Enchanted by Sins

Chapter 5

KADEN

Christian and I pad down to the beach. The day is cloudy, yet humid, and the air is damp. The sky is dark, and the moon reflects in the ripples of the water. We sit in silence, watching waves crash against the rocks, droplets of water spraying in our faces. The pleasured tranquility is nice, but then the urge to find out more about Christian haunts me.

I take in a breath of crisp, British air. This may be England, with the shittiest weather, but it's still amazing. Times like this I wonder what our life would be like if the human race wasn't becoming extinct. How different would our lives be? But imagine...the amount of free blood. No drinking off witches. Pure, warm, luscious blood.

Beside me, Christian takes out a cigarette from his jeans pocket and lights it. Taking a deep blow, her nods slowly and then exhales, letting out a ring of thick smoke. He passes it to me. "I shouldn't."

"What?" he laughs. "C'mon, man. We're freaking supernatural! This shit won't kill us."

I chuckle, taking the cigar from him and sucking in hard. I inhale and then blow out slowly. "Yeah, you're right." I hesitate, enjoying the second's silence. "Tell me about your past before VWI."

"I..." he stutters for words.

"Come on, bro," I say, half laughing. "If we want to be friends we're gonna have to know a little bit about each other, right?"

Glugging back a beer bottle, he calls the girls to come down and join us. A jolt of nausea floods over me, knowing that Sierra will be here in a few minutes. It makes me ecstatically nervous - the four of us. High school has barely started and already - already - we have our own clique.

The girls skip down the rocks to where we sit and leap across us. Valerie lands in Christian's lap and Sierra lands in mine. I don't know why, but an electric buzz spreads through me when we touch. Despite the fact that she recognises us as in the friend zone, her heart pounds a little faster, too.

She giggles. "Sorry."

"Don't worry," I say, a smile spreading across my lips.

When I glance over at Chris, he's deep in a make-out session with his girlfriend. And when they part for breath, she covers her mouth, and winks at me. "This is probably awkward for the both of you. You guys should hook up."

Sierra snaps her head back to her best friend. "Val, you bitch."

She cracks into laughter along with Christian, while Sierra and I are sat, our cheeks flushed. "She's right, man," he agrees.

"God," Sierra scowls. "You would say that. Dick."

"Thanks, baby. But I prefer my girl says that word. Seeing as she's the one who sees it."

His cousin covers her face, moaning and shaking her head. "Shit! No, Christian, just no...You - you don't say that."

"C'mon," he spreads his arm around Valerie's shoulders and places a sloppy kiss on her cheek. "We're all close here. We shouldn't have to be ashamed."

I take a long drag of the cigarette, allowing the tar suffocating air to enter my lungs. "Chris's right, guys." I look at the three of them, all of them are wide-eyed.

Sierra and Valerie stand up, beer bottles in hands, and dance crazily. Valerie places a light kiss on my lips, half drunk; Sierra places a feathery-sort-of kiss on Chris.

"Valerie." I say.

She hushes me, "Don't. If you want to be in our group, it's OK. Chris doesn't mind. Plus, we're only friends." She grins. "My name's Val, by the way." Then the girls swap.

And I get Sierra to myself again. She plops herself in my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck. "Hey," she whispers.

I inhale a deep breath, nuzzling my nose right under her chin, making her shiver with the warmth. Her fingers meet mine as she leans against my body, pressing her hands into my chest. And then, slowly but surely, our lips meet. The kiss is gentle, but captivating, a mixture of California Common beer and the remnants of tar. Mesmerized lips press together, transporting us to another world. As our lips pull apart, a gentle breeze flutters over the flame, extinguishing the desperate heat. Our breathing comes out in short, helpless gasps as the intensity washes away. And the rest of the realm slowly comes back to us.

A hoot fills my ears, and when I glance to the side, Chris and Val are laughing and whooping at us. I shake my head to Sierra, but I can't help but smile. "What was that?" I ask.

She cocks her head to one side, and God, she's beautiful. Butterflies swim in my stomach, and I want her so badly. I want to keep hold of her. "What?"

"Aren't you with Ashford?"

"Ah," she throws her head back, chuckling. "No. I was just toying with him."

I must have sent her a bewildered expression, because she replies, "Glamour," and then taps her head.

For a second, I think if she played her Glamour on me. But then, I realise, she can't. My power would collide with hers if she even tried. And I haven't felt that friction tugging. Good sign - yes. Bad sign - yes.

"You're a bad girl," I tease.

She licks my neck, feeling the pulse. "Yes I am."

I pull her head back, forcing her to stare into my eyes. "So, what does this make us?"

She doesn't say anything, but I can read her answer through her eyes. She smiles and then grasps hold of my hand, and I entwine my fingers with hers. We lock eyes, and sit on the rocks for a long time, awed by the silence and watching the twilight sky twinkle with millions of stars.

It's then I realise that this might be the best thing that's ever happened to me.

And also the worst thing in my life.