“It’s nothing. Just something Addison said.”
Alarm has me lifting onto my elbows. Carter pushes back and drives a hand through his hair. “Seems she wasn’t the only one to see me get into your car the other night. That fucker Sully saw, and he’s spreading rumors at my old school.” He groans. “Guess I didn’t knock him out good enough.”
A pulse of panic stabs my chest. I remember looking into Sully’s eyes…though I thought he was too out of it to get a good look at me.
Sloppy, my inner voice scolds.
Still, how much danger can one high school boy present? Sue set a high bar for being a meddling threat. I c
an handle this.
“Just ignore it.” I smile and stroke his face, willing myself to take my own advice. “The only way to confirm a rumor is to act on it.”
He moves in and kisses my neck. “You’re so smart,” he whispers along my jaw. “That’s hot.”
I laugh, but in the back of my mind, that annoying voice mutters a warning. “What about Addison?” I ask.
Distracted, he says, “What about her.”
In my opinion, she’s not as harmless as Sully. I’ve known girls like her. I know that, when they want something—or someone—they can be vicious. And I remember how Addison looked at Carter with that adoration in her eyes.
She wants him.
“Would she tell somebody about us?” I ask.
“Of course not,” he says, further distracted with my body. He fiddles with the button on my blouse. “She’s my friend. She might not agree with all my choices, but she wouldn’t hurt me.”
Right. Men are so easily duped. Honestly, it’s not their fault, not really. They’re led by their egos…and their dicks. Stroke both the right way, and their mind isn’t that difficult to cloud, to control.
“But she doesn’t agree with your choice to be with me,” I say, hedging. “She knows, doesn’t she?”
He sighs. “I don’t really care what she agrees with. I’m here. With you.” His eyes widen as he makes his point. “She’ll get over it.”
My heart constricts painfully at the realization that Carter included Addison in our secret. I feel…violated in some way. As if what makes us special has been soiled.
That’s just my nerves, though. The fear of losing him. What Carter and I have is special no matter who knows and places judgement. I’ve never felt this way before about anyone, and I won’t let one little girl ruin us.
If Addison wants to keep us apart, then just one phone call to the right person could make that happen. I have to make sure it doesn’t.
Carter pushes my blouse open, the silky material drops to my sides to expose my lacy bra.
I lose myself in him. Let the anxiety and trepidation for what awaits us fall away as his hands roam purposely over my body and he sinks inside me. The weight of the world disappears in his anti-gravity.
Spent from our lovemaking, I leave Carter on the blanket to rest as I hike down to the waterfall’s edge. I pull Carter’s jacket around me and seat myself on a large boulder, letting my feet dangle into the rushing water. It’s cool and refreshing, and washes away the lingering anxiety.
I’m feeling renewed and in control, knowing that the worst is behind us, when my phone dings with a text.
I shouldn’t look at the screen; the heightened sense of dread coiling my body senses the bomb about to detonate.
I glance back in Carter’s direction, needing a reminder of my purpose, before I flip my phone over and tap the message.
Unknown number: I know about the Beach Blood Bash.
14
Of Light and Dark
Ellis