Pretend

by Charlene Antrobus

  "You knew that I was going to kiss you?" I said as I began to smile.

  "No, but I just hoped that you did before I actually walked out of the room."

  "So why say all that about me being right?" I asked in a confused tone.

  "I had to know that you wanted me without me kissing you first," he said as he smiled again.

  Damn that smile, my heart was literally melting.

  "Oh, so you had a little plan did you?"

  "Yup," he said with a smirk on his face.

  "And what if your little plan had failed?" I asked as I tilted my head and stared at him.

  "Then I would have gone to plan b," he said as he let out a little laugh.

  "What was plan b?" I asked.

  "This," he said as he pulled me into another kiss. I could literally feel the tingles flying up and down my spine as his lips hit mine. I know that they talk about feeling fireworks in films but they lied, this was much, much better.

  "And if plan b had failed?" I asked as I let my head rest against his, leaving the tiniest gap between our lips.

  "It wouldn't have,” he said as he kissed my lips gently.

  How is it that Aiden made me forget about everything else just by being him?

  Is that crazy or what?

  As he held my hand and led me back to the chair, I noticed the serious expression on his face as he sat me down.

  "What's up?" I asked.

  "Look, I want to say that I’m sorry," he said in a sad voice.

  "For what?"

  "Letting you down. Jake should have never been given the chance to do what he did and I'm sorry that I wasn't there to stop him," he said as if he were angry with himself.

  "Aiden, that wasn't your fault," I said as I squeezed his hand gently.

  "Well I promise you that no one will ever hurt you again, ok?"

  I nodded my head to say yes as I sat back in the chair a little.

  "What's up?" He said as he gently drew me closer to him.

  "Crystal," I said.

  "Look, I don't know what's happening here but I do know that I like it, a lot. I'd never mess you around April, so when you're ready to tell my sister I'll be there," he said.

  "It's ok. I need to do this alone. I will tell her but I just need a few days to prepare myself," I said as I turned to face him.

  "It'll be fine," he said as he stroked my face with the back of his hand.

  "I hope you're right," I replied.

  "I am, now is there any chance that I could actually kiss my girlfriend?" He said as my eyes increased in size.

  Did I just hear right?

  "Your girlfriend?" I asked as a smirk filled my face.

  "Did you see all that just happened tonight? Do I look like I'm willing to share you with anyone else?" He said as a smirk filled his face.

  I let out a girly giggle as I felt my cheeks turn red.

  "Good, now will you shut up and kiss me," he said before laughing and then pulling me towards him.

  "Well since you asked so nicely," I said sarcastically before being shut up by the feeling of his lips against mine again.

  Tonight I experienced the most passionate, mind blowing and amazing kiss of my entire life and what's better? It was with my boyfriend, Aiden Daniels.

  It sounds crazy but I actually woke up this morning with a smile on my face. It was true to say that after avoiding Aiden so much, it felt great to finally give in. However, I knew that all the smiling and acting all girly would have to be put on hold whilst Crystal was around.

  Murphy sent Aiden a text last night to say that he was having a party on Saturday, so I've given myself that as my deadline to tell Crystal. I don't think that I could really deal with all those girls at Murphy's party being all over Aiden and pretending not to care, so that would be the night. Until then I just had to be careful.

  "Morning!" Crystal said as she swung open my bedroom door with a smile on her face.

  "Someone's in a good mood," I said as I examined her big smile.

  "Yep, well you know what day it is, don't you?" She said as she began twirling her hair around her finger.

  Of course I knew. It was her date with Cameron. Like she would ever let me forget.

  "Erm no, what?" I asked as I faked a look of confusion.

  "Oh my gosh, are you being serious?" She asked with a sad expression.

  "Yeah, what's happening?" I asked as I jumped out of bed and started looking through my wardrobe for something to wear.

  "Well I’m glad to know that my life is so important to you," she grumbled as she went to walk out of the door.

  "Oh smile, of course I know what day it is," I said as I threw my pillow at her head and began giggling.

  "Ouch! What then?"

  "It's the amazing date with none other than Cameronnnnnn," I said in a baby voice.

  "Oh ssshhh," she said as she began to giggle and then jumped onto my bed.

  "I'm nervous you know," she said as she looked up at me with a scared expression.

  "Seriously? Why? You're amazing Crystal, if he doesn't like you, then he's crazy," I said as I sat next to her and placed my hand on hers.

  "Are you sure?" She asked, innocently.

  "Positive and if he's stupid enough not to want you then you'll always have me, forever," I said as I threw her a smile.

  "Thanks," she said as she threw her arms around me.

  "Right, I better get ready for school," I said as I stood to my feet and headed towards the en suite in my room.

  "Yeah and brush your teeth too, morning breath is so not your thing," she said as she let out a loud laugh and ran out of the room before I could find anything to throw at her.

  * * *

  The feeling of the water beating on my skin was so refreshing, it was exactly what I needed after last night. I still can't believe everything that happened with Jake. I was still a little shook up but I didn't want anyone to know. The marks on my wrist had faded somewhat since last night but they were still visible and I wasn't looking forward to all the questions that they were going to attract when I arrived at school.

  I turned off the shower, stepped out and wrapped my towel around me. I quickly put my wet hair up into a bun as I began to brush my teeth and then wash my face. For some reason I could feel the sting of my facial gel in my eyes when I washed my face today and may I just add that it wasn't a good feeling. Once I was done, I dried my face in the face towel and applied my facial moisturiser, refreshing. As I heard the sound of my bedroom door open and close, I giggled.

  "What now, Crystal? You coming to insult me some more?" I shouted through the crack of the bathroom door.

  "Well that wasn't really my plan, no," a husky voice said as I jumped in shock.

  "Oh my gosh, you scared the life out of me, I thought that you were Crystal," I said as I hit Aiden's arm playfully.

  "Sorry," he said as I watched his eyes scan my entire body.

  "What are you doing here?" I asked as I lowered my voice and peeked behind him, to make sure that he was definitely alone.

  "Well, I just wanted to say good morning," he said with the sexiest smile on his face.

  "Yeah well you could have said that when I came downstairs," I said with a smile on my face as I watched him leaning up against the door frame and staring at me.

  "Not like that," he said as he slowly pulled me towards him by my arm.

  "I wanted to give you a special good morning," he whispered when I was about two inches away from him.

  "Oh you did?"

  "Yeah," he said before gently kissing my lips and wrapping his hand around my waist.

  Yes, I definitely liked saying good morning like this.

  "Good morning," he whispered as he gently pulled away.

  "Good morning," I said with the biggest smile on my face.

  "Ok, so I need to get ready now," I said as he stood still, staring at me.

  "I know, just taking a mental picture to help get me through the day," he said with a smirk on his f
ace.

  "Get out," I said as we both burst out laughing and I pushed him towards the bedroom door.

  He smiled at me one last time before slipping through the door. I quietly closed it and then leant against it smiling for a few moments. If this is what being with Aiden felt like, I don't think that I ever wanted it to end. Cheesy, I know.

  It took me a little longer to get ready today. One, because I kept day dreaming about Aiden and two, because he kept sending me little messages that made me laugh. The sun was beaming outside and so I decided to wear my light, blue denim skirt today with my white tank top and white ballerina type shoes. I applied a thin layer of eye liner on my eyes, some clear lip gloss on my lips, checked that my purse had all of my essentials and gave myself the once over in the mirror. Remembering the mark on my wrist I quickly grabbed my long sleeve, white cardigan out of my wardrobe and slipped it on.

  Just as I went to walk out of the door, I heard the vibration of my phone and for some reason my stomach dropped, I don’t know why. A feeling of relief filled me when I saw Bob's name pop up.

  "Hi, Bob," I beamed down the phone.

  "Sweetie, it's me," my mom said.

  "Oh, hi Mom. Are you ok?" I asked.

  "Yes, darling. We are here, safe and sound. How's everything there, you settled in ok?" She asked in a concerned voice.

  "Yeah, everything's great. I'm glad that I stayed at the Daniels’ now," I said, thinking about how much worse my situation could have been last night if Jake had taken me back to my own house.

  "That's great honey. Well everyone said to say hello and we all love you, ok."

  "I love you all too," I said with a smile on my face.

  "Ok, well I've got to go because this call is expensive as Bob keeps reminding me. Take care of yourself. I'll call again, soon, ok?" She said, quickly.

  "Ok, Mom. You take care, speak soon. Bye."

  "Bye," she said before hanging up.

  I hadn't actually realised how much I missed my mom. I decided not to tell her about Jake, it would only worry her and probably make her jump on the first plane back here to kick his butt.

  As I walked down the stairs and heard Mrs Daniels' voice, I wondered when she had gotten back. We were up pretty late last night, watching the end of Liar Liar and talking and I never heard her come in.

  "Ok Mom, we will," I heard Crystal say as I walked into the dining room and saw her sitting at the table.

  "How's April? Has she settled in ok?"

  "She's fine, she's just walked into the room actually," Crystal said as she pointed towards the phone on the table.

  "Oh," I mouthed as I realised that her mom was on speaker phone.

  "Hi, Mrs Daniels," I said as I took the seat opposite Crystal's.

  "Oh, hello darling. April you’ve known me since you were a baby, it's high time that you started calling me Susan," she said.

  "Sorry," I said as my cheeks started to heat up slightly.

  "Are you enjoying your stay?" She asked in a friendly voice.

  "Yes it's lovely. Thank you for letting me stay," I replied.

  "Anytime sweetheart, you're family, you can stay for as long as you like," she said.

  "Like she's ever here anyway," Crystal mouthed, making me laugh silently.

  "Thank you," I finally managed to say.

  "Ok, well you kids take care and I'll see you on Sunday," she said before hanging up the phone.

  "Sunday?" I asked.

  "Yeah she's on some business trip till Sunday, who cares. Anyway you've got like twenty minutes till we leave, do you want something to eat?" Crystal asked as I followed her into the kitchen.

  "Yeah, ok," I said as I caught a glimpse of Aiden in the living room as I walked into the kitchen, behind Crystal. He looked engrossed in something on TV, typical guy.

  "So, what do you want, toast, cereal, pancakes?"

  "Pancakes?" I asked in shock. If you really knew Crystal, you would know that cooking wasn't her thing.

  "Yes, packet ones. You heat them up," she said as we both started to laugh.

  "Oh ok, yeah I'll have some of those then please," I replied as I rested my bag on the floor and sat at the breakfast bar.

  "Syrup?" She asked as she placed the pancakes on a plate and put them into the microwave.

  "Yup," I said as I picked up some brochures off of the side.

  "What are these?" I asked as I flicked through the pages.

  "Vacation brochures, what do they look like?" She replied, sarcastically.

  "Duh, I mean, why are they here?"

  "My mom, she gave us them weeks ago, talking about going away but I doubt that'll ever happen," she grunted as she took the plate out of the microwave and began to drizzle on the golden syrup.

  "You never know," I said in a bid to be positive.

  She was right though, her mom made a lot of promises that she just couldn't stick to, most of the time. She wasn't a bad person, she just got so caught up in work that she genuinely seemed to forget everything else but I guess Crystal didn't see it quite as simple as that.

  "Right here you go, what do you want to drink?" She asked as she placed the syrup and pancakes in front of me.

  My mouth began to water as the aroma filled my nose. Before I knew it the brochures were thrown back down and I had a fork in my hand and a mouthful of pancakes.

  "Erm, just water please. Aren't you eating?" I asked as I continued to stuff my mouth with pancakes.

  "I ate before you came down, I've been up since like five this morning, you know," she said as if I should already know.

  "Really? Why?"

  "I don't know, I just couldn't sleep," she said as she placed the glass of water in front of me.

  "Thanks. I guess you really are nervous."

  The only time that she couldn't sleep was when she was nervous, this date with Cameron must have really been scaring her.

  "You'll be fine. You're going to have a great time," I said as I stuffed even more food into my mouth.

  "Mmmm yeah," she said as she looked at me as though I was an animal.

  "What? I'm hungry," I said as we both burst out laughing.

  "Right I'm going upstairs to get all my stuff ready, back in a bit," she said before disappearing through the door.

  "Ok cool," I said as I ate my last piece of pancake and gulped the glass of water down.

  I placed them in the sink and headed towards the living room.

  "Hey," I said as I stood in the door way, watching Aiden play Mario cart. I loved this game.

  "Hey," He said as he smiled at me, without looking away from the screen of course.

  "Winning?" I asked as I sat down next to him.

  "I was," he said with a smirk on his face.

  "What happened?"

  "They sent in their secret weapon to distract me," he said as I watched him fall off of the track for the second time.

  "What secret weapon?" I asked in confusion.

  "You," he said as I watched him being awarded third place on the score board.

  "Want a go?" He said, smiling at me.

  "Of course," I replied as I grabbed the other Wii remote that was lying on the table.

  "Better pick the easy level," he said as he burst out laughing.

  "Oh is that so, Mr ‘fall off of the track every two minutes’," I said as I raised my eyebrows at him and began to smile.

  "That's because I was distracted but you can't actually beat me," he said as he started clicking a few buttons on the Wii remote.

  "Remember, don't cry when I do," I said as I slipped my remote into the wheel.

  "Ok, beautiful, whatever you say. This sounds like deju vu. Remember charades?" He said with a big smirk on his face.

  "Whatever you say baby," I said sarcastically as I prepared to concentrate.

  * * *

  "Wohhhhhhh! Who's your daddy now?" I said as my car passed the finish line first.

  "Ok, ok, you won," he said with a smile on his face.

  "Who's your
daddy now?" He asked as he burst out laughing again.

  "I can't help it, I get excited when I win," I said as a smile filled my face.

  "Yeah I noticed, I thought you would have grown out of that by now," he said as he turned off the Wii and TV, and I placed the Wii remotes back on the table.

  "So, do you want your prize?" He said as he began smiling at me.

  “Prize?” I asked in a confused tone.

  “For winning,” he said with a smirk on his face.

  "Depends on the prize?" I asked as I began to smirk.

  "Come over here and you'll find out," he said as he continued to stare at me with that sexy smile on his lips.

  "Guys come on! We've got school or did you forget?" Crystal shouted through the living room door.

  "So, what were you playing?" Crystal asked as we all finally got into the car.

  "Mario cart," I said with an excited voice.

  "Awww did Aiden get his butt kicked by a girl?" Crystal teased as she looked back at me and laughed.

  "How do you know that she won?" Aiden asked as he threw me a smile in the rear view mirror.

  "Because she's the only person I know that screams ‘who's your daddy now’ at the top of her voice when she wins something," she said as we all burst out laughing.

  "I got excited," I said as I clipped my seatbelt in. I almost always forget to do it straight away.

  "Yeah well I think the whole neighbourhood heard you," she replied.

  “Yeah, yeah,” I said as I smiled to myself at the back of the car.

  "So, you know that I want to talk to Cameron tonight?" Aiden said, suddenly changing the subject.

  "Why?" Crystal asked in a frustrated voice.

  "Me and Ant are just going to lay down some rules for him," he said in a serious tone.

  "What? Anthony as well? Are you kidding me? Are you trying to scare him away?" Crystal asked in an angry voice.

  "No but I just want to make a few things clear for him before he takes out my little sister," he replied.

  "Err and who the hell does that? How many girl's brothers did that to you?"

  "None but I wouldn't have gotten away with so much if they had done," he replied as my cheeks began to go red.

  "Obviously I've matured now though," he said as he caught my gaze in the rear view mirror again.