Chapter 10: Bittersweet

Vinnie's POV:

Danny said she wasn't going to come until later since she had to study, but that didn't stop me from going to the mall anyway to wait. I had twenty dollars on me and felt like having a soft pretzel. When I was on my way down the escalator, I saw Jake and his sisters entering the mall. I couldn't let him see me or else I would be around him all day and I... I couldn't handle that right now. I went back up the escalator and tried my best not to run into Jake. I hid behind anything whenever I saw him coming my way. Trash cans, advertisements, boxes, even people! I scared the crap out of an old woman and almost gave her a heart attack. She hit me with her purse which really hurt. There must've been a brick in there or maybe I'm just weak. My arm is still throbbing. Danny should've been here already, but she wasn't and I don't want to leave then she shows up. Then again, I don't want to stay and she never shows up. But, I guess Jake can't stay here forever.

As I turned around, Jake was walking out of a store with his head in the air. Goddamn it, he's everywhere. He must smell me. He could smell me much better than I could smell him which put me at a disadvantage. I sat down on a bench and grabbed a newspaper, covering my face. I peeked over the side and saw him standing with his hands in his jacket pockets, taking deep breaths. This wasn't going to be good for me. I needed space from him after finding out about being mates. I had to think about everything. It was only Sunday after all. The posts on Facebook from Alexandra and Alexandria even said that they were here. With Jake! Because... it's their birthday! I didn't even know that. There's so much that I don't know about him and that's why I'm not sure if I could be mate material.

I went back behind the newspaper as he looked my way. I looked back over the edge of it. Jake had turned back around and was walking in another direction. I put the newspaper down and ran into the nearest store. It was a clothes store that smelled like cheap perfume. Perfect place to hide. As I navigated my way to the back, I caught sight of a breathtaking necklace. It had a small silver pendant on it that was in the shape of a heart. In the middle of the necklace was a small letter J that seemed to glow blue against my skin as I picked it up. I wanted to buy it, but once I saw the price tag I let it go. It would be nice to get for myself once Jake and I became more serious, yet that was far in the future and it surely wouldn't be here tomorrow. I sighed.

The scent of strawberries filled the air and I groaned quietly before hurrying over to a rack of hats. I tied my hair into a bun with the black hair tie I had around my left wrist and grabbed a large straw hat. I put it on and zipped my jacket up so it covered more up my face. I probably looked ridiculous but it was the only way he wouldn't notice me. If I was turned away from him, I think he would still be able to recognize me though. I shouldn't have come in here.

I picked up some black sunglasses and slipped them on. I looked into the mirror and nodded at my cheap disguise. This should do it. As I turned around, Jake was standing in front of the necklace I was looking at. My whole body froze and something in the back of my mind urged me to go to him. With him so close, I couldn't hear anything else. Not the beeps of an item going over the scanner. Not the crying of a child that wanted ice cream. Oh wait, maybe I was. I was aware of the pounding of my heart though and how I kept taking deep breaths so I wouldn't forget his smell. Jake was a sweet guy. He only seemed bitter and closed off, but I hoped he would let me get to know him. That part of him made me want to grow closer.

A small smile tugged on my lips as my heart calmed. Jake moved his head towards my direction and sniffed. His eyes met mine and I swallowed as his eyes held a bit of recognition. They kept changing from black to his original. Can he tell? Jake sniffed again and frowned, but it seemed forced. I walked over to him confidently and crossed my arms in front of me. He tilted his head slightly, some of his black hair tumbled into his eyes and I withheld the urge to move it away. I loved his eyes. The same blue green as the ones in my dream. He cleared his throat and I flinched. His lips twitched.

"Do you... need something, Miss?" He clenched his jaw as he scrutinized me. I scoffed and tried to do my best British accent.

"N... Not from you." I rolled my eyes though I'm sure he didn't see it. He still growled lowly and took a step towards me before moving back again.

"May I ask why you're looking at that necklace?"

"It's for my girlfriend." He stated. Am I his girlfriend? I glowered slightly. Or... could he be talking about another girl? I could feel jealousy running through my body. He seemed to notice and tried hard to hide his smirk.

"You seem familiar. Have we met?" Jake reached out to touch my arm but I pulled away.

"No, we have not. What's your girlfriend's name?" I questioned as I pushed down the sleeves of my jacket.

"Why are you asking so many questions?" He kept stepping towards me and a whimper escaped my lips. He stopped and laughed, sighing.

"Sorry, I'm just on edge and haven't seen her all day but I know she's here."

"Mates?" I swallowed He looked up, a glint in his eye.

"Nah, she's just another vampire that I met a week ago. She has a nice ass too." Jake shrugged, inspecting the necklace. I choked on my saliva and started coughing. I glared at him through the sunglasses and moved away. I was such a fool for thinking he was actually happy with me. My eyes watered as I ripped off the hat and sunglasses.

"Vinnie!? Oh wow I had noo idea it was you. Wow." He said sarcastically. deadpanned, crossing his arms.

"That's... that's right! Wait... you knew?" I frowned, sniffling. Jake smirked as he pulled me into his arms.

"Of course I knew. I'm not a fucking idiot. Your smell is coming off in waves. It was hard not to jump you right here." He kissed the top of my head and lifted my chin so I would meet his eyes.

"I was joking about the other girl you know. I just wanted to see how you'd react, I'm sorry."

"Shut up. It wasn't funny." I pouted.

"Why were you avoiding me?" He asked.

"After I found out we were mates, I just needed some... time to think about it. Plus, today’s your birthday and I didn’t want..." I shrugged.

"Now what do you think?" He smirked and I understood what he was talking about. I placed my hand on the back of his head and leaned on my tiptoes.

"I like you too." I kissed him.

It started off slow but turned into a fast, lustful kiss. He backed me into a shelf and I smiled into the kiss despite the metal pressing against my back. I ran my hands through his hair and he let out a soft moan. Jake wrapped both of his arms around my waist tightly and lifted me a couple of inches off the ground. Suddenly, the air shifted around us and there was no more store music playing loudly. He laid me down on a leather couch and put half his body weight on me. I didn't care about where we were, all that mattered was Jake. I knew he wouldn't take it that far if I didn't want to. There was an opening of a door and a groan. I couldn't see the door so I closed my eyes again. Jake licked my bottom lip and I allowed him entrance. Just as his tongue touched mine, I moaned. It circled mine and finally wrapped itself around it. The tingles were dancing all over my body, making me pull Jake closer. He unzipped his jacket and I ran my hand over his chest, feeling the muscles that lay beyond his smooth ivory skin. Another moan slipped from my mouth and he growled.

There were rapid footsteps coming towards us and then an annoyed male voice sounded. I wanted to pull away, but Jake didn't let me.

"Vampires." He muttered and suddenly we were getting sprayed with something I squealed in surprise but it was muffled with Jake's mouth on mine. The guy sprayed us again and again until Jake detached his lips.

"No. No! No! Bad vampires! Bad mates!"

Jake hissed at the man that had sprayed us and covered his face as he got off of me. My face was burning with shame as I stood up and fixed my clothes. I patted down my hair and looked up. A man with black hair and hazel eyes stood behind the couch we were making out on only seconds ago. He had on a white dress shirt and black pants with black vans. I knew he was probably a worker here and the shame burned my cheeks even more. I looked at his name tag. Jean. He was glaring at the both of us with his hands on his hips. He was definitely our senior and that made it all the worse. In his left hand was a spray bottle that was filled with water.

"I'm... I'm sorry, sir. I didn't expect my... mate... to take us here." I stuttered and glared at Jake who just smiled lazily. He was running his thumb back and forth on my hand, creating a path of tingles.

"It's fine. Not like you're the first." Jean grumbled, walking out of what seemed to be the employee's lounge.

I looked at Jake and started to laugh. He joined me a few seconds later. I didn't expect this day to turn out like this. It wasn't even something that I thought would happen! As I stared into Jake's eyes, I knew that my life would be very different from now on and no moment would be a dull one. It was all because of him and because I went to that party. I'm glad Aimme talked me into going. I'm sure I would've found out at school anyway, but this moment wouldn't be happening if I did and for that, I’m very thankful.