The Keatyn Chronicles: Adore Me Read online

  “Uh, um,” Damian coughs, interrupting our hot make out session.

  “Oh, hey,” I say, untangling myself from Aiden. “Uh, we were, um, just making jewelry.”

  “I can see that,” Damian smirks. “We got a bunch of shells too.”

  “Awesome!” I turn my attention back to the shells, but Aiden’s hand is still on my back, touching both my skin and the top of my bikini bottoms. And although I am trying to sort through shells to make him the perfect wish bracelet, I’m having a really hard time concentrating.

  Especially when he starts massaging my back gently.

  I choose shells and then drill holes on the sides of each, sliding them onto a string one at a time and putting a square knot in between each. “Where do you want it?”

  Aiden’s eyes get big and he gulps. “Uh . . . ?”

  I realize very quickly what he was just thinking. “Your ankle or your wrist?” I add.

  He does a little head shake, like he’s clearing out the cobwebs in his brain. “My wrist. So I can see it.”

  “Okay.” I lay the shells across the top of his wrist. “This is a wish bracelet. As I tie it on, you have to close your eyes and make a wish.”

  “Then what? When do I get my wish?”

  “We don’t know when, but once you get your wish, the bracelet will fall off.”

  He gives Peyton and Damian, who are sorting through shells, a glance. Then he whispers sexily, “Can I wish for drilling?”

  “You can wish for whatever you want.”

  “So I’ll be losing the bracelet tonight?”

  I try to control my smile, but I can’t.

  Because Aiden the tease is the cutest thing ever.

  I roll my eyes at him and smack his hand away from where it's sneaking down the side of my bikini.

  Plus it’s so much more fun to be the one to say no.

  “This wish business is serious,” I tell him as I tie the bracelet around his wrist, purposefully tying it in three tight knots. Maybe if I tie it tight enough, he won’t be able to get it off.

  And maybe he won’t forget me when I’m gone.

  I picture Aiden back at Eastbrooke, surrounded by girls at the cave, and quickly close my eyes to keep from crying.

  “Are you wishing on my bracelet too?” he asks.

  Part of me wants to curse his bracelet, so that no one else’s lips will ever touch his.

  But I know I’m being ridiculous. I’m giving him closure so that he can move on.

  “No,” I say, fighting back tears.

  “Why do you look like you're about to cry?”

  “I’m not. I think I got shell dust in my eyes.” I wipe tears from the corner of my eyes. “I was supposed to wear safety goggles when I drilled.”

  “You need safety goggles for drilling?” he says, grabbing a pair. “Maybe I should bring them to bed.”

  I grab his now shell-wrapped wrist. “Come on, we’ve got to finish our list.”

  I drag him to the courtyard, where a hammock is strung between two palm trees.

  “Lie in the hammock and read? There’s only one problem. We don’t have any books.”

  “We don’t need a book. We have some homework to do.”

  He groans. “You’re going to make me study French?”

  “No, but it turns out that I have this survey I have to do for health class.”

  “You’re not in health class.”

  “Neither are you. I had to answer your questions, now you have to answer mine.”

  He rolls his eyes and pulls me closer to his chest. “Fine. I’m an open book.”

  “Names of the last four girls you dated.”

  “Emily, Lauren, Megan, and Chelsea.”

  “Why did you break up?”

  “Um, Emily and I got in a fight about something stupid. I honestly don’t remember. She was always accusing me of cheating on her.”

  “Were you?”

  He looks at me seriously. “I’ve never cheated on anyone in my life.”

  “Good.”

  “What about the rest?”

  “Lauren broke up with me because she decided she liked someone else. Megan and I had a very volatile relationship. That was a mutual break up. And Chelsea. Um, we never actually went out.”

  “How many girls have you said I love you to?”

  “Oh, the list is long. The first girl was Angela; she stole my heart in third grade when she gave me a special Valentine. She was a fourth grader. Older woman, you know.”

  “Maybe we don’t need to go back quite so far,” I laugh. “And I’m ready for dinner and some wine. Where do you want to eat?”

  “Can we watch a movie while we eat?”

  “That sounds fun. Then what?”

  “Then, Miss Monroe, we’re going dancing.”

  Screaming a lot.

  8:30pm

  We set ourselves up in back of the theater room at the bar table, deciding to watch a little college football while we eat. We enjoy part of the game, our dinner, and the whole bottle of wine.

  “I’ll go grab another bottle,” I tell him. “You pick out a movie.”

  When I come back with the bottle, he holds up two movies. “I’ve narrowed it down to two. Which was really tough considering all the options.”

  “They do have a lot of movies,” I say, moving our glasses and the wine cooler up to the theater seats in the front. “What’d you come up with?”

  “Well, since we’re on an island, I went with a water theme. So we have Jaws, which may be a bad idea, since we’ll be out surfing again in the morning, or A Day at the Lake, which I’ve never gotten to see but is one of my parents’ favorites.”

  I freeze in the middle of pouring more wine when he mentions my mom’s movie. The movie that Vincent wants to remake. The movie that started all this.

  I’ve seen the movie before. A few years ago. But I don’t really remember all that much of it, and I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before. I need to study this movie. I need to understand the script. I need to try to figure out what Vincent has in mind.

  “A Day at the Lake,” I say, sounding too eager. “I mean, I definitely don’t want to have bad dreams about being attacked by a shark.”

  “Have you ever seen it before?” he asks me.

  “A few years ago, I kinda watched it on TV. But it was one of those things where it was on, but I wasn’t really watching. So I’ve never seen the whole thing. I just remember the girl in the bikini screaming a lot.”

  “Perfect,” he says. “We’ll watch it and then go dancing.”

  I snuggle up on the big padded couch next to him, sip my wine, and press play.

  The movie starts out showing my mom’s character in her everyday world. Hanging out with her hot frat boyfriend. Her friends hanging out and planning their weekend party at the lake. Figuring out how to get all the alcohol they needed. Who is bringing the weed. The guys are looking forward to hooking up. The girls want to work on their tans. Mom and her boyfriend are adorable together, say they love each other, and have a romantic scene. But there’s also a scene where they argue about an archeology semester abroad she really wants to do. You get the impression that he's not supportive of her dreams, so you’re not really sure what to think about their relationship as they head to the lake.

  We watch, drink more wine, and then Aiden starts kissing me.

  Saturday, November 26th

  A dangerous journey.

  9am

  I wake up, wondering where I am.

  I squint my eyes, seeing only darkness and feeling Aiden’s arm across my shoulder. I remember that we were in the theater room, watching Mom’s movie, drinking wine, and kissing.

  We must’ve both fallen asleep.

  Aiden is still breathing heavily, and I sadly realize that I’m down to my last twenty-four hours with him. That it’s our last night together.

  Tick. Tick. Tick.

  I get up and go find Inga. I need to see if she’ll make us a special dinn
er tonight. We’ll watch the sunset from the beach, have an amazing meal in the moonlight, and then I’ll tell him that I’m not going back.

  The moonlight.

  I suppose that will be a fitting place to tell him I'm leaving, since it's the damn moon’s fault. It's like rubbing a dog’s nose down by where they peed on the carpet.

  I want the moon to see what it did.

  I shake my head. It sucks. But I have to do it.

  “Inga, since it’s our last night here, I’d like to do a special dinner on the beach at sunset. Would that be possible?”

  “Of course. What would you like on the menu? I have some filets and some fresh mahi mahi.”

  “That sounds yummy. Could we have a little of both?”

  “Absolutely.” She glances around her kitchen and then grabs my palm. “May I have a closer look?”

  “Um, sure.”

  She looks at one palm and then studies the other, shaking her head. “I had a dream about you last night.”

  “You did?”

  “Well, about your palm. I dreamed that the line, here, moved. And now I look at it and see that it was not just a dream, but more of a prophecy.” She shakes her head. “I’ve never had something like that happen before.”

  “What do you mean?”

  She holds up my left hand. “This hand is what could be.” Then she holds up my right hand. “This hand is what is. This line. The one running through your life line on your right hand was not clear before.”

  “Does that, like, mean something important?”

  She nods solemnly. “This line breaks your life line. Remember this one, up here, where I said you had cheated death?”

  I swallow hard. “Um, yes.”

  “I believe death is coming back for you.”

  “Oh,” I say.

  She stares at me. “You’re not surprised by this. You are about to embark on a dangerous journey, yes?”

  I can’t do anything but nod in agreement.

  “And you know that you may not survive?”

  I nod again. “Yes.”

  She wipes her reading glasses off on her apron, puts them back on, and studies my palm some more. “Maybe you should consider canceling this journey?”

  I shake my head. “I can’t. It’s something I have to do.”

  “It is about getting your life back?”

  I nod again.

  “You love him, yes?”

  “Yes.”

  “Inga will cook you an amazing dinner.”

  I nod and give her a grateful smile. “Thank you.”

  I walk to the great room window and look out at the ocean, so many thoughts going through my head, when Aiden leans his chin on my shoulder.

  “You ditched me.”

  “I was coming back for you.”

  “You better always come back for me.”

  I reach down and grasp his hand, giving it a squeeze and praying that will even be an option.

  “So what’s on tap for today? We haven’t done yoga in the sand yet. Or built a sand village.”

  “We’re surfing and snorkeling today,” I hear Damian say.

  “And going to get tattoos,” Peyton adds.

  “Tattoos, really?” Aiden says excitedly. I want a tattoo.”

  “Really? What do you want?”

  He grins at me. “I want a four leaf clover, right here.” He flips my hand over and shows me a spot on his wrist.

  “That’s cool. What about you, Damian?”

  “I’m getting the tribal tattoo I’ve always wanted around my bicep. So grab some food and let’s get out there. Did you see the waves this morning, Keats? They’re the best since we’ve been here.”

  “Awesome,” I say, happy for something to keep my mind off the inevitable.

  We surf and build a sand village, but decided to skip yoga and go snorkeling instead.

  “Be sure to put lots of sunblock on before we leave,” I tell everyone when we’re in the toy shed getting flippers and snorkel masks.

  Aiden grabs a can of sunblock and sprays our backs.

  We swim out a ways and enjoy all the cool marine life for a couple hours.

  Then we head back in for lunch.

  In the kitchen, I notice Aiden’s back. “Oh, your back is pretty sunburned.”

  “Yeah, it feels hot. I sprayed everyone else’s but forgot to do my own.”

  “I’m sorry,” I tell him, giving him gentle hug.

  He wraps me up tighter. “It doesn’t hurt that bad.”

  We all sit down, eat, and talk.

  “The fish were so amazing!” Peyton says excitedly. “So many cool colors!”

  “I loved the turtles we saw.”

  “They were pretty cool, but I think those blue fish with the little yellow spots were my favorite,” Aiden says.

  “I saw a shark,” Damian says coolly, “but I didn’t wanna freak you all out.”

  We all laugh, knowing that Damian is teasing us.

  “I’m thinking about getting shark tattoo, as a matter of fact.”

  “No, you’re not,” I say. “You’ve never wanted a shark tattoo until just now. If you’re going to get a tattoo, it should mean something to you.”

  “Yeah, like the band I’m getting means I’m a badass.”

  “And my clover will bring me even more luck. You should get one too.”

  “I already have a tattoo. What are you getting, Peyton?”

  “I’m getting a butterfly. They symbolize transformation and this last week has sort of changed my life. You know, all that went on at school, what I’ve realized, and then coming here. I feel new and happy.”

  “That’s amazing,” I tell her as Damian snuggles with her.

  After lunch, Damian says, “Okay, everyone get cleaned up and then we’ll head into town for tattoos!”

  “I’m gonna go take a shower,” Aiden tells me.

  “Okay, I’m gonna help Inga clean up and then I’ll be over to get ready too.”

  Everyone leaves and Inga says, “I saw that boy’s back.” She drops a bag in my lap. “Here, this is aloe vera soap and some lotion. I want you to go over there while he’s in the shower and very carefully wash his back with this soap. Then gently pat the area dry and put a thin layer of lotion on it.”

  I’m thinking about Aiden being naked in the shower and how I’m supposed to accomplish all this when she says, “Shoo.”

  His official title.

  2pm

  I get to my room and peek around the corner at the shower.

  The glass is starting to fog over, but I can still see Aiden’s naked outline.

  I look at the soap in my hand and imagine sudsing up his entire body.

  All of it.

  I wonder if I should get naked?

  Stop it. This is not about seduction. The poor man is probably in pain, and I’m here in a purely professional capacity.

  I leave my swimsuit on, grab a washcloth off the towel rack, and open the shower door.

  His back is turned to me.

  And what a back it is.

  His body looks like it is carved out of stone. The study of the perfect male form.

  And his ass.

  Oh my god. His naked, beautiful ass.

  I’m reaching out to touch it when he turns around.

  “Boots!” he says startled, automatically covering his private parts, but pulling me under the water with him and close enough to him so that I can’t see what I was hoping to see. “I’m glad you decided to join me.”

  “I didn’t. Um, I brought you aloe soap for your back. Inga gave it to me. Told me it would help with your burn.”

  “So you didn’t just want to see me naked?”

  I squint my eyes at him. “This is my bathroom. You shouldn’t be taking a shower in here if you didn’t want to be seen naked. You were totally hoping I’d come in and catch a glimpse.” I hand him the washcloth. “Here, I even brought this so you can cover yourself up.”

  He takes the washcloth, loo
ks at it, and laughs. “It’s not big enough,” he says, but he still covers up with it. Then he looks down my bikini top and shakes his head. “That’s what I was afraid of.”

  “What?”

  “You have a severe case of reverse sunburn. See this part under your top? It didn’t get enough sun, so it needs this soap rubbed on it,” he says as he unties the strings of my bikini top, allowing it to fall to the tile.

  He takes the soap out of my hand and washes my chest very slowly.

  After a whole lot of sudsing, he rinses me off and then replaces the soap with his lips.

  I'm trying to be good. I'm trying not to reach down and grab the washcloth. Rip it off of him.

  But it's like the Titan is calling out to me.

  And it’s like I now have two Keatyns sitting on my shoulders. Good angel Keatyn is telling me not to do it, but the horned and horny bad Keatyn is telling me that I need to do a whole lot more than touch it.

  Good Keatyn screams, No! You can't sleep with a boy you're going to say goodbye to.

  Bad Keatyn says, And that's exactly why we should sleep with him. We may never get another chance.

  Aiden drops the soap, so I bend down to pick it up.

  As I start to stand back up, I see it.

  The Titan is fully erect and mostly hidden under the washcloth. But the washcloth is wet, molding itself around it and allowing me to see its full outline.

  My insides throb.

  I also realize that I was very stupid to give him one of the Moran’s thick white washcloths. I totally should have given him a tissue.

  But, still, something about the white cloth covering it looks very godlike. I halfway wish I had a little mini gold wreath to crown it with.

  Lord Titan, God of the underworld.

  God of Hammering, Nailing, and Screwing.

  Yes. This is his official title.

  I imagine my body as a Homecoming float. Aiden using his godly tool on me.

  I drop the soap, wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him hard.

  We kiss wildly. Passionately. Like people starved for each other.

  “Do you want me to take these off?” he asks, tugging on my bottoms.