Tear (Seaside 1)

“Go fish,” Alec said without smiling.

“Seriously?”

“Oh, absolutely.” Alec grinned and reached behind him revealing a giant pack of Swedish fish. “So, this is how it works, every time a player says go fish, you have to literally go fish, but you can’t use your hands.”

“What do I use?”

“Your mouth.” He winked. “And you can’t let your lips touch the counter, it has to be all teeth. Cheaters will be punished.”

“You’ve played this before?”

“Oh, honey, if this was an Olympic sport I’d have more medals than Phelps.”

“Crap.” I quickly dealt the cards and so started the game.

Within ten minutes I had already eaten five Swedish fish and accidently touched the table with my lips twice. The punishment he spoke of was the other player licking the Swedish fish and placing it on the cheater’s cheek. You had to stay that way until it fell off, and then you had to eat the fish.

Good thing he had a five pound bag, because with the way I was playing it was going to be gone.

After the first game, I had successfully eaten fifteen fish. Alec had four.

A knock sounded at the door. “Oh, that’s the pizza.” Alec shot out of his seat toward the door, then abruptly turned back. “No cheating!” He placed his cards farther away from me.

I was never one to listen and had always been a rebellious little girl. Plus, I had the biggest sugar high. I grasped his cards and swapped them so he would have to keep eating the fish.

By the time he came back, the smell of pizza filled the living room. My stomach growled.

“I knew you were hungry.” Alec went into the kitchen and returned with a couple plates and napkins. “You gotta eat before you go to a party, Nat. That’s like Partying 101. Never drink on an empty stomach, kay? Promise me if you ever go to a party again and plan on drinking, that you will eat beforehand.”

I nodded. “I promise, Mom.”

“Thanks, sweetie.” Alec patted my head and laughed.

It was so easy with him. It was like, oh gosh, I’m totally going to kill Stephenie Meyer and Twilight. It really was like breathing. Sorry Jacob and Bella, but it’s true. And I’m sorry, but being with a werewolf would not be like breathing. It would be like dying.

It was unexpected and completely confusing. I didn’t expect Alec to be so relaxed, or fun, or even protective for that matter. Alec moved casually around the kitchen and grabbed some forks for us. He was so normal. It was as if I was the most important thing in the world, the most important person in the room. Even though it was just us, his phone kept buzzing off the table. He never once looked at it.

When it rang for the tenth time, he threw it on the couch and stuffed a pillow over it.

We ate our pizza in silence. I attacked mine like a woman starved. I usually didn’t eat junk food, but oh my gosh, the greasy cheese was like manna from heaven. “Thank you,” I finally said after devouring three pieces.

He had five, so I didn’t feel as bad.

“Anytime.” He wiped his mouth with a napkin and took our plates back to the kitchen. “How about one more game?”

“You’re on!” I giggled. Oh no, I’m giggling like a middle schooler. He’s totally going to know I cheated.

“You cheated,” he announced when he sat back down across from me.

I giggled. “No I didn’t.”

“You’re giggling.”

“I’m a girl!” I fired back.

His eyes narrowed. “Fine, I’ll play. But if I lose, I’ll know, Nat. I’ll know.”

“I’m not afraid of you.”

He leaned across the table, his face inches from mine. “You should be.”

Wait, were we still talking about the game?

My gaze fell to his lips, then flashed back to his eyes.

He jerked back and cleared his throat. “Do you have any sixes?”

“Go fish.”

He glared and leaned over to pick the fish off the table, his lips grazing the little red gummy. I gulped, suddenly hot all over watching his tongue slip out of his mouth and attach itself to the fish. I’d never had that type of response to two guys before. It scared the crap out of me.

And, great. I’m jealous of a candy.

His lips never touched the counter. He ate the fish and grinned triumphantly. His grin, however, was short lived. Some ten fish later, he was losing horribly, and I still didn’t have to eat any more fish.

“I think I may be sick,” he announced before having to go fish again.

“Aw, too many fish? We can just call the game now. I mean, it’s not like you’re going to win.”

He quickly picked up the fish and then spit it at me. Shocked, my mouth dropped open, then I reached into the bag and began pelting him with the fish.

“Ah!” He jumped out of his chair and tackled me to the floor, trying to force a handful of fish into my mouth.

I closed my eyes and shook my head back and forth. His weight nearly crushed me. There was no way I was getting out from underneath him.

And then, it was as if at the same time we realized what was happening. I slowly opened my eyes to see him staring at my mouth like a man starved.

My breath grew ragged as Alec’s eyes dilated. He licked his lips and leaned down. I closed my eyes.

“Alec!” The voice jolted both of us away from one another. Alec cursed and helped me up. Demetri was walking through the door… well, stumbling and winding through the hallway was more like it. He was still smashed.