Devils Roses 01 - Cursed

feel like I’m talking to your sister, not you.” He hung up the phone and I felt the guilt left dangling at the end of the conversation. My poor dad had been through enough. He didn’t need me acting like Alise, to top things off. I looked back at the end of the pier for him. The pier held private moorage all summer long. It was starting to fill up, and in the midst of the boats and docks, I couldn’t see him. I looked around but I was alone.
    I tried to run back around the corner to see the entrance to the docks, but my side hurt too much. I slowly walked around, looking for him.
    At the entrance, I saw Shane walking down the pier. He looked angry. I had forgotten about him completely, which seemed odd, considering the conversation we'd had.
    He looked beautiful in his jeans and dark-blue t-shirt, which made his troubled blue eyes stand out more. “Where is he?” Shane spoke firmly, taking my hand. He looked hurt, which made me feel sick. I hadn’t done anything to feel guilty, technically.
    I shrugged. “Who?"
    "The guy you were having coffee with." He didn’t look fooled by the act.
    "I don’t know, he was here and then he left. At least now I know who the guy with the crazy blue eyes from your party is. His name is Aleksander. How could you possibly know already, I was with him?”
    “ Thelma at the coffee shop called your dad. Where is he?” he ended the sentence angrily.
    I shivered from the cold ocean air. “I don’t know. I phoned my dad and he was gone.”
    “ Does that seem like the behavior of a nice guy?” he raised an eyebrow at me.
    I shook my head. I knew how hurt he was. I had not only ignored our conversation on the phone, but also hung out with another guy.
    "Shane, you know how badly I wanted to solve the mystery of the man from my memory." I tried to sound injured by his assumption.
    "I don’t know an Aleksander. We need to get you home." He pulled me along the pier gently.
    We never spoke again on the drive to my place, what with all the confusion on both our parts lingering about. My dad was at the door when we pulled up.
    “ He was really worried, Aimee.” His eyes burned down on me. “I was worried too.”
    I nodded. “I know. Thanks for the ride, Shane.” I leaned over to kiss his cheek, but he turned his lips and pressed them into mine. It was my first kiss—ever. He pulled me into him, kissing me a little harder. I kissed him back. It was a soft but passionate kiss, exactly the way I had always imagined a kiss would be. My heart did a flip and then a flop. He put his hand on my lower back and pulled me into his chest, crushing me. I winced in pain from my side, as I breathlessly pulled away.
    “ Think about what I said on the phone earlier.” His eyes were aflame with desire. I almost leaned in for another kiss. I stopped myself, knowing my dad was watching the moment. I climbed out of the truck instead.
    “ Night, Shane. Thanks.” My dad waved as Shane waved back at him through my open door. “Night, Mr. James. Night, Aimee.” He didn’t smile, he didn’t need to. I knew what was racing through his mind. It was going through mine too.
    I climbed the steps to my front porch and nodded to my dad. “Sorry Dad. I didn’t mean to worry you.”
    He put an arm around me. “I really like that kid.”
    His smile was expectant. I knew he wanted details, but I shrugged. “He’s the best.”
    My dad winced. “Ooouuuu poor Shane, he’s the best. That’s too bad, he doesn’t know you don’t like him back. Do you?”
    I didn’t have an answer. I collapsed onto the couch. “Daddy, I don’t know what to do. A month ago, I had no boys. I had my books and Blake. Now I have too many boys to pick from, a stalker, a new bff who is a total moron, but I really love her, and I haven’t read a book in weeks, and Blake—wtf Dad? He’s dating Alise, which I get—she’s hot, but come on... She’s horrid.”
    The memory came back. I remembered lying in the grass thinking how handsome Shane was, telling him I didn’t get why he liked my sister. He was staring at me the way he had before he kissed me. He was going to kiss me that night, before Alise came stumbling out onto the grass cussing like a pig, tripping everywhere.
    “ Honey, no matter the number of daddies you say, which we both know I love, it won’t solve your problems. You need some separation and time. Your sister is not horrid, Aimee. That’s a cruel thing to say. She’s just extreme and passionate in