Okay, I've been thinking a lot lately. Maybe too much. I dunno, but I
decided it was time that I actually wrote something again? With Seven and
Deadly, I have a very mild writer's block, but I'll get over it. Hehehe.
Nothing major. Okay, this bit was written before the chapter, so I'm not
sure, but I'm hoping to make this chapter romantic and fluffy? We'll see .
. .
Btw, Manda, sorry, but you made me do the most predictable thing. Forgive me?
"Never!" you say . . .
It was offensive, what he did. The NERVE of him! To do that after so blatantly expressing his true feelings! After proclaiming his love in one sweeping, soul-claiming kiss!
Translation?
Adam dropped CeeCee off first.
The DICKHEAD! He totally crushed her heart, you could so tell! CeeCee gave him a very wistful looks as he sped off from her house.
I just stared at him.
Only, after a while, he tended to notice me, mouth gaping and eyes appalled.
'What?' he asked defensively, tooting on his little horn of the V8 Bug to move the traffic along.
'You,' I pinpointed in disgust, 'dropped her off first.'
He raised an eyebrow. 'Uh, yeah . . . That would be because she lives closest to me, and I'm an American teenage boy who just got a car, and is trying to save gas?' he said as if it were the obvious.
'But – but –' I spluttered in outrage, 'It's not the point! You could have, well, dropped me off first!'
'That would appear to be the only other option,' he drawled, 'But why would I do that? That would be rude of me. You might get pissed. You might exact revenge. That would be scary. And possible anatomically damaging. And contrary to popular school belief, I like my penis the way it is.'
I blinked. 'Um, ew?'
He sniggered at me. 'What?'
I shook my head, turning back to face the window. The sun was setting, casting warm, orange rays across the sky. Our movie marathon hadn't lasted as long as we were hoping it would have, after the little stunt that Adam pulled. You know, the one where he decided to all of a sudden, pretend that that little snog hadn't happened.
Yeah, that.
'Adam,' I groaned, 'if you had have taken me home first, you could have talked to CeeCee.'
'But –'
'Alone,' I added for effect. 'Without me there.'
He met my eyes briefly, looking puzzled. 'I gathered that. And why is this so important to you, Suze?'
'Because – 'I began, but broke off. I couldn't do that again. Look how well they'd turned out last time? Last time being just this afternoon? I didn't want to push Adam into anything that he didn't want to do.
God, damn! I knew what he wanted! He wanted my albino friend, and that was that! Why was he being such a dork? Why couldn't he see that he wanted CeeCee as much as she wanted him? DAMN, I hate it when people are too blind to see that they are in love with someone!!!
(A/N: Yeah, Suze. Us readers really hate it too. Looks pointedly, and coughs, most suspiciously sounding like "Jesse.")
I sighed, wringing my hands in frustration. Why couldn't my friends just see that they were perfect for each other? It wasn't fair. It really wasn't. I knew that CeeCee lived in Limbo, waiting for the day that Adam would notice how much she cared about him. But even after today, that day still looked a long way off.
'Suze, I still don't get –'
'If you're that stupid, you don't deserve to know,' I snapped at him.
Suddenly, a very impulsive and very FOOLISH idea weaseled into my brain. I didn't even think about the consequence that was to come . . . 'You realize that Paul, this guy, has hurt CeeCee?'
Adam delivered me with the very reaction that I'd been angling for. 'What?!' he demanded, whipping his head around to face me and jamming his foot on the break.
A horn blared from behind, and Adam swiftly spun the wheel so we were pulled over on the side of the road, by the guardrail. We were over a small bridge, with beautiful orange-cerulean water that was reflecting the twilight sun dazzlingly. Adam was glaring at me, and through gritted teeth, he repeated, 'What did you say?'
Biting back a satisfied smirk, I replied, 'Well, you did get the relevance of the word "attack" when Cee said that before, right? That Paul physically hurt her?'
I saw Adam's face flush a dark red colour in a matter of seconds.
'You're kidding,' he dissented, his hands getting very tight on the steering wheel. Oooh, this was exciting. Adam was getting possessive! Over CeeCee! Wasn't that cute?
I tell you, it wasn't cute what he did later . . . But not to jump ahead.
'No, I'm not,' I informed him, trying to hide the pleasure at seeing my work being so well received. What? Don't look at me like that, it was true. Paul had hurt CeeCee. She'd told me. And I sure as hell believed her. Hell, I wouldn't put it past Paul to blow up a kindergarten just for fun!
. . . Okay, I would put it past him. That's a little melodramatic.
But you get my point? I trusted CeeCee. And Adam had a right to know that some bad-ass ghoul was hurting his best friend, and hopefully, future girl- friend.
Adam was pretty quiet for a little while. I wasn't looking at him, I was staring at the sunset. It was so beautiful. All those balmy colours, merging warmly into each other and darkening to the blueness that was capturing the sky. I could even see the stars already, and the moon. It was almost full.
But then Adam spoke up again.
'Suze . . . where is he?'
I frowned, and turned back to him again. 'Huh?'
'Where is this Paul guy?' His voice was a low growl. Whoa, he was taking the thing a little seriously. I mean, sure. Paul was going to get every square millimeter of his ass kicked, but I wasn't foaming at the mouth, was I?
No, I was just losing a battle of emotional turmoil inside my mind, because he'd taken my dad away . . .
But I wasn't . . . letting that . . . show.
'Adam,' I said snappily, 'Get a grip. Don't' think you can waltz up to Paul and beat him up. him, dead already/ As in, ghost? It won't do much good. And remember, what you want to do to him, he could do ten times worse to you.'
Adam glared at the steering wheel. 'But he hurt her,' he said. 'I . . . I didn't know. I mean, I heard her before, but I didn't actually think about what she said. I was too angry that you weren't being open about this whole –'
I coughed angrily, and he apologized hastily.
'But serious, Suze,' he said, 'we have to do something about this guy . . . '
'Excuse me?' I demanded, looking at him sharply. 'We? Uh, Adam? You're staying away from him. I do not need you on his hit list as well, you know. Don't you even think about doing anything, well, stupid. Not that you could.'
'What's that supposed to mean?' he barked at me, his lip curling in a very unattractive way. I shrugged. 'Whatever you like,' I said simply. 'Drive me home, please.'
He did just that. We sat in an irritated silence. It sounded more like a buzzing. Of wasps. Only after he pulled up in my drive did I break the uncomfortable hush.
'I'll pick you up tomorrow, eight, okay?' he griped. 'I mean, if you think I'm so useless, it's the least I could do –'
'Adam,' I groaned, as I slid out of the V8 with my schoolbag, 'Look . . . I don't think you're useless. I'm just actually liking the fact that you and CeeCee are alive. Because if you cross Paul, you're as good as dead.'
'You've crossed him,' he pointed out rudely, 'I don't see you looking to departed yourself.'
I sniffed. 'If you had any idea how close I came to being just that today,' I yelled at him, 'You'd freak! Now shut up about things you don't know about, Adam!'
'Fine!' he shouted, glaring tartly.
'Fine!' I replied, slamming the door.
He turned away from me with a definite gruffness, and twisted the keys in the ignition erratically. Even from outside the car, I could hear them jangling. Quickly, I opened the door again, just before he left again, 'Oh, and Adam? Open your frigging eyes, you moron.'
Then I turned on my heel, and entered my house. I heard him honking his horn loutishly behind my back as he drove off. Joy. We were fighting. Just bloody PERFECT.
I stormed up the flight of steps in a boiling temper, and threw my door open as I came to the head of the stairs. I let out a very unfeminine grunt of exasperation, and was about to belly flop onto my beckoning bed when a pair of arms shot out and drew me into a crushing embrace. I squealed in shock. What? I do NOT like being grabbed from behind!
'That's it, Slater, you are TOAST!' I raged, and totally pivoted backwards so that my heel came crashing with his back, hard.
'AH!' he roared in pain, only . . .
Oh, bloody hell!
'Jesse!' I gasped, 'What the – what the HELL are you doing here?'
The sexy Latino in question stumbled away from me, looking very weird. 'Usted es muy descuidado,' he groaned, eyeing me. 'Querida, oh, Susannah, I was so scared,' he gushed, dragging me into his arms. I blinked at him. His dark, smooth face was looking very . . . well, odd. Un-Jesse-like. He held me protectively, tightly. His hand ran through my hair, and he kissed my forehead impulsively.
'Jesse? What's wrong?' I asked him in perplexity. 'Are you okay?'
'Fui espantado . . . el mintió, ese bastardo malo . . . ' he muttered under his breath, still not letting go. His muscular arms embraced me so that I was very closely against him. He rested my head on his chest. I still didn't understand what was the big deal, you know?
'Jesse!' I snapped, digging my thumbs into his sides. He let go in alarm, staring at me with wide, black eyes.
(A/N: Oooh! A thunderstorm just started . . . don't you LOVE storms? With the pelting rain? And the lightning? And the THUNDER!!! Crashing . . . Um, shutting up now . . .)
'What's the problem?' I grilled.
Jesse gave me a slightly sheepish smile. 'It is me being foolish enough to take that pícaro seriously. I should not have been so gullible . . .' he shrugged, and slid a hand down my arm, looking down at me with warm, liquidy eyes that seemed to go on forever, like a black ocean . . . Ever moving, silent but storming, and beautifully dark . . .
I smiled up at him, right up until his words registered. 'Huh? What did Paul say?' I asked stiffly.
'That pringao . . .' he cursed, 'he told me that you were dead, querida.'
I went pale. Not because I was immediately angry at Paul. I mean, hell, I was but . . .what if I was supposed to be?
I swallowed, and shrugged. 'Well, dude, this is me, larger than life,' I forced out a smile.
Jesse pulled me into a hug again. 'I thought that I'd lost you,' he whispered into my hair.
That was when a true smile graced my lips. God . . . why did I even have second thoughts about Paul when this man was here for me, to love me and to get all worked up about me when I was assumed dead and stuff. So sweet . . . Jesse was the only guy that I could ever love. I just felt so safe here . . . the perfection wasn't bothering me now. It would later, but not while I felt so secure and loved.
And he was so gentle at the same time as being fierce.
Paul would never be like that. He would always be a threat to me. A danger to my life.
'He told me that you were trapped somewhere,' Jesse said, gripping my back harder, 'He said that you'd run out of air soon. I could not sense you, Susannah. It was like you – or he – were blocking me. I did not understand, and I guess I . . . I panicked,' he whispered to me, his hand firm on my shoulder blade. I frowned against his chest.
'He did kind of, you know, throw me in a coffin with a corpse,' I said, 'left me to die, the usual . . . but I'm over it.'
I felt Jesse go very tense against me.
'Cantamañanas . . . ' was all he said.
'Jesse, English please?' I moped up at him . . . but I then say his eyes. They were black, but there was a deadliness in there. A black fire. A wild movement. A rage . . .
I stepped back from him. 'Jesse, calm down. Look, I'm fine. I'm a mediator – I mean, shifter, so I'm like, extra strong, and just because I have no air for half an hour, doesn't mean I die like a normal person –'
'HALF AN HOUR?!' he cried in ire, seizing my shoulders, 'That DEMONIO! Yo lo mataré!'
'Jesse, stop it!' I yelped, 'You're kind of rough, you know?'
Immediately, Jesse let go of me, looking horrified with himself. 'Dios . . . Susannah, I am sorry. I am tan enojado with him! It wasn't meant to be released on you in any way,' he said, looking deeply apologetic. His full, dark hair shone gold under my bedroom light.
I smiled softly. 'It's okay,' I said. 'I don't have much tact myself. Uh, well, I don't really know what to do,' I said nervously. 'It's just, today, he actually left me to die. All the other times, he was there to stop himself from killing me, but there, it was like, he didn't even want to stop himself.' I trailed off, staring absently into space. Paul officially wanted me dead. Why? What the hell did I do to him? Besides you know, reject him and stuff. Why type of loser took that to heart?
'Susannah,' Jesse broke into my thoughts awkwardly.
I snapped my eyes to him. The light globe above him was giving his hair a kind of golden halo. It was beautiful, like Jesse really was my divine angel. His deeply tanned face looked so concerned. He cared. He actually cared whether I lived or died.
Then again, so did Paul. He just preferred it to be the latter.
I groaned, and buried my face in my hands briefly, holding a deep gulp of air and releasing it. 'Yep?' I sighed, resurfacing.
'Susannah, as against such things as I usually am . . .I strongly suggest that you come with me tonight,' he said, staring into my eyes. I could see a flash of discomfiture there, but his decency was overruling it.
I went very red. 'What?'
'Er,' he said to the floor, 'In separate rooms, I assure you. I am worried about your safety, querida - '
. . . He was calling me "querida" again . . .
' – and there are certain rituals that I have performed on my bedroom that specifically do not allow Paul to enter,' he went on. 'Oh,' he added, realizing what he said, 'you of course can stay there, I will stay otherwise. I know that I can handle Paul if the situation arises and I want to ensure that you are out of harm's way – '
. . . He's so sweet. God Suze . . . he really does love you. Look at the way that he's blushing . . .
' – and you can tell your mother that your are staying the night at your friend CeeCee's if she is doubtful of this arrangement,' he continued, his sentences getting faster by the moment, 'But I can assure you that you will be perfectly safe . . . from, er, all things, there. I make that promise to you, Susannah,' he vowed, taking my hand and kissing my fingertips.
. . . He's so magical . . .
'Jesse, cool it,' I smiled. 'I guess it's not a bad idea. I'll just get a couple of things. If you promise to drive me to school, then that's okay.'
'But of course,' he nodded, the corners of his mouth twitching up slightly in happiness. Not the evil, hidden-agenda-y happiness. The "she trusts me" happiness.
I felt that was face was flaming hot, and that my hands were fidgeting. Oh God, this was embarrassing . . . quietly, I grabbed a few things, scrawled a note for mum as an explanation to my absence, and walked back to Jesse.
'How are we going to get there?' I asked, 'You don't have a car at the moment.'
He grinned knowingly. 'Susannah. I think that if I can dematerialize from Spain to here, I can materialize from here to my house,' he said fairly.
'Oh yeah,' was my witty evaluation.
Revenge of the blondness. It was the clothes, I swear.
Jesse carefully put his arms around my waist, and we both dematerialized together in a shower of brilliant blue radiance . . .
I stared at the photos. There were so many of them. Faces. Beautiful faces. All smiling. All happy.
Rosa and Lola beamed up at me, hugging each other affectionately as toddlers. Esmerelda was pouting cutely at her big sisters as they tickled her, in another. I scanned them all . . . Mr and Mrs De Silva on their wedding day, looking younger and even more attractive than they were now.
So many photos . . .
Jesse, holding Adrianna, who was resting her head against his shoulder serenely. Her huge black eyes looked so tranquil and innocent. Jesse's looked world-wise, proud and brotherly.
Then, I came across a photo that made me stare harder than I'd ever stared before.
Jesse was there, with an old man in a wheel chair . . .
. . . And Paul.
Paul looked absolutely dashing. All three of them were dressed up formally. Paul, although younger, had his hair gelled into sophisticated little curls, like they were now, but they were shorter in the photo. His smile, still dark and mysterious, wasn't as deadly as it had been of late. There was something less evil there. Like he still had so much to learn . . .
Jesse looked oblivious to Paul's stirring smile. He grinned amiably back at me. His hair had been shoulder length then, and had been incredibly sexy. But I liked it better now. It suited him.
My eyes strayed to the old man in the wheel chair. His eyes. They were so like Paul's, except, older. So much older. No, seriously. As in, ancient, antique older. Almost, inhumanly older.
Okay, now I was just being rude. Everyone else about him was fine. It was just the eyes . . .
My own were drawn back to Paul. He penetrated me with his fixated gaze. He searched me, hurt me, called for me -
'Susannah?'
In alarm, I dropped the photo frame. With a loud smash, it shattered on the floor.
'Shit,' I cursed, bending down and grabbing the glass hastily. 'Jesse, I'm sorry. I'm such a butterfingers, I'll clean it up, I'm really sorry – OW!' I swore as a piece of glass cut the skin in between the base of my thumb and my index finger.
'Do relax, querida,' he smiled at me. 'Watch . . . '
And then, with his EYES, all the pieces of the glass were . . . I dunno, telekinetically risen, and all cut through the air to – I assumed – the bin.
Jesse's dark eyes blinked out of concentration. 'Ah, I'm getting better,' he said, pleased. He took my hand and held it up before him. It was barely bleeding. I felt like such an idiot. I mean, how often did I have to gore myself already? Suze, Paul was a major contributor, when he was poking his thorny roses into my hands, but still! 'It's a very shallow cut,' Jesse inspected, 'A bandaid will do it.'
With a focused grimace, a bandaid materialized into his hand.
'Oh my God,' I said in awe, 'Hello, circus magician.'
Jesse chuckled a sexy, slow little chuckle that made my spine almost shatter in pleasure. 'You could do it too, if you wanted to . . .'
I arched an eyebrow. 'Sure. "Just have faith!" I'm sure.'
'No, I am being perfectly serious,' he declared, wrinkling his forehead eloquently. 'You have great potential to be a powerful shifter, Susannah.'
'It sounds so much better when you say it,' I smiled at him.
Jesse's grin froze, and he looked at me sharply. 'What was that?' he asked with a different tone. It was demanding . . .
'Uh, nothing,' I said quickly. Jesse glowered again. 'Susannah . . . has Paul said that also?'
I giggled nervously. 'No?' I squeaked.
'Susannah,' he warned.
'Well, so what if he has?' I shrugged angrily.
Jesse closed his eyes and groaned softly.
'What?' I snapped.
Jesse shook his head, and looked at me again, his mouth twitching. 'Make me a promise, Susannah, that whatever the situation, you will not go to Paul to learn the shifter ways. He has dark methods, and has studied dark teachings. You must never accept his instruction on –'
'I know,' I butted. 'I mean, it was kind of obvious. Evil, horny loser with spooky, over-used pick up lines, and offering to show me a whole new world that I couldn't imagine. From the first day I knew the guy was a nut.'
Again, Jesse laughed that spine-tingling chuckle that made my heart do these little flip-flops inside my chest. After applying the bandaid to my hand, he lead me down a long, painting covered hallway.
I looked again at Jesse's eyes . . . hang on . . .
'Jesse,' I said slowly, 'What's wrong?'
He stopped. 'What ever do you mean, querida?'
'You look . . . I dunno, sad,' I commented. But didn't he always have that adorably sexy "lost puppy" appeal to him? I wished I could eat my words back up.
His gaze flickered. 'Actually, there is something. My uncle, the one whom we flew to Spain in the first place . . . He died this morning,' he explained in a level, unreadable tone.
'Oh,' I said, feeling very guilty, 'I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to bring it up, I just was –'
'Do not apologize, Susannah,' he ordered blankly. 'You have nothing to be sorry for. He died a very happy man. He had his family around, who loved him. He had no unfinished business. It was just . . . difficult for me, to watch someone die.'
'Like what happened with Paul,' I said.
ME AND MY BIG MOUTH!
Jesse looked me in the eye brusquely, and I recoiled slightly.
'I'm . . . oooh, no tact!' I whined, thumping myself dully on the forehead.
He held my wrist to prevent me from doing so, and smiled weakly. 'No, you are right,' he nodded. 'I had to watch Paul die also. But that was easier, and harder at the same time, than my uncle. Paul . . . he'd made it easy on me by first making me want to kill him. But trying to hurt Adrianna,' Jesse explained, his Spanish accent heavy with regret. 'But to watch a person die is the worst experience one can ever undergo. It steals something that is very rare from within you. I felt it go when I pulled the trigger of that gun.' He said that with clenched teeth. 'I feel conflicted. I regret doing it, but I wish him this fate also. A terrible man I am . . . but I do not want others to suffer at his hands –'
'I know,' I said softly. I could see this was hard for him to say. He knew that he was a murderer, and it broke him. Oh, God . . . Jesse wasn't as perfect as he appeared. I'd underestimated how much killing Paul had affected him. How much it had shaped the character that was in front of me at the moment.
The hall was so bright.
Why did we need all these lights on?
Jesse and I were standing very close . . . I could feel him breathing on my cheek. It was good breath. Nice breath. Not smelly, pleasant and warm . . .
'Susannah,' he said gently.
He was going to kiss me again!
I could so tell!
It was in his eyes!
Those beautiful, Latino eyes . . .
I swallowed. 'Yeah, Jesse?'
His eyes flashed mischievously. 'Would you like a milkshake?'
I poked him hard in the stomach. 'You suck,' I snapped jokily. 'But whatever.'
Smiling in triumph, he continued to lead me down the hall to the kitchen. Well, if the fridge and the dishwasher and the stove and the oven and everything were any indication. I mean, it could have been the toilet . . . but pray tell, WHERE were the sewerage pipes?!
I'm kidding . . .
Jesse swayed coolly up to the fridge. God, did the bastard know how hot he was? The way his neck bent forward, the seriousness on his face, his smooth, dark skin, his black, rich hair, strong arms, ice-melting smile, and the eyes . . .
So sexy . . .
He withdrew a tub of ice cream, some sprinkles, a bar of chocolate, a carton of milk, a little bottle of vanilla essence, and two tall sundae glasses.
'Impressive,' I smiled at him, as he set everything up, and then retrieved the blender from an overhead cupboard.
Cheerily, we both began scooping dollops of ice cream into the blender, all smiles at each other. I kind of spilt a few sprinkles, but he didn't really care. The milk went in, and after melting the chocolate in the microwave, that went in too.
'Mmm,' I licked my lips in anticipation, 'This is going to be yummy.'
Jesse's eyes twinkled. 'Yes, I agree.' He went to mix it all together when I coughed and slid in the way. 'Excuse me, but I think that it's my turn?' I pointed out.
'Yes, ladies first,' he nodded with a reckless grin. I blinked. Huh?
Shrugging, I pushed the button –
SPLAT!
. . . I didn't know blenders came with LIDS!
'Oh my God!' I screamed as all the milky ice cream plastered itself across my face, clothes – although they technically weren't mine – and hair! And Jesse had suffered the same fate.
I was horrified with myself! 'Oh my God, Jesse, I'm so SORRY!' I gasped, shielding my mouth with my hand in horror.
Jesse looked at me blankly, thoroughly annoyed. I wanted him to say something! Oh, he was going to kill me! Look at the mess I'd made!
His hair had thick splodges of ice cream, and his face, only minimally affected, was spotted with little blobs of chocolate.
Why wouldn't he SAY SOMETHING?!
Then, I couldn't help myself. I just cracked up, totally.
'You're – covered – in . . . in – ice cream!' I laughed hysterically. It was all down my front, and my arms, and my hair, and my face, especially . . . but I didn't care. Jesse just looked so FUNNY!
'And in your hair too!' I shrieked with laughed, doubling over.
'Stop laughing, I'm covered,' he said in annoyance.
'But you look ridiculous!' I squealed, bursting into fits of giggles again.
'So do you!' he retorted, not seeing such a funny side.
Which was fair enough. It was going to take AGES to clean. But come on, you HAD to be there!
'I'm sorry, you just. . . your face!' I cracked up again.
Only I kind of stopped laughing, VERY abruptly, when he grabbed me around the waist and trapped me against him, gazing down at me before hissing, 'I don't really like to waste food . . . ' and then . . .
. . . . Kissing the milkshake off my cheek.
I was so shocked. I really was. My mouth was kind of hanging open. Jesse was going all bad-boy on me! Oooh, I likey! I smiled as he continued to lightly clean my face from the syrupy mess. My skin tingled beguilingly, and I gasped in pleasure. My eyes drifted closed as his lips continued to roam my face. Oh, it felt so good . . . everything else slipped away so easily that all I could think about was Jesse. What was he doing? I mean, dude, I was NOT complaining . . . but . . . this wasn't Jesse, right?
When he'd gotten all of the ice cream off my cheeks, his lips strayed back down and claimed mine, bringing the gentle, tantalizing kisses up to a full- scale kiss of passion. I gripped Jesse to me, throwing my arms around his neck, and he tilted his head to the left, pushing against my lips. Oh, God, this was beautiful . . . It melted away everything . . . Dad, Paul, Timothy, fighting with Adam . . . everything drifted away. My lips were on fire, but in such an awesome way! Jesse's hand cupped my face hastily, and I ran my hands through his beautiful dark curls that were dampened with ice cream still. I didn't care. His hand on my back ran up and down my spine, sending random thrills chasing one another. This felt so wonderful, I didn't want it to end.
And with a deluge of gentle blue light, our surroundings changed, and we were in . . . well, it appeared to be a bedroom. I clearly wasn't paying to much attention, too busy on things more, er, immediate.
But then it all stopped too quickly!
'Querida!' Jesse shouted out, falling back from me.
I stared in alarm. 'What? Did I do something wr –'
Jesse seized his forehead, 'I am eternally sorry, Susannah, I do not know what came over me,' he gasped. What had happened?
'Why did you stop?' I asked him, a little hurt. What did I do? Did I do something that he didn't like?
'I . . . it was terrible of me,' he said, 'I completely lost my head . . .'
I frowned. 'You mean, you didn't want that to happen?' For effect, a little globule of cream splashed on the carpet.
I felt pathetic. And confused.
Jesse jammed his eyes shut. 'Susannah, I don't think that . . .' he began, but now I was annoyed.
'Jesse, you think too much!' I protested. 'That kiss . . . that blew me away. Jesse, I love you. I . . . I really do . . . is there something wrong . . . did I –'
'No!' Jesse yelled, 'Susannah, there is nothing wrong with you. I promised you that I wouldn't . . . that I would keep from . . . that if you stayed the night, you would not have to, well, kiss me or anything. It was wrong of me to break your trust, and I am so sorry that –'
'Jesse,' I said softly, stepping towards him a little, 'that was the most beautiful kiss ever . . . I don't have to do anything. But . . . ' I smiled secretly, '. . . I want to.'
Jesse swallowed, and opened his mouth several times. For someone who had just been so face-kissy and stuff, he was pretty nervous.
'I'll make it easier, then,' I whispered to him, and I kissed him very gently on the lips. Gently . . . slowly . . . oh GOD, it felt good to be distracted!
He responded with equal steadiness. I was still confused. Like, I wasn't even thinking straight. Why was Jesse so reluctant? Was there someone else on his mind? I mean, something? Yeah, something.
Not some ONE.
There were no other ones but me . . . right? I grazed my hand down the side of his face smoothly, but frowned. Oh, damned thoughts! Why couldn't I just forget everything? Forget that everything existed? That Paul, vampires and God forbid, demons, were all myths. And why couldn't I just feel happy that Jesse did love me? Why did I have to make up reasons to justify the fact that he might actually like me for who I was? Why did I feel like he wanted me to become someone else? Did he want me to be different?
But with all my remaining willpower, I forced all thought from my mind, and just let go . . . I lost myself in my love.
Oh shit, I loved Jesse . . . so much. It burnt, like a fire that had just been newly ignited, and would burn on forever. It was amazing and mind- blowing how good it felt, just to be there with someone who cared for me.
But the moment of bliss was brutally shattered by a hesitant, 'Perdone, yo no lo vi!'
Jesse broke away directly, to my bewilderment. He paled. 'Qué en nombre de Dios are you doing here . . . Querida?'
I turned my head brusquely –
Oh.
Holy cow . . .
A/N: Please review. I'm not feeling too well at the moment, and it is 2.00am, so I am making an effort! Please review? I'm really tired, and if that chapter got a little odd, blame the drowsiness. If I read it tomorrow and I don't like it, I'll change it. I don't think it was too bad, though. What do YOU think? Please-oh-please review . . .
I need something to cheer me up.
Regards, MystAngel.
Btw, Manda, sorry, but you made me do the most predictable thing. Forgive me?
"Never!" you say . . .
It was offensive, what he did. The NERVE of him! To do that after so blatantly expressing his true feelings! After proclaiming his love in one sweeping, soul-claiming kiss!
Translation?
Adam dropped CeeCee off first.
The DICKHEAD! He totally crushed her heart, you could so tell! CeeCee gave him a very wistful looks as he sped off from her house.
I just stared at him.
Only, after a while, he tended to notice me, mouth gaping and eyes appalled.
'What?' he asked defensively, tooting on his little horn of the V8 Bug to move the traffic along.
'You,' I pinpointed in disgust, 'dropped her off first.'
He raised an eyebrow. 'Uh, yeah . . . That would be because she lives closest to me, and I'm an American teenage boy who just got a car, and is trying to save gas?' he said as if it were the obvious.
'But – but –' I spluttered in outrage, 'It's not the point! You could have, well, dropped me off first!'
'That would appear to be the only other option,' he drawled, 'But why would I do that? That would be rude of me. You might get pissed. You might exact revenge. That would be scary. And possible anatomically damaging. And contrary to popular school belief, I like my penis the way it is.'
I blinked. 'Um, ew?'
He sniggered at me. 'What?'
I shook my head, turning back to face the window. The sun was setting, casting warm, orange rays across the sky. Our movie marathon hadn't lasted as long as we were hoping it would have, after the little stunt that Adam pulled. You know, the one where he decided to all of a sudden, pretend that that little snog hadn't happened.
Yeah, that.
'Adam,' I groaned, 'if you had have taken me home first, you could have talked to CeeCee.'
'But –'
'Alone,' I added for effect. 'Without me there.'
He met my eyes briefly, looking puzzled. 'I gathered that. And why is this so important to you, Suze?'
'Because – 'I began, but broke off. I couldn't do that again. Look how well they'd turned out last time? Last time being just this afternoon? I didn't want to push Adam into anything that he didn't want to do.
God, damn! I knew what he wanted! He wanted my albino friend, and that was that! Why was he being such a dork? Why couldn't he see that he wanted CeeCee as much as she wanted him? DAMN, I hate it when people are too blind to see that they are in love with someone!!!
(A/N: Yeah, Suze. Us readers really hate it too. Looks pointedly, and coughs, most suspiciously sounding like "Jesse.")
I sighed, wringing my hands in frustration. Why couldn't my friends just see that they were perfect for each other? It wasn't fair. It really wasn't. I knew that CeeCee lived in Limbo, waiting for the day that Adam would notice how much she cared about him. But even after today, that day still looked a long way off.
'Suze, I still don't get –'
'If you're that stupid, you don't deserve to know,' I snapped at him.
Suddenly, a very impulsive and very FOOLISH idea weaseled into my brain. I didn't even think about the consequence that was to come . . . 'You realize that Paul, this guy, has hurt CeeCee?'
Adam delivered me with the very reaction that I'd been angling for. 'What?!' he demanded, whipping his head around to face me and jamming his foot on the break.
A horn blared from behind, and Adam swiftly spun the wheel so we were pulled over on the side of the road, by the guardrail. We were over a small bridge, with beautiful orange-cerulean water that was reflecting the twilight sun dazzlingly. Adam was glaring at me, and through gritted teeth, he repeated, 'What did you say?'
Biting back a satisfied smirk, I replied, 'Well, you did get the relevance of the word "attack" when Cee said that before, right? That Paul physically hurt her?'
I saw Adam's face flush a dark red colour in a matter of seconds.
'You're kidding,' he dissented, his hands getting very tight on the steering wheel. Oooh, this was exciting. Adam was getting possessive! Over CeeCee! Wasn't that cute?
I tell you, it wasn't cute what he did later . . . But not to jump ahead.
'No, I'm not,' I informed him, trying to hide the pleasure at seeing my work being so well received. What? Don't look at me like that, it was true. Paul had hurt CeeCee. She'd told me. And I sure as hell believed her. Hell, I wouldn't put it past Paul to blow up a kindergarten just for fun!
. . . Okay, I would put it past him. That's a little melodramatic.
But you get my point? I trusted CeeCee. And Adam had a right to know that some bad-ass ghoul was hurting his best friend, and hopefully, future girl- friend.
Adam was pretty quiet for a little while. I wasn't looking at him, I was staring at the sunset. It was so beautiful. All those balmy colours, merging warmly into each other and darkening to the blueness that was capturing the sky. I could even see the stars already, and the moon. It was almost full.
But then Adam spoke up again.
'Suze . . . where is he?'
I frowned, and turned back to him again. 'Huh?'
'Where is this Paul guy?' His voice was a low growl. Whoa, he was taking the thing a little seriously. I mean, sure. Paul was going to get every square millimeter of his ass kicked, but I wasn't foaming at the mouth, was I?
No, I was just losing a battle of emotional turmoil inside my mind, because he'd taken my dad away . . .
But I wasn't . . . letting that . . . show.
'Adam,' I said snappily, 'Get a grip. Don't' think you can waltz up to Paul and beat him up. him, dead already/ As in, ghost? It won't do much good. And remember, what you want to do to him, he could do ten times worse to you.'
Adam glared at the steering wheel. 'But he hurt her,' he said. 'I . . . I didn't know. I mean, I heard her before, but I didn't actually think about what she said. I was too angry that you weren't being open about this whole –'
I coughed angrily, and he apologized hastily.
'But serious, Suze,' he said, 'we have to do something about this guy . . . '
'Excuse me?' I demanded, looking at him sharply. 'We? Uh, Adam? You're staying away from him. I do not need you on his hit list as well, you know. Don't you even think about doing anything, well, stupid. Not that you could.'
'What's that supposed to mean?' he barked at me, his lip curling in a very unattractive way. I shrugged. 'Whatever you like,' I said simply. 'Drive me home, please.'
He did just that. We sat in an irritated silence. It sounded more like a buzzing. Of wasps. Only after he pulled up in my drive did I break the uncomfortable hush.
'I'll pick you up tomorrow, eight, okay?' he griped. 'I mean, if you think I'm so useless, it's the least I could do –'
'Adam,' I groaned, as I slid out of the V8 with my schoolbag, 'Look . . . I don't think you're useless. I'm just actually liking the fact that you and CeeCee are alive. Because if you cross Paul, you're as good as dead.'
'You've crossed him,' he pointed out rudely, 'I don't see you looking to departed yourself.'
I sniffed. 'If you had any idea how close I came to being just that today,' I yelled at him, 'You'd freak! Now shut up about things you don't know about, Adam!'
'Fine!' he shouted, glaring tartly.
'Fine!' I replied, slamming the door.
He turned away from me with a definite gruffness, and twisted the keys in the ignition erratically. Even from outside the car, I could hear them jangling. Quickly, I opened the door again, just before he left again, 'Oh, and Adam? Open your frigging eyes, you moron.'
Then I turned on my heel, and entered my house. I heard him honking his horn loutishly behind my back as he drove off. Joy. We were fighting. Just bloody PERFECT.
I stormed up the flight of steps in a boiling temper, and threw my door open as I came to the head of the stairs. I let out a very unfeminine grunt of exasperation, and was about to belly flop onto my beckoning bed when a pair of arms shot out and drew me into a crushing embrace. I squealed in shock. What? I do NOT like being grabbed from behind!
'That's it, Slater, you are TOAST!' I raged, and totally pivoted backwards so that my heel came crashing with his back, hard.
'AH!' he roared in pain, only . . .
Oh, bloody hell!
'Jesse!' I gasped, 'What the – what the HELL are you doing here?'
The sexy Latino in question stumbled away from me, looking very weird. 'Usted es muy descuidado,' he groaned, eyeing me. 'Querida, oh, Susannah, I was so scared,' he gushed, dragging me into his arms. I blinked at him. His dark, smooth face was looking very . . . well, odd. Un-Jesse-like. He held me protectively, tightly. His hand ran through my hair, and he kissed my forehead impulsively.
'Jesse? What's wrong?' I asked him in perplexity. 'Are you okay?'
'Fui espantado . . . el mintió, ese bastardo malo . . . ' he muttered under his breath, still not letting go. His muscular arms embraced me so that I was very closely against him. He rested my head on his chest. I still didn't understand what was the big deal, you know?
'Jesse!' I snapped, digging my thumbs into his sides. He let go in alarm, staring at me with wide, black eyes.
(A/N: Oooh! A thunderstorm just started . . . don't you LOVE storms? With the pelting rain? And the lightning? And the THUNDER!!! Crashing . . . Um, shutting up now . . .)
'What's the problem?' I grilled.
Jesse gave me a slightly sheepish smile. 'It is me being foolish enough to take that pícaro seriously. I should not have been so gullible . . .' he shrugged, and slid a hand down my arm, looking down at me with warm, liquidy eyes that seemed to go on forever, like a black ocean . . . Ever moving, silent but storming, and beautifully dark . . .
I smiled up at him, right up until his words registered. 'Huh? What did Paul say?' I asked stiffly.
'That pringao . . .' he cursed, 'he told me that you were dead, querida.'
I went pale. Not because I was immediately angry at Paul. I mean, hell, I was but . . .what if I was supposed to be?
I swallowed, and shrugged. 'Well, dude, this is me, larger than life,' I forced out a smile.
Jesse pulled me into a hug again. 'I thought that I'd lost you,' he whispered into my hair.
That was when a true smile graced my lips. God . . . why did I even have second thoughts about Paul when this man was here for me, to love me and to get all worked up about me when I was assumed dead and stuff. So sweet . . . Jesse was the only guy that I could ever love. I just felt so safe here . . . the perfection wasn't bothering me now. It would later, but not while I felt so secure and loved.
And he was so gentle at the same time as being fierce.
Paul would never be like that. He would always be a threat to me. A danger to my life.
'He told me that you were trapped somewhere,' Jesse said, gripping my back harder, 'He said that you'd run out of air soon. I could not sense you, Susannah. It was like you – or he – were blocking me. I did not understand, and I guess I . . . I panicked,' he whispered to me, his hand firm on my shoulder blade. I frowned against his chest.
'He did kind of, you know, throw me in a coffin with a corpse,' I said, 'left me to die, the usual . . . but I'm over it.'
I felt Jesse go very tense against me.
'Cantamañanas . . . ' was all he said.
'Jesse, English please?' I moped up at him . . . but I then say his eyes. They were black, but there was a deadliness in there. A black fire. A wild movement. A rage . . .
I stepped back from him. 'Jesse, calm down. Look, I'm fine. I'm a mediator – I mean, shifter, so I'm like, extra strong, and just because I have no air for half an hour, doesn't mean I die like a normal person –'
'HALF AN HOUR?!' he cried in ire, seizing my shoulders, 'That DEMONIO! Yo lo mataré!'
'Jesse, stop it!' I yelped, 'You're kind of rough, you know?'
Immediately, Jesse let go of me, looking horrified with himself. 'Dios . . . Susannah, I am sorry. I am tan enojado with him! It wasn't meant to be released on you in any way,' he said, looking deeply apologetic. His full, dark hair shone gold under my bedroom light.
I smiled softly. 'It's okay,' I said. 'I don't have much tact myself. Uh, well, I don't really know what to do,' I said nervously. 'It's just, today, he actually left me to die. All the other times, he was there to stop himself from killing me, but there, it was like, he didn't even want to stop himself.' I trailed off, staring absently into space. Paul officially wanted me dead. Why? What the hell did I do to him? Besides you know, reject him and stuff. Why type of loser took that to heart?
'Susannah,' Jesse broke into my thoughts awkwardly.
I snapped my eyes to him. The light globe above him was giving his hair a kind of golden halo. It was beautiful, like Jesse really was my divine angel. His deeply tanned face looked so concerned. He cared. He actually cared whether I lived or died.
Then again, so did Paul. He just preferred it to be the latter.
I groaned, and buried my face in my hands briefly, holding a deep gulp of air and releasing it. 'Yep?' I sighed, resurfacing.
'Susannah, as against such things as I usually am . . .I strongly suggest that you come with me tonight,' he said, staring into my eyes. I could see a flash of discomfiture there, but his decency was overruling it.
I went very red. 'What?'
'Er,' he said to the floor, 'In separate rooms, I assure you. I am worried about your safety, querida - '
. . . He was calling me "querida" again . . .
' – and there are certain rituals that I have performed on my bedroom that specifically do not allow Paul to enter,' he went on. 'Oh,' he added, realizing what he said, 'you of course can stay there, I will stay otherwise. I know that I can handle Paul if the situation arises and I want to ensure that you are out of harm's way – '
. . . He's so sweet. God Suze . . . he really does love you. Look at the way that he's blushing . . .
' – and you can tell your mother that your are staying the night at your friend CeeCee's if she is doubtful of this arrangement,' he continued, his sentences getting faster by the moment, 'But I can assure you that you will be perfectly safe . . . from, er, all things, there. I make that promise to you, Susannah,' he vowed, taking my hand and kissing my fingertips.
. . . He's so magical . . .
'Jesse, cool it,' I smiled. 'I guess it's not a bad idea. I'll just get a couple of things. If you promise to drive me to school, then that's okay.'
'But of course,' he nodded, the corners of his mouth twitching up slightly in happiness. Not the evil, hidden-agenda-y happiness. The "she trusts me" happiness.
I felt that was face was flaming hot, and that my hands were fidgeting. Oh God, this was embarrassing . . . quietly, I grabbed a few things, scrawled a note for mum as an explanation to my absence, and walked back to Jesse.
'How are we going to get there?' I asked, 'You don't have a car at the moment.'
He grinned knowingly. 'Susannah. I think that if I can dematerialize from Spain to here, I can materialize from here to my house,' he said fairly.
'Oh yeah,' was my witty evaluation.
Revenge of the blondness. It was the clothes, I swear.
Jesse carefully put his arms around my waist, and we both dematerialized together in a shower of brilliant blue radiance . . .
I stared at the photos. There were so many of them. Faces. Beautiful faces. All smiling. All happy.
Rosa and Lola beamed up at me, hugging each other affectionately as toddlers. Esmerelda was pouting cutely at her big sisters as they tickled her, in another. I scanned them all . . . Mr and Mrs De Silva on their wedding day, looking younger and even more attractive than they were now.
So many photos . . .
Jesse, holding Adrianna, who was resting her head against his shoulder serenely. Her huge black eyes looked so tranquil and innocent. Jesse's looked world-wise, proud and brotherly.
Then, I came across a photo that made me stare harder than I'd ever stared before.
Jesse was there, with an old man in a wheel chair . . .
. . . And Paul.
Paul looked absolutely dashing. All three of them were dressed up formally. Paul, although younger, had his hair gelled into sophisticated little curls, like they were now, but they were shorter in the photo. His smile, still dark and mysterious, wasn't as deadly as it had been of late. There was something less evil there. Like he still had so much to learn . . .
Jesse looked oblivious to Paul's stirring smile. He grinned amiably back at me. His hair had been shoulder length then, and had been incredibly sexy. But I liked it better now. It suited him.
My eyes strayed to the old man in the wheel chair. His eyes. They were so like Paul's, except, older. So much older. No, seriously. As in, ancient, antique older. Almost, inhumanly older.
Okay, now I was just being rude. Everyone else about him was fine. It was just the eyes . . .
My own were drawn back to Paul. He penetrated me with his fixated gaze. He searched me, hurt me, called for me -
'Susannah?'
In alarm, I dropped the photo frame. With a loud smash, it shattered on the floor.
'Shit,' I cursed, bending down and grabbing the glass hastily. 'Jesse, I'm sorry. I'm such a butterfingers, I'll clean it up, I'm really sorry – OW!' I swore as a piece of glass cut the skin in between the base of my thumb and my index finger.
'Do relax, querida,' he smiled at me. 'Watch . . . '
And then, with his EYES, all the pieces of the glass were . . . I dunno, telekinetically risen, and all cut through the air to – I assumed – the bin.
Jesse's dark eyes blinked out of concentration. 'Ah, I'm getting better,' he said, pleased. He took my hand and held it up before him. It was barely bleeding. I felt like such an idiot. I mean, how often did I have to gore myself already? Suze, Paul was a major contributor, when he was poking his thorny roses into my hands, but still! 'It's a very shallow cut,' Jesse inspected, 'A bandaid will do it.'
With a focused grimace, a bandaid materialized into his hand.
'Oh my God,' I said in awe, 'Hello, circus magician.'
Jesse chuckled a sexy, slow little chuckle that made my spine almost shatter in pleasure. 'You could do it too, if you wanted to . . .'
I arched an eyebrow. 'Sure. "Just have faith!" I'm sure.'
'No, I am being perfectly serious,' he declared, wrinkling his forehead eloquently. 'You have great potential to be a powerful shifter, Susannah.'
'It sounds so much better when you say it,' I smiled at him.
Jesse's grin froze, and he looked at me sharply. 'What was that?' he asked with a different tone. It was demanding . . .
'Uh, nothing,' I said quickly. Jesse glowered again. 'Susannah . . . has Paul said that also?'
I giggled nervously. 'No?' I squeaked.
'Susannah,' he warned.
'Well, so what if he has?' I shrugged angrily.
Jesse closed his eyes and groaned softly.
'What?' I snapped.
Jesse shook his head, and looked at me again, his mouth twitching. 'Make me a promise, Susannah, that whatever the situation, you will not go to Paul to learn the shifter ways. He has dark methods, and has studied dark teachings. You must never accept his instruction on –'
'I know,' I butted. 'I mean, it was kind of obvious. Evil, horny loser with spooky, over-used pick up lines, and offering to show me a whole new world that I couldn't imagine. From the first day I knew the guy was a nut.'
Again, Jesse laughed that spine-tingling chuckle that made my heart do these little flip-flops inside my chest. After applying the bandaid to my hand, he lead me down a long, painting covered hallway.
I looked again at Jesse's eyes . . . hang on . . .
'Jesse,' I said slowly, 'What's wrong?'
He stopped. 'What ever do you mean, querida?'
'You look . . . I dunno, sad,' I commented. But didn't he always have that adorably sexy "lost puppy" appeal to him? I wished I could eat my words back up.
His gaze flickered. 'Actually, there is something. My uncle, the one whom we flew to Spain in the first place . . . He died this morning,' he explained in a level, unreadable tone.
'Oh,' I said, feeling very guilty, 'I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to bring it up, I just was –'
'Do not apologize, Susannah,' he ordered blankly. 'You have nothing to be sorry for. He died a very happy man. He had his family around, who loved him. He had no unfinished business. It was just . . . difficult for me, to watch someone die.'
'Like what happened with Paul,' I said.
ME AND MY BIG MOUTH!
Jesse looked me in the eye brusquely, and I recoiled slightly.
'I'm . . . oooh, no tact!' I whined, thumping myself dully on the forehead.
He held my wrist to prevent me from doing so, and smiled weakly. 'No, you are right,' he nodded. 'I had to watch Paul die also. But that was easier, and harder at the same time, than my uncle. Paul . . . he'd made it easy on me by first making me want to kill him. But trying to hurt Adrianna,' Jesse explained, his Spanish accent heavy with regret. 'But to watch a person die is the worst experience one can ever undergo. It steals something that is very rare from within you. I felt it go when I pulled the trigger of that gun.' He said that with clenched teeth. 'I feel conflicted. I regret doing it, but I wish him this fate also. A terrible man I am . . . but I do not want others to suffer at his hands –'
'I know,' I said softly. I could see this was hard for him to say. He knew that he was a murderer, and it broke him. Oh, God . . . Jesse wasn't as perfect as he appeared. I'd underestimated how much killing Paul had affected him. How much it had shaped the character that was in front of me at the moment.
The hall was so bright.
Why did we need all these lights on?
Jesse and I were standing very close . . . I could feel him breathing on my cheek. It was good breath. Nice breath. Not smelly, pleasant and warm . . .
'Susannah,' he said gently.
He was going to kiss me again!
I could so tell!
It was in his eyes!
Those beautiful, Latino eyes . . .
I swallowed. 'Yeah, Jesse?'
His eyes flashed mischievously. 'Would you like a milkshake?'
I poked him hard in the stomach. 'You suck,' I snapped jokily. 'But whatever.'
Smiling in triumph, he continued to lead me down the hall to the kitchen. Well, if the fridge and the dishwasher and the stove and the oven and everything were any indication. I mean, it could have been the toilet . . . but pray tell, WHERE were the sewerage pipes?!
I'm kidding . . .
Jesse swayed coolly up to the fridge. God, did the bastard know how hot he was? The way his neck bent forward, the seriousness on his face, his smooth, dark skin, his black, rich hair, strong arms, ice-melting smile, and the eyes . . .
So sexy . . .
He withdrew a tub of ice cream, some sprinkles, a bar of chocolate, a carton of milk, a little bottle of vanilla essence, and two tall sundae glasses.
'Impressive,' I smiled at him, as he set everything up, and then retrieved the blender from an overhead cupboard.
Cheerily, we both began scooping dollops of ice cream into the blender, all smiles at each other. I kind of spilt a few sprinkles, but he didn't really care. The milk went in, and after melting the chocolate in the microwave, that went in too.
'Mmm,' I licked my lips in anticipation, 'This is going to be yummy.'
Jesse's eyes twinkled. 'Yes, I agree.' He went to mix it all together when I coughed and slid in the way. 'Excuse me, but I think that it's my turn?' I pointed out.
'Yes, ladies first,' he nodded with a reckless grin. I blinked. Huh?
Shrugging, I pushed the button –
SPLAT!
. . . I didn't know blenders came with LIDS!
'Oh my God!' I screamed as all the milky ice cream plastered itself across my face, clothes – although they technically weren't mine – and hair! And Jesse had suffered the same fate.
I was horrified with myself! 'Oh my God, Jesse, I'm so SORRY!' I gasped, shielding my mouth with my hand in horror.
Jesse looked at me blankly, thoroughly annoyed. I wanted him to say something! Oh, he was going to kill me! Look at the mess I'd made!
His hair had thick splodges of ice cream, and his face, only minimally affected, was spotted with little blobs of chocolate.
Why wouldn't he SAY SOMETHING?!
Then, I couldn't help myself. I just cracked up, totally.
'You're – covered – in . . . in – ice cream!' I laughed hysterically. It was all down my front, and my arms, and my hair, and my face, especially . . . but I didn't care. Jesse just looked so FUNNY!
'And in your hair too!' I shrieked with laughed, doubling over.
'Stop laughing, I'm covered,' he said in annoyance.
'But you look ridiculous!' I squealed, bursting into fits of giggles again.
'So do you!' he retorted, not seeing such a funny side.
Which was fair enough. It was going to take AGES to clean. But come on, you HAD to be there!
'I'm sorry, you just. . . your face!' I cracked up again.
Only I kind of stopped laughing, VERY abruptly, when he grabbed me around the waist and trapped me against him, gazing down at me before hissing, 'I don't really like to waste food . . . ' and then . . .
. . . . Kissing the milkshake off my cheek.
I was so shocked. I really was. My mouth was kind of hanging open. Jesse was going all bad-boy on me! Oooh, I likey! I smiled as he continued to lightly clean my face from the syrupy mess. My skin tingled beguilingly, and I gasped in pleasure. My eyes drifted closed as his lips continued to roam my face. Oh, it felt so good . . . everything else slipped away so easily that all I could think about was Jesse. What was he doing? I mean, dude, I was NOT complaining . . . but . . . this wasn't Jesse, right?
When he'd gotten all of the ice cream off my cheeks, his lips strayed back down and claimed mine, bringing the gentle, tantalizing kisses up to a full- scale kiss of passion. I gripped Jesse to me, throwing my arms around his neck, and he tilted his head to the left, pushing against my lips. Oh, God, this was beautiful . . . It melted away everything . . . Dad, Paul, Timothy, fighting with Adam . . . everything drifted away. My lips were on fire, but in such an awesome way! Jesse's hand cupped my face hastily, and I ran my hands through his beautiful dark curls that were dampened with ice cream still. I didn't care. His hand on my back ran up and down my spine, sending random thrills chasing one another. This felt so wonderful, I didn't want it to end.
And with a deluge of gentle blue light, our surroundings changed, and we were in . . . well, it appeared to be a bedroom. I clearly wasn't paying to much attention, too busy on things more, er, immediate.
But then it all stopped too quickly!
'Querida!' Jesse shouted out, falling back from me.
I stared in alarm. 'What? Did I do something wr –'
Jesse seized his forehead, 'I am eternally sorry, Susannah, I do not know what came over me,' he gasped. What had happened?
'Why did you stop?' I asked him, a little hurt. What did I do? Did I do something that he didn't like?
'I . . . it was terrible of me,' he said, 'I completely lost my head . . .'
I frowned. 'You mean, you didn't want that to happen?' For effect, a little globule of cream splashed on the carpet.
I felt pathetic. And confused.
Jesse jammed his eyes shut. 'Susannah, I don't think that . . .' he began, but now I was annoyed.
'Jesse, you think too much!' I protested. 'That kiss . . . that blew me away. Jesse, I love you. I . . . I really do . . . is there something wrong . . . did I –'
'No!' Jesse yelled, 'Susannah, there is nothing wrong with you. I promised you that I wouldn't . . . that I would keep from . . . that if you stayed the night, you would not have to, well, kiss me or anything. It was wrong of me to break your trust, and I am so sorry that –'
'Jesse,' I said softly, stepping towards him a little, 'that was the most beautiful kiss ever . . . I don't have to do anything. But . . . ' I smiled secretly, '. . . I want to.'
Jesse swallowed, and opened his mouth several times. For someone who had just been so face-kissy and stuff, he was pretty nervous.
'I'll make it easier, then,' I whispered to him, and I kissed him very gently on the lips. Gently . . . slowly . . . oh GOD, it felt good to be distracted!
He responded with equal steadiness. I was still confused. Like, I wasn't even thinking straight. Why was Jesse so reluctant? Was there someone else on his mind? I mean, something? Yeah, something.
Not some ONE.
There were no other ones but me . . . right? I grazed my hand down the side of his face smoothly, but frowned. Oh, damned thoughts! Why couldn't I just forget everything? Forget that everything existed? That Paul, vampires and God forbid, demons, were all myths. And why couldn't I just feel happy that Jesse did love me? Why did I have to make up reasons to justify the fact that he might actually like me for who I was? Why did I feel like he wanted me to become someone else? Did he want me to be different?
But with all my remaining willpower, I forced all thought from my mind, and just let go . . . I lost myself in my love.
Oh shit, I loved Jesse . . . so much. It burnt, like a fire that had just been newly ignited, and would burn on forever. It was amazing and mind- blowing how good it felt, just to be there with someone who cared for me.
But the moment of bliss was brutally shattered by a hesitant, 'Perdone, yo no lo vi!'
Jesse broke away directly, to my bewilderment. He paled. 'Qué en nombre de Dios are you doing here . . . Querida?'
I turned my head brusquely –
Oh.
Holy cow . . .
A/N: Please review. I'm not feeling too well at the moment, and it is 2.00am, so I am making an effort! Please review? I'm really tired, and if that chapter got a little odd, blame the drowsiness. If I read it tomorrow and I don't like it, I'll change it. I don't think it was too bad, though. What do YOU think? Please-oh-please review . . .
I need something to cheer me up.
Regards, MystAngel.