Devious (7 page)

“I’m
sorry, Dara.  Baby, please forgive me.  I just want things to go back like they
were.”  I caressed the back of her hand with my fingertips, and this time, she
didn’t pull away.

“I
trusted you, Stone, and you let me down.  Just like virtually everyone else in
my life, except for Granny.”

Damn
it.  I’d been so wrapped up in my own thoughts, I hadn’t even considered that
my little stunt was the double whammy right behind her mother not showing up
for her party and disappearing off the freaking radar.

“I
know.  I’m a piece of shit, but let me prove to you that I’m the piece of shit
who’s madly in love with you.”

She
looked at me, her eyes filled with melancholy.  “I don’t think you can.”

I
could feel the panic spread in my chest.  Had I screwed up our relationship to
the point where she’d have nothing to do with me?  I swallowed a string of
curses.  I didn’t know how, but I was going to prove to her that I loved her,
that she was the one I wanted.

“There’s
gotta be something I can do.”

“You
can leave.”

I
made no moves to get up.  I couldn’t let it end like this.  I couldn’t let her
slip away like the early morning mist in the mountains.

“The
prom is tomorrow,” I said, watching her.

She
looked at me with vibrant green eyes.  “I’m not going,” she replied with
conviction.

“It’s
senior prom.  You’ll never have another one.  Won’t you at least let me take
you to the prom?”  I watched her, feeling a strange sense of relief that she
hadn’t shot the idea down immediately.  That was enough for me to know that I
could convince her to go.  “Please?”

“We’re
not together, Stone.”

“Come
on, Dara.  You’ve already got your dress.  Mike and Crimson are planning on
eating with us.”  She remained silent, so I thought of every angle that I could
to entice her to go.  “It’s our senior year.  This will be your last chance to
go to the prom.”  When she didn’t respond, I added, “We can go as friends.”

“All
right.  But we’re only going as friends.  That’s it.”

Relief
washed through me.  I knew she was pissed at me, but I also knew she loved me. 
Now I had to find a way to redeem myself.  I sure as hell wasn’t going to let
her go without a fight.

Chapter
7

Dara

“So
why’d y’all break up?” Scarlet asked as she pumped up the barber chair and
began braiding Crimson’s hair. 

Waiting
for my turn, I swiveled around in the chair next to them.  “I don’t want to
talk about it.”

“He
did something really bad, didn’t he?” Scarlet asked.  With her fingers working
deftly as they crisscrossed strands of hair into an intricate pattern, she
nodded toward me.  “I told you to stay away from him, didn’t I?”

“Good
gravy, Scarface, give it a rest,” Crimson ordered.  “All couples have problems.”

“Yeah,
but Stone just reeks of trouble,” Scarlet said.

“Ouch!”
Crimson shouted.  “Be careful with my hair.”

“Stop
being a baby,” Scarlet muttered.  She looked back at me.  “You’re not going to
get back together with him, are you?  You should totally go back out with
Chance.”

I
groaned.  “How many times do I have to tell you that I don’t want Chance?”

“Stone’s
way sexier,” Crimson added.

“It’s
not about who’s sexier,” Scarlet advised.  “Chance is a much nicer guy than
Stone.”

“So
if you had the choice, you’d pick Chance over Stone?” Crimson asked, widening
her eyes as she watched her sister in the mirror.

“Like
I even need to answer that?”

“Well,
I hope you and Stone work things out,” Crimson said to me.  “I think y’all are
a cute couple.”

I
gave her a half-hearted grin.  “Thanks.”

“And
I’m glad y’all are still going to the prom together.  It’s going to be so much
fun.”

“We’ll
see about that,” I said dryly, thinking
awkward
might be a better way to
describe it.

When
Scarlet finished with Crimson’s hair, I shifted from my seat to the one that
Crimson had been sitting in.  Scarlet worked her magic, twisting my hair up
onto my head and curling it into spirals.  She added sparkling hair pieces, and
when she was finished, it looked like she had sprinkled me with diamonds.

“What
do you think?” she asked, twirling the chair until I could see my reflection in
the mirror.

I
tilted my head from side to side.  “It looks beautiful.  Thank you!”  I tried
to sound excited, but my heart just wasn’t in it.  I wished that I had refused
to go, but Crimson was excited.  And as mad as I was at Stone, he was right
about one thing.  This was my last chance to go to the prom.

“Now,
come over here and let’s do your makeup,” Scarlet said, moving to another chair
beside Crimson.  Crimson had a vast array of makeup spread out on the vanity
top.

“Hop
up,” Scarlet instructed me, patting the back of the barber chair.

I
switched chairs, and she twirled me around, holding up bottles of foundation
next to my skin.  When she selected the perfect shade, she dabbed some on a
makeup sponge and began applying it to my skin.

“When
Stone lays eyes on you, he’s gonna so wish that he hadn’t screwed things up,”
Scarlet said as she applied concealer under my eyes.

Thirty
minutes later after Scarlet had brushed, blended, and powdered, she moved out
of my line of vision, so that I could study my reflection.

Scarlet
was quite talented when it came to hair and makeup.  My green eyes appeared to
glow with the smoky tones she used to play them up.  Glittery silver eyeliner sparkled
in the bright lights, and my skin literally shimmered.  My lips glistened a
darker pink than normal, and it was difficult to squelch the tiny jolt of
excitement that grew in my chest.

“You’re
amazing,” I whispered to Scarlet, unable to take my eyes from my reflection.

“I
know.”

“Almost
as amazing as me,” Crimson piped in.  “I hate to break up the little party, but
we’d better get going if we’re gonna get dressed before the guys come to get
us.”

“You’re
right,” I agreed.  I hopped up from the barber chair and gave Scarlet a hug. 
“Thank you so much.  I love it!”

“You’re
welcome.  I hope you have fun tonight, even if you are going with Stone,” she
said as she scooped the miscellaneous containers of makeup into a rectangular
case. 

I
pointed at Crimson.  “I’ll see you later at the restaurant.”

“Yep. 
It can’t get here soon enough!”  She held her fists in front of her, shaking
them with excitement.

I
smiled, wishing I was as happy as she was.

Since
I was in no hurry to start the evening, I drove home slowly.  I replayed Stone
and Tiffany’s kiss over and over in my head, cursing myself for not staying
away from him to begin with.  I knew things could never work between us.  We
were too different.  Stone would never be happy with one girl for long.  And
judging by his make-out session with Tiffany, my time was just about up.

Why
did my head tell me it was for the best while my heart refused to believe it? 

I
had suffered so much hurt from being unwanted by my parents, I had protected
myself by encasing my heart in a protective shell.  I don’t think I even
realized it until after Stone had shattered it by cracking tiny fissures, one
at a time.  A smile here.  A touch there. 

Chance
and I had been nothing more than great friends really.  Our relationship had
lacked the intensity that Stone and I shared. 

With
the kiss flitting through my mind yet again, I had to wonder whether the intensity
was one-sided?  No.  Stone felt it, too.  I knew he did.  At least he had at
some point. 

It
was kind of scary to acknowledge just how much of my life had become entwined
with Stone’s.  He was the first person I thought of when my eyes opened in the
morning and the last person I thought of before they fluttered closed at
night.  Could I live without him?  Of course I could.  Did I want to?

That
was the huge essay question at the end of my heartrending exam.  But what made
it so difficult was the fact that I couldn’t use a search engine to pop up the
answer, couldn’t find it in a book, couldn’t ask someone whose opinion I valued
to make the right choice for me.  This was one of those things that I had to
decide for myself.  Either way I went, poor choice or perfect choice, it would
affect the path of my life.

When
I thought of Stone, I could feel him gently caress my cheek, whisper his cocky
comebacks in my ear, see the way his wintry eyes watched me fondly.  The varied
facets of his personality ensured that life would never be dull, that he was
capable of playfully teasing, intensely caring, and sometimes fiercely
protecting.

But
if all that was true, how could he kiss someone else?  A sliver of pain knifed
its way into my heart.  I gripped the steering wheel and gritted my teeth.  I
had experienced a lot of hurt in my life, but this was a whole new kind of
pain.

I
had shared details about my life with him that I hadn’t shared with anyone.  He
had become my best friend, surpassing even Crimson and Scarlet.  And now I felt
betrayed.

I
took a deep breath and exhaled, forcing the negativity to be expelled from my
body.  There was no point in dwelling on it right now.

An
hour later, I was completely ready and waiting on Stone.  Granny and Mr. Milton
had already taken a boatload of photos, and I imagined it would only get worse
once he arrived.  When I heard him pull his dad’s car into the driveway, my
heart sank.  I refused to look out the window and made him ring the doorbell
before I opened the door.

I
should’ve made Granny answer the door.  My breath hitched in my chest at the
very first glance.  He was dangerously handsome in the black tux, which
contrasted drastically against his crisp, white shirt.  He seemed even more
imposing in all black with his height and his lean, muscular frame.  His dark
hair was neatly styled, and his eyes seemed to glow deep blue amid all the
black.  He held a dainty wrist corsage of white sweetheart roses trimmed in
bits of ribbon and sparkles. 

He
leaned close to me and cast me a lopsided grin.  “This is usually the part
where you invite me in.”  He smelled so sexy I thought I might melt in a pool
of goo right here on Mr. Milton’s shiny hardwood floor.

“Uh.”

“Your
name is Dara,” he whispered in my ear.

Hating
that he knew he had put me in a stupor with his good looks, I snapped, “I know
what my name is.”  I swung the door open wide, so that he could come in, and
motioned with my hand.

Granny
and Mr. Milton came in from the kitchen.

“Stone,
it’s nice to see you again.”  Mr. Milton offered his hand in greeting.

Granny
approached him and patted him on the arms.  “Look at you, handsome.  If I
didn’t already have me a keeper, I’d go after you myself.”

“Granny!”
I warned through clenched teeth, knowing full well that there was never any
telling what would come out of that woman’s mouth.

“Well,
you gotta admit he’s a hottie,” she defended herself.

I
closed my eyes in aggravation, knowing my mood was soured by the fact that
Stone had wrecked my world, and the fresh wounds still stung.

“Thank
you, Granny,” he said easily.  “You look lovely as always.”

Stone
grasped my wrist and placed the corsage on it.  The heat of his palm sent a
jolt of excitement through my traitorous body.  I was relieved when he turned
my wrist loose.

“Why
don’t the two of you stand in front of the mantel and let me take your photo?”
Granny asked, motioning us toward the fireplace.

After
a fifteen-minute photo session, we were finally able to escape.

“I
take it you haven’t told Granny,” Stone said shifting the car into reverse.

“No.” 
I stared out the passenger-side window, unsure of whether he meant telling her
that we broke up or telling her that I’d caught him kissing another girl, but
either way, I hadn’t told her.  And I had no intention of elaborating.

Once
we had gotten out on the main road, he laid his palm on my thigh and squeezed. 
“You look beautiful.”

I
lowered my head, staring at my hands folded in my lap.  I could feel the hot
tears threatening to surface, and I willed them away.  I had wanted this night
to be perfect, and it was far from it.

“We’re
only going as friends, Stone.  Don’t forget that.”

He
removed his hand from my thigh and rested it on the gearshift.  Immediately, I
missed the heat from his palm, the gentleness of his touch.

I
resumed staring out the window, watching one-story homes with neatly trimmed
yards zip by.

We
rode the rest of the way to the restaurant in complete silence.  When he pulled
into a parking place, I opened the door, not giving him the chance to reach my
side and open it for me.

I
met him at the rear of the car, and he offered me his elbow.  I ignored it and
began making my way to the front door, the silver, sparkly heels that I
borrowed from Scarlet clicking against the pavement.

He
caught up with me, wrapping his large palm around my arm and pulling me to a
stop.  “Look, I know you’re angry with me, and I get it.  But please, Dara, if
we’re going as friends, can’t we at least be civil?  My mother spent a lot of
years trying to teach me to be chivalrous to a lady.  She’d be disappointed to
know that I didn’t open the doors for you.”

“You
want to talk about chivalry?  I think you missed a lesson.”

He
exhaled loudly and pulled me around to face him.  “I’m sorry, Dara.  You don’t
know how much I wish I could take it back.  But I can’t.  Can we at least get
along through dinner?  So that we don’t ruin it for Mike and Crimson?”

I
studied his face, his furrowed brow, his clenched jaw.  Good.  I didn’t want it
to be easy for him.  It sure wasn’t easy for me.  I softened a bit.  “Okay.”

He
held his elbow out again, and this time I accepted.  It did actually provide
some stability as I navigated my way in Scarlet’s heels.

Mike
and Crimson were already waiting on us.  When we were shown to our table, Stone
held my chair out for me while I sat down.

Once
everyone was seated, Stone addressed Crimson and me, “You ladies look lovely
tonight.”

Crimson
smiled, enamored by his charm.  Mike gave him a fist bump in response to
something else he had said.  I wondered how I was going to make it through the
evening without bursting into tears or strangling him with my bare hands.

Stone

Dinner
was awkward, but I had a new appreciation for Dara’s warmth and poise. 
Considering how annoyed she was with me, she played her role of caring friend
beautifully, not allowing her displeasure with me to affect her conversation. 
In fact, it was only because of how well I knew her that I could pick up on her
anger at all.  It was subtle things, like how she wouldn’t make eye contact
with me, how the tone of her laughter was off, how she didn’t touch my arm to
tell me something that had happened during her day.