Saven Deception (24 page)

“Can we talk, please?”

She looks so forlorn. I take pity on her.

Jarod leans in to my ear. “Don’t let them suck
you in again.”

“I’ll be okay,” I counter.

Neve and I move over to the window,
placing our cups on the window ledge behind us. “I miss you.”

“I miss you too, Neve. But I can’t be
friends with someone who is constantly concealing things from me.”

“If I could tell you, I would.” Her tone
pleads for understanding.

“That’s the type of comment that drives me
insane. It’s all I’ve heard from you, Haydn, him.” I swipe my cup and drain it.

She’s my friend
.
Forgive her.
The thoughts drop into my head. Neve stares at me
expectantly.

She is only protecting me.

My eyes widen in alarm.
Did she …?
This isn’t the first time it’s felt like foreign thoughts just landed in my
head. But since I’ve kept my distance from Neve, Logan, and Haydn, this hasn’t
happened. Surely, what I’m thinking now is outside the realm of possibility? Or
is it? Several things start joining the dots in my brain.

Neve knots and unknots her hands.

Say you’ll forgive her
.

“Enough!” I raise my palm. “Stop already.”

Now it’s Neve’s turn to rock the wide-eyed
look. I’ve caught her off guard. “What do you mean?” she stutters.

“Stop putting thoughts in my head!” I
hiss.

Neve steps back, a terrified look in her
eyes. “How can you …” She trails off, her head whipping left and right. “Don’t
go anywhere,” she implores. “I mean it. This … complicates things.”

“What? Any more than they already are?” I
scratch my wrist again, noticing the light red rash ringing the medical chip
for the first time. I frown.

“Stay put. I’ll be back.” She walks right
up to Logan and pulls him away from his date. The girl shoots daggers at the
back of Neve’s head as they walk into one of the bedrooms. Logan doesn’t spare
her as much as an apologetic glance and that pleases me much more than it
should.

After a couple of minutes, I saunter back
over to Jarod, and we chat intermittently while we survey the ever-growing
crowd of writhing bodies on the makeshift dance floor in the center of the
room. I’m hugely thirsty and Jarod is kept busy refilling my glass. I watch for
signs of Neve or Logan, but neither of them reappear, and Haydn has also
conveniently vanished.

Whatever. Like I care.

As the music pumps louder and the light
fades, the room thickens and darkens. Feeling uninhibited, I tap a beat with my
foot, and my limbs are loose. My whole body buzzes and I feel great. Amazing.
Better than ever. Like I could fly.

“Are you feeling okay?” Jarod asks,
peering strangely at me.

“Never felt betta.” My body is now swaying
full throttle to the beat of the music and it feels good. I wiggle my hips and
a girlish titter emits from my mouth.

“Ah, Sadie,” Jarod says, concern pinching
his brow.

“Bud,” Mal says, appearing in front of us.
“Bit of an issue. I need your help.” Jarod looks torn.

“Go. I’m fine.” I push him toward Mal.

“Don’t move. Stay right here. When I get
back, I’m taking you home. All right?”

“Whateva’ you say Jaroood,” I slur.

He mumbles something incoherent before
reluctantly leaving with Mal.

My favorite song blares out of the
speakers, and I head into the throng of heaving bodies on the dance floor.
Throwing back my head and flinging my arms out, I thrust my hips and dance in
time to the rhythm. I’m carefree and happy, and for once, no hideous thoughts
are infecting my mind.
I likey this feeling.

“Well, hello,” a rich masculine voice says
as a muscular arm wraps around my waist. I peer up at the blond-haired boy
who’s been staring at me from the corner of the room most of the night. He
presses his body flush against mine, and we move together in sync with the
music. Despite the lack of invitation, he brushes my cheek with his lips. His
mouth is warm and welcoming. Spinning me around so I’m facing him, he reels me
in close. He smells damn good, and I sniff appreciatively.

He chuckles. “I’ve been dying to approach
you all night. You’re gorgeous. I’m Drew, by the way.”

“Sadie,” I mumble, incoherently.

He laughs again. “Sadie.” He tips my chin
up. “What a pretty name for a very pretty girl.”

I beam at him, flinging my arms around his
broad shoulders as an idea suddenly enters my mind. Maybe the best way of
expelling Logan from my mind is to kiss someone else. To exchange the memory of
that explosive make-out session with a new version. Blondie is looking at me as
if he wants to devour my mouth, so I doubt it’ll take much persuasion on my
part.

“Kiss me.”

“Gladly, honey.” He lowers his mouth to
mine. He tastes of beer and peppermint though it’s not unpleasant. His lips are
urgent against mine and I don’t overthink it.

In fact, I don’t think at all.

Pressing forward, I kiss him hard as I
grind up against him, throwing all caution to the wind. He grunts his
appreciation as his hands roam greedily up and down my spine. Getting braver,
he cups my ass in both his hands and I jump a little. Angling his head, he
explores my mouth with his tongue, and I return the gesture. One hand moves to
the hem of my dress, and his fingers start to inch up my bare thigh. I flinch,
suddenly realizing I may be out of my depth here.

Before I can protest, he’s ripped out of
my arms.

I stumble back, slightly disorientated,
and try to focus my vision. Logan has Drew pinned on the ground, his fist
hovering over his face. A crowd has formed in a semi-circle around them, and a
few of the guys start jeering. Logan’s fist rams into the side of Drew’s face
with bone-crunching severity. I stagger toward them on shaky legs.

“Logan, no!” The ground sways underneath
me, and a wave of nausea attacks me. “Oh, God,” I moan, tottering dangerously
from side to side. Someone grabs my arm to steady me.

Logan’s head flips up. He takes one look
at me, and the naked aggression on his face dilutes. Climbing to his feet, he
approaches me. “How much have you had to drink?”

“Wha?” I’m having major trouble focusing.
When I blink, there are four replica blurry images of Logan in front of me.

“What a lush!” a snide voice says. My eyes
are sputtering open and shut, and I think I might puke.

“Shut up, Dante,” Logan snarls.

That somewhat snaps me out of it. My eyes
find focus. Logan reaches out and snags an arm around me, drawing me in
possessively to his side. His masculine scent entraps me, circling me in a hazy
swirl of longing.

I feel like crying.

And puking.

“You know, I do think the punch might’ve
been spiked,” Dante says gleefully.

“Wha?” I mumble. He laughs raucously.

“You did this?” Logan snaps.

“Moi?” Dante holds his hands up in mock innocence.
“Why would I do such a thing?”

Logan’s entire body strains toward Dante,
his muscles bunching and hardening underneath me. “You will pay for this,” he
says in a threatening manner. “Leave. Her. Alone. I won’t tell you again. She
is off limits to you.”

Dante guffaws as Jenna appears in the
frame. He pins her to his side, kissing her temple. Her dull vacant eyes scare
me. That old cliché, “The lights are on but no one’s home” springs to mind.
What’s happened to her? Though I’m clearly out of it, I take a step toward her,
my concern for her wellbeing superseding any concern for my own welfare.
Logan’s arm restrains me.

Dante bends over, putting his face right
up in mine. “She belongs to me.”

“She belongs to herself,” I throw back.

“Back off.” Logan shoves him away.

Dante cracks his knuckles, obviously
angling for a fight. Haydn suddenly appears on Logan’s left side and they
exchange a look.

“Come on, Sadie. I’m taking you home.”
Logan focuses solely on my face.

Even in my drunken state, I appreciate how
much of an effort it is for him to walk away.

Logan’s date makes a play for him as we
walk past. “You’re ditching me?” Her face contorts unpleasantly. It’s not a
good look on her.

“Sorry,” he says flippantly. “Haydn will
walk you home.” Ignoring her lurid protests, Logan guides me out the front door
and over to the elevator.

I sway against his shoulder as the
elevator quietly descends. My stomach heaves and I moan.

“Are you all right?” There’s a concerned
quality to his tone.

“Gonna puke!” I shriek, dashing out the
main entrance and off to the side. I throw my guts up over the fake gardenias
lining the narrow flowerbed in front of the building. I lose count of the
amount of times I heave. Logan holds me gently around the waist while his other
hand knots around my hair. The whole time he’s whispering soothing words in my
ear.

Eventually, when there’s nothing left to
expel, I sag against him. He hands me a tissue, and I wipe my mouth as my eyes
shutter. I’m too ill to feel anything even close to humiliation, but I’m sure
that’ll come later. Logan gently turns me around and cups my face. “Better?”

“Kinda,” I rasp, opening my eyes. My
throat is grainy and my mouth’s furry. “I’ve never vomited before.” I’m not
sure why I felt the need to explain that. “It’s an experience I’d rather not
repeat.”

“I’ll bet.” He sweeps damp strands of hair
back off my forehead, his lips struggling to contain his smile. “Let’s head
home and get some water and tablets into you. Can you walk?”

“I’m not an invalid.”

“No, only a lush,” he teases. This time
the grin lets loose on his face.

“Jerk.” I attempt to elbow him in the
ribs, swaying dangerously from side to side. “Whoa!”

The ground moves again and my stomach
lurches. Then I’m swept up into Logan’s sturdy arms as he carries me home.
Resting my head in the crook between his neck and shoulder, I sigh contentedly.
How did I think that guy back there smelled great?! Logan smells awesome. All
citrusy and woodsy, in a defined masculine way. I could sniff him all day long,
and it’d never grow old.

I nuzzle into his neck and he shudders. I
smile smugly to myself. “You smell awesome,” I mumble.

He chuckles. “I could say the same about
you.”

I almost gag on my surprise. “I reek of
vomit.”

He laughs again. “No, you don’t. Your
scent is sweet like honey.”

Now, I gag. “Don’t tell me that’s another
Will Smith one-liner?”

“What?” He stops and stares, his mouth
slackened.

“I’ve been watching
Men in Black
.
You stole all your best lines from Agent J!”

“Hey!” He scowls in mock indignation. “Not
all of them! Give me some credit. Did you like them?”

“The movies or the one-liners?”

He laughs again. “The movies.”

“Yeah. They’re cheesy but good. Will Smith
is funny.”

“Have you watched
Independence Day
?
I am Legend
?
After Earth
?
Hancock
?”

“Wow. You’re like his number one fan. How
on earth did you get hooked on Will Smith?” I stare at him, curiosity trumping
the sickness.

“My teacher loved all the classic alien
movies, and we got to watch some of them in class. I thought Will Smith was
brilliant, so I checked out some of his other movies too. Remember, I told you?
The guy is a legend.”

“Your geekiness is kind of cute.”

He’s carrying me effortlessly despite the
fact we must’ve walked at least five blocks by now. My face is so close to his,
and it’s beyond thrilling. All my previous resolutions fly out the window.
Poof. Gone. Just like that. If it wasn’t for my puke-stained mouth, I’d
probably be brave enough to plant one on him. But even I’m not that gross.

Captivated by his beautiful blue eyes, I
can’t help but stare. The whites of his eyes are a startling bright white, and
the blue of his irises contrast starkly, shimmering and glossy. At this close
proximity, I can identify the lustrous dark lashes that fan his eyes and the
imperceptible black line that rims the edges of his eyes. Seriously, he has
lashes that most girls would kill for. I could happily drown in his eyes for
eternity.

This whole time he’s been staring back at
me with the same hunger. It’s a wonder he hasn’t tripped and fallen. “You’re
beautiful.” I’ll probably cringe tomorrow, but in this moment, I can only speak
the truth.

“I think that’s my line,” he says,
gruffly. “Oh, Sadie.” His voice is softer now, and as before, when he says my
name in such a way, it sounds like a form of worship.

I melt inside. I am so weak, but I’m too
far gone to care.

Tentatively, I run my fingers through his
hair. It’s exactly as I remembered. Velvety soft and silky. My entire being
pleads to be his. I want him, and I want him to want me too.