Masked Feelings

by Lechna Baram

  “Damian,” he simply said as they shook head. Isaac nodded and smiled but Damian simply walked back to his seat. He was the definition of kindness. Note the sarcasm. I stood up and walked to Isaac, a smile on my face.

  “Athena,” I said. I extended my hand to shake his but Isaac shook his head. He leaned and kissed both of my cheeks before moving away. Oh, he was such a gentleman.

  “Beautiful name,” he said. No. He didn't sound flirty. He sounded sincere. I smiled.

  “Thank you,” I said then I turned to look at Rose. “Are we going to the beach?” I asked. I don't know why, but Isaac's presence was overwhelming. I blame his good looks and his sexy voice.

  “Yeah, good idea,” Rose said as she stood up. “Isaac, you're staying, right?” she asked.

  Isaac nodded with a wide smile.

  “Stop smiling like a creep!” Rose said. “He loves the beach,” my best friend told us.

  “Okay, we'll leave in a few minutes. Pack our stuff,” Dean told us, then he walked towards me. “Give me my keys.” He ordered. I scoffed and smirked.

  “You're not driving. We're all carpooling!” I exclaimed happily. Dean huffed and glared at me.

  “I'm not getting my keys back then?” he asked. I shook my head then walked to the guest room. I noticed Isaac looking at me with wonder and I also noticed Damian glaring at him.

  Chapter 46

  Burning

  “Can you put sunscreen on my back?” I asked Damian who was lying next to me with nothing but shorts.

  We were lying on the same towel on the sand while Dean and Rose were in the water. The waves were crashing against the sand, making me relax at the sound. Isaac was gone. He said he was going for a walk. I realized that Damian hasn't responded. I turned around to look at him.

  A smile quickly crept on my face when I saw him sleeping. Even with his sunglasses on, I knew that he was sleeping. He fell asleep in the sun and he hadn't put sunscreen on. I bit my lips when my eyes traveled down his body. He was a fine sight. I sighed and turned my body fully in his direction. I took the bottle of sunscreen and started putting some in my hands. His messy black hair and his sunglasses made him seem so young. I slowly started applying lotion on his chest so that he wouldn't wake up.

  “Are you two together?”

  I jumped slightly at the voice. I turned my head to see Isaac standing behind me. I quickly shook my head and motioned him to sit next to me.

  “We're not. He fell asleep in the sun and I thought that he wouldn't like being burnt by the sun.” I explained, putting the lotion all over his chest. Then I put some on his arms then turned to look at Isaac. “Done,” I said before lying back on the towel.

  “What about you?” Isaac suddenly asked.

  “What about me?”

  “Do you want help?” he said as he picked up the sunscreen bottle. He offered me a nice smile. I nodded and sat up.

  “Yes, please,” I told him as I turned around so he could put sunscreen on my back.

  “Tell me a bit about yourself,” he said suddenly. He started putting lotion and massaging my back. My eyes closed automatically as I felt my muscles relax.

  “What do you want to know?” I asked when he was done. I turned around so I was now facing him.

  “Everything,” he said with a bright smile.

  “Well, there's not much to say.”

  “I'm sure that's not true,” he quickly replied.

  “How can you be so sure?” I asked, grinning at his words. He tilted his head slightly, then smirked.

  “You look like the type of girl who has an interesting, yet secretive life.” What was this guy doing? It was as if he was peeking through my soul and getting out information. I took a deep breath and shrugged.

  “Why don't you tell me a little bit about you?” I suggested, wiggling my eyebrows. When I realized that it was weird as hell, I stopped, making Isaac laugh.

  “Well, I'm twenty-two,” he said with a smile. “Bachelor of Social Work.”

  My eyes widened. Psychology and Social Work were quite similar. “I used to be a nerd at school.” He added as he scratched the back of his head. “I remember that it was difficult to make friends,” Isaac said. “When I got into college, I started working out. I lost weight. I dropped the big fat glasses and opted for contacts.” I stared into his eyes. It was now that I actually noticed that it was contacts.

  “What's your real eye color?” I asked, trying to guess. “Blue?” I quickly asked and he grinned.

  “Yeah, how did you know?” he asked. I shrugged. I simply guessed but it felt good to feel superior.

  “So tell me more,” I urged.

  He was really interesting. He smirked at my words then ran his tongue over his lower lip before continuing.

  “I'm single. I'm looking for the right one,” he said.

  “Do you believe in the right one?” I asked, fascinated by the man sitting across me.

  “Yeah, I do. I do believe that somewhere there is someone for us,” he said, his eyes never leaving mine. I gulped and nodded. He was pretty good with words. I wonder how he hadn't found the right now yet. “Have you found your someone?” he suddenly asked. I took a deep breath and turned my head towards the sea where I saw Rose splashing Dean with water.

  “No,” I simply said. I turned slightly to look at Damian who was next to me. My heart ached a little bit but I quickly faked a smile before turning to Isaac.

  “Tell me about you now.”

  “I'm studying Psychology,” I stated and watched as a big smile spread on his face. He was always smiling and it was so refreshing to have someone like him around.

  “We're studying in nearly the same fields,” he said and I nodded.

  “I'm twenty and I'm turning twenty-one in two weeks,” I mentioned. “I have a little brother and a sister.” I pointed towards Dean. “That's my brother in law.” I continued. “I have a very boring life, to be honest.” I admitted, chuckling.

  “Yeah, pretty boring,” he teased.

  I gasped and playfully hit him on his arm before laughing. After a few minutes, Rose motioned for us to get in the water but I didn't want to. I watched as Isaac stood up and walked like the male models to the sea. I was secretly swooning.

  “You're drooling.” I heard someone snap from next to me. I chuckled and turned my head to look at Damian who was glaring at me.

  “I'm not. But yeah, he's a fine sight,” I told him.

  He took a deep breath and stood up.

  “Where are you going?” I asked.

  “For a walk,” he snapped. I shrugged, not wanting to argue with him. I could feel satisfaction.

  I could smell someone burning and it was definitely not my skin. I smirked as I watched a jealous Damian walking away.

  “Where's Damian?” Rose asked as she approached me. I gave her the towel, shrugging. Dean and Isaac were still swimming.

  “He said he was going for a walk,” I told her as I turned my head slightly in the direction he was heading to see if I could still see him. But no. No Damian in sight. “I'm going to look for him,” I told her as I stood up. Damian was quite grumpy and I was sure that it was because of Isaac. Rose nodded then lay on her towel. I walked in the direction he took and tried to look for a sexy ass man.

  To say that Damian was messing up my mind would be an understatement. I kept on walking, slowly relaxing myself to the sound of the waves crashing against the sand. There were not much people today at the beach and I was thankful for that. I hated crowds. I walked a little bit more, heading towards a secluded area. There was no one here. I stretched my arms and let the sun invade my pores. It was so relaxing. When I opened my eyes, I saw someone swimming in the sea. I squint my eyes and fixed at the person, then realized that it was Damian who was swimming. He then stilled. His back was facing me.

  “Here I come,” I mumbled to myself. I grinned and made my way to the water. I slowly stepped in. The water was cool. I wondered how Damian would act around me. I seemed to an
noy him a lot lately. I slowly moved deeper in the water. I had goosebumps when the cold water touched my hot skin. When I was now neck deep in the water, I swam towards Damian. The water was really relaxing. Damian heard me approaching and turned to look at me. Then turned again to look at the horizon. I moved closer to him so that I was now standing beside him.

  “What are you doing here?” Damian asked.

  I tried to stand on the sand without the waves moving me.

  “I was looking for you,” I said.

  “Now that you've found me, you can go,” he said rather rudely. I clenched my jaw and turned towards him.

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” I snapped as I glared at him.

  He turned to face me as well. He seemed emotionless. He simply shrugged.

  “I don't want you around me,” Damian said, without any emotion.

  I took a deep breath. I knew that I was not important for him but I didn't know that it was to the point where he wouldn't mind hurting me. I blinked several times before realizing what he just said. I stared at him one last time before taking a step back. Just as I was about to swim back to the shore, I felt him grab my arm and pulled me to him.

  “What do you want?” I asked, my tone cold as ice. I struggled against his grip but he only turned me around so that I was now crushed against his chest.

  “I fucking want you. That's what I want,” he said through gritted teeth. “But you seem to like the little boy over there,” he said, most probably talking about Isaac.

  “What are you talking about?” I asked. He was jealous and I knew it. But he was too stubborn to actually admit it.

  “That Isaac guy, he was flirting with you. And you flirted back,” he said. He was twenty-eight years old and he still acted like a teen. I took a deep breath and rolled my eyes.

  “So what? I'm not in a relationship. And as long as I know, our deal is over. All we do is fuck. I'm simply a good fuck, right Damian?” I asked before laughing and pulling my hand away from him. His hair falling over his face made me want to push it away and pull him to me. I wanted to kiss his rosy lips.

  “Stay here.” He ordered as he pulled me to him again. I turned and glared at him. He put his hands on my waist so I couldn't move.

  “What do you want, Damian?” I asked, now sounding tired. His eyes softened, then he closed them. After a few seconds, he opened them again. He looked so vulnerable. How does he do that?

  “I want you. It's not even about wanting anymore. I need you,” he said, making my heart race. “I can't stand seeing a guy flirting with you, or you flirting with another guy,” he said, glaring as he said the last five words.

  “I wasn't flirting with him.” I interjected. He rolled his eyes before pulling me even closer. I wrapped my legs around his hips, letting our foreheads touch.

  “I want you all to myself, Athena,” he whispered.

  “Then what are you afraid of?” I asked, my voice near to a whisper as well. I knew what he was afraid of. He was afraid of getting deceived again. He was afraid to love and not be loved. I wrapped my arms around him and slowly pecked his cheek. I don't even know when he turned his face and my lips met his. I sighed in relief. It was something I wanted desperately. I let my fingers trail in his hair, tugging on them slightly, obtaining a groan from him. He bit my lips, then slide his tongue in my mouth, making me moan. The kiss turned into something more passionate. He tightened his grip on my waist and i was sure that it was going to make a mark. I could feel his bones against me. I pulled away when I was about of breath. I leant my forehead against his. My eyes were closed. I liked the feeling of being close to him. I loved that guy in front of me.

  “I love you,” I whispered

  Chapter 47

  Help

  I watched as his eyes widened and as he tensed at my words. Why did I say that? I was caught up in the moment. I wanted to tell him how I felt. I knew that I was in love with the man who in front of me. Whether he loves me or not didn't matter in that moment. I was somehow relieved. I felt more at peace with myself. I just needed him to know. Damian seemed conflicted and surprised by my words. Why was he so surprised? I inhaled then smiled.

  “Don't worry. I'm not asking you to say it back. I'm not asking you to say anything about it, to be honest,” I told him. I could not decipher the emotion in his eyes. At times, he was so hard to understand. Just as he was about to talk, I heard someone calling my name. I turned towards the shore to see Isaac and Rose. My best friend was motioning for us to get out of the water. I unwrapped myself from Damian and swam towards them. I stopped for a minute to look at Damian and I noticed that he was still standing there.

  “Are you coming or not?” I asked.

  Damian nodded once before I started swimming again.

  “I told you to look for him. Not to get in the water and have sex,” I groaned at Rose's words, pulling a towel from her hands.

  “There's a difference between talking and having sex, Rose,” I mumbled.

  I shut up when I noticed Damian standing beside me. Rose handed him a towel as well. Then we all started walking. I was walking behind Rose and Isaac with Damian right behind me. I noticed that Isaac slowed down so he could walk beside me.

  “I'm going to need your help tonight,” I heard Isaac say. I frowned before turning my head to look at him. That got my attention for sure.

  “And for what exactly?” I asked.

  “Rose said that we were planning to go to a club tonight.” Isaac explained.

  “We were?” I asked. I knew that Rose was listening in on our conversation.

  “Yeah, I even called Alena and she's going to join us at the club.” Rose explained, bringing a smile to my face. “Dean doesn't know, so it’s gonna be a surprise.”

  “What if he refuses to come?” I asked. Knowing Dean, we had to consider the possibility of him bailing on us.

  “Then we'll have to find some way to force him,” Rose said as if it were the easiest task ever.

  “So what kind of help did you need?” I turned my attention back to Isaac. He gave me a sheepish smile. I knew it was going to be something damn annoying.

  “It's really childish but I need to do that,” Isaac said.

  “Tell me.”

  “So when I was in high school, there was this very popular girl who dated me,” Isaac said. “She dated me only so I would do her homework,” he said and I nodded in understanding.

  “She was using you?” I guessed.

  “I let her use me.”

  “Why?”

  “For the simple fact that I could tell my friend that I was dating the most popular girl in the school?” Isaac said as if I was stupid. I rolled my eyes then playfully punched his arm.

  “So tell me already.”

  “She's going to be at the club,” Isaac said with a smirk. “I want to show her what she missed out on and that I can now get a better girl than her.”

  I heard a scoff from behind me. I turned to look at Damian who was glaring at Isaac.

  “And you, my little friend, you're going to be that better girl.” As soon as those words came out, Damian's glare intensified and Rose burst out laughing.

  “I'm supposed to be your fake girlfriend?” I asked in disbelief.

  He nodded.

  “You can be a real girlfriend, if you want,” he said, making me punch him in the arm again. “Fake girlfriend is good too,” he quickly added, making Rose and I laugh. “So is that a yes?” he said hopefully. What's wrong with helping him get back on Queen bitch?

  “Yeah, I'll help you,” I told him, making him smile. I could hear a sharp intake of breath from behind us. I turned to look at Damian again, and he was glaring at me this time. Soon we reached the car where Dean was waiting.

  “We're going to the club tonight,” I announced happily and watched as his face morphed from happiness to exhaustion.

  “We're not,” he said.

  “We are,” Rose said.

  “You are. I'm not.” Dean expla
ined.

  “You are coming too,” I said in a tone, which left no room for argument.

  He stared at me for a few minutes before clenching his jaw and got in the car. He knew that he wouldn't be able to argue. We all got in the car. Damian was driving and Dean was in the passenger seat while Isaac, Rose, and I were in the backseat. Isaac was sitting between Rose and me. I noticed Damian looking at me in the rearview mirror at times.

  “Do I really have to go?” Dean asked as Damian started driving. Rose huffed then glared at the back of his head.

  “Yes Dean, you can go there willingly or I can drag you there, holding on to your hair,” Rose said, making all of us look her way at her threatening tone. “What?” she asked innocently. “He's such a pain in the ass at times,” she added, making Dean roll his eyes. I nodded in agreement, and it seemed like Dean noticed because the next thing I knew, there was a paper ball flying towards my head. For the next ten minutes, the car was a real mess.

  Chapter 48

  Katy Perry

  “Are you ready yet?” I shouted at Rose who was taking her time.

  The guys were already waiting for us downstairs and I was in my room, waiting for Rose to return my red matte lipstick. I stood in front of the mirror. My hair was straightened and I did a light makeup. Right now, I just needed my lipstick. I was wearing a long red skirt and a black crop top. I had to wear high heels so that my skirt wouldn't touch the floor. I did a perfectly winged eyeliner with a lot of difficulty.

  “Here!” I turned my head to the door to see Rose standing by the door with my lipstick in her hand. I whistled in appreciation at the sight of my best friend. She was wearing a black mid-thigh dress which hugged her curves perfectly. She walked to me and gave me the lipstick. I quickly applied it, then noticed that Rose was staring at me. “You're beautiful,” she said with a smile.