Chapter 15 #2
A big oak tree decorated with fairy lights dazzled in a peaceful little corner. A porch swing stood out on the lawn, and scattered on the ground were an array of cushions and . . . books? The scent of freshly planted roses and violets enveloped us.
“Did you do this for me?” Incredulously, I clutched my heart.
“I thought you might like to get away from the chaos. So I created an alternative.”
“It’s beautiful. Really, Will.”
I turned around in a circle to admire the spectacle of lights.
“June.” Despite all my romantic expectations, William was sitting on the porch swing looking worried. “I have to talk to you about something.”
I was startled, but sat next to him. “Okay.”
His nervousness was palpable, so it certainly wasn’t the right moment to think about how the damn dress was clinging to my butt cheeks and I couldn’t do anything about it.
“We have to talk about something serious. But first I want to do something because if I don’t do it now, I might never get another chance,” he said, confusing me as he lowered his head and took a deep breath.
“What do you mean?”
“There are some things you don’t know, June.”
I had an inkling.
“About me,” he added.
“About you?” I raised both eyebrows.
“Yeah. And I’m scared that if you found out . . .”
I was so focused that I forgot how to breathe and blink.
“What?”
William leaned his head toward me. “That maybe you wouldn’t . . .”
In the dark, the glint in his eyes elicited an emotion in me that I’d never felt before.
I held my breath as his lips softly grazed mine. It was a soft, delicate kiss. The only kiss I’d ever gotten in my life. We pulled away from each other abruptly, as if there was a spark between our lips that was too intense to bear.
I instinctively closed my eyes, and he kissed me again. But this time it was a real kiss. I opened my lips and collided with the sweetness of his, our tongues mingling. I felt my shoulders shake, my stomach tingle, and my knees go weak.
Silence surrounded us, broken only by our panting.
“You can tell me whatever you want, Will,” I whispered.
But the moment of peace didn’t last long because suddenly we heard a scream. I turned and saw a group by the pool. The girls, some of whom were in bikinis, were dancing; others had revealing dresses on. They were painted bright colors that glowed in the dark.
“Oh, no. James and his obsession with body painting,” groaned William, annoyed.
And obviously Hunter was there too.
I tried to lower my gaze but his physique was too darn perfect, even in that moment full of colors and lights.
I stared at him breathlessly. I didn’t know what was getting me so worked up.
His abs seemed to burst out from under his skin.
I noticed that his face was still a little black and blue, and he had a few bruises on his body, but it didn’t look like the girls cared at all.
One was breathing down his neck, immersed in the curve of his neck, as if she wanted to suck in his scent.
“Quiet time’s over,” announced William, watching his friend.
“You’re so different . . .”
I was telling him, or maybe myself.
“You know, June.” William’s reflective tone clashed with the nearby chatter.
“I was scared of James in elementary school. He always acted like a bully, the typical extrovert who was always angry. Every time I had to go to school, I hoped I didn’t run into him in the hallways.
I was shy and clumsy, and he wasn’t scared of anyone.
The truth is that I wanted to be like him.
Everyone at school respected him. Even the teachers loved him, even though he made them lose their patience. ”
“Really? They lost their patience with him? I’m shocked,” I grumbled.
“I’m not a saint, June, but you have no idea how many times James made me lose it. He does it to his dad, his friends, to women. But you end up loving him anyway. And he’s the most generous person I know.”
“He suffers from main character syndrome,” I said.
“You could say that. James doesn’t know what danger is.”
Because he’s insane, I thought to myself even as I was unable to tear my eyes away from him.
I watched as James raised a bottle of beer to his mouth and chugged the contents.
His Adam’s apple moved quickly as he downed the contents greedily, but I was distracted by the ring-clad hand caught on the triangle bikini top that the brunet dancing in front of him was wearing.
James put his lips on her neck. She closed her eyes, but soon after he moved to the blond who was whispering something in his ear, and he started kissing her.
I’d never seen those two in my life, and he probably hadn’t either.
“He doesn’t exactly seem like a great example to follow,” I commented, looking away from the grotesque scene.
“Absolutely not. He’s always had his own way of having fun. One moment he’d be jumping off a roof and the next minute he’d diving in a pool. He was trashed, but he didn’t care. He did it anyway.”
“So what does he care about?” I asked curiously.
“People he loves. And the fact that he’s so crazy, you have no idea how much good that does me, June.”
He said that last sentence with a jolt of relief. I wondered what he was talking about but didn’t have the courage to ask him.
“Want something to drink?” William’s question threw me off.
“Just a soda.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah, thanks,” I confirmed.
“Okay. I’ll be back.”
William stood up, then turned back to me before walking away. He looked at my mouth and then pecked me on the lips.
“I’m really happy you’re here tonight.”
That sentence made me see stars. My first kiss was so much better than I could’ve ever imagined.
I never thought I’d feel like that with someone I’d just met.
I sensed James’s magnetic stare. If William was kindness incarnate, then James was violence.
It wasn’t just physical. The way he stared at me was brutal.
As if he wanted to tear away everyone’s masks, inhibitions, and souls.
He was in the pool, but he wore his usual arrogant, insolent expression, as if life was a constant struggle for him.
His behavior made me shiver, but my body quivered unexpectedly with arousal and annoyance when he glared at me.
When I was around Will, the sensations were soft and even, but with James they were rough and violent.
James kept staring at me even as he dunked his head in the water.
What kind of sick game was this? He must’ve been drunk.
I was nervously kicking the tip of my Vans against the porch swing leg when a shadow loomed in front of me.
James bent toward one of the candles that Will had arranged on the ground in our little quiet corner and turned on a vape pen.
I didn’t look at him; I wouldn’t give him that satisfaction. I wasn’t going to let him ruin my night.
He laughed, making my blood boil.
“In case you didn’t notice, I’m ignoring you, Hunter.”
“Oh, yeah. I can see how you’re ignoring me.” He blew a cloud of smoke at me.
“What mood are you in today?” I egged him on, daring to look defiantly at his wet chest, which was adorned with little drops of water.
“I’m in a mood that will end badly if you don’t shut up,” he declared, crossing his arms.
“You wouldn’t have the guts.”
I looked up at him fiercely, holding his gaze.
“You don’t know shit, June White.”
I shuddered, but I tried not to show it. The scent of chlorine mingled with his cologne made my head spin. “Do you think you scare me? Are you really that tough that you have to get drunk and get into fights with everyone?”
He laughed again between puffs of smoke, and his lips curved into a malicious smile without losing their fullness.
“Did you dismember bunnies and eat battery acid for breakfast, Hunter?”
He glared at me. “Shut up, and don’t talk to me again.”
“I’m not scared of meatheads like you.” I provoked him, remembering William’s words.
Even though there was another version—Amelia, Poppy, and Ari’s version. Who was I supposed to believe?
“Is that so, White?”
James straightened his back and broadened his shoulders to challenge me.
“Come on, I wanna see it for myself,” I prodded, standing up.
“How much do you wanna bet that you won’t be laughing in a little bit?”
I was so focused on glaring at him that I didn’t realize he was standing so close to me now. He put both hands on my hips, grabbed me roughly, lifted me up, and threw me over his shoulders.
“Are you crazy? Let me go.”
“Now you’re coming with me.”