THRUST

Chapter Twenty-Four

When I get back to the group, after seeing Edward, I'm so full of thrill and excitement from his words, his touch and that kiss, that I could shoot up to the sky like a rocket.

I find myself zoning out of the conversation, smiling every minute or so, holding my insides together at times, to tamp down the zings of that falling-feeling ripping through me at will.

It's that same feeling you get on a rollercoaster, after the climb and right when you get to the drop, that feeling you have when you come racing down, your tummy shooting straight up to your throat— the intense tickly feeling that threatens to take you over the threshold of excitement and burst you into tiny pieces, but it holds you right there just until your bubble is about to burst and then it lets go.

This is that feeling.

Over and over again, in tiny spurts, it continued to shoot through me every time I would even think of the look in Edward's eyes or the sound of his voice against my skin. The thought of the words that came out of his mouth, the trail of heat his fingers left on my body, the kiss. That damn kiss, I can't even.

.

.

.

Edward left almost an hour ago, but my thoughts of him haven't slowed.

As Edward's seduction and his last words swam around in my head, I looked on as Rose clung to Briggs, as well as Jake. She's been making flirtatious rounds between the two of them tonight.

Between Edward being here tonight, paying attention to me for once in his life, and Briggs ignoring me, my emotions are everywhere.

Despite the new thrill of Edward Cullen, it's hard to ignore the jealousy when it boils up inside of me and it's only getting worse by the second. So, I take the other pill that Rose stuffed in my pocket when we got here.

Up from my toes, nice euphoric feelings rise like little tiny balloons through my system. And when the warm happiness starts to bleed out through my arms and down to my fingertips, I feel numb and happy again. Flooded with emotions and the nice warm feeling of the drug, I sit relaxed on the cooler I share with Emily, and watch as Briggs walks away from Rose and loads another bike onto a trailer, slapping the driver's hand and sending him off.

I look on as he makes his rounds, telling everyone bye, and I hear Jake saying he'll be right behind him. Jake turns to me just then, noticing my heavy lidded stare and comes to me, "Hey, angel?"

I don't speak, I just smile.

"You alright, doll?"

I tell him I've never been better.

"Hey, hey... " He puts his warm fingers on my neck and the touch feels good, but the it's coming from the wrong fingers. The kiss we shared earlier had about as much spark as a wet blanket. In fact, Edward Cullen's kiss put Jake's to shame. Edward's is right up there with the best I've ever had.

"Hey, what'd you take, you look wasted, babe." He looks at me, concerned.

I feel like everything is moving in slow motion when I look over his shoulder and focus in on Briggs. Jake waits for my answer but I'm waiting for Briggs to acknowledge me and just then, as if he can sense my stare, he meets my eyes.

It's a slow dismissal, but that's ultimately what it is. His glance lands sweetly at first and turns within a millisecond, to indifferent.

I grab Jake's hand, taking it from my neck. "I'm good, I'm good. I promise. I just took another pill."

He turns around surveying our group and then back to me. "We should probably get you girls out of here. Stay right here, I'ma round everyone up and we're all gonna head to the Clubhouse. He looks over to Alice, and asks her if she's good. And then he whispers to her to not let Rose give me any more "shit."