Marked (9 page)

My entire Saturday passed at an impossibly slow
speed due to my excitement for the night—my date with Jace. By 9:15
pm my insides felt like they might burst with the anticipation of
knowing I’d be able to see him soon.

I clocked out at 9:30 on the dot and darted toward
my car for the change of clothes I’d tossed in the passenger seat.
My cell buzzed in my pocket before I’d made it back to the diner
door. It was Rachel.

Wanna come bowling with Kyle and me?

Can’t. I’m meeting Jace. ~ Tessa

Why don’t both of you come by? You always hang out
at his house. It’s creepy.

I laughed out loud. It was far from creepy to me
now, but I could see her point.

We’ll see. I’ll let you know. ~ Tessa

I changed as quickly as I could into my favorite
pair of tight, ripped-kneed jeans and a brown v-neck sweater. After
piling my hair up into a loose bun on top of my head, I pulled on
my brown boots and dabbed on some peach lip gloss.

Tossing my waded up uniform into the passenger seat,
I checked my cell for the time, 9:42 pm. It would take me a good
twelve minutes, going well over the speed limit, to get to Jace’s
house, which would make it 9:54 by the time I got there. Damn him
for not having a phone. It would be so much easier to call and tell
him to meet me at the bowling alley than to waste time driving to
ask. I bit my bottom lip, realizing that by the time I got to his
house I’d only have one hour to see him before I had to be home by
curfew. Thank goodness it was a weekend and my curfew was
eleven.

* * *

When I came to a stop in front of Jace’s house I
hopped out, slammed my door shut, and began texting Rachel as I
jogged up the porch steps.

Not enough time for bowling, I’ve got to be home by
eleven. Maybe next time. ~ Tessa

She texted me right back.

It’s for the best anyway. Sam is here. He’s still
pretty tore up about the break up.

I paused in front of Jace’s door, feeling horrible.
Sam was still depressed and hurt because of me a week later and
here I was happily going to the guy’s house he thought I’d dumped
him for.

Thanks, Rach. TTYL. ~ Tessa

I crammed my cell into my back pocket and knocked on
the door. Jace opened it right away.

“
You had me worried for a minute. I
thought maybe you were having second thoughts.” He
smiled.

“
Nope,” I said, smiling in return.
“I was just texting Rachel. She wanted us to meet her and her
boyfriend, Kyle, at the bowling alley. I told her maybe next time
we could, if you want to I mean, I’m just pressed for time
tonight.”

An amused look gleamed in his eyes. “Right,
curfew.”

“
Yep, that would be why,” I said
flatly.

His smirk grew and he leaned against the door frame.
“Since we’re pressed for time, you wanna do something wild and
dangerous?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Like?”

“
Like going for a ride on my
bike?”

My stomach twisted, but when I met his stare, I
noticed him daring me with his eyes and all my nerves evaporated.
There was absolutely no way I was going to say no to him.

“
Let’s go,” I insisted.

“
All right, let me grab the
key.”

I waited on the porch, rolling my ankles and tapping
my own keys against the palm of my hand.

“
You seem a little nervous,” Jace
said when he stepped back out onto the porch. “Don’t worry, I’ll go
slow… if you want me to.” He winked and I felt my face
flush.

I followed him down the steps and to his bike. It
was black and sleek looking. This was no
Harley
; this was a
crotch-rocket. I read the silver lettering on the side—
Yamaha
F26
—and wondered if that meant it was fast.

“
Here, I’ll even let you wear my
helmet,” he said, plucking it from the handle bars and holding it
out to me.

I took it from him and was surprised by its weight.
“Geez, this thing is heavy.”

“
Yeah, bet it will look cute on you
though.” He winked.

“
I doubt that.” I was sure I’d look
all kinds of ridiculous.

“
Let me help you.” Jace took the
helmet back from me and carefully placed it on my head. I held my
breath as he leaned in closer to buckle the strap underneath my
chin.

Jace lifted his leg and mounted the bike
effortlessly. “Hop on.”

“
Okay,” I muttered.

I placed one hand on his shoulder and attempted to
climb on behind him without kicking him in any way. Leaving as much
room as I could between myself and him, so my knees wouldn’t bother
him at his sides, I loosely wrapped my arms around his waist and
butterflies broke into flight in my stomach due to our sudden
closeness.

“
You’d better hold on tighter than
that,” Jace insisted, readjusting my arms until they melded around
him tightly. “Trust me, I don’t mind.”

My lips twisted into a satisfied smile. “All
right.”

“
Ready?” he asked, glaring at me
over his shoulder.

“
Yeah!” I answered quickly, unable
to hide my excitement.

Jace let out a chuckle and revved the engine to
life. It echoed loudly in my ears and my smile grew wide as the
vibration from it tickled my nose.

“
Make sure you hold on tight,” Jace
yelled as he carefully turned the bike around, before he gunned it
down the gravel driveway.

I tightened my grip and felt him shudder with
laughter due to my sudden pressure change.

We flew down darkened roads, twisting and turning,
hugging each and every curve smoothly. The adrenaline that pumped
through my veins was intoxicating. I’d never felt more alive.
Tipping my head back, I gazed up at the speckled sky, watching as
it rushed past me with incredible speed and laughed.

Jace’s hand covered mine and I felt his thumb caress
across my skin for a brief moment. I snuggled my body as close to
him as I possibly could with the massive helmet on and sighed. This
was a moment I wanted to bottle and keep forever.

We turned back onto Jace’s driveway and
disappointment fluttered through me—my perfect moment was almost
over. As the old farm house came into view, so did a cherry-red
Mustang parked beside my car. I felt Jace’s body tense and dread
began to fill me from his reaction. Jace pulled up behind the
Mustang and wasted no time cutting the engine off.

“
Who is it?” I asked, aiming for a
nonchalant tone, while I unclasped the helmet and tugged it
off.

“
Uh, friends from home I was
not
expecting,” he answered.

I maneuvered myself off the back of his bike and
handed him the helmet. He hopped off smoothly and balanced it back
on the handle bars again.

“
You sure do get a lot of
drop-ins,” I muttered.

We started up the steps to the porch side by side.
Jace stopped on the last step and turned to face me.

“
I’m apologizing in advance for
whatever we find behind this door,” he said seriously.

“
Okay?” I said, unsure of what he’d
meant.

Jace opened the door and stepped inside. I followed
behind him nervously. The TV blaring music from the living room
assaulted my ears at the same time as a sweet scent coming from the
kitchen tickled my nose. Taking my hand in his, Jace began walking
toward the kitchen and two murmuring voices became clearer.

“
Seriously, would you get out of
here? I’m trying to cook; you can eat them when they’re done,” a
female said, sounding annoyed.

My stomach lurched at the sound of her voice. What
if she was Shelby?

“
I’m freaking starving, Jenna,” a
male whined in response.

“
Raisins are not going to fill you
up. Leave them alone,” Jenna snapped.

As we stepped into the kitchen, two sets of eyes
shifted from Jace’s face to mine and then dropped to our interlaced
fingers. My gaze lingered on the girl, Jenna, taking in her earthy
beauty. She looked like she was in her late twenties, with
shoulder-length dark-blond hair, wide hazel eyes, and an infectious
smile.

“
Jace!” she said, walking straight
to him with arms opened wide. “I know it’s only been a week or so,
but I missed you. We all have.”

“
I’ve missed you guys, too,” Jace
replied, dropping my hand to squeeze Jenna tightly.

“
Then remind me again why you’re
here?” the guy leaning against the counter said flatly, his
piercing green eyes boring through me.

I held his stare while sizing him up, as he did the
same to me. He had short-cropped hair that spiked just a little in
the front, emerald-green eyes, and a very muscular build. Rachel
would die for this guy.

“
To get away for a while,” Jace
said, seeming tense.

“
Times running out, which means
your little vacation is coming to an end,” The dark-haired guy
seethed.

“
I know, Gavin,” Jace paused and
interlaced his fingers with mine again. “Everything is going to be
all right.”

Gavin snorted. “We’ll see. This may end up being the
first time in eighty-four years we have to do things the
nontraditional
way, and I think I’m looking forward to it.”
He winked.

I noticed Jenna’s eyes grow wide at Gavin’s words
and I felt Jace’s body tense a little more beside me. Who was this
guy and what the hell was he talking about?

“
So, Jace... introduce me to your
girlfriend,” Jenna said, obviously attempting to change the
subject.

My heart picked up speed at the word girlfriend, and
I distinctly heard Gavin snort again, this time in disapproval it
seemed.

“
This is Tessa. Tessa, this is my
good friend, Jenna, and the one so full of himself over there is
Gavin.”

“
It’s nice to meet you, Tessa. Jace
talked about you nonstop on his little visit a few weeks ago.”
Jenna beamed.

“
Well, well... if it isn’t Jace and
his dear little—Tessa, was it?” a husky female voice said from
behind us.

I spun around. A girl maybe a year or two older than
me stood behind us, leaning against the wall. She had long,
shimmering white-blond hair and electric-blue eyes. I hadn’t heard
her walk up behind us, but now that I noticed her, I couldn’t look
away. She was gorgeous—one of those girls who oozed sex appeal with
every movement, but still held that quality of pure innocence in
the face. She looked like every guy’s dream girl and every girl’s
nightmare.

I prayed that she was not Shelby, but deep down I
knew that was exactly who she was.

“
Hello, Shelby,” Jace greeted her a
little coolly.

Shelby’s plump lips formed into a smirk and her
wild, blue eyes locked on Jace. “She’s
cute
, Jace.”

I felt like a child. My stomach knotted, but I
straightened my back and kept my eyes firmly directed on her.

“
Jenna is a friend, Gavin is an
arrogant ass, and Shelby is?” I shifted to Jace, waiting for my
answer though I knew who she was already.

“
His girlfriend,” Shelby
interjected before Jace could speak.

I didn’t give her the satisfaction of my attention
and kept my eyes on Jace.

“
Ex
-girlfriend,” he
corrected her, never moving his eyes from mine.

“
We’ll see for how long,” Shelby
muttered just barely loud enough for us all to hear before she
exited the room.

“
You’ve got your hands full,” Gavin
said, shooting Jace a shit-eating grin as he went after
Shelby.

“
Great, nothing better than running
into a scorned ex-girlfriend to ruin my mood.” I sighed, moving
away from Jace to sit at the bar.

“
Don’t worry about Shelby,” Jenna
said. “She’s just jealous.”

“
Have I told you how much I already
like you? You’re friends, not so much,” I said to Jenna.

“
Hey, I came as a
peacemaker.”

“
Shelby can be a little much at
times, but she’s not totally bad. Don’t write her off completely
yet,” Jace said, taking the bar stool beside me.

“
Says my boyfriend... hmm, not
thinking I like this situation at all,” I said
sarcastically.

“
So, Tessa, have you lived in
Breckwater all your life?” Jenna asked, changing the
subject—something she appeared to be skilled at.

“
Yeah, born and raised.”

“
What do you do for fun here?”
Jenna asked. “When we drove through, all I saw was a bowling alley
and a Wal-Mart.”

I laughed. “The highlights of town. Sad, isn’t
it?”

Jenna bent down to retrieve something sweet smelling
from the oven. “Nah, not really. Sounds sort of like home.”

“
What’s that?” I
wondered.

“
Oatmeal raisin cookies, Jace’s
favorite. See, I told you I came as the peacemaker.” She
smiled.

“
You always are.” Jace winked at
her.

I shifted in my seat as my mind wondered back to
Shelby. Was she really that intent on getting Jace back? The knots
already in place in my stomach twisted, growing larger in size. A
guy can only turn down a girl like Shelby for so long before he
finally gives in. That was something I was sure of. After all, I
was best friends with Rachel, another knock-out.

“
What’s wrong?” Jace asked, placing
a hand on my knee.