Ruin (Ruin 1)

“Right.” I laughed and looked away. “Lots of tight, uh, hugging.”

“So…” She looked back at the car. “Do we get in or what?”

“Nope.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out a blindfold. “Now you trust me.”

“Should have known you’d wait until after you kissed me to kill me.”

“All the good serial killers seduce and then kill.” I sighed. “Now, give me two minutes to set up and we’ll be ready to go.”

“Okay.”

I waved in front of her face to make sure she couldn’t see and

then ran back to the Cayenne.

Chapter Twenty-Two

He was right. My world shifted. It shifted into his atmosphere. I wonder if it was on purpose.

Kiersten

Why did people always do that? Wave in front of your face to make sure you couldn’t see? I mean, I could still see the action of him waving. It was cute. And honestly, I needed a moment. After that kiss… I sighed and rocked back on my heels. His kisses didn’t give — they ruined. I wasn’t sure how any other kiss would ever compare. But I did know one thing. I didn’t want to experiment. I didn’t want to see. Yet it felt like he was just humoring me, because in those moments he always said “the guy who holds your heart,” and “the guy you marry…” Why the heck was he constantly taking himself out of the equation? The insecure part of myself made me assume it was because I wasn’t his type and I was young. And well, he was a popular football god, while I was just a freshman with an undeclared major. Wow, there was a reality check if I ever needed one.

“Ready?” His voice came from in front of me.

“I think so.” I tried not to sound nervous but I was. I mean, if he kissed me again I might just pass out and fall into the lake. Hopefully, he knew how to swim because I was probably going to drown.

“Open up your hands.”

“Please don’t be one of those guys that thinks it’s funny to put spiders or snakes in girls’ hands to hear them scream.”

A warm hand touched my face and then flicked my lower lip. “I can’t lie, Kiersten. I want to hear you scream, but not like that. Definitely, not like that.”

Was he saying what I thought he was saying? Regardless, I felt a hot blush rush cross my cheeks.

“You trust me?” Wes asked.

“Yes.”

“Then hold out your hands.”

I did.

He placed something kind of heavy in them. It was wrapped, so I couldn’t tell by feeling it what it was. A book maybe?

The blindfold was pulled from my face. I looked down at my hands. It was a book. At least I think it was.

“Open it,” he urged.

As I peeled back the layers of blue wrapping paper, Wes walked behind me and whispered in my ear.

“…It was painful, exceedingly painful, to know that they were under obligations to a person who could never receive a return…”

The paper fell. It was a limited edition of Pride and Prejudice. “You, you gave me—”

“Mr. Darcy,” Wes whispered in my ear. “As you can see, I also memorized some lines so that you’d swoon.”

“Should you recite them again and I’ll fall into your arms?” I asked breathlessly, still examining the beautifully bound book.