Chapter 29: Grave (Venus's POV)
I was helping Clarissa with her homework and she was nearly done when she asked me, "Why did you run upstairs so quickly when you got back? Is something wrong?"
"Tell me first, are you done with your homework?" I asked, rocking my legs back and forth as I sat on the barstool.
She wrote down the answer to the final question and then closed her notebook. "Done."
I bit my bottom lip in thought. "Do you want to see something?" I should say, someone.
"What?" she asked, bouncing in excitement.
"Come with me." I grabbed her hand and pulled her upstairs with me. She walked ahead of me and I kept my hands on her shoulder, stopping her at my door. "Don't freak out, don't scream, and most importantly." She spun around to look at me. "Don't tell mom and dad."
"Promise." She stuck her picky out.
I linked mine with hers and then opened the door.
Caden was lying on my bed and then he sat up when he heard us, his eyes widening when they landed on Clarissa. "Venus. Clarissa, hi," he cleared his throat, sitting up straighter.
I pushed Clarissa further into the room and then shut the door behind. "Clarissa, meet Caden. Caden, meet Clarissa."
"Who is he?" she asked. "I mean, I know who he is but why is he here?" she asked, her nose scrunching up while she folded her arms across her chest. I went and sat beside Caden, linking my arm with his. "Dad is so going to kill you," she said to me.
"Caden," I glanced at him and then looked back at her. "Is my..."
"Boyfriend," he answered, sticking his hand out. Her jaw dropped and her arms fell to her sides.
"What?" she sputtered. "We're meant to hate them, Vee!" She stomped.
"Are you telling me you hate Axel?" I arched a brow at her.
She hesitantly shook her head.
"Just how you don't hate Axel, I don't hate Caden."
"But Axel isn't my boyfriend," she argued.
"Yet," Caden smirked.
I elbowed his ribs gently and looked for her reaction.
"He's really your boyfriend?" she asked.
"Mm-hmm," I nodded.
"So you'll marry him?"
I glanced at Caden who was grinning at me. "Just because he's my boyfriend doesn't mean I'll marry him."
"But she will," Caden nodded.
"What is daddy going to say?" she mumbled.
"Daddy doesn't know," I admitted. "And you won't tell him, will you? You gave me a pinky promise."
"No, I won't tell him. I'll take it to the grave," she shook her head quickly.
I don't know about that grave bit. She may not need to. We'll probably end up spilling the beans on our own.
"What do you think?" I asked.
"He's... okay," she shrugged.
"Did you know Axel really likes you, Clarissa? He talks about you all the time," Caden said.
She narrowed her eyes at him before shrugging. "Okay. I like him," she shrugged again a little more happily this time. "Oh, Vee. Can I go to Maddie's house? Mrs. Betty said she'll take me. We have a stage to make."
"What?" I frowned in confusion.
"For drama class."
"She's talking about a 3D model, right?" Caden asked.
She nodded. "Can I go?"
"Right now?"
She nodded again.
"I can drop her if I go home right now," Caden offered.
"You should stay. You can leave when grandma and grandpa come back," Clarissa suggested. "They went uptown for something."
"Okay. Then you go with Mrs. Betty. Just tell Maddie's mom to call me once you're there, okay?"
She nodded and then waved us bye before skipping away.
"Thanks for telling me I'm meeting part of your family today," he said sarcastically. "I really appreciated how you told me in advance."
"Oh, you're so welcome," I chuckled, turning to look at him. "Boyfriend, huh?"
"Obviously. What else would we tell her? Enemy with benefit?"
"You said boyfriend just because it's Clarissa?" I asked, slightly hurt.
"Duh."
I smacked his arm. Hard.
"Ow," he winced, rubbing the spot. "I'm kidding," he chuckled, putting an arm around my waist. "I'm just joking," he whispered, his lips nearly touching mine.
"You better be," I mumbled.
He grinned before kissing me. "Can I take you out?" he asked, pulling away.
"In public?" I whispered.
"In private. It's a secret spot," he smirked.
I nodded. "When?"
"Tomorrow night. By the bridge," he said.
"Through that forest?" My eyes went wide. "At night?"
"Don't worry, I'll meet you there," he chuckled, shifting closer to me.
"How do you know it's a secret spot? What if someone shows up?" I asked.
"Most people don't think to cross that huge forest is worth seeing the bridge. People don't come there. Trust me, I go there pretty often. When I need to... clear my head," he shrugged.
"Okay, I'll meet you in the forest then. Midnight?"
"Hmm," he nodded, staring at my lips.
"What?" I laughed, as he pulled me closer.
"I can't believe you're my girlfriend. I thought you wouldn't even like me back," he said, his eyes coming up to mine.
"Me neither," I shrugged.
He shot me a blank look. I chuckled while he lay down and then pulled me down beside him. He propped himself up on his elbow and looked down at me where I lay flat on my back. "I really like you, Venus Jade Princeton," he said, his finger lightly tracing my eyebrow before tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.
"And I really like you, Prince Caden Locke," I replied.
He blinked in surprise. I never call him 'Prince.' He asked me once why that was and I said because he's no prince, because he didn't act like one, so he didn't deserve to be addressed as 'prince.'
"Changed your mind about that, huh?" he smirked.
I nodded, "I did, actually."
"And why is that?" he asked.
"Because you treat me well."
"Like a princess?" he asked, clearly resisting the urge to roll his eyes.
I laughed, shaking my head. "More like... a fairy."
"And how does a prince treat a fairy?" He raised a brow, leaning in closer, bringing his lips down on mine. We kissed for a minute or two before pulling away, looking at me for an answer.
"Like she's rare," I whispered.
He smiled, holding one side of my face, his thumb softly stroking my cheek. "Well, she is."
I smiled, feeling my cheeks get warmer, especially the one under his touch.
He kissed me again, longer this time. A little more desperate this time. "I never want to leave you," he mumbled against my lips.
"We still have a few hours," I smiled.
It's the positive to our negative in this situation. It sucks that he can never stay the night or that he can never roam around my house with me and kiss me in the kitchen while we cook something up. Or while we watch a movie in the living room. Or while we lay in the grass in the backyard.
That could happen, actually.
But we still have a few hours. If we decide to be daring enough to try that and leave my room. Which sounds very inviting, but isn't the smartest choice knowing that my grandparents could be back any time.
His hand slipped under my shirt and rested at my waist, his thumb drawing small circles. I grabbed a fistful of his shirt and he pulled back moments later, throwing his shirt over his head and it landed on the ground somewhere as he kissed me again.
"Oh, wait," he said, pulling away and turning to the door, locking it shut. I scooted further up on the bed, stifling a laugh. "Just in case," he said, walking back over me and crawling across the bed. He put his knees on either side of my thighs and hovered over me, his lips falling on mine. He grabbed my hands, locking our fingers together while pinning my hands down on the bed. He pressed a kiss to my jaw and then trailed more kisses down, stopping at the spot that's become his favorite since he realized how sensitive it was.
Near my collarbone.
I felt him smirk against my skin when I let out a shaky breath. I sealed my eyes shut tightly, holding his hand back even tighter. He sucked a little harder and I nearly gasped.
He pulled back a minute later and blinked down at me. "You might need to cover that up," he said a little breathlessly.
"And if I don't want to?" I asked. I probably will have to, but I wouldn't if I could.
"Then don't," he grinned, pecking my lips. "But you should. I'll give you many more that you won't have to cover up when we tell everyone." He grabbed the hem of my shirt and started lifting it up.
I sat up and he pulled it off while I lifted my arms.
"But as of now," he sighed, looking me up and down. "I'll give you many more in spots no one can see," he smirked.
I grinned, pushing off the bed and kissing him as he seized the moment and unhooked my bra.
Once again, with one hand. Not that I'm complaining, he does it smoothly and quickly. It makes things a lot easier.
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Chapter 29
next chapter: stars