature smile anywhere. To prove my point, Glace called her by her name—a name that the whole modeling world knew, considering that she was one of the top supermodels of our generation.

“Eris,” Glace said casually.

“Frio,” said the other woman. “You didn’t tell me that you have a guest.”

I immediately positioned myself as far away from Glace as possible in the reading nook. Who was that girl? I knew that she was a model, but was she Glace’s first love? My eyes flitted to her, and her features confirmed my suspicions: red hair, brown eyes, a to-die-for smile. Yup. She was the goddess Glace was talking about. My stomach felt hollow at the realization.

Glace shrugged. “I don’t have to tell you anything. This is my house, and I’ll invite whoever I want to.”

Eris looked pissed off for some reason, but she quickly rearranged her features and smiled sweetly at me. “Who are you, dear?” she asked.

I swallowed before replying, “I’m Dulce Gavin. Nice to meet you.”

“Really now?” she mused. “Well, I don’t need to introduce myself to you. Everyone knows me, of course.” She chuckled.

“Don’t be a stuck-up jerk, Eris,” Glace replied. “Dulce doesn’t know you. She didn’t even know me,” she said sourly.

“But I know Eris,” I chimed in.

Glace stared at me in surprise. “B-but you didn’t even know me, and I’m an actress.”

I blushed at the reminder. “It’s just that she was a guest in one of my favorite cooking shows, so I was able to recognize her.”

Eris clapped her hands, making me focus on her. “You’re such a cute sweetheart,” she said with a smile. “Let me introduce myself properly. I’m Eris.”

“Eris what?” I asked.

“Just Eris. It’s my supermodel persona, meaning the Goddess of Discord and Rivalry.” She stood up from the sofa and catwalked to the bookshelves. When she turned to us, she poised her arms on her hips like she was on a runway. “They named me Eris because I looooove competition.”

My mouth popped open. Wow… She was a little…over-the-top. Eris continued speaking. “When I say competition, I mean not only in the modeling world but in everything. Including love,” she added. “I’m also Frio’s old friend and shoulder to cry on. A bedroom fuc—”

Glace interrupted. “Don’t spit out rubbish, Eris, or Dulce might believe you.” Glace turned to me. “She’s not my friend. She used to be my manager.”

I glanced at Eris. “Manager? But she looks young.”

Eris snapped her fingers. “Yes, darling. I’m only 25. Frio came under my wing when I was 20 and she was 12. Honestly, she looked like a small bird.” She stared Glace up and down. “But now look at her. She’s absolutely fuc—”

Glace interrupted again. This time, her brows were furrowed, and she looked really mad. “I said, don’t say such things in front of Dulce. One more, and I’ll throw you out.”

Eris pouted. “No fair! Your cute friend is not a child, Frio.” She tapped her red stilettos impatiently on the wooden floor. “I bet she uses the words’ fuck,’ ‘bitch,’ and ‘slut' once in a while, too.”

“You’re an animal,” Glace said sharply.

“An animal you’d like to take to the bedroom,” Eris retorted.

“You know that’s not true. For your other girls, at least, but never for me,” Glace replied.

Eris rolled her eyes and walked steadily to the reading nook where Glace and I were sitting. She leaned near me and cupped my chin with her left hand while glancing at Glace. I just sat there, paralyzed, completely shocked at her bizarre behavior. “That may not be true for you, Frio, but how about this friend of yours?” Eris turned to me. “Dulce, right? You look beautiful, darling. But you also look like a gullible virgin. When you want to take care of that, I’ll be waiting for you. I’ll be soft on you for Frio.”

With a growl, Glace pushed Eris’s hands away from my face and scooted closer so she was sitting in front of me. She was now blocking me from Eris. “Get out!” she hissed.

The woman frowned. “But you’re the one who invited me over, Frio,” she whined.

“I invited you over because I wanted you to take care of the paparazzi for me, not so you could harass my guest.”

Eris crossed her arms over her chest. “Fine,” she snapped. “What do you want me to do?”

Glace relaxed in front of me. “We’re going to have a school play in December. I want the media out of it. I don’t want anyone to take pictures of me. And I definitely don’t want them to discover Dulce. If they saw her, she’d never had a moment of peace again.”

Eris turned to me and studied my face. “I see what you mean. The girl can be an actress with her looks.” She smirked. “Afraid of competition, Frio? Or perhaps you’re scared that someone may take her from you.”

Glace’s ears turned red, but since I couldn’t see her face, I didn’t know what her reaction was. “Just do it, okay?”

“Alright,” Eris agreed. Before she turned around and walked out of the room, she glanced at me and said, “But I meant it about the virginity thing, darling. Call me.” I gulped loudly and watched her saunter out.