Mesmerized (17 page)

“Morning, Jake,” she said sweetly and took a step towards him.

Jake closed the distance between them with a couple of steps. He was standing right in front of her staring into her eyes. He smiled that perfect, heart-melting, lopsided grin of his, and Lily swayed.

Jake grabbed her by the shoulders. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. You?”

“Yup.” Without another word, he cupped her face in his hands and leaned in to kiss her. His warm lips touched her soft, cocoa-tasting ones. She reached up and put her free arm around his neck. Running her hand through the back of his hair, she smiled inside. She could feel his body respond to her touch and she even felt her body tingle at the thought of being with him. The connection was still there. 

When they pulled apart, she asked, “You still love me?”

“Of course I do. Why?”

She looked down at her wrist and fingered the bracelet. “I…I wasn’t sure you would.”

He followed her gaze. “Did you think that my feelings for you would change if you wore that?”

She nodded. Her eyes still focused on the bracelet. “I wasn’t sure…”

“Lily, look at me.”

She looked up into his blue eyes.

“I love you always and forever. Don’t ever doubt that. That bracelet doesn’t change how I feel. Do you understand? I still love you.”

Lily grinned from ear to ear. She had nothing to worry about. He really did love her. “I love you, too.”

It was actually a weight off her shoulders. It had always been in the back of her mind that he was only with her because she was a succubus, and he was unable to resist her. Now she knew he loved her for herself, and that was an amazing feeling. She felt like she was floating on clouds. 

Lily thought it would be interesting to go out without the bracelet and see if really did have as much impact as Camille had said. "Let's go out to eat."

Jake grinned. "Where do you want to go?"

"I don't know somewhere with a lot of people." 

"IHOP?" Jake knew she wanted to try out the bracelet and he had to admit he was curious if it worked or not. He still thought she was the most stunning girl he had ever seen. The bracelet didn't damper any feelings he had for her. 

"That sounds perfect. Let me grab my sweater." 

Lily tensed as she pushed open the door and the bell went off over their head announcing their arrival. Several heads turned in their direction, and a couple of the men gave her the once over. Great it didn't work. Now she would never truly know if Jake loved her. Camille was probably just trying to make her feel better and gave her a placebo bracelet. 

Jake leaned down and whispered in her ear. "See if you can cut the line."

Lily glanced around there were several people waiting to be seated. She walked up to the young man behind the counter. She made eye contact with him and he smiled nervously. "We would like a seat."

"So would everyone else in line. Take a number. You'll be called when it's your turn." He titled his head in the direction of the machine that spit out numbers. 

Lily took a number and turned to Jake. Her face lit up the room. She was so excited a guy had told her ‘no’. There really was a first for everything. 

"Did you see that?" she asked in a hushed tone. 

"I saw the way he checked you out when you walked away." 

"He told me no!" 

"I guess the bracelet worked. Don't worry. You still turn heads."

"I'm not worried. Well, I guess I was a little worried. But as long as I have your attention, that is all I need." Lily rested her head on his shoulder.

Their number was called and they sat down at the table. They had a waiter and he paid no extra attention to her whatsoever. She was elated. She could really go around like a normal person now! She stared out the window while they were waiting for the food. Normal. Was that what she wanted? To be normal? She always thought it was. But, what if she was so used to being supernatural that normal was boring to her?

“What are you thinking about?” Jake asked.

She shifted her gaze back to him. “Being with you.”

He smiled. “Soon.”

“You sound like you have something in mind.”

“Maybe I do.” His eyes twinkled. 

Lily smiled. She liked surprises, and she couldn’t wait to find out what Jake had in store for her. 

When they got back to the house, Lily and Jake found the living room full of boxes. “What’s going on?” Lily asked.

“Christmas.” Her dad grinned. He was like a big kid on Christmas—loved every part of it. They had boxes and boxes of decorations that had been collected over the year. Her father thought it was a contest to have the best-decorated house in the neighborhood. 

Lily looked at the calendar and realized how close to Christmas it was. Time had flown by since Thanksgiving. “What about going back to school?”

“You can return after the break.”

Lily looked over at Jake. “What about Jake? He doesn’t have family or anywhere to go.”

Gregory stood up. “Of course he does. He has us and he can stay right here with us for the holidays.”

Lily lit up. “Really?”

“Yes, really.”

She threw her arms around her father’s neck. “Thanks, Daddy.”

Jake shook Gregory’s hand when Lily finally let go and also thanked him.

“You’re welcome. Now dig in and let’s get this place decorated.”

They opened boxes and pulled out lights, garland, and a village. Lily told Jake what to do with the stuff and they got the house decorated in not time. 

“Ready to go get a tree?” Gregory asked.

“A real one?” Jake asked surprised. 

“Of course! Sandra, let’s go get the tree,” he hollered to his wife. 

“Coming!” 

Jake stood at the tree farm looking baffled. Lily slipped her hand into his and squeezed it. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. It’s just been so long since I’ve been part of a family like this.”

“Do you like this kind of thing?”

He looked into her eyes. “Yeah I do, especially when it’s with you.”

"You might change your mind tomorrow when my dad drags you up on the roof to decorate."

Jake laughed. "That sounds like fun. At least it's not cold in Texas."

"My dad is over the top about decorating. You might have noticed."

"I think it's cool." 

They spent at least an hour looking for the perfect tree. Finally Sandra exclaimed, "This one!"

Lily hurried over to see what she had found. Her mom was right. It was perfect. It was at least seven feet tall and so fat and fluffy. Her mother always insisted they needed a big tree. "I love it." Lily walked over to her mom and rested her head on her shoulder. She really was lucky to have such an amazing family. 

Her father and Jake tied the tree down on top of the SUV. Lily loved how at ease Jake was with her family. When they got home, her mother put milk on the stove for hot chocolate, even though it was quite warm outside. She insisted cocoa was necessary when decorating a tree. 

***

Lily awoke bright and early. She remembered immediately that it was Christmas morning and jumped out of bed. She practically ran down the stairs yelling, “Wake up!” in the process. She skidded to a stop in front of the lit Christmas tree. She reached up and touched an ornament she had made when she was little. She grinned at the crooked snowflake made out of Popsicle sticks. It was cute that her mom had kept it all these years. 

Within minutes Lily’s parents and Jake were in front of the tree dressed in their PJs. Lily was excited at the sight of all the presents. She couldn’t wait to tear in and open them. She glanced around for Jake and found him sitting on the couch.

She ran over to him and plopped down next to him. “Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas.” His blue eyes sparkled. He leaned closer to her and gently kissed her.

“You ready for presents?” Gregory asked and started handing them out.

“I’m always ready for presents.” Lily laughed.

Gregory enjoyed being the one to hand out the presents. He loved watching his family open them and their eyes light up. 

Lily got clothes, a new purse, gift cards, and some make-up. Lily’s parents had even bought Jake some gifts. 

After most of the gifts were opened, Jake handed one more to Lily. “This one is from me.”

Lily smiled, knowing she’d love anything Jake got her. “I got you something too.” She handed him a box. “You go first.”

“Okay.” He ripped open the reindeer paper and found a beautiful black and silver watch inside. “I love it.” 

“It’s to remind you we’ll be together for all time. Look at the back.”

Jake took it out of the box and turned it around. Written on the back was: Until the end of time. He smiled and put it on his wrist. “It's perfect. Thank you. Now open yours.”

Lily smiled and tore into hers. She gasped when her eyes rested on the beautiful amethyst ring. “It’s gorgeous.”

“It’s a promise ring…and I figured more stones couldn’t hurt.”

Lily giggled. “True.” She took the ring out of the box and realized there was an inscription: Today, Tomorrow, Always.

She held the ring out to Jake. “You put it on.”

He took her hand and placed the ring on it. “I promise to be yours forever.”

Lily stared into his eyes and knew he meant it. She threw her arms around Jake’s neck and kissed him. “I love you.”

Epilogue

Lily was nervous. It was her first day back at school since the incident with Ben. Goodness that seemed like a lifetime ago. So much had taken place since then. Could she really go back to school and act as if nothing had happened? 

Jake and Lily decided to arrive in separate cars at different times. It was already going to seem strange enough that they were coming back to school on the same day. 

"Do you want me to come in with you, dear?" her mother asked, raising a perfectly shaped eyebrow. 

"No. I’m fine. Just a little worried that people are going to cause trouble about the whole Ben thing."

"I told you I took care of that." 

Lily sighed. "I know. Thank you for making the trip with me. Okay, I guess I better go in."  She tightly gripped the car door handle and shoved it open. "I'll call you soon. I love you." 

She smiled as she blew her mother a kiss and then grabbed her backpack from the back seat. She stared up at the large brick building touching her necklace to calm her nerves. She felt the instant effect of the necklace and walked forward. It was late so there weren't many kids hanging out which she was grateful for. 

She didn't want to startle Hannah so she tentatively knocked on the door. Hannah flung the door open and threw her arms around Lily. "I'm so glad you are alright. I was so worried about you." She grabbed her hands and pulled her forward. "Tell me everything." 

Lily giggled. She loved having a girlfriend. How could she have been so worried when she knew Hannah would be waiting for her? Lily quickly told her the cover story they made up. "I know my mom told you I was homesick and part of me was, but the real reason I took off was that I totally freaked about Ben. I knew I didn't do anything wrong, but I was scared. I didn't want to get kicked out of yet another school. Jake was worried so he followed me. It was a mess. I never should have left. Once that was cleared up, Jake’s uncle died in a horrible fire. He was pretty shaken about it and I didn't want to leave him alone. So, I decided to stay with him until he was ready to come back to school. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas vacations, we really didn't miss too much. I'm sure we'll be able to catch up." Lily finally paused to catch her breath. "Enough about me. What did you do for Christmas? What's the latest gossip? Has Samantha found someone new to make miserable while I was gone?"

Hannah filled Lily in on everything she missed. Everyone was so relieved that Ben had recovered. They had all been freaked out at the thought of someone their age possibly dying. It seemed to have a big impact on everyone. Some of the kids had even started being nice to Hannah. Impending death can be an eye opener. They chatted for hours until Lily couldn't keep her eyes open any longer. 

The next morning Lily walked down the halls and there were some stares, but nothing like she was used to. A few of the kids welcomed her back and offered their notes if she needed them to catch up. 

Lily touched her bracelet and smiled to herself. She could get used to this. When she walked into the class she had with Samantha, she had expected words, but Samantha looked up at her, curled her upper lip and looked away. No confrontation. Lily smiled to herself. Samantha still might not like her, but it wasn’t anything like it was before. 

After class, she tried to catch up with Jake only to find him busy with school work. She sighed and sat out in the hall waiting for him. It was another hour before he emerged from the room. She jumped up. “Hey!”

Jake grinned. “Hey. What are you doing out here?”

“Waiting for you.”

“Sorry it took so long. I got pretty behind while we were away.”

“I don’t mind. I just want to see you.”

“Hey Jake?” Another student called out. 

Jake turned. “Yeah?”

“See you for dinner.”

“Sure.” Jake waved.

“I guess that means we’re not having dinner together.”

Jake took her hand. “Tomorrow. I’ve got to meet with these guys tonight. I'm sure you want to spend time with Hannah anyway.”

“Fine.” She stuck out her lower lip.

“Don’t be like that. We’ve only been back a couple of days.”

“Seems like a lifetime ago.”

Jake rolled his eyes. “Stop exaggerating.” He pulled Lily close to him. “I love you, Lily, and things will be fine.”

Lily nodded and kissed him, but she wondered if they really would be. They did have dinner the next night, but it was interrupted by plenty of people. Everyone wanted to know what happened and where they were. Lily got so sick of repeating the story, she excused herself and walked outside. 

Lily paced back and forth muttering to herself, “Should have stayed away from here.”

“What’s the matter?” Jake asked, surprising her.