“You’re more and more beautiful every day. California’s weather is suiting you well, I can see.” His tone dropped to a husky voice.

With unease, I pulled my hand from his grasp and put some distance between us. Slight suffocation hit me suddenly being in this room with him, and I didn’t miss the way his features hardened at my reaction. His fists clenched.

“Uh, thank you.” I averted my eyes. “C-can I get a towel? I need to dry my hair, I guess. It’s still dripping.”

Remaining silent for a moment, he slowly nodded and got to his feet. Stumbling on his way, he went into the washroom and returned with a white towel.

“Thanks.”

Taking it from him, I started to towel dry my hair. He just watched me silently, with an unreadable expression. A chill ran down my spine at the way his dark brown gaze slid down my body. The eerie silence made my stomach twist with nervousness.

I planted a tight smile on my face as I put the towel on the table and stood. “I think I should go now. It’s getting late.”

I thought coming here I’d have a good talk with him before he left. But now, I didn’t want to stay any longer. His behavior was different tonight. I had seen drunk Warner before, but his presence never made me feel that uncomfortable before.

His face dropped as he took an urgent step towards me. A frown formed between his brows. “You want to leave? So soon? We didn’t even talk much yet.”

“I know. And I’m sorry, but I have somewhere to be,” I excused. “So, uh, I’ll see you soon?” Maybe when you’re sober.

He shook his head, lips curling in displeasure. “It’s Achilles, isn’t it? You don’t want him to wait for you much longer. But you can definitely leave me here when all I wanted was to spend some quality time with you before I leave.”

I sighed. “It’s not Ace. I’m going to Beth’s place. I came to meet you, right? You also must have some packing to do. So… I’ll just leave now. You get sober and pack your bags. Otherwise, you’ll be late.”

His gaze hardened. “So, everyone in your life is important to you other than me. You have time for everyone except me?”

“Warner, please. It’s not like that, and you know that. You wanted to meet me, so I’m here. But I think I should go now. And I can’t stay in these wet clothes all night,” I explained. “As you’re leaving tonight, I think you should start packing now. I’ll see you soon.”

Gathering my purse, when I turned to go, his voice stopped me.

“Wait! Won’t you give me a goodbye hug before you go? Did I lose that right too?”