by Anne Violet
“No more bus for me,” she said ecstatically.
I smiled and tried to sniff in disdain as I circled the car. “I still think you should’ve gotten a motorcycle. Think of all the fun we could have.” Which reminded me… “Speaking of fun…”
She looked at me suspiciously. “Yes?”
“I was wondering what you thought of Jim Johnson.” She arched a brow at me, her expression clearly perplexed by where I was going with this. “You mean that senior that has had a crush on you all year long?”
“Yes, but that isn’t an answer to my question.”
I watched as she looked away, her eyes trained on the ground. Was she blushing under that dark skin of hers? Maybe this was going to work out better than I thought. I just knew they would make a good couple. I just had to convince them of it.
“Of course, he’s gorgeous. Why do you want to know?”
“Well you know, I have a pretty good record of romantic match-ups and…I have a feeling about you and Jim. It just needs a chance.”
She shook her head sadly as we entered my house and sat down on the couch, Cody immediately leapt between us and curled up to go to sleep. Apparently I had missed one of his active hours and he was back in sleep mode again.
“I don’t know Alexis. I mean he has had a crush on you for a long time. That would be kind of awkward for me.”
I playfully punched her shoulder and she mockingly rubbed the spot. “Trust me, I have a feeling as soon as he sees and meets you for the first time, he’ll never have a second thought about me.”
She still looked skeptical but she knew even at this moment there were three couples at school that were still blissfully together thanks to me.
“What did you have in mind?”
I leaned forward, eager to plot our approach now that she had agreed. “I have a race this weekend. I am going to invite a bunch of my friends from yearbook class to go. If that doesn’t get him to go, I will tell him I have a friend that doesn’t know anyone and would feel more comfortable with a guy she could trust as an escort.”
I sat back waiting for the applause for my brilliant plan. She stared out the window, apparently considering all the pros and cons, ever cautious. She finally turned back to me her eyes glittering with excitement.
“I like the first idea but not the second.”
“Well the second is only if he doesn’t agree with the first. I will get Michelle to discretely encourage him.”
“Alright it’s a deal,” she said and shook my hand.
After that we both relaxed back on the couch and took turns petting Cody’s sleeping little form. Both lost in our own thoughts of our men.
“It seems like we haven’t talked in forever, Lex. How is it going with Christian?”
That big smile started across my face as usual.
She glanced at me, “that good huh?” She smiled and giggled.
“Girl, I wish I could tell you in detail. He is so…hot. Oh my god, I can’t even begin to tell you. He makes me so crazy.”
“I noticed the souvenir on your neck,” she admitted, the giggle still in her voice.
I gasped; I thought I had covered it with makeup pretty well. I tried to look down to see it, which was of course impossible and pretty comical, especially considering how Tina was laughing probably harder than I had ever heard her laugh. I leapt up, and went straight to my bedroom, and sat down at my vanity. Tina followed me in. I didn’t even have to pull the collar of my shirt away; I could already see the bruise-like mark. My concealer must have rubbed off during the day. I patted on a little more powder.
“I so don’t want my mom to see it. She’s met Christian and all, but I really don’t want any lectures, you know?”
Tina seemed fascinated by my mark; her eyes glued to it. Sometimes I forgot she hadn’t really dated much yet.
Her lips curled up in a smile. “What was it like?” she asked in a hushed tone.
I smiled and thought back. “It was so intense… romantic… and you just want and need in this crazy sort of way. You feel like you would do anything to keep the feeling going.”
I looked back at her and could see she had gone into her own little world, daydreaming about Jim, no doubt. After she sat down on my bed, a thought occurred to me and unfortunately I needed to interrupt her fantasies.
“Tina, have you heard that Nicolas is back?”
I could almost hear the thump as she came back down to earth. I felt bad when her dreamy expression faded. Her brown eyes were compassionate when she looked at me.
“No. No one has seen him and I guess his parents have been laying low too. Are you sure it was him? I actually heard one rumor that he went to France.”
“That’s random. I don’t remember him ever saying he still had family back there.”
“I don’t know, but try not to worry about it, ok. We’ll all keep a look out.”
“I know. Thanks.”
The rest of the night passed as usual for us, lots of giggling and joking. Even my mom joined in on our silliness. But as I watched Tina drive off that evening, I was sad at the thought that in a year or so we would be going to different colleges and for me, in a totally different state. Sighing, I collected my now rambunctious kitten on my way to my room, praying his nighttime crazies only had another hour or so to go.
The next day, after school I followed Christian to his house so I could meet his grandparents. I was more than a little nervous. He obviously adored them and it was important to me that they liked me, but at the same time I didn’t want to portray myself as anything other than what I was. So I dressed and styled myself as I would any other day, even leaving my nose ring in. When I pulled up, I smiled at the mown grass and the newly painted house. I almost missed the old look though. It had been kind of romantic… in a gothic sort of way.
Getting out of his car, he walked over to me and putting a gentle hand at my back, he steered me into the house. His grandparents were wonderful, friendly and boisterous. His grandma Antonia, he actually called her grandma Tony for short, was an amazing cook. I practically plunged head first in everything she put in front of me. I could totally see where he got it from and was tempted to plead my case for moving in. His grandfather Leo was so sweet and charming; I could see so much of Christian in him, that he totally won my heart. I was so enchanted with his little family, and watching how they interacted, that I was able to listen to at least two hours of fishing stories without even noticing the time.
Eventually Christian decided to save me and whisked me downstairs on the pretense that he needed to do some sketches of me. At least I had thought it was a pretense until he sat me in his bay window and started to pose me. Next he grabbed some clothes and left the room only to return a couple minutes later in some loose jeans and a t-shirt with paint stains all over them. Luckily the position he put me in was relatively comfortable, sitting in the window with my legs stretched out in front of me, my head turned towards him. He looked so adorable and sexy with his brow furrowed, concentration evident on his face. His lean muscular body was relaxed as he sketched; a slight smile on his face. As he studied me, I studied him. I closed my eyes as the throbbing in my temples started again, the intense dizziness following that. Not again. Why did this always seem to happen with Christian? I fought it this time, tensing and concentrating against it, pleading for it to go away. I heard the halt of his pencil on paper.
“What’s wrong?” He demanded, his voice not soft like I would have expected. I could see the concern on his face but he was also suspicious, wary?
“Just a headache,” I mumbled.
“You seem to be having a lot of those lately,” he mused roughly.
While we stared at each other I realized he wasn’t getting up to come over to me but rather was watching me from his stool. That seemed odd to me. I felt a little sick; something in his behavior didn’t ring right.
“Maybe I should take you home?”
The dizziness had cleared although the throbbing had
n’t gone away. I was safe enough to ride the two blocks home by myself, which was exactly what I wanted to do. For the first time I felt really angry and irritated with Christian. Something was wrong and I knew he wasn’t going to tell me. I didn’t even look at him as I got up and grabbed my stuff. Feeling supremely grateful he had his own door, I prepared to storm out and away from the irritating, sexy idiot.
He grabbed my arm as I passed him, holding me in place. “Where do you think you are going?”
I ripped my arm out of his grasp and charged through the door. “Home. I am fine to drive two blasted blocks to my house.”
I didn’t look back to see what he did, but I could hear the sound of his feet on the pathway. The sound following me all the way to my bike, and out of my peripheral vision I could see him watch me ride away. When I glanced in the rearview mirror I saw him toss up his hands in the air like he didn’t know what to do, which as far as I was concerned, was exactly how I felt too.
As I rode into the driveway I was relieved to see my mom wasn’t home yet so I could give full rein to my emotions. I stormed into the house slamming the door behind me, and I started pacing back and forth in the living room. It wasn’t making me feel better but it did give me something to do. Cody seemed to sense my mood and jumped to the top of the couch, his large gold eyes watching me travel back and forth across the Oriental rug. His tail almost seemed to swish in time to my loops around the coffee table. Eventually he seemed to get bored by this and made one of his brave graceful leaps to the coffee table. Well it probably would have been graceful if he hadn’t landed on a slick magazine that skidded towards the edge of the table. I dropped to my knees to catch him just as he went over, his eyes huge and startled.
I cuddled him close and felt myself relax a bit and I realized the headache was gone. It actually might have been gone since I left Christian, but I couldn’t be sure. I hadn’t been really paying attention to anything else when I had walked out. Feeling emotionally worn out, I carried Cody into my room with me and prepared to get some homework done before bed. Mom came home an hour later and after a quick recap of her day, she went to shower and prepared to go to bed early too. Almost dreading what tomorrow was going to be like I turned out the lights and laid down to go to sleep, only to hear a soft knock on my window.
I knew who it was but was tempted to ignore it. Giving up on the idea that I could ever really ignore him, I opened my curtains and pushed open the window. He then grabbed the screen, quietly lifted it out and climbed into my room, closing the window behind him. I stared at him like he was certifiable and felt my annoyance rush back over me. I walked away from him determined to keep my head straight so we could iron this out. Against my will, annoyance was being edged out by attraction. He had followed my retreat into the complete darkness of my room. All I could see now was his silhouette and even that faded into shadow as he took the last step that bridged the distance between us.
He was always warm and I could feel his body heat radiate down the front of mine; his intoxicating scent filled my nostrils and the intensity rolling off of him attracted me rather than repelled me.
“I couldn’t sleep with things like this between us,” he rasped, so close to me I could feel his breath flow down my face.
Resisting the urge to touch him, I tried to see the expression on his face but it was too dark, I could only feel and sense his mood. “I don’t understand what’s been with you lately.”
He sighed. “I know, it’s just something I’ve got to deal with.”
I felt my frustration mounting again, “and you won’t tell me what the issue is?”
He cupped my shoulders with his hands and I knew I wasn’t going to like whatever he was going to say. “No, it’s not something for you to worry about.”
I didn’t usually have much of a temper but this was definitely one of those rare moments where I felt it was about to explode. Seeming to sense this, he wrapped both arms around my waist and started to push us back onto my bed. I grabbed the hair at the nape of his neck and yanked to get his attention.
“Cody is sleeping on the bed,” I whispered harshly.
“Actually he’s not; he’s sitting in the window.”
Taking advantage of my distraction he pressed me down onto the bed, his body covering me from head to toe. I tried to hold onto my anger but it was fading fast, lost under the onslaught of a physical attraction so powerful that I wondered if there would ever be any way to win an argument with him? Would I always be at the mercy of my own desires? I had always been the boss, the one with the most power in my relationships and I wasn’t so sure I liked this reversal of roles.
I could feel him resting his forearms on either side of my shoulders, his hands gently brushing strands of hair out of my face. His head bent near to my ear and he whispered, “Lex, you know I would never stalk you or hurt you right? If you ever want me to stop or leave you alone, all you have to do is say.”
Wrapping my arms around his neck and drawing my legs around his waist, I pulled him down and tighter against me. “You already know I’m not angry anymore, you big jerk.”
I was pretty sure he was grinning triumphantly but I ignored the mild annoyance that caused. It was a different experience being in complete darkness, with my vision all but useless in the dark; I was forced to rely on my sense of touch and smell. I couldn’t even see his face; I only felt his lips as they pressed upon mine. His kiss was gentle this time, coaxing, asking for my response. When he nudged my head to the side and breathed moisture down my neck, I shuddered as he drifted close to the spot he had marked the night before.
“Did I hurt you?” he murmured.
Speech was beyond me; so I shook my head and arched further against him. I concentrated on how loud his heartbeat had become, his breathing more labored, the feel of his hair brushing my shoulder and his warm hands coming up to cradle my head. I sighed and let my hands drift down his hard back, reveling in the shift of his muscles as he moved. My whole body jerked when I felt his mouth press against the mark and lightly nipped at it. His male chuckle of satisfaction at my eager response pricked at my pride and I decided it was time to turn the tables. Lifting my hands to cup his head I brought his lips down to mine, nibbling his lower lip before settling in a kiss that demanded and devoured.
Once I knew I had him wrapped up in my web, I teasingly pulled away, avoiding his lips as he tried to find mine, a soft laugh finally escaping me.
“Lex,” he growled.
Just then I heard my mom’s bedroom door open. We both froze for a second, then he leapt into action. Cody was so startled he actually hissed at Christian, then jumped down from the window and hid under the bed. Christian slid the window open as quietly as he could, leaping out and quickly pressing the screen back in place. I was still in bed, amazed at how fast he had gotten out and fixed the window.
When I heard my mom’s bedroom door close again, I went over to the window and looked out. There he was in all his dark splendor, smiling from ear to ear.
I arched a brow at him. “You’ve done this before haven’t you,” I accused.
His wicked grin got worse and I rolled my eyes at him. I couldn’t help smiling back at him. “Good night, troublemaker,” I said and closed the window.
Totally enchanted, I watched him walk out into the night until I could see him no more. The next morning at school every time our eyes caught he grinned wickedly at me and a hot blush would rush up my neck and cover my face. By the time school was over I couldn’t decide whether I should strangle him or lock us in a small room for the next couple days. At least my plan for Jim and Tina was proceeding as planned. Without much coercion Jim had agreed to go with the rest of my friends from yearbook class for the motorcycle race at Pacific Raceways in Kent on Saturday, where Michelle would introduce them since I would be on the track. While Christian escorted me to my bike, I snuck as many quick glances at his face that I could without tripping over my own feet. I had almost forgotten how beautiful his eyes w
ere in the bright light of day, a dark molten brown that at this moment were sparkling with humor and wildness. I felt regret fill me.
“Christian I can’t hang out today. I am on the prom planning committee and our meeting is this afternoon at Michelle’s house.”
He looked kind of bemused and surprised at the same time. “I know, generally only seniors would be on the committee but Michelle, my friend from yearbook, is on the committee and liked some of the ideas we had tossed around in class so she brought me on board. It was actually my idea to do a Masquerade ball with everyone wearing masks and being introduced like royalty as they walk in.”
He stepped closer and took my hand, his eyes gentle as he looked into mine. “You know you never did give me an answer.”
Blinking up at him, I let my confusion show on my face. “Will you go to prom with me?”
I laughed and threw my arms around him. “Of course,” I answered and then gave him a quick kiss goodbye. Predictably running late, I jammed the key into the ignition, my helmet on my head, and rode off.
The next couple days were some of the happiest of my life. I could feel Christian and I getting closer, the bond between us getting tighter. It probably should have scared the heck out of me, but it didn’t. Tina was thrilled about meeting Jim on Saturday, and Michelle had started dating one of her brother’s friends from college. Even my mom was happily planning a possible vacation to Hawaii. And everyone seemed excited about the race on Saturday. I had a hard time getting to sleep Friday night from being too anxious about the next day.