Fire On Fire (#Wattys2019)

Chapter-7

Natasha's POV

His mouth was stretched into a lopsided grin, and I could see the smile lines around his eyes. His wide, grey eyes, which had once pulled me in, endeared me. His brown hair fell messily on his forehead. I knew that if he brushed it back, you could see a small mole, right on his left temple.

I closed my eyes, wishing nothing more than to disappear. I couldn't describe how I felt, a torrent of emotions was swirling within me. Anger, joy, sorrow, surprise, longing, they were all there. Only one coherent thought was present in my mind.

I am never dining out again.

First, I met..him. Sebastian. Mysterious, dark and distant, he was beyond my understanding in every way possible. And the next time...God. I fought furiously to keep the memory of what had happened that night at bay. With just the touch of his hands, he had re-ignited in me passions which I had thought I buried so deep they could never be reached. And now, the third time this year I was dining out, I stood facing the man who was the reason I had buried them in the first place.

The reason I had stopped caring for love. Stopped caring at all, period.

I opened my eyes. The torrent had died down. I had calmed the storm inside me, and chosen an emotion for how I was to deal with him tonight, how I was to deal with him from now on. The same feeling with which he had treated me all those years ago. Indifference.

"Jason", I spat. "What are you doing here?"

Kim and Megan stood gaping at me. It was clear from their expressions that this was the exact opposite of how they had expected me to react. Well, if these two bitches had thought I was going to hyperventilate, they were wrong.

He himself looked slightly surprised at my less than warm greeting, but then again, I knew he was aware that diplomacy was not my strong suite. His grin returned, and he advanced, walking towards me slowly.

"I'm good, thank you for asking", he said sarcastically, but I could sense the humor in his words. He was just a foot away from me now, and then, all of a sudden, he tugged me towards himself, wrapping his arms around me, pulling me close to him. Seven years or so ago, this action would have sped my heart up to an erratic rate, but now, I felt nothing, except an emptiness.

"I missed you", he whispered softly in my ear. "More than you can imagine. Happy birthday, Natasha."

I could hear Megan sighing happily beside me, but happiness was the last thing I felt right now. I gently pushed him away. "Why are you here?"

"I couldn't skip my favorite girl's birthday party", he replied.

Smooth, Jason.

"Would've sounded true if it wasn't being said after seven years of no calls, no texts, not even a goddamn email", I snapped.

Jason flinched slightly at my words. I knew I'd hit a sore spot, and strangely, instead of feeling triumphant, I felt slightly guilty. Guess it wasn't so easy to be indifferent, after all.

"I'm...sorry", I sighed. "You just took me by surprise."

I looked away from him, and it was then that I remembered where I was. My gaze first landed on Noah and the band, they all looked confused and slightly embarrassed to be caught in such a situation. I then looked at Kim, and she was looking at me with a mixture of disbelief and disapproval, and her expression was mirrored on Megan's face.

"I-ahem." I cleared my thought awkwardly. "Thanks for being here for me tonight, guys. Especially when I've been working my butt off so much that I can't remember my own birthday." I grin. "I don't deserve any of it-"