Free Marked. Part I: The missing Link by J.M. Sevilla Page A

scared. Why?”
    “You fascinate me, even the parts of you that scare me,” I respond honestly, because that's how comfortable Jay makes me.
    “ That's the point I’m trying to make. There are two ways girls respond to me: pure fear and they run like hell, or they see me as a badass they want to wrap their legs around. And then there's you.” I can't tell what he means by that, especially since the very idea of wrapping my legs around him has my body heating up, craving intimate contact.
    “ You're different, Lily,” my face must have shown my misunderstanding, “You treat me differently. I'm not anybody to you but me; I'm not your dream of a wild night with a bad boy or someone you avert your eyes from, afraid that an act as simple as a smile might make me stalk you. Nobody's treated me like you do.”
    “ I thought you were bad news when we first met,” I guiltily tell him.
    “ Your first instincts about me weren’t wrong, Lily. I am bad news, and if I weren't leaving in a month I'd make you stay the hell away from me.”
    “ You're leaving?” I hate how much it hurts to say those words out loud.
    “ Yeah, I never stay in one place for too long. Nine months is my max.”
    “ You move every nine months?” I'm shocked. Who does that?
    People who are running, that's who.
    “At least.”
    “ I'd ask why, but I'm sure you won't tell me.”
    “ You are correct.”
    “ Why haven't you left here yet?”
    He chews on his lip, contemplating how forthcoming he wants to be, “I can't leave until some matters are taken care of. I figure another month should settle it.”
    “Who are you?” I'm studying him intently, trying to read any underlying layers, but his skin is so thick with disguise it's useless.
    “ It doesn’t matter. I'll be gone soon and you'll never see me again.”
    I can't believe how sad that makes me.
    He finishes showing me all his equipment and I head home, more exhausted and drenched in sweat than I have ever been. I really do need to start working out.
    That night when a nightmare strikes, I try Jay's technique. It doesn't put me to sleep but it does give me something else to think about, and within an hour of waking I'm asleep again.
    At eleven the next day I go to Jay's house to work out, and I'm disappointed when he leaves to run errands instead of joining me.

 
     
     
    Chapter 8
     
    Friday, January 10
    7:11pm
    On Wednesday, Jay had abruptly called me to come over to learn more moves. He kept asking about my nightmares and making sure I was doing okay. I lied to him and told him his technique was working. It was more of a white lie, because it has helped me. I am getting more sleep. However, I think now my lack of sleep is me preferring his bed to my own.
    We practiced kicking to the groin but I made a mistake and turned the wrong way so I rolled into him. I had lost my footing thinking I could still try and escape, causing me to stumble and fall back and bringing Jay with me. I landed flat on my back with his heavy body pressed on top. His forearms were on the sides of my face, making our noses centimeters from touching. We stared into each others' eyes and all that could be heard was our heavy breathing.
    I had nervously licked my lips, but his face had been close enough that the tip of my tongue grazed his bottom lip. His eyes squeezed together before opening and staring down at me. His face was hard, serious, and devoid of any emotion, but he didn't get up. Instead of our heavy breathing subsiding, it seemed to increase the longer we stayed like that. He eventually got up, mumbling something about having errands to run and I was pushed out the door.
    The rest of my time has consisted of job searching and going so out of my mind with boredom that every nook and cranny of my mom's house is polished, scrubbed, and dust free. So when Naomi called during her lunch break to complain about her shitty day and she's picking me up at seven to get drinks, I was thrilled.
    As I'm getting