Shadows of You

Chapter 5

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7:00 came around too quickly for my liking. I turned off my alarm and trudged my way to my bathroom. You see, I am a very lazy person so I tend to leave on makeup because I simply do not want to get up and wash it off. That results in smudged mascara and eyeliner and a smeared pillow case. I wash my face to get rid of the residue and begin to reapply the makeup because screw pimples. I brush my hair and decide to make a half bun in the top of my head. As I curl my bottom pieces, my mind goes back to Nate's visit last night. He is obviously buying the whole "I want you" bit but he seems to be going out of his way. A little too much. Is he already fall- my thoughts were interupted by seething pain.  I immediately let go of the curler, hearing it slam against the sink. I tentatively reached up to my neck where a bright red mark was making its way onto my skin. Great. After the grueling task of trying to conceal the burn and the struggle to get my jeans on, I pull on my beige jacket over my white v-neck. As I walk over to the fridge, my phone vibrates in my pocket. I pull it out and see Nate's name on the screen. Fantastic. I slide my finger across the screen.
"What do you want Nate?" I ask as I shove a spoonful of Lucky Charms in my mouth.
"Well good morning to you too babe," he chuckles in a very husky voice. Sinful thoughts Jesus.
"I am very busy stuffing my face Nate so I suggest we hurry up this conversation," I say irritably, when in all reality I'm a little flustered he called. Especially when it seems he just woke up and calling me was the first thing he did.
"Are you dressed?," he asked.
"Um, yeah. I'm dressed?," I answered back, even though it sounded more like a question.
"Bummer. But I'll be there in 5," He says before hanging up. I stare at my phone dumbfounded while the spoon is still in my mouth. Why is he coming here? And why am I nervous? After I add the few finishing touches to my bookbag, meaning snacks and drinks, the door bell rings. I walk to the door and sure enough there he is in a white tee shirt and light blue jeans. How does he make the outfit look so damn good? STOP IT! I open the door and am greeted with the ever so famous Nate Maloley smirk. He makes his way over towards me and pulls me in from my waist. He loops his thumbs in my belt loops and positions his head on my shoulder.
"Hmm, I don't remember giving you that," He says while moving my hair back. Damn it the burn.
"Well that would be because it wasn't you who gave it to me," I retorted as I backed away and walked towards my bag. I slipped my phone in my pocket and threw my bag over my shoulder. As I turned around, I ran into his chest. I could immediately feel the heat radiating off of him and onto me. He was smiling while looking up and ever so quietly he sighed.
"Well that just won't do now will it?" he asked as he put both hands on the wall, trapping me. His gaze followed my eyes and then lowered to my mouth where it lingered longer than necessary. Then he proceeded to my jaw where he started to get closer to the burn. I gasped when I felt him blow cool air onto it, immediately feeling the pain subside for a split second.
"You know, I am a man of many talents and have given quite a few hickeys in my day and let me tell you, that looks more like a burn than anything else," he says slowly, never breaking eye contact. I swallow my embarrassment and decided to play along. I placed my arms on his shoulders and pushed him closer to me.
"Well, why don't you show me exactly how you would mark me and we will see if it lives up to my expectations," I reply stroking his cheek. I get closer to his face until I can feel his breath on my cheek.
"But unfortunately, it's 7:50 and I'd hate to be late to school. Wouldn't you?" I ask while pushing him away slightly and making my way to the door. I open it and signal for him to exit. He stares at me and swipes his lip with his thumb. He raises and lowers his eyebrows while chuckling and makes his way over to me. He stands outside and says, "You'd be surprised what I can do while driving babe." He casually walks away as nothing happened and opens the passenger door for me. I close my front door and lock it, making sure to slip my key into my purse. I make my way to Nate and slip into the passenger seat. He makes his way over and gets in, starting the car and pulling out of my driveway. I need to pick this up, something big, c'mon now. His left hand is on the steering wheel and the other is on his lap. I look away before he catches me looking somewhere I shouldn't. I can feel his gaze on me as I look out the window, trying to focus on something other than Nate. We pull up to school and I see students gathered around the parking lot, talking and messing around minutes before class. As Nate parks the car, I turn to face him.
"What's up, baby?" He asks as he shirts his body so he's looking straight at me.
"Why are you being so nice to me?" I ask before I can even think about what I just said. I can see the look of confusion across his face. He clearly wasn't expecting that, hell I wasn't either.
"Because you aren't like any other girl here in Westside. You are different but clever. There's somethinf about you, it intrigues me, but I can't put my finger on it," he says slowly, as he cautiously makes his way iver the console. I can feel his breath on my lips, our noses almost touch.
"You know, we left a demonstration pending at my house," I say as I back away. I open the door and get out of the car. I hear him let out a breath and grab his bag. He opens his door and looks at me; we are looking at each other over the roof of his car.
"Is that so?" he asks as he makes his way over to the trunk.
"Yeah, I think, if I can remember, you claim my mark is a burn," I say following him while pressing my index finger to my jaw. We meet up at the back of his car, face to face. He swoops my hair to my left side, leaving the right of my neck exposed to him.
"It is a burn sweetheart. Let me show you what a real mark looks like," he whispers as he bends down to the crook of my neck. Something big, huh? Before I can have second thoughts, I grab the sides of his face and crash my lips to his.
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