Living Silver

“So where are we going exactly?” I asked Karlee as we sat in her bedroom getting ready to go out for the twins’ birthday. “I know we’re going somewhere fancy since I’m dressed like this.” I pushed my silver bracelets back up my wrist and over the pearl one. This was a perfect opportunity to wear the dress I had bought earlier today, but I still didn’t know what it was that Karlee had planned for us all to do together.

“Well there’s this new club opening tonight,” she replied, pushing her hair back over her shoulder so she could see her ears in the mirror and put in the earrings that Trey had bought her for her fourteenth birthday. She loved them so much that she only wore them on special occasions so they wouldn’t get lost or ruined, but he had really good taste. That was probably one of the best things about him. “It’s got an under-nineteen night every Friday so we can get in. We just can’t drink. But I can’t guarantee that Pax is going to follow that rule.”

“I’m sure he won’t,” I laughed. “He’s sixteen now. He’s going to take advantage of the fact that he looks like an eighteen year old and his birthday is the perfect opportunity to do it. I take it it’s a fairly formal club, then.”

“Sort of. They don’t encourage jeans or shorts, or anything like that. So what you’re wearing is perfect.” Karlee turned away from the mirror and put her arms out. “What do you think? Too much?”

Karlee looked stunning. It wasn’t even her night but she was definitely going to have all heads turning her way when she walked into the club. She was wearing a short red dress that spread out like a tutu from her waist and reached about mid-thigh before cutting off. It was strapless, so she wouldn’t have to be adjusting the ties every five seconds.

“You look great,” I said, holding up two thumbs. “You’re going to knock Trey right off his feet when he sees you. It’ll be like his birthday present.” She blushed.

“I’m not aiming to impress Trey,” she said.

“Then why is your face all red?” I smirked.

She picked up her pillow and chucked it at my face, making my hair go everywhere. “Shut up,” she hissed.

“You bitch,” I growled, jumping up and racing to her mirror to fix it up again.

“You deserved it.”

“Touché.”

Pax knocked on the door. “Let’s go, people. You’re keeping the fun waiting and I am bored out here.”

“Five seconds,” Karlee said to me, pointing to the door and going over to her closet and shuffling around to find a pair of shoes. I nodded.

“Dress nice!” he called. I got up and stuck just my head out the door, cocking a brow at him as he stood there, just staring right back at me. Pax was set up like a mannequin because of his posture and position, but also looked like a model in his black dress pants and white button-up shirt, his matching jacket thrown casually over his shoulder while his other hand was shoved in his pocket. He looked hot, to be truthful. He shrugged at me. “Pretty girl,” he said.

“You’re a pretty girl.” I pushed the door opened all the way.

Pax smirked at me. “I am a pretty girl.”

“Let’s go, you two. We’re going to be late,” Karlee said, putting a hand on our backs and making us walk down the stairs. Her dad was at the door, tapping his foot impatiently while he waited for us and talking to Trey at the same time. Trey looked up when we came down and immediately, his eyes were attached to Karlee.

“You look beautiful,” he said.

She grinned. “Thank you.”

Pax nudged me with his hip and winked. I smiled at him and we all stepped out into the warm summer night. It was the perfect evening for a walk into town and an even better time to celebrate with friends for a birthday. Unfortunately, Hailey and Ruby were both coming along with us. Gage was busy with Molly again, so I didn’t even bother asking him if he wanted to tag along. Karlee was my date now, so no one was left alone. Although Pax was going to be until around eight, and that was when Hailey planned to show up.

I already disliked Ruby. There was something about her that screamed trouble and I knew that that relationship was somehow going to cause issues down the road. Trey was going to have a problem with her. But I also wanted him with Karlee, so that was another reason I didn’t like her.

There was a large line outside the door of the new club downtown, which was no surprise because it looked absolutely amazing from the outside and after we had paid and stepped inside, it got even better. Multicolored lights shone around the room of dancers while round booth-styled tables were set up around the side with little curtains covering in case we wanted privacy. If they weren’t already occupied, they were pushed and pinned back to the corners to show it was vacant. We all quickly grabbed one and Ruby squeezed in beside Trey with Karlee on his other side, me on hers and then Pax on the opposite end of the table. When the waiter came around and asked us what we wanted to drink, I got the shocker out of Pax only ordering a Coke. After we had all ordered and the waiter left, I looked at Pax with my eyebrows raised.

“No alcohol?” I asked. “I don’t get it.”

He just smiled and leaned closer to whisper something in my ear. “I know you wanted me to stay sober for the night so consider it my gift to you.”

“It’s your birthday, not mine,” I reminded him, patting him on the knee as a joke.

“Let’s just keep it clean. Is that your foot on my leg?”

I sat back, stunned. “What? No.”

Pax smiled. “Ruby, you’ve got the wrong person.” Her foot hit the table corner while a look of utter humiliation came to her face. Pax and I burst out laughing but Karlee and Trey just sat there, confused as ever. “I don’t want to just wait around. Let’s go dance.” He looked at me. “You! Get on your feet.”

“I’m not your date,” I reminded him, smiling proudly. Karlee laughed.

“Go ahead. I can hold down the fort if you guys want to go,” she said more to Trey and Ruby than Pax and I. He was already hoisting me out of my seat and onto the dance floor where popular radio music was playing over the speakers at a high volume. That meant the chances of hearing each other say anything were very slim. But from the looks of things, Pax wasn’t very interested in talking. His arm came around my waist and pulled me right against him. I couldn’t help the gasp that escaped me. Pax smirked and leaned forward, his lips purposely brushing my ear. A shiver shot up my spine.

“Breathless already?” he teased. “We’ve hardly even started.”

“And what is it that you plan on doing exactly?” I asked.

“You’ll see.”

“Don’t go too far,” I said. “You have a girlfriend.”

He leaned back to look me directly in the eye. “Not right now.”

I raised my eyebrows at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

His hand slid up my back, slowly, painfully, torturing me. Why was it that I could handle Pax touching me any other time but when it came to something as simple as dancing, something that normally would be innocent but now seemed intimate and almost dangerous, I could barely control myself? My skin was on fire. Pax’s hand moved higher and stopped at the back of my neck. He bent his face down really close to mine and my eyes involuntarily widened from having him so close.

His other arm came around my waist again but this time, his hand stopped at the very curve of my back, sending an unexpected jolt all over my body. Pax was crafty; he was making me feel very hot with my skin burning everywhere but anyone watching would have just thought we were getting close enough to dance together. That wasn’t the case.

“Whoa,” I panted, and immediately covered my mouth from embarrassment.

“I may have made a huge mistake with something,” he whispered.

I stared at him. “What?”

Pax opened his mouth to reply but then his eyes were cast upwards and he stepped away from me, his hands falling to his sides. I felt suddenly lonely without his arms around me but when I turned around, I understood why. Hailey had walked in and was looking around. Then she caught sight of us and made her way over.

“Hey,” she said to Pax, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “Happy birthday.”

He smiled at her. “Thanks.”

“Andy.” She turned to face me, looking a little out of breath and very upset. “I need to tell you something. Right now.”

“What is it?”

“You’re not going to like it.”

I was about to say that her presence was something I didn’t like, but I kept my mouth shut because she looked generally bothered by whatever she was holding back.

“What is it, Hailey?” I asked.

“It’s Gage,” she said. “He kissed Molly.”



The next day, I met up with Gage at the beach. I had stayed up until the early hours of the morning thinking of what to say to him, how to approach him without seeming vulnerable enough for him to know that he hurt me, but not too emotional that he would think I was a heartless bitch. Either way, I was furious and I had enough anger built up inside of me that I was ready to burst at any minute and if someone got on my bad side even by accident, they were dead meat. Luckily, no one did.

I sat on the bench waiting for him and when I saw him approaching looking all cute and sweet, I almost faltered until I realized that I was here for a reason and not just to pretend I didn’t know.

“Hey,” he said with a smile, leaning down to kiss me but I turned my head at the last minute and his lips hit my cheek. I crossed my arms over my chest and looked up at him with the devil in my eyes. Gage looked confused. “Are you okay?”

“No,” I said. “I’m not okay. How’d you make out last night?”

“What?”

“Molly, Gage. How did you make out with Molly last night? Was it good? Did you enjoy it?” I asked, raising my eyebrows. The fury inside of me was growing because he was playing dumb and acting like he didn’t know what was going on. But that fury was replaced with a feeling of betrayal when his eyes went wide and face visibly paled. He knew now that he had been found out, and when he looked down at his feet, ashamed, I wanted to just step on his feet so he would look at me again.

“How did you know?”

“Hailey told me. It’s funny that someone I share a mutual disdain for is better at telling the truth than you are. You’re my boyfriend, Gage. I shouldn’t have to worry about this shit and you . . . certainly shouldn’t have gone that far. See, I knew this was going to happen. I just knew it.”

“It was a mistake,” Gage said, running a hand through his hair. “Look, I can’t even begin to explain how sorry I am. I wasn’t thinking and I—”

“I’ve heard it before, okay?” I said, shaking my head. “You were confused, you were thinking of me the entire time, I don’t care. Whatever bullshit excuse you have if just a lie. You weren’t caught up in the moment either, so don’t even try and pull that one. Fact is, you knew as well as I did that Molly wanted to get back together with you and even with that knowledge, you didn’t stop her from making a move and you did end up choosing her over me.”

“Andy—”

“What?”

Gage opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, then finally let out a shaky sigh. “I’m in love with her,” he admitted. “I’m sorry, but I am.”

“And this didn’t occur to you earlier? You had to put me through that?” I asked, throwing an arm out. I scoffed angrily. “You’re amazing, you know that? What, did you think dating me would help you get over her or something? You can’t honestly tell me you expected me to be okay with all of this at the end. I actually liked you. I guess that was stupid.”

“Andy, hear me out,” he said, grabbing my arms and holding me in place when I started to turn away. “I know I made a really stupid choice but if you were in my position, you would do the same thing.”

“No, Gage. I wouldn’t. That’s cheating and if I was in a relationship with someone, I would never cheat on them. That really reflects badly on you though. Good to know where your head’s at,” I argued passionately.

“But if you knew that it was your very last change at being with someone you were crazy about, and would do absolutely anything for, would you honestly pass up that opportunity? It’s times like those where your own happiness is the number one priority.”

I barked out a sarcastic laugh. “Great.” I pushed his arms off me. “Well then I hope you’re happy with Molly, Gage. You won’t have to worry about me holding you down anymore. Go be with your soul mate.”

And I walked away, not entirely pleased with how it had ended since I didn’t want to show so much weakness but if there was a silver lining at all, it was that I had left him there calling out the name of the one girl he was never going to have again.



August 2nd, 6:54 pm.

“Maybe you were right,” I sighed, collapsing dramatically onto Pax’s bed. “Maybe I really do attract idiots.”

“What? No! Hey, I was just kidding,” he said, standing up from his computer desk and coming over to lie down beside me.

“It’s still true though.”

“Not necessarily.”

“How?” Pax fell silent and when I turned my head to look at him, he was biting his lip while he fished through his brain for an answer. I nodded and looked back up again. “Right.”

“Don’t let a guy like that bring you down. You’re worth so much more and I’m sure people have told you this before but any guy that chooses some other girl over you has a brain full of air. You should either be his first choice or not a choice at all and if he had even a little bit of smarts up there, then he would have chose you over that teeny-bopper, Molly,” he said.

“Teeny-bopper?”

“You know what I mean.”

“I probably shouldn’t date anyone for a while.”

“That sounds like a golden idea.”

“This is exactly why I don’t like relationships,” I groaned. “I always seem to get screwed over. I need one of those stress-relievers. If I’m ever involved with someone, I’m not going to let it get serious, and I’m definitely not putting a label on it. That just complicates things and I am tired of complicated.”

“Are you suggesting a friend with benefits?” Pax asked, sitting up to look down at me.

“Maybe.”

He snorted. “That never works.”

“Hmm.” I put a hand on my forehead. “I may just lie here for a bit and count the dots on your ceiling. Would that be cool?”

“You’d be here for years, Andy.”

“Is that a problem?”

“I have to sleep.”

“I’ll move, but I can guarantee you that changing my spot would cause me to lose count of what number I’m at and then I’ll have to start all over again,” I said plainly, looking at the top left-hand corner and beginning my calculations.

“Get up,” Pax said, rising off the bed and grabbing my arm. I moaned, desperate for him to just leave me there. “I’m taking you out. No Karlee and Trey, no Hailey, no stress over boyfriends or girlfriends or relationships or anything. We’ll go see a movie or something. I refuse to sit here and watch you rot and decay in my bedroom.”

“That’s disgusting.”

“That’s true. Now come on, make yourself useful.”

I shot him a glare and brought my legs around the side of the bed, pushing myself up. “What movie did you have in mind?”

“Any one you want,” he said, grabbing his cell phone, wallet and house key off his desk and shoving them all in his pockets. He put a hand on my back and led me downstairs. I put my sneakers on and stepped outside once Pax was finished getting ready as well. We hitched a ride on the bus and took it up to the nearest movie theatre and once we got there, it was around seven thirty. The only movies playing now were things meant for adult audiences only, so I picked the first one where I recognized the title and we both went into the theatre together.

“Popcorn?” Pax asked once we grabbed seats.

“I don’t want to do that to myself,” I said. “Movie popcorn is the worst for packing on the pounds.”

Pax snorted. “Don’t be such a girl. You just got your heart broken. I think you’re allowed to stuff your face tonight.” He quickly excused himself and five minutes later when he returned and the theatre was beginning to fill up rather quickly, he not only brought popcorn, but got me my own bag of gummy bears.

I looked up at him, surprised. “Hey, you’ve told me before that you love these things. They’re comfort food, okay? If you really feel that bad about your body tomorrow, then we’ll go for a run in the morning to work it off. I can’t stand seeing you upset over a guy as big of an idiot as Gage. You need this, Andy.”

I loved having Pax around after a tough breakup because no matter what, he always came through for me and sometimes even blew off his own dates to stick around if I wasn’t feeling well. And I couldn’t think of anyone else I would have rather been with at that moment but him. I didn’t like getting emotional—mostly because on the rare occasion that I did, it was because I was going through a really awful situation or something just struck a nerve, either good or bad—but my eyes started to water. I leaned over my seat and kissed Pax on the cheek. He looked stunned when he turned to me.

“What was that for?”

“Everything,” I said. “You’re the best.”

He smiled and gave me a little wink of encouragement. Then he took my hand, not as some sort of come-on but just as reassurance that I would have him around when I needed him and that simple gesture made the entire night worth crying over.



When the movie was over, I felt ten times better than I did going into it. Pax was so easy to be around and he was definitely the best choice for me to spend my time with tonight after everything that had happened. Pax came out quoting lines from the movie that had me nearly gasping for my breath while we walked out of the theatre and to the nearest bus stop.

“That was fun,” I smiled, taking in the beautiful purple sunset and the cool summer night. “I really appreciate you doing this, Pax.”

“No problem. It was awesome and I’m sure you needed it.”

“I did.” I nudged him with my elbow. “You’re really great, you know that right?”

Pax laughed and grabbed my arm, yanking me into a misty alleyway. “Let’s go this way.”

“But the bus stop is just down the street,” I said, pointing to the exit of the alley. Pax continued to pull me away.

“I know. This is a shortcut.”

“What?” I laughed. “Yeah, okay.” I scanned the pathway we followed, feeling a darkening chill creeping up on me. “This is a little eerie. Why did you want to come this way exactly?”

“Adventure,” he said. “I’m living on the edge. This makes me think of that part from Spiderman when that hot chick got attacked and he rescued her. Then they made out while he just hung there upside down.”

I smiled and pushed him to the side. “You’re nuts.”

“Yeah, maybe,” he admitted and began to hum the Spiderman theme song, making me laugh. “I bet it would be cool to have webs come out your wrist and then just hover from a building. Do you think it feels weird to kiss someone when you’re reversed rather than being in the same general direction as the kissee?”

“That is an interesting question, Pax. You should ask Peter Parker,” I teased.

“I’ll remember that, maybe put it on my bucket list. Hey, I’ve got a question for you.”

“Shoot.”

“What would you do if I kissed you right now?”

I paused and looked over at him, eyes narrowed suspiciously. He wasn’t kidding around. I knew Pax’s joking face and this was his serious one. I managed a tiny smile. “That depends. Are you going to?”

“I was thinking about it,” he smirked.

I leaned against the brick wall and crossed my arms. “Hm, I don’t know. I’ve heard you’re not a very good kisser,” I joked.

Pax mocked offense. “Well I’ll just have to prove you otherwise,” he said, stepping closer.

“Then let’s see what you’ve got,” I returned. “Or are you scared? This is a big step.”

“I’m about to make out with my best friend in an alley,” he grinned. “I already know I’m taking a big risk here. But to be honest . . .” He put his hands against the wall on either side of my head, leaning in. “I couldn’t give a shit even if I wanted to.” His face lingered even closer than it did on his birthday in the middle of the dance floor. That familiar tingle hit me again, fast and hard. I didn’t particularly mind it. It wasn’t like I had gotten it before; even with Gage, I didn’t. This was a whole other level. “Are you backing out?” he asked. “The minute we cross this line, everything changes.”

“You have a girlfriend,” I said, just like last night.

"Not right now," he followed. I stared at him, mesmerized by the beautiful boy in front of me but it was only for a very short period of time because mere seconds after him finishing his sentence, Pax’s lips were attached to mine, my arms were wrapped around his waist and he was pulled right against me. It felt like my skin was on fire. I had kissed boys before, but it was nothing like this. It may have had to do with the fact that Pax was very skillful in the kissing field but for some reason, it didn’t seem like that was it. We had chemistry and it was undeniable. Pax brought his hands off the wall and cupped my face, deepening the kiss. I couldn’t resist the quiet moan against his mouth but the minute it came out, my face burned from loss of composure. I didn’t want him to know that he could make me let my guard down so easy but he obviously already knew, and didn’t care. Pax pulled away for a minute and stared into my eyes, looking almost worried to see what my reaction would be.

“Wow,” I said, breathless.

And all he had to do to have me become simple jelly in his hands was smile, and kiss me again.