Claiming Her

by Noelle, Alexis

  Chapter Twelve

  Nina

  What do you wear to a haunted house? More importantly, when the hell did I start caring so much about what I wear? Since Jake walked into my life. I settle on a cute pair of leggings in case I need to run, jeans offer more resistance, and a v-neck t-shirt. I grab a hoodie because it gets cold at night then I slowly walk to the couch. My legs feel like jelly, and I have no idea how I will be able to function tonight.

  There is a knock at the door, and I know it’s Jake. I open the door and walk outside after yelling a quick goodbye to Tina. Jake gives me a hug and a kiss. The affection he shows me is something that I need to get more comfortable with. I have never had a relationship, so this is all new to me. We walk to the car, and I see Sam and Hunter sitting in the backseat. “You ready for this?” He looks at me, and I know that he probably sees the way that I’m walking all crazy.

  “Not really, I don’t even watch scary movies.” He opens my door for me, and I climb in.

  “Nina!” Sam gives me a hug from the backseat. “I have missed you, girl!” Sam and Hunter have been gone for the past week. She had a bunch of appearances in New York, and Hunter is her bodyguard. That’s actually how they ended up getting together. When she told me the story about how her one nightstand was her new personal security, I almost died.

  “I missed you too, but you know we all can’t be famous stars. Speaking of which, how the heck are you two going to go unnoticed tonight?” Both of them are so recognizable because of all the tabloids that it makes it so hard for her to go out in public.

  “Hunter called the place a couple days ago; all three attractions are one continuous thing, so they are just going to let all of us go alone. The workers won’t know, though. I also have the best disguise ever.” She holds up a baseball hat, and I laugh.

  “So what is this place like?” I’ve never actually been to a haunted house, but scary movies terrify me.

  Sam smiles, which I know is not a good sign. “It starts off with a haunted hayride, and then leads into two other things. They are all connected which is nice cause it makes crowd control easier.”

  Her lack of details has my heart beating at twice its normal speed. Jake’s hand reaches over and holds mine. He steals a quick look and gives me a wink. At least I can hide behind him. We pull up, and the line is as long as one at Disney World during summertime. There have to be at least three hundred people waiting. “We are going to be in line for like two hours.”

  “It’s all good, Nina; we bought VIP tickets. No line.” Of course, they did. I should have figured there was no way Hunter would let her wait in that line, there is too much of a risk that she would get recognized.

  “How much do I owe you guys for my ticket?” I ask as we are getting out of the car.

  Jake’s arms wrap around me from behind. “I got it covered, babe.”

  My body shivers from being this close to him. Did he call me babe? I feel like it should freak me out a little bit, but I think it’s hot. His deep voice turns me on and makes me want to do all sorts of things that shouldn’t be on my mind yet. He places a kiss on my neck, and I lean my head back against his chest.

  “Come on, let’s go! Or get a damn room!” Brian says as he and Jules wave to us.

  I turn to face Jake, my cheeks red with embarrassment. He smiles and shrugs his shoulders. “Hey, I’m up for either option.” I elbow him in the stomach before walking toward everyone else. He catches up to me in the ticket line and hands me mine. “You’re sexy when you’re mad, Sparky.”

  I dip my head trying to hide the smile that feels like it will make my cheeks crack. Once we’re inside, a creepy girl in a shredded dress and splattered blood all over leads us to a wagon filled with hay. Everyone starts to sit down when I move to sit next to Jake, he takes my hand and pulls me to sit between his legs. I comply crossing my legs Indian style sitting straight up, completely unsure of what he expects me to do. As everyone else gets comfortable, he wraps his arms around me.

  His lips press a kiss next to my ear. “Relax, I’ll protect you.” He leans back taking me with him. Leaning against his chest with his arms around me, the two of us looking up at the star-filled sky feels perfect. I breathe a sigh of contentment.

  Suddenly a loud scream rips through the air, and I jump, completely forgetting what we are doing here. Creepy laughter surrounds me as my heart speeds up again. I grab onto Jake’s arms and pray that these crazy people don’t realize how scared I am and single me out.

  The wagon begins to move, and we enter a cornfield. Great, ‘cause cornfields at night are filled with unicorns and Care Bears. Aside from the creepy surroundings, things have been pretty calm. “This isn’t that—Ah!” A crazy ass clown appears right in my face.

  He is hanging onto the side of the truck as it is still moving. “It’s dangerous to be here, little girl, watch out!” He cackles as he lets go and stares at us until we are out of sight.

  “What the hell! Do they all do that? I mean to just jump out and—”

  “Hey!” A guy with bolts sticking out of his neck appears.

  “SHIT!” He laughs and moves to touch my hair. “Jake!” I shrink down trying to escape this crazy person. I hear laughing. I look up, and my knight in shining armor is in stitches. I smack his chest. “Don’t worry I’ll protect you,” I say in a mocking voice. “Asshat.” I sit up straight, needing to have full range of vision. “It’s okay; they’re not real. They’re not real. They’re not—”

  “I’m real!”

  “Ahhhhhh!” A damn zombie snuck up on me when I was trying to fucking meditate. Is nothing sacred?! “I am too much of a wuss for this shit.” I sit up on my knees trying to see the end. “I just want to be home in my leggings, on the couch, drinking a pumpkin spice latte.”

  All of a sudden there are loud clanging noises and the wagon comes to an abrupt stop. I fly forward landing face first into the hay. “What the hell is going on now?!”

  “Sorry, y’all, seems my tractor done broke down.” The driver is standing and facing us.

  “No the fuck it didn’t! Fix this shit now!” Everyone around me is laughing, but I fail to see what’s funny. Then I remember what Sam said in the car. They all knew this shit was going to break down. “Screw all of you bastards. I’m not getting out of this damn wagon.”

  Jake touches my arm. “If we don’t move soon they’ll get us.” He points behind me.

  I turn around squinting in the dim light and see a shitload of demons, murderers, and just crazy ass people coming toward us.

  “I hate you guys!”

  I scream before jumping out of the damn wagon and running away.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Nina

  Fuck this shit! I am running trying to ignore every damn sound until I hear crying. A girl is sitting on the side of the trail in the fetal position. I can’t see what she is wearing but she has blood dripping down her leg.

  “Oh my God. Are you okay?” I approach her slowly. She doesn’t answer and I make a move to touch her arm and let her know I’m here to help. Just then she grabs my wrist tightly and looks up at me. She’s one of them! Blood is dripping from a bullet wound in her head. She crooks her head at me and stares.

  “Oh shit!” I start to pull my hand free, once I do, I lose my balance and land ass first in the mud. Of course! Jake has caught up to me and grabs my hand to help me up, he’s still laughing. “I hate you.” I start to walk away from him when someone jumps out of a bush. “Holy crap!” I take cover behind Jake and now everyone is laughing. “Can we just get through this shit? I can see the damn end of the woods right there.” I try to take solace in the fact that this is almost over. Then I hear it, the sound of a chainsaw. I slowly turn around. It’s Jason!

  I sprint. I’m done. I need a safe haven, a base, a timeout. My legs are burning from my workout earlier and I really don’t know how much farther they will carry me. I run until my legs collapse on the grass field outside of the woods. I’m panting and
I swear to God I will never do this shit again. It’s good though. It’s over. Everyone else catches up.

  “You ready for the last one, girl?” Sam winks at me as she and Hunter walk by me. Last one? Last one what?

  Jake picks me up once more and wraps one of his arms around me. “Almost over.” He places a kiss on my forehead. Almost? I look at where everyone is heading and there is a creepy barn ahead. You have got to be shitting me. When we get to the doors, everyone insists Jake and I go first. I start to protest but he walks forward. I follow not wanting to do this shit alone. The barn opens up to a narrow, dimly lit hallway with strobe lights flashing. At least Jake is in front of me, maybe they will focus on him.

  We turn a corner and someone jumps out. “Jesus! Stop! Just stop it!” I scream at them and Jakes laughter sounds once more. Glad he is enjoying this shit so much.

  Sam and Jules keep yelling to me and seeing if I’m okay. All of a sudden, a creepy voice is right next to my ear. “Stay here, Nina, stay with us.

  I scream and slam myself against the opposite wall. It said my name! It must have heard Sam and Jules. Those bitches. “Jake, please go faster.” My arms are wrapped around his waist and my head buried in his back. They are jumping out and even though I can’t see them I hear them, they still elicit a scream from me.

  We finally reach the exit and I see the parking lot. I collapse on the cement wanting to kiss the damn ground. My breathing is heavy as I try to regain some composure.

  “Hello!” A voice screams in my ear.

  I let out a screech and fall back on to the ground. Holy shit, I just peed myself. Oh my God! I don’t think I could be anymore embarrassed. I look over at the guy doing a crab walk toward me. Jumping up, I sprint to the car and don’t relax until I’m leaning against the cold exterior.

  Never. Fucking. Again.

  I can’t believe I peed myself! I look down examining that there is no evidence visible. At least it wasn’t enough to go through my pants. I need a bottle of wine, STAT. Sleeping tonight is out of the question. Sam comes toward me. “You get away from me, you evil whore! We are not friends.”

  “Aw! You made it though, everything is good now.” She hugs me.

  “You all suck.” I hear the locks click and I open the door and sit down. Jake gets in and looks over at me trying to hold back his huge smile. “You just drive, buddy. You threw me to the damn wolves.”

  He reaches over and hugs me, placing a kiss on my lips, I respond by biting his bottom lip.

  “Shit. You turning into a damn vampire? I might be into that.” He laughs before starting the car and driving out of the lot.

  We drop off Hunter and Sam, then go in the opposite way of my apartment. “Where are we going?”

  “I thought we could grab a bite to eat.”

  “I’m not hungry.” That and I need a shower.

  “Well, I am.” He takes my hand and I decide that arguing with him would be pointless. Although all I really want to do is go home, there is no way I am telling him that I peed myself. We pull up to a diner, go inside, and seat ourselves. I look over the menu and decide to get chocolate chip pancakes. Chocolate and carbs make even the worst night better. We order from the waitress and then Jake looks over at me. “So tell me your story.”

  His question makes me uneasy. I’m not ready to tell him my story, at least any of my story before six years ago. “I moved to LA for a change of scenery. I had a cosmetology license and I had gotten my license to be a massage therapist. I found a job as a hairdresser for celebrities, and that’s how I met Sam. We worked together almost every day for a year, and when she decided to move away from LA, she asked if I wanted to come. I got a job at the spa, and here we are. See? Completely boring.”

  “Nina, there isn’t a damn thing about you that’s boring.” His gaze is fixed on me, and it begins to heat my body. “I want to know what makes you tick.”

  His question makes me squirm. “You’re moving way too fast, Flash, slow it down.” Did I just call him that out loud?

  He raises an eyebrow at me. “Flash? Did you give me a nickname, Sparky? I have to know how you came up with it.”

  “Um, that first night at the bar Tina asked me if you were the flasher, so I started calling you Flash.” His face reddens.

  The waitress drops off the food, giving us an excuse to end this awkward conversation. We eat in almost silence. When we get up to leave, he throws some cash on the table and we get in the car to go home.

  Jake walks me to my door. I lean against it completely exhausted from tonight's events. His one hand is braced on the door next to my head while the other slowly drags across my jawline.

  “You are so damn beautiful.”

  He leans in kissing me and I wrap my arms around his neck. We are making out like two horny teenagers and my inner slut wants me to ask him to come inside. I don’t though. I can’t. I break our kiss knowing I don’t have much self-control left.

  “Goodnight, Sparky,” he says with one last kiss.

  I open the door before turning back toward him. “Goodnight, Flash.” He gives me one last smile as I head inside.

  I lean against the closed door enjoying the high I get from being with him and kissing him.

  “Holy shit, I never thought I’d see the day.” I look over and Tina is on the couch looking at me.

  “See what day?” I pretend like there is nothing happening and that I don’t feel myself getting closer to him.

  “The day that Nina Mitchell was falling for a guy.”

  “Shut up, T. I am not falling for him.” I walk past her and toward the bathroom for a much needed shower.

  “Tell that to the dreamy ass look on your face!” I shut the bathroom door.

  I’m so screwed.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Jake

  Thinking about Nina last night, I can’t stop laughing. She looks so cute when she is scared out of her mind, as weird as that is to say. It didn’t go unnoticed how she didn’t tell me anything about her family. I know that I’m still trying to earn her trust, and that it won’t be easy. We will be laughing and having fun one minute and then I see this wall go up.

  Today I promised Grace I would take her to the pumpkin patch. Everyone else decided it sounded fun and now it’s become a big group thing.

  Me: Going to the Johnson’s Orchard to pick pumpkins and take a hayride. What do you say?

  Nina: I say, screw you and your hayride.

  Me: Yes and no in that order…

  Nina: Watch it.

  Me: Grace is coming so there won’t be any murderous zombies. Let me make up for last night…Please?

  Nina: Fine, but you’re getting me some apple pie.

  Me: Deal.

  I smile knowing that I will get to see her again. When Lacey talked to me before she passed away about finding someone, she made it seem like it was this amazing thing. I had tried to find it with numerous girls and none of them ever made me feel anything. Even with as embarrassed as I was the first day I met Nina, I knew something felt different.

  She was different. She was sexy, but didn’t know it. She was closed off, but amazing in the quick glimpses of the real her I saw. She was shy, but would also give my shit back to me. I’ve seen three of my friends fall head over heels for girls in a much shorter time span than I ever thought possible. I swore I wouldn’t be one of those guys. I would never chase after a girl and make myself look like an idiot. Now I am one of those guys and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m not anywhere closer to being in love with her, but I definitely have feelings for her.

  I text everyone to let them know Sam is coming and we all figure out the driving situation. Hunter and Sam are taking their own car today in case she gets spotted and they need to make a quick exit. I don’t know how they deal with having to hide constantly, now that Nina has given me a chance it's like I want everyone to know I’m with her.

  I get dressed and the head over to her apartment to pick her up. When she opens the door s
he is wearing jeans that hug every inch of her. The pink shirt she has on looks great against her tan skin, and her long blonde hair is down, framing her face. I pull her to me, needing to touch her. I was determined to have her but with as much as she fought me I didn’t know if it would actually happen. “You look beautiful,” I whisper in her ear, loving the way she trembles beneath me.

  “Thanks,” she says as she pulls away and starts to walk to my car. This is what she does. She lets herself be vulnerable for just minute then catches on and tries to distance herself. I know that kind of behavior is a defense mechanism. She’s trying to keep me at arms length, thinking that she can remain detached and then not risk getting hurt. I wish I could tell her I heard what she said at the cemetery but I know it would freak her out. She would run.

  I follow her to the car, get in and pull out of the lot. “So last night you got to grill me for information but you never gave up any of your own.”

  I look over at her and smile. “There isn’t too much to tell. My mom and dad are still living in the same house I grew up in, I don’t have any siblings. I joined the Army and that’s where I met Mason, Brian, Hunter, and our friend, Ryan. I don’t think you’ve met Ryan yet, he’s a cop so he doesn’t have as much free time to hang out with us. We all realized that we lived within a half hour of each other. When we got out of the service, we all went our different paths but stayed local. They are like the brothers I never had.”

  She nods. “Friends can definitely become a part of your family. That’s how I feel about Sam in a way. We got close the first year when I worked with her. Then when she decided to move and asked me to come with her, I guess I said yes because she was the closest thing I felt I had to family. When she told me where she was moving, I couldn’t believe the coincidence. I grew up about forty-five minutes from here.”

  I wait to see if she will tell me more, about her family or her sister. When she doesn’t I just grab her hand, letting her know that it’s okay to talk about it. I meant what I told her that day in her room. I will protect her, I’ll be whatever she needs me to be. I don’t want to push her too far but I dare to ask another question. “What about your parents?”