Matt had been furious when I first showed up with Damien at my side instead of Brooke. He even threw a little fit about how I had said I wouldn’t tell anyone that he was gay, but then Chase had reminded him that I hadn’t promised that at all. Instead I had avoided saying that I promised and had danced around the answer until Matt had given up.
“Just kiss her and pretend that you’re kissing me,” Chase offered.
Matt rolled his eyes. “How am I supposed to do that when she’s so thin, and when I pull her close to me her boobs press against me?”
I stifled a laugh at his words. Any straight guy would have loved to have been in Matt’s shoes. Especially if he got to kiss an attractive girl repeatedly and have her body pressed against him, but Matt sounded like he’d rather volunteer to run in front of a bus.
“Then, don’t pull me close. You must really not like girls, Matt. Considering other gay guys have kissed girls before and not complained this much.”
“I’ve kissed a girl before!” Matt yelled, throwing his hands up in exasperation. “Make that two including you, and each time has been horrible.”
“Hey, I bet I’m a better kisser than Chase is,” I replied, pointing a finger at Chase who scoffed in disagreement.
Matt shook his head. “I’ve kissed you both and I gotta say, Chase has you beat.”
Chase raised an eyebrow at me, to which I returned a glare. His smug look vanished quickly and he gave me a soft smile. It was hard to stay mad at him considering all that he was doing to help Matt and me.
“That’s not fair though because you like boys and you date him, of course you’re going to say that he wins,” I stated as I turned back to Matt.
Damien smiled at me, his dark eyes watching the exchange with amusement filling them. “I think Jade’s a pretty good kisser. I’ll trade places with you Matt, because let’s be honest, if you were straight, I’d be furious that you got to kiss this girl and didn’t like it.”
“That’s because I am a good kisser,” I said, only acknowledging the part of his statement that was going to support me in this debate.
Matt and Chase exchanged a pointed look before turning back to us. “Hold on, let me get this right. You two, future stepsiblings, have kissed before?” Chase questioned curiously.
Matt, Damien, and I nodded. Chase looked between us in shock; Matt must not have told him that detail on why I was blackmailing him. “Well this just gets more interesting by the minute,” Chase stated.
I nodded in agreement. “You don’t know the half of it.”
“Feel free to enlighten me. I think Matt needs a break from the kissing anyway. Poor guy looks like he’s about to die,” Chase pouted as he looked at Matt. One glance at Matt’s wide-eyed face was all we needed to verify Chase’s words.
I looked over at Damien, and when our eyes met, I couldn’t control the blush that crept onto my cheeks. It was as if his gaze itself had the power to set off butterflies inside of me and make my skin tingle in anticipation of his touch. What was this boy doing to me?
“Do you want to explain, or should I?” Damien asked.
I shrugged my shoulders, taking a seat on Matt’s bed next to Chase and leaving Matt standing in the middle of the floor with his arms crossed. He looked like an angry puppy. He was mad, but it was more cute and funny than anything else.
“You can,” I said with a dismissive wave of my hand.
“Okay. Basically, Jade and I were out on a moonlit walk for our first date, and Jade just randomly grabs me and shoves her tongue down my throat. Somehow my mom, who’s the senator by the way, got pictures of us kissing, and now if Jade messes up again she’s getting sent to Mexico to live with her grandmother who barely even speaks English and has an obsession with clown dolls.”
My eyes were wide and my mouth was hung open in shock at the lies that Damien had packed into merely two sentences.
“What?” Chase questioned in confusion.
I rolled my eyes at Damien who was smirking over at me. “There is no way that you believed that filth.”
Chase shook his head. “Not at all.”
Matt smiled. “I may be a jock, but I wasn’t born yesterday. It’s obvious that Jade’s grandmother doesn’t live in Mexico and most likely speaks fluent English.”
I nodded my head. “She lives in Ohio, and yes, she is fluent in English.”
“The clown thing is a bit weird though,” Matt stated. Damien busted out laughing, while Chase just shook his head, and I slapped my hand to my head.
“She’s not obsessed with clowns either. Everything Damien said was a lie. That’s just what he wanted to happen. What really happened is that we broke into a house, then kissed so that we didn’t seem suspicious. Then we got home to see that Damien’s mom had pictures of us kissing because her publicist got them from the paparazzi or whatever. Now, if I don’t clean up my act, I’m getting sent to Ohio to live with my grandmother.”
Chase nodded in understanding. “So that’s where Matt comes in?”
“Yep, he’s supposed to make my parents think that I’ve found a nice guy who’s a good influence on me and has made me change my ways. As well as help further convince them that nothing’s going on between me and Damien.”
“Yeah, I’m just a pawn in this web of deceit.” Matt sighed, shaking his head.
Damien clapped his hands together. “Let’s get back to work now.”
“Okay,” I responded, hopping down from the bed and heading back over to stand in front of Matt, who looked down at me with a frown on his face.
“This time Jade, how about you try and take control of the kiss, and Matt you just go with it.”
Matt leaned down toward me and I tossed my arms up over his shoulders lightly. I pulled his face down to mine considering how tall he was, and I slowly leaned in to press my lips to his. Once our lips met, I began to kiss him with all I had. He kissed me back hesitantly, his lips following my every action and allowing me to take control. I pulled his body closer to mine, pressing up against his hard chest. The way Matt’s lips moved in sync with mine was nice, sweet even, but I couldn’t pull myself away from comparing it to my kiss with Damien.
I liked how Damien took control and held my body to his, while Matt just placed his hands at my waist so lightly that they barely even felt like they were there. I pulled Matt closer to me, pressing my chest right up against his only to feel him stiffen a bit. Suddenly I remembered how he didn’t like when my boobs pressed on him and I broke off the kiss, laughing. The guys each gave me a quizzical look, confused by my laughter.
“That was good guys,” Damien spoke. “You know, until Jade ruined it.”
“Sorry,” I mumbled.
“It seemed real, but it also looked like Matt was afraid of kissing her,” Chase pointed out.
“Yeah just a bit forced, and not enough like you two are a loving couple,” Damien said in agreement. “Try it again?”
“I think that was good enough,” Matt said, groaning a bit. “Besides, new couples are always a bit awkward, and I don’t like public displays of affection anyway.”
Damien tapped his finger on Matt’s wooden desk as he said, “Just once more, and make us all believe that you like girls.”
“Yeah, even me,” I added.
“I don’t understand what you want me to do. I’ve kissed her like twenty times already, and I thought the first one was just as good as that last one was. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.”
Damien smirked, his eyes flickering to me for a second. “I can give you an example if you like?” My eyes widened as Damien stood up, offering Matt his chair. “Take a seat, and watch the master at work.”
“Yeah, watch me work,” I said in a teasing tone.
“Well, aren’t you sassy?” Damien joked, coming to stand in front of me.
“Sassy is my best quality.”
“I beg to differ,” Damien mumbled, leaning into me. His gaze lowered from mine and down to my lips. “First thing you have to d
o is get close to her, like this. Close enough that from far away it looks like you’re kissing.” Damien placed one hand on my lower back, and brought the other up to cup my cheek. “You should be able to feel her breath on your lips.”
As he said this, I felt his warm breath tickle my lips. His voice had grown a bit huskier at our close proximity and I couldn’t deny that it was affecting me just like he wanted it to.
“You should hold her like you’ll never let anything happen to her. Like your one job in life is to keep her safe.” His hand that was on my lower back, slipped under my shirt and I could feel it’s warmth as it left tingles shooting through my body.
“Damien.” I sighed breathily as his lips inched closer to mine.
“You should be completely focused on the kiss. Nothing is more important to you than having her all to yourself. In this moment, the only thing that matters is the two of you. You protect her, and she protects you in a mutual passion, but in some cases you fight each other for dominance during the kiss. You relish each moment with her as if it was your last, and she’ll snap to her senses at any moment and leave you. You take your time and let the kiss go where it’s meant to,” Damien finished, just moments before his lips slammed to mine.
His muscular arms wrapped around me, our bodies pressed together as the desire to be closer to each other was overwhelming. I pushed my body against his, tangling my fingers in his soft hair to hold his lips to mine. Our kiss was once again powered by lust and craving. The way our lips molded together in perfect sync was only fueling my need further. I wanted more and so did he.
His tongue traced over my bottom lip asking for entrance and I gave it to him without any hesitation. I heard a moan escape from his lips as our tongues intertwined. His arms tightened around my body as he moved me slightly to push me against the desk. His lips never left mine as he lifted me with ease and placed me on the desk. I felt the carnal need and desire flow between us as we let the kiss continue. He slipped his other hand under my shirt and slowly moved up to unhook my bra until someone cleared their throat to stop us.
“Whoa, stop. I didn’t sign up to watch straight porn happen on my desk!” Matt called out as Damien left a lingering kiss on my lips before helping me off the desk.
“I would say sorry, but I’m definitely not,” Damien stated with a smirk as he looked back at me.
“And I’m most definitely not doing that,” Matt countered as he sat down next to Chase and gave him a kiss that was simple and sweet.
“Now why couldn’t you do that with Jade half an hour ago? We could have been gone and that whole scene could have been with me and her alone,” Damien stated, throwing his hands into the air in frustration.
“Because she’s an awful kisser, just apparently not to you,” Matt said with a knowing smile as he looked between us.
“Well, now that Damien was so kind to give you a demonstration. Let’s take it for a spin,” I said in order to prevent a repeat of this argument and prevent another make out session that had almost become something else. I tried to stop a smile from curving my lips upward as Damien’s eyes returned to mine. Boy, I could use a glass of cold water right now
Chapter 14
“God I hate thongs,” Brooke groaned, wiggling her body awkwardly. Her blonde hair was pulled up into a high ponytail that seemed to be sparkling under the school’s fluorescent lights. We were next to my locker; Brooke looking miserable, while I dug around in search of my English notebook.
“So then why do you wear them?” I replied, having no sympathy for my naive best friend. I just didn’t understand why she buys and wears underwear that she doesn’t feel comfortable in and then complains about it.
Brooke rolled her blue eyes, giving me an annoyed look. “I’ve told you this before.”
“Yeah, yeah. You hate panty lines and thongs make your butt look nice. I still don’t see why you’re wearing one today. You have on jeans, and you aren’t hooking up with anyone.” I reached to the back of my locker, pulling out a science textbook for my last class, then deciding that I didn’t want to have to carry it around and shoved it back inside.
“Maybe I am hooking up with someone.” Brooke winked, causing me to stop what I was doing and raise an eyebrow at her.
“Who?”
She bit her lip.
“Tell me,” I groaned. “Is it someone new?”
She smiled and shrugged her shoulders.
“Spill it, Brooklyn.”
Brooke glared at me for using her full name. “Geez, calm down. I was only kidding. I wore one because the rest of my clothes are in the laundry. All I have are these stupid thongs.”
I laughed as she crossed her arms over her chest. She looked like a kid who had just been told that Christmas was cancelled this year.
“I gotta get to class,” she mumbled.
“I’m surprised you’re going.”
She shrugged her shoulders again. “Hey, well, you know what they say; expect the unexpected.” With those words, she turned and made her way down the hallway.
I couldn’t help but to laugh as she wiggled her butt awkwardly in obvious discomfort. Shaking my head, I turned back and shut my locker door.
Afterward I slid the books into my bag and turned to head toward class but was instantly stopped as I ran straight into a body. “Hey, sweetheart,” I heard Matt say through gritted teeth.
“Well, glad to see you’re getting into the spirit of things,” I stated with a smirk as Chase came up behind him.
“I convinced him that this is really the best thing for him to do, so he’s fully on board now. Just take it easy on him for a while,” Chase pleaded as he gave me a soft smile.
“Are you ready for our role-playing to begin?” I asked with a wink as Chase and I laughed together at Matt’s sullen expression.
“I hate this already,” he growled under his breath.
“You have to act like we’re madly in love, Matt. Otherwise no one is going to believe that I’m the girl who made you go straight,” I said with a smile to let him know I was kidding about the going straight part. Although I was serious that we had to act like we were madly in love or no one would believe that I was the girl who finally got his attention.
“That’s not funny,” he growled as he glared deep into my eyes. “Just tell me what I have to do in order to get this over with.”
“That sounds like a lovely way to look at this.”
“You mean you blackmailing me? That’s how I look at it,” Matt stated, glaring deeply into my eyes. I felt awful for what I was doing to him; forcing him to date me knowing that he was miserable. It made me feel awful because he was right, he played the part of the straight guy well, and now I was making it worse.
“Look, we don’t have to do this for that long,” I stated. “I just need to stay, and I’m sorry I have to use you to do it. It just made sense to have you and you were the only one everyone agreed on. Even Damien agreed, and he was certain the plan would fail when it was first mentioned. As soon as everyone believes that I’ve changed, we can stage a huge break up.”
“Gee, I wonder why Damien agreed on having a gay man be your faux beau,” Chase whispered with a chuckle.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked curiously as I looked between the smiling couple. It was as if they knew something I didn’t.
“It’s nothing; now please tell me what I have to do today. I want to get this over with,” Matt stated.
“It’s simple. You just walk me to class and kiss me before you leave. Then you don’t have to see me for the rest of the day,” I explained as I caught a glimpse of Matt’s disgusted face. It looked like he was about to be sick, or that he’d still opt for the bus hitting him. “Just come with me,” I ordered as I slipped my hand into his and started to walk.
I heard Chase laugh as Matt’s face contorted until he took a deep breath and offered a small smile at me. “This better work,” he whispered, as he grew nervous. Everyone was watching us in awe and shock,
and I could tell Matt didn’t like having this kind of attention on him.
I led him to my class as Chase cut off toward his and left us to fend for ourselves. We could hear everyone whispering, gossiping about us. I knew that when people saw us together it would cause a slight uproar, but even for me this was a little too much. The whispers only grew as we neared my classroom. Everyone was waiting to see if we would kiss or hug goodbye; this was it. I heard him sigh as we came to a stop outside my classroom. Silently I was praying that he didn’t have the same look of dismay that he had given Chase and me earlier. That would be a dead giveaway that we weren’t a real couple and I needed this to last a lot longer to make it work for my plans.
“Just take a deep breath and let it happen. Make it believable,” I stated, reiterating what Damien had told him yesterday before we went out to the park to practice more before our debut as a couple. I could still remember Chase offering to kiss Damien, since Damien apparently looked upset about being left out. Until yesterday, I don’t think Damien had ever turned down a kiss.
He leaned in slightly; I could hear his heart beating rapidly as he knew people were stopping to stare at us. If I didn’t know any better I would have thought that he was just nervous to kiss his new girlfriend, but I knew he was trying to figure out a way not to be disgusted with himself after. I couldn’t really be that bad of a kisser. I knew that kissing me wasn’t so terrible for him, but the thought of kissing me when he’s with Chase, and not being true to himself, may play a role in why he got so grossed out afterward.
“Just kiss me,” I whispered as I stood on my tiptoes and let our lips meet. I could feel the tension in his lips as he kissed back. Before it got too awkward for him, as it had done at his house, I fell back onto my feet and let our lips come apart slowly.
Crush: A YA Romance Collection Page 10