Marked (2 page)

Curiosity ignited the amber color of his eyes, and I
felt my cheeks blush under his intense stare.

“
Tessa, could I get a refill?” Sam
shouted from four tables over.

“
I’d, uh, better go,” I said with a
nervous smile as I walked away.

By the time I’d reached the counter for a pitcher of
tea and turned, Jace had already left the diner.

I crammed my brightly colored polka-dot sleeping bag
into the back of Rachel’s Jeep Cherokee.

“
Are you sure you and Sam are all
better now?” Rachel asked me for the third time. “That was an
awfully quick rebound from a pretty intense argument.”

“
God, how many times do I have to
tell you we’re fine?”

“
Real fine or fake fine? Because I
don’t want it to be all awkward between the two of you the entire
night.”

“
Real fine. No one’s going to act
awkward about it unless you do,” I said. “Now hush up about it
before my parents hear you.”

“
They can’t hear me.” She waved her
hand.

“
You’d be surprised,” I muttered as
we stepped in through the front door. “Mom—Dad? We’re
leaving.”

“
In the kitchen,” mom
answered.

“
You two have everything you need?”
dad asked as soon as we walked into the kitchen. “Flashlights, cell
phones, toilet paper?”

“
It does have bathrooms; we’re not
completely roughing it.”

“
Oh, here, I almost forgot.” Mom
smiled. “Happy Birthday, Rachel.”

Mom handed Rachel a purple envelope and a small vase
of red tulips, her favorite flower.

“
Thanks, Mrs. Morganton. They’re
beautiful!”

“
You’re welcome,” mom said,
plucking a stray strand of silky blond hair from in her eyes and
tucking it behind her ear. “You can leave them here until you girls
get back tomorrow.”

“
All right, Mom, thanks but we’ve
really got to go,” I demanded, grabbing Rachel’s wrist and hurrying
out of the kitchen.

“
Be careful!” dad yelled after
us.

“
Love you, we will!” I shouted,
just before slamming the front door closed behind me.

* * *

We drove from my house to the ABC liquor store,
which was about twenty minutes away and also right beside Bi-lo,
the grocery store everyone my parents knew shopped at.

“
What are you planning on getting
here?” I asked, hunkering down in the passenger seat like it was
written all over the side of the vehicle we were here for alcohol
and underage.

“
Tequila, of course!”

“
And how exactly are you planning
on accomplishing that task? You’re turning eighteen not
twenty-one.”

“
Thanks for the reminder, Debbie
Downer,” she said while scoping out the parking lot for someone to
manipulate with her shocking good looks. “Actually, I’m going to
grab the stuff we need from Bi-lo and
you’re
going to get
the tequila.” She smirked and handed me a twenty.

“
What? No way!”

“
Yes way. Now’s your chance,” she
said, pointing over my shoulder.

I shifted to follow her finger. Jace stood in a
parking space near the front of the building, balancing a helmet on
the handle bars of a glossy black crotch-rocket. Realizing he drove
a motorcycle made him ten times hotter, something I hadn’t thought
to be possible.

I shook my head. “No way. I’m not asking him.”

“
Oh come on, he’s going in there
anyway.” She grinned. “Besides, he liked you. All you’ll have to do
is flirt with him a teensy little bit.”

“
No.”

“
Tessa, it’s my birthday...
please.” She pouted.

I rolled my eyes and took the twenty from her.
“Fine. I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

I climbed out and started in Jace’s direction,
hearing Rachel squeal with delight behind me. He’d almost reached
the front door already when I spotted him.

“
Jace!” I shouted after him and
then bit my bottom lip. I couldn’t believe I’d let Rachel sucker me
in to doing this.

Jace stopped and pivoted in my direction. His eyes
didn’t search but for a split second before they met mine, and a
slow smile crept across his face. I smiled in return and waved at
him awkwardly, then shoved my hands into my back pockets.

“
Hey, Tessa.”

“
Hey.” My heart flip-flopped when
he stopped in front of me.

“
How are you?”

“
Good. Um, can I ask you to do me a
favor?” I asked point blank. I’d never been the type of girl who
flirted to get what she wanted and I wasn’t about to start
now.

“
And what might that be? Buy you
some alcohol?”

I shifted on my feet. “Yeah... please.”

“
You know that’s illegal, right?”
His eyes remained focused directly on mine as he spoke, and my
heart began to pound. “I just met you last night and you’re already
asking me to break the law for you?”

“
Listen, if you don’t want to
that’s fine. I get it. It’s just Rachel’s birthday and she wanted
me to ask,” I said, hoping I sounded indifferent and not like the
basket case I felt like.

“
I never said I wouldn’t.” He
smirked. “I only said it was illegal. What do you want?”

“
Tequila,” I answered, relieved,
and dug in my pocket for the twenty Rachel had given me.

“
I don’t need your
money.”

“
Oh, okay, I’ll be over here,” I
muttered, pointing to Rachel’s red Jeep.

* * *

Jace came back before Rachel did with a fifth of the
cheapest tequila in the store.

“
Here, but you owe me,” he said,
handing the brown paper bag to me through the window
nonchalantly.

I glanced around, feeling paranoid, before taking it
from him and stuffing it underneath my seat. “Thanks, how much do I
owe you? I’ve only got a twenty, so you might have to wait for
Rachel if you need change.”

“
I already said I don’t need your
money. Keep it. When I say you owe me, I mean you owe me a
date.”

My jaw slacked. “What?”

Jace smiled, but the pink tint to his cheeks gave
away his sudden lack of confidence. “I just broke the law for you;
it’s the least you could do.”

“
But, I have a boyfriend and you’ve
seen how he can be,” I said, baffled.

“
So. Let me show you how you
should
be treated.” His eyes glimmered then, daring me to
say, “yes.”

“
Fine,” I said, surprising even
myself. There was just something about him that I couldn’t
resist.

“
I’ll pick you up at six tomorrow
night, sound good?”

“
On that?” I asked, pointing to his
bike. “I don’t think so.”

“
Yeah, why not? You afraid or
something?” He wasn’t teasing but generally concerned.

“
Hardly, but my parents would have
a freaking heart attack. Especially my dad. There’s no way he’d let
me on the back of one of those. I’ll just have to meet you at your
place.”

“
Wow.” He chuckled. “You ask me to
do something illegal for you the day after I meet you,
and
your parents already have points stacked against me before even
meeting me for riding a bike. I should take this as a sign and run
the other way.”

“
So why aren’t you?” I asked,
having no idea where my sudden burst of boldness came
from.

He shrugged and a cute little grin formed on his
face. “I don’t know… there’s just something about you.” I seconded
that but didn’t say it out loud. “Do you know where the Larkin
property is?”

It rang a bell, but took me a minute to figure out
why. “The place with the creepy, old farm house?”

Jace laughed and hearing it brought the biggest
smile to my face. “It’s not creepy.”

“
I beg to differ,” I said. “It’s
the creepiest house in town. Every kid for the past thirty years or
more has had their own ghost story to tell about it.”

“
Seriously? I think it’s kinda
nice. Private. Peaceful.”

“
Creepy,” I added.

He rolled his eyes. “Whatever. That’s where I’m
staying; meet me there at six tomorrow night.”

“
Fine, but if I even think I see a
ghost, I’m leaving.”

“
Deal.” Jace smiled, just as Rachel
slid into the driver’s seat. “Well, have fun, ladies, and be
safe.”

“
Thanks,” I said as he walked
away.

“
Go, Tessa!” Rachel cheered in a
hushed whisper.

* * *

It was hard to enjoy our camping trip with Sam when
I felt anticipation for tomorrow night building, but I managed—with
the help of a little tequila.

I knew exactly how to get to the old Larkin property
and I hadn’t been lying about kids thinking it was haunted. I’d
heard more than my fair share of horror stories growing up and
believed every one of them. One glance at the run-down house and it
wasn’t hard to.

It was a two-story farm house with chipped white
paint, holes in the porch floor, and gutters that hung at odd
angles.

I pulled in behind Jace’s glossy motorcycle and
stared up at the house. It was still just as frightening as I
remembered. I wondered if Jace had bought the place or was simply
renting. Either way, I couldn’t imagine staying the night there,
especially alone.

“
You gonna stare at the house all
night or are you gonna come inside?” Jace asked. He stood at the
front door, his arms folded across his chest, in dark denim jeans
and a gray T-shirt, barefoot. The sight of him made me think all
kinds of things I shouldn’t, mainly because I had a
boyfriend.

I slammed my car door shut. “Hi, how are you?” I
asked lamely.

“
Good, now that you’re
here.”

I felt my face flush at his words, and my stomach
did a flip-flop while I walked to the porch steps. I stopped on the
first one, realizing I’d never made it this far, even as a kid, and
fear pricked across my skin.

“
Relax. It’s not haunted,” Jace
said, holding a hand out to me. “I swear.”

I hopped up the remaining five steps, feeling fear
tighten my chest, and interlaced my fingers with his. His touch was
warm and soothing. I could feel it rippling through me and heating
my blood.

“
Come on in,” he said. His amber
eyes glowed in the hazy sunlight.

I smiled and stepped inside before him. My jaw
dropped as I took in the house. Gleaming hardwood floors, sage
green walls, and a set of glossy, wooden steps welcomed me.

“
Not what you expected?” Jace asked
with a smirk, obviously noticing the astonished look on my
face.

“
Far from it.”

“
I’ve spent the last month redoing
the inside,” he said, walking to another room. I followed closely
behind. “Still a lot left to do, don’t get me wrong, but not as
much as there used to be.”

“
I can only imagine,” I said. “So
how long have you lived here? Did you buy the place or something?”
I asked, trying to remember if I’d ever seen a for sale sign posted
up.

We’d made it to the kitchen and I swore I’d never
been in one so beautiful before. White cabinets reached all the way
to the ceiling, and sparkling gray granite countertops and
stainless steel appliances made up the room.

“
I’ve been here for a little over a
month,” Jace said, gesturing for me to grab one of the bar stools
to sit on. “And it’s my uncle’s property, actually. He inherited it
from my grandfather years ago. Nobody’s lived in it since my
grandfather passed and I needed a place away from my family to stay
for a while, so I offered to fix the place up while I was
here.”

I picked through his words, grabbing onto the few
that stood out drastically to me—to stay for a while. I wondered
how long that might be, before reminding myself for a second time I
had a boyfriend and this should all mean nothing to me.

“
Cool,” I said, hoping to sound
indifferent.

“
Anyway, that’s enough about me. In
an effort to show you how you should be treated, I’m going to cook
for you tonight.” He beamed.

I shifted around on the bar stool. “Oh, and what
will you be cooking?” I raised an eyebrow and scolded myself
mentally for the flirty tone that had leaked into my words.

“
Steak, baked potatoes, and a house
salad. You allergic to any of those?” he asked with a
smile.

“
Nope, sounds good.”

“
Oh, it will be,” he said, causing
a shiver to run up my spine from his tone.

Remembering Sam seemed to be harder and harder the
longer I was around Jace. After a few minutes of watching him cook,
I couldn’t be sure what made my mouth water more: him or the smell
of the food.

* * *

“
So how long have you and this
Sam
guy been together?” Jace asked after dinner. We sat in
the field in front of his house, gazing up at the quickly darkening
sky.

“
Almost a year.”

“
How’s that been? Was he not a jerk
most of the time
in the beginning, too, or is this something
new?” he asked, toying with a long blade of grass.