Scarlett White (45 page)

They both looked at each other a few moments, preparing themselves. And then Scarlett gently grabbed Tristan's hand and held it firmly in hers. First she brought it to her face and softly kissed his palm. And then, uncharacteristically, she guided his hand downward. When Tristan's hand reached her breasts, a low whimper escaped Scarlett's lips as he touched them through the light fabric of her shirt. Without further ado, Tristan took the lead. He began to unbutton her blouse, slowly, gently. Scarlett shivered as his fingers expertly brushed lightly against her flat stomach. Goosebumps rose on her arms, and the hair on the back of her neck stood upright. Once her shirt was completely off, thrown to the floor and forgotten about, Tristan reached around her.

Slowly they both moved together as they moved to lie down on the bed. Scarlett lay on his chest while he worked to undo her bra. She sighed contently, relaxing her muscles, taking deep, even breaths. The world suddenly felt as if it had turned into a dream. A sweet, peaceful dream that she never wanted to end.

Scarlett lifted her head and looked into Tristan's eyes. While she was drowning in the warm, brown color of his irises, her fingers came up to start to unbutton his top. At first they were shaking so violently that she thought it would be impossible to undo a single button. But finally she took control of herself, and soon his top was on the floor next to her forgotten one.

Leaning in, she kissed his neck, his chin, his cheek, and finally his lips. Her lips parted as he ran his hands up and down her arms, slowly, gently, rhythmically.

And then without warning, Tristan rolled over, so that Scarlett was lying underneath him. Scarlett looked up at him in genuine surprise while he pulled her jeans off. When he had finished, Scarlett worked quickly to undo his jeans and slip them off along with hers.

She felt breathless as Tristan leaned down and kissed each of her breasts lightly. Trailing the kisses back up to her neck, her chin, her cheeks, her eyelids, below her ears, he finally kissed her mouth lovingly.

"Are you ready?" he asked, his voice hoarse with desire.

She nodded, too overwhelmed to speak. Tristan smiled and kissed her on the lips one last time before he finished what they had started.

One hour later, Scarlett and Tristan made their way down to the dining room where she met Christian's father for the first time. They ate dinner together with comfortable conversation. But she knew nobody was fooled by the way Tristan and Scarlett kept glancing in each other's directions and quietly giggling. At first, Scarlett passed it off as an inside joke, but after a while, she knew that the entire table was positive the 'inside joke' wasn't a joke at all.

Soon enough Tuesday came along, and it was time for gym class, which was Scarlett's last period. She was the first one out of the girls' locker room and was preparing herself for yet another humiliating game of basketball. Scarlett was digging through her bag, looking for a rubber band to put her hair into a ponytail with when she was startled by a shadow that loomed over her.

Scarlett stood upright breathlessly, thinking that it was Austin, but was glad to turn and see Christian.

"Oh!" Scarlett gasped. "You scared me," she said, willing her heartbeat to return to its normal pace.
God, he looks just like Tristan.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to sneak up on you." And his voice was close to matching Tristan's as well.

"It's okay," Scarlett replied, turning back to her bag. Why wasn't her heartbeat slowing?

"Look, I was just wondering...wait, um...let me start over," Christian was stuttering. "You know my cousin, Tristan?" he asked.

Well, duh.
"Yes."

"Well," Christian rubbed the back of his neck, "he seems pretty fond of you."

"Does he?" Scarlett decided to play it cool and oblivious. Finally she located her rubber band. She began pulling her hair back to place it in a ponytail. She was looking around, trying to find an escape route. Where was Chloe when you needed her?

"Yeah, he does. Actually, he seems more than fond of you. He has made himself think that...um...he says that he
loves
you," Christian finally blurted out, emphasizing the word.

As I love him.
Scarlett was once again shocked to realize that she really did. She loved him. She really actually loved him. She could say that over and over again. She had given her virginity to him and she loved him with all her heart. She let out an adorable giggle at the thought.

"It's not something to laugh at," Christian said.

"Oh, sorry. I was thinking of something else," she mumbled as she desperately tried to ignore the pounding in her ears. She needed to get out of this situation.

"I just wanted to know..."

Scarlett waited, wondering if he was ever going to make a complete sentence. "You just wanted to know what?" she prompted after a minute.

"Do you feel the same way?"

"Oh," Scarlett paused. "Chris, that's kind of private."

"I know, but I just...please, tell me."

Was this boy literally unable to form a complete sentence?

Scarlett took a deep breath, trying to calm her senses. And then Christian did something Scarlett wanted never to happen. He placed one arm on the wall behind Scarlett right next to her left ear. Scarlett pressed her back against the wall, her heart skipping a beat. Christian pressed his body a little closer to Scarlett, searching deeply into her eyes.

"Please?" He was looking at her from under his thick lashes.

Scarlett's eyes fluttered. What was he doing to her?

"I-I...what?" She had completely forgotten the original subject. He was doing something to her. He was jumbling her mind, making her forget everything.

Scarlett blinked a few times trying to remember something...someone...TRISTAN!

"No, no," she stuttered.

"You don't love him?" There was something like hope in Christian's eyes now.

"No, no, I like him. Hell, I love him. You need to s-stop." But did she really want him to stop?

Yes, yes, she did.

"Please, Chris, I need to get to gym."

"You've got time," he whispered. Why was he whispering? They weren't sharing secrets.

Slowly, he leaned his head closer to Scarlett's face. Their foreheads touched. Scarlett blinked again. Christian's brown eyes bore into hers with intensity so strong that it was almost suffocating Scarlett.

Scarlett pressed her back more tightly to the wall. She needed to get out of here. So why wasn't she trying to move away?

Christian's right hand came up, and he flattened it against the wall next to Scarlett's right ear. She was now fully trapped.

Why wasn't anyone paying attention to them? Why wasn't anyone sensing her distress? Why wasn't Tristan here to save her ass again?

"When I saw you yesterday, I couldn't keep my eyes off you. When you ate dinner with my family, I couldn't keep my thoughts off you. You're in my head every second of every day, Scarlett. And I don't want to just be your go to guy anymore. I want to be your only guy," Christian whispered.

"Chris, I really need to go—"

"Can you really
love
someone in high school?" Christian interrupted her.

"I-I...yes,
I
can," Scarlett said, beginning to regain her sanity. "Chris, move now," she demanded as fiercely as she could manage.

"But how can you love him? I could give you so much more."

What the hell was he saying?

"How about a little respect? Now, move the hell away!"

That got a lot of people's attention. Heads turned in their direction finally, and Christian flinched backwards, taking a deep breath.

"Fine," Christian muttered, darkness clouding his eyes, "for now."

As soon as Christian was a decent amount of feet away, Scarlett collapsed. She placed her hands on her knees and took deep breaths. She was right to have been worried about Christian messing things up with her and Tristan.

What was she going to do now?

Chapter Twenty-Two

It was eight
o'clock, and Scarlett pulled into the parking lot of the modern looking hospital. She found Charles staring out of a window in a comfortable looking chair.

"Hi, Charles," Scarlett greeted in a small voice. She suddenly felt guilty for not visiting him as much as she used to.

Charles turned at the sound of her voice, and his face lit a bit. An echo of a smile crossed his lips.

"Sorry about not seeing you sooner...school work," Scarlett lied.

Charles nodded, indicating he understood and then turned back to stare out of the window. Scarlett knew she wouldn't be so completely forgiven this soon; that's why she brought a new book.

"I have 'War of the World.'"

And that was what got Charles going. Scarlett sat on his bed, and Charles leaned comfortably against his pillows listening intently as Scarlett started chapter one.

When Scarlett left Charles—who had fallen asleep somewhere between chapter nine and chapter thirteen—she felt better. She felt relieved. Two emotions that she hadn't felt in a long time.

Third period on Friday couldn't have been any more awkward. The World History teacher hadn't entered the classroom yet, even though the late bell had rung about five minutes ago. The students took this extra time to chat and gossip.

Scarlett knew everyone in this class, but didn't like much of them—Millie being absent today—and was reading
The Notebook
.

She was at the part when Allie had just forgotten who Noah was, and she was now huddled in a corner crying. The way it was written and the images it brought to Scarlett's head made her close the book and put it down to keep the tears from falling. She took a deep breath and hoped that their teacher would enter soon.

"Hey," a quiet voice spoke from behind Scarlett. It was Christian. "Look, I know what I did at gym was stupid and I shouldn't have done it, but please forgive me and at least talk to me. I haven't heard your voice in days. You don't talk to me. You don't pick up the phone when I call. You're avoiding me, and I hate it. Listen, what I said was stupid. You and Tristan deserve each other, and I realize that now. I was just having an emotional break down, and I'm really sorry."

"It's okay," Scarlett whispered, looking away from Christian.

"I'm forgiven?"

Scarlett nodded. Just looking at him made her think of Tristan.

"I don't
feel
forgiven," Christian mumbled.

"It's not your fault. It's mine. I just..."

"Of course it's my fault; I shouldn't have done that, especially not when Tristan was here—"

"Please, stop," Scarlett begged, putting her face in her hands.

"Oh," Christian finally caught on. "I'm sorry."