Zoe And The Beast

Chapter 14 | Feel like a Rebel | Part 2

    "Okay, brace yourself," Vince teased. "Your rebellious mind may not be able to take it."

"Try me," I teased back.

Vince's hazel eyes suddenly grew eerily still, emotionless. His muscles tightened, his jaw clenched. A slight curve appeared in the corners of his lips, somewhat delirious, somewhat psychotic. He leaned forward in his chair, his face very close to mine, his piercing eyes boring deeply into my own, before he whispered, "I killed a man."

My eyes widened, fear bubbling through my veins. "Wh-what?"

There was a tone of sincerity in his voice, something that forced me to believe his words. And with Vince's reputation, there was very little doubt left in my body that he could pull something like this.

Vince continued to stare at me, his eyes unwavering, observing my reaction as I faltered away, unconsciously inching my chair as far away from his as possible.

After a moment, he let out a chuckle. "I'm kidding."

A crease furrowed between my brows silently, not quite believing his words.

"Zoe, I'm kidding," he repeated, his eyes arcing blissfully, a bright smile beaming across his face. "I've never killed anyone," he laughed. "Man, you should have seen your face."

"That was a joke?" I asked, in disbelief. That was a sick, sick joke.

His laugh died down like the deceleration of a car. "Yeah, it was funnier in my head." He coughed, embarrassed.

Over the fact that he tried to make murder a joke, I questioned him again. "So then what is the most rebellious thing that you've ever done?"

"I've scared you and raised your expectations. You'll be disappointed with the truth."

"Shoot me." Dammit, I wanted to know what the most rebellious thing was.

He paused before speaking, heaving in a sigh. "I ran away from home when I was younger."

He scrunched up his nose with a small smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. There was a story behind his words.

"For how long?"

"A couple of months."

My eyes widened. "You managed to hide for that long?"

"No one came to find me."

His face hardened, his tone telling me that the conversation was over.

"Anyway," I cleared my throat. "What about the basic things? Do you have any tattoos or piercings?"

"Of course I do." He sounded almost offended, a small twinkle in his eye. "I can't be a generic bad boy if I don't have a tattoo."

I paused, acknowledging his argument. There really wasn't ever a generic bad boy that didn't have tattoos. "Do you regret it?"

He shook his head. "Of course not. I chose to get it."

Well, duh. "Can I see it?"

He mused. "You can see it, but I'm pretty sure they'll kick me out if I took my shirt off."

I pressed my lips together, trying to hide my excited gape. Instantly, I began thinking of all the places he could have a tattoo. His chest, his abdomen, the sexy V below his abs...

Chill, Zoe. Chill.

Man, I was chilling a lot lately.

Laughing out loud at my expression, the amusement glinted even further in Vince's eyes. "You don't seem too fazed by a tattoo. Some people tend to hate tattoos."