A great-grandmother?
This lady doesn’t look a day over fifty. Or maybe it’s just I’m not used to seeing anybody over the age of forty without Botox or plastic surgery—even my mom has gotten Botox. It’s just the way things are in LA.
“Congratulations,” Tristan tells her. “That’s wonderful.”
“You still off at the fancy boarding school in Europe?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Mrs. Turner looks at me. “Is this your girlfriend?”
Tristan grins, looking at me. “Yeah, she’s my girlfriend. This is Zara. Zara, meet Mrs. Turner. She owns this wonderful establishment.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” I tell her, holding out my hand to shake hers.
“Such a beauty.” Mrs. Turner smiles warmly at me, and I can’t help but like her.
The door jingles behind us. I turn around and see a woman with a younger kid come into the shop.
“You two sit. I’ll bring out two of your usual.” Mrs. Turner says.
“Thank you. You’re awesome, Mrs. Turner.”
Tristan and I make our way towards one of the empty booths to sit down.
The shop is cozy—a lot cozier than any chain coffee shops I’ve been to. It feels very welcoming—like I could come spend hours here. I imagine that if I grew up in this town, I would’ve come here to study. And out the window, there is a view of the bay. It’s gorgeous. I see why Tristan wanted to come here.
“What do you think?” Tristan asks, studying me.
“This is wonderful. I honestly love this town.” I grin, just taking it all in. “I feel like leaving here to go to school would’ve been hard. This is magical.”
He shrugs. “It’s home.”
Something about this place reminds me of small towns you always see in movies or on TV shows—the kind of town where everybody is nice. And for some reason, I like the thought of living somewhere like this. I grew up in LA where if somebody wanted to be your friend, you’d have to question their motive. Did they only want to be friends with me because of my mom? Or maybe because of my dad or even my brother. But here... they don’t have that problem.
Or maybe they do. I’ve literally been here less than twenty-four hours. But for some reason, I don’t think they care about status here. And Tristan loves it here, that’s enough for me.
A little later, Mrs. Turner brings out some coffee and breakfast for us. Tristan and I just eat, making small talk, and looking out the window at the bay. I can’t help but wonder if this is what our life would be like if we were normal. If Tristan was raised here, and his parents weren’t Spy School. Maybe if my parents had lived here. We could’ve met at a public school and be on a date right now.
But then again... I can’t imagine life without Spy School.
Jealous.
After we leave the coffee shop, we head toward a mall to get some clothes.
The mall is pretty packed, though I’m not surprised. Malls are always pretty packed around this time of the year with people bringing things back and exchanging things they got for Christmas.
The first store we go into is one I’ve never heard of, but they have cute clothes. I’m so excited to get into some clothes that fit. I really do love wearing the guys’ shirts, but not as much when we’re in public. I feel like I look like a toddler when I wear Tristan’s shirt because it swallows me.
While we’re looking in the store, two girls walk up to Tristan. One girl is tall and thin, the other a little shorter, but still tall, and athletic.
“Hey, Tristan.” The taller girl flutters her eyelashes.
I don’t know how I keep myself from rolling my eyes, but somehow, I do.
“Hey, Addison.” He nods his head at her, then the other girl. “Kaylee.”
I’m not surprised that he knows their names. I wouldn’t be surprised if Tristan knew the names of everybody in this town.
The Addison girl smiles widely at him.
Addison is pretty. She has gorgeous deep-red hair and freckles that lightly kiss her nose. She has dark green eyes that literally sparkle. And she looks at Tristan like he hung the freaking moon.
I don’t like her.
I feel bad for thinking that, but I don’t like the way this girl looks at my boyfriend.
The other girl, Kaylee, has blonde hair. It’s pulled into a ponytail, and she has a ribbon wrapped around it. I wonder if she’s a cheerleader. She looks like a cheerleader always looks in the movies, but I don’t know for sure. She’s definitely a pretty girl. She has a tan, even in the winter. Which, maybe, she got while she was on vacation for Christmas or something. I mean, I have a tan in January, too.
“This is my girlfriend, Zara.” Tristan puts his arm around me, pulling me closer.
I grin, loving that he’s introducing me as his girlfriend. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of hearing those words from his mouth. “Hi. It’s nice to meet you.”
The redhead glares at me. The blonde one smiles, but it’s a tight smile.
I wouldn’t be surprised if both of these girls had a crush on Tristan. I mean, I can’t blame them if they did. If I was a local girl from Georgetown and had only gotten to see Tristan in passing, I would probably have a huge crush on him, too. Heck, I liked him from the moment I saw him at Spy School, when he came up to me and offered to show me where my class was. My crush has only grown now that I know how amazing he is.
“Are you in town for the holidays?” Addison asks, turning her attention back to Tristan, completely ignoring me.
Tristan nods. “I wanted to introduce my girlfriend to my parents.”
He says the lie so simply that I almost believe him. My heart actually races for a second, thinking he’s going to introduce me to them. Then I remember—they’re out of town. He’s just telling them this because it’s what they expect to hear.
At Spy School, we have to live a lie.
Our entire life will be a lie to others.
“You should come to Jackson’s house tonight.” Addison twirls hair around her finger, choosing to once again ignore the fact that he talked about me. “He’s having a party, and I know everybody would love to see you.”
Tristan shrugs. “We’ll see. It depends on what Zara and I end up doing tonight.”
Her eyes flash to me. She looks me up and down, like she’s sizing me up. She must not like what she sees, because she gives me a dismissive look and turns to Tristan once more.
Honestly, if I were her, I’d probably wonder what Tristan sees in me, too. I’m wearing a pair of his mother’s leggings and his t-shirt that is three sizes too big for me.
Tristan must know what I’m thinking, because he leans over and kisses me on the lips. It’s just a peck, but it’s enough.
Addison huffs. “Hopefully we’ll see you.”
She grabs Kaylee’s arm and pulls her away from us in a hurry. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody so happy to get away from me.
Yikes.
Tristan and I continue shopping. He tells me that he knows Addison and Kaylee from town. He was raised here, so it makes sense. And he spends every summer here when school is out.
I’m not surprised that Tristan is approached by at least five other girls while we shop. He is even approached by a few guys. All of the people who approach us invite us to the same party as the Addison girl did.
I’m relieved when we leave the mall. Not that I don’t want to meet Tristan’s friends, I do. It’s just... I don’t really like watching those other girls flirt with him. It’s very clear that he’s popular amongst the girls in town.
I don’t say a word on the way home, mostly because I’m fuming. It’s not Tristan’s fault that those girls like him, but still...
I wonder how many girls have fantasized about my boyfriend. How many of those girls don’t even care that he has a girlfriend now? Pretty much all of them dismissed me the second they looked at me.
Maybe I should’ve taken a second longer to fix my hair this morning. Or maybe even m
y makeup. I almost want to go to that stupid party just so I can show them that I look better when I’m not wearing a t-shirt as a dress.
“Are you okay?” Tristan asks, as we walk into his house, bags of clothes in hand.
I shrug. “I’m fine.”
He reaches out and puts a hand on my arm to stop me. “Zara, come on. What’s wrong?”
I should’ve known he wouldn’t let me get away that easy. I sigh. “I’m a little jealous of your entourage.”
He grins. “Really?”
I smack his arm playfully. “Tristan, come on. It’s not funny.”
“It’s cute. I like that you’re jealous,” he says, still smiling entirely too big. I can’t be mad at him when he smiles at me like that.
“I don’t have any right to be jealous.” I lower my head, shaking it.
He puts a finger under my chin, taping it so I look up at him. “Zara, you are right. You don’t have a right to be jealous, because those girls mean nothing to me, and you mean everything to me.”
“That’s not what I meant.” I let out a breath.
“I know.” He leans down and kisses my forehead. “Zara, I like the arrangement we have. So please don’t think you don’t have a right to be jealous because of it.”
I nod. Just a small nod, but it’s enough for him.
“I’m in love with you, Zara. You and only you.”
“I love you, too.” I smile, looking at him. “You’re incredible, Tristan.”
“I know.” He smacks me on the butt.
Gah.
This boy.
I’m so glad he’s mine.
One boyfriend.
It’s weird only having one boyfriend.
I mean... I still have five boyfriends, but only one of them is with me, and it’s kind of strange. I’m used to more than one of the guys almost always being with me, and now it’s just Tristan and me.
I hope the guys are okay. I’m trying very hard not to think about that for now. I really just need them to be okay. I need them to get here.
Until then, Tristan is trying his hardest to keep my mind off them. He’s been super sweet to me and super attentive. He even tried to go to the bathroom with me earlier, which is... well it was a little weird. He did give me privacy when I asked, but I get the feeling he’s scared to leave me alone for long. I don’t blame him. I’m definitely scared to be away from him, too. I’m scared he’s going to disappear.
I don’t know what I would do without Tristan or one of the guys. I wouldn’t even know where to start. I suppose I’d have to call Zach, which would probably be stupid. I think calling him could possibly put me in danger. So, maybe I wouldn’t call him. I honestly can’t say what I would do unless I was in that situation. Hopefully, I won’t ever be in that situation.
“I think we should go to that party tonight,” I tell Tristan, while he’s working on something on his computer. I’m just reading one of the books on the bookshelf in his room. It’s a book about hacking. I’m thinking this is an older book, ’cause I understand a lot of what’s in it.
He turns from the computer screen to look at me, raising an eyebrow. “Why?”
“Because... They’re your friends.”
He narrows his eyes. “They’re not my friends. Not really, Zara.”
I sigh. “Okay. Maybe I want to go for selfish reasons.”
“What kind of selfish reasons?”
“Those girls looked at me as if I wasn’t a threat. And I get it. I didn’t look cute today—”
Tristan cuts me off. “Zara, what are you talking about? You looked beautiful.”
“To you, maybe. But not to those girls. I want to fix my hair and makeup. I want to prove to them that I am worthy of you.”
Tristan gets up from his computer, walking over to me. “I don’t care what those girls think. You’re the one I want. The only one I want.”
My heart flutters at his words. “You’re amazing, truly. I’m glad you don’t care if I’m dressed cute or if I have my hair and makeup fixed. But I also want to look cute for you sometimes. And I definitely want to show your friends that you have a hot girlfriend.”
He grins, shaking his head. “We can do whatever you want. I’ll go to this party if that’s what you want.”
“You’ve probably been to lots of these parties,” I say. “I’m sure they expect you to come.”
He shrugs his shoulders. “I do try to fit in when I’m here. I show up sometimes, but not always.”
“We will go, it’s settled.”
I grin, happy that his friends aren’t going to think I’m a complete slob.
“You always get what you want, don’t you?” he asks, but he’s smiling, letting me know that he’s joking.
I shrug. “I like getting my way. It makes me happy.”
He laughs. “You’re a pain.”
“But a good kind of pain, right?”
“The best kind.”
Tristan presses his lips against mine, so I kiss him back. Kissing him is one of my favorite pastimes.
I know that what I want is silly. I know I probably won’t ever see his friends again. Or... not his friends. His acquaintances... his neighbors. Whatever they are. But I still want to make a good impression on everybody in Tristan’s life. I want them to like me.
I like to be liked. If I ever meet somebody and they don’t like me, I want to fix it, typically. And so, I want to prove to those girls that I am a good girlfriend for Tristan. Even if it really doesn’t matter, it kind of does, to me.
“I feel like I should take advantage of this time that I have you all to myself,” Tristan mumbles against my lips.
I nod. “You definitely should take advantage of it.”
He pulls back, closing his eyes, and sighing. “I don’t have any condoms with me. They were packed away.”
“You don’t need one.”
He raises an eyebrow.
“I’m on the pill, remember?”
“Doesn’t that take a while to work?” he asks.
I nod. “But only a week. I’ve been taking it longer than a week. And I haven’t missed. I take it every day at the same time. That’s what the alarm on my phone is for.”
He grins. “You’re okay without a condom?”
“Yeah, I think so. I mean, the pill works.”
“But not always, right?”
“I guess it’s ninety-nine-point nine percent effective, kind of like a condom.” I bite the corner of my lip. “I mean, you can go get some from the drugstore if you really want.”
“No. I mean, I’d rather not. I’d like to not use a condom, as long as you’re okay with it.”
I nod. “I am.”
I got on the pill specifically for this. And even if something happened, I know my guys are honorable.
But that’s not happening. Because I’m always going to take the pill. At least, until I’m ready for something like that, which wouldn’t be for a very, very long time.
Tristan starts kissing me again, and this time he doesn’t stop.
Sex is very intimate, but I didn’t expect it to feel even more intimate without a condom. It really does make a difference. I like the fact that there isn’t anything between us as we become one. I give my heart and body to him freely because it already belongs to him.
I belong to him, just as he belongs to me.
I should make him jealous more often.
I fix my hair as best as I can with one arm. I am able to straighten it. It’s harder to do with one arm in a cast, but surprisingly, I’m getting better at using just one arm. I also put on some makeup and a cute dress that I found on the clearance rack.
When I come out of the bathroom, dressed and ready, Tristan is sitting at his computer, which doesn’t surprise me. He turns to look at me and his jaw drops open. “I don’t know if I want to take you tonight.”
“What? Why?” I look down to make sure I didn’t forget anything important—like my dress.
“Because I’ll be the
one jealous when all the guys start hitting on you,” he says.
I roll my eyes. “First of all, nobody is going to hit on me. And second, even if they did, I am quite capable of telling them no.”
He takes a step closer to me. “So, you’re allowed to be jealous of some random girls at the mall that hit on me, but I’m not allowed to be jealous of guys who hit on you?”
When he puts it like that...
“You realize this is all hypothetical, right? Literally, nobody has hit on me,” I remind him.
He smirks. “How are you so clueless to your own beauty?”
And then he says things like that and it literally takes my breath away.
I stand on the tips of my toes so I can kiss him. Even then, he still bends down a little to reach me. I mean... why would I not kiss him after he said something like that?
“I love you,” I tell him, once we pull away.
“Love you, too.” He smacks my butt, which I think is his favorite thing to do. “Come on, pretty girl. We’ve got to go show those local girls why I’m dating you.”
I laugh.
It sounds silly when he says it like that.
“We don’t have to go.” I bite the corner of my lip. “Honestly, I think I’d rather stay home anyway.”
“No way.” He shakes his head. “You spent an hour getting ready and you look incredible. I want to show you off.”
I only spent an hour getting ready because of my stupid broken arm, but it was worth it, just to see the way that Tristan is looking at me. Even if we weren’t going somewhere, and even if he were the only one to see me, it doesn’t matter.
“This is all for you, anyway.”
He bends down and kisses me on the lips one last time. “It’ll be fun. I want to show you off to all the local peeps, anyway. This town is kind of part of my parents’ cover. We’ll probably get married on the beach someday.”
I trip over my own feet as we walk towards the stairs.
Tristan grins. “I’m definitely marrying you, Zara.” He grabs onto my hand as we walk down the stairs. He’s probably worried that I’m going to trip and fall down the stairs, maybe break my other arm in the process. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised,
Crazy Page 2
