Chapter 6 #2
“She said no, Jeff. This feisty girl will tell you exactly what she thinks.” Looking down, I can’t help but smile. I know I came off strong with insinuating he would drug my drink and leave me for dead, but I wouldn’t put it past Ava, sooooo.
Jeff stands up and saunters back to his seat with nothing more to say. Apparently, he can’t take rejection. “Don’t let him bully his way into your pants; he’s a relentless asshole.”
I scoff, “Oh, right, and you're not?” Turning my head, I lock eyes with him, and I watch his gaze shift from my eyes to my lips as a smirk lifts.
He leans closer, resting his lips just below my ear, his warm breath hits the base of my neck, making a shiver run through me, “I would never force you to fuck me.
Jeff would. The only time I will fuck you is when you're begging me to.” We sit with our feet in the pool water, stealing glances at one another, and with each stolen glance, my heart speeds up.
Is he flirting with me? Every time I find his eyes on mine, my skin warms, lighting a fire deep in my stomach, a fire that burns nothing but desire.
The sound of my pounding heart is interrupted by Haley shouting her way out onto the patio.
“LILLA! LILLA! LILLS, LILLS, Let’s goooooooooo,” she is swaying as she comes closer. I jump up, stopping her before she ends up in the pool.
“Ohhkkaaayy, let’s get you home.” After what feels like only moments, twenty minutes of tension and an intense gaze wrapped in silence have passed.
I stand up, looking down at the man I’m leaving alone at the pool.
He intrigues me; he seems gentle in some aspects, but demanding in others.
My feelings are conflicted: my mind wants to defy him, my body wants to submit.
He winks and quickly stands as Ava busts through the patio door.
“What the fuck are you doing sitting by that thing?”
He stands and shakes his head, “She must really have something you envy. Let it go, Ava, unless you think she’s worth it.” With that, she rolls her eyes as he takes her hand, walking her back to his corner, where she sits on his lap, never taking her eyes off me.
His words hit me like a cement truck. ‘Unless you think she’s worth it,’ does he think I’m worth it, worthy of anything good?
The night ends with Haley puking in her toilet, regretting every life choice, while I hold her hair back, I think of him, and the way he looked into my eyes like there was something in there worth searching for.
What did he see? Who does he think I am behind the mask I wear?
The mask of strength and resilience, at the end of the day, when I take off the mask of the top student, the volleyball player who swims in limitless credit cards, I don’t know who I am.
The rest of the year was filled with parties, schoolwork, and games. Within each, Ava remained her heinous self, ruthless in her bullying. Each party had classmates, all downing cheap vodka and beer, living and getting drunk off the supply we got from our older friends.
Then there was Jace. At every party, he found me, as did his unyielding stares and gentle touches.
His eyes followed me like a predator following prey, and with each pass through the body, he stepped closer.
I learned it was inevitable; he was going to catch me.
I could feel it, every single time. And he did.
At every party, Jace would corner me, steering me clear of the boys with their sweet talk and roaming hands.
His dark slate eyes would hold mine without mercy, telling me to stay away from them, and I would listen.
Because, as dangerous as his presence would be for my reputation, he felt safe, somehow.
His words were fueled by cheap whiskey and dripping with possession.
Each time he cornered me, his proximity surpassed his previous barrier, and the line was starting to blur.
It’s the last party of the year, and I knew he’d come for me, like he always does.
Each time we played this game of cat and mouse, there was always a chance of getting caught, yet we danced with the thrill of temptation getting harder to ignore with each encounter.
I run into the bathroom to get away from the music blaring too loud, the drinks flowing too good, and the intensity of his stare now has me dripping.
Quickly, I try to shut myself in to regain control that he has now taken.
Turning to close the door, a black boot slides in the door jam, creating a gap just large enough for the cat himself to slide through.
“Get out.” Jace shuts the door behind him, with a coy smile rising on his reddened cheeks.
“Are you running from me?” His voice is deep, laced with craving, one my body was begging me to fill.
Somehow, in his deep, forbidden stare of temptation, he took my ability to speak.
Instead, my eyes roamed his body, feet planted on the checkered tiled floor.
I watch him swallow down his desire, drinking in the sound that slipped when his toes touched mine.
“Cat got your tongue?” His hand comes up; slowly, his fingertips trace my jawline, creating a trail of vibrating need as his finger runs down the side of my neck, stopping at my collarbone.
“Jace. What are you doing?” I swallow down my want to know, but need to keep the answers unheard. I don’t want to know what his plan is, I don’t want to be his secret desire, and yet it felt too damn good to stop him.
“Making sure Jake didn’t follow you in here.” The force of his body pressing against mine has my feet walking back, until the sink halts all movement.
“You shouldn’t care, I’m not yours.”
Jace cocks his head to the side with a smile that eats my words, placing each hand on the sides of me, and he grabs the sink.
Leaning in, pressing his hard length into me, “Our bodies say otherwise.” His voice drops to a whisper as he leans in, pressing his lips to my lower ear, “Don’t lie, Lil.
I can feel how hot you are for me.” I suck in a breath as his lips graze my neck, my pulse pelts the side of my neck, as his lips brush along my sensitive flesh.
Just as I go to speak, there’s a knock at the door.
“Lilla, come on, let’s goooooo bitch!” Haley’s voice barrels into me, reminding me who I am and who Jace Evans is.
Pushing Jace’s chest, I move forward, “No matter how ‘hot’ we are, you are still with Ava. Don’t be a douchebag. She’s a grade A bitch, but don’t cheat, and for fuck sakes, don’t do it with me.” The haze in his eyes gloss over his gray orbs, making them almost like glass.
Jace warps his arms around my waist, slamming me into him once more, “You are the only girl I crave in every possible way. You’ve become an addiction, a curiosity, and I can’t stop.
I can’t physically stop this…this fascination.
” The seriousness in his voice has me believing him, but his relationship status says otherwise.
“I’m sure.” I roll my eyes, “Go find Ava, I’m sure she’s waiting.” I open the door without giving him time to respond, and find Haley leaning against the wall, holding on for dear life, as gravity pulls her down, and the alcohol yanks her eyelids closed.
Every party that summer, he threw mixed signals like it was his job. Avoiding me when the sun showed who we were. Ava and her posse always surrounded him, but when the lights were dark, and the music drowned out his words, the chase began.
I was his temptation in the shadows, and I liked it.