ログイン*****JACE*****Gianna rolled her eyes at my expression. “You can’t be surprised about this, and you can’t tell me you haven’t thought of it even once.”I was honest enough to admit I had. My parents' agreement on it just left a bad taste in my mouth. Especially when in their eyes, I was in love with Lily. Believing that, why would they think it’s okay to force Gianna on me. “Let’s just talk about this in private, okay?” Nomi approached us, a wide grin on his face. “I agree.” I stepped away from her, needing to make my escape before he caught up with us. I faked a friendly smile at Creed’s wife when I passed her on my way to the single building. Taser hung off to the side, watching Lily’s ex best friend chummy up to the woman. His frown deepened when he saw me and he pushed off the gate he was leaning on. I did not have the time for this.“So she told you.” He started, and fell into step beside me. “I’m not in the mood.” I answered curtly. “I just thought I offer some help, seei
***** LILY *****Jace turned to me, an eyebrow raised. “You know my favorite color?”I shrugged, “I read an article about you, you know incase someone jumps out of a bush and tells me to say your favorite color to prove my love for you.”The corners of his mouth tugged up as he shook his head. “Fine, team red it is.”His finger danced on my shoulder as we watched the game, while I tried not to dwell on the fact that it felt very comfortable to be this close to him.I cursed under my breath when the whistle went off, and the team in blue jumped about celebrating. “Better luck next time, princess.” He whispered in my ear, his breath tickling my neck. For good measure, he planted a chaste kiss on my cheek, probably rubbing in the fact I didn’t get one where I wanted. When I turned to glare at him, I was met with a lopsided grin that faltered when my eyes zeroed on that mouth. So close… He tugged on my hair, “no bad thoughts.” He mummured, then leaned forward and planted another peck on
***** LILY *****“Wow Jace, I never thought you could look bad, this is…great news,” he looked like he hadn’t slept a wink in days. And the ways his eyes traveled over me humorless, was concerning, “are you okay?”He huffed a breath and peeled his eyes off me. “Yeah I’m fine,”“You don’t look fine.” I mumbled. “I’m getting there.”Such a cryptic answer. I tuned his stereo till it was playing something I liked and hummed along to the music, as I forced my nerves down.“Are you sure you’re up for this?” I asked when we pulled into the crowded parking area. I stared at the large park ahead of us filled with over sixty men, women and kids. “We could just… I don’t know, hang out at my house. Let everyone assume we wanted to spend time together.”He shook his head, then brushed his hand over his face. “They need to watch us together. That’s the reason we’re here. You can make Taser jealous as well. I’m sure he’ll be doing his best to be near us.” He would. Which meant Evie would be right
***** JACE *****Three pairs of eyes, shock carved them, stared back at me. My mother had her hand on her chest dramatically. If I cared enough, I would shut my mouth and go out the door but I was filled with anger that had nowhere to go. “You won’t speak to your mother like that, especially in the presence of a stranger-““You mean the woman you think is so bloody perfect? She’s now a stranger?” “I’ll take my leave,” Gianna whispered, the room completely silent save for the sound of her shoes on the floor.I turned as well. I needed a fucking drink and space from these two.“You stay right there!” Mum snapped at me.“Alicia-““No, Gregory. He doesn’t get to embarrass me that way and walk away. You think you’re the only one who’s angry? I am too! For years I have endured. Gossip, insults! ‘Oh have you heard, Greg’s taken a new mistress’ ‘hope his new secretary can last longer than the last one’ ‘her son doesn’t even visit her’ ‘did you hear about his latest escapade,’ over and over
***** LILY *****“There were many wonderful pieces in your sketchbook Evelyn, but this one stood out for me.” Élan complimented. “The way designers of now are afraid to put color on paper, like it would ruin the vision- I mean I understand the need to keep it blank but this is…good job.”“Thank you miss Élan.” She sat higher in her seat, the epitome of pride, while I narrowed my eyes at the drawing again. That’s what was so strange about it. Evie never used colors, and if she did it was very light handed. Hell she had made fun of my sketches severally. Saying they looked like a child colored over them. “It is a wonderful color combination,” Élan continued, “and since we’re talking about color, I will mention another artist that comes to mind.” One of my sketches flicked on the screen and my back went stiff with anxiety. More vibrant colors reflected on the screen. She was showing a sample from my last submission. “Lily Thompson?” I raised my hand shyly, forcing a smile to my face.
***** JACE *****I stared at my parents, not sure if I had imagined their presence with a work muddled brain. My secretary entered the office with a file in hand and an apologetic expression.“They didn’t give me enough time to warn you.” She whispered as she dropped the file, then smiled and left us alone. Mom made her way to the window while dad went through the term sheet I had been studying a while ago. “Is anyone going to say anything?” I asked, a pulse in my head throbbing. Got a headache from them just being here. I opened the drawer to my left and pulled out a bottle of painkillers.“We wanted to check on your performance.” My father answered, taking the seat in front of me. He was dressed up in a classic suit getup, minus the vest. “Your office spies weren’t helpful this time?”“We wanted to see things for ourselves. Besides, if you would just speak to us, we wouldn't have to go through extreme measures,” mum jumped to her husband’s defense. “Alright, things are great, yo
***** JACE ***** One lie had become a truth, because it seemed Lily was genuinely interested in horses and looking forward to the races.“Apparently they’re just large dogs. Like a dog you could ride. Ohhh I hope I get to pet one!”“It’s a sport, not a petting zoo.” She mocked my voice and scrunc
***** LILY *****Taser and I had been on sex hiatus. It was finals and things were hectic, I understood. But being so intimately pressed with a man that made little sounds like he was tortured while his teeth grazed my teeth, six months felt like a bloody lifetime.His tongue darted out to taste th
***** JACE *****Lily did not notice the woman standing outside as she was already halfway to glitterball’s stall, baby talking in a highpitched tone. “Ohhhh my precious little baby, you showed them didn’t you, and you’re such a beautyyyy.”I glanced back at Gianna again, and noted she had entered
***** LILY *****My cheeks were red. One, Glitterball had won! Two, I kissed Jace.Completely unprompted, no warning. And I’d like to say I didn’t mean to, but I had been thinking about kissing him again since the parking lot. I slapped my hands over my reddening cheeks and pushed it out of my mind







