Pretend With Me (Midnight Society #1)

by Jemma Grey

  “Please come with me?” he whispered, his eyes boring into my face. I let out a rough breath, feeling as though I was floating through the air. “It won’t be fun without you.” Reluctantly I turned my head back to the TV, hoping that it would be enough of a distraction. “Jen,” he moaned. “Don’t ignore me or I’ll start vamping out again,” he threatened, a deep frown itched into his face that I wanted to reach out to and smoothen away.

  “Sasuke Uchiha is so hot… I mean the guy is amazing and I would totally do him,” I said. He couldn’t complain now, I wasn’t ignoring him anymore. “I mean if he weren’t an anime character,” I added turning my head to face Eric, hoping that he would give up and just go out with his friends.

  “I can stay home with you, if you want,” he whispered. “My family is gone again so you’ll be alone except for the staff… It’s hard leaving you home alone...” he trailed off and I could see him convincing himself that staying home was the better idea.

  Before he could voice the thought I spoke up. “God, Eric, would you please just go already. You’re driving me insane, you can wait for Jason outside,” I grunted and shoved him off me. I sat up on the couch pointing to the door. “Now!” I demanded.

  He stood up and took my face in his hands like he always did. I closed my eyes, breathing in his scent as he leaned down and kissed my forehead. “Bye,” he whispered.

  “Bye,” I said back as he straightened himself, my voice breathy even to my own ears.

  “If anything happens call me and I’ll come right back-”

  “Eric,” I cut him off. “Would you stop worrying about me? You’ll only be gone for a couple of hours, what could happen? Go out, have fun and when you get back, I’ll probably be right here, on this couch, dreaming about Sasuke hopefully,” I said, grinning at him.

  “Okay,” he nodded and began making his way to the door. “Bye, Jen,” he whispered and walked out of the room, leaving me to my own devices.

  About an hour later, I had run out of Naruto episodes to watch. I decided on a shower and then after that, I turned on my laptop to check my emails.

  My inbox was filled with emails from the one person I didn’t want to talk to, or have anything to do with - Kris. I closed my eyes and let out a deep breath. I hadn’t even opened one yet and my heart was already beginning to pound in my chest. Finally, I opened my eyes and clicked on the first one she’d sent. It was dated on the day I had left Trinidad. It read:

  Jen, I have been calling and texting you nonstop. I know it’s hard, but you need to tell me what is going on. Danny said that you left, tell me it’s not true. This is your home, we’re your family and we love you. Please come back home or at least let me know that you’re ok.

  As I read the words, silent tears rolled down my face and I wiped them away at once. Even though I hadn’t spoken the words out loud, they seemed to hang in the air loudly, like bombs and grenades just waiting to go off and destroy me.

  I didn’t have the heart to read through all the others. I didn’t think I could survive that, so instead, I skipped to the most recent one. It was dated a few days ago, maybe a week at the very most. It was just two short sentences and yet it had me trembling. My blood had gone cold in my veins. It read:

  Jen I know what happened. I’m coming to get you. I stopped reading at once and slammed the laptop closed with more force than I intended to use. Kris knew she knew what really happened that night and she was coming to find me. There was no doubt in my mind that she could find me. Whenever she made up her mind about something, she didn’t quit until she got it. I just didn't know if that was a good thing or bad.

  A loud shrilling ring echoed through the room suddenly and it sent my heart flying. For a brief moment my body tensed and then I realized that my phone was ringing. Zombie-like I got up slowly, and answered it without looking at the screen.

  “Hey,” Charde greeted before I got the chance to say anything. “What are you up to?”

  “Nothing,” I replied slowly as I walked back to the couch and sat down staring at the laptop sourly.

  “Good, because I want to go out.”

  “I’m not sure, Charde… I don’t really feel like going out… not tonight anyway…” I mumbled. I hadn’t taken my eyes off the laptop. It was as if the words contained in the emails were holding me hostage, and I couldn’t look away from the bearer of the letter.

  “Oh okay then, another time.” There was a slight pause and then she said “Jen…” Her voice came out hesitant and unsure. “Are you okay? You don’t sound like yourself…”

  “I’m fine, Charde,” I said, trying to sound cheerful.

  “Well okay, but I’m always here, no matter what.” I could tell she didn’t believe me.

  “I know…” I paused, “thanks for inviting me though, bye.”

  “Bye,” she whispered and I hung up the phone.

  Slowly I re-opened the laptop and then the email, rereading the last one, trying to find some way to come up with a different meaning, but no matter how many times I read it, it always said the same thing. Kris was searching for me.

  Minutes later, something stirred in me. I wasn’t a racer anymore, I had given up that life completely. This was my life now. I had friends here and Eric. This was my home now.

  I grabbed my phone and dialed Charde’s number. She answered on the first ring. “Hey, this is Charde.”

  “Hey, Charde, it’s me, do you still want to go out?”

  She answered instantly. “Hell yeah.”

  “I’m in,” I said slamming the laptop shut again, this time in defiance.

  “I’ll meet you in front your house in an hour.” I heard a click as the line went dead and I dropped the phone on the couch and went to get ready.

  Hours later Charde, Amelia, Emily, and I were at some place called ‘The Ranch’ that Charde’s cousin, Dillon, owned. The Ranch wasn’t actually a ranch, in fact from the outside it looked just like a normal bar, but when you stepped inside everything changed and suddenly you weren't in the city anymore. Instead you found yourself transported to an older time where everyone wore cowboy boots with spurs.

  “Okay, if I win,” Dillon said looking at me, “you have to…” he frowned looking around the room. His eyes rested on Charde and then a sly, amused smile spread across his lips. Immediately I knew what he was going to say even before he said it. “Make out with Charde,” he burst out laughing.

  Charde only rolled her eyes at him from the table as the rest of the girls burst out laughing. Just then one of the bartenders brought our drinks at our table and Dillon and I began walking to it, leaving the game of pool we were playing.

  “Charde,” I said and picked up my shot glass staring at her. Dillon was at my side grinning. “Your cousin wants us to make out if I lose.” I then turned to Dillon when all Charde did was smile at me. “What do I get if I win?”

  “Free drinks for the entire night,” he smiled.

  “Hey, we’re already getting that,” Emily put in, and I was glad because I was about to agree. Emily was the only one of us that wasn’t a little drunk. Since she was the driver for the night, she was sipping on some nonalcoholic drink that smelled like strawberries. The rest of us were on our fifth shot of either vodka or tequila. I didn’t know what I was drinking anymore. It had all blurred together.

  “If Jen wins, you have to stand on the pool table and strip down to your underwear,” Amelia hiccupped, “while singing ‘I’m too sexy’ by Right Said Fred.”

  “You’re on!” Dillon shouted confidently pointing at Amelia.

  I was going to lose. We were both fighting to pocket the black ball and this was our last chance. Dillon had to make it or he knew I would. He held out his shot glass in front of him. “Whether winning or losing, may we always have great company,” he cheered.

  “Hear, hear” Amelia giggled and touched her glass to his as we gulped down our drinks.

  “Miss Jenifer, we have a game to finish,” Dillon smiled as he took my hand and
began to lead me back to the pool table.

  He dropped my hand and leaned over the table, focusing on making the shot. “Don’t hurt yourself, Dillon,” Amelia snickered now at my side. Dillon didn’t react to her, instead he stayed focused, his eyes on the black ball in front of us.

  I swallowed; I was going to lose. In my head, I could see him gently pulling his hand back, then he would shoot the black ball directly into the pocket he was aiming for. I stood at the side waiting to lose with as much dignity as I could.

  “Ah ha!” he shouted as the black ball did exactly what he wanted. He held the pool cue over his head with both hands and began dancing in a circle. At his crazy dance, I was suddenly laughing so hard that I could barely breathe. “Best ‘cuz, lovely friend of best ‘cuz – do your thing.”

  “I need another shot,” I muttered turning to Charde smiling apologetically.

  * * *

  I found myself walking down the long corridor towards the bedrooms. As I walked, I tried to make as little noise as possible, but that wasn’t going too well. I had no balance and my feet felt weird under me. I kept swaying, and every now and then I knocked into something.

  When I got to my bedroom door, I paused for just a fraction of a second. Then without thinking I decided on a whim, opening the opposite door and walked into Eric’s room. Everything around me was spinning but I was in bliss so I didn’t care. Somehow I managed to make it to the bed without hurting anything in the room and I dropped down on it. I stayed there for a minute, glaring at the boring ceiling.

  After a while I propped myself up to face Eric. Leaning onto him I whispered, “Eric,” into what I thought was his ear. “Wake up.” He wasn’t getting up. “Eric!” I screamed poking him somewhere and finally he turned to me. I giggled “Hello.”

  “Did you just get home?” he asked sleepily, rubbing his eyes.

  “Yes,” I nodded staring at him. “Are you mad?” I dropped down on the bed still staring at him. I couldn’t pull my eyes away.

  “Why would I be mad?” He got up off the bed and opened the curtains, letting the moonlight brighten the room. He was shirtless and the light touched him everywhere, making him look like a silver God. I wanted to touch him everywhere too, I was jealous of the moonlight.

  “I went out and left you a note. People hate when I do that.” I felt him sit at the edge of the bed and then he began to unzip my boots, pulling them off one after the other.

  “You mean the post-it that said ‘Out with Charde.’” Instead of answering him, I let out a breath and my eyes closed. Seconds later I felt Eric next to me and I opened my eyes to find him staring at my face. “No, I’m not mad.” Somehow our legs were tangled together, but I liked it so I didn’t pull away from him. I wanted to be closer to him. “I checked in on you a few times through Emily. I knew you were safe,” he told me and I frowned at that, knowing I should feel something about it. I didn't though, all I felt was blissful.

  “Is it an Eric thing, or a pureblood thing?” I asked and his facial expression morphed into one of confusion. “I mean you’re just so hot.” Eric only laughed at me and I frowned at him. “I’m serious, Eric. Do you know what I think...? I’ll tell you what I think anyway…” I said before he could answer.

  “I think… I think that God, He took his time creating you… and not just your body, everything else too. He sculpted you out perfectly and carefully, making sure He made no mistakes.”

  “Why do you think that?” he whispered. I realized that I had closed my eyes again so I opened them. I wanted to see him.

  “Oh you know,” I giggled, “you’ve got this God-like perfection thing going on for you. Your smile is like the sun. You hardly ever get mad at me and even I know I can be a bitch most of the time. You would do anything for Christy. I’m sorry for the ass that ever hurts her… oh and your body can melt a girl’s heart.”

  “Really,” he chuckled.

  “Yep…” I giggled again feeling myself nod. “And your laugh makes me smile… I have trouble being around you and not ripping your clothes off, especially now, that the blood thing is stronger… I don’t tell you these things because I don’t like you very much… But God do I like you,” I snickered.

  Eric laughed a small, warm laugh. “You’re drunk, Jen, go to sleep or you’ll say something you’ll regret,” he smiled.

  “Do you want to know a secret, Eric? I’m going to tell you a secret. I… Fuck, I can’t remember,” I frowned. “Sorry.”

  “That’s fine, Jen.”

  “I’ll tell you another secret,” I smiled. I scooted closer to him. “I made out with Charde tonight,” I whispered laughing.

  “You made out with Charde?” he shouted. “I don't know if I feel really jealous that you made out with her, or that I wasn't there to see it... How much did you drink?”

  “I don’t know, I’m drunk,” I snorted. “I lost track… but that’s not the secret. The secret is that I’ve never gone on a date, which is stupid because I’m getting hitched,” I hiccupped.

  “Really? Daren never took you on a date?”

  “Nope,” I answered popping the P. “We went out, but never a date. He was my best friend… we always did stuff together.”

  “Tomorrow I’ll take you on a date. How does that sound?”

  “Nope,” I yawned.

  “Why?”

  I opened my eyes to face him. “Why can’t marriage be enough?” I groaned and yawned again. “You want to date me too, Eric? Oh why don’t you just screw me and done,” I laughed. That sounded like fun. “Oh wait… that’s not a bad idea…” I was serious now.

  “Having sex or dating me?”

  “Sex, of course,” I forced my eyes open for a brief moment and saw him looking at my face.

  “I don’t think so, Jen, I’m not going to sleep with you until you decide you want more.”

  Technically no one would be sleeping. I laughed at that thought. “You are such a chick. Have you never had meaningless sex?” I murmured into his chest.

  “Have you?”

  “No,” I shook my head and I felt him let out a breath. “But I hear it can be fun…”

  “Well I have, and it’s not that much fun… I don’t want our first time together to be meaningless. I don’t want just sex from you, Jenifer.”

  “Oh, I remember now... that secret,” I whispered. “I don’t hate you, Eric,” I yawned, snuggling closer to him. Sleep was coming now. “I was only angry, but I’m not anymore. I could never hate you, you make me laugh, you know me, you have seen me for who I am… and you accept me…” I sighed. I was beginning to slur my words now, and my voice was barely audible, but I had to tell him now. In this drunken bliss, I wasn’t afraid anymore. I was invincible

  “You’ve been there for me… I was shutting everyone out, but you never left me… Eric I-” I was cut off by another yawn. Sleep was heavy on me now. I could hardly move my lips. “Eric… I think… that… I’m falling…”

  “Jen?” I heard him say, but I couldn’t answer him. “Fuck, Jen, don't you fall asleep now,” he demanded, poking my ribcage. I moaned, batting his hand away yet snuggling closer to him. “Say it, you’re falling in love with me, right? That’s your secret, you’re falling for me..?”

  * * * The sun was like fire in my eyes. It literally burned me the moment I opened my eyelids and I closed them tightly. My head was pounding as though a tiny person was inside there, chiseling away pieces of my brain. My throat felt dry.

  “Good morning,” I heard Eric say at my side. I could literally hear the amused smile playing on his lips. “How is the hangover?”

  A low groan escaped my lips instantly. I was never drinking so much again. The last thing I remembered was coming home and waking Eric up. Everything after that was a jumbled, blurry memory. I do remember that I was giggling and laughing a lot though, about what exactly, I had no idea.

  “Like a bitch,” I muttered opening my eyes, blinking against the harsh early morning sun. It took a while for my ey
es to adjust, and when they did I turned to face Eric and found him lying at the side of me. His head was propped up on his hand and he had a clump of my hair between his fingers, twirling it this way and that.

  I opened my mouth to ask him what he was doing in my bedroom when I realized he wasn’t. I was in his. “Eric…” I hesitated, frowning at him. “Why am I in your bed?” I tried to keep my voice as natural and light as I could manage.

  A broad smile stretched across his lips instantly as he looked up to face me. “Oh, we had sex last night,” he grinned. “It was awesome,” he chuckled.

  I felt my facial expression change instantly, going from calm and collected to total and utter horror. What? I wanted to scream at him. What did he mean we had sex last night? No, we didn’t, I think I would have remembered having sex with him. Just as I was about to start drilling him, Eric burst out laughing, like a full-out dying from laughter sound that had me torn about my feelings for him at the moment. I loved hearing him laugh, it was a sound that soothed and calmed me in a way I had never felt before. On the other hand, I was utterly pissed at him. He almost gave me a heart attack.

  “That was not funny,” I stated when he finally stopped laughing.

  “No,” he chuckled lightly, and my heart raced at the very sound. “It was hilarious… And you did offer to give me a blowjob,” he said matter-of-factly. “But like the gentleman I am, I fought off the male instinct and turned your offer down which left a great burden on my heart.”

  I rolled my eyes at him, not falling for this a second time. “But seriously though,” I swallowed trying to moisten my dry throat. “Why am I in your bed?”

  “I honestly don’t know,” he admitted. “When you got home, you came in here and woke me up.”

  “Oh,” I frowned. “Sorry.”