0597092001436358459 eveline vine Read online

  I waited.

  I waited for longer, but he didn’t say a word. I lifted my head and peeked up at him through my eyelashes. He was standing completely still, watching me. Waiting.

  He waited, I waited, and neither one of us moved as we locked gazes and I held my breath. Several seconds later, he began to move toward me, his large, heavy shoes moving soundlessly against the plush carpet. I felt my body tremble and I saw my hands shake as they rose to my chest, ready to push him away if I needed to.

  He came to a stop in front of me and I stared straight ahead, his massive chest blocking my view of the door, my escape. I let my hands fall. They were useless. I doubt he’d even feel it if I reared back and hit him square in the sternum. I fisted my hands tightly, letting my nails bite into the palms as I tried to show no fear. He lifted his big hand and I flinched as it drew close to my face. He hesitated a moment, before gently tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. The feel of his warm, rough skin startled me and my stomach clenched as I waited for more.

  Did he want to have sex with me? Is that why he was here?

  He took a step away from me and sat on my bed, bending down to remove his shoes. I didn’t move. I glanced at the door, considering making a run for it, but I remained standing still. He tucked his socks inside his shoes and pulled back the bed covers. My heart began to race and I nearly squealed with fright as he reached out and pulled me over to the bed. He climbed in, still in his long-sleeved shirt and jeans, and rolled onto his side, facing away from me.

  I stared at the broad expanse of his back in confusion. Not able to think of anything else to do, I slowly eased onto the bed, lying in the little space his big body had left, careful not to touch him. He reached down and pulled the covers up, without turning to look at me. He didn’t move again, so I turned off the lamp on my bedside table, immersing us in darkness.

  I lay there stiffly for hours, but must have eventually fallen asleep, because when I woke the next morning…he was already gone.

  ***

  I looked at my alarm clock and realised I’d slept in. I’d missed my morning run and breakfast time, and even now Alec must be waiting to train me. Sure enough, just as I was scrambling out of bed, there was a soft knock at the door. I ran a hand through my messy bed-hair and cautiously opened the door. Alec ran his eyes over me, looking concerned.

  “Is everything alright Evie?” he asked softly.

  I nodded, turning my face away to hide my blush. “I-I just slept in,” I replied, “I was tired.”

  Alec smiled and ruffled my knotty hair. “We’ll skip training then today. You just get dressed and have something to eat before your first class,” he said.

  “Okay,” I whispered.

  “See you at dinner,” he called, as he walked away.

  I groaned as I realised I’d have to face Stone at dinner…as well as the rest of the group. Did they know? Oh God I hope they don’t!

  I trudged into the bathroom and started getting ready for the day ahead.

  ***

  “Oh my god! There you are!” Candy squealed as I entered the cafeteria for dinner that night. She latched onto my arm and pulled me over to an empty table, practically pushing me down into a seat.

  “I’ve been waiting to talk to you all day!” she cried, resting her elbows on the table and propping her chin in her hands as she leaned forward eagerly.

  “Why-” I started to ask, before paling when I realised what had her excited, “You didn’t tell anyone did you?”

  I looked around frantically, half expecting everyone to be whispering and sending covert looks my way. Candy snorted and waved a hand.

  “Of course not,” she replied, “It’s your business and besides, Stone would probably murder me if I went around telling everyone.”

  “Oh,” I said, breathing a sigh of relief.

  “So,” Candy continued, her eyes sparkling, “What’s the go with you and tall, dark and stony?”

  “I don’t know,” I responded honestly.

  “Well, what happened?” Candy demanded.

  “He…He came in, took his shoes off and went to sleep in my bed,” I whispered, glancing at a nearby table to make sure they weren’t listening.

  “What?” Candy asked, her eyes bulging, “He just lay down in your bed…without saying anything?”

  I nodded.

  “He didn’t even try to kiss you?” she asked incredulously, then pouted in disappointment.

  I shook my head. “He…He pushed some hair out of my face,” I offered, trying to cheer her up.

  She shot a confused look over at the band’s table. I followed her eyes, noticing that Stone had just sat down and Briar was waving us over.

  “Maybe he was waiting for you to do something,” she said slowly.

  “Like what?” I asked, frowning in confusion, “What was I supposed to do? Why did he even come to my room?”

  Candy pulled a face at me. “Duh, he likes you,” she said, getting up from her seat and walking towards their table. I hurried after her.

  “You mean…he wants to have sex with me?” I whispered frantically, not sure how to react.

  Candy rolled her eyes at me. “It’s so obvious he wants you,” she answered, “Jeez girl, are you blind?”

  I didn’t answer for a few moments, shocked by this revelation, unsure as to whether or not I believed it. Candy stopped short and turned to look me over, a serious expression on her face.

  “Are you nervous?” she asked, “Do you want to have sex with him?”

  I opened my mouth, but didn’t know how to answer that question.

  Her brow creased, “It’s alright to be nervous about your first time. That’s probably why he didn’t make a move. But I think…that if you want him, you should just go for it.”

  She turned and started walking again. I followed after her, still feeling a little dazed. She came to a stop and I blurted out the first thing that came to mind, “But…I’m not a virgin.”

  Candy coughed on a surprised laugh and nudged my side hard. I looked around and noticed we’d arrived at the table…and everyone was staring at me.

  Oh crap.

  Donny laughed and looked between Candy and me. “What have you naughty girls been talking about?” he asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

  Duh, sex! I thought.

  “Wouldn’t you like to know?” Candy purred.

  “Yes. Yes, I would,” Donny answered, his eyes dropping to her chest.

  “Too bad,” Candy replied, sitting down in an empty seat and dragging me down with her, “It was a private conversation.”

  Donny turned to look at me with a sexy smirk, “You’ll tell me won’t you, Evie-baby?”

  I looked down at my empty tray and bit my lip.

  “Drop it Donny,” Fredi hissed, elbowing him in the side.

  “Fine,” he grumbled.

  I shifted awkwardly in my seat and chanced a glance at Stone, wondering if he’d behave any differently toward me. He didn’t. He didn’t even look at me. I swallowed nervously.

  Had I angered him? Disappointed him? Had he just needed somewhere to crash last night?

  Alec glanced down at my empty tray and raised an eyebrow. “You not eating, Evie?”

  I felt Stone look over at me, but I was too nervous to look back at him. “Um, I’ll go get something now,” I murmured, gladly getting up from the table and walking towards the line.

  When I got back, it was suspiciously quiet and both Candy and Stone were looking annoyed. I swallowed anxiously as I slowly sat down. I had a bad feeling they’d been talking about me and my ‘not a virgin’ comment. Briar smiled at me and opened her mouth to say something, but the shrill ring of my mobile cut off her attempt to break the silence. With shaking hands, I tried to ignore the many eyes fixed on me as I reached into my bag and retrieved my phone. I closed my eyes and groaned at the name on the screen. Without opening my eyes, I pressed the talk button and brought the phone to my ear.

  “Hi Mum,” I muttered.<
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  Candy smothered a laugh from beside me, having witnessed several of my mother’s calls before.

  “Evelyn!” my mother shouted happily and I winced from the volume. I heard a few more chuckles and gathered that the rest of the group had heard her too.

  “How’s my baby girl?”

  “I’m fine,” I whispered, “But I’m in the middle of eating dinner. Can I call you back?”

  “I’ll just be a minute,” she spoke over the top of me.

  I let out a sigh of resignation and pushed up from the table, glad that I’d bought package foods like sandwiches and could just shove them in my backpack. Candy pushed my hands away and started doing it for me. I smiled at her gratefully and turned my attention back to my mother.

  “No Mum,” I answered patiently, “I haven’t been propositioned by any hunky lecturers and no, I haven’t started an illicit affair with a passionate, aspiring artist.”

  Briar giggled and Donny raised an eyebrow at me. “Sorry,” I mouthed to them, blushing a little and taking my bag from Candy. I waved to the group and quickly made my exit.

  “Why don’t you call Harvey, Mum?” I suggested, “Cooper mentioned he just got back from an overseas job. He was injured in an attack on the air base or something. He should have some story ideas for you.”

  “Injured!” My mother cried, “Why didn’t anyone tell me?!”

  I winced yet again as I realised how pissed off Harv would be when he found out I’d told Mum. Harvey, like his fellow triplets, Evan and Vicky, worked for the Air Force. Most of the time he was stationed in Townsville (where Cooper lived), but he’d just done a stint overseas. Each of the triplets played a different role within the Air Force. Evan’s an engineer, Vicky’s a fighter pilot, and Harvey’s a mechanic. He’d been unlucky enough to get shot in the leg on this latest posting, and was thus, home recuperating. The last thing he needed was constant phone calls from Mum.

  “I’m sure someone told you and you just forgot Mum,” I lied, “You were probably in the middle of writing.”

  “Evelyn Sandra Vine! Are you implying that I’d forget that my own son had been injured?!”

  Shit.

  “No, no I’m not,” I stammered, “Sorry, I didn’t-”

  “Never mind that, darling,” my mother interrupted, “Have you heard from Logan lately? He’s been avoiding my calls.”

  I wonder why? I thought sarcastically.

  “I did see him on the weekend,” I replied.

  “Really?” my mother asked, sounding put out, “No one else has heard from him.”

  “Logan said he’d talked to Cooper,” I offered.

  Mum grumbled something under her breath. She was still a little sore that Cooper had left school and home at sixteen to become a mechanic in another state. It annoyed her even more that Cooper managed to keep in contact with everyone and always know everything that was going on. She’d be better off just calling Cooper for news on everyone’s doings, but she liked to bother us personally.

  “Well, he’s avoiding everyone else,” she snapped, “He didn’t even respond to the email Zane sent him.”

  “How do you know that?” I asked curiously.

  “Zane called me with the only phone call he could make,” Mum bragged happily, “I asked if he had heard from Logan.”

  I rolled my eyes and opened the door to my room, flopping down on the bed and taking out my dinner. “I’ll tell Logan to call you if I see him again,” I promised, “But I really do have to eat my dinner now Mum.”

  “Oh,” she said, “But I haven’t finished asking you about… Jacob!”

  “Jake?” I said, scrunching up my nose in confusion, “What about Jake?”

  “Jacob, don’t you dare touch that computer! I haven’t saved my work!” she yelled.

  I snorted when I realised she wasn’t talking to me.

  “Mum,” I prompted.

  “Oh, yes? Evelyn?” she said distractedly, “I really don’t have time right now. I’ll talk to you later. Love you.” She hung up without waiting for a response. I chuckled and set my phone down on the bedside table.

  “Love you too, Mum,” I muttered. I propped a pillow behind my back and leant back against the wall to eat my dinner. I’d only just finished and changed into pjs when Candy bounded in.

  “How was the phone call?” she asked, grinning at me cheekily as she sat down on my bed.

  I shrugged my shoulders. “Better than usual,” I admitted.

  “So…” she drawled, leaning in close to me, her voice a mere whisper, “Do you think Stone will show up again tonight?”

  I paled and glanced down at my choice of sleepwear: my fluffy pink slippers; long, pink pyjama pants with sheep all over them; and a thin, grey singlet…with no bra. I hadn’t bothered to dress too warmly because the rooms were heated.

  There was a firm knock at the door and I glanced at the time. Nine o’clock. The exact time he’d knocked the night before. Candy squealed and I jumped up to wrap a hand over her mouth.

  “Shhh,” I hissed, “Maybe he’ll just go away if we’re quiet.”

  Candy pushed me off her and raised an eyebrow at me. “If you don’t want him here, then tell him to go,” she responded, walking toward the door. My jaw dropped. No one ever said no to Stone.

  “Hey Stone,” she greeted him with a smile, reaching behind her to grab my arm and pull me into view. He nodded a greeting, before fixing his eyes on me. I felt trapped as I stared back at him. The only sound in the room was the low hum of the heater and the soft puffs of my nervous breaths.

  “Okay,” Candy said brightly, “I’ll just be going now.” She ducked under Stone’s arm and waved back at me as she skipped away, presumably heading toward the stairs to stay in Mason’s second floor bedroom.

  Stone raised an eyebrow at me and I hurriedly moved out of his way, letting him move further into the room. He was dressed in sweatpants and a loose-fitting singlet tonight, his feet already bare. He sat down on my bed and started looking through my CD collection. I fidgeted uneasily, crossing my arms over my barely covered chest and gnawing at my bottom lip. His hand paused over one album and he withdrew it, turning the back over and reading the songs listed. I peeked at the front cover and hid a surprised smile. It seemed Mr. “Drummer in a Metal Band” liked UB40.

  He popped open the top of my CD player and placed their ‘The Very Best of UB40 (1980-2000)’ album in. He didn’t bother to turn back the covers of my bed. He merely stole some more pillows from Candy’s bed and added them to the collection against the wall. He sat down and leaned his head back, closing his eyes as the starting strains of ‘Red Red Wine’ began.

  Once again, I hesitantly joined him on the bed, perching on the edge to keep from touching him. I tensed as his arm wrapped around my shoulders and pulled me closer, my entire body now safely on the mattress. His hand let go of me, but his arm stayed where it was. He hadn’t opened his eyes and when he made no further move to touch me, I slowly leant back and closed my own. We sat in silence as we listened to the album, our breathing slowly falling into synch.

  When we reached track eleven (Don’t Break My Heart), Stone slid down the bed to lie down, removing his arm from around me and rolling onto his side, again facing away from me. I took this as a sign he wanted to go to sleep and got out of bed to turn off the overhead light. The light from the CD player illuminated my way back to the bed and I cautiously climbed in, also lying on my side, my back nearly touching his. I turned the music down and closed my eyes, not bothering to pull the blankets over us. The heater warmed the room and Stone’s heat burned up the bed.

  I lay stiffly for several moments, unsure as to whether tonight Stone would attempt to say or do something. He didn’t though, and I found myself relaxing, my body growing heavy as the next song started playing. I smiled as I realised it was one of my favourites and greedily inhaled the warm, masculine scent permeating my bed as I quietly sung along:

  “And I can’t help, falling in love with you�
�”

  eight

  I woke at the usual time the next morning, feeling well rested. I stretched sleepily, but frowned when I realised I was sleeping on top of the blankets and my foot encountered a warm, hard leg. Shit. I sat up straight, then tumbled off the edge of the bed, landing on the soft carpet with a dull thud. I shifted to my knees and peeked up at the large body lying in my bed. Stone was still there. I rose to my feet slowly, unsure of what to do. After several moments, I decided to just go about my day as usual. I hurriedly grabbed my gym wear and shut myself in the bathroom, locking the door.