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Finals come and we both do well. With classes done until fall, I hope the summer heat will bring Tristan’s visit to an end, but it doesn’t. I have to find a way to tell David he’s overstayed his welcome, but he enjoys having his friend around so much that it makes it difficult for me to say the words. The problem now with school being over is I have no excuse for staying in our room. The more I am around Tristan, the more stamina the headaches gain and confine me to bed.
With everything going on I forget about my birthday. David wakes me and gives me his gift, beaming from ear to ear. “Happy nineteenth birthday, Jess.”
I open the small box and my mouth falls open. Inside is a diamond and emerald necklace set in white gold that matches the bracelet he gave me last Christmas. “Oh my god, David. It’s beautiful. Thank you. I love it and I love you.” Then it hits me—allure. David mentioned it to me the first night of class. Why hadn’t I thought of this before?
“Is there a way for humans to ward off a vampire’s allure?” I blurt out.
“That’s a random question at an odd time,” he eyes me curiously. “But to answer your question, not that I’m aware of, at least I haven’t heard of anyone being able to. We’re taught to control it for good reason, but if I’m not paying attention, then I don’t know it needs controlled. That day in class when you pointed out the girls were staring at me, I was able to nix it and they turned away. Is there something going on, Jess?”
“Ah, um, no. I was just wondering.” Fucking hell, I just lied right to his face. I either need to tell David what’s going on or find a way to set Tristan up so he gets himself busted.
Another week has passed and today is our one-year anniversary. I wake that evening to the tender touch of David’s lips to mine. “Happy anniversary, Jess, I love you,” he says as he hands me a box.
I reach into the nightstand and pull his gift out. “Happy anniversary, David. I love you, too.”
“Ladies first,” he gestures toward my gift.
Someone had all the gift giving holidays preplanned for me. The diamond and emerald ring inside completes the set he’s been gifting me pieces of since Christmas. I wonder what the meaning behind this ring is, though. David slides it on my right index finger and leans in to wipe away the tears. “I’m glad you like it,Amor. It’s a promise to be with you forever.”
Through bleary eyes, I watch the child in him tear through his package and I laugh. He quickly schools the shocked look on his face which I hope is a good thing. He takes the white gold men’s Figaro bracelet from the box and holds it up. “I love it, Jess,” he says and then puts it on.
We embrace one another, kissing and hugging. David’s arms are the ones I never want to be without. But later that night, Tristan’s flirting takes a dangerous turn.
I’m in the laundry room removing the clothes from the dryer. As I’m folding them I feel someone walk up behind me, which of course I thought was David. “Hold on while I start the next load.”
The response I get isn’t from David.
“I’ll be waiting,” Tristan says.
The headache coming on should’ve been my first warning it wasn’t David. I debate whether to scream, but in the end, I once again ignore him and continue with what I’m doing. Unfortunately, that doesn’t deter him. Infuriated, I try to push past him but he stands there and blocks the doorway, trapping me. There is no freaking way I can move him.
He reaches out, his fingertips tracing along my jawline. “Give into your temptations, Jess, you know you want me.”
Shocked, I stare in disbelief as my right temple painfully throbs. “What the fuck does that mean?”
“You know you have feelings for me, give in and quit fighting them. Only then will the pain go away.”
He knows of the pain. He knows what he’s doing.
Have I accidentally flirted with him and not realized it? No, because I would’ve remembered that. Have I done anything to lead him on? The pain is so intense I nearly drop to my knees when I hear my savior David in the kitchen. Tristan blows me a kiss and disappears. I escape the laundry room and run straight into David’s arms.
As upset as I am, there is no way to play it off.
“Are you all right, Jess?” David asks.
I’m in no mood to hash this out. “My head’s throbbing.” Which isn’t a lie. I need to get that under control before I address any of this with him.
Gently, he presses his lips to my forehead. “Do you want me to make you some soup?”
I shake my head, grab a soda from the fridge and sit down while he gets himself a drink. David is concerned, but smiles at me. I love that smile and thinking about Tristan’s bullshit and how it would hurt David really pisses me off. I consider removing the curtains from Tristan’s bedroom window so his shallow ass would fry in the sunlight but that would upset David and I’d likely be tried for his murder. Trapped between the man I love and his so called best friend is not a fun place to be. Do I really want to be the cause of either relationship having failed?
A couple nights later, David gets up to take the dogs out. I’m curled up on the couch reading. He’s only been gone for a few minutes when I’m once again met with an uneasy feeling, one that says someone was behind me.
I reach back and wrap my arm around him. “See, you know you wanna fuck me.”
Fucking Tristan!
My head pounds and panic shoots through me. I jump up only to find myself face to face with Tristan. Not an ideal position to be in. Before he can advance on me, the back door opens and Tristan flees. This war is far from over.
