The town, the road, that part of the world… it was just north of BFH. Only about fifteen minutes outside of town. Not quite near Brooks Crest. That shit was hidden way off the map, so to speak.
But that address Vera gave me…
Fuck, she really was a rich girl. And not just rich. But fucking filthy rich.
The area where she lived was where people had mansions on top of mansions. Usually a place where nobody had kids or a family either. Almost like a little area for super famous people to hang and hide out.
The more I learned about Vera the more I was intrigued and the more I wanted to know.
And there was only one way to find out, right?
I had to get to her and make her answer my questions.
* * *
The gates to the driveway were open.
And Vera stood directly in the middle of them.
Smoking a cigarette, black mascara running down her cheeks.
I had never seen anything so beautiful and also so scary at the same time.
The second she saw me, she flicked her cigarette away, waved her middle finger up the driveway, and grabbed a bag off the ground.
I had to park my motorcycle for a few seconds to let her on the back.
But first I had to get off and take my guitar off my back.
My eyes moved beyond Vera and I spotted the house at the end of the driveway.
All I could see was the color white lit up by lights in the ground.
It almost gave me the vibe that I was looking at some fancy ass royal palace or something.
“Get me out of here,” she said.
“Hey, beauty, wait a second.”
“I don’t have a second to wait, Hil. We leave now or I call someone else. Now.”
I took my guitar case off and nodded to her. “You have to wear this.”
“What?”
“Turn around,” I said.
“I said-”
“And I said to turn the fuck around,” I repeated.
Vera turned with a pissed off look on her face.
I put the guitar case around her shoulder.
Her bag wasn’t all that big or heavy, which was good.
I got that on her other shoulder so she would be balanced.
“You better fucking hold on tight, beauty,” I said from behind her.
“Just get me out of here,” she said.
I touched her arms and kissed the top of her head.
My eyes looked to the house again.
There were a thousand questions burning in my mind.
Easily.
But she wanted to get out of there…
I got on my motorcycle and started it.
Vera climbed on behind me.
She leaned forward and yelled into my ear where she wanted to go.
To my house.
No beach.
That made my grin.
I guess that meant I wasn’t going to lose my clothes tonight then, huh?
I turned the motorcycle around and started to put distance between Vera and the house. I assumed it was her house, but I wasn’t completely sure of that either. I wasn’t sure of anything. The last I knew she was out of town for a few days. But then she texts me out of nowhere to come get her.
From what?
Did someone hurt her?
Was she hiding something from me? From the world?
The more questions I had the faster I rode.
We were back in town in no time, moving through the roads of BFH to get to my house.
I turned onto the sprawling property and slowed.
I felt the tension between Vera and I grow. Well, it was her tension, not mine. I knew where I was. She didn’t.
Her hands were locked around the front of my body and they hadn’t moved an inch the entire ride.
I cruised up the main road and then turned off onto what was my road.
Right to my house.
When the motorcycle stopped, I killed the engine and let Vera off first.
She put her bag down on the ground and did the same with my guitar.
“This is your house?” she asked with a little disappointment in her voice.
“This is one of the houses, beauty,” I said. “The main house is way down there…” I pointed through the trees. “But the property has a bunch of these houses. So I guess you could say this is my bedroom. Got it?”
“Got it,” Vera said.
I moved toward her. My thumbs stroked her cheeks, wiping away the black mascara that had dried.
“What the fuck is going on?” I asked.
Vera reached up and grabbed the back of my neck. She pulled and jumped to her toes, wanting my mouth to touch hers.
I wasn’t going to resist a kiss from her.
Except this wasn’t any kiss.
She battled her tongue with mine, thinking she was going to take control.
The moment got hot so suddenly that I did the worst thing possible.
I stopped it.
My hands had moved from her face to the sides of her body. Holding her.
I stared down at her, trying to read her face.
But she was good.
She was so locked away and hidden, she knew how to sell anything she wanted.
“You said you were out of town,” I said.
“I lied,” she said.
“And then you text me for help?”
“You showed up,” she whispered.
“Why?”
“How about I ask you a question first…”
“What, Vera?” I asked.
I was pissed off, yet I wanted her.
“Are you going to waste time asking me stupid questions or show me inside?” she asked.
We kissed again.
Both knowing what kind of kisses they were.
I stopped kissing her and looked back at my house.
Then at Vera again.
“Are you okay?” I asked her.
“Since when do you care about feelings, Hil?” Vera asked. “I texted you. You showed up. Now you get to have a little fun.”
“If I didn’t answer… and you texted someone else…”
Vera lifted an eyebrow. “You think that’s the kind of person I am?”
“I don’t know, beauty. You like to lie.”
“And you like it when I lie,” she said. “Because it makes you feel good. Because you figure if I’m just some lying chick, then nothing can ever get serious.”
“Serious, huh?” I asked.
I curled my lip.
Now she was pissing me off again.
I slipped my right hand into her hair at the back of her head.
I kissed her forehead and shut my eyes.
This was bad.
This was really fucking bad.
She was everything wrong…
And I felt like I needed her.
* * *
My lips grazed her bare shoulder.
She gently pressed her body back against mine.
Skin against skin, moments so private and perfect, collecting in my memory, no matter what they really meant or not.
I kissed to the back of her neck and she looked down, sighing.
Even in a moment like this, Vera kept playing her games.
Standing with her back to me, pretending to be shy, but knowing what she was doing.
My hands touched her waist.
Her body touching mine, leaving nothing to the imagination of how I felt in that moment.
I stopped kissing her and looked over her shoulder.
I looked down and smiled.
Vera put her head back and cleared her throat.
“My eyes are up here, Hil,” she whispered.
“I don’t give a damn about your eyes,” I said.
She elbowed me.
I stepped back, laughing.
Why does this feel so… okay?
My hands grabbed her waist again and I turned her around.
And there she was.
Completely exposed to me.
Her hands at her sides.
For the first time in maybe ever there was a little blush to her cheeks.
Like she was unsure of herself near me. Worried about my reaction to her.
That’s what made me want her so bad. What made me ditch the night to pick her up, even though I still had no idea why I had to pick her up. And even though I knew she flat out lied to me - and admitted it - I still couldn’t get my mind off her.
And now my hands were the same…
Vera touched my shoulders, pulling me toward her.
My body bumped into hers. There was a moment of just calm flirtiness between us.
And we both sighed at the same time.
She moved her hands around my shoulders to my back and I picked her up long enough to show her just how comfortable my bed was. We kicked our way under the covers and I reached from the bed to turn out the light and to get something from the nightstand drawer.
She kissed me like she was never going to see me again.
And knowing Vera, that was a possibility.
A possibility I didn’t want… and one I had to fight off… because this girl was turning me into mush.
When we were both more than ready, I positioned myself to cross another line between us.
Vera scratched up my back even though there was no need to do so.
She then touched my face.
Her fingertips gently curling against my cheeks.
A smile trying to flicker across her face.
And even though we were mostly in the dark, it almost felt like her eyes were trying to change colors. Or she was trying to let her guard down for me. For us. For the moment. For whatever was about to happen.
She bit at the bottom corner of her lip.
“Hey,” I whispered. “You’re not wearing lipstick tonight.”
“No,” she said. “Didn’t have time to put any on.”
“I think you look fucking beautiful without it.”
Where the hell did that come from, Hil? What the hell are you trying to do…
Vera smiled. “I thought you were supposed to be mean and tough.”
“Shut up,” I whispered.
I kissed her and brought our bodies together for good.
Her pleasure comforted me in a second and I broke the kiss, putting my nose to hers, giving us both a chance to suck in a breath and calm our racing hearts. Because no matter what bullshit lies she threw up front to protect herself, there was no lying when it came to her body. I felt her heart racing. I saw the look in her eyes. And I felt her body. What my movements were doing to her. And what she was doing to me in return.
Her hands returned to my back and she turned her head to the right and shut her eyes, biting her lip again. I put my nose to her neck and gritted my teeth. My hands touched her sides and then I grabbed the sheets on my bed.
A set of memories threatened to fuck up this time with Vera.
I exhaled a deep breath and brushed my lips to her neck.
“Vera…”
I had to say her name.
She looked at me again.
Her lips quivered. “There was no trip, Hil…”
We kissed again.
“What?” I asked, mid kiss.
“No trip,” she said kissing me back.
Her nails dug into my back as she let out a sigh.
My body was split in half.
My brain wanting to talk while another half of my body wanted nothing to do with talking. Just wanted to feel. And it felt fucking good.
“Never was one,” she said.
We kept kissing.
I had to pull away to keep her from kissing me.
I moved my right hand to the back of her head. “What?”
“I lied… told you that…”
“Why?”
“Because I’m afraid of… you…”
Vera moved her hands from my back to the bed. Her body pressed harder against mine. She turned her head again, her mouth slowly opening. I knew what that feeling was… what it meant.
I took a deep breath and nuzzled my nose to her neck again and stayed there with her.
Feeling her getting lost in the pleasure between us.
I shut my eyes.
I kissed her neck.
I moved to her ear.
“Afraid of me why?” I managed to ask.
Vera let out a groan. “Hil…”
She groaned again.
“What?”
“I think I might love you.”
* * *
I stood outside and wasn’t sure if I enjoyed my cigarette or not.
My mind was racing.
My heart had calmed down a long time ago.
Vera asked if she could take a shower.
So I gave her some privacy after I went outside to get her bag and my guitar case off the ground where I had left them.
Hearing what she said…
The front door shut and I turned.
My heart raced once more.
I felt like my jaw was going to hit the ground at the sight of her.
Fresh out of the shower.
Her hair, so perfectly black, wet, touching the shoulders of a gray hoodie with nothing on it. Her legs showing and nothing else. When she stepped down the first step off the porch, the hoodie pulled up, showing off very short and tight pink shorts.
We both stared for a little bit.
I kept opening my mouth and closing it.
Love… that’s a fucking crazy thing, beauty. Love is… I mean…
“Don’t get weird and stupid over it,” Vera said.
“What?”
“What I said,” she said. “It was the moment. That was it.”
“The moment?”
“Yeah. I kind of loved you in that moment, Hil. And it’s not like you didn’t want to hear it. You’re interested in me because you want me to say that.”
“What…”
Vera laughed. “Do you really think we’re in love? Like real love? Come on… I stole your clothes and motorcycle. You picked me up and had some fun with me. We’re good. It’s not love.”
“Then what the fuck is this?” I asked. “You said there was no trip because of me.”
“Right.”
“You’re afraid of me.”
“Not sure of that,” she said. “You’re kind of soft in bed.”
“Soft?” I asked. “Fuck that, beauty. There is nothing soft…”
Vera giggled again.
She was back to the game. To the war.
I flicked my cigarette away. “You know what? I’ll play this game too. You want a war, Vera? You got it.”
I walked past her and up the steps.
I went into the house and shut the door.
And I locked it.
I was so fucking pissed off…
… and maybe a very tiny bit in love.
Chapter 14
“Hil, please open the door.”
I shook my head. I curled my lip. If I had my phone with me I would have called Tara. Had her show up. Had her come in and spend the night with me.
All for Vera to hear.
“Shit, beauty, let me make this fair,” I called out. “I’ll slide your phone under the door. Then you can figure out what to do.”
“Hil, stop,” Vera said.
I just stood there, staring at the front door.
I didn’t say a word.
I heard a gentle knock and that was it.
“Fine,” Vera’s voice said. “I’ll talk from out here then.”
“Good,” I said.
“I’m sitting down. Just so you know. I’m sitting sideways. I’m talking to a fucking door. Like I’m some crazy woman.”
“Good,” I said again.
“All he does is fly around the world and cheat on her. Okay?”
“What?”
I bent my knees and looked at the bottom of the door.
“That’s my life, Hil. My sister and I are twins.
Fraternal twins though. You know what that is?”
“Yeah,” I said. “You don’t look alike.”
“Right,” she said. “And it’s been our life. Flying around the world. Like two possessions. Because the sight of a perfect family makes everything look okay to so many people. We’re the reason he does so much business. Because the second his reputation threatens to creep up, boom, we just show up to an island. One big happy family. He hires people to work with us… to be a family.”
“Excuse me?” I asked.
I reached up and unlocked the door.
But I didn’t open it.
If she wanted to talk through a shut door, so be it.
If that’s what it took to get something out of her.
“We really did go to Vancouver,” she said. “It was a last minute trip. He needed to track down some guy who was stalling a deal. But he didn’t want it to look mean. So he used us. And he hires people all the time, Hil. Acting coaches and stuff. They come on the private jet and teach us how to act. How to look… uh… I mean, you know, like we love each other. They teach my mother how to casually touch my father’s hand and arm. The look she needs to have on her face. If that makes sense.”
“So she doesn’t look like she hates him?” I asked.
“Right. Because all he does is cheat on her. But he’s got so much money. And my mother loves that part of him. The credit cards with no limits. Actually, she doesn’t even need credit cards now. She can just get anything she wants and they’ll charge my father.”
“Vera…” I reached up for the doorknob and turned it.
“So that’s that, Hil,” she said. “When we went to Vancouver, we played nice together. Veronica and I weren’t allowed to smoke. We dressed alike. We sipped expensive coffee for the photographers and-”
“You mean the paparazzi?”
Vera giggled. “No. He hires photographers too.”
“What?”
“Yeah,” Vera said. “To have images. Proof. Because when the cheating thing kicks up, he is always ready. He fights back. Want to know what he does?”
“Sure,” I said, my hand holding the doorknob.
“He sues them. The women he sleeps with. If they say anything. And he wins. He ruins their lives for fun.”
“That’s fucked up,” I said.
I opened the door and saw Vera sitting, hugging her legs, her knees tucked into the hoodie. Her chin resting on her knees, her wet, black hair getting the gray hoodie damp.
HIL: a bay falls high novel Page 12