Page 108 of My Fault

I laughed sarcastically.

“Since when do I pay attention to what you say?” I asked, eating another grape. They were delicious.

“Since I started staying here to keep my eye on you. You’re not going anywhere, so don’t bother arguing.” This was surreal. Since when did I have to do what Nicholas Leister said?

“Listen up, Nicholas. I do what I want when I want, so you can drop the bodyguard act because there’s no way I’m staying in on a Friday night.”

I got up to leave. Lion was chuckling.

“This is like watching a tennis match,” he said, but he turned meek when Nicholas gave him a piercing stare.

I walked past them to my room. I needed to decide what to wear.

Jenna called me around seven. The initiation party was a tradition at St. Marie’s, and funny enough, it took place on campus. Wehad to sneak in. It was supposed to be the wildest party ever. The freshmen took care of the food and drinks and then cleaned up afterward, and they did such a good job, no one had ever been caught. Since I was a new senior, I was just there for the fun part. Jenna told me I should wear something comfortable, so I chose black jeans, a sleeveless T-shirt, and sandals, and I left my hair down. I needed almost no time to get ready, so I still had a half hour left before she’d pick me up.

I was about to head downstairs to grab dinner, but I ran into Nick even before I hit the steps. He seemed to be lurking outside my bedroom.

“Going somewhere?” he asked. I wanted to hate him, hate him and make his life impossible, and I was determined to try to do it even as another part of me wanted to drop everything and kiss him then and there.

“Are you planning on stalking me all night?” I asked. He hurried ahead of me and turned and faced me on the bottom stair.

“Nicholas, forget me, please.”

I started to make a sandwich in the kitchen. I’d be drinking that night, and I needed something solid in my stomach. But as I was cutting the bread, a pair of hands grabbed me from behind, and a body pushed me into the counter. Feeling him that way after so long made me drop the knife I was holding. Despite my best efforts, I shivered when I felt his lips on my bare shoulder.

“Let me go, Nicholas.” My body wanted that contact, but my mind shoutedDanger! Danger!

But he kept kissing me, my ear, my neck. He pushed my hair aside, and that simple touch made me close my eyes with pleasure.

“I’m tired of playing this stupid game,” he said, one hand against my stomach. “I wasn’t lying when I said that what happened in the Bahamas would never happen again. I’m here for you if and when you need me, Noah… You want me, and I want you…”

As he attacked my neck again, I lost the thread of my thoughts. I did want him, and as he kissed me, all those thoughts about my father, about my past, dissolved. Nicholas Leister was at least as distracting as alcohol, probably more so.

I stretched my arm back and ran my hand through his hair, pulling his head toward my throat. He put his hands around my waist and turned me around swiftly.

“You want me to kiss you?” he asked.

What kind of stupid question was that?

“Stay home and we’ll do more than that, I promise,” he said, his lips approaching mine.

“Are you bribing me?” I asked him, baffled and maybe a little resentful. He had been kind with me recently, and he’d resisted fighting with Ronnie when he’d given me the last letter. But I still didn’t know if I was ready to forgive him.

“That’s an ugly word. I prefer the term ‘seduction.’”

I let him kiss me. The feeling was marvelous but dizzying. Every time we touched each other, I felt a million different sensations, and this time was no different. But something had changed. He was kissing me with desperation. That frightened me, but when I felt the pressure of his tongue, I couldn’t help but respond the same way.

“You staying?” he asked then, standing back.

We were both struggling to breathe normally.

I pressed my hands into his chest.

“I’m going, Nicholas. But thanks for distracting me.”

And I left.

When we reached the school, we had to turn off the radio in Jenna’s convertible and sneak in. The party was in the back, in the fitness complex, where the pool was. From there, no one would hear themusic. It was thrilling to scurry under the fence with the other kids who were arriving at the same time. The darkness wasn’t total—there were lampposts spread around—so we didn’t worry about tripping or falling as we crossed the green. When we entered, we saw the pool itself, a weight room, the risers. Most of the kids from the high school were there, and everyone had a plastic cup in hand. Lots of them were swimming. The music was deafening. I turned to Jenna and laughed.