by Amanda Abram
He looked almost hurt by that, but I'm sure it was probably all just an act. “I'm sorry I lied, okay? And yeah, I'll admit I did it for my own benefit, but...” His voice trailed off, as though he didn't know how to finish the sentence. But finally, what felt like a lifetime later, he said quietly, “Lex, have you ever been so in love with someone that you forget sometimes to stop and think, because that person is taking up about ninety-eight percent of your thinking process? So you end up doing stupid things, even though you don't mean to?”
My answer to that was simple: no. Granted, once upon a time I had thought I was madly in love with Jeffrey, but never to the point where I forgot about the world around me. But for some reason, I mumbled, “Sure, I guess,” in response instead.
He stared at me for a moment before reaching out and taking my hand in his. “If you'll just forgive me for tonight and help me out with Kylie, I swear on my life I will make this up to you with Jeffrey. What do you say?”
I sighed as I proceeded to think about it for a moment. Jase did not deserve to have me give in and let him get away with this. But I was already at the party, so I decided perhaps it would be best to just make the most of the situation and kill him later instead.
“Fine,” I hissed. “We'll put on the show of a lifetime for Kylie tonight, but then starting tomorrow, we are concentrating solely on Jeffrey until I say otherwise. You got that?”
Looking relieved, Jase broke out into a grin. “Yes, I got that. Thank you, and I really am sorry for lying to you.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I grumbled. “Now go get me a drink. And this time, don't go giving it to someone else.”
“Sure thing.” He sounded way too eager to follow my order. He quickly left my side to go fetch my soda and while he was gone, I couldn't help but to avert my gaze over to Kylie, who was now standing around with a group of her cheerleader friends, talking and giggling. At one point, she glanced over in my direction, but quickly looked away sheepishly after our eyes met. I frowned as I began to study her.
What exactly was it about her that had Jase turning into an idiot around her? Sure, she was pretty, but she looked like about eighty-five percent of the other pretty, popular girls at our school, so I just couldn't figure out why Jase was so smitten with her. I mean, if this was just a case of him being a horny teenager wanting to get into her pants, I could definitely see it. But it seemed to me like he had real feelings for her, which was pretty unexplainable itself.
I never thought I'd see the day.
“She's easy on the eyes, isn't she?” I heard Jase say behind me and my eyes instantly pried themselves off of Kylie.
I ignored his comment and grabbed my Coke out of his hands. “You made better time during this round. Thanks.” I could feel him watching me as I took a swig of the soda. “What are you staring at?”
“I'm staring at my girlfriend,” he replied. Taking a couple of steps closer to me he said, “Would you like to dance?”
“Not particularly.”
“Aw, come on.” He pointed to a couple a few feet away from us who were bumping and grinding. “Doesn't that look like fun to you?”
“Not particularly,” I repeated.
He stared down at me with an expression of mock irritation. “Okay, then. If you don't want to dance with me, then I guess we will have to find something else to do.”
I didn't dare ask him to elaborate as he took my hand in his and led me over to a less-crowded area of what I was guessing was a living room. When we reached the wall, Jase placed his hands on my shoulders, turned me around and backed me up until I was pressed up against it.
“Um, what are we doing?” I inquired as he took a step toward me.
“We are preparing for the main event,” he replied, glancing over his shoulder.
“That doesn't really answer my question,” I said, wishing he would back up a little. Instead, he returned his gaze to me and placed his hands up against the wall on either side of me, removing any chances for me to easily escape.
“Well, I'd had this idea about dancing with you to make Kylie jealous, but since you want nothing to do with that, I figured an even better idea would be to make out with you in front of her instead.”
Frantically, I began searching for a glimpse of Kylie in the crowd, silently praying she had already left the party so Jase could scratch that idea. As my heart threatened to pound it's way up into my throat, I said, “I don't think that's really necessary. I mean, she's already jealous.”
“You really think so?”
“Totally,” I said, starting to calm down. Whether or not what I was about to tell him would be enough to prevent us from having to make out, it would at least postpone the event. “She is so into you, Jase. It's really obvious. I can tell by the way she looks at us when we're together, and by the way she looks at you when she thinks I'm not looking. And by the way, she looks at me like deep down inside she wants to scratch my eyes out with her perfectly manicured nails.” I paused for a moment and then added, “You know, I'm really surprised you're taking such a big risk here.”
With a slight look of confusion on his face, he said, “What do you mean?”
“While I understand you wanting to show her that you can be a good, caring boyfriend, aren't you worried she's going to just give up on you and move onto someone else?”
He thought about it for a second before saying, “Actually, I'm not worried at all.”
I studied his face for a moment, searching for any indication he may be lying. I found none. “Wow, your ego is massive. How do you manage to walk around all day without toppling over from the weight of it all?”
He chuckled as he reached out, wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me toward him. “My ego is average-sized, thank you very much. It's called having confidence. You should try having a little yourself.”
Offended by his remark, I attempted to pull away from him. But it was a weak attempt, plus he had a really strong grip on me. “I have confidence,” I grumbled.
“Yeah right, sure you do.” He rested his cheek against the top of my head. “Mmm, your hair smells good.”
I could feel myself blushing at the compliment. Clearing my throat, I pulled away slightly. “And your shirt smells good.”
He flashed me a dazzling smile. “Thanks. My mom is using a new brand of laundry detergent. I'll be sure to let her know.”
I giggled, but my mirth was short-lived when I caught a glimpse of Kylie over to my left, sneaking glances over at us. Jase noticed her at the same time I did and turned back to me with an expression on his face that looked almost challenging.
“If you are indeed as confident as you claim to be, then prove it by kissing me right now.”
I narrowed my eyes up at him. “What does having confidence have to do with me kissing you?”
“It's simple. I know you're scared to kiss me, and I think it's just because you don't have the confidence to do it. I can't say as if I blame you. After all, Jeffrey is the only guy you've ever kissed, and I doubt you were ever given any worthwhile lessons from him—”
I knew what he was doing. He was egging me on, trying to get me to shut him up by kissing him. Unfortunately it worked; before I could stop myself, I stood up on my tiptoes and kissed him.
At first, all I felt was pure relief because he had stopped talking. Then I felt complete and utter shock from the realization I was kissing Jase. And then I felt nothing, because at that moment, my whole body went numb.
My plan was to just press my lips up against his in a chaste kiss that would last no more than five seconds. After all, nobody ever said our kissing had to be anything more than that. But after five seconds, when I attempted to pull away, I felt Jase's arms tighten around my waist, ensuring that I was going nowhere. That's when I started to panic.
Kissing Jase wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, not that I actually ever thought it would be bad. How could I possibly think that, with his track record? But still, his lips were so warm and soft,
they were almost comforting. So comforting, in fact, that it wasn't long before I felt myself beginning to relax against him, as my fingers involuntarily began lacing themselves through his hair.
But then I thought, oh, what the hell. This was it. Kylie was watching, and I had assured Jase that we would go all out with our charade tonight, so I figured we might as well just get it all over with then and there, since it was already happening. Jase must have been thinking the same thing too because he was suddenly pressing his lips harder against mine, as he reached up and dug his fingers into my hair, tilting my head, bringing my face closer to his to allow him more access.
When he took one step closer to me and my back was suddenly pressed up against the wall once more, that's when I knew things were getting a little out of hand. We weren't supposed to be going this far. I mean, that wasn't exactly the plan, was it? I couldn't remember if it was or not, because my brain had gone numb right along with my body.
I'm not going to lie, it was intense. I'd waited for nearly three years to be kissed like that by Jeffrey and it just never happened. I hadn't even had to wait three weeks to get one from Jase, and he wasn't even my boyfriend.
With the sudden realization that I wasn't minding this kiss as much as I should have been, my hand instantly shot to his chest with the intent of pushing him away. Instead, my hand betrayed me and instead just grabbed a fistful of his shirt and pulled him in even closer to me. In response, his grip on me tightened, his fingers digging into my hips.
It was at this moment that I finally understood what the big deal was about Jase Holloway. And I probably would have kept on kissing him had it not been for the sudden shrill shrieking sound that interrupted us.
It sounded a lot like Trish.
Jase and I instantly broke apart and stared at each other for a moment in shock. At least, it was shock on my end. But I wasn't sure if the shock was from the kiss, or from the fact that Trish's yelling could now be heard over the unbearably loud music.
“What the hell do you think you're doing?” she screamed. My first thought was that she was directing that question at me and her brother. But when I spotted her across the room, I realized she wasn't paying any attention to us at all.
Instead, she was glaring furiously over at Eric, who was glaring furiously over at some guy I didn't recognize who was sitting on the couch with a bloody nose.
“That pervert was assaulting you!” Eric screamed back, pointing at the bleeding guy on the couch.
Jase and I exchanged curious glances. “What's going on?” I asked.
He shrugged and then pushed his way through the crowd over to his best friend and sister. “Hey,” he said, stepping between them. “What's going on here?”
“Why don't you ask your dumbass best friend!” Trish hissed. As I approached her, I noticed that she was on the verge of tears. “He just attacked this guy for no reason!”
“No reason?” Eric yelled. “No reason? He was groping you, Trish!”
“So? What makes you think I didn't want him groping me?”
“Oh, geez, I'm sorry for assuming you weren't a slut.”
Trish gasped at Eric's uncharacteristic harshness and she made a sudden move, as though she was going to reach over and slap him hard across the face, but Jase quickly intercepted her blow by grabbing her arm with one hand, as he used his other one to hold back Eric.
“Enough!” he yelled to both of them. And then he glanced down at the guy on the couch. “Who the hell are you, and why were you groping my sister?”
Trish, obviously furious that Jase was now getting all defensive with the guy as well, let out a cry of frustration as she managed to yank herself away from her brother’s grip. “Screw you both!” she cried before running off in the direction of what I assumed was the bathroom, where she disappeared inside and slammed the door behind her before I had the chance to follow her.
Well?” Jase glanced back down at the guy. “Who are you?”
“I'm Rory,” he replied, his voice muffled from speaking into his hand. “Zach's friend.”
“Zach's college friend,” Eric added. “His college friend who was just hitting on a high school girl who happens to be your sister.”
“Dude.” Rory stood up from the couch. “She's hot. Of course I hit on her. And you know what? She liked it. So maybe next time you should think before throwing punches. Nobody likes a cockblock.”
I watched as Eric's face turned an unnatural shade of red. Forming his hand into a fist and raising it, he grumbled, “You son of a—”
Jase didn't give him the chance to swing his fist, or even finish his sentence. He did the same thing to Eric that he did to Trish, grabbing his arm and steering him away from Rory. “Eric, calm down.”
Eric, who'd had his sneer glued to Rory up until now, turned on Jase and sent him a death glare. “You're not going to defend your sister's honor?”
“I don't even know what happened!” Jase said, letting Eric go.
“Whatever,” Eric mumbled. He turned back to Rory. “You stay the hell away from her, you hear me?” He didn't even wait for Rory's answer before storming off.
“Hey Zach!” Jase yelled over to the party boy, who, along with nearly everyone else, had stopped what he was doing to watch the scene unfold. “Try keeping your college buddies under control, alright?”
Zach reluctantly nodded as he made his way over to Rory.
“What was that all about?” Jase asked, glancing over at me.
I shrugged. “I have no idea.”
Running a hand through his hair, he returned to my side. “Why is Eric suddenly so concerned about who is or who isn't groping my sister?”
I stared at him, dumbfounded. Was he really that dense? “Duh. Because Eric's in love with her.”
Jase's head whipped around in my direction. “What are you talking about?”
I sighed. Guys. They were just so oblivious to the world around them. “Eric has the biggest crush on Trish.”
“What? He told you that?”
“He doesn't have to,” I said, shaking my head. “I've seen the way he looks at her. It's the same way you look at Kylie.” I looked away from him and then down to the floor. I wasn't quite sure why, but I could feel bile rising to the back of my throat.
“We should go get Trish and leave,” I said suddenly, glancing back up at him.
He nodded in agreement. “I agree. I'd say our work here is done.” He gave me a half grin and winked before stalking off, presumably to go try and coerce Trish out of the bathroom.
Now that everything had gone back to normal, and everyone around me had returned to their partying ways, my kiss with Jase was finally starting to sink in. Because of the interruption, I hadn't had any time to process the whole thing. But even minutes after the event, I could still somewhat feel the effect of his lips touching mine. That tingling sensation I'd felt when he'd quickly kissed me the other day was back, twofold. Only this time, the sensation wasn't making me worried about my health.
It was making me worried that I had kissed Jase Holloway...and liked it.
Chapter Seventeen
The car ride back to the Holloway's was silent.
Trish was fuming in the backseat, refusing to talk, and I could tell Jase didn't dare to speak for fear she would yell at him too. So he and I both opted not to say a word during the entire trip, which was most likely for our own good.
As soon as Jase pulled into the driveway, Trish was out of the car. In fact, I don't even think she waited for the vehicle to come to a complete stop first. She just opened up the door and jumped out, slamming it behind her. As soon as she was gone, Jase groaned beside me.
“How could my best friend be in love with that?”
“Oh come on, Jase. Trish isn't always this bad. She's usually very pleasant. And in case you haven't noticed, she's very pretty. I'm sorry to tell you this, but it was inevitable that one of your friends would end up falling for her. I'm surprised they all haven't yet.”
He groaned again and glanced over at me with a nauseated expression on his face. “Please don't say that. It would be totally wrong for one of my friends to date my sister.”
“That's funny. Trish said pretty much the same thing regarding you.”
Arching an eyebrow, Jase said, “Oh yeah? Why was she even discussing it? Does one of her friends have the hots for me or something?”
“She was discussing it because she's worried.”
“Worried?”
“Yeah. Worried that I'm going to fall in love with you for real.” I shook my head and snorted. “Isn't that hilarious?”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “Why would that be funny? I mean, it's bound to happen. Not even you can resist my charm, Turner. It's impossible. But don't worry, when it happens, I'll make sure to let you down easy.”
I knew he was just joking, but I reached out and punched his arm anyway. He, as expected, didn't even flinch. “The day I fall in love with you for real will be the same day they open up a ski resort in Hell.”
“Splendid. That can be our first date.” He flashed me a grin which, even in the dark, managed to sparkle.
Completely annoyed by his company, I chose that moment to make my exit from the car. Unfortunately, he followed.
I wasn't sure why I hadn't just asked him to take me home instead. Trish and I had planned earlier for me to spend the night, but now that she wasn't even talking to me, I wondered if the invitation was still valid.
“You hungry?” Jase asked as he let us in the front door.
I thought about it for a moment, trying to decide if I was or not. I was kinda teetering on the thin line in between, so I replied, “Nah, I'm all set, thanks.”
“Are you sure? I could make you something fried.”
Be still, my heart. The boy knew me oh so well. “No, really. I shouldn't. I'm watching my weight.”
Jase laughed as he headed for the kitchen. “That's a good one. You, watching your weight?”
I tried to look offended, but just ended up laughing along with him. “You're right, I was joking. But still, I should go make sure Trish is okay.”