“The Boathouse Grand? Fancy.”
“It’s a classy joint so you better be on your best behavior.”
“I’m always on my best behavior,” Lochie replied. He had his cheek dimple back again. It gave me butterflies thinking about the rest of the plans for the night. Dinner was only stop two on our perfect date.
We arrived at the Boathouse Grand, a hotel on the waterfront with a restaurant that jutted out over the water. We didn’t have to wait in line there either, my earlier reservation allowing us to be shown straight to our seats.
Our table was in the corner of the outside part of the restaurant. Surrounding us was the dark, still water from the marina. The moonlight reflected off the small wave peaks, looking like little bolts of lightning under the water.
“Have you been here before?” I asked Lochie after we placed our order. I was making conversation but the moment the question was out there I regretted it. Lochie had dated… a lot. He could have brought any number of blonde cheerleaders here. I told myself to play it cool, no matter what he said. They were his past, I was his present. His future was still up for grabs.
“Never. You?” Relief flooded through me. So much for playing it cool, it was probably written across my forehead.
“This is my first time too. It’s pretty though.”
He reached across the table and held both my hands. “And romantic.”
“That was the plan.” I laughed nervously. Why was I so anxious? I had been on plenty of dates with Lochie before, it wasn’t like it was our first one or anything.
Perhaps it was the fact we had a room reserved upstairs that had me so on edge. He didn’t know about it, I could still back out if I needed to. Just the thought made my heart pound harder in my chest.
“Are you okay? Those losers at the game didn’t get to you, did they?”
I laughed again. I seriously needed to stop doing that, I sounded like a nervous chimpanzee. “No, I’m fine. Actually, I might just visit the bathroom. I’ll be right back.”
I slipped my hands out of his and hurried away like a nervous chimpanzee that needed to pee. I didn’t need to use the restroom but I did need a moment to gather myself and find my sanity again.
In the bathroom, I splashed some water on my face and reapplied my makeup. As I stood at the sink, the woman next to me kept staring. Her eyes were fixed on my tattoo. Self consciously, I rubbed at it, covering the triangle.
I wanted to make a joke about it not being real or something but my breath caught in my throat, stopping me. All I could do was wait until the woman left before drying my hands and slinking back to Lochie.
The meal was on the table when I returned. I had chosen the chicken pasta, Lochie the steak. I had forgotten how hungry I was until I saw it. We dug in before it could get cold.
“I forgot to tell you,” Lochie started. “My uncle said I could borrow his boat and take it out some time. We could sail to Barrow Island and spend the day there if you wanted to.”
“How big a boat are we talking about?” I asked, very conscious of my sea legs that didn’t exist.
Lochie laughed. “Big enough so that you won’t fall overboard, if that’s what you’re worried about. Don’t worry, I’ll be there to rescue you anyway.”
“In that case, it sounds like fun. Maybe Lola and Asher could come with us?”
“Yeah, if that’s what you want.”
“They’re having a few troubles so it would be nice if we could all do it together.” A day on a secluded island for two meant we wouldn’t be enjoying the place, only each other. However, a trip for four meant we could really see the island and enjoy everything it had to offer.
“What kind of trouble?” Lochie asked as he took a sip of his soda.
“He doesn’t want to get serious with her.” I waited to hear his comment about that, considering he was in a similar situation to Asher. He and Lola had been dating for about the same time as us.
“He’s probably leaving town soon.”
“They were making plans together for after the summer.”
Lochie thought it over some more as he ate his steak. Perhaps it wasn’t something I should have brought up, not when it was supposed to be a night of escapism. “Then he’s being an idiot.” I tried to hide my smile.
“Yeah, he is,” I agreed. As I did, I noticed the same woman from the bathroom staring at me a few tables over. Apparently I seemed to be the most interesting thing alive.
Lochie caught me staring and followed my gaze to see her. “Do you know that woman?”
I sat back, suddenly not as hungry as I was. “She was staring at my tattoo in the restroom.” To avoid his stare, I looked everywhere else but at him. Unfortunately, I caught at least a dozen people watching us.
Lochie must have noticed it too. “Do you want me to say something to them?”
I picked up my fork again, desperate not to let them get to me. It was pretty hard when I felt like the freak in the room. I had been different my entire life, but at least nobody else but me knew about it then. “No, just ignore them.”
“They shouldn’t be staring, it’s none of their business.”
“Thanks to the Originals, it is.”
We returned to eating in silence again. I could feel every set of eyes in the restaurant cutting into me. As much as I tried to follow my own advice and ignore them, it was way more difficult than it sounded.
Lochie finished his meal and let his cutlery clunk onto the plate loudly, making me jump. He was angry, he didn’t have to say anything, the seething rage emanating from him was enough to give it away.
“Lochie, it’s okay,” I said calmly. I could handle the people, I couldn’t handle Lochie being upset by it. He didn’t deserve to be suffering the same fate as me. He had done nothing wrong.
“It’s not okay.” He looked at all the people still openly watching us and raised his voice. “It’s not okay. You should all be ashamed of yourselves.”
“Lochie,” I whispered urgently. Going mad at all the restaurant patrons would only get us kicked out, it wouldn’t stop them. “Don’t worry about them. It’s not worth it.”
“They don’t know you, they have no right to judge.”
“I know. One day it won’t be like this. Until then, I just have to put up with it.” Thankfully, he turned his attention back to me but he was still on the brink of boiling over. I grabbed his hand over the top of the table. It was time I changed the subject. “Besides, it’s our night and it’s not over yet.”
That got his attention. “Basketball, dinner, and…?”
“And we have a room here.” I held my breath waiting for his reaction. I hoped he still wanted to spend the night with me. It would be humiliating if he’d changed his mind. Although, after all the hate that had been thrown our way lately, I would have understood if he would rather run a mile in the opposite direction.
A slow smile spread across his lips as his eyes sparkled with mischief. That was the Lochie I was waiting for. “A room, huh? Jones, are you trying to seduce me?”
My face burned with embarrassment as I blushed. I wished I didn’t react that way every time I thought about sleeping with Lochie. “We don’t have to if you don’t want to. We can just go home.”
He laughed. Our audience probably wondered what was so funny all of a sudden. “No, I want to. Trust me, I want to. But do you?”
I focused on our hands with our fingers entwined on the table. I didn’t want to start a whole new round of blushing. “Yeah, I want to. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t. I wouldn’t do it just to keep you happy.”
“Okay then. Good.”
Silence settled over us again. Lochie reached for his glass of water and almost spilled it everywhere trying to take a sip. He seemed just as nervous as I was.
I refused to look around. If I didn’t see the people, then I could pretend they weren’t still staring at us. “Do you want dessert?” I asked, needing to say something.
“Nope.”
&nb
sp; “Do you want to go then?”
“Yep.”
We didn’t waste any time in getting out of there. The butterflies in my stomach were stirring to life again with the anticipation of what was about to happen.
CHAPTER 12
I had never been so rebellious before. Curfew was only an hour away and I had no intention of going home to meet it. Instead, I was waiting for an elevator in a hotel lobby with my boyfriend who was having trouble keeping his hands off me. It was all so scandalous.
My heart was thumping like a jackhammer in my chest. I wasn’t sure if it was because of Lochie or because I was breaking the rules. For seventeen years I had been the epitome of a perfect daughter. I was wiping that perfect record in just one night.
It briefly crossed my mind as we stood there what kind of trouble I would be in with my parents – both adoptive and birth. I’d already had the forethought that they could track my phone and turned it off. That should stop them storming into the hotel room and dragging me out in the middle of the night.
I no longer had my tracker chip in my shoulder so they couldn’t activate that and find me. Hopefully that meant they had no choice except to go to bed and wait for my return in the morning. It wasn’t like I was in any danger on a date with Lochie.
At least not any mortal danger.
Lochie squeezed my hand when the elevator arrived and we stepped in together. We were all alone. I didn’t know which one of us was more nervous but I was pretty certain it was me.
The moment the doors closed, my theory about Lochie being unable to keep his hands to himself was confirmed. He collided into me, our lips on each other as he pressed me against the wall. His hands cupped my head, turning my face toward his. I readily kissed him back hungrily, relishing in the feel of him against me. It wasn’t awkward anymore, not now that we were alone. We could just be Lochie and Amery instead of the human and alien.
“God, you’re beautiful,” he whispered as he moved to run a trail of kisses down my neck. I felt it right along my spine as it made me shiver.
I smiled. “You’re pretty hot yourself, Mercury.” He returned my grin as our lips collided again. I could never get tired of kissing him and it was only the beginning of the night.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” It was the third time he had asked me that.
“Just shut up and kiss me again.”
“I want to be sure.”
“Do as you’re told.”
He leaned back down and followed my direction, kissing me deeply. I really hoped there weren’t cameras in the elevators. I would have been mortified if we had witnesses.
The elevator dinged, stopping a few floors short of ours. In super speed, we tore away from each other and stood side by side as a couple in their fifties got in with us. They eyed us suspiciously as they hit the button for their floor.
Apparently we hadn’t been quick enough to part. Or perhaps it was the way we were both gasping for control of our breath that gave us away. “Do you two realize how disgusting you are?” The man said, practically spitting the words at us.
“We’re not disgusting,” Lochie replied.
The woman looked me up and down from head to foot. “You have no right to be here. You are nothing but a creature that needs to be destroyed.”
Lochie moved to stand in front of me but I wouldn’t let him. He was more dangerous to them than they were to me. By that point, after the day we’d had, they were more at risk of being hurt than I was.
“You don’t know anything,” Lochie said instead when it was clear I wasn’t going to cower behind him. I placed a hand on his arm, trying to warn him not to move.
“I know it’s wrong for this creature, that is not of God, to corrupt you. She’s using you so she can destroy the human race. It’s despicable,” the man replied. “You should be ashamed of yourself for turning your back on your people.”
“Lochie,” I warned as he shifted forward, ready to strike them at any moment.
“You’re both a disgrace,” the man continued. “You should both be taken out the back and shot like the rabid animals you are.”
I flung myself in front of Lochie as the elevator dinged for our floor. If I thought he was angry earlier, he was about a hundred times worse now. I literally pushed him out of the elevator while he fought against me to get at the couple.
Only when the doors swished closed could I let him go. “Let’s just find our room,” I mumbled, walking off to look for the numbers on the doors.
I didn’t wait for him to follow as I turned a corner and kept walking until I found the number I was looking for. By the time I had the door open, Lochie was behind me. It was a relief to get inside and close the door, letting the rest of the world fall away again.
“Calm down, Lochie. They were idiots, they can only hurt us if we let them. Don’t let them win. Not tonight.”
He couldn’t even look at me he was so angry. “It’s not just them, Ame. It’s all of them. Everywhere we go, they all have an opinion on us and they don’t know us. They just see an alien and it’s not right. They shouldn’t-”
“I know!” I yelled. I hadn’t meant to, but my frustrations got the better of me and boiled over. I continued, a bit more controlled. “I know, Lochie. But that’s how it is. Imagine what it was like for them, they didn’t know anything about us and then suddenly all these spaceships arrived. Then they had the Originals saying we were all going to kill them. Their racism comes from ignorance and fear.”
“I. Don’t. Care. It’s wrong. How can you defend them?”
“I’m not, I’m trying to explain how they might be feeling. There is no excuse for racism, but they’re scared. You have to have some empathy.”
“Where’s their empathy? Where is the benefit of the doubt? Where is their compassion?” I didn’t have an answer for that and my brain wasn’t quick enough to come up with something. Lochie continued. “How dare they have any opinion about me and you? Ame, I just…” He trailed off and I really didn’t want him to finish his sentence because I was pretty certain I knew where he was going with it.
He just didn’t want to deal with it anymore. He didn’t want to put up with all the stares, the name calling, all the friends he had lost because he was with me. He just couldn’t take it a moment longer.
Tears started to sting my eyes and a lump formed in my throat. I always knew I would lose Lochie, I just didn’t think it would be that night or that soon. I thought we would have more time together first.
I headed for the door, I didn’t want to be there and listen to him say the words. I wouldn’t force him to say them out loud. I had to let him go, it was what was best for him. His mother had been right the entire time, I was no good for him. If Lochie wanted a future and normal life, I had to let him go first.
“Ame, don’t,” Lochie said as he grabbed my arm when I passed him. “What are you doing?”
“Leaving.”
“Don’t.”
I couldn’t look at him. “I have to. All I’m doing is hurting you and it’s not right. You don’t deserve it. You should be with someone normal.”
“Can you just look at me, please?” He asked, some of the anger was draining from his voice. I turned to face him and he let go of my arm. “I don’t want you to go.”
“This was a mistake, the whole day was. It was stupid to think we could actually be a normal couple for even a few hours. We’re clearly not a normal couple.”
He stared at me for so long that I wasn’t sure he had even heard a word I said. I had no idea what was going through his head but I wasn’t going to ask either.
Finally, he replied. “When you said you were planning the perfect date for us, you know what I thought?” He paused, waiting for me to respond. I just shook my head because I didn’t trust my voice – it would only betray how shaky I was both inside and out. “I thought that all I wanted was to spend time with you. I didn’t care if we sat on the sofa all day or went for a walk in the park. Hell, I didn
’t even care if we cleaned toilets for the poor. All I needed was you. That’s all I’ve ever needed.”
“I was trying to do something nice for you. Something to make up for all the crap you have to deal with just by knowing me. I wanted it to be perfect so you’d know how much I love you.” A stray tear started making its way down my cheek. I brushed it away angrily. I didn’t want Lochie to see it.
His eyes flew to the ceiling so he didn’t have to look at me. “I don’t need you to make anything up to me.”
What was that supposed to mean? That he didn’t want me to make an effort for him? That I shouldn’t even try because he was already trying to extract himself from me? That he was done with me? My head spun with confusion.
The next words slipped out before I could stop them. “Because you’re going to summer school, right? Because soon you’ll be gone and you can get as far away from my mess as possible.”
“I haven’t decided anything about summer school.”
“But it’s a good excuse to break up with me, right? It gives you the perfect way out without you coming across as the bad guy.” I was really shaking now, there was no way to hide it anymore.
Lochie wasn’t exactly Mr. Calm himself, he looked like he was barely containing himself as he balled his hands into fists. “I don’t want to break up with you.”
“Don’t lie to me, Lochie. I can’t take it when you lie.”
He stepped away from me until he could lean against the wall. We had the full hotel room between us now. That was not a good sign. “Do you know how hard it is being stuck between you and my mother? Between wanting to make everyone happy and trying to work out what I really want? It’s hard. So hard that sometimes I can’t breathe because I don’t know what the right thing to do is.”
“I’m sorry I make it so difficult,” I said sarcastically. Except I really was sorry, but my pride wouldn’t let me say that. I had to be able to walk away from there with some dignity.
I headed for the door again, I couldn’t stay there a moment longer. Clearly we weren’t going to be using the room in the way we had thought. I had never envisaged we would be breaking up in it instead.
Project Integrate Series Boxed Set Page 78