Authors: Crystal Perkins
“Very nice, Isabelle.
Very nice. You got him off in less than five minutes.”
“I could’ve done it
in two,” Grace says.
“She’ll get better
with practice.”
“You got your show,
so why don’t you just get hell out of my office.”
“And let you have a
go at her again? No.”
Mase stands so fast
that I almost fall over. “You little son of a bitch.”
“Temper, temper, Mr.
Wells. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you want more than
a suck or fuck from the lovely Isabelle.”
“Get. Out. Now. All
of you.”
That ice in his voice
has returned, and Kurt doesn’t try to talk back to him again. He
grabs Grace and is halfway out the door when he sees I haven’t
moved yet. “He said all of us, Isabelle. That means you, too. You
can go cry yourself to sleep now. Just make sure you’re ready for
your first date tomorrow night.”
I turn to look at Mase,
but he’s looking away, his jaw clenched. I get up off the floor,
and make myself walk out the door, even though all I want to do is
run. Yes, we have parts to play. I
know
that. But being treated the same as them after what I just did, well,
it hurts. And I don’t know how to stop it.
* * *
Mason
I had to act cold
towards Isa. If I’d shown how much I cared, it could have ended up
hurting us both. Kurt wouldn’t hesitate to cause trouble for me,
and then Isa would be all alone. Dammit! This isn’t about Isa.
Who am I kidding? From
the moment I saw her, everything’s been about her. But it can’t
be. I need to find a way to slow things down while trying to still
help her. Not tonight, though. Tonight she needs me. Or at least the
“me” I’ve let her see—which is honestly, the real one.
I stop for food, and
then make my way to her place. The guards in the lobby nod at me, and
grant me access to the elevator. She has the door open before I get
to her, and I drop the food to pull her into a hug.
“Are you okay, babe?”
“No.”
Shit. “What can I do?
Tell me. I’ll do anything.”
“I want to punch
you.”
“Okay.”
I lock my legs in place
and bend down a little, giving her my chin. She punches me in the
stomach instead, and I double over. I almost forgot that she’s not
the sweet high school girl people think she is. She’s a trained
spy, and she could do a whole lot more than punch me. She probably
will once all is said and done, and I can’t even complain about
that. I deserve whatever she does to me. Because I know I should’ve
never even started this—whatever it is—with her.
“Now can you just
cuddle with me while we eat?” she asks, picking up the bag of food
from the floor.
“Yeah,” I tell her,
my voice still a little shaky. “You pack one hell of a punch, by
the way.”
“I wouldn’t have
passed my training if I couldn’t.”
I smile then, my first
real smile all day. It’s too fucking cute when she’s being so
sensible. And hot. That brain of hers is an undiscovered aphrodisiac.
We cuddle, and kiss for
a few hours before I carry her up to bed. She asks me to stay for a
little while, and I do. It gives me a chance to ask her about some
things I’m curious about.
“All the Griffins
know about you guys, huh?”
“What?”
“I was just
wondering. I mean, I know Luke knows. So his dad and brothers know
too, right?”
“No.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. We can’t
just go around telling everyone we know. Even if we think we can
trust them, they might slip up one day.”
“That makes sense.”
And helps me with something that had come up earlier today.
“Thanks for staying
we me,” she tells me on a yawn.
“It’s my pleasure.
Go to sleep, Isa. I’ve got you.”
“I know.”
Once she’s sleeping
soundly, I kiss her on the forehead before leaving. I wish things
could be different for us, but they’re not. So this is going to
have to be the last time I come here. I should’ve told her that,
but I didn’t. My heart was still holding out hope, but my brain won
out. It always does.
Isa
Today’s the big day.
Well, the
other
big
day. I have to go on my first “date.” Since we didn’t have the
exact timeline of when Kurt was going to send me out, Reina couldn’t
get one of the guys to step in. Audrey stopped by with something to
help me out, though. That’s the only reason I’m not more
worried—there’s a plan in place.
I
am
a little worried about me and Mase, however. He was sweet and loving
last night, but it seemed off. I know he liked what I did yesterday,
so that’s not it. It was also weird when he asked me about the
other Griffins. I didn’t like lying to him, but it’s part of my
job to protect the privacy and identity of our “Friends.” I would
never out someone, even if it is to the man I’ve fallen in love
with.
“Isabelle, let’s
walk together,” Grace says, coming up beside me.
“Sure.”
“Do you know what
you’re wearing tonight?”
“As a matter of fact,
I do.”
“It has to be classy,
but sexy at the same time. Are you sure you can make that happen?”
she asks, looking at me from head to toe, and obviously finding me
lacking.
“Is there something
wrong with that I’m wearing today, Grace?”
I have on wide leg blue
jeans, with a black, short sleeved top that ties at the side, showing
a little bit of skin. My hair is in some kind of crazy twist Stella
felt I needed this morning, and I even have a couple of bangles on.
So I’m really not sure what’s wrong with my outfit.
“You look like you’re
trying too hard to not be sexy,” she says. “I should take you
shopping after school.”
“Thanks, but I like
my look.”
“Come on, it’ll be
fun. I’m going to be a stylist, you know. In fact, my father is
going to get me an internship with Kace from Storyside’s stylist,
Stella.”
“That’s not going
to happen,” I say before my brain can stop my mouth.
“Excuse me?”
“Stella doesn’t do
internships,” I say, trying to work my way out of this.
“And how would you
know that. You don’t know her.”
“Actually, I do.
She’s my stylist.”
“As if.”
Clueless much? More
like all the time in her case, but still. “She
is
my stylist, and if she heard what you said about my clothes a minute
ago, it wouldn’t be pretty.”
“Have her come here
at lunchtime if she’s really your stylist.”
“I can see if she’s
available.”
“You do that. We both
know you’re lying, so good luck.”
High school was never
this cutthroat for me when I was there for real. Probably because I
was much younger than everyone, so no one saw me as a threat to their
dominance. It’s like animals in the wild, with a whole
mini-population watching and waiting for the battle. If Grace and
everyone else knew how little any of that means to me, they’d be
shocked. It’s the nature of the beast to want to be the strongest
of the pack, but I really just want the library.
I’ve never wanted
attention or adoration from the masses. Or even just a single person,
really. Until I joined the Society, and met the women who are like a
second family, I didn’t care for much except for learning
everything I could about, well, everything. Now that I’ve met Mase,
I want more. I want his love. Maggie Griffin saved me from a life of
solitude, and some other stuff my parents had planned for me, but I’m
afraid that she won’t be able to save me from heartache if I mess
this up and lose the man I love.
* * *
Mason
I have lunch duty
today, and I can hear a commotion as I walk to the cafeteria. It’s
always a little crazy in there, but the fact that I can hear the
noise all the way down the hall makes me think something special’s
going on. It
is
almost prom time, so maybe a crazy invitation is happening. I’ll
find out soon enough.
Walking in the door, I
see that it’s even more of a frenzy than I originally expected. And
then I see why. That Kace kid from the boy band is standing on a
table with a bombshell of a woman,
and
Isa. I don’t know what’s going on, or why they’re
here, but I wade into the crowd to help his security and the other
teachers.
“What’s going on?”
I ask when I get to the front.
It’s Grace who
answers. “I didn’t believe Isabelle when she said that Stella was
her stylist. I told her to make her come here. We didn’t expect
Kace, too, but I’m not complaining.”
“Of course not.”
“What’s that
supposed to mean?”
“Don’t test me
today.”
Before she can respond,
the new girl jumps on the table. “Kace, baby, it’s been too
long.”
The
bombshell—Stella—looks ready to kill her as she pulls him into a
hug. “Oh hey, Erica.”
“It’s Ellie,” she
reminds him with a pout.
“Oh yeah. Sorry.”
“We should get out of
here. You know it’ll be good.”
“I’m the only one
he’ll be leaving with so run along little girl.”
Stella and Ellie have a
staring contest that lasts long enough for the security team and
other teachers to organize the students into a long line. I belatedly
notice it when the tension breaks as Kace reaches over and kisses
Stella like he means it. Ellie jumps off the table once she realizes
that she’s been defeated.
“His loss,” she
shouts as she storms out.
I watch as Kurt follows
in her wake. Smart guy. He’s been wanting her, and now might be his
best shot at getting her. I turn my attention back to the table,
where the happy couple are still making out like their life depends
on it.
“Excuse me,” I say.
“The natives are getting a little restless.”
They pull away from
each other with smiles on their face. I wish I could kiss Isa like
that in public. But I can’t, and probably never will. The thought
of being without her is like a knife slicing through my heart, but I
try to ignore the pain. I knew what the outcome was when I went into
this, and it’s too late to stop it now.
“Walk with me,”
Stella says as she jumps off the stage.
I realize she’s
talking to me, and I look up at Isa. “Umm, no thanks.”
“It wasn’t a
request, Globe Guy.”
“Globe Guy?”
“You do teach history
and geography, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then there you go.
You’re a Double G. The perfect pair.”
“Stella,” Isa says
to her, coming up next to us. She doesn’t look happy, and it’s
kind of hot to think she may be jealous.
“I need to have a
talk with your teacher, Isa. I promise to leave him in one piece when
I’m done. Keep an eye on Kace for me, okay? These kids are a little
nuts.”
“Then stay and watch
out for him yourself. And leave my…
teacher
…alone.”
“I just want to
talk.”
Isa gives in, which I’m
not sure is a good thing or not. “Fine. But one piece. I mean it.”
“Pinky swear.”
She holds her pinky out
and Isa links hers with it. They both smile as Stella grabs my arm. I
let her hold onto me as we walk into the hall. I start to head into
my office, but she steers me into my empty classroom instead. Once
we’re in the door, she locks it and pushes me into my desk.
“What the hell?”
“I promised her I’d
leave you in one piece, but know this. You hurt Isa, and I will leave
you alive. But just enough to feel the pain I’ve inflicted on you.”
“I don’t know
what—“
“I
work
with her, asshole, so you can drop the act.”
Shit. “I don’t want
to hurt her.”
“You’re not doing a
whole lot to reassure me here.”
“I can’t predict
the future.”
“Again, not
reassuring.”
“Can you tell me your
future?”
“The exact details,
no. But I can tell you it begins and ends with that guy signing
autographs in the cafeteria.”
“It’s that easy for
you?”
“Easy? Fuck no. We’ve
been to Hell and back. But we’ve got each other, and that means we
can survive whatever happens to us.”
“What about other
women?”
“You mean like the
chick who jumped on the table?” I nod. “No. I don’t worry. I
know he loves me, and that means he won’t cheat on me.”
“Cheating isn’t the
only way to hurt someone.”
“No, it’s not. And
now you’ve got me worried again.”
She should be, but I’m
not stupid enough to tell her that outright. I do place
some
value on my life. “Isa’s too good for me.”
“She’s too good for
everyone. With her super brain, big heart, and a face that belongs on
the walls of a museum, no one can compare to her. But she’s chosen
you. Now the only question is, are you going to rise to the challenge
or not?”
I want to lie. Hell,
I’m a master at lying, but I know Isa’s going to need her
friends. So I tell Stella the truth. “Not.”
She closes her eyes,
and exhales. “I was afraid of that. You need to walk away now.
Scratch that, you need to
run
.
Go to another city, find another job, I don’t give two fucks. Just
go away.”
“I can’t do that,
Stella.”
“Then be prepared for
the fallout. I’m not Isa’s only friend. And I can tell you that
everyone who knows her is fiercely protective of her. We’re not
going to stand by while some dumbass prick who she gave her most
precious gift to shreds her heart. There’ll be Hell to pay when
everything goes down. And what I said about leaving you alive? Our
friends may not be that accommodating.”
“I’m aware of how
my actions will come back to bite me in the ass.” I accepted that a
long time ago. “But for the record, I’m humbled by what she gave
me. No other gift has ever come close to making me feel what she
did—does. I love her, Stella, but this would never work.
We
would never work.”