Forever Burn Read online

  We found a spot on the floor near the DJ. The other girls dancing near us wore even skimpier clothes than us, with caked makeup on their faces. A couple of them eyed me viciously and it wasn’t until I looked to my right that I understood why.

  Axel stood in the spot he was in before, resting against the wall. Did he always stand there watching all the girls at the party and picking out which one or ones he wanted for the night? Gross. I was disgusted knowing that I was one of many of the girls he must have danced with last weekend.

  He wore a dark blue short sleeved flannel with the sleeves rolled up. His black jeans hugged his legs the perfect amount and his curls rested effortlessly on top of his head. Once again, his eyes were on me and even when I looked back, making it evident that I knew he was staring, he didn’t look away. Axel was truly a beautiful sight, but that didn’t even matter because he was still a douche.

  I turned back around, pretending not to notice. I didn’t understand why these girls were giving me that look. Were they jealous that he was looking at me and not them? It almost made me feel good about myself. A guy staring at me on one side and a group of girls jealous of me on the other? Legendary.

  I had slightly sobered up after the first two stops we had and even though a little bit of alcohol was still in my system, it most definitely wasn’t enough to get me to dance with Axel again if he asked. Part of me wanted to move out of his sight so that he couldn’t see me, but the other part of me didn’t want him to know that I cared.

  The song changed. This song. I paused as the music made its way through my ears. Frozen in place, I looked straight ahead of me, with no idea what I was looking at. The memories flooded. I saw his devious smile for only a second before it went away, overtaken by him throwing the blame in my face. It quickly faded and was replaced with the carelessness in his eyes before seeing the sight of a ring on a finger, a finger that wasn’t mine. A hundred other glimpses of memories flashed through my mind, a million miles per hour. My body started to shake. I could feel my heart rapidly pound as my lungs struggled with each breath. I needed to get the fuck out of there.

  Without thinking, I pushed through all the people around me and got out of the crowd as quickly as I could. Once the outdoors was in sight, I ran. I ran until I was far enough away from the house to feel safe. I rubbed my arms until it had successfully occurred to me that I was in the present time, not the past. Out of breath and still in my fight or flight mode, I started to feel myself calm down. There was no way I could go back in there. Gianna and Claire might be pissed that I left without them, and as guilty as I felt about breaking the pact, I was sure they’d understand.

  As bad of an idea as it was to walk back to Stanley by myself at night, I didn’t care at the moment. Anything was better than going back into that party. I shot my friends a quick text that I urgently had to leave and then started to walk, on high alert for any sign of danger. Footsteps crept up behind me and before I could even react, Axel was by my side.

  “What the fuck are you doing going around Fratville by yourself at night?”

  This was really the only time he had ever talked to me other than when he asked me to dance, and that’s what he decided to say to me? Just more evidence of why he was a douche.

  “Walking,” I snapped back at him.

  “Well aren’t your friends still at the party?” Damn, he was nosy. I kept my focus in front of me, knowing he was looking at me, but refusing to meet his gaze. I didn’t want to explain myself to him and I didn’t have to. I owed him no answers.

  “Who are you again?” I asked with the bitchiest tone I could manage.

  He gave a short chuckle. “C’mon, you know who I am.” His cockiness annoyed me. Reminded me of a person that I didn’t want to be reminded of. The thought made my hands start to shake again, but I managed to stop them immediately this time.

  I absolutely knew who he was, but it occurred to me that we never officially introduced ourselves to each other, only danced against each other last weekend. I didn’t want him to know that I was aware of his existence or of his notorious name.

  “If I knew who you were, then I wouldn’t have asked.” I didn’t allow my legs to stop walking and he made sure to keep up to my pace, moving just as quickly as I was. As bothered as I was that he was walking next to me, I was a little relieved knowing that I was walking with at least someone and not alone at night.

  “Axel Burne,” he paused, waiting for me to say my name as well. “And you?”

  “Tatum,” I shortly stated.

  “Last name?”

  Why was he so nosy? I already barely wanted him walking with me, let alone talking to me. “Does it matter?” I shot back. He raised an eyebrow and I sighed, “Everley.”

  His mischievous grin appeared, and as it did, so did his dimples. “Alright, Tatum Everley, so my next question is— are you actually a bitch or are you just pretending to be?”

  I could hear the playfulness in his tone, but the question still caught me off guard. Not only did I not know how to answer, but I didn’t even know the answer.

  I scrunched my face together, unhappy with the question. “Oof, yeah I am the biggest bitch around actually. And are you actually a douche or are you just pretending to be?” I was doing my best to scare him off, but my response caused his mouth to slowly turn upwards.

  “How ‘bout you come to my apartment with me?” he said, putting his hands in his jean pockets.

  I stifled a laugh. “Absolutely not.”

  His face fell, disappointed with my answer. It seemed as if he wasn’t very used to girls telling him no. I thought about how perfect he probably looked under that flannel, but there was no way in hell that I would allow myself to go down that road.

  We rounded the corner and Stanley came into sight. I was relieved knowing that I would only have to deal with Axel for another five minutes, if that. Realization hit him that his time was running out and I could tell he was trying to come up with a quick way to convince me to go back with him.

  “We could just hang out. We wouldn’t even have to do anything.” His proposal was weak. Why would I want to hang out with someone who not only annoyed me, but would most definitely try to make a move even if he said he wouldn’t?

  I took out my school ID to swipe me access into the building. “Let me think about it… umm, no.” I responded, never taking my eyes off what I was doing. He let out a sigh. I finally looked at him. “Bye, Axel.” My flirtatious tone echoed into the night, and I pulled my red lips over to a small, sexy grin.

  Axel stood under the lights in front of the building, highlighting the green of his eyes. He watched me walk inside with a bitter, yet motivated look on his face.

  Either I had successfully scared him off, or he was about to come at me harder. Either way, I had awoken a beast.

  Chapter Two

  The Beast

  I was sitting at my desk doing homework when Penelope walked in. Her golden, wavy hair bobbed as she strode in, tugging her backpack behind her. Claire and Gianna roomed together, so I had to find a roommate on my own. At first, it was upsetting, but at the end of the day, what set of cousins wouldn’t room together? Claire and Gianna were in the room right next to us, so I was at least thankful that we were neighbors. I met Penelope at orientation and our personalities clicked right away. We had become fairly close already and our friendship was only growing.

  “Uh, dude?” She sounded concerned and out of breath as she spoke, setting her two-thousand-pound backpack down on the ground.

  I turned around in my desk. “What’s up?”

  She brought her lips together into a hard line. “So, I just got back from class,” she paused, “and Axel Burne was standing outside the building asking for you.”

  What the hell? I stood up angrily without saying anything else to Penelope, and immediately headed downstairs. I pulled the front door of the hall open and Axel turned towards me as I did.

  I sighed as loud as I could. “What are you doing he
re?”

  His green eyes were much easier to notice in the broad daylight. They shimmered as he spoke. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry for being a dick the other night.” He scratched his head. “And I wanted to make it up to you by taking you out to dinner.”

  Dinner? As in a date? No way. Dates weren’t my thing. And as far as I knew, dates weren’t his thing either. What shit was he trying to pull now? If I turned down Lucas, then I most definitely should turn down Axel too.

  “I don’t really think that’s a good idea…”

  “C’mon, just dinner, not even an actual date. And I promise I won’t try to get in your pants after,” he playfully rolled his eyes as he finished his sentence.

  I didn’t know what the best option was. Okay, that was a complete lie. I knew that the best option was to stay as far away from Axel as possible, but a small part of me didn’t really want to. I was intrigued by the way that he was so intrigued by me. Both Lucas and Axel were desperate to take me out, but the difference was that Lucas wanted a relationship with me, whereas Axel clearly did not. That wasn’t the way he rolled, and it wasn’t the way I rolled either. But hey, a free meal was always a good idea— as long as it wasn’t with Lucas, of course.

  “Okay, fine. But this is a one-time thing.”

  His dimples appeared as his smile lit up. “Tomorrow night?”

  “Yeah, that works.” I was confused as to what his true intentions were, but as long as no feelings were caught, it didn’t really matter. And at the end of the day, my guard was up too high to even allow that possibility.

  Claire and I sat on the futon a few hours later, snuggled up in blankets as we watched tv.

  “So,” I started.

  “Yeah?”

  “What do you really know about Axel Burne?”

  Claire shrugged. “Not too much other than the fact that he’s never had a girlfriend in his life and he’s a walking one-night stand.” I opened my mouth to respond, but Claire beat me to it. “Oh, and he always gets into fights.”

  “So, basically, he’s a total douche?”

  “Yeah, pretty much. He’s constantly going from girl to girl. Normal frat boy things, but probably ten times worse than a normal frat boy.” She brought her brows together. “Why are you asking? You’re not thinking of talking to him, right?”

  I faked a laugh, trying to hide the fact that I had plans with him tomorrow. “No. God, no. Of course not. I was just curious because we saw him at ATO. You know I like to know all the tea.”

  “Oh, okay. Understandable. I mean, I’d be lying if I said he wasn’t hot as hell, but… he sucks.”

  “You can say that again,” I agreed, taking a deep breath as I prepared myself for the tornado that tomorrow would be.

  I was almost done getting ready when I heard a knock on my door. “Come in!” I shouted, adjusting the necklace that lay carefully on my chest.

  Gianna strolled in with a smile on her face. “You ready for wine night?” Her excitement traveled throughout the room and it suddenly hit me that I hadn’t told her I was going to dinner with Axel.

  Shit.

  “Um,” I started. I didn’t even know if telling her was a good idea or not, but lying didn’t seem like a great way to go either. “I can’t go to wine night tonight.”

  A pouty lip plastered on her face and my nerves slightly amplified at how she would react to the truth. “Why not?”

  “Well,” I gave a nervous laugh, “don’t be mad at me… but I’m going to get dinner with Axel.”

  Her eyes grew wide. “The fuck! You heard Claire, Tate. He’s a total man whore and has a bad temper. Why the hell would you think that’s a good idea!”

  I thought about her question for a second, wondering the answer myself. “Because it’s the only way to get him to leave me alone. It’s just a one-time thing. You and I both know the last thing I would do is get into a relationship right now, especially with someone like him.”

  She narrowed her eyes at me. “I’m telling Claire on you.”

  “No, no, no,” I shook my head, grabbing her wrist as she tried leaving to go into her and Claire’s room. “Please, Gi. Don’t tell her. I’ll never hear the end of it.”

  She sighed and looked at me sympathetically. “Alright, fine. I’ll cover for you tonight when she asks where you are. But this better be a one-time thing, Tatum!” I nodded, agreeing to her every word. “And Tate?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Don’t sleep with him. He’s probably got some fucked up STD’s,” she said with a laugh, before opening the door and making her way out.

  I shook my head, giggling at her comment as I stood in front of the mirror in my room, making sure I looked decent. My blue velvet romper was snug in all the right places and instead of applying my red lipstick, I decided to do clear gloss instead. After checking the time again, I made my way downstairs.

  A douchey black Mustang sat in front of Stanley. Axel got out of the driver’s seat and jogged around the front of the car as I approached, opening the passenger side door for me. He flashed that beautiful smirk of his, gesturing for me to get in. I was surprised at how gentleman-like he was, but I knew better than to be impressed.

  When we walked into the restaurant, I gasped quietly to myself. I had no idea he was taking me somewhere so fancy. Beautiful chandeliers hung from the ceiling and the lights throughout the place were dimmed, giving off a romantic vibe. I slid into the booth that the hostess led us to, sitting across from Axel.

  When I looked up, Axel was already looking at me. His eyes watched me deeply, taking in every inch of me. It made me shift around in my seat.

  “You look really beautiful by the way,” he said, finally breaking his stare. I couldn’t help but blush at his comment. I wasn’t used to being taken to a fancy restaurant or being complimented so directly. I was used to never being taken out to dinner and being compared to another girl, rather than having full focus on me, or being admired. It was refreshing, but dangerous.

  “Thank you,” I responded kindly. The last thing I ever wanted to do in the first place was be a bitch, but it was my only defense mechanism. For some reason, I felt sort of comfortable being with him, but that’s the exact feeling I wanted to ignore. I would have to turn my bitch mode back on.

  I skimmed the menu, amazed at how expensive everything was. Axel spoke as if he had read my mind. “Get whatever you want. Price doesn’t matter.”

  I gave a shy smile, but still ordered the least expensive thing I saw as our waitress made her rounds. I had no idea why he was so okay with spending so much money on someone that he had just met, especially when I was so mean to him all the time.

  He folded his hands on the table. “So, what’s your backstory?”

  I had a feeling he would ask me questions about my past, so I responded the same way I usually would when people asked. I steered clear of anything regarding my disorder or of him and stuck to the other parts of my life. “Um, I’ve got a big family and I eat ice cream religiously. That basically sums me up.” I tried to look anywhere and everywhere other than at him when I spoke.

  He seemed dissatisfied with my answer, tilting his head. “C’mon Tatum, gimme some of the under the surface stuff.”

  I disliked the way he was so insistent on digging into my life. It made it much easier for me to turn bitch mode back on. “Well what about you?” My defensive tone could be heard from across the room. He didn’t seem the least bit affected by my question, or even by the tone of it.

  “I’m from Battle Creek. I’ve got a small family, just my brother, sister, and I. My bro and I share an apartment. He’s like my best friend. I used to play football but quit after high school. My favorite movie of all time is The Godfather. I’m a chemical engineering major, and turtles freak me out.” I wrinkled my nose. “What?” he asked.

  “Chemical engineering? Gross. I hate chemistry,” I explained. It was impressive that he was studying such a difficult and elevated major. I guess when I met him, I assumed he wa
s just another frat-boy who was all party and no school.

  He laughed, “Out of all of that, that’s the only part you caught?” Each time he smiled, it became harder and harder to hold mine back. Damn it. I wasn’t being a big enough bitch. I needed to make him hate me, not want a second date.

  “Yeah, pretty much,” I said blankly. “I zoned out a bit, not gonna lie.” But the truth was that I heard every word. I was listening closely to everything he had said, but there was no way I was going to let him know that.

  Axel shook his head, maintaining a grin as he grabbed his drink and took a sip. “You’re really damn stubborn, you know that?”

  “Yep, heard it plenty of times before,” I replied. I wanted to know why his family was just him and his siblings. What about his parents? Where were they? And what was up with the fear of turtles? He eyed me, that grin still staying upon his lips. I could tell he was waiting for me to talk. As much as I didn’t want to, I had to at least say something. He had just spilled a bunch of himself to me, and knowing he wasn’t going to let it go until I said something was my only motivation to speak. I sighed, “Like I said, I’ve got a big family: two parents, four kids, two dogs. I’m from a really small town in the Northern suburbs of Chicago. I’ve danced for basically my entire life, which is why I’m a business major and dance minor, because I wanna open my own dance studio after school. I love scary movies and I hate when other people drive. It freaks me out.” I took a sip of my drink.

  Axel pulled his eyebrows in a little bit. “But you seemed fine in the car earlier when I was driving.”

  I hadn’t put those two things together. He was right. I would usually freak out if other people drove. There was something about my life being put in the hands and control of someone else that scared me. The only other person I had ever let drive me anywhere was him, and I don’t know why, considering the fact that he drove like a maniac. I guess even with his insane driving, I still trusted him with my life, in more ways than I should have.