A Beautiful, Terrible Love by Lucky 97 (books for 9th graders txt) 📖

taking my heart and jumping on it.
"Okay," the reporter gave in to Dex's claims. "But not for long, right?" he shot a wink at me. I blushed a little, Dex finally looking at me in alarm.
"We don't know," Dex quickly said, drawing the reporter's attention away from my blush.
"Can you answer some more questions over here?" he gestured to a rock Dex could easily climb up on, closer to him, and he obliged, not brushing past me like he normally did, but coldly walking past me. My shoulder felt icy from the touch he didn't give. Then, he walked over to the man, and quickly started conversing in low tones.
I couldn't breathe, my throat suddenly constricting, my lungs folding under the pressure. Dex didn't want to be seen with me.
I guess that would be reasonable, for him. He didn't truly do anything wrong. So what if he decided that he didn't want his reputation to be dashed by me? I guess I really was a "spring fling", and I shouldn't have been gullible enough to fall for him.
Scratch that. I fell for him a long time ago.
I slowly edged towards the top of the ledge, taking short steps towards a ledge that would lead me upwards. For some reason, I didn't feel comfortable just standing there, looking at their forms in agony over Dex's behavior.
In truth, I was sick of worrying over Dex.
I reached for a rock, hoisting myself up higher, Dex paying no attention to my escapade, and climbed like a monkey towards the top of the ledge. I guess sadness and anger really does do a lot towards your determination and ability to do things. I was almost flying up the tall wall that loomed before me, my hands whirring with activity as I got closer...
After about five minutes, Dex's head appeared from the cliff, his eyes focused on me. I was exhausted from the trek up the ledge, so I was lying, back to the ground, on the cool, green grass. Out of the corner of my eye, I could spot him swinging his muscled and fit body over the top, truly a sight to see as his shirt rose above his belly button in mid-swing.
I said nothing to him, staring at the white, puffy clouds that rose above me. They were beautiful, little blasts of snow-white smoke, that moved with the breeze, floating along happily. He, sensing my sadness, laid down beside me, his ruby read hair mingling with mine, his hand touching my own.
I shook a little as a blast of energy flowed into me from that single touch.
"Look at that turtle," Dex pointed, his beautiful arms waving in the air, directed towards a certain cloud. It was a biggie, a colossal Columbus cloud, that resembled a turtle.
I laughed as the cloud thinned a little, making it look more like a skunk. "No, it's a skunk! See that little tail?"
"I think it looks more like a squirrel," he insisted, staring at it intensely. It shone, the sun behind it illuminating the sides.
"I think it's a skunk!" I countered. "You can smell that nasty gas a skunk is so famous for." I sniffed, my nose wrinkling in the summer air. "You know what?" I turned to face him, my face lying sideways in the grass, the tiny blades poking at my cheek.
"What?" he asked softly, his green eyes temporarily disarming me.
But I quickly regained my trace of thought. "I think it's you, not the skunk up there," I laughed at the sheer incredulity of what I said. His scent was actually the mix of strawberries and mint, a fantastic aroma that delighted the senses and made me sigh with awe.
He laughed also, joining me in my pleasure.
"Yeah, probably so," he whispered. Then, a cocky grin reached his face, his splendid features breaking into a grin. "But you like it," he said teasingly, one of his eyebrow raised.
"No I don't!" I pretended to be alarmed, although we both knew I couldn't truly lie to him.
"You're the one that keeps sniffing me, Eve," he laughed even harder, causing my sense of humor to continue on its chuckling rant.
We abruptly stopped laughing when we realized we were alone. There was no one around, the family we had seen earlier gone without a trace.
I stared at him, awkwardness rising within us both.
Then, Dex smiled, and reached with one hand to brush my hair away from my face. Slowly, he began at my forehead, and brushed his finger lightly down my cheeks, over my plump lips, and down to my collarbone. "Has... anyone told you, you are beautiful?" he tenderly asked, taking a strand of my hair and stroking it slowly, "because you are."
I didn't say anything, mesmerized by the movement of his lips, the way he said everything so deliciously. I desperately wanted to suck the words from his lips to get a taste of their smoothness. We were impossibly close, unable to tell from which one of our breaths came, my nose close to his. We stared at each other, dreamily, my eyes nearly closed. Was this a dream?
If so, I wish dreams would last forever.
"You know that I only wanted to protect you," he whispered, breaking the silence.
"What?"
"I said we weren't going out, because if we were, all my fans would want to kill you," he grinned. I smiled back, my hair flying around me, waved by the whirl of the wind.
"Does that mean we are? Going out, I mean."
Silence greeted us next, my blood running cold.
His eyes grew urgent, tugging at me impossibly.
"Eve, could I-" his cell phone rang, a beeping noise that was impossible to ignore. "Sorry," he apologized, digging for it frantically, and then raising it delicately to his ear. After a few minutes, his eyes grew wide, and he nearly growled at the phone.
"When?? Now?" I could hear yapping on the caller's side, and a violent crackle that most phones had in their connections at one point or another.
He banged his expensive phone in the dirt, anger showing on his face. The coldness I had seen before returned, his face in absolute disgust. He stood up, lifting me up with him.
"I have some unfinished business to attend to in Hollywood," he said, his voice resigned. "I'm so sorry, Eve."
In HOLLYWOOD? He's going to... go?
He looked deep into my eyes. "Do you have a ride home?"
"Yeah," Sadie was in this area, and all I had to do was call her. But I didn't WANT to. I wanted Dex to take me home.
"I-I-I'm sorry," he stuttered again, pain and anguish showing in his features. He turned away, walking a few paces towards the entrance, then quickly whirled back to face me. He rushed to me, our bodies meeting, sparks flying between us. Our mouths met, lips in perfect sync, as he quickly kissed me into oblivion. His kiss was so sweet, more delicious than anything I had ever dreamed of...
"I have to go," he quickly pulled away, running towards the entrance again where a limo sat impatiently. I watched, spellbound, frozen in my place, as the limo doors shut, the engine starting. The limo quickly became a speck in my vision, until even it was no longer visible.
It was the right time for the words to be said, but that stupid phone call ruined it. It ripped everything I knew about Dex, his kindness, his sweetness, apart. When he left, I wasn't sure of anything. What if Dex was only faking his kindness, masking his true self? That last second, before he disappeared into the sleek, black limo, he seemed... far away. Distant. Like my dream was finally fading away into reality.
I recalled, from a couple of weeks ago, when I had said to him, "Don't leave me." I had meant what I said, and I knew that he heard me. He didn't promise me he would, but he acknowledged my words. I thought he wanted to be with me. I could understand business matters, but this sudden departure?
Why did he have to leave now, when everything was finally so perfect?

Chapter 14
Dex

I could still picture perfectly in my mind Eve's stricken, pained expression as I travelled farther and farther away from her, the intense terror and regret piercing through me still. I had finally, after years of being under the constant spotlight, met someone who shined just as brightly as I did, enchanting me instead of the other way around. She was a beautiful girl with an incredible voice that completely disarmed me from the very beginning. She was special, one of a kind.
I reached with a tender hand to my lips, recalling her impossibly sweet lips as they collided with mine, an unforgettable experience that made my heart beat even faster every time I thought about it. Her hand was warm and soft as it brushed against my cheek, delighting me, symbolizing that maybe she was feeling exactly what I was. It was pure ecstasy, an incredible few seconds that I would remember forever.
Even when I was just around Eve, I felt comfortable. Happy. She, somehow, made me want to care for her. She made me want to be by her side.
The piercing ring of my phone still echoed in my head from those few seconds where everything was perfect. I remembered how desperately I wanted to quell the cell phone's cries, to throw it away, even, so I could have more time with Eve. But the dreaded caller ID alerted me to the fact that throwing my phone away was not an option.
It was the owner of the record deal company, RACE, that I work with. As I flipped open the shiny phone, I had immediately switched to a business tone. RACE controlled practically my whole life, so I couldn't disrespect one of them.
"Dex?" the low, raspy growl of Mr. Benjamin Klein seared through my mind once again.
"Yes, sir?" I had asked respectfully. My whole being had gone numb from anticipation, frightened at what he might demand.
"We need you in Hollywood," his clipped and measured tone drove the blade of words into my chest.
"What?" I nearly screamed, all respect forgotten, "Now?!!" Eve had looked at me in total alarm, terror in her features. Just then, I had felt the urge to grab her in my arms, to tell her over and over again that it was okay.
"A limo is waiting, and the plane flight is at seven o' clock pm," Suddenly, the vibrating phone went dead in my clammy hands, alerting me to the dreadful circumstances I was in. I was going to have to leave Eve.
Maybe that was why I thought a kiss from her would sustain me, carry me on through the wretched days I would have to endure without her. And for a few seconds it was pure perfection that made me the happiest I've ever been. But in the seconds and minutes afterwards, leading until the present, I discovered that one kiss wasn't enough.
I wanted more.
I longed, once again, to feel the overwhelming joy Eve seemed to bring with her wherever she went, her happiness elating me also. I wanted to look in her sapphire eyes again, be mesmerized again and again by their depth, their beauty. Most of all, I desired to feel her lips on mine, experience that total euphoria once more. A couple seconds wasn't enough for me.
I craved a lifetime of seconds with Eve.
Why couldn't I say that I loved her when I had the chance?

As I stepped off the plane, I was once again greeted by