*Edited*
I gasped when Elijah's lips covered mine and he took that as an opportunity to deepen the kiss. I didn't protest as his tongue delved into my mouth and did a dance with mine, making him growl. I wrapped my arms around his neck as the Ferris wheel met the climax of the ride.
"Elijah," I whispered against his lips.
"Mm?" He murmured impatiently.
"Are you in love with me?"
He stiffened and separated his lips from mine, scooting backwards on the seat. His eyes seemed to glow as he stared at me. I squirmed under his intense gaze and rubbed the back of my neck. Maybe I shouldn't have brought that up, but the way he just kissed me...
He narrowed his eyes and said, "No."
"Then why did you kiss me?" I asked, getting angry.
"Like my brother said to do, I'm taking care of you. He's not here to kiss you, so I'm the next best thing." He had the audacity to wink after that.
"Cut the crap. That doesn't even make any sense and you just said that you didn't bring me here because Uriah would've wanted you to. You said you did it because you wanted to."
"Yeah, I kinda got caught up in the moment. All these lights and being on a Ferris wheel," he shrugged, "it just seemed like the right thing to say at that moment, you know?"
"No, Elijah, I don't know. You know what I do know, though?" Without giving him a chance to say anything, I continued. "I know that you're an infuriating asshole. If you thought that I'd ever fall in love with you, then there must be something wrong up here," I said, pointing at my temple.
I was so pissed off that I couldn't even think anymore. How dare he kiss me because he felt like it was the right time. What kind of excuse was that anyway?
Fuming, I crossed my arms over my chest and turned away from him until the ride was over. As soon as the lap bar was lifted, I bolted off the ride and ran into the parking lot with Elijah on my heels. Once we reached his stupid car, I turned to him with my eyebrows drawn downward.
"The bet is off, by the way. We will never be in love, so it's over."
Then I got in the backseat of his car so I wouldn't have to sit next to him. He sighed angrily as he climbed inside. He twisted around and looked at me sprawled across the back seats.
"You failed."
"Failed what?" I spat.
"The test."
"Could you be any more cryptic? Spit it out already."
Elijah smirked as he said, "You wouldn't be so mad about the kiss if you hadn't actually enjoyed it."
"What the hell do you mean?" I demanded.
He shook his head and chuckled. "I wanted to see how you would react if I kissed you, claiming it literally hadn't meant anything. If you got mad about it, then it meant that you wanted the kiss to have been real because maybe you've caught feelings for me. However, if you didn't care, then I knew that you felt absolutely nothing for me."
He thought that by saying that, I would forgive him. Well, he had another thing coming.
"You're a jerk and I hate you. Your kiss was only a test anyway. Don't play with other's feelings like that," I growled.
"So you admit it? That you have feelings for me?"
I sat straight up and grabbed the collar of his shirt, dragging his face right up to mine. His eyes widened as I brought my lips to his.
"Would I do this if I didn't have feelings for you?" I asked before pressing my lips to his. I broke away after a few seconds and sat back with a satisfied smirk plastered on my face.
"No..?" Elijah said, suspiciously.
"Wrong. I just did the same thing you did to me. See? You got the wrong idea from my kiss, just like I did from yours." I raised my eyebrows, daring him to argue.
"Fair enough...so the bet's off?"
"Yes, it was impossible from the start," I grumbled.
"Anything's possible," I heard him mutter as he turned on the car and drove off.
***********
I sluggishly made my way downstairs for breakfast the next morning to find a note on the refrigerator from my parents. I pulled it off and read it with a frown.
V-
We went to visit your grandparents for the day. We would've brought you along with us, but Mr. Reed asked for your help. Go over there as soon as you can. Xoxo
-Mom and Dad
I groaned. What could Mr. Reed possibly need my help with? I prayed that his son wouldn't be there when I went over. I quickly shoveled down a bowl of cereal before I went upstairs to change. I threw on a concert t-shirt with a pair of jeans and converse as I knotted my blonde hair in a bun at the top of my head.
Then I made my way over to my neighbor's house.
I knocked politely on the door and stood back to wait. My jaw practically hit the floor when the door was swept open and a half-awake, half-naked boy with green eyes stood there yawning.
A flashback of the first time I had met Elijah zipped through my head. My face heated up just like it did the first time I saw him without a shirt on and his boxers riding low on his hips.
Elijah ran a hand through his dark hair and focused his eyes on me. When he saw who it was, he raised his eyebrows. "You woke me up."
I threw my hands up in the air. "Well, I'm so-orry that it's almost noon and I interrupted your beauty sleep," I said, sarcastically.
Then I shoved him out of the way because I could. When my arm made contact with his bare chest, I swear I felt a shock run through me as his muscles jumped under my touch.
I walked into his living room as if I owned the place and popped a squat on the couch closest to the fireplace. I folded my hands together and addressed Elijah when he joined me on the opposite couch, sprawling his long limbs across it.
Damn, he was too hot for his own good. And mine, for that matter.
"My eyes are up here, Ronnie," he said, startling me. I shot my gaze to his and rolled my eyes.
"Where's your father? My parents said he needed my help with something."
"Oh," he said, crossing his legs at the ankles, "he's not home."
"What do you mean he's not home?"
"Are you an idiot? I literally just said-"
I cut him off. "Do you know why he needs my help?"
Suddenly, Elijah burst out laughing, clutching his stomach as he doubled over and rested his elbows on his knees to catch his breath. I had no idea what was going on.
"I forgot I did that. No, my father is at work. I pretended I was him while I called your parents. I honestly forgot I had done that to get you to come over here. Otherwise I wouldn't have overslept."
I slammed my hands down on the couch cushions beside me and stood up. "What the hell? Why do you want me here?" I demanded with my hands on my hips.
He sat up perfectly straight and said in a serious tone, "We need to talk."
"No we don't," I said, getting extremely aggravated. I strode past him to leave his house.
I didn't make it very far. Elijah's arm shot out and slinked around my waist as he pulled me in his lap. His bare skin burned through my back as he crushed me against him. I was all too conscious of his arm around my stomach, holding me in place.
"Elijah..." I warned, absolutely frozen in his embrace. I felt my heart start to pound and I was scared he could hear it.
Goosebumps broke out across my body when I felt his lips on my ear as he whispered in a husky voice, "Are we seriously going to keep ignoring what's going on between us?"
"What do you mean?" I asked a little breathlessly.
Elijah pressed his lips at the sensitive spot on my neck, just underneath my jaw. I shivered and felt him smirk. "Just admit it now. The bet is off so you don't have to worry about losing your damn poster."
"Admit what?" I asked, stupidly. I really couldn't concentrate with him this close to me.
"That you're in love with me."
Well, that I had heard clearly. "No."
I felt his arm tighten around me as he said, "Then I'll say it. I've got nothing to lose now that I know I won't owe you my car."
Oh God. This wasn't happening. Elijah couldn't be about to admit-
"Congratulations, Ronnie. You beat me at my own game. I thought I'd be the one to steal all of your first times, but you've gone and stolen one of my first times."
"Which one?" I didn't know how it was possible, but I felt my heart increase it's speed as it rapidly beat in my chest. I already knew what he meant, I just wanted to hear him say it himself.
"You stole my sleep."
Well, that's not what I had been expecting him to say and it wasn't even a first time. Hell, I had thought he was about to tell me he had fallen in love with me; not that. So, I whipped around and my fists were flying before he even saw them coming.
Elijah swiftly grabbed both of my wrists and somehow twisted me around, bringing me down on my back as he hovered over me with my wrists bound tightly above my head. His long hair dangled around his face as he stared down at me. I was pretty sure my eyes were as wide as saucers when he opened his mouth.
"And you stole my first love without even knowing it."
I laid there, just staring at him, for what felt like an eternity before I found my voice.
"Can I still have your car at least?"
**************
What do you think will happen now that Elijah admitted his love for Veronica? Does she feel the same way?