Chapter Eleven
My mouth went a little too dry when he sat up to bring our faces just inches apart. “I don't really know much about being a friend,” I managed to croak out.
“Me either.” It didn't bug me very much that his voice was strong and steady. I was too worried about not passing out.
“You must have a lot of... friends.”
He shook his head slowly. “You'd be surprised.”
I let my tongue glide softly over my bottom lip, but pulled it back inside my mouth when I noticed Tristan watching the movement. What would it feel like to kiss him? Could we kiss? Was he thinking the same thing I was?
“What are you thinking?” he asked in a low voice that had finally turned husky.
“I don't know.” I bit down briefly on my bottom lip. “I'm not sure.”
His hand was against my face before I realized it had moved off the bed between us. “I know what I'm thinking.”
“What are you thinking?” I tried not to lose myself in the depth of Tristan’s gaze, but it was getting harder as the tense seconds ticked by.
“I'm thinking that I want to kiss you right now.”
“Okay,” I breathed.
He leaned forward the few inches needed to let our lips meet. It surprised me how warm and soft he felt. I pulled away, the shock taking over and let my forehead fall against his.
He pulled away quickly, too quickly. I almost fell into him; if his hands hadn't caught me, we would have both ended up on the floor. Confused and hurt, and slightly embarrassed, I looked up at him.
“What's wrong?” Why did he look so worried? Had I done something wrong? “I've never... kissed anyone before. Did I do something wrong?”
“No.” His adams apple bobbed a few times in his throat, but the look on his face didn't change. “I think I've done something wrong.”
“No,” I reached out to him, “it seemed alright to me.”
He swallowed again. “Just alright?” he grinned. “We'll have to see about that.”
I smiled against his kiss, not as surprised this time by the warmth that flowed through him and set my blood on fire. I closed my eyes and tried to take a breath, forgetting for a second that he was too close to allow much breathing.
His tongue slipped past my parted lips to invade my mouth. I gasped, trying to pull away, but he kept me close. It wasn't what I had expected- kissing. It was messier and scarier.
“Are you alright?” His voice was gentle, next to my ear.
“Yeah. Are you?”
“Will you come with me, Ren?” he whispered hoarsely.
“Come with you where?” I whispered back, too afraid to speak much louder.
“I'll take you somewhere safe.”
It was difficult to hold on to any rational thought when Tristan was sitting so close to me. His finger still rippled across the back of my head, raising bumps along my arms. His other hand rested lightly against my arm, the warmth spreading through my entire body. Why shouldn't I go with him?
“Toby told me to wait here.” I heard myself reply.
“Toby left you,” Tristan cooed, “he doesn't care what happens to you.”
I wanted to argue with him, to stick up for Toby, but mostly I knew Tristan was right. Toby wouldn't care if he came back and I wasn't here; or if I was dead. If he cared, he wouldn't have left me.
But, my nose crinkled as the arguments swirled around and around in my head. Nona had told me to trust Toby. In fact, she had gone as far as to say that Tristan was going to kill me. Being this close to him, that was hard to believe; but what did I know? I was crazy. State-certified crazy.
“What if he comes looking for me?”
“So?” He shrugged. “He won't find you.”
“Where would we go?”
“I know a place where you'll be safe.”
“Where?”
“Just... a place.” He traced the line of my jaw down to where it turned into my chin. “We have to leave soon.”
Toby would be back eventually and he would never let me just leave with Tristan. He probably couldn't stop me, but did I really want him to follow us? I shuddered at the images filling my imagination. Toby wasn't good company when I was obeying him, what would he be like if I went willingly with Tristan?
Taking a deep breath, I finally nodded. “Ok, I'll go with you.”
His smile spread out slowly, breaking his entire face with contagious warmth. “You will?”
“Yeah,” I chuckled lightly. “Why not? You have to be better than Toby.” My heart lurched at the betrayal, but it was the truth.
Two sides. That's what Tristan had said. Well, I had picked which one I wanted to be on. I could only go along with it now and hope that I had made the right decision. If Tristan’s smile was any indication, there was no doubt.
“I am.” His eyes widened, but he ducked his head anyways. “We better get going, though.”
“Before he gets back?”
“Yep.” His lips popped on the word, making us both smile. He rose up from the bed, pulling me- less gracefully- up behind him. “You should probably find some pants,” he advised.
“Why? You think people would say something if I went out like this?” I glanced down at my half dressed state.
“Well, we are trying to keep a low profile,” he winked.
“Guess so.” I bent low to unzip the small red colored backpack Toby had given me earlier in the night. He had said there was an extra set of clothes inside.
True to his word, I discovered a wrinkled pair of blue jeans crumbled into the bottom of the bag. Shaking them out didn't do much for the wrinkles, but at least they fit. Perfect fit, actually.
I ran my hands down my thighs, marveling at Toby's thoughtfulness. There wasn't much to admire about him, but maybe he paid more attention than I gave him credit for. He got a pair of jeans in my size.
“You're not getting sentimental on me, are you?” He crossed the short distance to stand close to me.
“No.” But my voice sounded too small.
“You'll be safe with me,” he breathed against my temple, stirring the small hairs there.
“I know.” I moved slightly so I could look up at him.
His soft lips closed, then fell back open. I waited for him to say something else, but no words came out. Instead, he lowered his mouth until we were once again joined together.
His warm breath against my mouth made my blood race and heat up until I was sure it would boil out of my skin. In that moment, I was absolutely positive that spontaneous combustion could result from a simple kiss.
“You know,” I said softly when he pulled back away, “when Nona said you would kill me, I didn't realize she meant like this.”
“More blood? Less...”
“Heat.”
“I was going to say passion,” he laughed, “but heat works.” He raised one eyebrow lazily.
“Yeah, heat.” I ducked away from his gaze.
“What do you feel now?”
“I...” My words stumbled over each other to create silence. What did he expect me to say? I was just getting used to this friend thing. Did we have to tell each other everything?
“I feel safe,” I said at last when it was clear he was waiting for something.
“Good,” His arms swung out to wrap around me and pull our bodies close together. “I want you to feel safe.”
Without moving, his hand had found mine and we were walking- towards the front door. How had it gotten so far away? And instead of getting closer as we took steps, it receded further out of reach. What was wrong with me?
I did feel safe with Tristan. He had saved me once and he would do it again. There was a part of me though, a big part, that knew I should wait for Toby. He had been with me my entire life- every step I took. Was his absence why it was so hard to take these few steps to the front door?
Tristan swung around to stop in front of me, his smile instantly smoothing the furrows in my forehead. Warmth radiated fro
m those lips, lips that were eager to smile down at me.
“Here,” he pushed the bag into my outstretched hands. “You might need that later.”
“Thanks,” I mumbled.
“This is the right thing to do, Ren,” he encouraged softly as we took the last few steps that carried us to the front door. “You'll be safest with me.”
“Will the ghost people stay away from us?” I knew I sounded just like a little kid asking for false promises, but I couldn't stop the question from slipping out.
“Yeah,” he nodded with a furrowed brow. “I'll keep them away from you.”
That was enough for me. Tristan could do it. I wasn't sure how he had power over them, but I couldn't deny they way they obeyed his words. He was my only hope. I leaned into his lopsided smile.
“Ready?” he asked with one hand on the round gold handle.
“Yeah.” I was as ready as I was ever going to be. With the small red backpack Toby had given me draped over one shoulder and my heart fluttering wildly somewhere between my stomach and my throat, I looked back one last time at the empty hotel room. What would Toby say when he came back and I was gone? Would he care? Did I?
“Come on, Ren.” Tristan tugged lightly at my hand to lead me out into the fading night.