Exhaling, I shut the door of the taxi and walk up my parent's drive. I peer up at the orange and red sunset as it casts a warm, beautiful glow over my parent's one-story house. I can't help but inhale the cool, Portland air and smile as I open the familiar white gate, stepping through to the rocky pathway. Pebbles crunch beneath my feet, a sensation forgotten once the smell of shepherd's pie and roast vegetables wafts up my nose.I walk along the pathway and stomp up the wooden stairs and across the porch. I knock on the door and wait. A heartbeat later, Mom is ripping the door open and beaming widely at me."Darling!" she greets, pulling me into a hug that smells of basil and salt. "You know you don't have to knock here."I bury my face in her short, chocolate curls as I hug her back. "I know."Pulling away, she takes me by the wrist and drags me into the house, smiling gleefully at my ugly sweater. She loves it. She loves the mustard-colored ruffles and the white stripes around the e
I smooth my palms down the front of my tight black dress, fingering the folds in the fabric as I go. The expensive black fabric wraps tight around my body and clings high on my thighs. The tiny, thin straps hold the dress over my bra-less breasts, but the neckline dips deep. It's the only dress of its kind I own. Long forgotten, I found this impulse buy hidden far in the back of my wardrobe and away from Blade's prying eyes. It still had the price tag on it and Blade hated when I spent money on expensive clothes. So, I hid it to avoid conflict. Wearing it reminds me why I bought it. It was breathtaking on the mannequin and when I tried it on I felt sexy. Good to know time hasn't changed that.I sit on the edge of my bed and slide my feet into a pair of black stilettos that aren't mine, but match the dress perfectly-thanks, Selena. I just manage to get the last buckle clasped around my ankle when there's a firm knock on my bedroom door."Come in," I call, lifting myself off the bed, exp
Seth parks in Heaven's designated parking lot and we walk around to the front door. The air outside is way too cold for the dress I chose and my feet are already killing me. His friends are pumped. They run their mouths about what drinks they're going to drink, and dancing and girls. All I can think about is crawling back into my nice warm bed.Seth leads us past the queue and up to the robust security guard manning the front door."Seth Marc! It's been a long time!"While they catch up, I peer into the nightclub trying to catch a glimpse of how busy it is. A second later the guard steps aside, letting all of us into the club."He was nice," I shout at Seth and he bends, bringing his ear closer to my mouth, smoothing his hand up my back. "I said he was nice. Is it safe to assume you haven't slept with his girlfriend? Or maybe he just hasn't found out yet?"Seth laughs and it's a deep, hearty laugh I barely hear over the noise. He cranes his head to speak in my ear. "You're hurting your
I open my mouth to apologize to the woman I attacked and extend my hand to help her up, but strong arms seize my waist and I'm lifted off the floor. "Time to go," Seth shouts, and I whip my head in Selena's direction. She thrashes her long legs as Jackson throws her over his shoulder and hauls ass after us. People stare and part as Seth carries me out of the room and down the stairs, like I'm as light as a handbag in his hold.I close my eyes, hoping the bout of adrenaline-induced nausea that courses through me stops. I've never felt so awful. I can't believe I physically assaulted someone. In the face.I don't open my eyes until the fresh night air cools my burning skin."Wasn't expecting you to hit her," Seth says, still carrying me like a doll. I groan, my knuckles thumping. "I don't know what came over me. I thought she was going to hit Selena and I just...I reacted. What the hell was I thinking?" "You weren't thinking." He sets me down on the sidewalk and I wobble on shaky le
My eyelids flutter, then close again. I drag my tongue along the roof of my mouth and smack my dry lips together. Ick. My mouth is a desert. My brain thumps in my skull, a gift left by the shots I drank last night. Opening one eye, I blink until the blurry lines of the world sharpen. Yawning, I haphazardly reach for the water bottle on my nightstand. I unscrew the lid and sip it. It wets my tongue and stimulates my saliva, but it doesn't help the dehydrated state of my body. I swallow and the sensation makes my bladder constrict. I squeeze my thighs together to ease the tightening feeling, but it doesn't help. Replacing the lid on my bottle, I drop it to the floor and slip from the bed, careful not to wake Seth. I scoop his crumpled blue shirt from the floor and pull it over my head as I tiptoe from the room. When I return, Seth is sitting up, my sheets low on his naked hips, so low his muscular thigh juts out. He blinks at me, then points at the alarm clock on my bedside."Do you know
After breakfast, Seth drops me home to get ready for Concord. He continues on with Jackson and Selena, promising to pick me up in a couple of hours. Without ceremony, I let them go, desperate for some alone time after the morning I've had. Lucky for me, the mechanic I called yesterday arrives at the same time and immediately gets to work fixing my car. While he does that, I climb the stairs and enter my apartment. In the silence, Blade's little red box burns a hole in the leg of my jeans. I pluck it from my pocket and sit on the edge of the couch. I hold it in my palm, cautious as if it's going to pop open, like a jack in a box. Or explode, like a grenade.It creaks as I open it.I stare at the ostentatious white and red diamonds nestled on top of a multi-layer white gold band, then slam the box shut and toss it onto the couch beside me. Rage laces around my midsection and squeezes, like a corset. How dare he spend money on this. How dare he give it to me. I stand up and storm to the b
The hairs on the back of my neck lift, causing the skin behind my ears to pull tight. I smooth my palm down my arm, an attempt to ease the goosebumps that pebble. I stand backstage, in the corner of Seth's room, while two officials assess his hand wraps. I try to focus on what the two men are saying, but it goes unheard over the sound of my pulse beating in my ears. Seth hasn't taken his eyes off me since I entered the room. I haven't taken mine off him.I wasn't going to come, since I was still mad at him after our kiss on the street. To me, it was a groundbreaking, passionate moment that further cemented the fact I'm quickly falling for him. To him, it was a statement, like a dog pissing on a pole to mark its territory.I flick my attention over his naked torso and marvel of the physical power of him. He isn't human, it's not possible. His mighty, shapely thighs jut out from the slits in his shorts and keep their powerful form all the way down to his slim ankles. His skin, warm and d
Seth goes and the whole team follows. I'm swept up in the tide, practically carried down the aisle by his teammates. My heart pounds in my chest as my thoughts are swallowed by the roar of the crowd. I focus my attention on the third row at the end of the ramp-my row. Dad and Selena wave at me. Row after row of chairs sweep by until my opening is within reach. I yank my wrist free of Jackson and all but dive out of the current I was trapped in. I keep my head down and I squeeze past seated patrons. Selena turns in her seat, angling her knees so I can slip by her. Exhaling, I drop into the empty chair between her and Dad."I was wondering where you went," Dad shouts in my ear, patting my knee, then he clicks his fingers at Selena and holds out his palm.Over my lap, Selena hands him a twenty-dollar bill and I frown as he takes it and stuffs it into the chest pocket of his shirt."I lost the bet," Selena says, crossing her knee over the other."Bet?""She bet me twenty dollars you were i