Jungkook
I was waiting downstairs, my tuxedo snugly clinging to my body as I scrolled through my phone. The event we hosted every year was being held tonight, and my parents and siblings were at the venue by now.
Reva and I were going in as a couple, which is why we had separate rides. Well, that was if she could finally manage to get ready. It was still weird to think that I was a married man and to even think that I was currently waiting for my spouse was something that I hadn't seen coming my way for a few years.
But we had both gotten used to living together and nothing was exactly weird. After all, ten months had already passed since we had said yes to each other and exchanged rings.
I had to admit that I couldn't imagine a better partner than Reva, considering that I never wanted to get married anyway until I did. She was an affable person and except for our bickering, I was content overall.
She didn't interfere with my business, didn't ask unnecessary and annoying questions, and it was amusing to exchange ideas with her. I had even found myself telling her bits and pieces about myself a few times that I usually kept hidden.
We still weren't friends or anything, but spouses on a respectful spectrum and that was the most important thing.
I let out a sigh, realizing that I had been standing here waiting for her for longer than twenty minutes. I knew women tended to take longer than men to get ready and that was okay, considering that they had to perfect all that makeup and whatever shit, but I was starting to get impatient.
Fishing my phone out of my inside pocket where I had tucked it moments ago, I opened the messaging app and found her name. Our conversation was dry, but a small laugh escaped my lips when I saw the saved name and began to text her.
Me:
How much longer do you need?
A lifetime has passed
badgalReeRee:
Don't be a crybaby
5 more minutes
Me:
We are late
hurry
badgalReeRee:
OKAY
I could practically hear her scream the last word and laughed again. She hated it when I used that nickname, but I could also see the amused twinkle in her gray eyes when I teased her with it.
Slipping my phone back into my inside pocket, I looked around the hallway. I had stopped by the venue this morning to check if everything was going according to plan.
Reva had managed to find a new caterer in a short amount of time, so I was quite impressed, but it was actually no surprise because I knew she accomplished everything she set her mind to.
A vase that my mother must have purchased recently stood to my left and I was inspecting its colors and patterns when I finally heard footsteps coming down the stairs.
Turning around, I halted. One of my hands was tucked in my pants pocket, which unconsciously clenched into a fist. Reva was walking slowly down the stairs with careful steps, one hand on the railing and the other holding her purse.
Every time she set foot, the slit in her dress opened to reveal her leg. I took a few seconds to watch her from top to bottom in her dark gray gown, enhancing her curves in all the right places.
The semi-sweetheart neckline was perfectly appropriate for an event like this, but daring at the same time. The off-shoulder straps of rich satin rested against her arms and the fabric reached down to her feet on which she wore very high heeled shoes.
I had left the bedroom after changing into my tuxedo while Reva had been working on her makeup, so this was the first time I got to see her in her outfit.
She had her hair parted in the middle and tossed back in big waves over her shoulders. A small simple necklace with a diamond piece settled between her prominent collarbones and the color of her gray eyes popped with dark, but not overdone eye makeup.
"If you set a stopwatch, now is the perfect time to stop it," she said in her smoky voice that she rarely used. "Because if you are trying to drag out to say I took longer than five minutes since the last time I texted you, then I'm going to file a complaint."
I laughed deeply, shaking my head. "Where can I get all my years back? I even grew one or two gray hairs."
"The drama queen that you are." she playfully rolled her eyes. Were they always this gray?
I groaned in amusement under my breath. "Are we ready to go now?" I asked.
"Yeah, but I don't think I got my zipper all the way closed," she said, trying to look over her shoulder. "Do you mind checking?"
I shook my head. "Turn around."
She did, causing her hair to bounce a little. I took it in my hand, which felt very soft, and placed it over her shoulder, exposing her back to me. In fact, there were several inches of her zipper to close, and I helped her do it.
Reva stood still and yet her perfume filled my nose. I wasn't one to know about flowers and scents, but I could definitely tell it was a new fragrance that caused my pupils to dilate unintentionally.
"I think it's stuck," I grunted as I tried to pull on it. Since it wasn't moving, I decided to open it a few inches to release it from whatever it was stuck on. Reva drew in a breath.
My nose almost touched her shoulder blade as I worked on the zipper and after struggling a few times I finally managed to close it completely.
"Thank you." through hooded lids I could still see the expression of appreciation in her eyes.
I offered her my arm, allowing her to curl her hand around and grab my forearm. Side by side we walked out of the house and reached my car. As an exception, we took a driver tonight, because it was just right for this big Jeon event.
The driver opened the door for Reva first and I waited until she was settled in her seat before the driver opened the door for me on the other side. It was a rare occasion for me not to drive, so I didn't know what to do during the ride.
Luckily, it didn't take long and about half an hour later we found ourselves in front of the building we had rented for the night. It was easy to get to for all of our guests as it was downtown and was quite popular for this type of get-together.
"I got this." I tapped the driver on the shoulder, who pulled over and was about to get out.
Jogging around the car, I opened the door for Reva, and the sound of snapshots from a couple of paparazzi behind me couldn't be overheard, thinking they were doing a discreet job. When Reva looked up at me from her seat, I extended my hand in her direction.
Even I would have had a hard time doubting the look in her eyes if I didn't know she too was aware of the attention we were currently receiving. It was the way she was gazing into my soul with those big eyes and a tiny smile that would probably make everyone who came across our pictures later let out a sound of endearment.
The engagement ring next to the wedding band on her hand glinted at me and I helped her out of the car, intertwining our fingers and walking into the building unconcerned and seemingly unaware of all the eyes on us.
We entered the building and the watching eyes of news addicts now changed to champagne-sipping ones, following our every footstep. Even though they tried to do it subtly, some gave us straight frontal stares and nodded in our direction in greeting.
Reva's hand was warm in mine and she seemed to absorb the attention as she had done all her life. Even though it was her father who had worked his way up to become a millionaire instead of continuing a family-found business, he had gained respect and liking from many as an attorney.
We walked further into the room and across the dance floor where no one was dancing at the moment. From our right, I saw someone approaching in the corner of my eye and sure enough my mother had her eyes fixed on us.
"You finally made it," she said, her voice seeming lighter than its usual stern tone. Still, she had her subconscious focus on the venue, making sure all her guests were happy.
"Yeah, sorry it took a little longer," I said, though it hadn't been a question on my mother's part. And I didn't want much exposure about why we were late. So I quickly changed the subject before she could ask. "How is everything going?"
"All right so far," she replied. Then she turned to Reva. "Good choice of caterer. The guests won't stop gushing about it."
Reva nodded with satisfaction. "I'm glad they like it."
My mother then lifted her nose and cast us one last look. "Say hello to all our guests. They have been asking about you already."
Then she was gone with graceful strides, leaving me with Reva groaning in annoyance. Nevertheless, we made our way through all the high tables that the staff had set up and stylishly decorated and had a brief conversation with everyone present, including Reva's father and her cousin Raiden.
It took us some time, but then we found an empty table for us and Reva placed her purse on its surface before looking around the room.
"Do you want something to drink?" I asked when the silence between us was settled.
"Just water with ice, please?" she requested, seemingly grateful that I had asked. Perhaps, like me, she had only just realized how thirsty all the talking could make one.
"I'll be right back."
I made a beeline for the bar, which was set up on the other side of the room, with a young man and a woman of the same age behind the counter, talking to a few guests on my way there. Before I could order our drinks, I felt a hand on my shoulder.
Turning around, I found Abbas standing in front of me. "Hey, man." I greeted and we gave each other a friendly hand clap. "I didn't see you around."
"Heba and I just got here," he explained and I nodded in understanding. "I took the wrong turn and almost fell victim to homicide at the hands of my wife."
I laughed at that. Abbas was a very dedicated man and loyal to his wife. I never caught him looking at another woman, not even by accident. Not that it was an admirable accomplishment to give your spouse exactly what you promised, but these days it was hard to find honorable men like him. The bar was in hell it seemed.
"Where is she?" I asked, not finding her next to him.
Abbas looked across the room in the direction from whence I came walking. "We found your wife first, so I asked her where you were. I came here after I said hi. Heba is probably still with her."
"Ah." I nodded, and sure enough, I found her standing with Heba, laughing.
Leaning my elbow against the counter, Abbas and I ended up making casual conversation, totally forgetting about the drinks. He told me about his investments after I asked him about his last ones until we changed the subject because it just felt like too much for a place that wasn't meant for business.
Thankfully, Abbas and I were friends outside of our work-related acquaintance, so it wasn't hard for either of us to talk about anything else. I liked him and his wife because they were both not only nice people but very supportive and pleasant to be around.
I appreciated that they had invited us over to their home, cooked us dinner, and spent quality time with us. I not only felt but knew that Abbas was one of the few men who was not only engaging due to work to me.
Some time later, Heba showed up and she smiled warmly at me. "Hi, Jungkook." I greeted her back and she turned to her husband. "I spotted Mrs. Kumari. I'll go and say hello to her."
"Sure. I'll be right over too." Abbas agreed and then Heba was gone.
That made me think that Reva had to be alone now and I looked in the direction of where our table was located. But instead of seeing her standing alone, I found a tall man at her side.
Still with my elbow propped against the wooden bar, I turned my upper body completely, not hearing what Abbas was telling me at the moment. My eyebrows came together as I tried to recall the familiar guy's name.
"Man, are you even listening?"
"Hmm?"
"I asked you a question. What are you looking at the whole time anyway?" he muttered to himself as I still didn't take my eyes off the scene. He followed my gaze. "Oh. The jealousy is kicking in."
I let out a laugh, now averting my eyes to him. "What jealousy are you talking about?"
He pointed a finger in my direction. "That jealousy. But don't be too hard on yourself, I was exactly like that. Wanted to strangle anyone who even looked her way when we were newlyweds."
"Go piss off your wife, Abbas," I grumbled.
"Right." he sneered, and his amusement irritated me even more.
My eyes found their way to my wife and the man still standing by her. I didn't know what they were talking about, but they were laughing and clearly enjoying the conversation. He was standing too close to her for my liking as well.
"Don't be an arse staring at her constantly. Let her talk to other people in peace." My friend stated. He was right, but I couldn't take my eyes off her for whatever reason.
Objectively speaking, Reva was a very attractive woman. She knew how to present herself and the aura around her at all times radiated confidence that always lured people in. Hence, I was aware that some men were naturally attracted to this energy.
Likewise, I appreciated that Abbas was speaking the truth. Just because Reva was my wife it didn't mean I could dictate who she could and couldn't talk to. She was a smart woman and knew how to carry herself.
But when the man next to her put his hand on her arm and leaned toward her and whispered in her ear as they talked about yet another funny thing, the dam in me that I had managed to keep strong until now broke.
"Hmm. Well." I heard Abbas ponder next to me. "Personally, I wouldn't let that one slide."
"Me neither," I growled.
Calling the bartender behind the bar over to me, I asked him for a glass of water with ice like Reva had asked of me half an hour ago and made my way to our table. With long strides I walked through the crowd, ignoring the people calling for me to join them in a conversation I didn't have time for right now.
I was never one to need or want to mark my territory in any way, but I had never been married for that matter. My best fake-smile found room on my face and I heard the man who appeared to be a few years older than me talking as I reached the table.
I wrapped a soft hand around Reva's waist, causing her to jump a little. "Sorry, it took so long. The guests wouldn't leave me alone." I blurted, handing her the glass with the water.
"No worries," she answered, clearly sensing that I was shitting her. "Did you meet our caterer for tonight?"
"Just caterer?" I heard the dark-haired man in front of me ask.
To that, Reva added. "And a friend of mine. Kim Seokjin."
Right. Now I remembered his name. I had seen him on several occasions over the years. Also, Reva and I had gone to his restaurant for our first meeting. I couldn't remember if he had attended our wedding though.
Seokjin extended his hand in my direction with a polite smile, waiting for me to shake it.
"Jungkook." I introduced myself and took his hand in mine, squeezing tighter than could perhaps be considered friendly.
"I know." he nodded. Good, I thought to myself. "It's good to finally meet you in person."
He let go of my hand first and fixed the collar of his suit. I had no right to glare back at the young man and our caterer, I knew, but he was annoyingly good-looking and the smile was bothering me, too.
"Likewise," I replied, now collecting myself and clearing my throat.
"We were talking about the appetizers Seokjin prepared and he refused to give me the recipe," Reva explained, then looked up at me with those damn gray eyes. "Have you tried them? The ones with the salmon are so good."
"I haven't," I answered her. Now that she mentioned it I knew I wasn't going to.
"I used black cumin and lime juice. But the rest is a family secret." Seokjin teased with a grin and Reva playfully scowled.
I couldn't help but think how long the two had been friends, because the way they talked sounded like it was more than just an acquaintance. Well, she said he was her friend so I had kind of already gotten my answer. I didn't care about it anyway.
"Thanks again for accepting in such a short time and whipping up all that deliciousness." I could hear the sincere appreciation in her voice as she spoke.
Seokjin waved a hand. "Don't mention it. I gladly did. You knew I would say yes before you even asked."
"Reva really has her way of winning people over, huh," I interjected at an appropriate point. I ignored Reva's raised eyebrow from beside me.
Seokjin agreed with me. "She really does."
We continued with a casual conversation about the restaurant, which at the moment belonged to his father but he planned to take over soon. Seokjin wasn't all smiles as I had previously observed from a distance, but still maintained his polite demeanor and answered all of our questions.
Silence fell between us after a while and I turned my attention to the venue and all the guests, who by now seemed to enjoy themselves. The music changed and an idea popped into my head as I caught Seokjin casting glances at Reva from the corner of my eye.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to steal my wife for a few minutes," I announced, clearly not stating this as asking permission, but still phrasing it that way for the sake of politeness.
"Yeah, no problem," he replied, but I had already captured Reva by the waist and was taking her with me.
"Where are we going?" she asked, surely puzzled so unexpectedly.
We came to a stop in the middle of the open space across the room and I turned to her. "Dance with me."
She raised her eyebrows in contemplation and let out a laugh. "While the dance floor is empty and everyone is watching us?" she looked around the room and sure enough, there were a few eyes on us, curious as to what we were up to.
"Let's do the opening," I proposed, holding out my hand to her. She took her sweet time accepting it. I smirked. "Or are you afraid you might trip?"
I knew Reva wasn't bad at dancing, because we'd had our very first one at our wedding and were in perfect sync without having rehearsed beforehand, even though there had existed more than a few inches between our bodies. Now I was sure we were more comfortable with each other.
She finally placed her hand in mine, the warmth radiating and engulfing me. "Let's see if you'll still flash that smug smile when I ram my heel into your big toe."
I laughed, feeling my Adam's apple bounce up and down before I intertwined our fingers and swung my free hand around her waist. Reva planted her hand on my shoulder and we slowly started swaying to the music.
And just as I had predicted, there was no longer a chasm between us, and all of her curves were pressed against my body. Her shoes were so ridiculously high that I towered only an inch or two above her, so we were almost at the same eye level.
The gray orbs stared into mine and on her lips was the smirk that always appeared there when we were bantering or amused with each other. So I matched mine to it.
Neither of us reacted to the couples who were also slowly making their way onto the dance floor, thus making us both the ones to have started. It wasn't crowded by any means and no one would hear our conversation.
I couldn't reckon what tonight offered that seemed to spice things up, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't like it. Maybe it was the way her body melted against mine. That dress she was wearing was a menace.
"You know." Reva started after what felt like an eternity, her voice again in that smoky tone that perked up my ears. "It's kind of rude to stare."
"Can't I admire my wife's beauty?" I replied matter-of-factly and joking simultaneously, tilting my head back a bit.
Reva shrugged. "In that case, I'd rather expect you to admire the beauty in my face than the one in my cleavage."
Shit. I hadn't even noticed that my eyes were fixed on her chest. Was it even appropriate for me to look even if she was my wife only on paper? I didn't know but the cheeky smile on her lips reassured she wasn't angry about it.
"Sorry, I won't apologize for staring when they're like that," I declared.
"Like what?" raising an eyebrow, she waited for a response.
I groaned. "Like they want me to stare."
Reva's chuckle filled my ears and her hand on my shoulder climbed a little higher. "Oh, go get laid. Your horniness is borderline teenager."
Changing the pace of our dance, I shook my head. "Can't. I have a deal with my wife. I'm celibate until further notice."
"Your wife must be boring."
"Sometimes she is," I shrugged, and Reva punched my shoulder. The guffaw in my throat rippled across my lips and I pulled her closer to me, continuing to sway.
Reva gazed around the room as silence fell between us. The second song had already started and we hadn't noticed through our conversation. I watched her, the look in her eyes until they finally met mine again.
She tilted her head to the side. I had never seen her eyes so dark, the gray now flashing with her darkly lined lashes behind hooded lids. As if she was trying to understand why we even agreed to make it harder than it had to be. "Is the deal really that important to you?"
"Well, I'm trying a little too hard at this point to keep it."
She laughed again at the ambiguity. I looked down when she moved her leg to the side to make us turn while still keeping the same rhythm. The slit in her dress opened and my right foot slipped between her feet. "I'm impressed you made it this far."
I pressed my lips into a line, scrunching up my nose. "I'm actually on the verge of desensitizing my dick."
The snort that escaped her was a little too loud, causing her to look around to check if anyone heard it. I pushed my tongue into my teeth to prevent giving the same reaction though I had been honest with my reply. I was getting more and more frustrated every day, spending an extra half-hour in the shower.
Reva's face turned serious. "Every deal has its loopholes though. You just have to find them."
Oh?
My eyebrows came together silently as I tried to piece together what her words implied. Was she suggesting what I thought she was suggesting?
"I'm better at talking than thinking," I said, showing my desperation for something clearer. Anything that would help save us from talking past each other.
She did not elaborate. "Doesn't surprise me." she countered, and I smirked again.
Fuck, I thought I was going crazy. Flicking my tongue against my inner cheek, I tried to figure out if we were on the same train of thought.
"But." I persisted. My pinky now lingered just above the curve of her ass and her fingers toyed with the hair on the back of my head. "Talking isn't the only thing I'm good at."
"Oh, intriguing." she bit her lower lip. "I'm listening?"
"Reva," I growled under my breath. Her breath hit my face as she smiled, the dimple right under her eye catching my attention. I hated and loved it at the same time that she always played with me rather than getting to the point.
"Piquing interest and not finishing, are we?"
I checked around the room and all the guests were trapped in their own bubbles, no one watching us anymore. When I faced her again, she was still staring at me. "There's a hotel nearby. You know, in case you have a headache and want to leave early."
Realizing what my proposal, my innuendo was, she removed her hand from the back of my neck and separated our bodies. "I think my migraine has started."
The smirk was a constant burn on my lips at this point as I grabbed her hand and led her across the room to the back door.
_________________
A/N: when I said slow burn I didn't mean the spicy part lol