Chapter 14: Relinquish
"Why are you here?" Ander questioned Reina, who was frantically pulling herself away from his arms.
"I was just leaving," she replied briskly, anger coloring her voice. She took a step forward but appeared to wobble in her heels – was she drunk?
"Reina! Come on, wait up," Christian called out as he approached her and Ander.
"What's going on, Christian?" Ander asked.
"Maybe you can get Reina to calm down," Christian said, glancing at her worriedly.
"Shut up, Christian. I don't need to calm down," Reina insisted, pushing away a stray lock of hair from her face impatiently. "I just need to get out of here."
Christian switched his focus to Ander, telling him, "She's had a lot to drink, and she just had an argument with her father back there."
"Her father's here too?" Ander's forehead crinkled in further confusion.
He thought he'd stepped away from his friends for just a while, but it looked like he'd missed a hell of a lot in that short span of time.
"Don't even mention him, please. He's a fucking asshole," Reina announced. "And I'm going now. Goodbye."
"Hold on. Are you headed home, Reina? Do you have a ride?" Ander questioned.
"Luis is parked at the entrance, waiting for me." Reina exhaled loudly and threw Ander a scowl. "Now are we done with all the questions?"
"I'll follow you to the car," Ander decided. Despite the hurt and other less-than-positive feelings he currently had toward Reina, he still wanted to ensure her safety.
"Yeah, that's a good idea," Christian said. "She's all yours, man."
Reina shook her head, her eyes narrowed into furious slits. "I don't need anyone to look out for me. I'm fine and perfectly capable of walking to my car on my own."
"Let's just go, okay?" Ander gently touched Reina's wrist and hoped she wouldn't lash out against him. He would like to get this over with and move on to.. other agendas for the night.
Reina rolled her eyes but allowed Ander to take her hand as they started making their way to the exit, leaving Christian behind.
"I don't get why you and all these damn Las Encinas people keep appearing wherever I go," she complained in annoyance.
"I could say the same about you," Ander replied dryly. "This is a party thrown by Guzmán's and Marina's parents and the wine cave is owned by Carla's mother. How in the world did you get invited?"
"I don't know. My father has some business with Guzmán's and Marina's father or something," Reina provided the answer with obvious disinterest.
"That's nice, I guess."
"My mother was invited too. But you're crazy if you think it was nice. I didn't want to be here, but my father basically blackmailed me into it. Just so he can show off his absolutely perfect family to everyone. Unfortunately, it's all a fucking lie."
"Why is it a lie?"
"Why should I tell you? You wouldn't understand anyway," Reina said coldly. "Nobody does."
Ander didn't pursue the topic. If Reina wasn't in the mood to share, he wasn't in the mood to care.
As they reached the exit and stepped out, Ander asked Reina, "Which one's your car?"
"Black BMW SUV," Reina replied curtly. She pulled her hand away from Ander's gentle grip. "I'll be able to find it. You can go now."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. I'm not a child. I'll be all right," Reina huffed.
Ander stayed put anyway, and Reina ignored him. She spotted her ride pulling up and a moment later, Luis had stopped the SUV and emerged from the stationary vehicle to open the rear door for her.
Ander heard Reina as she spoke to Luis, "Take me to Maison."
"I'm sorry, miss, but your father instructed me to drive you home," Luis replied.
"No, you're taking me to Maison," Reina stated flatly.
"I have strict orders from your father, miss," Luis informed her apologetically.
For a second, Reina looked like she was going to kick the car.
Ander strode over. "Hey, come on, Reina. Why don't you just get in and go home? You've had quite a night," he murmured.
Fury was written all over Reina's face. "Stay the hell out of this, Ander," she warned.
Ander sighed. Nothing was ever easy with this girl.
"Look, you really want to keep drinking?" he asked.
Reina's stormy eyes studied Ander. "If I answered yes, then what?" she challenged.
Ander shrugged, furrowing his brows. "Well, I can retrieve a wine bottle from the gala and you can drink. But in the car."
"Will I be drinking alone? That's boring." Reina looked at Ander expectantly.
"Fine, I'll drink with you. But one bottle, and that's it. You let Luis drive you home right after."
"Fine. Whatever," Reina responded, her agitation only slightly lessened.
"Okay. Wait in the car. I'll be back."
Thoughts swirled in Ander's mind as he made his way back into the wine cave.
What the fuck am I doing? Apparently, I'm a sucker for punishment.
However, Ander was determined to make this quick. Reina already looked pretty intoxicated, and hopefully after a couple of gulps from the bottle that Ander was getting, she'd be drowsy enough to be driven home without much protest. Then Ander could resume with his plans.
"Here," Ander said when he got into the backseat of the SUV with Reina, showing the uncorked bottle of Tempranillo in his hand.
Reina was silent as she took the Tempranillo from him, tilted her head back and took a mouthful of the silky red liquid straight from the bottle.
"This is good." She sighed and swigged again.
Ander was glad to see that Reina's tempestuous side had subsided – at least for now.
"Want some?" Reina offered the bottle, which he accepted.
The wine was good. Ander relaxed his posture, finally able to appreciate the luxurious interior comfort of the SUV.
A privacy partition wall separated him and Reina from Luis at the front. It also held a touch screen display – Ander spotted an option for music and began exploring.
"Oh, choose a Drake song," Reina requested.
Ander couldn't help breaking into a smile, remembering how they had shared earphones and listened to Drake together.
After a few taps on the screen, the hypnotic beats of Drake's Toosie Slide began to fill the SUV cabin.
Letting out another contented sigh, Reina leaned back into the seat, her shoulder gently bumping into Ander's. Her long dark hair fanned out behind her, tickling Ander's cheek.
Ander chuckled and used his fingers to flick Reina's hair away from his face.
Reina turned to see what he was chuckling at, and they both realized at the same time just how close they were – Ander could count every eyelash that clung to Reina's beautiful brown eyes.
Instead of moving away, Reina inched nearer. Ander found himself drawn to her. A mysterious magnetic force. Fueled by a lot of alcohol too, probably.
The second their lips met was pure fire. All of the reservations and distrust that Ander was harboring about Reina disappeared in this one moment of wild abandon.
Ander could only think about was how amazing it felt to have Reina in his embrace. How addicted he was to the way she was biting at his lower lip. He didn't want it to end...
Then the loud shrill ringing sound of Reina's phone jolted them apart.
Reina reached for the phone that was sitting on the seat next to her, saw the caller's name, and proceeded to toss the phone aside.
"Who is it?" Ander asked.
"Nobody important," Reina responded as she cuddled close to Ander again.
Something in the way Reina spoke made Ander curious. "No, really. Who?"
Reina glanced at Ander coolly. "It's Matteo. But don't worry, I'll just call him back later."
Matteo.
It felt like a cold splash of water to Ander's face. He exhaled his breath deeply as he said, "Reina, how is he nobody important? He's your boyfriend."
Reina ran a hand through her hair, annoyed. "I know perfectly well that he is. It's just – I'm kind of mad at him for ditching me this weekend. And with the whole fiasco tonight with my father, I'm absolutely not in the mood to talk. I just want to distract myself and have a bit of harmless fun, you know?"
"So here I am, being used to serve your needs at your convenience again," Ander muttered. "Right?"
"Oh come on, Ander. Don't be melodramatic. Not now." She sighed. "Besides, we had a good time before, didn't we?"
"No, Reina. You need to stop doing this," Ander told her, anger creeping into his voice.
"Do what, exactly?" The storminess returned to Reina's eyes as she sat up straight.
"Things that you think are harmless, but they're not. These twisted games you keep playing. Constantly blowing hot and cold. One minute, we're good and the next, you're devising dangerous challenges and horrible punishments for me. Giving Matteo the advantage."
"We're in rival schools, Ander. Of course I'm always going to help Matteo win in any way I can. It's nothing personal."
"Right. And you keep pretending there's nothing going on between you and me. But when you're in need of some attention and no one else is around to give it to you, you come to me. How fucked up is that?"
"I thought you were fine with keeping things casual, Ander. I mean, you were always aware that I have a boyfriend. I don't know what you're expecting from me," Reina said, crossing her arms defensively.
"Fine. That was my fault for being an idiot. I thought..." Ander shook his head. "I thought you were someone worth caring about. As a friend, if nothing else."
Reina's face darkened at his words. "Ander –"
"No, don't bother saying anything. I get it now that you're too self-absorbed to see past your own shallow existence. Nothing matters to you except for winning at everything. Even if it means hurting other people to achieve your victories. It's pathetic."
Reina glared at Ander. "I want you to leave," she spat out.
"Gladly," Ander answered.
He slammed the car door behind him without bothering to look back as the SUV drove away.
"Fucking hell," Ander swore under his breath as he searched his pockets for his cigarette pack and lighter. He needed to chill out and forget ever knowing Reina Velásquez.
This was it. He was done. He was relinquishing every memory and emotion he had that were tied to her.
Deeply inhaling the smoke from his lit cigarette, Ander unlocked his phone screen and checked the three new messages waiting for him.
He then hit 'reply' and typed: Sorry had to take care of some things that came up suddenly. Let's meet now, if you're still up for it?