Bleeding Love (15 page)

“Hello?” Adrienne
said, holding the phone up against her ear.

“Hey Adie. It's
me.”

Xavier, with his
vampire abilities, was able to hear the voice of the caller loud and clear.
Just as if the caller were using a megaphone. The sound of it elicited a low
growl at the memory of how the person had taken advantage of his fiancé last
night.

“Hey Tryst,
what's up?” Adrienne asked her voice cheerful.
“
Live through the
hangover?”

Tryst asked her
forgiveness for the night before.

“I know you
didn't mean it,” Adrienne said, referring to the intense grinding she did with
him. “We were just having fun and some of us–” She eyed Xavier. “–just
overreacted.”

And with that,
Xavier understood that Adrienne knew what Tristan and she had done at Sabrina's
debut. Xavier was quite surprised about how casual they talked to each
other. 
Humans
, he thought,
because they don't live forever, they
just “forget” a lot of things.

Tristan's voice
sounded relieved. “But I still feel bad, so I want to make it up to you.”

Xavier glared at
Adrienne, silently asking her to not even consider the boy’s offer, because it
wasn’t what it seemed. Adrienne may think they had a friendship, but this
Tristan wanted more. Xavier had read it in his mind last night.

 “So what's the
plan?” Adrienne asked, standing up and wiping the dust off her clothes.

“I was thinking
we could go to the arcade and have dinner after.” Tristan

“Sounds great, so
what time will I meet you and where?” Adie

Xavier was
slightly irritated now. He wasn't even looking at her anymore and was just
waiting for her to head over to the car, and when she did, he followed
silently.

“Seven-ish at
Dave and Buster's?” Tristan “I’ll see you then, Adie!”

“Later, Tristan,”
Adrienne said on the other line before hanging up and putting her phone back in
her jean pocket.

Xavier unlocked
the door of the car. They got inside and he turned on the engine and they drove
off, heading back to the mansion, so that Adrienne could prepare for her
meeting.

“So what's with
the glare a while ago?” she asked, looking at the side of his face.

His eyes never
left the road, but Adrienne saw the way his midnight-blue eyes blinked rapidly.
She chuckled at his adorable facial expression before she eyed him more
intensely and asked,” You aren't jealous, are you?”

“And why would I
be?” he asked smirking, as if she had just told him a joke.

She poked him at
his side, on the hips, and he winced slightly.

“I'm driving,
Adrienne.” His voice was stern. “You're going to get us into an accident.”

“It's not like
we're going to die.” She said.

He rolled his
eyes at her response.

“And you still
haven't answered my question.”

He turned to look
at her for a second before he faced forward and set his eyes on the road again.
He was grinning, although the upturn of his lips had a dash of mischief, and it
made Adrienne suspicious.

“I'm not jealous,”
he answered smiling. “I'm just looking out for you.”

Adrienne shook
her head.

“But why?”

His answer was
sudden. “Because you're my fiancé.”

“Because you're
my best friend,” Adrienne answered as a tease. “I can't let you go to the
arcade alone, you’d just look like a loser.”

Tristan gave a
hearty laugh, inserting the tokens into their slot, and when the bell rang, he
furiously began shooting the basketballs into the hoop. In the background,
Adrienne tried to think of something that could distract Tryst. She smirked to
herself before she sauntered over and stood right beside him. She grabbed a
ball and tried to shoot it. It ended up hitting the rim and bouncing back to
her. She yelped when she instinctively caught it in her arms.

“Adie!” Tristan
shouted, still concentrating on beating his previous high score. “My focus!
You're ruining it!”

“That's my plan,”
was her mischievous answer.

He bumped his hip
into hers, causing her to inch a few steps away from him. She let out a groan,
pouted her lips, and placed her hands on her hips.

But Tristan
didn't notice her at all. He only looked up when the game ended. “So what do
you want to play?”

Adrienne's eyes
sparked up. Her answer came fast. “House of the Dead, baby!”

“I think I should
play alone if I want to get past most of the levels,” was his joking response.

She pinched his
side and feigned disappointment. Her lips turned down into a frown, but he just
laughed it off and placed an arm over her shoulders. He then propped his hand
over her head and messed up her mocha-colored hair.

“I was thinking
you'll need all the help anyone could offer you,” she said in response. “And
I'm a master at that game.”

Tristan laughed
again. “That's the best joke I've heard so far, you know that?”

Adrienne slapped
his chest, answering,” It wasn't even a joke, smartass.”

“But it was funny,”

“Then I pity you.”
She inserted the tokens and took the gun out of its holder. Tristan did the
same. “Your standard for sarcasm and humor is disappointingly low, even almost
non-existent.”

“Only when it
comes to the things you say.”

“So are you
saying I have a future as a comedian?” Adrienne looked at him and smirked.

“Not quite.” Tristan
pretended to look contemplative. “A future at being the laughing stock of
America. Most probably.”

“Now, that 
is
 what
I would call a joke,” answered the female. “
You
,
 you
 can
be a comedian.”

“But I'm meant
for greater things, Adie,” was the final reply, and before Adrienne could say
something back, the game started, and Tristan was now wildly shooting the
zombies on the screen.

“Fuck, Tryst!
Kill them faster!”

“Aren't you
supposed to be the master?”

“But you're the
guy! We're losing! We're losing!”

The two had
started to catch the attention of a few arcade players, but neither realized the
interest since they were too engrossed in killing the monsters on the screen.

“Adrienne, shut
up! I'm trying to concentrate here!”

“You didn't have
to use my full first name!”

“Would you have
kept quiet if I didn't?”

Adrienne's reply
was just as fast as her shooting capacities. “Hell no.”

“Then shut up and
focus on the game!”

“Geesh! It's not
like we'll win a million dollars if we pass all the stages.”

“People actually
earn a living by playing video games, you know.”

“But I thought
you were meant for greater things?”

That shut Tristan
up.

“Didn't I tell
you to close your mouth?”

“Yes, sir!”
Adrienne answered army-style, even saluting Tristan, her hand on her forehead,
and because of that, she dropped the gun and Tristan shot a string of
profanities. In short, when she unknowingly dropped the gun, Adrienne's player was
furiously attacked by one of the larger zombies and they lost the game.

“I seriously
don't know what I'm going to do with you,” Tristan said, feigning irritation
and anger. “Do I kill you or let you go? That is the question.”

Adrienne smiled
sheepishly and blinked repeatedly at him, emphasizing the curve and blackness
of her eyelashes. She was pretending to be a flirt. “You can let me go. That
would be the diplomatic solution.”

She was trying to
persuade Tristan by looking pretty and cute, and it was working. Tristan
suddenly remembered the events that took place at Sabrina's party—the way they had
grinded and almost dry humped each other. He thought about the way they’d
pressed their bodies hard against each other. He panted, and remembered the way
his insides tingled with her every seductive touch and the tone of his voice.
He remembered everything, and because of that, he could let her go. “And why
would I?” he asked mischievously, all his muscles tightening at the memory.

“Because you're
my best friend,” she then said in reply, her tone a matter-of-fact. She looked
at him, wondered why he looked all tense and well, funny. She didn’t want to
intrude on their friendship and read his mind, but he was acting all strange.

Tristan sucked in
a breath. He didn’t want to be her best friend. Or more to the point, he wanted
to be a lot more than that to her. So when she dismissed him again as just her
friend, it added fuel to his already engorged fire. Tristan didn’t want to be
her damn friend. He reached out to her, grabbed her and pulled her closer to
him until her head rested on his chest. All he could think about was how her
skin felt so soft against his hands. His mind went back again to Sabrina's
debut. He told her, “I don't want to be 
just
 best friends
anymore.”

He didn’t wait
for her response, instead Tristan leaned his head down and crushed his lips
against Adrienne's.

Adrienne was
shocked, unresponsive at first, just letting her best friend explore the inside
of her mouth with his all-too experienced tongue. She finally gathered her wits
and pulled back, pushed away from him to break his hold on her and step out of
his arms. “Tristan, don’t,” she said. She looked at him sadly and he didn’t say
anything. She turned around and walked slowly to her car. During the short
seconds of the kiss, she’d caught a glimpse of Tristan’s thoughts.

Tristan Shackler
was in deep like with Adrienne Stahl.

Adrienne Stahl
tried to forget what happened—what Tristan did to her. It was surreal, to the
point that she couldn't even find the right words to describe the initial shock
she felt when Tristan kissed her. The action had bothered her and clouded her
brain for the past few weeks.

That was going to
change tonight though. It was the day of the Halloween Carnival, the project
she led with Xavier, President of the Night Class, and she was going to have
fun. She was going to ride the Ferris wheel, eat the sweetest food, play games,
win prizes, etc. She was not going to think of Tristan. Even the sound of his
name caused her to tense up and frown.

“So tell me again
why you want to avoid Tristan, your best friend?” Brianna asked, busying
herself with trying on a few of Adrienne's clothes.

“Haven't you been
listening to me, Bree?” Shocked, Adrienne gaped at her best friend who merely
shrugged her shoulders in return. With a sigh, the vampire entered her walk-in
closet then grabbed a denim skirt from her one of the drawers.

“You guys made
out.”

Adrienne shook
her head. “We didn’t make out, he kissed me, without my permission or even my
acknowledgement. And his thoughts were creepy. I like Tristan, a lot, as a best
friend. She pulled a black halter-top that had pretty gold-beading off of its
hanger. “Best friends don't make-out with each other.”

“They do in high
school,” was Bree's answer.

Adrienne
chuckled, her hands on her hips, before she ran to the side of her bed, grabbed
a pillow, and clobbered Brianna with it.

In return, the
latter gawked and let out a squeal. “What was that for?” Bree asked, her mouth
still hanging open.

“Oh, so you're
the love guru now, huh? You have a matter-of-fact answer for all this angst I’m
feeling?”

“I didn't say
that!” said Brianna in defense.

“Just because you’re
in
loouve
.” Adrienne tried to hide the mischievous smirk from her best
friend. She hadn’t meant to barge in on Aidan and Brianna when they were making
out just the week before. The two's reactions were utterly hilarious. Adrienne hadn’t
been able to stop laughing. And she smiled know.

Brianna knew that
grin was directed at her and Aidan, she flushed a deep red in embarrassment. “It's
nothing like that,”

Brianna received
a questioning glance. “So are you two friends with benefits?”

The blush that
crept up to Bree's cheeks was immediate and lingered for quite a while. She
never thought of Aidan in that way. The vampire was too much of a romantic and
a gentleman to even consider such a proposition, and both Brianna and Adrienne
knew it. The latter just wanted to pull a few of her friend’s strings.

“You know he'd
never go for that,” Brianna muttered quietly.

Adrienne
guffawed. ”And you would?”

She raised an
eyebrow and winked at Brianna, who was too flustered and was covering her face.
In that moment, Adrienne's bedroom door opened, and Xavier, with Aidan trailing
behind him, entered his fiancé's sanctuary—her bedroom.

“You do know that
your father can hear you?” Xavier asked Adrienne slyly, making his way over to
her, while Aidan stayed at Brianna's side.