MATTEO'S POV
There was a certain tingle to my body when Helena stepped out in her dance clothes, shorts that stopped mid-thigh with a tank-top and her long hair tied up to a messy ponytail, exposing her neck and I felt like a starving vampire writing under the scorching son.
"Damn" I was surprised at my own thoughts. My eyes unconsciously drifted down to her legs and she caught me.
"Hey, my face is up here" she snapped her fingers in her face and I scrunched my nose, my heart nearly going off
"You wish"
She rolled her eyes at me, and pushed past me into the car and instantly filling my nose with her vanilla scent as she passed by, filling my stomach with a warm fuzziness that I had never felt before. What was going on with me?
After I dropped Helena off, I walked to the coffee shop just opposite her dance studio to up my daily need of caffeine and spin the time while I waited for her. I took a lone seat by the window directly facing where Helena danced and I could see her. I wouldn't lie, it was intoxicating sight – watching her dance, her body twisting in ways that made my chest tighten. I have seen a lot of girls dance at the club but there was a certain gracefulness to how she moved.
What the hell is wrong with me?
Immediately I pull my phone out of my pockets, desperate for someone to call to put an end to self inflicted celibacy, maybe if I had been fucking more women, I won't be staring at Helena like the last piece of cake on the tray – enticing and delicious.
Matteo!!
Frustration claws at me as my eyes flicked back to the studio, and I could see her still, legs lifted on a beam and her back straight. I could see the curve of her waist, my eyes drifting upwards to the smoothness of her neck and the sharpness of her jawline, I wanted to run my hands over them, experiencing the silk that it promised and yet again, I forced my eyes away from her.
Immediately, I sprang up from the chair and shoving my phone back into my pockets. I was ready to leave, and I didn't care, Helena would have to find her way back by herself and I forced myself to believe that she'd enjoy that very much but the moment I stepped out of the coffee shop, the fresh air hitting my face as I stretched my neck and rolling the tension off my shoulders, and just then her eyes jammed mine and she raised her brows in confusion.
"Where are you going?" she mouthed but I only stared back at her, pretending not to understand what she was saying. From the corner of my left eye, there was girl staring at me and when I met her eyes, there was the familiar twinkle in her golden brown eyes that showed she wanted me.
"I'm Marilyn" she said to me, and while she talked I could see Helena preparing to leave and walking out at the same time. She was crossing the street now and her eyes trained on me, the voice of Marilyn echoing in the background but my eyes was fixed on Helena. Apart from the part that in the past hour, I had automatically become attracted to her legs, but something felt off – something I couldn't place my hands on.
My body tensed up as I noticed a speeding bike barreling down the road, and the rider wasn't slowing down. Worse, there was a puddle right behind her, and she was completely unaware.
Shit.
Marilyn was still yapping in her ears, and last I remembered she was fussing about something that happened in college.
Without thinking, I lunged forward, covering the last few paces between us. My hand shot out, grabbing her wrist, and in one swift motion, I pulled her into me, pressing her body against my chest. My arm wrapped tightly around her waist as I spun us out of the way, just in time for the bike to zoom past, splashing the puddle onto Marilyn – who in turn screamed immediately.
"Noooo! This is Prada!"
"Whoa…" Helena breathed out, her hands instinctively gripping onto my shirt as she steadied herself against me.
But I couldn't focus on her words, even Marilyn's whining had drifted off to an oblivion that longer existed. Something ignited in me, Helena's skin against mine and it burned like a slow fire kissing my veins.
The sensation of her being so close, her chest brushing against mine, the scent of her sweat and faint perfume filling my senses. God, it was intoxicating. I felt my pulse racing, my body reacting in ways I shouldn't allow.
"What the hell just happened?" she pushed away from me, there was a softness in her eyes, but also confusion, as if she wasn't sure what just happened, then she had her eyes fixed on Marilyn who was still wailing, and Helena offered her a handkerchief.
"You okay?" I asked, my voice rougher than I intended. I was trying to play it cool, but damn, it was hard to ignore the way my body was responding to her.
She shot me a dirty look "What I'm not okay with is you grabbing me like that in the middle of the street and – and – ruining this ladies dress"
"You're not the least flattered that I just tried to save you from a puddle of water"
Then she scoffed, followed by a chuckle "Dante literally burned down a whole because the store attendant talked to me funny, I'm sure you can do better" she proceeded to walk past me but I took hold of her wrist, firmer than I had done before.
"Is that challenge?" My grip on her waist tightened for just a second, and I felt a ripple of heat shoot through me
Her eyes stayed fixed on mine but I could see the crinkle of her forehead and her eyebrows arching, then she pulled her arm away from my hold.
"It was a joke, don't be getting any ideas in that sick head of yours"
Then she walked into the coffee shop, but it wasn't a joke, I didn't see it as a joke. If anything, I was more eager to have something that I know shouldn't have and I didn't care.
Just then, a text popped up in my phone. It was an invitation to a masked ball.