CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
LUNA
The day flew by much too fast. Being with Casper had a way of doing that. I found myself enjoying his company. Wanting to be with him. It helped that he was crazy good in bed, but there was so much more to him than that.
He was a mystery built with layers that I wanted to keep peeling back.
To discover what else lie beneath. Maybe it shouldn’t have turned me on.
However, watching him beat the shit out of the guy who held a knife to my throat was insanely hot.
I hadn’t thought I would be able to get on board with the kind of life he lived.
No doubt it still scared me. Yet I was also coming to accept it as part of him.
After breakfast with Codie and Stray, Casper showered and changed before taking me to the dorm so I could do the same. Once I was fresh and ready for what remained of the day, we went to catch an afternoon movie before having dinner in one of the nicer restaurants.
It all felt like a dream. Like everything was going so perfectly. As much as I wanted to tune out the rest of the world and live in the moment, the continuous text messages and calls from Jace made that difficult.
I kept my phone on silent, not wanting his constant harassment to draw Casper’s attention. Most of Jace’s messages were pathetic attempts to get me to reply. They soon became threats. He warned me that if I was with anyone else, he would stop at nothing to make me his again.
While we had dinner, I wrestled with the decision to tell Casper about Jace. He knew of his existence, although that was about it. Once I told him, some things would change. I worried that Casper would want to see Jace for himself. Maybe to even hurt him.
His devotion to protecting me made me feel special, and I didn’t want him to feel like he had to do it. Jace had been locked up for quite some time. Still, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t try to hurt Casper. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if that happened.
The party at the graveyard was well underway when we arrived. Two campus guys were in the middle of a ring of people throwing punches at one another. I wasn’t sure there had ever been a single graveyard party that didn’t include a fight or three.
Two fires in pits had been started to keep people warm. The church wasn’t heated, but it had power and provided a break from the elements. Tonight the air was cold, holding the bitter sting of the coming winter. Nothing that a cozy hoodie wouldn’t help.
Since I knew we’d be outside tonight, I’d worn pants instead of a dress.
A pink pair with a fuzzy lining. I had originally thrown on a sweater decorated with stars and moons.
The material was thin, though, and when Casper noticed me shivering on the way from the restaurant to the car, he insisted I take his hoodie.
While I snuggled into his thick black hoodie, he wore only a T-shirt and jeans, seemingly oblivious to the cold temperature.
I love the way his hoodie smelled like him. Little puffs of his scent wafting around me every time I moved. As we crossed the churchyard to the back where the party was, Casper held my hand tightly. His warmth emanating through me.
I may have been more than a little smitten.
There was something about him I simply couldn’t resist. I was afraid to let myself think too far ahead.
One day at a time was probably the safer bet.
Admitting to myself how head over heels I was for him proved difficult.
Instead, I simply grinned at him like an idiot.
After fetching us each a drink from the stash in the church, Casper and I stood near one of the fires. Close enough to feel the heat rolling off the flames. All it took was one kiss for us to forget everything.
Our lips locked, our tongues entangled. I fisted a handful of his T-shirt while he devoured my mouth. We engaged in a full on makeout session, not caring who saw. We were hardly the only ones engaged in such behavior. All around us people were hooking up and sneaking off into the woods for a screw.
“Planning to come up for air any time soon?” Rebel’s voice came from behind us. “Sorry to interrupt, dude, but we have some business to discuss.” To me, Rebel asked, “Do you mind if I steal him for a few minutes? I promise to give him back.”
Casper shot his friend the darkest of glares. Rebel merely smirked, nodding his head for Casper to follow him into the church.
“It’s cool,” I said. “Go ahead and do what you need to do. Come find me when you’re finished.”
As the guys wandered off to do their thing, the girls and I hung out together. Catching up on gossip and the latest news in our lives. Ripley had managed to take off work early so she could be there with us.
Athena’s wandering eye was all over the place.
She studied the two guys still scrapping.
Letting out a low whistle, she said, “Damn, I can’t decide which one of them is hotter.
Think they’d be up for a sandwich with me in the middle?
Maybe I can help them make peace. Unless you want one, Ripley.
It’s been a while for you, hasn’t it? What do you say we go offer them some comfort after the fight? ”
She gave Ripley a playful nudge, knocking Ripley’s purse off her shoulder. It hit the ground, spilling out some of the contents. A marijuana vape fell out onto the crunchy yellow grass along with a lipstick, a packet of tissue, and a bottle of pills.
Ripley snatched up the pill bottle, quick to stuff it back into her purse before grabbing the rest of her things. “Sure, Athena. Sounds good. Let’s do that.”
I exchanged a look with Codie who shrugged. Ripley hadn’t said anything to us about taking pills for anything. Maybe it was none of our business. The panicked way she’d stuffed them back in her bag made me curious.
Athena wasn’t quite as tactful as the rest of us. Nodding to Ripley’s bag, she asked, “What’s with the pills? Is something wrong?”
Ripley tucked a lock of blonde hair behind an ear, a nervous tell she’d always had. “It’s not important. Just some leftovers from when I tweaked my back at work. Sometimes it still bothers me.”
“Oh damn, that sucks.” Athena shrugged it off, accepting the answer and moving on. “They work you way too hard at that place. Have you considered trying something else?”
While Ripley complained about how hard it was to find a decent job in this town, the rest of us did our best to be encouraging.
While living with her mom, she’d had to work way too many hours in order to pay rent and bills.
Now that she was living with Athena, her costs were lower.
Also having student loans for school, she still needed a steady income.
“This conversation is far too depressing for a party.” Ripley plastered a smile on her face, raising her drink. “I didn’t come here to wallow. Let’s have some fun.”
She tossed back her drink in two swallows and went in search of another. Since we had a rule about sticking together, unless one of us was with a guy, Athena went with her.
“That was weird, right?” Storm asked, wrinkling her nose. “I know I’m still the new one to the group but that felt weird.”
I nodded, watching Ripley and Athena disappear into the crowd. “Yeah, there was something off about that whole situation. Ripley has always been a bit secretive. For the longest time, none of us knew her mom was treating her so badly.”
“I’m sure it’s nothing.” Codie snuggled deeper into the heavy faux fur jacket she wore. “Does anyone else think it’s an absolute crime that these drinks are cold? It’s too chilly for that shit. We need some coffee with a heavy shot of Baileys.”
Storm briskly rubbed her hands together before shoving them into her hoodie pocket. “That actually sounds really good. Where can we get some?”
They chatted back and forth about finding something hot to drink. I was barely paying attention. Instead, I stood there, frozen in stunned silence. This couldn’t be happening. Not here. Not now.
Breaking free from the crowd, walking toward me with a swagger in his step and evil in his eyes, was Jace. He held a beer in one hand. Like most of us, he wore pants and a hoodie, the hood pulled up. A glimpse of the ugly skull tattoo on his throat was visible.
Suddenly, I couldn’t breathe. I stood there dumbfounded as he strolled right up to me.
With a cocky smirk, Jace said, “Hey, babe. Miss me?”