Chapter 01 - Is love a crime?

VINE

"Vine, are you sick in the head?" Miriam, my best friend asked, and yanked me up from the cold floor of Drew's locker room where I'd been squatting to watch him dress up for the final game. My knees were already numb and aching from holding the position too long.

"What is wrong with you? Why can't you just tell him to his face that he needs to make your relationship public instead of... this?"

She spread her palms, gesturing at the locker room, at me, at the whole absurd arrangement.

I looked left and right to check if anyone had heard her, then met her eyes, cutting her short, "It's my relationship, Miriam, not yours, let me be myself."

Her face fell, and I hated myself instantly. Miriam must have meant well for me, I didn't have to talk to her that way.

"I'm really sorry for snapping at you when you meant good, but…” My shoulders dropped and a worried expression appeared on my face as I touched the back of my hair while moving uncomfortably from one foot to the other.

"He promised me the night I became his girlfriend that nothing was going to come between us. We'll go public at the right time."

I caught her arm tenderly but she still wasn't buying it.

"I know you love him. But if no one knows you're together, he could walk away from you whenever he wants. Deny your mate bond at any time and go scot-free."

"That shouldn't be a problem, Miriam, Drew, and I have talked about these things."

"In fact..." I grabbed her hands, the words flowing out before I could stop them, "...I broke my virginity to him last night. That's not something you do with someone you're not building a future with."

Her face lost every trace of color, "Vine..."

"Byeee." I cooed, "I've got to go cheer my boyfriend."

As I skated toward the rink, Miriam's words trailed after me, refusing to let go.

"...He could deny your mate bond at any time and go scot-free."

The winter air kissed my cheeks as I shook off the thought of Miriam's words, forcing a smile as I took my place among the other cheerleaders, but it kept creeping back in, uninvited, every time I looked toward Drew's bench. Those words sat heavy in my chest, refusing to leave.

I told myself I trusted him. I told myself three years meant something. But some small, treacherous part of me kept whispering — would he really do it? Would he really claim me, out loud, in front of all these people?

I looked down at the shiny pom-pom in my hand and then back at the cheerleaders who's boyfriends were emerging from the bench, kissing their boyfriends right before they made it to the rink to play.

Seeing there was no hope of me ever doing that, I turned fully toward the rink, half-cheering and half thinking about my relationship with Drew that the game seemed to end too soon, the scream of joy from everyone seeming to draw me through the haze.

I looked at the scoreboard, and my mate's team, the Vikings had won. I jumped in the air and screamed my lungs out like every other cheerleader.

Drew started walking towards the exit of the rink, his chin slightly lifted, eyes focused and proud as he blew kisses to the ladies who adored him. I quietly lifted my camera and captured that moment when he basked in his glory.

That's what a good girlfriend would do.

Suddenly, he began walking straight toward me, making panic bloom low in my belly.

Why was he coming in my direction? He'd never wanted to be seen close to me in public before.

I shouldn’t be afraid of my boyfriend approaching me. But hear me out.

Drew had kept our relationship buried beneath the surface for so long, especially since he went into stardom and we only met at each other's places, or in places where he knew his peers wouldn't catch him.

Even taking direct photos was off-limits.

“You’re so damn lucky, girl—he’s gonna sign your autograph!”

The girls around me screamed, vibrating with anticipation and gazes of admiration. If only they knew that we've been together for three years.

Then Drew did the unthinkable.

He dropped his stick. Peeled off his helmet. Walked straight up to me—and knelt on one knee. Right in front of the crowd, flashing lights, and the stadium seats behind the rink.

“Will you be my girlfriend?” He proposed, holding out a ring on his right hand.

My world spun.

He was choosing me... finally, in front of everyone.

Someone... remind me how I breathe.

The crowd behind me gasped. Girls looked at me with envy and admiration.

Then, in unison, everyone's phones buzzed, notifications lighting up their screens like fire in the night.

I looked behind me to see a thousand camera lenses turned towards us.

A smile broke out on my lips, memories of last night flooding back. He'd promised to claim me in front of everyone at the right time.

And now, he was doing it just as promised.

“Yes!” My eyes moistened, and I stretched out my right hand, flattening my fingers," Yes, I'll be your girlfriend." Tears of joy rolled down my cheeks as I waited for him to slide the ring on my finger.

“Oh Goddess! What is this happening?!!”

Miriam yelled from the crowd before the ring touched my finger.

I turned to look at her in my confusion.

“Fuck me like the slut I am…” My hot, needy voice cried out...

And my gaze flicked to the large display screens... as my face fell.

That was me. The screens were flooded with images of me.

It was… My voice...

My body...

My... Nudity.

I stepped backwards, limbs shaking, hoping the earth could open up and swallow me... Swallow my shame... Wipe out my existence for I couldn't bear the shame.

Tears rolled down my cheeks.

My hands wouldn't stop shaking. My mouth opened, but no words escaped — no defense, no denial, nothing. I just stood there, hollowed out, while my own voice moaned from the screens above me and a thousand strangers decided who I was.

The camera focused more on my body, while Drew's was blurred.

Everyone watched as I expressed so naughtily...

How desperate and greedy I was for his dick…

What sort of a shameless slut I was.

People whispered laughed at me while covering their mouths with their fingers. Phones filmed -- and in the center of it all, I stood frozen.

I didn't know how long I stood frozen like that. Long enough for the shame to curdle into something else. Something hotter.

I turned to look at Drew.

He was so calm as he held the ring. Too calm while he watched me drown in my misery.

Was that normal?

Why isn't he looking surprised?

Suddenly, his eyes... His eyes weren't looking at me the way they had just seconds ago.

They weren't so warm, or proud, or even confused...

Instead, there was a smug look there.

A flicker of guilt quickly appeared in his eyes as he glanced at the display screen but it quickly disappeared as his eyes glinted, his lips spreading quickly, showing that he was amused by my humiliation.

“Drew…” I wobbled, my voice cracking like broken glass.

I gritted my teeth, fisting on the edges of my mini skirt as I looked deeply into his eyes.

“What did I ever do to deserve this?” I asked, anger and disappointment mixing and bleeding into words, "What crime did I commit by trusting you with my body?"