19. Disarmed
Dillon
It was well over 11 pm when Dillon showed up at Laura's place but it had to be done. She had threatened Libra to no longer speak to him, threatened their potential friendship. He had completely disregarded his feelings for Libra at the moment, that could be dealt with later, now he needed to find out what the hell Laura was doing!
After a few hard knocks Laura was at the door and even at 11 pm she was in full makeup. She flashed a smile toward him and quickly invited him inside the vanilla scented apartment. She had yet to speak but he could see that she was aware why he was here and it looked like she was happy about it.
"Why are you here so late, baby? I left a voicemail that we could meet tomorrow before your classes." She took a seat on her bed and winked at him.
She was gorgeous the way she was now spread across her own bed and if he wasn't so angry right now he would've easily been persuaded to join her. Laura's eyes were full on seduction and manipulation and Dillon had to lean against her door in order to keep a respectable distance, otherwise he'd be too weak. Even this late in the evening she was dressed to the nines as if she had just arrived, or was going, to a party. Her makeup was perfectly made and the same went for her hair, long locks framing her face and making it look oddly innocent.
The words 'baby' echoed in his head and it made him angrier than before. After only one double date she had the nerve to assume they were in a relationship and having the nerve of calling him 'baby' sickened him. There was something very high school over this scenario, he confirmed to himself, and decided that tapping into his old self could potentially work in his favor this time. The old Dillon Holden would've never allowed any girl to do this to him, especially since he hated being claimed, and would have set her straight within seconds â that's what he had to do now.
"We're not seeing each other tomorrow," Dillon mumbled and met her eyes, "we have to talk right now Laura." His tone was stern and subtly shaky.
Her confused look threw him off a little bit and he watched her tilt her head to the side to prove how confused she was. Perhaps threatening people wasn't a big deal to her but to Dillon it was, especially since the information she had given had been incorrect. Instead of being spread out on her bed Laura sat up straight and folded one leg over the other to form a listening position.
"What do you want to talk about, baby?" She wetted her lips while waiting for his response.
"What did you say to Libra today?" He asked calmly.
Laura shrugged her shoulders and switched legs, displaying slight discomfort. He could tell that she didn't feel as powerful now as she had when he had just walked in. He assumed she was probably used to having guys around that let her get her way, guys who didn't mind having a gorgeous yet needy girl throwing herself at them and guys who liked a possessive girl â but Dillon was not that guy and had never been. He wasn't proud of it but he had cheated on girls before just because this reason.
"What I said to her wasn't a big deal, Dillon. Did she snitch on me or something; I don't understand what's going on here." Laura laughed and got up from the bed and made her way toward him.
His breath got caught in his lungs before he could let it out and he held it there while he watched her. He didn't want to admit that he was slightly aroused by her right now. Laura was trying to regain her power and Dillon wasn't doing the greatest job at stopping her â he hadn't even made his point yet! Before Laura reached him he had to say something, he had to...
"Come on baby; don't be mad at me for talking to your nerdy little friend. I just wanted her to know where I stand, we're we stand." Laura whispered while her hands reached his chest.
Dillon released a shaky breath and looked up at the ceiling, refusing to look at her as if that would give him the power of restraint. Laura giggled when she felt him grow under her palm and Dillon bit his lip until he tasted iron. She wasn't stupid, that's for certain, Laura knew how to play this game very well and had completely disarmed him. He felt her hand reach around his neck and suddenly their faces were inches apart.
Don't kiss her, don't kiss her.
Dillon closed his eyes, as of habit, and before he could open them again Laura's lips had met his and he wasn't fighting her. She smelled sweet and felt good when she leant against his chest putting most of her weight on him. For a moment he forgot what he had come here for and relaxed into the kiss allowing him to sneak his hands around her waist and pulling her closer. He had no idea how many seconds had passed but once his brain got a hold of what he was doing he quickly pushed her away.
Laura smiled with her swollen lips and wiped them off on her hand, her lipstick had come off. Dillon tried his best to wipe off his own lips as he looked at her in utter shock; she had actually managed to disarm him completely. The guilt he felt over Libra came rushing down like a monsoon and he reminded himself what he truly came here for.
"Don't threaten my friends and don't talk to Libra again, is that understood?" His jaw was clenched and his pants still felt tight from the arousal.
All Laura did was smile, a victorious smile at that. She let her hands fall to her side and once again shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly.
"Whatever you want baby. Don't forget to close the bedroom door on your way out, I'll call you tomorrow."
Dillon did as he was told, closed the door, and left her apartment. He had no plans on answering her phone call tomorrow not after this. He pressed the elevator hard and listened to his own heartbeat as it thumped hard inside his ribcage. What did you just do? Austin was going to hear about this and it wouldn't take long before other people did too and it was all because he hadn't been strong enough to resist a 'hot girl'.
He was breathing shaky all the way to The Arc and waited by the elevator to calm himself down before heading up to his apartment. He imagined that Todd already knew what had happened, seeing as Laura had a big mouth, and he didn't want to deal with his roommate's reaction. To prolong the journey upstairs he decided to take the stairs and think about how he was going to play this once Austin called him to confirm what had happened. He walked slowly but too deep in his thoughts he was suddenly standing on the top of the fifth floor and was now headed for the corridor.
Dillon's feet moved quickly as he scanned each door for the surname Jones. Subconsciously he had known the moment he stepped into the lobby that he would try to find Libra. He knew he owed her no explanation about tonight and that he was working way too hard to be her friend but he couldn't help himself. He wasn't sure what lies Laura would spin about tonight and he wanted Libra to know that whatever came out of Laura's mouth was not to be believed.
"Bingo," Dillon said as he stopped in front of a door marked 'McDermott & Jones' and smiled widely. For a second he let his hand hover in a fist over the door, not sure if he should knock seeing as it was now passed midnight, and then decided not to knock at all. Instead he pulled out his phone and typed a text message:
Are you awake?
He asked and took a seat outside her door eagerly waiting her response. He browsed his social media for a few minutes before his phone alerted him that Libra had answered:
What do you want?
He swallowed harshly when he read her text and could feel her cold energy through the door. If he was smart he'd take a hint and get to his own apartment before he continued to make a fool out of himself tonight. But instead he got bold, stood up and placed himself right outside her door as he typed:
I'm outside your door and I really have to talk to you. Please come outside.
He heard his own breaths as he nervously waited for her to give him her response. Dillon hadn't even thought of what to say and was now scrambling for words to say, in case she did come outside. Minutes went by and his hope sank lower and lower, until her door flung open and Libra appeared in the corridor. She was dressed in jeans and had a silk tank top he assumed was her pajama top. He suppressed a laugh when he concluded she had been in bed and he had figuratively pulled her out of bed.
"It's passed midnight Dillon," she said with a hoarse voice, "what do you want?"
Too frozen to speak he just stood there and studied her newly awoken face and the only response he could think of was: You.