Page 48 of Set the Moment
It takes two minutes to find him, but when my eyes land on the oh so familiar blond—who tongued me down not even five minutes ago—my heart plummets to my ass.
A girl, short and pear-shaped in physique, stands before him.
Do NOT jump to conclusions, Si Si.
She could be a friend…
I can’t see her face, but I just know that she’s pretty based on what she’s wearing. I’m no woman hater, not in the slightest. Her outfit is stunning, with a small purple dress that compliments her deep brown skin and chestnut hair perfectly.
My head tilts as I watch them. Jace smiles down at the woman, listening intently as she talks. Are they close? How does he—
The temperature in the car plummets. My mouth feels cottony, my saliva is hard to swallow, and I feel as if I’ll pass out. The image in front of me isodd.
I’ve never imagined something like this in my wildest dreams, and maybe I’m a masochist or just a confused girl, because I sit there,watching.
I watch as the brown skinned girl reaches up, cupping his face and pulling him in for a searing kiss. I watch as Jace grips her shoulders, and I take a deep breath as she deepens it, sticking her tongue in his mouth.
I can’t take it. I can’t watch anymore. My body moves before my brain can process and the large screen whereTwilightplays is back in my line of sight.
In school, we learn that when the body is in danger, it chooses between two phases of defense. Fight or Flight.
This survival mechanism is an imperative response to danger and uncontrollable. What we don’t learn about, however, is the Freeze response.
I am frozen in my seat, unmoving, unblinking. I want to move. I want to get out of this car, storm up to him and yell, because what the fuck just happened? Wejustkissed, just touched and shared an intimate moment, and not even an hour later, he’s kissing someone just ten feet away from me.
My breathing grows shallow.It’s so cold. I can see my breath as I let out shaky exhales.
Is he just using me?
Wouldn’t that be funny…He’d asked me to use him—fucking begged me—and now he’s kissing another girl?
Am I losing my mind? We’re not together, but fuck…do I yell? Do I run? What should I do?
When the door opens, my stomach roils as pink strawberries and cotton candy assaults my nostrils. I flinch as Jace taps my shoulder, holding the popcorn out for me with a sweet smile on his slappable face.
Momma ain’t raise no bitch—granted, she didn’t raise me at all.You get the fucking memo.
My eye twitches as I watch him, my fingers itching to grab the door knob as he gulps. Is he going to acknowledge what happened? Reassure me?
I should be quiet. It’s not my place and we’re friends.
“So…what did I miss?” he asks.
I blink at him, my eye twitches a-freaking-gain.
Fix your face, Sienna. Don’t let him see you sweat.
He moves again, shifting uncomfortably and something in mesnaps.
Fuck that.
“Oh you missed a lot, considering your tongue was down that bitch’sthroat.” My smile is filled with venom as he looks at me. The rapid rise and fall of my chest would be concerning had I not been on the verge of cursing the spawn of Hades out.
Jace flinches, “That’s not what happ–”
“So you didn’tjustkiss her? Right, I’m delusional and Eren fucking Marlowe is standing right there. I think my eyes work perfectly fine, thank you. I know what I saw,matter of fact, I’m done. For someone pleading for me touse them, you sure are using the fuck out of me…Right now.” My voice shakes as I face the front of the car, cursing my human body for letting its emotions take over.
In the corner of my eye, I can see Jace recoil, but I don’t care. And clearly neither does he.
