by Mercy Amare
“Trey is probably already drunk,” Jace tells me. “Just wait until tomorrow to talk to him, okay?”
“Okay,” I say, because Jace is right. I shouldn’t ruin his fun tonight.
My phone buzzes again in my pocket.
Blocked ID: You naughty girl. You didn’t take a drink. Daisy will pay for that one.
Jace grabs my phone and reads what the person sent.
“When I find out who is doing this, I am going to rip their throat out,” he says.
His words melt my heart. And I want to kiss him, but I definitely don’t want to be interrupted this time. I grab his hand and I lead him outside. There is a path in the woods that hardly anybody knows about, and I fully intend to kiss the hell out of him.
10pm
Hide and seek.
Jace asks where we are going, but I tell him that it’s a surprise. He doesn’t say anything else and I hold his hand and lead him into the dark woods. I use the flashlight app on my phone so we don’t trip over anything… or so we don’t accidentally step on a snake or something. The last thing this night needs is a trip to the ER because one of us got bit by a copperhead.
Finally, once we are deep enough in the woods, I turn to kiss him. Before my lips can touch his, he turns me around and backs me against a tree. He has one hand above my head and the other gently cupping my face.
I’ll be honest — this side of Jace is really turning me on.
“I’ve wanted to kiss you all night long,” he says, as he caresses his thumb along my jawline.
“So why don’t you?” I ask.
His eyes light up at my words, and without hesitation his lips are on mine.
My whole body feels like it’s on fire. My knees are weak, my head is spinning, and my heart is thumping so hard against my chest I’m pretty sure everybody at the party can hear it over the bass that is pouring out of the speakers.
I have waited my whole life for this one moment — my first kiss.
Well, aside from the peck at school that I hardly even consider a kiss.
My lips part, and Jace’s begins to massage his tongue against mine. I groan against his mouth, and that seems to make him kiss me even harder. Which makes me even more turned on. I’m feeling things that I never knew I could feel, and I like it.
Jace’s body pushes against mine, and I feel something very hard against my stomach. I like that I made him this way. He’s turned on because of me. Somehow, I like knowing that I have that power.
But while we kiss, he is a complete gentleman. His hands don’t move where they aren’t supposed to, and I’m not sure if that disappoints me or not.
Jace’s grip tightens in my hair, and he pulls back from my lips. We are both breathing heavy, and I’m disappointed that he pulled away.
“Damn, Madi.”
“What?” I ask.
“Your lips… I had no idea it would be like that,” he says. “If I’d have known, I would’ve told you how I felt a long time ago.”
I smile big at his words. “Why did you stop?”
He shakes his head at me. “Madi, you have no idea how much you turn me on. I didn’t want to stop, but if I didn’t I would have kept going. I don’t want our first time to be in the woods. I want it to be special.”
I liked the idea of him wanting to make it special. “It doesn’t matter where or when, just as long as it’s with you. The details don’t matter.”
My phone vibrates. Jace’s whole body stiffens at the noise. He reaches into my pocket and reads the text before handing it to me. I feel relief when I see the text is just from my brother.
Trey: What are you and Jace doing? I haven’t seen either of you in a while. You two better not be having sex.
Me: Chill. We are just outside. Coming back in now.
“We better go before he freaks out more,” I tell Jace, putting my phone back into my pocket.
We walk back through the woods and go in the front door. Trey is waiting for us in the living room. He frowns when he sees us.
“What the hell were you two doing?” he asks, but he’s looking at Jace.
“We didn’t do anything,” Jace tells him.
“Then why is your hair so messed up?”
“I don’t know,” Jace says, running his hands over his hair. “But you need to chill, dude. You know I’d never do anything to disrespect your sister. I love her.”
“Okay,” Trey says. “Just… stay in the house where I can see you.”
Oh my gosh, Trey is being a pain in my butt.
I grab Jace’s hand and walk away from Trey. We walk back downstairs where Emma, Hayden, Frannie and Cassidy are all still sitting around. I see Lexie standing in a corner not talking to anybody, so I grab a red Solo Cup, fill it full of beer and take it to her. She smiles as she accepts the cup.
“Thanks,” she says, then looks up at Jace. Her face turns slightly pink. “Hey, Jace.”
He nods at her but doesn’t say anything. He just stands by my side. People might think he’s being clingy, but he’s not. I know Jace. If I weren’t being basically threatened by some unknown person, he would be upstairs with Trey doing shots. But there is no way he would leave me alone right now.
“Sorry I haven’t had a chance to talk to you tonight,” I tell her. “It’s been a little crazy.”
“Yeah,” she agrees, biting her lip.
“Have you been having fun?”
“Yeah, kind of,” she answers. “I had fun during Two Truths and a Lie earlier.”
Right.
I so didn’t.
“It’s crazy how much you will learn about somebody when they’re drunk,” Lexie says.
Cassidy comes up behind me. “Madi, can I talk to you?”
“Sure,” I say, then look back at Lexie. “I’ll see you later.”
Jace follows me and Cassidy to where my friends are all standing in a circle.
“Madi, what the hell?” Frannie says to me as soon as I walk up. “What was that earlier?”
I pull out my phone and show them the text.
“Is it true?” she asks.
“Yeah,” I answer.
“I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. It’s not your fault.”
“So, have you gotten any more texts?” Cassidy asks.
“Nope,” I answer. “I’m wondering what else we are going to have to do.”
“We should’ve gone to the cops,” she says. “I shouldn’t have asked you all to keep this secret. We are going to go through all this crap and I doubt it’s going to help us get her back.”
“We will go first thing tomorrow morning. Until then, we should keep trying. Hopefully that wasn’t the final thing we could do to get her back.” At least I hope not, because I am the one who screwed that up. I don’t think I could live with that on my conscience.
“It’s not your fault,” Frannie says. “Nobody blames you. What they made you say… that was so wrong. I think any of us would’ve reacted the same way… Actually, I probably wouldn’t have even said it to begin with.”
“Me either,” Cassidy says. “You’re so strong, Madi.”
“Thanks,” I say, but I need to just get away from everybody. I want to leave. But I can’t. I have to stay for Daisy.
They all agree that we will go to the police first thing in the morning, and the five of us head our separate ways. I’m about to grab another soda when Carter walks up. He looks at Jace and then at me.
“Hey, Madeline. I got you a Dr. Pepper,” he says.
“Thanks,” I say, taking the drink. It’s kind of awkward that he’s doing this in front of Jace. “You enjoying yourself?”
“Yeah,” he says, shrugging his shoulders. “I don’t really fit in at these parties, but it’s okay.”
“Maybe you should socialize. Get to know some people.” And leave me alone. Definitely.
“You’re right. I probably shouldn’t be bothering you anyway. It was good seeing you again.” He turns and walks up the stairs. I hope h
e’s actually going to talk to people and not just leaving the party.
I take a drink of my Dr. Pepper, and Jace looks at me with a smirk.
“That kid is so into you,” he says.
I smile at his jealousy. “And I am so into you.”
“Good.” He kisses me lightly for only a second before pulling away. “I’m only interested in you.”
“You better be only into me,” I say. “I wish we could ditch this party and go make out in my car.”
“Why can’t we?”
I frown. “You know why. But it’s okay. We’re going on a date Sunday night. And I can’t wait. Just you and me. No annoying brother. And definitely no cell phone. I will leave it turned off the entire night.”
“I like the sound of that,” he says, putting his arm around my waist.
My phone buzzes again, and I hear a few other phones go off in the distance. I pull my phone out of my pocket and out of the corner of my eye I see Cassidy and Frannie do the same. My stomach tightens, and I feel nauseous as I unlock my phone.
Blocked ID: I like playing games, so let’s play another… HIDE AND SEEK. Daisy is somewhere outside, tied to a tree. If you find her before I do, I won’t kill her.
I don’t hesitate before I take off running up the stairs. Jace is following close behind, and I hear more footsteps behind me. I know without looking that it’s Cassidy, Frannie, Emma, and Hayden.
This is no longer a joke. This is life or death for Daisy, and I fully intend to save her.
I just hope this person isn’t messing with us.
Look for Ruin, Episode 3, coming October 17!
This book is the first in a five part serial. A serial is a lot like a TV show. Each book will be short (around 14 thousand words each), and every week, a new episode will be released.
As an indie author, I rely heavily on my readers to get the word out on my books. If you loved this story, it would mean the world to me if you left a review where you purchased it! <3
Check out my other books!
Dirty Secrets:
— Ultimatum (Book 1)
— Deception (Book 2)
— Ruin (Book 3 - coming October 17)
— Forgotten (Book 4 - coming October 24)
— Betrayal (Book 5 - coming October 31)
East Wood Prep Series:
— Char (Book 1)
— Ali (Book 2)
The Rock Star Trilogy:
— Jaded (Book 1)
— Faded (Book 2)
— Hated (Book 3)
The Kihanna Saga:
— The Fab Life (Book 1)
— I Hate Goodbye (Book 2)
— Stranded in Paradise (Book 3)
— It’s So Obvious (Book 4)
— I Need You (Book 5)
Stand Alones:
— Don’t Tell
— You Got Me
Acknowledgements
I am SO IN LOVE with the characters in this book. Madi is turning out to be a LOT of fun to write about! I hope you love her story so far too!
Since this book is short, I’m going to keep my acknowledgement section short and sweet. Thank you to everybody for reading, rating, buying, and loving my books. It makes my day when each of you message me, Tweet me, or Facebook me to tell me how much you love my books. It means the world to me!
Shane, my husband, for letting me explain the plot of this book in great detail while you’re trying to sleep. You’re the best :)
Whispering Echoes, for spending hours writing with me.
Devianna Smith, for beta reading. You rock!
Laura, as always, I would SUCK without you. Literally. So THANK YOU!
I love you all!
<3 Mercy Amare!
Find me online:
Website: http://www.mercyamare.net
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authormercyamare
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MercyAmare
Instagram: http://instagram.com/mercyamare
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6464549.Mercy_Amare
Email: [email protected]
