My heart is ramming in my chest. Every second seems to pass in slow motion because three minutes is so little and yet, it must be enough. If Jasper doesn't make a basket now, he will lose the game and will have to give up on the College.The bitter taste of knowing this is my fault comes back strongly, and I feel like my throat is narrowing so much that it becomes hard to even breathe.Please… Please, Jasper…You need to make one more basket… just one more.And as if hearing my prayers, Jasper manages to take the ball, and I can't help but cheer along with the crowd, standing up… doing my best to make him hear my voice in the crowd that's cheering for him right now. The sneakers are sliding across the floor, scratching… bringing my poor heart to my mouth with each step towards the hoop.I clasp my hands together like in prayer, without taking my eyes off Jasper, who manages to be even faster and quicker on the court… And for a moment, I swear I saw his eyes glow in a very intense yell
“What?” Jasper looks at me annoyed and lets out a sarcastic laugh, “You want me to just forget about it?” My eyes widen slightly, surprised by his tone. “Have you lost your mind?” Jasper raises his voice even higher, pointing at Bryan, with his eyes burning in fury. He’s with his teeth clenched hard to the point of the muscles in his jaw bulge… Like he’s on the edge of sanity. “Jasper, please calm down-” “How can I calm down when you talk crap like that?” He yells at me, shaking his head in disbelief. “Why, Scarlett? Why would you defend a guy like that…?” I feel my hands shaking, but I try hard not to show how affected I am by his harsh tone. “I'm just thinking about how hard he worked to get into College, how hard he worked for the basketball team!” Jasper gives a sarcastic laugh. “Maybe he can get another chance-” “Another chance?” This time his tone is sharp and feels like knives in my skin, “What about me? Did you even think about me?” My heart is beating too hard in my
My eyes practically pop out, and I know my face is as red as my hair right now because my face is burning… burning so much that my lips go up in an embarrassed smile. What's with this reaction? Does he want to embarrass me in public? In front of our colleagues? I hear giggles all around me. No, not again. I raise my hand quickly, forcing a smile, “Mr. Thompson, I don't want to do this assignment with Jasper either. Could you please move us to different groups? Very away from each other?” “What's that?” The teacher shouts, crossing his arms with a not-at-all friendly expression, “Do you know what the saying of this Institution is? Unity makes strength! Unity! How do you plan to study here if you're unable to unite…?” Believe me, Mr. Thompson…. The last thing we want is to unite with each other. “You'll need to cooperate! I'm not going to reorganize the groups! Scarlett, Jasper and Kimberly, you'll work together!” I stand up, gathering all the courage I have left in me, and walk
When I feel Bryan's tongue slide into my mouth, my immediate answer is to bite it hard. The metallic taste of his blood invades my palate, along with the grunt that arises in my ear. He pulls back, staring at me in astonishment, with his tongue sticking out of his lips…. “Scarlett… did you just bite me?” Bryan asks me with slightly widened eyes. I rub my fingers over my mouth, “Of course I bit… are you out of your mind?” Bryan runs his tongue across his lips, moistening them with his blood, which slightly colors them red. For a moment, I think that will make him angry and fire off those disgusting words again, but he puts a smile on his lips. “What the hell does this mean?” I hear Jasper's voice ring out loud, and I remember he's standing there, watching the whole thing with a furious expression. “Is that what you meant by a second chance?” I turn to him, crossing my arms, but before I can say anything, Bryan's arm went around my shoulders, pulling me closer to his body. In a c
Alice quickly approaches me and grabs my hair tightly, pulling my head back, “You've crossed all limits, you slut!” I grip Alice's arm tightly, digging my nails into her skin, causing her to let out a painful grunt, yet she remains pulling my hair back, arching my body. “You're crazy-” “YOU are crazy! How dare you kiss my boyfriend?” Alice interrupts me screaming, pulling even harder, causing me to fall to the ground. The pain of my hip colliding with the floor makes me gasp for a moment. Alice still has her hand in my hair, dragging me across the bathroom floor, “You slut… I'll teach you a lesson.” My head is dizzy… my vision completely blurred. Did I hit my head during the fall? I'm using all my strength to struggle free of Alice's grip, who is surprised by my resistance. “Hey, you — hold that bitch!” Alice shouts to her colleagues, who quickly obey and grab my arms. I raise my head, noticing Alice's triumphant smile as she pushes open the door of one of the toilets. “Since
When Mr. Thompson invited me to represent the College in the National University Mathematics Contest, I should have known that things wouldn't turn out as I planned.Of course, the Basketball Championship will be held on the same date — and in the same state as the contest. And that's so ridiculous and funny that I don't know if considering it a fluke, a mere coincidence, would be convincing enough.Now that I'm walking beside Mr. Thompson to the bus, I see that all twelve players on the basketball team, the eleven cheerleaders, and the rest of the team are getting on as well… On the only bus I see.“I forgot to mention… since it's just the three of us, we'll be going with the basketball guys.” Mr. Thompson says with a bright smile.Great, and here I'm thinking it couldn't be worse.I bite the inside of my cheek and take a deep breath, glancing quickly at the other student who has been invited to participate in the Math Contest. He's older than me… a third year, and this will be his t
I really tried my best to ignore Jasper, but eventually, I fell asleep, since my night was really terrible after that nightmare. The movement of the bus and Jasper's presence made my body relax and my eyelids heavy… I don't know how long I slept, but when I opened my eyes again, the bus stopped, and I'm using Jasper's chest as a pillow….His arm is around my body, tucking me in a way that probably improved my sleep. When I lift my face, my eyes meet his — I'm still a little drowsy, so don't say anything, and he doesn't dare break our spell with words either… just drops his eyes to my lips.I snuggle closer to his warmth, leaning my hand on his chest, lowering it slightly as I support myself so that my body rises a little more. I don't break our eye contact, even though Jasper is alternating between my eyes and my lips. His hand searches for my neck, stroking all over my skin until his fingers reach my nape and brings me a delicious shiver.When Jasper finally holds my neck, I hold my
“Can I sit?” Bryan points with his head to the free seat next to me, which belongs to Jasper.I half-close my eyes and cross my arms, “No-”Well, my answer means nothing to Bryan because he sits anyway. My body immediately starts moving away, allowing us to get distant, making me lean my arm against the bus window. I turn my face, looking out at the scenery I hadn't been aware of before.“I didn't know you were going with us.” He starts, his eyes on me — I know because I can feel his gaze burning my skin. “And I don't think you knew either… if you did, I'm sure you wouldn't come.”I furrow my brows and look at him with resentment. “You think I would miss this opportunity because of you?”His eyes widen slightly, “No, that's not what I meant… It's just that since you hate me so much-”“No… I think you misunderstand.” I interrupt him slowly, keeping my attention on his expressions, “I don't hate you, Bryan. To hate someone, there has to be some kind of feeling. But I don't feel anything
The journey was very smooth, but as Jasper had already said, his town is really in the countryside. The hours we spent on the road were long, but with the music on the radio and our silly banter, the time passed so quickly that I hardly noticed.As we drove further into the interior of the state, the denser the pine forest became. I felt anxious about being swallowed up by the green landscape, but whenever uncertainty took over my mind, I would look at Jasper, his serene countenance, his silly smile that he always gave when he noticed my eyes on him.And every time our gazes met, butterflies danced in my stomach."We're almost there..." He says, catching my eye, but he keeps his eyes fixed on the road and his hands firmly on the steering wheel, "Keep looking, Reddy... you're about to see the biggest, most beautiful lake of your life."Anticipation burns in me and, as he opens the roof of the car, the wind starts to ruffle my hair. I lean over the door, my eyes fixed on the horizon...
"It's really a shame to lose you, Miss Davis... But we understand your decision." Dean says, looking at me with a sympathetic expression. He's not an easy man to show emotion to, but I can sense that he's really sad about losing me. "You're one of the best students at this college, and you've just brought home a trophy for our institution... Come to think of it, isn't there any way to change your mind?"I give a soft smile, "I'm afraid not."He returns my smile and then scratches his gray beard, "Well, at least I tried.""Thank you for everything you've done for me." I say, with true gratitude shining in my eyes. "I'll go my own way from now on, but I'll always carry the kindness you and the teachers have shown me."I notice emotion reflecting in his eyes, wetting his eyelashes so discreetly that I hardly notice it. If it hadn't been for my even sharper senses, I wouldn't have noticed."Go on, child... I wish you the best."Now I'm the one fighting emotion as I say goodbye to him and
His words leave me stunned, or maybe it's the influence Jasper has over me that leaves my mind blank... I don't know, I just give in completely. His hot kisses down my neck, up my jaw and once again finding my lips make my entrance burn even hotter.Jasper's tongue seeks mine in a hungry intertwining as his hands move my hips again, encouraging me to ride him again. I obey, giving in to the rhythm he imposes both in the kiss and in the way I'm jerking my hips, rolling my belly, colliding our skins that meet in a hollow sound.I feel an intense pleasure creeping up on me, chilling my skin whenever the tip hits the sensitive spot inside me. And maybe this feeling is good for Jasper too, because he's moaning hoarsely and breathing heavier and heavier..."I can't stand it, Reddy..." He says suddenly, thrusting his hips up and pulling all the hard-on out of me, eliciting a grunt from me. "I've already been too passive with you."Again, I don't quite understand his words, but his movements
Jasper looks at me with such intensity that he steals my breath.His hands are trailing gently up my arm, his fingers rubbing so softly that my skin shivers. And when his husky voice reaches my ears, I shudder completely..."Are you sure you want this...? Maybe you don't know the weight of your words."I bite my lip, holding our eye contact."Yes, I'm sure..." I notice his eyes lower to my lips, and his breathing becomes short, "I want to be with you, Jasper... No matter what."He places his hand on the back of my neck, stroking my jaw with his thumb, alternating his gaze between my eyes and my parted lips. Taking care not to touch the wound caused by Alice, with the discreet bandage he himself put on me, Jasper pulls my face even closer to his, making our breaths one.And with a simple brush of his lips, he gives me a light kiss, almost as if he's experiencing the sensation of touching them, even though it's already so familiar. His tongue rubs against my mouth, but never quite enter
Even though it wasn't my first time in Jasper's house, it still felt like it.I don't remember if I was surprised by its size or if I was more concerned with giving myself over completely to the sensations it caused in me and I didn't understand. I don't know if I got attached to the details, to the glass walls that don't prevent the full moon from entering and illuminating us. It's almost as if he wasn't afraid of it... so different from me that, ever since I got here, I've been cowering in a dark, secluded corner.With a blanket around my shoulders, I search for warmth, but it doesn't fully warm me because I'm still shivering, with thin snarls escaping my lips, even though I fight so hard to suppress them.Jasper is in the kitchen, making us something to eat. I said I wasn't hungry, but he insisted on making something, since I haven't eaten anything decent all day. I considered accompanying him to the kitchen, but my legs are too weak to support this body of mine. And I confess, I'm
I take a deep breath before opening the door to my room. Now that I'm really so close to returning to reality, it feels like a small eternity has passed, not just seven days. And now I'm faced with this strange familiarity, a feeling of not belonging, of no longer fitting in here.But I gather my courage and turn the knob, opening the door, smelling the familiar scent of my perfume mixed with Lily's. I finally enter the room. And when I finally enter the room, I'm greeted by a sudden hug from my friend that almost makes us fall over. I let my laughter echo as I hold onto the door, feeling her firm and warm embrace... I confess, Lily is certainly the only thing I've missed in this place."Letty! Argh, I've missed you so much!" She squeezes me even tighter, pressing our cheeks together, "Tell me everything! Tell me every detail! Where's the medal? I need to see it!""You don't even know if I won..." I giggle, and she suddenly pulls away, holding me by the arms."But I have no doubt that
It's amazing how a single week can seem so long, so frantic, and change an entire life.Seven days have passed since we arrived here in search of victory in the competitions. And today, with the gold medals around our necks, we returned to our city, to the campus I've made my home. On this bus, which drives calmly along the long roads, we expected to be celebrating our victories. But there is nothing but a deep silence, a discomfort that hangs in the air, suffocating me...All because Alice remains in hospital.The girls who were with Alice and ran away when things got complicated have isolated themselves in the back seats, without the courage to look at me directly or talk to anyone else. In fact, they seem to be afraid of me. Well, I can't blame them, I really was responsible for the incident, for the rumors that spread like wildfire. And although I haven't been directly accused of doing it, I know that it will only be a matter of time before those girls say what happened.But who w
I watch that scene with genuine surprise and awe. What I imagined I had seen at the beginning of our story is actually happening right before my eyes. The face of a wolf slowly begins to take shape, just as its muscles peel away, moving under the skin, just as I remember mine doing.Slowly, the tall, strong body leaning forward transforms, tearing even the pants it was wearing. His skin is covered in a black fur, so dark that it robs me of air. Before my eyes, Jasper transforms into a wolf so majestic and large that, inevitably, I shrink as far as I can into the bathtub, hugging my trembling body to the point where my chin quivers.Sitting on his hind legs, Jasper — or this wolf — stares at me with those bright yellow eyes. He doesn't move, not a single muscle... all I can notice is his chest rising and falling with his calm breathing.And I don't sense any hostility in him, in his gaze that seems almost... understandable?I'm still trembling while I slowly approach, resting my breast
I open my eyes, my eyelids heavy... No, actually my whole body is heavy, but it seems to sink into the warm, cozy water. Gradually, my vision gets used to it and blurs, and the scenery that has become familiar over the last week unfolds before me. I blink a few times, the light bothering me, then my eyes go down to my body submerged in the tub... and Jasper's hands rubbing my arms.I move my gaze to him, slowly, almost sleepily... my thoughts are still searching for order, I'm still trying to understand what's going on and, above all, when I got back to the hotel. So I open my strangely parched lips and try to say something, but my throat is dry, and my voice won't come out.“It's okay, Reddy...” Jasper brings his wet hand up to my face, rubbing his thumb over my cheek, as if wiping away a stain. “It's all right now.”I clear my throat, trying to swallow down the knot that's formed preventing me from expressing these doubts, and then I struggle to say, in a thin, flawed voice, “What..