CHAPTER 12
~MARI~
“I’m not an actor, Trystan. I can’t do what you do.” He asked me to take Brie’s role. Part of me wanted to, but the other part said there was no way I could pull it off.
Trystan sat on the table in front of me. We were in the prop room under the stage. He waited to tell me until we had some time alone. Trystan’s hands found my shoulders and he gripped them gently. “Yes, you can. You already have, and you did it a lot better than Brie.”
My mind raced. If I said yes, this would be the third time I’d pissed off Brie in a really short amount of time. It just wasn’t smart. “Trystan, I wouldn’t know where to stand or how to respond to the other actors. This isn’t my thing. I’d suck it up.”
“Tucker said you have a C in his class right now. He wanted me to tell you that you’ll get an automatic A if you take her spot.” He watched my face as he spoke the magic words.
My face pinched. I wanted to say no, but that was too tempting. “Damn him—Tucker, I mean. That C will cause as much trouble as Brie.” I started thinking out loud without realizing it.
“What?” Trystan asked, confused.
“The C. My dad is a psycho with grades. I’ll catch hell for it. But, if I take Brie’s place so I get the A, I’m going to catch hell from her. I’m already on her shit list.” I sighed and looked into Trystan’s face. “It’s not much of a choice.”
“I can take care of Brie.”
“Brie’s suing me, well, my Dad—” I just blurted it out. I’d managed to leave out that part last night. The conversation skirted around it. I made it sound like a teacher tattled on me and not Brie’s father. Trystan’s hands slipped off my shoulders, as his jaw dropped open. “because I punched her. That’s what caused the fight the other night with my Dad. It was Brie.”
Trystan pressed his eyes closed and shook his head, like he couldn’t believe it. He stood and paced, thinking. The muscles in his jaw worked as he walked. Trystan crossed his arms over his chest. The dark blue tee shirt he wore showed off his sapphire eyes. I couldn’t help but stare at him. He was beautiful.
When Trystan stopped, he said, “Brie is a pain in the ass, but we have a shot at handling her. Your father, on the other hand, we have no control over him at all. I’d get the grade and deal with the Brie, if I were you.”
I smiled at him. That was what I was thinking, I just wished there was another option. Standing, I walked over to him, “And this decision has nothing to do with the kiss at the end of the second act?”
“Do you know how hard it is to stand in front of you and not touch you? Right now—” he shook his head, “I can’t even tell you what I want to do right now. It’s more than a kiss Mari. It’s more time together, more kissing, and more you. Of course I want you to say yes.” Trystan looked down into my eyes. He held my gaze making butterflies erupt in my stomach.
“Yes.” My voice was light.
Trystan blinked at me, like he hadn’t heard me right. “Seriously?”
I nodded and stepped closer to him, slipping my arms around his waist. “Yes. You’re right. I know the part and I really don’t mind kissing you, actually I look forward to it.” I ran my fingers through his hair while I looked into his eyes. Trystan’s gaze remained locked on mine.
“You’re wicked, you know that? The only thing I can think about now is kissing you.” Trystan’s fingers pulled at my waist until my chest was firmly against his. The way we fit together made me feel tingles all over. It felt like I was blasted with a heater when he touched me. Suddenly I was hot and breathing like I’d run miles. He didn’t even kiss me yet. We were just talking about it.
“All part of my plan, kiss assassin.” I flirted back.
“I wonder if tha—” Trystan didn’t get to finish his remark because I reached up and grabbed his neck, and pulled his lips down on mine. Trystan’s hands held me tight as he kissed me back, his lips gently tasting mine before he lost all control and kissed me harder. I think I forgot to breathe at one point. The whole thing was perfect; the way he held me, the way he kissed me, the way he said my name like there was no one else and there never would be.
When we pulled apart, I sucked in ragged breaths and tried to calm down. Trystan smiled at me. I grinned back, and swatted his arm. “I’m wicked? That was supposed to be a little kiss?”
“I didn’t see you keeping it little,” he said, bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet. Trystan was happy, happy like I’d never seen him before. Every inch of Trystan was alive and resonating with mirth.
“Ha! Like that’s my fault. It’s kind of hard to do things half way with you. When you kissed me, while we were rehearsing, I almost died. No one’s ever kissed me the way you do.” I sat down hard on the couch, fanning myself. My heart was still pounding in my ears.
Trystan jumped onto the couch beside me. “And who else kissed you?”
My spine straightened and I turned slowly to look at him. I didn’t want to talk about that. Instead of answering, a blush stained my cheeks. Trystan took my hands, his eyes glittering with curiosity, and said, “Or should I ask how many? Are you really a sexual deviant? Could I be that lucky?”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. “A sexual deviant?”
“Back on track, Mari, my love. How many others have there been?” When I hesitated, he said, “I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.”
“I don’t want to know how many girls you’ve slept with! God, Trystan.” I pulled my hands away and rubbed my eyes.
He was still smiling, “Are you sure? You might be surprised. I’m not the male slut everyone thinks I am. I’m only a little slutty.” He pinched his fingers together, leaving a tiny space between.
That got my attention. “What do you mean?”
Trystan shook his head, still smiling, not offering more information. “You tell me your’s first.”
“You’re evil,” I laughed. Trystan waggled his eyebrows at me and grinned widely. “Fine…I had one serious boyfriend. We didn’t do everything, but it didn’t matter. He still crushed me when we broke up. He goes to another school, so at least I don’t have to see him every day.” Trystan kept his hand on mine, rubbing the back of my palm. I glanced up at him from under my lashes, feeling foolish. “I haven’t been with anyone. Seth’s nickname for me is accurate.”
Trystan leaned forward and kissed me on the end of my nose. Grinning, he sat back slowly. “You’re perfect, Mari. Holding out for the right guy isn’t stupid, and guys who say it is just want to get in your pants.”
“Like you?” I said, kiddingly.
“Like me,” Trystan continued to hold my hand, his fingers gently brushing against the side of my fingers as he gazed at me. “Well, like me before I met you, and I’ve heard your chastity sermons for a few years now. Let’s just say you weaseled your way into my brain and I didn’t hook up with every girl I came across. The rumors of my conquests have been greatly exaggerated.” Trystan lifted my hand to his lips and kissed it.
“Meaning?” My heart was racing. Was he saying what I thought he was saying? That couldn’t be true, but I could tell from the expression in his eyes that it was—this was a secret that he was happy to share—one that he couldn’t wait to tell me.
“Meaning, I’m still a novice at this. I only had one relationship and it was with Brie.” He cringed. “Obviously I’m a total moron and have no idea what I’m doing. Besides her, I messed around and made-out, but…” Trystan looked at me for a second and then looked to the side, his lips curling into a bashful smile. “Are you really going to make me say it?”
I blinked at him, assuming I was dumb as a post and not following. “I think I have to. Are you seriously telling me that you were only with one girl? What about all that stuff Seth said?”
“Seth’s a moron. He’s all bluster, Mari. Have you ever seen him do anything but suck face with a girl?”
I cringed, “No.”
“Well, same thing for me. Appearances are deceiving. I hope you won’t use this information to tarnish my bad-boy persona at school. I like all the ladies drooling when I walk by.” He was laughing now, watching me with laughter in his eyes.
Grinning, I swatted him with my hand, “Oh, gross! Now you sound like him!”
Trystan and I laughed and kissed until the bell rang. When I emerged from the auditorium, I ran into Katie. She instantly noticed my swollen lips and blotchy skin. “Sucking face? With whom might this suckage be occurring? Or should I go look for him?” She glanced behind me, hoping to see the object of my affection.
I yanked her arm and led her down the hall. “No one.”
“Yeah, right. And that’s why we’re running away, so I can’t see the invisible man who ate your strawberry lip gloss.” Katie’s tone was light, teasing. She kept looking over her shoulder like the guy would magically appear.
“Where’s Mathboy when I need him?” I glanced around hoping he was nearby.
“He’s my sexy nerd, and he’s not going to save you from the slew of questions I’m going to hurl at your head.” We walked into the classroom and Katie set her books on her desk.
I looked back to the spot where Brie sat. Her chair was empty. I swallowed hard wondering if I could really go up against her and walk away intact.