9 Faking It

Bridget

The ride to Corolla beach, North Carolina, was quite quiet. I didn’t say anything to him, and he didn’t say anything to me. We made sure there was a big distance between us.

I suppose I have a correction to make; for the first 45 minutes of the ride, nobody said anything, and the big space was established.

Within 45 minutes of the ride, I have a headache. I really bad headache. I tried rolling the window down a little bit, thinking fresh air might help, but it didn’t. I then developed a stomachache, which wasn’t even alleviated when the driver, Harvey, got me some ice cream per request of Lucien.

In fact, it only seemed to make me sicker. I seemed to be in want of something else that I could not figure out for the life of me. I never felt like this before.

I have this intense, insatiable craving that I cannot explain.

And for some damn reason, Lucien thinks it’s funny.

“I don’t see what’s so funny about this,” I snap at him when he gets that amused look on his face.

“Oh, it’s nothing, little human,” he says, then smirks at me. “Mind explaining exactly how you feel? I’m quite used to dealing with slave girls’ issues.”

“It’s inexplainable,” I say, then wince at the sharp pain in my gut.

“Try me,” he says back. “I have heard all sorts of things in all of the 467 years of my life.”

I gasp and look over at him in shock. “467?”

“Confirm my year of birth, little human.”

He wants me to do math right now?

“1556,” I murmur.

“Correct,” he says, adjusting the sleeves on his button up shirt. “Now, explain.”

“It’s like this intense craving for something...” I trail off. “My throat feels dry and it aches...”

Lucien’s head snaps over to me so quickly that I’m surprised that he didn’t break his neck in the process.

He narrows his eyes at me for a moment.

“To be honest, that’s a new one coming from a human,” he says, then takes in a breath. “But it’s an old one if you were a vampire.”

“Huh?”

“When vampires have a lack of blood, that’s usually how they feel. That insatiable desire that burns until you have your fill,” he explains, then gives me a strange look.

“If you’re thinking I’m a vampire, you’re nuts,” I affirm, and he just grins.

“Oh, sweetheart, I would know if you were,” he says, then drops the grin.

I roll my eyes and stare out the window again at the passing palm trees.

“We’re almost there right?”

“You talked my ear off for thirty minutes, so we only have 75 minutes left.”

Thank God.

Speaking doesn’t happen again until I see the North Carolina sign.

“Finally in the state,” I murmur, pulling on my shorts.

“You’ll have to come up with the story of how we met, because I don’t do that romance shit.”

I look over at him in surprise.

He isn’t even looking at me.

“Oh, I know,” I say. “You’re the type to take what you want and leave, never to be seen again.”

“That’s right, little human.”

“Stop calling me that.”

“Would you rather me call you Bridget?”

“Bri would be fine.”

“News flash, I don’t give people what they want.”

“Noted.”

I replay the little conversation in mind again, then burst out laughing. Lucien finally looks over at me with a raised eyebrow.

“What’s so funny?” he asks, clearly getting annoyed.

“You’re a trip,” I say, then go back to looking out the window.

Lucien gives me a glare that I can see through the window, and I hold back a smirk. I like getting on his nerves when he decides he isn’t going to be violent towards me.

“You do have a bathing suit on, correct?” he asks me, and I look over at him again.

“No, I do not,” I say, and Lucien rolls his eyes.

“Harvey, stop by a mall,” he says, and I hear Harvey’s gruff reply.

“Of course, Don,” he says, and at the tone he gives, I wonder if he likes Lucien. Preston had a bad impression of him, and I have to wonder what his own men think of him.

A few moments later, we’re pulling into a mall. I start getting excited for some reason, maybe the fact that my parents--no, wait, I forgot. Agent Rawling probably informed them that they wouldn’t ever see me again so there’s probably no missing person thing going around.

I sigh, and that causes Lucien to give me another look.

“I thought girls liked to shop,” he says.

“Most do,” I reply with a twinge of annoyance. “But then again, Lucien, I’m not most girls.”

“Noted,” he says, and that causes a smile to go across my face. He notices it, but his facial reaction doesn’t change in the least. But a warm feeling develops in the pit of my stomach, and I have this weird feeling in my head that this is not my feelings.

I shake it off, then get out of the car when the door is opened for me by Harvey.

“Thank you,” I say to him, and he looks completely shocked. What, does he not think I have manners? He hasn’t done anything wrong; in fact, he may have given me the opportunity to escape by driving Lucien and I the whole way out to North Carolina, then taking us to a mall.

“Bridget,” Lucien says, catching up with me as I push open the mall door. His arm slips around my waist and he holds me protectively to his side.

We go straight to the women’s department and he busies himself by looking at his cell phone, which I’m surprised he has since he’s 467 years old.

I look through some bikinis, wondering if I should flare Lucien’s lust or not. As I’m looking through some white ones, two teenage girls around the age of sixteen come up to me. I want to tell the chicks that they should keep their distance, that we have a teenager girl kidnapper to the left at about a distance of four feet, but I don’t. I don’t need to cause more trouble.

“Excuse me,” the light blonde one says. “Are you Bridget Wayne?”

Lucien’s head snaps up and he watches me.

“Yes,” I say after a moment’s thought. “You are...?”

“Oh, you don’t know me,” she says, then smiles. “But I know you’re a model and you’re Eliza and Dean Wayne’s daughter. Do you like modeling?”

“Yes,” I say, then give a genuine smile. “Are you thinking of pursuing it?”

“I am,” she says, then looks down at the floor.

“She’s a little nervous though,” her friend says. “Winter isn’t sure she’d make a good one.”

“You are?”

“Her sister, Summer,” she says. From what I can see, Summer would make a good model as well.

“Summer and Winter,” I say, then give a little laugh. “Your parents were pretty original.”

Summer shrugs.

“Say, how about you grab some clothes and then we’ll go to a dressing room and you can do some poses,” I say to Winter, and she brightens.

“Really?”

“Yeah!” I say, then look over at Lucien, who has this adorable look of admiration. It fades though when he sees me looking at him. “As long as my...boyfriend doesn’t mind. You don’t, do you?”

“No,” Lucien says, and when Winter and Summer hurry off to get some clothes he gives me a look. “You couldn’t think of anything better than boyfriend?”

“I could have introduced you as the guy who ruined my modeling career,” I say, fishing out a cute black bikini. I put it under my arm with the white one and go to the dressing room with Lucien a bit of the way behind me.

He doesn’t go in the dressing room, because he’s male.

“Your boyfriend is fucking hot,” Summer whispers to me. “How do you snag such a good looking guy?”

“Slid into my DM’s,” I lie, and Winter giggles.

“I hope that’s way it is with me,” she says. “Did you two like...meet up person and it was like, love at first sight.”

“You could say that,” I lie again, disgusted that I’m literally faking a relationship with Lucien.

“So romantic,” the sisters sigh, and I order Winter to go into the dressing room and put her stuff on.

When she comes out in a tight white tube top and black shorts, I give her a thumbs up.

“Now, from the photographers that I’ve had, they seem to like natural,” I say, then gesture at her hair. “Pull your ponytail out and run your fingers through your hair. Toss it up a little bit.”

Winter does as I ask and I can immediately see the modeling quality in her.

“Lift your chin,” I say, and she does. “Lean back slightly and move your left foot forward a tiny bit.”

I grin when she follows the order. “Nice, Winter. Summer, go up there with her and give me your cell phone for a picture. I know you have the same ability in you.”

Summer gets into a bit more than Winter, because she’s more confident of her body.

I change the photo lighting to soft and snap a picture of them.

I hand Summer her phone.

“Can we take a selfie?” Winter asks, and I stand in between the girls and give them my best smile.

“Do want tagged?” Summer asks.

“No,” I say, then smile. “You girls will make it, no matter what you decide to do.”

“Thanks!” Winter says, then her phone starts ringing. “Oh, that’s Mom. We’d better go.”

I nod, then go into the dressing room. I try on the white bikini, then the black. I think about it for a few more moments before deciding on the white.

As I put the black one back, I see Lucien watching me with that same look on his face.

“What?” I ask him, and he just shakes his head.

“Are you ready to go yet?”

“Yeah,” I say, then he takes me to the counter.

The cashier lady scans it and Lucien pays, then I grab the bag and we vanish back out to the car, where Harvey opens the door. I head inside and Lucien goes in the other side.

“Do me a favor and don’t order anyone to take those girls,” I say, and Lucien gives me a look of utter surprise.

“Why would I do that?” he asks, like he’s totally the most innocent guy on earth.

“Because you have a knack for doing it,” I say. “They’re not eighteen, and they have a big life ahead of them.”

“Whatever you want, Bridget,” he says quietly, and I look over at him.

“I thought you didn’t give people what they want,” I say, and his lips form a ghost smile.

“I don’t,” he says, then turns towards me. “But you’re not just any person, Bridget.”

“I don’t know what to think of you sometimes.”

“Keep trying to figure me out, little human.”

We are silent as Harvey begins moving the car again.

“For your information,” I say, catching his attention again. “We are very much faking it.”

Lucien gives a nod, but for some reason, deep down on the inside, I feel that he doesn’t want to fake it.