Muse - Fighting Fate #1 (4 page)

She shrugged. “It’s not heavy, besides Kacey looks quite comfortable there.
Judging by the look on her face, I’d say she might have missed you last night.” She grinned wider at Kacey and shot her a little wink before striding out to the kitchen.

I
sat frozen, trying to work out what the fuck just happened. Did she seriously just smile and wink at Kacey? What the fuck did that mean? My heart was beating a mile a minute. Most girls I knew would’ve been right there, trying to stake their claim. Her behavior made me nervous. Was she planning something else? Fuck. I really needed to talk to her. We needed to come to some kind of agreement about where we stood with each other.

“So, who’s going to put on their big boy
pants and come ski with me today?” Amber said, interrupting my panic.

Aiden groaned. “Am
ber, no one’s an adrenalin junkie like you are.”

“I’m not an adrenalin junkie,” she said, pouting.

“So you just ski the steepest runs and bungee jump off scary assed bridges just for the fun of it?” he retorted like a smartass.

“Actually, yes. And the reason I
can
do it, is because I’m not frightened of death anymore, Aiden. That kind of happens when you’ve faced it twice before.”

Aiden lifted his head and stared at her apologetically. “Shit. Sorry. I’m a dick
.”

“Yes
, you are. Lucky for you, I love you.”

I shook my head at them and tried to smile, but my brain was still obsessing about Mia. Standing up, I decided to follow her out to the kitchen to get this shit sorted.

Chapter 5

Mia

After dumping the b
ox of broken mirror outside, I wandered back to the kitchen, hoping that was the end of it. I was actually relieved when I walked out of the bathroom and saw Kacey snuggled up to Jace. Even though it hurt my heart in a way, I knew it was for the best. I couldn’t commit to a relationship with someone of Jace’s stature. He was too popular. Too often surrounded by people. Lots of people.

I
shook my head. What the hell was I thinking? Like Jace would even consider having a relationship with me. He didn’t even do relationships. He was probably inside right now, wondering how he was going to get out of the sticky situation he’d got himself into.

The whole time I
was in the shower, I thought about what I was going to say to him. I’d run through a dozen different scenarios inside my head where we both agreed it was fun and went our separate ways. Funnily enough, the scenario I’d encountered wasn’t anything like any of the ones I’d entertained inside my head. But I was all for it if it meant we didn’t have to go through an awkward discussion.

Walking back into the kitchen
, I found Jess pouring herself a cup of coffee. “Oh my god. Yes, please.”

She
smiled up at me and grabbed another cup from the cupboard. I watched her pour it and add the milk and sugar before passing it on to me.

We
both sank down at the small dining table off to the side and sipped. I studied her tired face intently. “So was it total crap?” I asked with sympathy.

Her
eyes widened. “No. Not at all. It was actually a lot of fun. It was only when we were all ready for bed that it started to suck.”

I hummed my agreement. I was a cranky assed bitch if I didn’t get a comfy bed.

“Where did you sleep?”

She sighed and her shoulders slumped a little more. “In one of the arm chairs in the foyer.”

“Yuk.”

“Tell me about it…”

We both looked up when the door to the lounge swung open and Jace walked in. He stopped when he saw us sitting at the table. His gaze lingered on me for a while before he strode to the sink and rinsed his cup. When he was done, he turned and leaned against the bench, crossing his arms over his chest. My heart instantly started overreacting. Shit. What was he going to do? Please don’t say anything, I begged with my eyes.

I
knew he must’ve been confused about my behavior. I wanted to tell him it was all good – not to stress, but how did I do that with eleven other people constantly around us?

“Did you have a good time last night
, Jess?” he asked.

She smiled and nodded. “It was d
ifferent, but yeah, it was fun. I can’t see myself turning into a party animal though. The whole lack of sleep thing is killing me.”

Jace chuckled softly. “Yeah, it takes some getting used to.” His
gaze flickered up to meet mine and I held it carefully, trying to convey to him that we were all good.

The door flung open and Kacey sashayed her way into the room.
Her eyes flashed when she saw me and Jess. God, she was such a cow.

“There you are. I was wondering what was taking you so long.”
Jace just looked at her without saying a word, but that didn’t deter her. “I was just going to lie down. Why don’t you come with me?” She rubbed her hand up his arm suggestively as she spoke. Oh wow. She was actually making me nauseas.

Jace’s jaw tightened. “Nah, I’m good. I had a fantastic sleep last night.”

I had to control myself not to let the smirk that was trying to break free come out. I could see he was really trying to keep her at a distance for my sake. Unfortunately for me, that only made me like him more.

Kacey’s mouth cocked up on one side as she smirked. “W
ho said I was talking about sleep…”

Okay,
and here comes the puke.

He pushed away from the bench, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his keys. “The guys want me to go get some
supplies.” He looked over at me, worry in his eyes. “You girls need anything?”

I
held his gaze and spoke softly. “No, I don’t need anything.”

Jace’s eyes narrowed slightly as he took in
the double meaning in my words then he nodded and walked out the back door.

Jess
pushed her chair back and took both our cups to the sink, walking around Kacey who was still staring after Jace. “Now I’ve stupidly had coffee, I’m going to go lie down,” she said with a slight shake of her head.

I
laughed lightly and nodded, my mind still on Jace. “Good luck.”

Knowing I full well didn’t want to hang around in the kitchen with Kacey, I followed Jess towards the bedrooms, slipping into mine and closing the door behind me.

Without another thought, I picked up my phone and dialed the only person who would be able to help me make any sense of this. My best friend, Kaeli.

Kaeli and I
met in sixth grade. We were both quiet and withdrawn and morbidly drawn together by the fact that we both had dads that were in Heaven. Yes, I had my issues and my self-applied shyness, but there was always something a little sad about Kaeli’s demeanor. Something more than the weight of a father’s death. She’s always tried to hide it, but I knew it was there. Always lurking under the surface.

She picked up on the second ring.
“I told you I didn’t want to hear anything about anybody having fun,” she said bluntly.

I laughed. “What if I have news?” I asked hesitantly.

I sat down on the bed, biting my lip. I wasn’t sure what Kaeli’s response would be when I told her what I’d done. Kaeli wasn’t a virgin like I had been, but she wasn’t miss promiscuous either. Her only experience had been with a guy she’d dated in our junior year, and it wasn’t a pretty one. All you need to know is, it was in the back seat of a car, it was quick, and the pleasure was all his.

I thought about my initiation into womanhood, the way Jace had been so reverent with my body, worshiping it, playing it, making it sing for him. I didn’t know how it could get any better than that.

“Okay, you really need to spill it,” Kaeli demanded in her best no nonsense tone.

I still wasn’t sure what to say. The look on Jace’s face in the kitchen was bothering me. He’d almost looked upset. Was it because he thought I was avoiding him, or was it just because he was worried I was going to tell Aiden?

Kaeli gave an exaggerated clearing of her throat, so I laughed. “Spill what?”

“Something’s going on. I can feel it.
It’s big isn’t it?”

Jesus.
I sighed. I really wanted to tell her. It was a big moment after all – and it was pretty darned good too. “I slept with Jace,” I said before I could chicken out.

The line was silent for a whole
three seconds before I got any response from her. “Slept,” she said cautiously. “As in…had sex…?”

I
bit my lip then slowly nodded, forgetting she couldn’t even see me. “Yeah.”

“You gave him your V card?”

Kaeli’s tone of voice was almost comical. I could almost envision her eyebrows disappearing into her hairline. When I didn’t say anything, she exhaled heavily into the phone. “Holy shit.”

I nodded
again. “Yeah, you could say that.”

“How the hell did you end up having sex?”

I blushed. Kaeli and I never had these kinds of conversations. Mainly because neither of us ever really dated, but still…

“I have no idea really. He carried me out of the bathroom so I wouldn’t hurt myself on the broken glass, and it kind of just went from there…”

Her silence told me she was all kinds of shocked. “Wait. What? What broken glass?”

Oh yeah, that’s right. Kaeli didn’t know about the avalanche. “Oh, there was kind of an avalanche here last night. Everyone was out, but Jace had to come back to drop Mark’s car
off. I was in the bathroom when a tremor hit and the mirror fell off the wall and smashed.”

“Holy shit. And Jace had to carry you out?”

“Yeah. I think I was in shock. It was kind of scary.”

“And you were naked?”

I could hear the incredulousness in her voice. “One normally is after a shower, Kaeli, but I had a towel on.”

“And he just carried you out and then you had sex?”

I rolled my eyes, but I was smiling. She was such a stirring bitch. “Well, you could probably add in some heated gazes, frantic kisses, and urgent touches, along with a hurried trip down the hall to a bedroom, but yeah, it all led to sex.”

“Jesus. Please tell me it didn’t suck as bad as my
introduction to sex. Surely it couldn’t have. I mean Jace
looks
like he’d be way better than Simon.”

I laughed at that. He definitely did.
“It was really nice. He was…I want to say sweet, but he was just…
hot
.”

I heard movement on the other end of the line and knew Kaeli was sinking down on her bed.
“Did it hurt? Was he good to you?”

I almost laughed at her bluntness, but that was just Kaeli. If she wanted to know something, she always just asked.
“At first it did, but it kind of went away quickly. He sort of just did it fast. I think that helped.”

“Did you…you know…
have an orgasm?”

I
smiled. “Twice.” I felt my cheeks heat with a blush. “He…you know…gave me oral first…”

A tiny gasp came through the phone
. “Oh my god. Was that weird?”

Memories of his tongue on me sent shivers through my insides. “It was so, so good. Amazing. I always thought that would be gross, but holy god…”

Silence met my ears again. I knew she’d be puzzling over it all, wondering what it meant for me. “I’m speechless. I can’t believe that happened last night. So what now? Are you going to see each other again? Are you going out? What?”

I bit my lip
and forced out a laugh. “This is Jace we’re talking about here, so no, we’re not going out. Besides, you know that would be a nightmare for me even if he wanted to. He’s too popular.”

She made a sound of pure disappointment then huffed
. “Yeah, we’re both pretty screwed like that, huh?”

I pressed my lips together.
“Yeah.”

We both sat in silence for a while, and I just knew she was contemplating her own problems at home. When she tri
ed to stifle a yawn, I jumped in. “I better let you go. I’ll see you in a couple of days, okay?”

I heard another yawn
. “Yeah, I didn’t get much sleep last night. I might go have a nap.”

I said my goodbyes and disconnected the call
. I kind of wished I’d told her about the strange looks Jace had given me, but I wasn’t entirely sure how to explain it. I guess I would know soon enough.

As I made my way to the
kitchen, I noticed all the bedrooms doors were closed, and the only sound in the house was coming from the TV. Aiden and Matt were sprawled out on a sofa each in the living room, both of them snoring softly, but everyone else had disappeared.

I’d just walked into the kitchen when the back door opened and Jace walked in with his arms loaded with grocery bags.
His gaze caught mine and held it as he carefully placed the bags on the bench.

“Whe
re is everyone?” he asked quietly.

“Asleep I think.”

He nodded, still not taking his eyes off me. My heart was steadily beating faster and faster. Damn he was hot, and having those deep blue eyes on me just seemed to amplify things.

He exhaled heavily. “
Is this how it’s going to be between us now? We just pretend it never happened?”

I frowned. I didn’t know
what he meant, and he sounded a little pissed off. I shrugged. “Do you want it to be any other way? Should I go tell Aiden?”

His eyes narrowed. “Only if you want him to kill me.”

I smiled a little at that. Yeah, Aiden would lose his shit if he found out. I shook my head.

“Do you regret it?”

My smile disappeared with his sudden question, but I didn’t take my gaze away from his. “No, I don’t. It was perfect.” I watched the emotions roll through his eyes, a sick feeling growing in my stomach. “Do you?”

His head cocked to the side a little. “You’re asking a hot blooded male if he regrets sleeping with a sexy as sin siren who whispered his name like he’d just taken her to ecstasy and back?”

I swallowed. Heat warmed my cheeks, as well as a few other places…

“Even if Aiden beat the shit out of me, Mia, I still wouldn’t regret it.”

Tension was building inside me. It seriously felt like the air was crackling between us. His words filled me with happiness and warmth.

“I’m kind of in unchartered territory here
, Mia. I don’t really know what to do.”