Nicole’s lips twitched. “You don’t have any other plans tonight?”
I picked up my phone and quickly typed back.
We’re on our way.
I shoved it into my back pocket with a grin. “Not anymore.”
She smiled at me, quickly draining her coffee and standing up from the table.
“Where’s your car?”
“Back at the dorm.” I grimaced.
“Bluch.” Nicole grabbed her umbrella and poked out her tongue. “Let’s get this over with then.”
We ran though the rain, giggling and puffing as we splashed through puddles. It took us about fifteen minutes to get to my car. We slammed ourselves inside, two drowned but happy rats. My hair was beginning to frizz big-time while Nicole flicked her perfect locks off her face and still looked like a beauty queen. I started up the car and backed out of my parking space, my nerves jittering with excitement.
I couldn’t believe she was about to get engaged. It was so damn exciting I could barely contain myself.
As we drove the ten minutes towards the house, I felt free for the first time in weeks. It was like Quella and Kaplan didn’t even exist in my world. I was just Caity, hanging out with my friends and having some fun.
This was what I wanted for my life and this was something I feared I’d never get.
If I succeeded in this job, which I was determined to, Kaplan would no doubt use me again. Was this my life? One lie after another? How would I ever settle down and be normal?
I shoved the unsettling thoughts from my mind as I pulled the car into the driveway.
“Oh, great, the guys are here.” Nicole pointed to the cars. My eyebrows rose; so that’s how Dale had managed to pull off whatever he had planned. Eric had forsaken his surfing to help him out.
My insides squeezed. Man, I loved my boyfriend.
We raced through the rain and up the stairs. Nicole swung the front door open and called out, “Honey, I’m home!”
She threw a wink at me over her shoulders and giggled her way into the living area, stopping short with a gasp.
I crept up behind her to take a quick look.
The entire room was strung with fairy lights. The guys had draped black fabric and frost cloth over every wall in the living area, including the ceiling, and fairy lights glittered like fireflies. The floor was covered with rose petals and soft strains of some band Nicole loved, Granite or something, was playing in the background. It was like a 1990s rock ballad.
Better yet, Dale was standing in the middle of the room...in a tux.
I pressed my lips together, tears lining my lashes as I took in the magical atmosphere and the sweet look on Dale’s face. I ripped off his mask and he was shining like the sun, the love pulsing from his gaze powerful and electrifying.
Nicole sucked in a shaky breath and covered her mouth. “I can’t believe it.”
Dale grinned, stepping towards her and lightly taking her hands.
“Nicky, my one and only.” He kissed her nose. “You already know how much I love you and I know we’ve talked about waiting until we graduated, but why?” He hitched up his pants and lowered himself to one knee, pulling out a box from his jacket pocket. “I know we’re young and I know it’s probably insane, but I’ve been saving for this since that day you told me you loved me.” He chuckled. “You yelled it from upstairs, do you remember?”
She nodded with a soft laugh.
“And I just knew...I wanted to be with you for the rest of my life.” He popped the lid of the box open. I couldn’t see the ring, but Nicole’s head tipped to the side and she touched a hand to her chest. “Nicole Evelyn Tepper, will you marry me?”
She sucked in a breath, covering her mouth and nodding frantically. “Yes.” She dropped to her knees, wrapping her arms around Dale’s neck and squashing the ring between them. “A thousand times yes!”
He cupped the back of her head, laughing and kissing her before leaning back to slip the ring onto her finger. She looked at it and squealed before reaching for his face and running her dainty fingers down his scar. He smiled at her, his face puckering as she drank him in.
Tears were falling freely down my face now. I wiped them away with a smile and caught a movement in the hallway doorframe.
Eric was leaning in the space and gazing at me.
I gave him an excited can-you-believe-it smile. He chuckled softly, his expression going mushy.
“I love you,” he mouthed.
“I love you, too,” I mouthed back, unable to tear my eyes away from his ardent gaze.
I wondered if that would be us one day. If I peeled off his mask, I’d be able to tell. I saw the edge fall, but chickened out, pushing it back in place. His grin grew as if he knew what I was doing. I blushed and bit the edge of my lip.
His gaze grew serious and I was certain, without having to peel his mask off, that he wanted this for us, too...one day.
A thrill raced through me, my insides dancing with that giddy rush... the one that makes me feel light-headed.
The idea of spending the rest of my life with Eric was the sweetest thing in the world, and it wasn’t until I saw Dale slip the ring on Nicole’s finger that I realized just how much I wanted that, too.
Chapter 20
Eric
I wished I could read Caity sometimes. I mean, I felt like I knew her pretty well, but that look on her face as we stared at each other, I’d have loved to have known exactly what it meant. I thought I knew. My guess was no doubt right, but it would've been great to have it confirmed, because when your girl is giving you her I love you eyes and you’ve just watched your best friend propose, it’s damn tempting to drop to one knee right then and there.
I glanced back into the living room before I screwed up everything and stole Dale’s thunder. I wouldn’t do it to him. He and Nicole were still kissing, the small diamond on her fourth finger looking so shiny and new. I’d helped him pick it out; damn hardest job in the entire world. We both knew how fussy Nicole was. When it came to fashion and jewelry, that girl knew what she liked. Dale was sweating blood by the time we’d finally picked it. I told him since they’d already talked about it, he should just bring her down here and let her decide, but he wanted the surprise to be good, so we’d fumbled our way through the purchase and he’d picked up the perfectly sized ring that morning.
To be honest, the way Nicole was gazing at him right now, she could be wearing a pebble from the bottom of a fish tank. I chuckled; only those closest to her would ever know what a pure nugget of gold her heart was.
Pushing off the doorframe with my shoulder, I crept into the kitchen and slipped my arms around Caity, quietly lifting her off the floor.
She giggled softly into my ear. “Love this day.”
“It’s the best, right?”
I placed her on the floor and grinned down at her. “You’re all wet.”
She shrugged. “When have I ever carried an umbrella?”
I chuckled. “One of the things I love about you.”
She squeezed my biceps and grinned. “The room looks amazing; you did a great job.”
“When I got home to get changed and head to the beach, he was sitting on the couch looking lost and heartbroken. It was really sad.” Eric laughed. “I had to help the poor guy out.”
“You did good.”
A squeal from the living room pulled us apart as Nicole jumped up and came to show Caity her ring.
She gently held Nicole’s hand oohing at the solitaire. I thought it was just okay. When I proposed to Caity, I wasn’t going to do anything by the book. I wanted to get her a sapphire to match her eyes, something unique and different that would suit who she was. It’d be none of this traditional stuff for us. I was thinking beach wedding and bare feet. That was the way to do it.
Caity glanced over Nicole’s head and caught me dreaming, so I swallowed back my smile and winked at her before heading for the table to uncork the champagne bottle. We filled the four flutes and I raised
mine in the air.
“To a happy life.” I grinned.
“To a beautiful wedding.” Nicole smiled.
“To the one and only person in the world who knows absolutely everything about me.” Dale winked at Nicole. “And always will.”
We all chuckled and then looked to Caity when she didn’t pipe up with her toast. Her eyes were glistening as she stared at Dale. After a beat, she swallowed, her smile looking slightly melancholy. She cleared her throat. “To the best couple I know.”
Dale let out a little cheer.
The glasses clinked together and we all took a sip, Caity’s smile returning to full splendor and chasing my doubts away. She always cried at weddings and romantic stuff. It was sweet.
But as the evening wore on, my doubts came back. Something was definitely up with Caity. The more Nicole talked about wedding plans, the quieter Caity became.
Nicole squeezed her arm and Caity forced another soft smile. “I’m so excited I can barely stand it. I can’t wait to plan this with you.”
Caity patted her friend’s hand. “It’s going to be awesome; I can’t wait. Thank you so much for including me.”
“Of course! During the Thanksgiving break, we’ll get together for the day to talk wedding dresses and bridesmaids outfits and venues and—”
“Hey, don’t I get a say?” Dale nudge Nicole’s arm.
“Of course you do. I meant get together as a foursome.” She winked and we all laughed at her. She blushed red then leaned over to kiss Dale on the lips, murmuring some sort of apology.
I gazed across their heads and looked at Caity. She glanced at her watch, wiggling it on her wrist before looking up at me.
“Do you want to stay?” I mouthed.
She pursed her lips and looked at her watch again.
“Please?”
Biting her lip, she looked at the front door then back at me, and after a long pause she nodded. “Okay.” Her eyes lit with a desperate hunger.
I flicked my head towards the hallway, slowly getting up from the table.
Caity joined me.
“Have a good night, you guys.”
Nicole and Dale jerked apart.
“We’ll talk more in the morning, Caity.” Nicole waved goodbye and I tugged Caity down the hallway before she got caught up in more wedding conversation. I was happy for those two, but my girl was staying and I didn’t want to waste it.
The second she made it through my door, I closed it behind her, pressing her into the wood with my body and kissing her hard. She met my heat with a passion of her own, her fingers scraping through my hair as she hooked her knee up against my hip. I grabbed her leg, running my fingers down her jeans and cupping her butt.
There wasn’t room for words. We just let our tongues and bodies do the talking, ripping each other’s clothes off and making love in a passionate frenzy. When we were done, I lay on top of her, panting heavily in her ear. Her lips were feather-light on my shoulder, kissing their way up to my sweet spot.
I sucked her earlobe gently and she squeezed me with her legs, digging her heels into my lower back.
“I love you,” she whispered then sniffed.
I frowned, leaning back on my elbows and noticing the tears on her lashes. “Hey, what’s the matter?”
“Nothing.” She shook her head and sucked in a ragged breath.
With my thumb, I gently wiped the tears away.
“I guess the proposal is just making me emotional or something.”
I rolled off her, lying on my back and pulling her against me. “It’s not just that, though, is it? What’s bothering you?”
“I—” She sucked in a breath and then huffed it out, burying her face into the crook of my neck.
“What are you not telling me?”
Her hand ran up my chest, her fingers splaying over my shoulder before gripping my neck. She was crying again; I could feel the tears on my skin.
“Caity,” I whispered. “What’s—”
Her phone started singing. She jerked in my arms and scrambled for her jeans.
“Leave it.” I tried to pull her back to me, but she shook off my hand.
“I can’t.” She fished the phone out of her pocket, a frown flickering across her features before she pressed the screen. “Hello?” A muscle pinged in her neck. “No, I know....Yes....Well, I was planning to—” She clenched her jaw and I sat up, running my hand lightly up her back.
She turned to me and forced a smile.
“Yes, I can understand that.” She rubbed the back of her neck then glanced at her watch. “With my friends...no, of course not.” She rolled her eyes. “Now? But—” She pressed her lips together. “Yeah, yeah, I understand. I’ll be there soon.“
Pulling the phone from her ear, she touched the screen and then threw the phone down beside her.
“Who was that?”
“Um...” Caity swallowed. “Quella.”
My eyes narrowed. She saw my expression and she huffed out a dry laugh, running her hands into her hair. “She needs me to head back. She’s become quite...annoying.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know, she wants to know where I am all the time and if I don’t check in she calls me. It’s like she’s anxious or suspicious if I don’t call her every night.”
“Every night, what do you mean? Aren’t you guys sharing a room?”
Caity blushed and shook her head. “I’m not explaining myself very well. What I’m trying to say is that she likes to know where I am and what I’m up to all the time and if I’m not with her when she thinks I should be, she freaks out.” Caity spat out the last word. “It’s getting kind of exhausting.”
My frown was sharp. “Why didn’t you tell me this?”
She shrugged. “I told you, it’s private, girly stuff. I can’t break my promise. She’s really insecure and maybe I misread just how much. All I know is that she needs me, Eric, and just because it’s getting irritating doesn’t mean I can turn my back on her.”
I scoffed. “Caity, she sounds like your personal stalker. Calling you up in the middle of the night and asking where you are? That’s just plain weird.”
“I know it is.” She rubbed the back of her neck again. “She...she has a lot of issues.”
I rubbed my chin, hating this on her behalf and okay, yeah, worried for her.
“You know how much I love that you care about people.” I held my breath for a second, wanting to get the wording right. My fingers drew circles on her back. “But you don’t have to save the world and if being nice is making you feel unsafe or unhappy, you’ve got to stop.”
“How can you say that?” She turned to me. “So my happiness is more important than anybody else’s?”
“It is to me.”
“I can’t walk away. This isn’t about me. It’s about taking care of those in need.”
“And Quella’s in need?”
“Yes!” Caity turned away from me, pulling her knees against her naked chest. “Emotionally, she’s very unstable and I—I don’t feel like I can walk away and pretend this isn’t happening.”
I couldn’t help my frown. “You’re not a psychologist. Shouldn’t you be referring her to someone who’s a professional in this field?”
“No, it has to be me! I see things others can’t. I’ve been chosen for this and I can’t back out.”
“Caity, you’re not actually making sense. What is happening that you can’t back out of? Who chose you?”
She sighed and buried her face into her knees. “I mean like cosmically,” she mumbled.
My head jerked back in surprise. Since when had she been into any kind of higher power? It felt so weird to be sitting next to this girl, who I thought I knew so well, and realize that maybe I didn’t know her at all.
My frown was so deep it was actually starting to hurt, but what bothered me more was Caity’s palpable tension.
Her arms were wrapped so tightly around her legs, I could see her spine protruding o
ut of her back. Hating this, but not wanting to make it worse, I lowered my voice to a gentle whisper.
“I know this gift is a huge responsibility and I get that you want to be there for Quella. I think it’s admirable and really nice.” I licked my bottom lip. “But if your job is to think about her and what she needs to get better, then I want my job to be thinking about you and what you need to be happy.”
Slowly her head turned, her large blue eyes looking at me sideways.
“What do you need, babe?”
She looked past me, tears lining her lashes. “To forget the world exists. To forget all the badness and pretend like I’m normal and I don’t see anything. To escape this weight of responsibility and be with you, somewhere where no one can find us or ask anything of us.”
Her sad voice pinched at my heart.
The first tear dribbled down her nose, trickling to the edge of her mouth. I leaned forward and kissed it away.
“I’d take you away in a heartbeat if you needed me to. Fly your butt all the way to Bora Bora if you wanted."
Her glum smile turned into a soft giggle.
“You can count on me, okay? I’ll do whatever it takes to ease this burden for you, babe.”
“I know.” Her head popped up. “And that’s why I love you so much.” Her hand was soft on my face as she leaned over to kiss me. “I wish I could tell you everything.”
“A promise is a promise.” I shrugged. “Just...be careful.”
“I will.” She rubbed her thumb over my cheek and kissed me again. “I better go. She needs to talk.”
“Okay.” I slid my arm down Caity’s side, hating that she had to leave.
She stood and walked to the edge of the bed, stepping off and collecting her clothes. I lay back against the pillows and watched her get dressed, the mood still bleak and somber.
She slipped on her shirt and looked at me, an apology on her lips.
I raised my hand to stop her.
“It’s okay. I love you.”
Her smile was sweet. “World’s best boyfriend, I swear.”
Snake Eyes (The Masks Series Book 3) Page 11
