The Stranger's Wife | Rewritten

34 ~ A Brother's Legacy

- Amelia -

The ladies room was tiny, the walls closing in on me as I hovered over the toilet seat. It smelled strongly like pee, and I could hear the music from the bar filtering through the thin walls. In the stall next to me, the sound of pee being forcefully expelled caught my attention and I looked down and noticed a pair of wobbly heels. I guess I wasn't the only one struggling to maintain my balance while hovering over the toilet seat.

The shots we'd taken at the bar with Daniel, followed by the vodka soda I'd taken with me to the dance floor had gone straight to my head.

Finishing the roll of toilet paper, I figured I should have stuck to beer instead of switching to hard liquor. I felt like I had cotton candy for brains and overcooked spaghetti for legs.

I washed my hands at the rose gold sink, smiling at a woman with a mole on her upper lip when she reached out next to me for paper towels to dry her hands. She left and I took a second to look at myself in the mirror beneath the dim lights.

My eyes were dark, eyelids lowered halfway with a heaviness I hadn't felt in a long time. I couldn't tell if I was horny or sleepy. Maybe both. Usually, this heaviness was the aftermath of a long day filled with surgeries. But not tonight.

My forehead was shiny like a disco ball but I was glad my blowout was mostly still intact. The hairs at my temple and nape had curled up when they'd come into contact with sweat, mostly Willem's sweat as I had my face pressed at the side of his face as we danced, our bodies tangled and coiled, trapped in each other's heat.

I dried my hands and dabbed at my oily forehead, dropping the used tissue paper into a rose gold garbage bin before heading back outside to Willem. It was a second before I remembered the exact location I'd left him at. When I got there, he wasn't there. I scanned the area and found him not too far away, pressed into a corner with a blond woman.

They weren't touching, but the lack of distance between their bodies showed that they were comfortable with one another. Maybe she was an old friend.

I moved closer, but not close enough to hear what was being said. Willem stood tall, his posture confident, his eyes narrowing slightly as he listened to the woman talk. The tips of his curls were wet and he'd unbuttoned his linen shirt halfway down, allowing me a glimpse of his solid abs. I loved how he always carried himself with such ease.

He shook his head at something the blond was saying. Seeming to not like his answer, she lifted her hand to touch the side of his face. He caught her hand before she could touch him and the action caused her body to jerk forward until they were nose to nose, crotch to crotch.

My breath caught in my throat as the chemistry between them seemed to ignite, flames burning bright, sparks flying everywhere.

He lowered his mouth to her ear and whispered something that caused her to visibly stiffen. When he lifted his head, his clear gaze met mine across the distance, his expression revealing nothing in the likes of guilt or remorse. He immediately let go of the woman's hand and she followed his gaze by turning her head to look in my direction.

Tessa. I should have known. That woman was like a parasite I couldn't get rid of.

Without thinking, I turned in the opposite direction. Walking fast, I left the Spanish song blaring through the speakers and Willem's voice calling after me behind.