Later that evening I tried a new approach. After taking a nice warm bath, I rubbed scented lotion all over my body. Then I put on some small, soft white cotton shorts and a white tank-top, letting my hair fall slightly over my chest. I watched myself in the mirror. There was a lot of leg and skin showing. I usually slept in baggy sweats and long T-shirts, like the boys did. I was glad it was very warm inside the room, otherwise the small PJs were going to look a bit off. I bit my lips, wondering how Tristan was going to react to this new sleeping outfit. Well, I wasn’t going to find out hanging in the bathroom. I walked outside and thanked the angels because the lights in the room were already off; only my night-stand lamp was lit. I felt a lot more confident with semi-darkness hiding my embarrassment. In this gloom, Tristan might not be able to see me blushing.
Seth was just about to sit on his bed, and actually managed to miss the mattress and slip on to the ground when he saw me passing by. Tiffany had helped me pick out the cotton shorts and top, and she was curious to know about Tristan’s reaction, but I thought I better keep Seth’s to myself … But right now I needed to focus harder on trying not to blush. Or trip over.
Tristan was already under his covers. He was in the middle of a yawn when he caught a glimpse of me, which made him shut his mouth tight and stare silently at me. The look on his face alone was priceless! I walked over to his bed and sat by his side.
“Tris, I was just thinking in the bathroom … What do you think about this new lotion I’m using? Is the smell too strong?” I said, extending my arm right up to his nose.
He stared silently at me until he realized I was waiting for an answer.
“It’s … a bit much,” he mumbled. It had a bit-much-I-can’t-handle-this-it’s-driving-me-crazy sort of meaning, though. There he goes again with his double-meaning answers! He was a very clever boy, telling the truth and not telling the truth at the same time.
“You think?” I said, sniffing my arm inquisitively. “Seth, what do you think?” I said, standing up and going to Seth’s bed. He had managed to compose himself in the mean time, and was fairly normal again when I extended my arm up his nose.
He inhaled and exhaled slowly. “I think it smells awesome!” he said, smiling. “It’s so great having a girl in the room! It’s lavender, lilies and vanilla scents all around … When I had to share the room last year with Harry and Sammy, it was the battle of funky smells here!” he said, making a funny face.
I chuckled and went to my bed. “Well, it’s a tie. One vote pro, one con. I’ll ask Tiff tomorrow to settle this thing, then,” I said, and climbed under my covers. “Good night, boys.”
Tristan tossed and turned that whole night, unable to sleep after that. He looked like a fish out of water, flipping in his bed so many times. It was great! It was about time for him to have some restless nights as well.
The next couple of days were filled with round after round of more torture and tease. I didn’t feel guilty for making him suffer – I wanted to see him hot and bothered.
On Wednesday morning I noticed Seth leaving the room earlier, to meet up with Tiffany and hang with her a little before classes. I took the opportunity with Tristan still sleeping, and headed to the bathroom, taking a quick bath. I was preparing a major Round Four knock-out for this morning!
Tristan was leaning over Seth’s bed switching off his alarm, blinking sleepily with his hair all crumpled, when I timed my entrance, wrapped only in my small towel, hair all wet and water dripping slightly over my back and chest. We usually got dressed inside the bathroom, but today I thought it would be best if I “forgot” my clothes over my bed. Tristan turned his head towards me, eyes wide open, suddenly completely awake. I felt his eyes roaming my body and I didn’t allow myself to blush. “Morning, Tris!” I greeted him nonchalantly. “Forgot my clothes here,” I said, walking over to my bed. I felt his eyes following me all the way, burning into my back. Then I sat on the mattress, wrapping the towel more close to my body, and crossing my legs slowly. I grabbed my clothes with one hand and looked at him for the first time. His eyes flashed with complete lust for a second. It was almost like there was fire glowing from inside.
I smiled at him. “You can use to the bathroom now, I’ll get dressed in here,” I said softly.
He just stood there speechless. I was having that effect on him quite a lot lately!
“Go on, now!” I said, waving him away and flapping my shirt in the air, and then I looked up at him again, with a curious expression on my face. “Come on, Tris! It’s almost like you want to stay and watch me get dressed!” I inquired, smirking teasingly.
That made him snap out of his trance, blush intensely and turn around fast, heading for the bathroom, almost hitting the wall near the door at the last second. I giggled quietly and almost felt sorry for him. Almost.
He still insisted on dating Caroline, though. But I could see his heart wasn’t into lying and pretending any more. I was breaking his resolve. Seeing him with Caroline still made my insides twist, and bile rise in my mouth every time she touched him intimately, but I sucked it up and pretended it didn’t bother me at all. I was starting to get really good at acting …
Then it was time for the presentation at music class. I arrived a little late and saw that the boys were already inside, all set and ready to play. Tristan was on the stage today and Caroline stood, watching him with googly eyes. I frowned, glancing up at the stage area. Tristan was looking at me intently. I put on my fake smile. The room was full of people. Each time we did a music presentation, more and more kids showed up to listen. I noticed a few even knew the lyrics from our older songs already; they mouthed the words as we sang. I guessed The Lost Boys were getting to be a bit of a hit, at least on campus.
“Kids! Everybody quiet now!” Professor Rubick shouted. “I hear the band has a new song today. I’m very pleased with you, boys … and girl,” he said, looking at me sitting by the piano “You are managing to come up with so many amazing songs! So, let’s hear it, then, shall we?” he said, clapping his hands. Everybody cheered on cue. I looked up at Seth, confused. I didn’t know about any new song for today. What was he talking about? Seth shrugged and gave me an apologetic look. Then he grabbed a sheet of paper and walked over to the piano, handing the paper to me.
“I’m so sorry, Joe. We rehearsed this while you were home at the weekend, and … it’s Tristan’s song,” he said, looking at me guiltily and then back at Tristan. “So sorry,” he mumbled, and got back to his place on stage.
I glanced at the sheet of paper in my hand. It was the part I needed to play in the song. Then Josh started playing his drums, and I hurried to play along with him. Tristan started singing then, and I finally understand what Seth was so sorry about. The song was about me.
About the way my smile made him feel, how much pain it caused to him, and about lovers and lies. He sang about how much he didn’t want things to end this way, but there was no other way to go. It was a song about how much it hurt to be heartbroken, to love and to lose. Tristan sang that he was better off without me; that I could leave at any time because he was tired of all the fights. It was such a heartbreaking song, full of pain and despair. When it was over, Tristan looked so sad, staring at the floor. The room erupted with clapping and cheering, but he seemed unaware of the success of his music. He didn’t care because his heart was broken.
Harry, Josh and Sam were oblivious to what was happening on stage; they looked happy with their performance and the reaction of the audience.
Caroline jumped on stage and hugged Tristan, and at first he didn’t respond. But then he seemed to remind himself of his act, and he reluctantly put his arm around her, glancing sideways at me. Seth came over, worry filling his eyes. I stood up and walked out from behind the piano, giving him a hug.
“That’s okay, Seth. Everything’s fine. Don’t you worry about me, okay?” I said, parting the hug and smiling softly at him. “It was a beautiful song. Tristan should be proud of it. It’s one of our best s
ongs, if not the best,” I said sincerely. “I wish I’d had a little time to practice it, though, but we can rehearse it more later.”
Seth looked at me in relief. “Really?”
“Yes. It’s really great. And the part when you and Tristan sang together was the best bit! You two were great!” I said, putting my hand on his shoulder.
“Thanks, Joey.” He smiled. “You are so amazing. I wish he could see that too,” he said, glancing Tristan’s way.
Tristan was watching our exchange with an indecipherable expression. I shrugged and went to hug the other boys. I wasn’t really upset over the song. Tristan was still trying to push me away, the best he could. I knew he didn’t mean it. It was time for a few more rounds of my master plan until I landed my final blow.
That night we all went celebrate the success of Tristan’s new song in a small bar in Saint Pete, the small town close to school grounds. Seth had inside connections with the owner of the bar (I told you that boy knew everyone, everywhere!) and since the place was fairly empty, the owner let us in to celebrate there that night, with the condition that we didn’t drink anything alcoholic. Tristan brought Caroline along, and Sammy invited a girl named Melinda to come with us. I debuted one of my new dresses that night, a low-cut little black dress. I felt really fancy in it. Tiffany lent me a pair of her high-heeled black sandals. They were tremendously sexy, but equally painful. I let my hair down too, and put on a dark-red lipstick. I got a lot of compliments from everybody, but none from Tristan.
I had an amazing time, laughing and dancing with my boys. Sammy was courting Melinda all night long, and Josh couldn’t stop flirting with lots of girls in the bar. Seth had Tiffany in his arms all night, and Tristan just hunched in his chair and sulked the whole time, while Caroline tried to get him to dance with her, to no avail. A few guys I didn’t know even came to flirt with me and asked to buy me drinks, but the boys always intervened at that point, pulling me away. They were awfully over-protective of me, which was sweet of them, but a bit annoying as well.
On the ride back to the school, I got in the back of Sammy’s car with Harry and Caroline, who sat between us, since she was the shortest and wouldn’t block Sam’s rear-view mirror. Tristan sat in the passenger seat while Sam drove, chatting and laughing with me and Harry, both boys teasing me about how good I looked. But Tristan and Caroline just sat there in silence, sulking in their seats. Caroline was fuming over the way Tristan had been treating her all night, and I even felt kind of bad for her. He was being a real lousy date tonight. Guilt gnawed at me, because Caroline didn’t deserve to be treated like that, and it was my plan that was putting Tristan in such a foul mood; but then I remembered it was his idea to fake-date her in the first place, and I pushed the guilt down until I couldn’t feel it any more.
When we arrived back at school and Sam had parked the car, Tristan was the first to get out, acting like he had a thunder cloud over his head. He banged the door and stalked off. He didn’t even wait for Caroline. She rushed after him.
“Jeez, what’s up with Tristan tonight, man? He was a serious pain!” Harry asked, and Sam just shrugged his shoulders, clueless. “I guess Caroline isn’t putting out, man, the way he’s all tensed up like that. That’s some major sexual tension there. He seriously needs to let off some steam, if you know what I mean!” Sam sniggered at Harry, and then he caught my frown and coughed loudly to cover it up. Boys!
I bade them goodnight and walked back to my room barefoot, having slipped off the killer high heels. I was glad I was getting under Tristan’s skin like that. It meant my plan was working. When I stepped inside the dorm room, he was already there, slouched on his bed alone, playing one of Sam’s portable videogames. Thank God he’d managed to wriggle free from Caroline’s grasp. He clearly wasn’t in the mood for cheerleading tonight. I smiled to myself as I walked to my bed.
He was still in a foul mood, a huge scowl plastered on his face. I bet myself he would start picking a fight with me any time soon, as he had been attempting to do all the previous nights of the week. “Didn’t want to spend the night over at Harry’s?” he sniped at me in a mocking tone.
“Nah, he was tired. He wasn’t going to satisfy me the way I deserve, tonight!” I said teasingly. “So I thought it would be best to leave him to rest for now. Maybe tomorrow,” I said suggestively.
He grunted and stared at his computer game, punching the buttons with vengeance. He was rubbish at videogames, a real modern novelty in his eyes, but he continued trying to understand how the things worked, no matter how many times he died in the game.
I walked over to him and sat right by his side on his bed. “Tris, would you help me get out of this dress? I can’t reach the zipper,” I said, turning my back to him.
He paused his game and muttered something under his breath, betraying his irritation with my request. I pretended I didn’t understand all his quiet growling and grabbed my hair, pulling it all to the front, leaving the back of the dress clear to him. One of his hands reached over and rested against my lower back, putting a gentle pressure on the fabric of the dress, and his other hand tugged at my neckline, next to the zipper.
I had never been so aware of his touch as I was at that moment, the heat of his hands hovering over my back. He grabbed the zipper and gave a slight tug, sliding it down. I could feel the palm of his hands brushing softly over my skin, so slowly, hesitantly, like he was afraid of what he was doing. The faint tingling sensation spread wherever his hand touched my skin, sending shivers down my spine. I had forgotten how his touch made me feel. Suddenly my plan didn’t seem so safe any more. I was feeling way out of control here. I felt his hand give the final pull, and the zipper slid fast down the last remaining inches of the dress, exposing my entire bare back to him.
I heard him catch his breath and then silent tension filled the room like a thick fog. I stood up slowly and turned around, clutching the front of my dress so it wouldn’t slip off me. Tristan looked like he was still holding his breath.
“T-thanks,” I managed to stutter shakily.
It took a while for him to respond. “No problem,” he said, in a low hoarse voice, lust filling his eyes. Then he grabbed his videogame like it was a life-saver on a sinking ship, and then he resumed his game. Literally and metaphorically speaking.
I mentally cursed. I had almost slipped up there, and he was still playing his silly act, still in control. I went to the bathroom with wobbly legs and changed into my short white cotton PJs. When I came out, he didn’t even acknowledge me. So I just shrugged and decided to call it quits for tonight. I stopped trying to look sexy, lost the hip-swaying moves and just walked over to my bed, getting ready to go to sleep.
Man, I was so tired! I yawned loudly, arching my back and stretching out my arms, feeling the tension in my muscles disappear. I relaxed and dropped my arms, blinking lazily at the floor. My stretching had made my tight top lift up a little, showing off my belly and hips. I was about to push my top back down, when I glanced up at Tristan.
He had stopped playing and was staring me down. His look was so intense that it had caught me off guard, his eyes burning with a fierce hunger. “Tris … are you all right?” I asked, before I could stop myself.
He took a sharp intake of air in raw agony, and my heart filled with pure satisfaction. There was so much need and desire in his eyes. Then he blinked a couple of times and tossed his videogame onto the bed. “I’m fine,” he snapped. “I just need … a shower. That’s all.” He stormed off to the bathroom. Lately he seemed to be needing a lot of long showers. I’ll bet they were all cold ones. So … Stretching, huh? How about that … I needed to tell Tiffany about this new discovery. I also needed to push Tristan a little harder; I needed to step up my game. I needed to land my last punch. Saturday was going to be knock-out day!
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Poker Game
On Saturday I put the last part of my evil plan in motion. Well, I hoped it would be the last, I didn’t know how much
longer I could endure this silly game. I had convinced Tiffany and all the boys to participate in our own poker game night. Tristan and some boys usually had a poker game once a month, but it was a boys-only type of event, and it was mainly engineered by Bradley. That fact alone made me shiver and run away from it as fast as I could. Spending a night of gambling with Bradley and his moronic friends was definitely not my definition of a good time. Plus, girls were not allowed at Bradley’s poker nights.
But Tristan was the golden boy of the team now, and he had to attend the games every month. He sometimes took Sammy and Josh with him. Seth refused to go because he had his ongoing feud with Bradley. Harry was forbidden to attend poker nights since The Incident. They didn’t like to talk about it much, but from what I could gather, the major problem with Harry and poker was that he was totally unpredictable. He was the master of bluffing, mostly because he didn’t pay attention to what was going on around him, and had no clue about the rules of the game.
And the other big problem was that, despite this, he had an almost supernatural lucky streak. Harry usually bankrupted everyone at the table. And to top it all, he made fun of the sore losers quite vehemently. After some hours of relentless money loss, things had gotten out of control on the night in question. It had all ended in a fist fight, with Harry banned from poker nights permanently. So I convinced everyone to have our private, special poker night, Lost Boys only! And Tiffany could come too, because she was a Lost Boy’s girlfriend, and she was the only one who could arrange to get the key for the recreation room. Now, the special thing about our night was that we were going to play strip poker. Yep. You heard me right. As in, poker with stripping!
Josh was the first to accept. He was awfully competitive, and I knew he would immediately accept anything involving a dare. Sam and Seth tried to protest a little, but they caved after a few minutes of Josh calling them chicken. Harry just shrugged, like it was no big deal for him about the poker or the stripping. The boys had stripped Harry so many times before that it wasn’t big news for him to end up naked any more. He was just thrilled about being allowed to play poker again.
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