Secrets & Surrender: Part One (8 page)

Slowly, I slid my hand to her shoulders. As if in a daze, I drew her to me. Then I felt it. A resistance. Her body held steadfast. She wasn’t going to come near me.

“Smooth moves, Marcelli.” My heart fell as she took a step back and shook her head.

“I have my days.” I grinned, fighting back the dull ache slowly building inside of me. The skeptical expression on her face made me think of what Bianca had said. Maybe she was right. Maybe Mandi didn’t trust me. I couldn’t give up, not when I was so close.

“You know,
Die Hard
is playing at the drive-in. I didn’t know they still had drive-ins. I was wondering if you’d—”

Bianca’s high-pitched giggles caught my attention. Looking over Mandi’s shoulder, I saw Seth and his brothers. They were surrounded by fawning cheerleaders, who were fawning over them. Bianca was in the center of the group.

I tensed as Seth placed one arm around her and handed her a cup of trashcan punch with the other. At the same time, Dillon whispered something into his brother’s ear. Alarms went off the moment Seth’s eyes met mine. He smirked.

Shit!

My fingers curled into fists. Seth had never shown any interest in Bianca until tonight. By the expression on Dillon and Seth’s faces, I knew exactly why they were going after her. Bianca was going to hate me for this, but the girl was so worried about her reputation she couldn’t see past Seth’s popularity with her friends.

“Excuse me. I’ll be right back.”

“Hey! What are you doing?” Bianca cried when I snatched the drink out of her hands.

“We’re leaving.” I clamped down on her arm, dragging her to the car. I didn’t want to leave, but I had to get Bianca out of here. Maybe if I drove fast I could drop her off at home and get back before Mandi left the party.

“I don’t think Bianca wants to leave.” Seth placed himself in front of me. I gritted my teeth as I glared into a pair of cold gray eyes. His body loomed over me by at least three inches. He leaned in, the smell of alcohol strong on his breath, muscles flexing beneath his flannel shirt. I stood my ground, wondering how in the world was this guy still in high school. He wasn’t a kid; he was a man.

“I don’t give a shit what you think. We’re leaving.”

“Mind your own business, Nic.” Bianca snatched her arm out of my grip. “I want to stay. Seth will take me home.”

“You bet your sweet little ass I will.” His eyes crawled over her body. “I’ll take you all the way home.”

I had to admit, being from a powerful family that had money, lots of money, did have its benefits. Fighting a man who looked to be all muscle was not one of them.

I swung my fist, prepared to knock the disgusting smirk off Seth’s face when out of nowhere, Dillon and Chase tackled me.

“He’s mine,” Seth growled.

They shoved me to the ground, and I landed facedown. Quickly, I scrambled up to my feet when a knee pounded into my back, sending a surge of pain down my spine.

“Stop it, Seth!” Bianca cried.

Seth laughed as he straddled me, tying my hands behind my back. “Don’t you worry your pretty little head. I’m just welcomin’ your brother to Koppe. Call it an initiation. Get up, Marcelli.”

I struggled to get out of the ropes as he and Dillon jerked me to my feet.

“Where are you taking me?”

“You’ll see.” Dillon smirked.

I stumbled forward as Seth and Dillon partially dragged me along the side of the riverbank, heading into the dark shadow of Koppe Bridge. When we reached the base of the bridge there was a group of guys in cowboy hats. One of them was taking money. They called out to each other, taking bets.

“Go to the car, Bianca,” I called to her when I realized what was happening.

“Let go of him!”

I groaned at the sound of Mandi’s voice. I didn’t want her to see me like this. She pushed herself through the crowd of gawkers. They whispered amongst themselves. No one wanted to step in to challenge Seth and his brothers. Even the football players, my so-called teammates, didn’t make a move.

From the corner of my eye, I saw something move in the shadows. Next to Cassie was the cowboy I’d caught her staring at earlier. Although his face was a stoic mask, blue eyes blazed as they glared at Seth. His hands were balled into fists. It seemed like he was about step in and challenge Seth. But then he stopped, shaking his head slightly.

“Chill, Mandi. We’re just taking him to the bridge,” Dillon said. “Everyone from Koppe’s jumped from there. It’s tradition.”

“Not in the dark with your hands tied up!” She pummeled her fists into Dillon’s arm, emphasizing each word with a punch. He paused, scowling, and with a swipe of his left arm shoved her so hard she slammed to the ground.

“Leave her alone, asshole!” I jerked my arm so hard, I thought I heard a popping sound.

Seth and Dillon laughed as they continued to drag me toward the bridge. I twisted around and caught a glimpse of Cassie helping Mandi to her feet. The last thing I saw was the horrified expression on Mandi’s face as we disappeared into darkness.

T
here’s a saying that everything’s bigger in Texas.

I’m not sure about that, but I do know one thing that’s for sure. Jumping off the Koppe Bridge in the dark where the only lights were those from glow sticks definitely takes some Texas sized balls.

I’d like to think I could do something like that. But staring down from the narrow ledge of the bridge with only Dillon and Chase’s hands keeping me from falling over was not my idea of fun. Balls or not, it was crazy. In the dark, there was no way to tell how far the drop was before I hit water.

“Any last words you want me to share with your little girlfriend?” Seth asked.

I glared at him, not caring about what was about to happen once they pushed me off the ledge. “Don’t you ever go near Mandi or my sister. I’m warning you.”

He threw back his head, laughing. Then he got in my face. The sour smell of alcohol was heavy on his breath. “Watchya gonna do ’bout it, preppie?”

He flicked the alligator Lacoste emblem on my polo shirt. I gave my arm a hard jerk, trying to loosen the rope. I wanted to beat the shit out of him so bad. My body swayed forward as I lost my footing. Dillon laughed as his arm clamped down on me so that I wouldn’t fall. They had total control over me, and they could do anything they wanted. There was only one thing I could think of to do. I swallowed hard, wishing that I didn’t have to resort to using my father’s powerful contacts to make threats.

“Your father’s awfully fond of his job, isn’t he? Well, my father is very generous with his friends. But you should see what he does to his enemies.” I held his gaze as I spoke. “On second thought, you may not want to see it.”

Seth paused. I could see the wheels in his head turning. He wasn’t stupid, but at the same time, he needed to save face. I had to let him appear like he had the upper hand, or no matter what happened, he’d still go after Bianca and maybe even Mandi. And the only way was to let him throw me off the bridge.

“Okay, let’s do this,” I growled, squaring my shoulders. I said a silent prayer, hoping that the river wasn’t shallow and that I didn’t crack my skull on a rock. The ropes were loosening a little, so maybe it wouldn’t be too bad.

Before anyone could say I word, something slammed against my back, sending another searing pain down my spine, leaving me breathless. Then I was free falling into the darkness. My body and face stung as I hit the water. For a moment, I panicked as I sunk. I squirmed, not sure which way was up or down.

Calm down. You can do this.

I stilled and my body slowly drifted down. I oriented myself and kicked hard. Reaching the surface, I gasped. My head kept bobbing as I struggled to loosen the ropes. Then I heard splashing nearby.

“Over here!”

“You okay?” Cassie’s cowboy came into view.

“Yeah, I just need you to loosen this one knot.”

The cowboy moved behind me, working the ropes.

“Hey, thanks for helping me out...”

“Cody. Cody Wilde.”

“Thanks, Cody.”

When I was finally released, I looked toward the riverbank. It was lit by headlights. There was a line of rainbow colors waiting. Then an idea hit me. I could actually use this situation to my advantage. I mean, who could say “no” to a dying man? Or maybe it would all backfire. Who knew, but I had at least try.

“Cody, wait.” Treading water, I paused, letting the plan formulate in my mind. “Do you know Mandi?”

“Yeah. She’s good friends with Cassie.”

Something inside of him seemed to light up his face when he said Cassie’s name, and I wondered if those two had ever been a couple.

“I’ve been trying to find a way to get her to go out with me. I don’t think she has a boyfriend. Does she?”

“Not that I know of. Why don’t you ask her out?”

“I did.” Why do people keep asking me that? “Look, I know you don’t know me, but you’d really be doing me a solid if you carried me.”

He blinked. “Uh, sorry, man. You seem cool and all, but I’m not into that kind of...uh...you know.”

“What? No! No! Not that.” I laughed. I could see why Cassie liked him. He seemed to be a nice guy. Any other guy would’ve decked me, and then let me drown for even mentioning something like that. “What I meant to say was that if Mandi thinks I’ve drowned, then she’d have to face her real feelings about me.”

“I don’t know. Sounds kinda mean to do that to someone.”

“I’m desperate, dude. Didn’t you ever want something bad enough that you’d do anything for it?”

He stared out toward the riverbank, his face twisting with longing. “Yeah, I get your point. But Mandi ain’t gonna like it. And she may be a little thing, but man when that girl is mad, you don’t want to be anywhere near her.”

“That’s the point. I want to be near her: happy, mad, I don’t care. Anything but the cold shoulder she’s been giving me since I met her.”

“Maybe she just ain’t interested.”

“She is. I know she is. Something is stopping her. I just don’t know what.”

He nodded as if he understood. “Okay, come on. Just remember I tried to warn ya.”

It was pretty impressive how Cody lifted me into his arms with ease. I made a mental note to remember to ask him why he wasn’t on the football team.

“Look! Over there!” I heard a voice shout when Cody emerged from the water and placed me down on the side of the bank. I sifted through the chorus of anxious voices, listening for Mandi’s. It was starting to get cold. My fingers dug into the ground, trying not to shiver. I hoped it was dark enough that no one noticed.

“Nic, wake up! Nic!”

In that brief moment, I felt a pang of guilt hearing Bianca’s cries. Maybe I didn’t think this out carefully enough. She sounded so scared. I was about to get up when I heard Mandi barking orders. I bit the inside of my mouth, fighting back a smile at her words.

“I’m giving him CPR. Cody, drive to Mr. Wilson’s house and call 911. It’s the closest. Cassie, go with him and show him where it is.”

I peeked through my lashes as Mandi explained to Cassie how she’d learned CPR from an episode of
The Love Boat
. I let out a quick breath, choking back a laugh. I was surprised she didn’t hear me and that no one seemed to notice. She was too busy yelling at Cody. “Why are you still here? Go! Move!”

A pair of warm hands touched my chest, making my stomach quiver. It took everything I had to stay still while I listened to Mandi mumble as she pumped my chest. “Come on, Nic. Wake up.”

I almost lost it when she pinched my nostrils closed and I couldn’t breathe. But then warm lips touched mine, and I was on fire. I clenched my fists, fighting every fiber of my being that wanted to throw my arms around her and kiss her senseless.

When Mandi lifted her head, gasping for air, I shivered. It wasn’t the cool night air or because I was wet. It was deeper than that. I couldn’t put my finger on why I felt so empty. It was as if Mandi’s touch had awakened a part of me that I didn’t even know was there. I wondered if Mandi felt the same way. I thought of the way she stiffened every time I leaned in to ask her a question in class, of all the stolen glances when she didn’t think I was paying attention, of how she always seemed to be flustered when she was around me and only me. She had to have felt something too when her lips touched mine.

Her fierce voice growled near my ear as she hovered over me, her silky hair brushing against my cheek. “Don’t you die, Marcelli.”

Then her lips were on mine again, and I couldn’t stand it anymore. I jerked her to me, pressing her tightly against my chest. I kissed her long and hard. Her arms flailed, and her fists hit my arms as I laced my fingers underneath her hair. It was electrifying. A surge of passion swept through me like I’d never felt before. I held on tight, ignoring the whoops and whistles of the crowd, not knowing if this would be our first and last kiss.

“Nic, you asshole!” Bianca’s voice was followed by a swift kick to my leg.

Bianca’s kick was nothing compared to the pain I felt at each punch Mandi landed. Cody was right. It was amazing how her small hands could throw such powerful blows. But that kind of pain I could take. With each hit she made, it was finally getting into my head that Mandi didn’t like me. I must’ve read her signals wrong. Or maybe there weren’t any signals at all. She just wasn’t into me.

Loosening my hold, I gave her one last gentle kiss goodbye. I had to let go. The thought of seeing her every day in class was bittersweet, knowing what it was like to touch her, to kiss her, to hold her, and knowing that nothing else would come of it.

Just as I was about to let go, she weaved her fingers into my hair, deepening the kiss.

Damn!

My entire body was on fire as her full lips pressed hard against mine. She was so soft. Her hair, her lips, her cheeks. I slid my tongue along her sweet lips. She responded by opening slightly and letting me in. My chest rumbled with pleasure as my tongue explored every single crevice. She tasted so sweet. And then her tongue was in my mouth. I gripped my hand into a fist, feeling myself grow hard with just one single swipe of her tongue. Reluctantly, I pulled back, not trusting that I could keep control of myself if we continued to kiss like that.