Seven Deadly Sins Ch. 03

Eleanor speared a piece of ravioli on her fork as she listened to her friend chatter away. The restaurant was busy, but not busy enough to drown out the mindless rambling of her best friend.

Eleanor was happy for Theresa, she really was. The glint of Theresa's engagement ring caught Eleanor's eye often, and she smiled along to Theresa talking about her wedding plans. She was talking about her colour scheme - should she tell her guests not to wear those colours so that they didn't steal the limelight from the bridesmaids, or should she tell her guests to only wear those colours?

Eleanor made all the appropriate noises as she listened to her friend talk, knowing that she wouldn't be able to get a word in even if she wanted to. She looked up from her ravioli, watching her friend talk.

She'd known Theresa since they were in high school, and as she looked at her successful friend she couldn't help but feel a tinge of jealousy wash over her.

Her friend was gorgeous, all long legs and curves in the right places. Her career was going better than Eleanor's, much to Eleanor's dismay. She had always thought that while she may be the ugly friend, that at least she made up for it by being the smart one.

But while Eleanor was balancing a part time job and her Master's, Theresa had graduated and gotten a stable career with a well paying job, her student debt disappearing rapidly. Theresa's life plan was on track, and Eleanor couldn't help the jealousy welling up inside of her.

To add insult to injury, Theresa was now engaged to a former classmate and friend of Eleanor's. Luca. Eleanor lingered on the thought of him. His olive skin and jet black hair, the sexy Italian accent that made Eleanor quiver.

She met him at o'week, at a terrible party she could barely remember. It was her first week living in an awful sharehouse, three hours from her family home if the traffic was decent, and none of her high school friends had ended up at the same university as her. She'd drunk way too much before the event, and she still shuddered at how much she had drunk after arriving.

Eleanor could barely remember that night. But Luca had held her hair as she threw up and accompanied her home, missing out on most of the party for her. He snuck into her sharehouse, and cleaned up for her when she vomited on the bathroom floor. Eleanor had been smitten ever since she woke up to find him asleep on her bedroom floor - even if he had let her go to sleep with a face full of makeup and still wearing her heels.

And then he met Theresa. Beautiful, sexy Theresa who had no problem asking guys out. Eleanor's fork found its way quite forcefully into her pasta.

She glanced up at Theresa, seeing if she noticed. But no, she was chattering on about bridesmaids.

"Of course, you'll be one of them. And Leila. I'm going to ask my cousin Alexis to be my maid of honour," Theresa continued.

Eleanor paused, frowning.

"Why is Alexis going to be your maid of honour?" she asked, interrupting Theresa. She had always assumed that she would be asked to be maid of honour, just as Eleanor had always planned to ask Theresa to be hers. They had shared everything with each other since they were in their first year of high school. "You don't even like Alexis."

A blush crept over Theresa, and she gave Eleanor a curt smile. "I do like her. And she'll look great in my wedding photos, standing next to me. I'm going to have the order be Alexis, then Leila, then Samantha, and then you."

Eleanor frowned, looking back down at her pasta. She tried to focus on the honour of even being Theresa's bridesmaid, but she couldn't help but feel as if it were more out of courtesy. The other girls were all gorgeous, just like Theresa. Eleanor wasn't. She often felt like a balloon next to them, on the rare occasion she had to spend time with Theresa's other friends.

And she couldn't help but feel like she was being put on the end, so she wouldn't so obviously disrupt the natural beauty of the other girls.

She shook the thought from her head, as she finished her meal. She was being irrational, she knew. She was still over the moon for Luca, and unfairly upset with Theresa for dating him even though that was one secret she never told Theresa.

She bid farewell to Theresa that night, and tried to ignore the fact that Theresa hadn't once asked Eleanor how she was going.

--

Eleanor arrived early to the cafe. It was a cool day, the sky a miserable grey. Much like Eleanor's mood. She was still struggling to be excited for Theresa and Luca, but she was trying. She took a deep breath, and made her way to the cafe's bathroom. She checked her phone as she walked. Theresa and the other bridesmaids weren't there yet.

They were catching up for coffee and brunch, so Theresa could go over her colour scheme with them, and work out a budget for the dresses. Theresa had said something about making sure that the pale lilac matched their complexions, and didn't make anyone look old, or washed out. A small part of Eleanor couldn't help but wonder if that was secretly what Theresa wanted, so that she stood out even more on the day. She squashed that thought down. She was being bitter, and petty.

Theresa would surely outshine all of them anyways. Everywhere Theresa went, she seemed to turn heads. Eleanor stood in front of the mirror, and wished briefly that she looked like Theresa. Theresa seemed to have a perfect hourglass figure, and sexy legs. She'd been the breaker of many hearts growing up, falling in and out of love with ease.

Eleanor wondered what it would be like to have Theresa's figure, but she couldn't imagine her face on a different body. Theresa had strong features, but they seemed to blend well to make a woman who always looked assured of herself, never doubting. Sometimes, Eleanor thought Theresa looked like a sexy amazonian warrior with her strong jaw and long body.

Eleanor looked pudgy herself. She had trouble keeping weight off, and she hated her chubby cheeks. The only features Eleanor liked was her bright green eyes, and her curly black hair when it decided to cooperate. It rarely did. Her body wasn't nicely shaped, and she often felt out of place standing next to her friend.

She sighed, and entered one of the stalls. She could feel her sadness and jealousy and anxiety building up inside of her, and she took her time, trying to steady herself. She was about to leave her stall however, when she heard two women enter the restroom.

"I can't believe Theresa is engaged before you," Eleanor heard one of them say. She recognised the voice as belonging to Theresa's friend Samantha. She would have been talking to Leila then, since last Eleanor heard Alexis was a single party girl. "I always thought you and Noah would be first."

She should have left the stall then, but something compelled Eleanor to remain hidden, and listen to their conversation.

"I always thought that too, but I guess Theresa beat us to it. I'm glad for her though, Luca is nice."

"Isn't he dreamy?"

Eleanor had to agree there, her mind flitting back to the last time she saw Luca. She had imagined she was the one he was holding hands with, not Theresa. Eleanor closed her eyes, ridding herself of the mental image.

Leila made a noise that sounded like agreement, and Samantha pressed on.

"Do you want to know what Theresa told me when she first started dating with him?" Samantha's voice had dropped to a conspiratorial whisper, and Eleanor kept very still as she strained to hear her. Eleanor secretly praised Samantha's gossipy nature, and was extra glad she had never confided in Samantha.

Leila didn't say anything, but she must have made an expression with her face that encouraged Samantha to press ahead with her news.

"Okay, so, you know how Tee met Luca through her old high school friend, at a party or whatever? She told me that her friend had the most obvious crush on the boy, but that Luca was so sweet and handsome that Tee couldn't help but go for him! How cute is that?"

Eleanor almost dropped her handbag. Samantha prattled on, about some gossip that she tried to disguise as admiration for Theresa. Had her crush really been that obvious? Why hadn't Theresa said anything to Eleanor? She tried to shake her head of the questions that were running around her head. She took a deep breath, steadying herself.

Samantha was a gossip. She was probably making it up. There's no way Theresa would do that. They were best friends. They had each other's backs. Didn't they?

Doubt crept into Eleanor's mind. They had grown apart a lot since they moved to the city to attend different universities. They only saw each other once a fortnight now, if that. Eleanor heard the other toilet flush, and the two other girls made their way out of the bathroom. Eleanor took a deep breath to steady herself, and sent a message to the group chat with some excuse to get her out of this brunch. She crept out of the cafe without being spotted, and when she got home, she curled up into a ball and cried.

--

Eleanor looked over herself in the mirror. She was wearing a tight dress, and her hair was conforming to her wishes for once. She wouldn't normally dress so nicely, normally wouldn't have the confidence to wear something that hugged her so tightly. But tonight, one of her friends from her university was throwing a catch up dinner with their little uni group, and Luca was going to be there.

Even better, Theresa couldn't make it. She was sick, but had encouraged Luca to go on without her. Eleanor smiled deviously. She had hoped an opportunity like this would present itself. She adjusted her breasts again, making sure that they looked like they were almost spilling out of her dress.

Even if she couldn't have Luca, she was determined to do her best to arouse him tonight, to sow seeds of doubt about his choice of fiance in his mind. And for once, Eleanor felt sexy. Her black mane was loosely braided, her green eyes accentuated with smoky but subtle makeup.

She didn't expect anything to happen, but if the opportunity presented itself, she would more than gladly take it.

The dinner was a shady little bar, somewhere the group of them had gone to regularly as first years. It was where Eleanor had introduced Theresa to Luca, and it was Eleanor's suggestion they went there. She made sure she was last the one to arrive, so that Luca would get the full view of Eleanor that night. Even better, the only spot empty was next to him, the group having sat in their usual order.

She greeted everyone warmly, a kiss on the cheek and a hug for all of them, making sure she rubbed up just a little bit too close to Luca. Her legs brushed against his as she sat down next to him. A small voice in the back of her mind scolded her, but Theresa's face swam across her view and she pushed the voice to a far corner of her mind.

She did her best to ignore Luca's occasional glances her way, and focus on the conversation. Luca's engagement was no longer the focus of their celebrations, as they talked about careers, study and Fiona's pregnancy announcement. Eleanor felt at ease around her friends. There was a diversity to them that she didn't find when she was with Theresa and Theresa's friends. They were all at different stages of their lives, and none of them looked like they walked off the runway - except perhaps, Luca.

Fiona and her husband were the first to leave that night, and Eleanor made sure she stood up to hug them goodbye, reaching upwards to hug Fiona's tall frame. She was certain Luca copped a glance as her skirt rode up with her.

One by one, the rest of their friends trickled out, until it was just Eleanor and Luca finishing off their drinks. They had been the closest out of the group, once. Before Theresa. For a moment, if Eleanor closed her eyes, it almost felt like they were both back at university, still studying for their Bachelor's.

It was quiet, in their dark little corner of the bar. Eleanor glanced at the clock. It was only around 11pm, but she supposed that was the perils of growing responsibilities. A lot of them had partners to go home to now, or in Fiona's case, were too pregnant to enjoy a late night out.

Eleanor's plan was going better than she had hoped. She had expected Luca to leave by now, or for them to all leave together at least. But now she was alone with him, in a seedy booth, and they'd both had a few drinks. Enough to loosen their tongues, but not enough that either of them were going to repeat Eleanor's first university party.

Her legs were still pressed up against his, even though Luca could have easily shuffled around to give her more room. Eleanor's heart fluttered, and she tried not to take it as a sign. He was so sexy, the sleeves of his white button up shirt rolled up. A few strands of his dark hair fell onto his forehead. All Eleanor wanted to do was grip his hair in her hands as he went down on her, for her to be with him instead of Theresa.

"What are you thinking of?" Luca asked, turning his head to look at her. Eleanor could listen to him talk all day long.

What was she thinking of? She couldn't very well tell him that she imagined her hands running through his hair, over his back. She couldn't tell him she was thinking of the way his lips would feel caressing her skin, or how she wanted him, how she wanted him more than Theresa ever would.

"Days gone by," she said, "The gang, here. Opportunities taken and opportunities lost." Did she sound smart? Wistful? Corny? It was vague, and she hoped it sounded almost romantic, although it felt almost pseudo-intellectual as she said it. At least she hadn't told him she wanted him. Was she a bad friend? The question floated to the forefront of her mind, and she let it linger this time. She was. She was entirely a bad friend, because all she wanted to do right now was Luca, Theresa be damned.

"Opportunities lost?" he asked.

Eleanor sipped her drink, nodding. How many of these cocktails had she had? Her bank balance would hurt her in the morning. "Not seizing the moment when I should have." She shifted in her seat, so that she was almost facing him properly, instead of sidled up against him.

"Ah, regrettable." He paused. "What's stopping you from seizing the moment now? We're still young, carpe diem!"

Eleanor sat her drink down on the table. He was teasing her. There was a mischevious glint in his gorgeous chocolate brown eyes. It was a lame saying. They'd made fun of people together who got the phrase tattooed on them.

Her heartbeat sped up, however, as she looked into his face. Carpe diem. Her lips met his. Carpe diem thundered through her head. He froze beneath her. Crap. His hands found her arms. He tasted like the cider he'd been drinking. She pulled back. He stared at her. Crap. She'd screwed everything up. She was going to lose not one friend but two. Panic welled. How long was he going to stare incredulously at her? Should she leave? He blinked. He crushed his lips to hers, startling her, causing her to gasp. He slipped his tongue hesitantly inside her open mouth.

She felt like a teenager with her first boyfriend again, as they drank each other in, as if they were each other's oxygen source. Theresa's face flashed across Eleanor's mind, and she smiled triumphantly into the kiss. Tentatively, she ran a hand through his perfect hair, gripping it gently.

His lips were as soft as she had imagined, his touch gentle and delicate. His hand slid up her thigh, up her too-short skirt. Eleanor was grateful the booths offered privacy, even if it wasn't much. There was something exhilarating about him touching her in this seedy bar, the same seedy bar where Theresa and him met.

His fingers rubbed the outside of her panties, feeling how excited she already was. She bit down on his bottom lip to prevent a moan from escaping her, as he pressed his fingers against her, rubbing her through the thin fabric.

Luca pulled her panties to the side, and thumbed her clit. He muffled her response with his mouth, but pulled back.

"Bathroom," he breathed in her ear, gently nudging her. She nodded, and glancing around, made her way to the restroom, Luca close behind. There was one stall for each gender, and he locked the door to the women's behind them. He pressed her against the countertop, crouching down to remove her underwear.

There was an urgency to them, as he lifted her onto the countertop next to the washbasin. He pushed his cock into her almost painfully. Eleanor's fingers dug into his back as he thrust into her. With one hand, Luca freed one of Eleanor's breasts from her strapless dress, his fingers rough.

He fucked her with urgency, burying his cock deep inside her with each thrust of his pelvis. She could smell the alcohol on his breath, his breathing heavy next to her ear. Eleanor's legs wrapped around him, clinging to him as if that would stop him from ever pulling away.

She imagined Theresa walking in on them, and smiled into Luca's neck. She got a kick out of the mental image she had of Theresa seeing Luca's cock buried deep inside Eleanor. Eleanor, who she had never thought of as a threat.

She felt Luca release, his cum spurting deep inside her. He groaned as he came, and Eleanor rode his dick as best she could as he came down from the high. Eventually, he pulled out slowly, his dick still covered in his semen and her juices. He leant against her, panting heavily, one hand still cupping her breast.

Eleanor wasn't sure what was going to happen after they parted ways that night. But, with Luca's cum leaking slowly out of her, she was happy she had taken Luca from Theresa, and that's all she cared to think about as they leant up against the countertop in the bathroom.