If you thought you looked good in the dress Kylo bought you before, now that you had your hair and make up done and put on your jewelry and heels, you looked amazing.
Really, it was almost upsetting how he had picked out a dress that looked so perfect on you. As if he knew exactly how it was going to hug your body. He seemed to know everything, didn't he?
It was a shame that you had to cover the dress with a light jacket, it was starting to get cold out. You knew you'd take it off right when you got to the restaurant anyways.
You settled into the back seat of Hux's car. Just as you had suspected, he acted as if the two of you never got into that argument the day before. You didn't care enough to bring it up, it had been stupid anyways.
"Hi, honey." He said to you, leaning over to give you a brief kiss on the lips.
You kissed back and chuckled at him when you pulled away. "That's a good color on you." You teased him, pointing at the lip gloss that you had left behind on his lips with your fingers.
"Dammit." He mumbled, wiping it away. He wasn't laughing like you were. You knew that it probably had made him nervous, he was probably picturing himself walking into this dinner with sparkly lips for all of the other men to laugh at.
"I got it, don't worry." You told him with a frown. You pulled out a tissue from your purse (you were always prepared) and wiped away the rest of it. You realized in that moment, a big separation between you and Hux was his inability to laugh at himself. He was always so serious.
It was silent for a while after that besides his driver looking over his shoulder to confirm which restaurant that he was driving the two of you to.
"Did you get my flowers?" Hux asked you proudly. Your stomach twisted. His gift had seemed so small and meaningless compared to the one that Kylo left for you. You had almost forgot that he had even given you anything.
You smiled and nodded. You were good at hiding it. "I did. They were beautiful. They look so good on my living room table." You told him. You grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. "Thank you." It was your way of saying you were choosing to forget the argument.
He smiled in relief, glad that he didn't have to worry about talking the issue through with you. "I'm glad you like them."
And honestly, you did like them. You just liked Kylo's dress more.
When you two arrived to the restaurant, you were stopped by the hostess who offered to take and hang up your jackets for you. You obliged, shrugging the coat off of your shoulders and handing it over to her.
Glancing at Hux, you thought that his eyes were going to pop out of his skull. You realized he was reacting to seeing you in such a revealing dress. You were far from a prude otherwise but the bright color matched with how tight and low it was, was not what he had been expecting.
"What?" You asked innocently, grinning, "Do I have something on my face?"
He was speechless but slowly shook his head. "No...I just, um, I haven't seen that dress before." He stammered.
"It's new. I bought it the other day." You lied to him. It was easier to lie to him than you thought it would be.
As the hostess walked away with the both of your coats, Hux came in closer to you. "You look amazing in it." He said to you and by the look on his face you could tell he really meant it. You noticed that the fair skin on his cheeks was beat red, as if he was getting himself ready for the attention the two of you were about to bring in when you walked into the room with the rest of the attendees.
"Thanks." You said to him, you were beaming. It was worrisome for you that you didn't feel guilty at all as you paraded in this dress that Kylo bought you. You liked seeing Hux's impressed reaction. "Is it too much?" You asked him. You weren't nervous but a part of you thought you should be.
He quickly shook his head, "You're perfect."
Hux wrapped his arm around your waist as a different hostess lead you to the large private room that you would be eating dinner in. She pushed the doors open for you two and as you entered, you took in the environment. There were about 40-ish people there, if you had to guess. You recognized a lot of them, but there were also a few new faces. Associates that you hadn't met before, you assumed. Everyone was mingling around, not sitting in the seats of the various tables.
Your eyes discreetly searched the room. You knew exactly who you were looking for but couldn't find him. Kylo.
"Armitage!" A loud voice to your left bellowed. You looked to see an older, overweight man coming your way. You knew in that moment that his man didn't know your boyfriend as much as he might think. Everyone called him Hux, it was weird to hear his full first name.
Hux shook his hand and greeted him. He introduced the two of you but the man's name entered your ear and immediately left it. You couldn't care less.
You stood there, pretending to pay attention to the conversation that the two were having. They were talking about a club that had just opened up a few streets away from your apartment. You assumed Snoke was a partner of it by the way that Hux knew a lot of information on it.
A waitress with a tray of champagne walked by, offering glasses to everyone that she passed. Normally you'd decline but you found yourself reaching for a glass, taking a long sip. You smiled at her in an apologetic way, you felt bad that someone had to work at an event like this, you couldn't imagine how uncomfortable she must be.
"Jesus, she's a bombshell, isn't she?" The man said to Hux, motioning towards you as if you weren't standing right there. "Where'd you find her?"
Hux wrapped an arm around your waist, chuckling, and pulling you close against his side. "I'd like to think that she found me." He said, looking at you in a way that begged for you to be polite. The way that the two of you met was far from conventional and it wasn't something the two of you enjoyed talking or thinking about at all.
"We've been together for a few years." You told the man, you felt the need to defend your relationship. You weren't just a fling for Hux, he should show some respect.
The man whistled lowly, "You have it made, Armitage. Congratulations." He held his glass up, "Cheers to that." When he saw that Hux didn't have a glass in his hand, he paused awkwardly.
You smirked and clinked your own glass with his. He hadn't been expecting that. "Cheers." You agreed. You were a smart ass, you couldn't help yourself.
The man blanked for a moment then looked at you with a predatory grin.
Hux squeezed your waist, starting to steer you away. "It was nice catching up." He told the man then moved away from him. He gave you a look that said, 'really?'.
You shrugged at him, feigning ignorance.
"I need a drink." He mumbled under his breath, walking towards the bar with you. The two of you got comfortable at the stools there. He ordered himself a drink while you sipped on yours. You tried to look around again, where was Kylo, dammit? You were upset with yourself for caring as much as you did.
You and Hux were at the bar for about 3 minutes before someone joined you. An other man that you didn't recognize. When he started talking to your boyfriend you realized that maybe he might've been an associate, perhaps even a trooper. You weren't sure. But when the man asked Hux if they could talk in private, your boyfriend instantly obliged.
"I'll be back. Stay put." Hux told you, kissing your temple before walking away with the man who had requested him.
And then it was just you. Sitting alone at the bar.
You twirled your champagne glass in your fingers by the stem, watching how the liquid bubbled and fizzed. Your heel tapped against the stool underneath you. After a moment you let out a sigh and lifted the glass to your lips, emptying it in your mouth. If you were going to sit alone you might as well be buzzed.
As soon as you were finished with your drink, you felt a presence next to you, "An other glass of champagne or do you need something stronger?" Was the voice that addressed you. You looked to your side, raising an eyebrow.
You recognized him, it was your friend Jessica's boyfriend, Vicrul. He was one of the Knights of Ren. You had never spoken to him individually before but you had been in the same vicinity with him enough times to feel comfortable talking with him.
You couldn't help but laugh a little. "I should pace myself." You told him, then a beat of knowing silence, "I'll take an other champagne." You decided.
He nodded in agreement with you. "No shots?" He asked, tempting you.
You shook your head quickly, holding back the shudder that you wanted to release as you thought about taking shots of liquor after how much you had drank the night before. "I'm good."
Vicrul laughed, "Fair enough." Then, getting the attention of the bartender, he ordered himself a drink along with a glass of champagne for you.
"Did someone say shots? Are we doing shots?" You heard a voice ask to your other side. You looked over and saw the it came from an other one of the Knights of Ren. Ushar. You'd never formally met him before. He settled in the stool on your left while Vicrul stood to your right, not sitting down yet.
"No we aren't." Vicrul told him but the way his eyes were dancing let the other man know that he was willing to do them at any point in the night if he was convinced.
The bartender slid the two of you the drinks that had been ordered and you thanked her.
"You're Hux's girl." Ushar said to you, acknowledging who you were. He held his hand out and introduced himself.
You told him your name and shook his hand, laughing a little at how drunk he already seemed. He wasn't sloppy at all but he was clearly having a good time. You were jealous.
"I can see why Kylo's so protective over you." Ushar said with a smirk, looking you over.
You felt your heart speed up at just the mention of his name. "What do you mean?" You asked, pretending to be confused but really you just wanted to hear more. Protective over you?
Vicrul sent him a look. "It's nothing. He's drunk." He explained. He was obviously trying to change the subject. He knew better than to get on Kylo's bad side.
You wanted to press the subject but before you could question the tipsy man next to you, you felt two hands grip your shoulders. You froze, you weren't ready for any unexpected contact from anyone. You attempted to turn around to see who it belonged to but the voice that rang out answered your questions.
"Alright that's enough, leave her alone." It was Kylo.
You swallowed hard. Now that you knew it was him, the feeling of his large hands on your skin sent heat right to your core.
You noticed the way that both men tensed and seemed nervous now, as if they had fucked up. You felt bad, you had been talking to them too.
"We were just talking." You told Kylo even if you weren't able to look at him. You didn't want them to get into any trouble.
Kylo's grip tightened. "I'm sure you were." He said. Whatever look he was sending them made them both retreat away from you at the bar with just a nod in acknowledgment.
"Nice to meet you." You called out sarcastically since they had just walked away without saying anything.
You watched as Kylo took the seat that Ushar had previously been sitting in. He had a smug smile on his face from getting them leave so easily and when his eyes met yours, you couldn't help but mirror the same smile. You had gotten him jealous.
"You don't let them make friends?" You asked, your heart was fluttering at the close contact he had with you now.
Kylo let out a humorless chuckle and shook his head. "They don't want to be your friend." He said. It dawned on you then. What he had said to you the previous night, about how his Knights of Ren talked about wanting to fuck you.
You felt heat creep up your neck as you wondered what they had been thinking about you just then. Besides talking with Kylo, it had been years since you flirted with someone. Although the conversation with the Knights had been brief, it did feel good to have that kind of fun.
"How does it feel to know that everyone in this room either wants to fuck you or be you?" Kylo asked casually.
You furrowed your brow, glancing around the room. You took in the way that you had caught multiple men staring at you in that same predatory way the man had when you first walked in. You also caught a few women looking at you in jealousy. Maybe he was right.
You pretended like it hadn't given you a boost to your ego. "I could ask you the same thing." You told him. Which was true, everyone felt the same way about him.
He didn't deny this, he just shrugged in response. "It feels good." He said honestly.
You didn't say anything back, it felt wrong to agree with him but you did. It did feel good to know how everyone in the room was envying you or wanting you.
"It could be like this all the time, you know." Kylo told you softly, "It's not the dress that's doing it. It's the confidence you have in it...it's like a magnet."
You shook your head, "I don't need this kind of attention all the time."
"No one needs it...but it feels good, doesn't it? Why wouldn't you want it to always be like this?"
You turned your head towards him, narrowing your eyes. "Why do you always do this?"
Kylo smirked a little. He didn't ask you to elaborate, he knew what you meant. "You remind me of someone I used to know." It seemed like he was speaking cautiously, trying to say the right words. He didn't want to reveal too much about himself, too much about Ben. "You hold yourself back from feeling anything real because you're afraid of what those feelings might turn you into...You feel guilty every time you want to be selfish and you shouldn't. It's your life. I don't think anyone's ever shown you how to actually live it." He said, his words were quiet but full of intensity, he was passionate about this.
You thought back to your realization you made when you had been arguing with Hux. How you noticed that you spent your entire life just existing. That wasn't far off from what Kylo was saying. He always just knew things about you and it was infuriating. It was like he could read your mind.
"If this mafia thing doesn't work out, you should become a motivational speaker." You teased him but it was clear by the look on your face that Kylo's words had resonated with you.
He let you take really take in what he said to you, keeping his eyes on you as he did so. It was like he could see the gears in your head turning.
Then, "How much longer until Hux comes back?"
You frowned and shrugged, "I don't know. He left to talk to someone a few minutes ago."
"Do you think there's enough time for me to take you into the bathroom and fuck you?"
You exhaled in frustration. He was so blunt and casual about things like this and it drove you crazy, cheating on your boyfriend was a big deal to you even if it wasn't for him. "No!" You hissed.
Kylo grinned at your reaction, that was what he'd been hoping for. He liked seeing you get all worked up because of something he said. "Good timing." He said and before you could show your confusion, you felt an arm wrap around your shoulders.
"Honey, there's some people I want to introduce you to." Hux said. His grip was tight against you. He wasn't even looking at you although he was speaking to you, he was staring directly at Kylo.
"Oh, sure." You said, snapping back into the reality of your situation. This was where your loyalty should lie, not with Kylo.
"We were in the middle of a conversation, actually." Kylo challenged him.
Hux paused, tensing. "Well... I'm sure it wasn't that important." He released his grip on you so that you could get off of the stool.
You sighed as you stepped off of it, onto your high heels. These two successful men acted like teenagers. Hux turned to walk away and you knew to follow him.
"Oh wait, my drink." You told him, making an excuse to turn back around.
As you reached down to grab your glass of champagne, you positioned yourself so that Kylo could easily hear you when you whispered, "By the way, I'm wearing the underwear too."
Your eyes briefly locked with his before turning away and joining Hux.
Kylo knew what you meant. You were wearing the thong he bought you that matched the dress. As you walked away, his eyes were glued to your ass, imagining what you looked like in them. He clenched his jaw and groaned under his breath. You were the only one who could distract him like this. Damn, you.
You quickly realized that these people that Hux wanted to introduce you to, couldn't give a shit about meeting you. You knew that he probably just wanted to show you off and/or he saw you alone with Kylo and had to make an excuse to get you away from him.
Multiple times you had to hold yourself back from overtly yawning in these people's faces. They were talking business but not even interesting mob business, just small talk about real estate and the prices of things. The only thing that kept you from falling asleep standing up was when you'd feel a pair of eyes on you and when you found the source of the feeling, it would be Kylo staring at you. It happened a few times and each time it did, you had to bite your lip to keep from smiling.
When it was announced that dinner was ready, you sighed in relief. You weren't really even that hungry but at least you'd be able to sit down and have something to preoccupy your thoughts even if it was just choosing what kind of salad dressing you wanted.
There were a few long tables set up and people were just choosing to sit wherever. You of course took the seat next to Hux and much to your satisfaction, Kylo took a seat directly across from you two.
As dinner started, things were pretty uneventful. Most of the talking was about things that you and the other girlfriends/wives/dates couldn't join in on. It was just the men talking which was pretty typical at these events.
You noticed that although most of the conversation was directed at him, Kylo seemed just as bored as you were. He wasn't as good at hiding it as the others were. Or maybe he wasn't even attempting to hide his low interest level. You assumed it was the latter.
Pushing your food around your plate, you slumped slightly in your seat, trying to get more comfortable. As you stretched your legs out in front of you, your foot bumped into something. You glanced down and realized it had been Kylo's foot.
He glanced up at you, mid conversation, and noticed that it had been an accident so he disregarded it.
It had been an accident but you couldn't help but smirk to yourself. Now you had some entertainment. As Kylo continued to speak with the people around him, you reached forward and put your foot back on top of his, pressing down lightly.
He clenched his jaw, trying not to chuckle or say anything to you as he nodded in agreement to what someone had said to him.
You pressed down a few more times, testing his ability to keep his reactions in check. He was good, he didn't even flinch after that initial time you had touched him. You moved your foot so that you were able to snake the front of your high heel under his pant leg. You then pressed your shoe against the side of his ankle. The fact that you were being so immature made you want to laugh out loud.
Kylo acted like he didn't notice, much to your disappointment. After attempting a few more things and still getting no reaction, you frowned and moved your foot away. He was no fun, you thought.
While still talking, Kylo moved his foot over to yours and unexpectedly stepped down on your toes, hard. You couldn't help the yelp that came out of your mouth as you jumped at the pain. Kylo didn't even look at you but the amusement in his eyes as he looked at the man sitting next to him let you know that he noticed your reaction.
"Are you okay?" Hux asked you. He was oblivious to the game of footsie you had been playing so it had sounded like you had made a noise at nothing.
"Oh yeah," You quickly said, "Sorry. My food was too hot." You lied. You were lying so much lately, you realized.
Hux patted your knee as if to say, 'be careful' before he turned back to the conversation that was going on.
Kylo's eyes were on you now, openly smirking at the glare that you were giving him.
After awhile, the conversation had turned more casual, the idea of making business connections was starting to fade away when the men started having a more drinks.
"I heard it was amazing." One of the wives said to you. Hux had just shared the fact that the two of you had been able to go and see the play that he took you to last night. You could hardly believe that it was only the night before. So much had happened in between then and now.
"I loved it." You shared, honestly. It wasn't the most thrilling of topics but at least you had the opportunity to talk.
"I've been wanting to go see it but it's been so hard to find tickets." She sighed.
You weren't sure what to say. You knew it had been sold out but there hadn't been a struggle for you. You had just told Hux you wanted to go and so you did. Hm, you thought, you were spoiled.
"Now, are you an actress or something? Am I remembering wrong?" One of the other girlfriends asked you.
You laughed a little and shook your head. You were acting like you were having a good time right now, if that's what she meant. "I go to school for painting...Maybe that's what you're thinking of." You told her with a shrug. You weren't offended that she had forgotten or maybe gotten you confused with someone else. You couldn't even remember her name.
"Oh, that's right!" She said, remembering. "I knew it was something artsy." The way she said it was a little bit of a jab but you didn't react.
"School?" Her boyfriend, one of the mob's associates, interrupted. "You go to college?" He asked you, pointing towards you with his fork.
You took a deep breath, oh here we go.
Hux was tense beside you but was pretending not to be. He knew this was a sore subject after the argument you had the night before.
"Yep." You said simply. Maybe if you didn't elaborate they would drop the subject.
"What are you doing that for?" He asked. His tone wasn't exactly rude, it was as if he were truly interested in your answer, like you were blowing his mind. It was almost comical.
You shifted in your seat uncomfortably. You noticed most of the table was looking towards this conversation, being nosey and listening in. "Oh um," You weren't sure how to answer that, wasn't it obvious? "To learn." You told him like he was five years old, trying not to smirk. You really needed to stop letting your inner smart ass out at events like this.
The man who asked the question had a look come over his face, eyes narrowing. You assumed you pissed him off. His girlfriend looked down at her plate, uneasy with the way that the conversation was going. But instead of being upset, he laughed out loud. "How funny!" He said, trying to save face. "Wow, she's funny." He said then to Hux, talking right through you.
You stared at him blankly. You didn't really see the humor in it.
Hux chuckled uncomfortably and nodded. "She is." He agreed, his smile strained.
"She's very talented." This time Kylo spoke up. Everyone looked at him in surprise. He gave you a long look then he continued, "Her paintings are really impressive. It'd be a shame if she didn't go to school for it. I don't think there's anything wrong with that."
You were speechless. Not only had he given you a genuine compliment but he essentially stood up for you in front of everyone. The tone of the conversation shifted now from judgment to acceptance. If Kylo approved then everyone else had to as well. You'd have to remember to thank him for that later.
The people who been listening in got back to their own conversations and soon the attention was off of you.
"You've seen them?" Hux asked Kylo, referencing your paintings. You thought he was going to bend his fork in half with the way that he was holding it. Not only was he worried now about what context Kylo had seen your art in but he was also pissed that he just stuck up for you like that in front of everyone. That was Hux's job, not his.
Kylo's mouth was in a straight line but his eyes were devious. He knew how much that had pissed Hux off. "I have. Have you?" He already knew the answer to that was no.
Hux said nothing. If he admitted in front of everyone that he hadn't but Kylo had, he would look like an asshole.
You opened your mouth to add something into the conversation, try to take some of the awkwardness away. But Hux interrupted you before you had the chance to.
"What happened to your face?" He asked Kylo bluntly before taking an aggressive bite of his food. Now Hux's eyes were devious as well. You felt like you were missing something.
Kylo didn't have the medical tape holding together the cut on his face anymore but the injury itself was still there (obviously) and pretty fresh looking. When you first saw it, you were taken back by it but now that you were used to it, you kind of liked the way that it looked.
Kylo tensed a bit but didn't let it effect him too much, not wanting to give him the satisfaction. "Oh, it was nothing." He said, "A lapse in judgement." He was being vague, as if he didn't need to elaborate because Hux already knew the situation. "I took care of it." Kylo added with an edge.
Hux narrowed his eyes, "You did?"
A short nod, "I did."
Okay, yep, you were definitely missing something. You knew it was just mob talk so you tried not to listen, wanting to stay out of it. But the way they were looking at each other was strange, like they were testing each other's responses...The lightbulb lit over your head. Was Hux the reason why Kylo got hurt? You wished you could observe more to make your judgements but the conversation seemed to be over.
That was that. The two of them stopped talking to each other but the tension was still there. When you had wanted something interesting to happen this hadn't been exactly what you had in mind.
"So, Kylo, how is it to be back home?" The man to Hux's left asked.
Kylo thought about his answer, "I'm still adjusting to it." He said but there was a faint smile on his face. Clearly it wasn't a difficult adjustment.
"Are you still in that hotel on fifth street? Or did you find a place?" The man asked just trying to make conversation.
Kylo's eyes lit up again with something. "I just moved into an apartment actually." Then he said the name of his apartment building, the one that you shared with him.
You felt Hux sit up straighter next to you. You had forgotten to tell him that Kylo moved in down the hall. Well you partly forgot but also you were just going to see how long you could go without telling him. You didn't want him to start questioning and piecing things together that were going on between the two of you.
"What was that?" Hux asked, if it his ears had deceived him.
Kylo was openly smug now as he repeated the name of your apartment building. "I'm surprised I haven't seen you, actually, I'm just down the hall from her." He said, motioning towards you.
Hux gave you a pointed look and you smiled sheepishly, confirming that Kylo was telling the truth.
"Oh that's right, Lisa had mentioned you stopped by for a drink before the party the other day." Her boyfriend, the man who originally asked the question, said.
At that, Hux turned towards you. "You didn't tell me you invited Kylo over for drinks." He looked like he was going to pop a vein.
"I didn't," You clarified, "He just showed up. I didn't even know we were neighbors at that point." At least you were being honest about that. You were so uncomfortable.
Kylo nodded in agreement, not trying to hide the fact that he had shown up unannounced. He was unashamed.
Hux was leaning towards Kylo, across the table from him, "Don't you think that it's strange to show up at my girlfriend's door uninvited?" He asked him. His face was red with anger.
In contrast, Kylo was completely calm, satisfied even. "Don't you think that it's strange that you're threatened by it?" He mocked him.
Everyone was staring at the two of them. They could feel the tension from across the room.
You watched as Hux leaned forward further and grabbed Kylo's shirt collar. Then, you watched as Hux punched him right in the face.