The Gay Delusion

27: The Greatest Delusion

Holaaa, lovelies! How are you all? Amazing, I hope :) Thanks for your adorable and hilarious comments on the last chapter - you all make me swooooon over you! Seriously, you all restore my faith in humanity.

Just a little note to say thanks, as usual, and to warn you that the end really is drawing pretty near. Including this one, there's three chapters and an epilogue left of Griffin and Laina's story. I can't believe how freaking CLOSE we are to the end, but thank you all for sticking with me and these characters for this long :) Love always, River. xo

*SEXUAL CONTENT* in this chapter! Please don't read if you're not old/mature enough.

27: The Greatest Delusion

Other guests had already trickled into the party, and I caught sight of a few flame-colored heads here and there, presuming they were most likely relations of Felicity. It was a charming atmosphere, a few dozen people chatting away and drinking casually, laughing and celebrating the engagement of one of the loveliest couples I'd ever come across.

Blue, white and orange balloons were hovering in the air, vibrant splashes of color tied together and decorating the venue. Candles the same color as the balloons were arranged throughout the room, burning, providing light and adding to the ambience a sense of intimacy. I wasn't too sure if the candles were a wise idea, catching sight of the token drunk at every party already stumbling around and knocking into various things and people. (Fire safety, people.)

Spotting a beaming Emilie and the unfamiliar curly-haired cutie who was standing beside her, Griffin and I made a beeline for them after retrieving a couple of drinks ourselves.

'Hey!' Emilie greeted, looking positively radiant and a little flushed at something her curly-haired companion had been saying. She looked as giddy as I imagined Griffin and I must have done. 'It's great to see you guys here together.'

I laughed, rubbing my neck. 'Thanks. After the chaos of last week, I'll admit that I didn't think the two of us would be going anywhere together.'

'Well you're stuck with me now,' Griffin said, prodding my hip lightly with his finger. I nudged him back in response, letting him pull me into the crook of his arm. I loved the feel of my body flush against his. On the way here it had been a struggle to keep our hands from wandering - we couldn't stop touching each other in one way or another, the two of us buzzing in anticipation of what would come (no pun intended) later.

Taking it slow had been the plan, but I had also meant what I said to Griffin earlier - hard and fast was necessary sometimes. Somehow it felt like we had been moving so slowly, like we had been dating for much longer than the three days which we technically had been. Instead, it was almost as though we had been in a relationship for the entirety of the five months which had passed since the day we met. He fit in so perfectly to my life, and I was struck with how lucky I was every time I caught sight of him.

'Jason?' I said questioningly to the dark-haired babe next to Emilie, letting go of Griffin momentarily to give the stranger one of those cheek-to-cheek touches which substituted for a kiss. Tugging Griffin's arm to wrap back around me, I heard him let out a quiet laugh.

'Yes,' Jason replied with an easy smile, revealing his even white teeth. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but something about the guy exuded pure sexiness. Maybe it was his glasses, resting on and casting shadows over cheekbones which could probably slice you open, or the fact he stood with a quietly confident grace, but Emilie had totally scored. (Jason from IT had totally struck gold when it came to Emilie too, for that matter.)