KISS (3 page)

“
Well duh, everyone knows
Crystal is one of the biggest gossipers in school. I got ya
back.”

Iris smiled. She knew she could trust
Natasha, maybe she really would tell her where she lived. Her mom
would love her; Natasha was very girly and yet she remained down to
earth. It was good plan.

4

Secret Meetings and Wishes

Iris enjoyed spending time with
Natasha; at the end of the day she chickened out and didn’t invite
her over. Iris swore, it was going to be the first thing she did.
School would be starting in a week; in that time she would once
again face Axel. At least her birthday was tomorrow, and she had
that to distract her. She had a license but hoped for a horse. Her
birthdays usually consisted of celebrities, and their children. Her
mom loved social gatherings. The person she really wanted there was
probably touring the world. It was impossible. Why did she even
began to think of him at a time like this? She needed a cup of tea
to distract her from her thoughts.

Settling with her cup of tea she
turned on house hunters. She loved the show watching new homeowners
buy a house and seeing all the different styles and architecture,
maybe she should be an architect. She didn’t know what she wanted
to do. She knew her mother always pushed for her to be a doctor.
She thought about Axel’s mother again. She wondered about types of
heart condition—was she really that sick? Stretching she got up,
her birthday was tomorrow and it’s wasn’t everyday a young woman
turn seventeen. She climbed into bed and fell asleep.

***

She jerked in her bed.

“
Dad!” she whined. It never
got old. Each morning on her birthday he would serve her breakfast
in bed. Still after seventeen years he still startled
her.

“
No matter how old you are,
you’ll still be my little girl,” he said giving her hug before
leaving her. Iris flushed. She wasn’t good with emotions. They
scared her, she felt it was something that should be done in
private. She hated being vulnerable. She looked up as her dad
paused in his steps.

“
We’ve got a surprise for
you.” He said closing the door.

Did they get her the horse she’d
always dreamt about? After eating her breakfast, she jumped into
the shower, her thoughts flicker briefly to Axel. Was his mother’s
sickness responsible for the pain reflected in his eyes?

Gah! Why am I so
interested? I practically blew the guy off anyway.

Jumping out of the shower, she dressed
quickly to meet her parents below. Anticipation filled her she as
rushed downstairs. Her parents greeted her at the bottom of the
stairs. She smiled as her dad held a long black box. Opening it she
gasped when she saw the tear drop necklace. It was a two karat
diamond and very expensive. They were over the top…still they were
her parents and she loved them dearly.

“
Sheesh dad, when am I
supposed to wear this thing?” she said gasping at the sparkly
diamonds. The light danced of it blinding her with its
brilliance.

“
Told you, she does have
feminine qualities,” mom told her dad smugly.

“
I can’t help it,” she
whined. “They’re diamonds!”

“
It’s only the first of
many surprises that are coming your way. Now turn around young
lady,” her dad said taking the velvet box from her. She held her
breath as he placed the very expensive diamond around her
neck.

“
Mom, dad, this is too
much. I can’t—I…”

“
You are fine. You are our
only child. We have a right to splurge. You are seventeen now and
soon you’ll be an adult. I don’t want my baby to grow up!” her mom
cried pulling her into a hug.

“
Mom you’re killing me,”
she managed to gasp. She got her curves from her mother and
currently, she was smothering her in her bosom. Her mother finally
released her, relieved she watched as dad took her sobbing mother
into his arms. You’d think someone died. She backed away from her
parents. They were acting weird.

They’re contagious. Must
get away!

“
I’m just going to have a
cappuccino.” She darted away from them and into the kitchen. She
placed her flavor of choice in the Keurig machine, and hummed as
the smell of mocha filled the air. She giggled as she sat out on
the terrace with the newspaper, her mother always called her an old
woman. She said she had an old soul. Iris liked to think that she
was maybe a gypsy or a wanderer in a pastime. She enjoyed being
outside and didn’t like staying in one place for too long. Her
father told her that she had a free spirit. She supposed he was
right.

She set the paper aside and stood up
to get ready when an article caught her eye. She didn’t even know
he was in the country.

“
Iris!”

“
Coming mom!” she
shouted.

“
Go. Get out the house
already.” It’s time you made yourself scarce so we can get this
place ready for you.” Iris rolled her eyes. Every year old her
birthday she spent two the three hours holed up in a library so her
parents could get prepare for the guests.

“
Wear a dress!” her mom
shouted at her retreating form.

“
But mom!” she
groaned.

She gave up; she was nothing more than
a life size doll, at least she wasn’t bogged down with more
shopping. Reaching into the closet she pulled out a teacup dress.
It was a metallic black which suited her needs. An impish smirk
stretched her lips; she would wear her black vans with this dress.
Her mother only told her to ear the dress. She had to give it to
her. This dress was a nice one and suited her personality. It had
character. It was designed with a jewel neckline, a back zipper
closure, and a fit and flare silhouette. It was perfect for her, it
gave her a little spunk. She jumped into the shower to get ready
for the activities that were soon to follow later that
evening.

Iris gave an involuntary yawn. She’d
been reading some manga; don’t judge her. The art was beautiful and
the characters faces were always so expressive. Yes, she was one of
those people that could read endless amount of manga, and would
turn into a vampire from streaming anime all night long. She was
getting to the good part when someone interrupted her.

“
I thought you didn’t wear
dresses?” Startled, she fell ungraciously out of the chair and onto
the floor, at least it was carpeted.

“
What are you doing here?”
she asked mortified. Her butt hurt and she fought the need to
massage it, and ensure there was no permanent damaged done to it.
What were the odds of her running into Axel at the library? She
gazed at him. Something was off. She watched as he blushed and
began to stammer.

“
Are you okay?” she asked
with wide eyes.

“
Yeah, I’m good.” He
avoided her eyes. His heart raced in his chest and he felt jittery
around her. “I saw you reading some manga.”

“
Yeah, it’s pretty cool. I
hope they turn it into an anime.”

“
What’s it
called?”

“
Cerberus.”

“
Sounds like the guardian
of the underworld,” he said holding out a hand.

Omg! Don’t tell me he’s
into mythology. A man after my heart! So hot! I can definitely do
the shy, dorky thing. It’s different…but volcanic like.

Her heart skipped a beat when she
grabbed his hand. It was large and warm. Was this his nerdy side?
She didn’t think the star football player would have a geek
side.

“
So are you stalking me
now?” she asked smiling coyly at him. She had no idea he could be
so awkward. It was cute. He was completely different from that day
in the car.

“
Um, no!” he said flushing.
She made him nervous. He started to feel dizzy. He couldn’t
hyperventilate here, it would destroy his chance getting to know
her. He liked her. She was different and she had kind eyes. She was
gorgeous and totally out of his league, maybe it was how she felt
about him. He could only hope so.

His phone rang.

“
I’m sorry I got to take
this.” It was his dad.

“
Boy! Where are you?” Iris
looked on in shock. She could hear the yelling from where she
sat.

“
I’m in the library
studying.” She watched as Axel answered his father. She could see
his large frame hunching over. He must’ve turned the volume down,
she couldn’t hear the man anymore. It seemed there was much more to
Axel Rotterdam than meets the eye. It was a good thing she loved
mysteries.

“
Look I’m going out!” he
suddenly yelled into the phone. Iris eyes widen slightly. She
quickly excused herself. His eyes pleaded with her, but she was
already embarrassed enough and she didn’t want to miss the party.
Her mother would have a cow. It was scientifically impossible but
she wouldn’t put it pass her mom to surpass the laws of
science.

Damn it! He almost had her. He just
had to go ruin things. Everything was going smoothly. He gripped
the strands of hair in his fist tightly. Sometimes he just wanted
to scream. Let everything he was feeling out, but that wasn’t what
men did, so he swallowed his emotions and shoved them in a box.
He’d deal with them later.

Iris thought her encounter with Axel
was very strange, but it still didn’t stop him from taking her
breath away. Those startling crystal blue eyes still managed to
make her heart go pitter patter. She was starting to think that she
was in a Nicolas Spark book. She sighed dreamily as she got out of
the car. Would he find her at school? Would he still be interested
in her? He was one of a kind; he managed to see her on two
different occasions and in a dress nonetheless—that was a rarity in
itself. She climbed out of the car when she heard Ryan’s chuckle.
How long had she been sitting there with a starry eyed
look?

“
Young love. I remember
those days.” She leapt out of the car totally embarrassed by the
situation. She didn’t do girly and emotions. It got you in trouble.
She opened the door, and her shock took center stage—the party
completely slipped her mind. Her mother was in a black fitted
number that hugged her curves, white strappy heels adorn her feet.
Her dad was dressed casually in a nice pair of jeans and collard
long sleeve shirt. The house was full of people and it looked like
everyone was having a good time. She gave a small smile at her
mother. She was such a social butterfly, only in this type of
environment her mother thrived whereas, Iris was more
reserved.

“
Good, the birthday girl
has arrived. Come darling, come greet everyone.”

Iris groaned internally. She wished
she had superpowers and could make herself disappear, or wings so
she could fly away.

“
Darling, this is Jean
Pierre. I’m sure you remember him.”

Iris gave him a friendly smile and
blushed when he took her had into his. She couldn’t remember how
old he was, but he was handsome. His eyes were midnight black and
his hair dark as sin. The thick Spanish accent was a plus. She
heard or rather read about all his escapades with various women,
and she couldn’t blame them. He was tall and had the nicest nose
she’d ever seen, his full lips only added to his deadly
repertoire.

“
Giselle! Why didn’t you
tell me about this beautiful lotus?” he asked placing a kiss on her
hand. She watched him with dull eyes. He was laying it on pretty
thick. Her eyes widen slightly when she felt his tongue touched her
hand. It was for a nanosecond. She wanted to snatch it out of his
grasp but she had a feeling he would enjoy that reaction, so she
gave him her own mysterious smile, while secretly plotting to kill
him. Wait until she told her dad, he would totally kick his ass.
Her dad was a painter but he went through an MMA phase. He would
cover his hands and feet with paint and create abstract art. It was
very inspiring to watch.

“
Today is Iris seventeenth
birthday,” her mom said proudly. Iris was relieve to have her hand
back.

“
That makes her legal…err a
legal adult.” He said smiling. What a prick she thought. He was
monopolizing all their time.

“
Mom, where’s dad?” she
asked cutting into their conversation. She’d do anything to get
away from him. Noting another unwanted figure, she huffed. Abigail
Hunter—she was the daughter of an upcoming actress and she was
someone Iris liked to avoid at all cost. It was either spend more
time with the perverted old man or snobby witch. Her future looked
pretty bleak. She turned her brightest smile towards Abigail. She
seemed like the lesser of the two evils.

“
Iris, nice party. Your
parents are the best,” she said smiling at her mom. What an
attention seeker Iris thought, while her mom blushed a pretty
red.

Dear god! Don’t fall for
it mom! She’s Satan in disguise.

“
Have you heard the latest
news about Chester Livingston?” Iris bit her tongue. Chester was a
popular international rockstar sweeping girls off their feet. She
really didn’t care. Just another celebrity. Did the girl know her
secret? She guarded it well. There was only one or two people who
knew about it. “He’s in the country.” Abagail said excitement
evident in her eyes.