“Like what?”
“Like knickers instead of panties. Good thing I don’t usually wear them for it to be a big bother.”
Evy burst out laughing so hard I thought she might explode. “Oh, for fuck’s sake. That’s why Nate was so angry to wake up beside you? He felt you up and you weren’t wearing any panties? Jesus Christ, woman, were you trying to kill the man?”
I glared at her, although she was certainly spot-on about it. “I thought you said you wouldn’t mention it again.”
She arched an eyebrow and smirked. “I never said I promise. And besides, I’ve promised more serious things in my life and didn’t hold on to those either.”
I shoved her as hard as I could, but she didn’t move much. “You’re hopeless.”
Her eyes widened and so did her grin. “That’s exactly what I’ve been telling Nate for years. Are you sure we weren’t friends before today?”
I folded my legs. “Fairly sure.” I sighed. “You do realize these clothes will be ruined now, right?”
“Not mine they won’t be. Yours? Who cares? You bought a whole store’s worth of clothes today, which they’ll need to be put in the dryer pretty soon, by the way. Are you coming for dinner with us tonight, or are you going back upstairs to the Wicked Witch?”
I laughed softly. “I’m not certain it’s the wisest decision on my part. To join you, that is. Nate will probably still feel awkward about our earlier, um, uncertain situation. I don’t want to be a bother.”
Evy stood and held her hand out for me to take. “No bother. Dinner tonight. Stay here and relax a bit if you want. I’ll go back and dry your clothes, and I can come pick you up later so you can get dressed at our apartment. Deal?”
I grinned and nodded. She got in the car, but I stopped her right before she drove off. “How do you know Macy Walters?”
She looked up at me from her side-window. “We used to go here together, had a joined class. She used to hit on Nate, but only for his fangs. She wanted him to drink her blood and he wasn’t interested. Then she hit on Kaylan for the same reason. Long story short she was a little clingy, and I made sure she knew both Lockwood brothers are way out of her league.”
I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. “So, she and Nate…?”
Evy laughed. “My twin has more class than that, Ali. Take you for example. You’re leagues above the Walters sisters. And he knows it too.”
I smiled at her in relief, and she smiled back before she drove off. What an enormously big day. And not even half of it was over yet.
Nate
The acoustic version of DJ Shah’s Over and Over was one of my favorite modern pieces. A little monotonous, with many repeated parts, but still beautiful. But when I finished it I didn’t switch to my own piece. Instead I started playing Yiruma’s River Flows In You. The same song I’d been playing when I first met Ali. The one she’d said was her favorite.
I’d been such an asshole in the gym. Getting angry with Luke, flirting with Ali, pulling her to me with every intention to kiss her… And I did have every intention. It was like my body had taken over and my brain was on vacation. Which is a more elegant way of saying I wasn’t fucking thinking.
I’d spent a lot of time in the gym after she left, pushing myself to the limits as always. Thinking about what I’d done and how I was going to fix it. And then shamefully considering how I hadn’t thought of Kiara not once that day. It felt like I’d betrayed her memory. I’d wanted to throw myself through the gym’s glass doors for it.
When I’d finally gotten home hours later, Evy had been folding Ali’s new clothes, and said that she’d be picking her up later so we’d all go to dinner together. Before I had time to protest about it, she said I wasn’t forced to go. I could stay home if I wasn’t feeling up to it. Ali, she said, wouldn’t be alone with just her and Kay since Luke would be going too.
And that was the moment I announced I was going too. Again, I was fucked-up.
The door behind me opened and closed, and I knew the moment Ali’s eyes dropped on my back. I felt them as if she’d physically touched me. But I didn’t turn around to acknowledge her. I was still ashamed of my earlier behavior – twice I’d been an asshole in just one day. And I’d only known the girl for a week. Not very good statistics.
“Hey, sweet twin,” Evy said from right behind me, as she ran her hand through the hair at the back of my head. “Your hair is still wet. Didn’t you dry it off?”
I snorted, keeping my focus on the song unfolding under my fingers. “Yes, Mom. I’ll do it right away, Mom.”
She shoved me from behind, and it was a miracle my fingers didn’t trip but kept going. “Shut up.” Then she leaned to my ear. “I brought your girl,” she whispered. I grunted in response as I felt her walk towards her bedroom.
“Hey, Ali,” I finally said when I heard Evy’s bedroom door shut behind her.
“Hi,” she said back and I felt her moving closer. “You’re playing it again.”
I chuckled, slipping into the song’s final act. “I am. Any other requests? Is there a song you’d like to hear?” Please, don’t ask for Für Elise, I mentally chanted. Beethoven’s Für Elise had been Kiara’s favorite, and I hadn’t played it ever since she’d died. I’d heard Evy playing it a few times, but not me. I couldn’t anymore.
“Um, do you know Cut by Plumb?” Ali said from right next to me.
I wrapped up the song and looked up at her. Jesus, fuck! She’d washed her hair and had let it down, not straight as usual, but in soft, golden waves. Only her bangs were still straight, dropping over her forehead in a smooth blanket. She wasn’t wearing her glasses, apparently had switched to contacts, and the way to her eyes was clear, unfiltered. The golden hue in them alone made my stomach clench with want.
“Yeah, I know it.” My voice sounded a little husky. I scooted a little to the right of the stool to make room for her. “Sit with me?”
She gave me a soft smile and nodded, taking the seat I’d vacated for her. I started with the song she’d asked, feeling her eyes on my fingers. They trembled slightly under her intense stare, and I wanted to squeeze them into fists.
The first half of the song passed, and I was aware of every breath she was taking next to me. I liked her close to me. There was something about her that helped me relax. I didn’t want to lose that just because I was an asshole. Somehow, in the space of a week, and after only a few hours with her, this girl’s company had become important to me.
“Forgive me?” I whispered, almost afraid of what her answer would be.
I felt her eyes move from my fingers to my face. “For what?” she whispered back.
“At the gym… I was an asshole again. I wasn’t—”
“Nate,” she cut me off. “You did nothing wrong. We teased each other and that was that. No one said a little teasing is forbidden, right?”
I took a deep breath, unaware of what to say next. Was she just talking about the teasing, or was it the flirting she was also indirectly referring to? What if it hadn’t been flirting for her and she hadn’t felt how I’d thought? What if I was leading her on by having this conversation? I slowly exhaled and asked, “So, we’re okay?”
Her hand came up and she squeezed my bicep, that small skin to skin touch shooting electricity through my entire body. “Of course we are. And thank you for offering to take the sofa. But no worries, Julia has been tamed. I’ll be sleeping in my room tonight.”
I let my lips form a grin, though I felt a little disappointed to hear she wouldn’t be sleeping here. “I know. Evy told us all about it, word for word. It sounded pretty bad-ass.”
Ali laughed and shook her head. “I cannot be sure about that. What is certain is that Evy was slightly over-excited over the fact I’d put Julia in her place.”
I wrapped up the song and turned to look at her. She gave me another big smile. “Thank you for the song,” she whispered. After a moment’s pause she stood and started walking away.
> The loss of her closeness hit me like a blizzard, and my hand shot forward and grabbed hers, startling her. I looked up, searching her face. “So, we’re really okay?” I was pleading her to give me the answer I wanted.
Her hand twisted in mine and turned so we were holding each other. The warmth of her palm in mine was so rich I felt it seeping into my bones. “Next time you worry about that I’ll have to fine you,” she teased.
I laughed in relief and let go of her. “Deal. A hundred bucks fine everytime I screw up.”
She grinned. “Then maybe you should screw up more often. I could always use more money.”
I laughed again, my heart finally feeling lighter, and I watched her as she walked towards my room to change. Somehow this amazing girl could understand me. I thought she could get that I wanted more friends in my life and nothing more. And I was so grateful about it I couldn’t even begin to describe it.
I was already dressed in jeans and a simple T-shirt, so I took a stool around the kitchen island to wait for everyone. Ten minutes later Ali emerged from my bedroom, and I had to bite my tongue to keep from saying something that would cost me a fine.
Ali was wearing a pair of white shorts that ended mid-thigh, hugging her sweet, round ass perfectly, and a tank top with a wide, square neckline in a vivid blue shade. Blue was my favorite color and it looked fucking good on her. Her hair, eyes and complexion seemed to glow in comparison to her top.
But as magnetizing as her upper figure was, it didn’t even compare to what seeing her with her bare legs – even from the thigh down – perched on a pair of strappy blue heels did to me. For some fucked-up reason, the moment I glanced at her legs, I pictured them wrapped around my waist, those heels digging into my ass as I’d be pounding into her…
Jesus, fuck!
I jerked around, away from her, and walked to the fridge to drink a glass of water. And then another. Anything to keep the front of my jeans away from her line of sight. At least until I could calm my hardening dick down.
Motherfucker, calm the fuck down. This girl is not for you. No one is for you.
I was down to four glasses, with the situation in my pants not getting any better. The door to Evy’s room opened, and I heard her heels clicking closer.
“What’s wrong?” I heard her ask, but I didn’t dare look at her. I was just praying she wasn’t asking me.
“Um, nothing,” Ali answered in a small voice I thought sounded a bit strained. “We were just waiting for you. All ready?”
Hearing her voice so weak made me turn around to look at her. She seemed a little less radiant, as if her light had dimmed. And to add to that, Evy was glaring at me. What the fuck had I done this time? At least the whole situation finally softened my cock.
“Yeah, little thing,” Kay said warmly from Evy’s side. “Blue looks really good on you.”
Ali gave him a small smile. “Thank you. And thanks for last night. You really lived up to your reputation.”
Kay laughed and draped an arm around her shoulders, the other around Evy’s. “Come on, ladies. Let me make every man out there jealous for having you two with me.” Then he turned to me with a raised eyebrow. “Coming, Nate?” he asked just before he mouthed “Asshole” over Ali’s head.
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Yeah, Kay. I’m right behind you.”
We met up with Luke outside the new seafood restaurant we’d made reservations at. I was surprised to see he’d trimmed his beard so much it now looked like overgrown stubble. His face looked softer like that, and when we walked in his line of view, he grinned big as his eyes settled on Ali.
“Hey, you’re finally here.” He leaned and grabbed Evy in a hug, and then Ali too. Her small body almost disappeared entirely behind his arms. “Nice to see you again, Alicia. You look amazing.”
The same boiling anger rose in me once more. With Kay it was different. He was with Evy and I knew how much he loved her. Plus, Ali wasn’t his type. But Luke was single and he’d told both Kay and me that he didn’t have a certain type. All women were his type as long as they were beautiful inside and out. And Ali was stunning in both aspects.
It still wouldn’t explain why I was being possessive. But the same feeling had initiated my assholey behavior at the gym, so I squashed it back down. I couldn’t keep sending mixed signals. If Luke liked Ali and she liked him, there was nothing I could do. There was nothing I would do.
So I just shoved my hands in my pockets and tried to ignore the ticking muscle in my jaw.
“Um, nice to see you too. And thank you for your compliment. And call me Ali. My friends call me Ali.”
Shit, she was rambling. Which meant she was nervous or excited, according to her. God, please, let her be nervous and not excited. And then I cursed myself again for thinking that.
Luke laughed in his booming voice that made several heads turn towards us. “Alright, Ali. Thank you too for considering me your friend.” He extended his arm to her. “Shall we?”
Ali linked her arm with his, and before they started walking in the restaurant, he glanced up at me with a raised eyebrow, as if he was challenging me to react again. I gave him a shrug of my shoulder and waited for them to lead the way. Luke’s expression turned serious for a moment, before he shook his head and turned to the front, walking towards the table the hostess was leading him to with Ali.
“You’re an ass, Nate,” Evy whispered, pinching my elbow.
I sighed. “I told you, Evy. She and I are just friends.”
She huffed in exasperation. “Fine. Keep telling yourself that. But you could at least have been a friend and commented on her appearance tonight. It’s the first time she ever wears something she has chosen on her own, and I bet you didn’t even look at her.”
I felt a pang of disappointment in my chest, mixed with a little embarrassment. “I did look at her,” I whispered so low I wasn’t even sure Evy even heard me. “She looks stunning.”
My twin apparently had heard me, because she pinched my elbow once more, saying, “And you’re still trying to convince yourself your feelings for her are pure friendly? Poor brother.”
I didn’t get a chance to answer as she walked to her seat, and then I was sitting between her and Ali. Luke was on Ali’s other side and he immediately started chatting her up, asking her about everything.
Ali relaxed more and more as we went through our dinner, and so did I. I was really enjoying her company, and with my friends around I wasn’t afraid I’d slip and fall into dangerous territories again.
Evy told her about her eidetic memory and Ali seemed fascinated about that. Maybe even a little over-enthusiastic. And as it usually happened with the reference to Evy’s memory, the story of how she’d first met Kay at the San Diego zoo came up, and we were all laughing like fools over Evy’s narration.
As the time passed, Ali was laughing and chattering easily about everything. She was witty, sharp and funny. And I stupidly found myself drawn to her more by the minute. I was smiling at her smiles and laughter, grinning at her display of British humor, and laughing easily at her jokes.
I didn’t slip. Not once. I was just mesmerized by her, but so were the other three at our table. I figured it was because we’d grown tired of being just the four of us for the entire summer, but it was also just Ali. She drew everyone in, making them incapable of resisting her radiating kindness.
“So, what is that research you were telling me about last night?” Kay asked Ali when the dessert was served.
She lowered her eyes in embarrassment. “I shouldn’t have said anything, really. I’ve been asked by Professor Sommers to keep this hushed.”
The name of Kiara’s lab Professor struck me silent. I saw it had the same effect on Evy and Kay. Luke had known Sommers was Kiara’s Professor too, but I couldn’t tell if he remembered.
Luke leaned forward on the table. “Don’t worry about it. If you can’t talk, then don’t. Just keep it general.” His eyes flicked on me for a second, and I knew he did remem
ber the Professor’s name. “Is this research something new? Or something that was already under way?”
Ali seemed to relax again, unaware of the effect this discussion had on the rest of us. “It used to belong to another girl who was a senior last year. She, um, didn’t get to finish it, and Professor Sommers thought I could take it up, see if I could do something with it. But, really, after a week of studying it, it practically seems impossible. That is to say, the girl had done an excellent job, but she had resources that are unavailable to me. And without those, I can’t see how I could possibly do anything. Those, um, resources are unavailable on a permanent basis.”
Oh, fuck. It had to be Kiara’s assignment over Kay’s immunity. Why else would it need to be a secret and the resources were permanently unavailable?
“Was her name Kiara Knight?” I asked in a low tone, putting my fork down. Nothing would go down now.
Ali’s eyes snapped to me, her jaw dropped. “How…? How did you know?”
I exhaled slowly before pushing my chair back, excusing myself from the table. Fate had a real fucked-up way of spinning everything around until it was all a big, fucked-up mess.
Chapter 7
Alicia
Nate walked out, his face grim. My eyes followed him until I could no longer see him. Something uncomfortable was clenching inside my chest that felt a lot like pain. How could he have known about the research? And why would it bring so much obvious pain to him. Had he known Kiara Knight? Something ugly started forming in the back of my mind.
I turned to look at the others. They all had the same grim faces. “Evy?” I whispered. “Did I say something wrong?” I didn’t ask what I’d been meaning to. I couldn’t utter the words.
Evy seemed to know what I’d meant anyway. She shook her head. “I’m sorry, Ali. Kiara was our friend. My best friend other than Nate, and she was also his girlfriend. We were seniors together, the three of us. She died last year, just a week before Christmas. Nate had to take last year off, just to be able to move on. That’s why he still hasn’t finished with college. And it’s all still kind of a sore point.”
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