by Sara Schoen
“I told you it would be. Here, have some beer,” he said, handing me my cup.
I glanced at him and then to my cup cautiously. What could he have done to this drink before he handed it to me? Kayden had said to only accept beer from him, probably for a good reason too. I pushed the cup away from me quickly, and said the first thing that came to my mind. “I think I’ll get some water, I really need this taste out of my mouth,” I said with a laugh as I turned on my heel and headed toward the kitchen to get a different cup.
I glanced around the crowded rooms to see if I could spot Kayden, but I couldn’t. The house was filled with people from wall to wall, making it impossible to spot the one person I wanted. He had promised to stick by me, but he was nowhere to be seen. How much time had passed? Did he get caught up in conversation? I quickly rinsed out the cup before Mac came back into the room and watched me fill the cup with water. I smiled lightly under his gaze as I let the water cup touch my lips and let it cleanse my tongue of the repulsive liquid. I gulped it down with a smile as I could taste my tongue’s regular flavor again.
“Here have another one,” Mac said as he poured more into the shot glass that I had kept hold of. I guess I had been so focused on getting away that I didn’t realize the death grip I had on it.
“I think I’m okay, I should actually find Kayden―”
“Don’t be a wuss,” Mac teased as he tipped the glass toward me. “I’ll take one with you,” he said as he filled his own glass, and then promptly put it to his lips with a slight tip to swallow it. He looked at me expectantly for a moment before seeing my confusion and telling me what he wanted. “Now the loser kisses the winner,” he stated with a cheeky smile.
I laughed, thinking he was joking, but when his smile didn’t fade I grew uncomfortable. “I’m sorry, I’m actually with Kayden. I’m sure he told you that,” I lied, hoping he would leave me alone. Suddenly I felt very uncomfortable around him.
“That can’t be true since he’s flirting with Alexis and Jamie right now,” he said as he leaned to the side to let me see Kayden leaning against the door jamb talking with both girls who had been shamelessly flirting with him since we first got here. “So I guess you thought wrong. Kayden never was a one girl kind of man. I’m sorry I had to be the one to tell you that, but it’s just how it is,” he said bluntly. I wasn’t sure if he was being this blunt on purpose or if the alcohol was just making him an asshole like Kayden right now.
“Then how about I just say no and you leave me alone? I don’t want you to touch me,” I stated forcefully as I put down my still-full shot glass and attempted to walk past him. I felt pretty proud of myself until I felt a hand grab my wrist and force me backward. An uncontrolled shriek left my lips. I crashed into his chest before stumbling back a few steps and stared into his angry glare.
“How about you shut up?” he suggested as he leaned in to kiss me.
I attempted to pull back, but his vise-like grip kept me in place. I tensed, knowing that I had nowhere to go and I was frozen, uncertain of what to do. Just before Mac could force me into a kiss, I felt a hand land on my shoulder, which pulled me back a few more steps, but gentler than Mac had done. I looked up to see Kayden, and he looked furious. I shut my eyes in a panic, worried about how he was going to scream at me in front of his friends, but something more unexpected happened. A pair of lips landed on mine for a moment before leaving as quickly as they came. I opened my eyes to see Kayden smile at me before he turned around and threatened his friend.
“The lady said no. More clearly, my lady said no. That means she doesn’t want you to touch her, kiss her, or be near her. I shouldn’t have to be within her arm’s reach for assholes like you not to touch her. She said no, and you should have listened. If I see it again, I will beat you within an inch of your life for going against her wishes. Do I make myself clear?” Kayden questioned. He had wasted no time getting straight to the point. His dark voice sent shivers down my spine, and I was very pleased to not have him talking to me like that. I probably would have been in tears after ‘the lady said no.’ If I had to guess, I’d say that’s how Mac was reacting too because he hadn’t moved or made a sound since Kayden basically growled at him. Although Mac’s lack of response was starting to bother Kayden as he let out an angry sigh. “I said, do I make myself clear, Mac?”
“Yeah, yeah you do. Don’t worry, it won’t happen again.”
“Good. Don’t ever touch my girl again—in fact, don’t even look at her. If I see you so much as glancing at her with the intent you just had I will punch you square in the jaw and break it,” he growled before turning back to me. When he looked at me, his face lightened and he took a deep breath to calm down. “Let’s get out of here, Lauren. I think I’ve had enough socializing for a while.” Kayden took my hand in his and led me out, passing by his friends without a word to any of them.
I glanced at each person as Kayden and I walked past. Some girls flashed a sympathetic glance, because the word no hadn’t been enough to stop him and it could have been worse if Kayden hadn’t stepped in. Others glared at me with disdain and spite, but I ignored them as best as I could because there was something on my mind. There was one thing I couldn’t get out of my mind; the tingle on my lips. It had been there ever since his lips landed on mine, and didn’t seem to be leaving anytime soon.
Chapter 19
Party Pooper
As promised, Kayden didn’t waste any time getting out of there when we decided it was time to leave. He shuffled us out of the party, and completely ignored anyone who tried to talk to him on our way out. He didn’t even talk to me until after I was safely in the car. I would have thought he was being kind, gentlemanly, but as Kayden watched everyone who exited the house like a hawk, I knew he was trying to protect me.
I waited until he shut the door before I started crying. Everything had happened so fast I hadn’t had time to react. The shots, Mac’s advances, his strong grip on my arm that I thought would leave a bruise, and then Kayden’s rescue. That was the only good thing that had come of this party. He called me his lady, not woman or girlfriend as a boyfriend would typically do, but he said it on instinct. He wasn’t in the role of our charade and that made it special, but it didn’t stop the realization of what could have happened.
Kayden tensed momentarily when he saw me crying, but he eventually got in and sped off. He took a much safer approach to driving since I was already upset. I guess he thought pushing his luck and playing around now would only make things worse. While he drove his hand rested on my knee and he whispered to me that he would be here for me and it was all going to be okay.
“Just relax, Lauren. We’ll be back home soon and you can take as much time as you need to calm down.” He rubbed my leg lightly in an attempt to comfort me. Normally when he did that to a girl it would have different underlying reasons, but with his eyes switching between the road and my tear-stained face, I knew he wasn’t doing it to win any sexual favors. If I didn’t know him better, I’d say he actually cared about me.
I was about to speak when another flash of Mac’s advances popped into my mind. The crying continued as he drove and the entire time I knew he was worried about me. He had dragged me to that party and for what? He knew what could have happened, and even though Mac never got far enough to try anything else, I think that worried Kayden. He had promised it was going to be a good time, and I ended up in tears. Though his anger had faded instantly after confronting Mac, and his full attention went to me, he felt bad, but honestly he shouldn’t. It wasn’t anyone’s fault except Mac’s.
I took a few breaths to calm down before I tried speaking again. I placed my hand on Kayden’s to get his attention, and when his eyes met mine I could see the pain and guilt written across his face. “I can’t go home like this,” was all I managed to say before I started to cry again.
Kayden nodded quickly. “We can go to my house. It’s not a problem, and you can stay as long as you want.” Before I could respond Kayden turned around to hea
d for his house. He didn’t say anything else as he drove, but he didn’t let go of my hand. I tried to move it away to wipe the tears off my face, but he held onto it tightly and refused to let go.
I smiled as I wiped the tears away with my other hand, and he relaxed. The gesture probably meant little to him, but it meant the world to me. Just like his kiss, which I could still feel on my lips. I’m still surprised he had done it, especially when he looked so livid when he stood in front of me. I was thankful his anger had been directed at Mac instead of me, but the kiss still confused me. Now just wasn’t the time to bring it up. I could barely make a whole sentence before I started to bawl again; it would just have to wait until later.
We pulled up to his house a few moments later, and once the car was off he turned his full attention to me again. The sigh that escaped his lips told me he was just as upset as I was that tonight had been ruined. I thought he would start talking about it right then and there, but instead he took a different route.
“Let’s get you inside. I’ll grab you some water and some sweats to change into and we can relax for a while. I want you to be calm before you go home,” he said as he reached his hand up to caress my face. His fingers touched first before he relaxed his hand to cup around the features of my face. His thumb lightly rubbed my cheek, removing some of the tears as it moved.
A sigh escaped my lips as I relaxed into his touch, the tears slowly stopping. In that moment, I felt as though Kayden and I were the only two people in the world. He was taking care of me, and he didn’t have anything else on his mind except me. The comfort he brought me was amazing, it even rivaled his ability to support me wholeheartedly. I closed my eyes and took in the moment, I never wanted it to pass by, but inevitably it would and soon the Kayden I knew and loathed would return. Though I had to admit, the more time I spent with Kayden the more I realized Parker had been right. He had grown on me, I had let him in and he had wormed his way into my life as something other than a tormentor. He was becoming more than a partner in crime, and that scared me.
Before I could stop myself the moment took hold of my mouth and I blurted out something I should have kept to myself. “I wish you could have met my mom. She would have adored you,” I said, letting a soft smile take over my face. I opened my eyes to see Kayden offer a smile, but there was a sadness in his eyes that told me I had ruined the moment. I had meant it as a sweet sentiment because he was a great guy, no matter how well he hid it before.
“I would have liked to meet her too,” he replied before he pulled away and got out of the car.
When he left my heart ached, I couldn’t believe I had ruined the moment we had been sharing. Why was I such a screw up when it came to guys? Oh, right. It’s because I hadn’t been allowed to date them, and never had any as friends. Poor Kayden, he’d been my first guy friend, and boyfriend; even if it was fake. He made it seem real, especially at the party. I just hoped that I wasn’t imagining things, and that he felt how I did too.
A few seconds later my car door opened to reveal Kayden offering me a hand. “Did you think I was going to leave you in the car?” he questioned with a soft, but genuine smile. “Let’s get you inside.”
I got out with his help, and he wrapped an arm around me to protect me from the cold night air. We quickly raced to the door and he opened it to let me inside first before closing the door behind him. I looked around for his mom, but the house seemed completely deserted. The lights were off except for the few stray lamps in the living room and bedrooms upstairs, judging from the soft glow of light that emanated from the floor above.
“Here,” Kayden said as he handed me a sweatshirt to put on. “I figured it would help you get more comfortable. You can take off the heels anywhere, and we can rest on the couch. My mom is at a work party. She thought I would be gone all night with you, and so did I, but I kind of like having a little alone time with you.” He smiled, causing a familiar heat to resonate on my cheeks. “Come on, I have some explaining to do, and you definitely deserve it after tonight.”
“What do you have to explain? It’s not your fault, Kayden. It’s Mac’s, and no one else’s,” I said as he led me to the couch and we took a seat. I sat down first and he sat down a safe distance away from me, I guess after the last time we were on his couch together he knew I liked my space, but to be honest I wanted to be closer to him. So I moved, and let our legs touch as we rested on the couch.
Kayden smiled as he reached for my hand and squeezed it. “It’s actually not Mac’s fault either. That’s why I have to explain it to you.”
“How isn’t it his fault?” I questioned, completely confused since he committed the actions and Kayden had freaked out on him. “And don’t blame it on the alcohol.”
He laughed lightly, causing my heart to flutter at the sound, and smiled down at me. “Well, the alcohol is partly to blame, but that’s because he had too much. He’ll take responsibility for his actions when he sobers up and remembers what I said to him. While I was mad at him, I was upset because he wasn’t listening to you. Normally he would have backed off, especially with a girl who’s taken.” His hand lightly rubbed my cheek before he sighed and started to speak again. “Those two girls you saw―”
“Alexis and Jamie,” I interrupted. “Yeah, I know them. They’ve hated me for years since I told a teacher where you guys were going off to have sex.”
Kayden let out a booming laugh that resonated around the room. He was practically in tears over the memory, and when he finally came out of it he smiled at me as if he was proud of what I had done, even though I knew at the time he was pissed off. “I completely forgot about that! You’re the reason they haven’t left me alone since then.” He spoke as if he had just had an epiphany. “I never did anything with them because we were caught before it started, and they’ve been after me ever since. That explains it.”
“Explains what?” I questioned, still very confused.
“Jamie and Alexis still have feelings for me,” he said. “I gave up on the idea a long time ago, but I guess they still hold out hope, so every time they hear I have anything close to a girlfriend they try to make her leave.” He rolled his eyes and shook his head in disapproval before he continued. “Though, normally they don’t do it with me in the same room or with other guys. They enjoy scaring the girls away themselves for some reason, but I guess they thought it would be easier to make you leave if a guy, one of my close friends, tried to take advantage of you.”
I gulped at the thought. While things hadn’t escalated quite that high, I always knew it was a possibility at a party where the attendees were drunk out of their minds.
“They got Mac drunk before we even got there, and then convinced him to kiss you.”
“How do you know that? Did they tell you?” I asked curiously. It seemed odd he was able to put that together and know that Alexis and Jamie had manipulated Mac for their own goals. It seemed wrong. Didn’t they have a moral compass or was I the only person left with one?
“It’s happened before,” Kayden said with a shoulder shrug. “They did it thinking I wouldn’t care or would dump you on the spot for cheating. It took me a little while to catch on to their game, but even if I hadn’t I normally would have broken up with those other girls eventually.”
“But not me?” I asked curiously.
Kayden paused, his expression was inscrutable, but I could tell he was trying to find a response. A few moments later he smiled and gave me a quick kiss on the forehead. “Not you,” he said sweetly before he continued. “That would ruin our plan.”
I smiled back at him and simply nodded as he turned the television on and started flipping through the channels. No matter what he said, I knew it was more than just our charade. He wouldn’t have needed to kiss me for it because no one else was here to see it. Clearly Kayden shared my feelings that there was more to this than just an agreement.
Chapter 20
School House Blues
“Don’t worry, Lauren. We can ma
ke this work, but you have to relax or you’ll have a mental breakdown from the anxiety attack you’ll give yourself. Everyone already believes that we’re dating, especially since word spread of what happened at Mac’s party. Now, mostly due to my outburst, no one will mess with you because they don’t want to make me angry. I can’t do everything though, you have to prove to them that you’ve changed. That’s the only way it’s going to stick. You have to want this. Just do your best and we will make it through this without another problem.”
I took a deep breath as Kayden’s words echoed in my mind. I tried to use them as encouragement as I entered the double doors of the school’s main entrance. It was only the second day after coming back from winter break, but I could tell that things were starting to change. Everyone stopped to look at me, a few boys even got slapped by their girlfriends for gawking too long. Maybe it was the sky blue hair that now framed my face, the new clothes, or maybe they were staring because Kayden was publicly holding my hand, ending whatever rumor could be going around that we weren’t actually together. Little did they know that we weren’t and soon we’d fake break up and move on. The more I thought about that day, the more I prayed it never came.
As we walked more people said hello to me than ever before. They chatted with Kayden and me when Kayden stopped to ask a few questions to their friends. No one called me GG, no one commented on the clothes I wore, or the latest rumor about my family. The rude comments about my virginity, moral compass, and dreams were no longer running rampant, and those who had tormented me now acted as though we were friends. I wasn’t sure if it was because I had changed, or if because word of what Kayden had said at the party had spread, but either way the teasing and bullying had stopped. I could now walk through the halls in peace and sit in the front of class without being chastised for it.