Page 24 of Giving In

CHAPTER 6

‘You’re an angel if you say so

But you have horns for a halo’

Nails – Call Me Karizma

Jamie

“Let’s get you something strong,” Emily says as we walk into the kitchen. I can sense the two guys we just passed drilling holes in my back. Or at least I hope it’s my back.

“Em, I told you I’m not drinking,” I reply. I must have told her about fifty times by now.

I’m so uncomfortable. The music is loud, the skirt I borrowed from my mom is too big at the waist and I keep having to rearrange it. I also had to take a white t-shirt from Emily because I dropped my matte red lipstick on mine while I was applying it. As a result, I’m now wearing a t-shirt twice my size and I definitely don’t fill up the boob part.

Mainly, I’m dreading the moment Em will bump into her cheerleader friends and leave me to fend for myself. I guess I’ll just head home at that point.

“Will you stop being so grumpy?” Em turns back to me from the kitchen counter holding two red cups. As if she just heard my thoughts, she adds, “I told you I’m here for you and with you. You can meet my friends, if you don’t feel comfortable, we’ll just hang the two of us.”

I force a smile and grab the cup. “I promise I’ll make an effort. What’s in this?”

“Oh, it’s just…”

I don’t hear the end of her sentence. My gaze locks with Jake’s and I’m suddenly short of breath. I don’t know if it’s because he looks more handsome than ever – his black jeans and black tee hug his perfect muscles, especially his chest and arms, making him look like the sculpture of a Greek God – or if it’s the current look he’s throwing my way.

His eyes are darker than the ocean in the middle of a storm. His jaw is ticking and there is pure hatred in his look. I instantly feel uncomfortable. There’s always that energy around him. It’s a mix of danger and fascination. I’m pretty sure this is what the devil looks like. Forbidden, desirable, magnetic.

I want to look away, but he’s got a hold on me and I can’t seem to move. I want this to end and, at the same time, I don’t want the warmth in my lower belly to ever go away. I’m completely under the spell and I wish I could just walk over and put my lips on his, but I know better. He’s not doing this because he wants me to walk over to him. In fact, he wants the opposite. He wants me to turn around and walk out the door. Well, guess what Jake. I’m here to party and party I will.

“Uh, remember we’re trying to make friends with them, not get ourselves killed. Why is he looking at you like that?”

“Because I threatened to spill about his little friend Sam,” I say between gritted teeth.

“I don’t get if he wants to kill you or fuck you. Maybe both.”

I turn to grab the cup Emily is handing me and when I turn back to him, he is still looking daggers at me. I give him a smile, tilt the cup toward him in a ‘cheers’ movement, and drink a few sips. This shit is strong, what the hell did she put in here?! I try to keep my face as normal as possible as the alcohol burns down my throat. Jake’s nostrils flare up and he takes a step towards me, but Rose suddenly gets in his way.

“You’ll never guess who’s here,” I hear her say.

Emily walks into my line of vision and offers me her widest grin. “Ready to have some fun baby?”

I take another sip of my drink and smile at her, the alcohol now soothing my throat instead of burning it. She takes my hand and leads me back to the living room where everyone is dancing. The music is not my style, but it still makes me want to dance.

Emily and I start dancing with each other. She’s a good dancer and attracts a lot of the boys’ attention. Her curves move to the rhythm of the music like she doesn’t care who’s watching and a few minutes later we’re surrounded by multiple guys trying to get her attention. She doesn’t even look at them, not giving them an ounce of hope, and focuses on me. She grabs my hips and helps me loosen up to the rhythm ofTaki Taki.

A few songs later, we’re dancing close to each other and laughing at the guys’ jaws dropping to the floor. Emily notices something behind me and leans down to talk directly in my ear.

“Don’t turn around but Chris is coming our way.” She talks so close to my ear that I can hear her over the music while no one else can. The only fact that I hear the name ‘Chris’ coming out of my friend’s mouth sends my heart into a frenzy.

A second later I feel a hand squeeze my arm gently and I turn to Chris as he slides his hand from my arm to between my shoulder blades. He says something but I can’t hear him, and I point at my ears and shake my head. He smiles brightly and points at the door leading to the patio with his thumb. I turn to Em hesitantly and she nods excitedly.

In a wave of braveness, I put my left hand around his bicep, nod to him, and mouth ‘let’s go’.

Oh my God, his arm is huge.

Once in the never-ending backyard, we sit down at a table on the wooden patio and watch for a few seconds as some boys throw some girls in underwear in the pool and jump after them.

“It’s so nice to see you at a party for once,” he grins at me.

---