I laugh and say "Good luck with that."
Colin speaks into my ear in a whisper. "Maybe she won't be alone in losing her virginity."
I roll my eyes and step out of his embrace. "Yeah? Well, keep dreaming."
I start to walk away as the bell rings for last period. I hear Colin calling after me, but I ignore him.
***
I walk into the classroom and flop into my chair. Sky eyes me cautiously.
"Hey Ari.”
"Hey, Sky." I say with tightness in my voice.
He looks at me warily. “What’s up with you?"
"Nothing."
"Hmm ... You’re lying. I know you better than that. Tell me." He says forcefully.
I groan. "I'll tell you later."
"Okay." Skylar gets up and heads towards the teacher and speaks quietly with him. A few minutes later, he walks back and picks up his book bag.
"Let's go."
"Where are we going?" I ask warily.
He smiles. "To the nurse. You're not feeling well and I'm going to take you to the nurse’s office. I've got the pass to prove it."
"Really Sky," I say as I get up and gather my things. When we're in the hallway, he grabs my hand and links our fingers together. I look up at him, and he stares straight ahead and leads us to the parking lot, directly to his car. He opens the passenger door for me to get in and then he heads to the driver’s side. Once he's in the car, he turns and looks at me. "What is it? I don't like when you're not happy."
I turn away because I can't look into his eyes. It hurts. I still feel the connection with him, but I can't have him. He slips his finger under my chin and turns my face. I'm hit with the most intense eyes I've ever seen. Blue eyes that almost looks gray, even more so now. It looks like a storm is brewing in his eyes. He is breathtakingly stunning, that is the simplest way I can describe him. He has a perfectly defined jaw line. And the most tempting mouth I've ever seen on the opposite sex. He is like a Greek god. Although, it’s not his appearance but something good and pure deep within him that pulls me toward him. Even though I shouldn't be anywhere near him.
"Your girlfriend wants to have sex with you." I say petulantly as I hang my head down so I don’t meet his eyes.
"I see.”
I whisper, "I don't know how I feel about that Sky. I shouldn't feel anything because you both are my friends."
"I know, but you know it's not what I want Ari."
"I know." I look back out the window. "Colin heard her talking about it. Now he has this crazy idea in his head that I'm going to sleep with him too."
He shouts, "Over my dead body Ari! … I'm trying here, I am, but you know better than I do that you should have chosen me. This isn't fair to either of us. We belong together."
"It's too late. Live with it Sky."
"Are you going to sleep with him?" He murmurs.
I look out the window and see a few students laughing. I imagine what it must be like to be them. "I don't love him. But I don't know if I won't."
"I'm in love." I feel my heart shred and a tear slips out of my eye.
"Okay."
"Okay? Just okay?" He murmurs.
"Yeah. What else am I going to say? She's your girlfriend; you are supposed to love her. I can't be mad. I'm not supposed to be." I say defeated.
"Yeah it would have been nice if I was in love with my girlfriend, but I'm not." He croons.
I whip my head around so fast I get whiplash and I stare at Skylar's face.
"Don't." I say in a sharp tone. But I’m angry with myself, not him.
"I can't help it, Ari."
"Please don't Sky. Don't say it, please." I say crying.
"I won't say it to you now because you’re not ready. But I will one day."
Inhaling a deep breath I whisper, "Thank you."
"Yeah, it's no problem. You know I'd do anything for you Ari."
"Yeah. That's why you are such an awesome friend." He flinches at the word friend.
"Yeah, I am." He says with a sad smile. "Let's go get you an ice cream. I think you deserve it."
I laugh. "You are the best. You know that?" I kiss his cheek and he smiles at me.
He looks at me and whispers "You are so worth it Ari."
I don't think I was meant to hear it, so I don't acknowledge it.
***
"I would like a double fudge sundae please, with lots of whip cream." I smile at the waitress as she leaves. I turn back around to see Skylar laughing at me.
"What? I would like to get chocolate-wasted. I deserve it after the year I had." I say with a pout.
He laughs and shakes his head. "Well, if you don't get chocolate-wasted with that, I don't know what will."
"Thanks, smart ass."
"Anytime, doll face." He says with a smirk.
"Really? Doll face? Is that the best you can do?"
He makes a face. "What's wrong with doll face?"
I roll my eyes at him.
"You know if you don't stop rolling your eyes at me it's going to stay like that." He deadpans.
"Whatever, you would still totally love me with crossed eyes, so hush."
"Yeah, I would." I swallow and as I'm about to make a joke of what he said, his phone rings.
"Hey, babe ... Yeah, I'm not at school." I turn away to give him some privacy.
"Yeah, she's here with me. We kind of skipped class. There wasn't anything going on being that it's the last day of school and all … Yeah."
I look back at him and notice that he's staring at me. I pull my phone out to hide from the intensity of his gaze. I notice I have a text from Colin.
Colin: Hey babes. Where you at?
Me: I'm at the diner.
He responds almost immediately.
Colin: Yeah? With who?
Me: I'm with Sky.
Colin: I see.
I don't respond back and tuck my phone away as Skylar hangs up.
"What was that about?" I ask cautiously.
"She got out early and I guess she wanted to hang out." He shrugs
"Then maybe we should head back?"
"Nah, I told her we would meet up later."
Feeling uncomfortable with the situation I say, "Are you sure? Because I don't mind."
He looks me straight in my eye. "I'm where I want to be, with the person I want to be with."
I swallow hard and nod at him because what do you say to a statement like that? A few moments later, the waitress comes back with our orders.
"Oh my gosh, this thing is freaking awesome!"
He laughs and says, "You really do love chocolate don't you?"
"Yup. I'll eat almost anything as long as there is chocolate involved." I grin.
"Anything huh?"
I raise my brow. "Don't get any crazy ideas Montgomery. I know how perverted you can get. "
He bursts out in a fit of laughter. "Really Ari? That's where your mind goes? I was thinking about chocolate covered bugs."
"Oh! My bad." I duck my head in embarrassment.
With a grin on his face he says, "No worries my little perv. It'll be our little secret."
Chapter Nine
Leave Your Lover
Skylar
It's been a few days since the diner. And it seems that Arianna has been avoiding me like the plague. She doesn't answer my calls, text, Skype, nothing. I'm going out of mind missing her. I know she's okay because when I call Rachel, I hear her voice in the background. I understand why she wants to be loyal to Rachel. But, dammit, I can't stomach seeing her with that douche Colin. I think he knows how I feel about her. Because whenever I'm around, he goes into overdrive claiming his stake on her as if she's a piece of meat. But all that does is make me want to go apeshit on his ass. I pace my room, trying to think of a way to get her at least to talk to me. But after ten minutes, I'm in the same place I started. I look out the window and I see Abel washing his car, so I head outside to join him.
"Hey man. What's up?”
"What
do you want Sky?" Abel asks with suspicion.
I grin at him. "How do you know I want something?"
He raises his eyebrow at me expectantly.
"Well, I kind of do want something, but I'm not sure if you'll even want to help." I say guiltily.
He shakes his head. "What do you need?"
"Ari."
He snaps his head up at me. "No. Not happening."
"I just want her to talk to me."
He eyes me as if I just told him I’m about to kidnap her. "What did you do? Why is she not talking to you?"
"I'm not sure. We hung out a few days ago and everything seemed fine. I don't know what's wrong. She's been ignoring me ever since."
Abel leans against his car and folds his arms. "Shouldn't you be more worried about your girlfriend?"
I become annoyed at the whole situation so I lose my cool. I begin to shout at Abel. "You knew from the beginning it was Ari I wanted to be with, so don't bullshit me okay. She doesn't want to be with me like that because of Rachel. But we promised to be friends. So I'm being a friend and I'm trying to find out why she's mad at me. That's it!"
He sighs. "Fine. You know Mike is having a party tonight. Colin said she's going with him so maybe you can catch her there and you guys can ... talk. But I'm warning you if you hurt her I will put you in the hospital."
"Point taken."
***
I've been at the party for over thirty minutes and I still haven't seen Ari arrive yet. I begin to think she isn't coming. But then I get this electric shock that seems to be aimed straight at my heart. I look up and begin to search the room, and there she is, walking in through the front door. Unfortunately, with Colin draping all over her like he's an accessory. She's wearing a pair of snug jeans that show off her glorious curves and a simple tank top. Even in such an understated outfit, she's the most beautiful person at the party. I move to go toward her when I feel a hand on my elbow; when I look back I see it’s Abel.
"Don't man. Wait until she's alone." I grit my teeth and just nod.
A few minutes later, I see Rachel walk in and, if I weren't a man in love, I would have fallen to my knees. Unlike Ari who’s dressed modestly, Rachel is in a pair of short shorts that should be considered illegal, and a super low-cut, tight sweater. On her feet, she is wearing some killer boots that make her legs look a mile long. Even with all this, she's still not the one my heart beats for. Once she spots me, she heads straight for me.
I mumble under my breath. "Great."
"Why are you complaining, bro? Every guy at the party wishes, they were you right now."
I turn in the direction that Colin took Ari. "Not everyone."
"Dude you have to back off. They're together, man."
I whisper, "I know."
Rachel walks up to me and plants a kiss on my mouth. "Hey baby."
"Hey yourself."
Rachel beams at me. Then she turns to Abel. "Hey Abel."
"What's up with you Rachel?” He holds his hand up as she is about to respond. “Don’t answer that, I'll see you guys later." And he disappears into the sea of bodies.
"Sky?"
"Hmm."
"Do you want to dance?" She asks expectantly.
"Uh, sure."
I spend the next ten minutes on the dance floor with Rachel dancing. Surprisingly, I have a good time. I haven't forgotten the task at hand. I know if I don't wait for the perfect timing, it will blow up in my face. The dance floor is getting more crowded and I'm beginning to feel hot.
Over the music I shout, "Do you want something to drink?"
Leaning into me Rachel says, "Sure babes."
I head toward the kitchen in the hope of finding something to drink. But what I see is Colin engaged in an intense game of beer Ping-Pong. But what gets me to stop in my tracks is that Ari is nowhere in sight. I scan the whole kitchen and she's not there. So I step outside on the back deck, and I see her sitting on the steps alone.
"Hey, stranger."
She whips her head back, startled by my voice. "What are you doing out here?"
"I can ask you the same question."
She lowers her gaze. "Well, if you must know. I can't stand to be around a bunch of drunken idiots high off testosterone and filled with alcohol."
"Well, if you put it that way ..." She laughs and turns to continue to stare at the sky.
"Why are you ignoring me, Ari?”
"I'm not."
I pull her hair and say, "Yeah, you are. What did I do?"
She looks at me with sad eyes. "You didn't do anything Sky. That's the problem."
“What are you talking about?" I ask confused.
"That day at the diner ... It was too much for me to handle. I like you. I like you a lot more than I should. You are one of my closest friends. But, when you smile at me with those intense eyes and those beautiful dimples, I sometimes wish you were more. But I know that it can never happen."
I hold my breath because of the emotion in her voice. I want to know why, but I'm afraid to ask. But I do it anyways. "Why, Ari? Why can't we just be together?"
"B-because she loves you, and I love her. I have no family left. I can't betray her like that. Please don't ask me to!" She says with tears in her voice.
"Does she love you?"
"Y-yes! We've been best friends since we were in the womb. How can you ask me that?" She says with an intense passion.
"Then if she loves you, she would want you to be happy. She would want you to be with someone who would take care of you. Someone who would give themselves to you—mind, body and soul."
"But what if she wants the same thing with you? What then?"
"She can't have my heart, Ari. No one can. It already belongs to you!"
"But it shouldn't Sky. It's wrong because she's my best friend, and you've become my best friend too."
"It has always been you, Ari. You chose Colin. You chose Rachel. Not me. Now I'm asking you to choose me. I'm right here in front of you. Choose me Arianna!" I shout.
She looks at me with so much pain and confusion. I want to ease her pain and give up, but I'm too selfish to give up on her. Tears begin to stream down her face. Even crying she's beautiful, and I have the urge to kiss all her tears away. But I can't because she's not mine.
"Sky."
"Yeah Ari."
"I felt it."
I eye her and with caution, I ask, "Felt what?"
She sighs and says, "I felt the pull, the connection that night when I first met you. It scared me. Then she said she saw you and was interested. So I let it go hoping that the connection I felt with you would lessen or just go away. But it seems to have grown. It's consuming me. I can't think or function anymore. All I see is you!"
"Say it Ari."
She shakes her head. "I can't because if I do I can't take it back, and I'm scared."
"I'm here with you. You don't have to be afraid. Just say it. Please!" I beg.
"I ..."
"You what Ari?" I ask hopeful.
Her face twists with raw emotions. "I ... Love you Sky. I think I've loved you since I first saw you, but I didn't realize it then. I'm sorry I've made such a mess of things ... but I do love you!"
I pull her into my arms and let her cry onto my chest, as I whisper to her how much I love her.
Chapter Ten
Good Kisser
Arianna
I lay on Skylar's chest underneath the stars crying silently. I feel like I'm about to enter the unknown. It feels good to be in his arms even though it shouldn't. He's not mine and I don't see how he can be, no matter how much we love each other. I stand up abruptly severing the connection I felt in Sky's arms.
"We can't do this Sky." I whisper
"Yes we can. You know we can. Why are you fighting this so much?"
"So what are we supposed to do? Just break it off with our significant others and just be with each other? Are you crazy?"
He runs his hand through his hair. "Why can't we do that?"
&nb
sp; "Do you not know Rachel? Do you think she'll give you up so easily? Do you think she'll forgive me for this betrayal?"
"I know it won't be easy, Ari. But once everyone sees how much we love each other, they'll understand. They'll eventually accept it."
"Let me sleep on it. Please Sky." I beg.
He stands up abruptly and kisses my forehead. "Okay pretty girl, you know I'll do anything you ask."
"Thank you."
We hear the door open and Rachel comes staggering out. "Where were you? You said you went to get something to drink and you never came back." She whines.
He looks at me and says, "I was busy."
Rachel looks from me to Sky as if she knows what was going on. "Doing what?"
"Talking to Ari ..."
"So you leave me, to go talk to Ari? ... I don't get that?” She says angrily.
His face hardens to an expression I’ve never seen before. "What's there to get?"
She takes a step closer to Skylar and nearly face-plants on the deck. Luckily, Sky catches her in time. He sniffs her breath. "Are you drunk Rachel?"
She pushes him away and shouts. "What is it to you? You seem to pay attention to Ari more than me?"
I suck in a breath. "What are you talking about Rachel?"
She glowers at me. "You both think I'm stupid. You think I don't see the way you guys look at each other? Or that Sky is only happy to be around when you’re there. I mean he doesn't even want to have sex with me ... Why are you even with me?"
I open my mouth to respond, but Skylar cuts me off by shaking his head.
With a quiet soothing voice Skylar says, "You're drunk Rachel. We can talk about this tomorrow when you're sober."
"What's the point? It doesn't matter because I know what you're going to say. You're going to choose her over me.” She drops to the ground rocking back and forth mumbling to herself.
Concerned I say, “I need to get her home, and I don't have a license yet. Colin has drunk himself into oblivion. Ugh ... I'll ask Abel."
"I'll drop you guys home. It's not that far from my house."
I shake my head. "I don't know if that's a good idea."
He looks at me with a determined gleam in his eyes. "I'm not letting you get into anyone else's car Ari."
The Introduction: Undying Love #1 Page 4