I Need You (Meant For Me Book 1)

  I NEED YOU

  A Meant For Me Novel

  N. Natishna

  I Need You © 2020 by N. Natishna. All Rights Reserved.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  N. Natishna

  Printed in the United States of America

  First Printing: Feb 2020

  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1.

  Chapter 2.

  Chapter 3.

  Chapter 4.

  Chapter 5.

  Chapter 6.

  Chapter 7.

  Chapter 8.

  Chapter 9.

  Chapter 10.

  Chapter 11.

  Chapter 12.

  Chapter 13.

  Chapter 14.

  Chapter 15.

  Epilogue.

  CHAPTER 1.

  “B, I am literally going as fast as I can."

  Phone between my ear and shoulder while standing precariously on one heel, I slipped on my favorite black ankle boots. My best friend Bianca was raising hell, because we were late and she only had the guys to keep her company. Not anything serious to bitch about, but Bianca was queen of the dramatics. Her fiery red hair and icy blue eyes pretty much sealed her fate when she was born. She definitely had the attitude to go with it.

  "Emma, I seriously cannot believe you guys are gonna be late again! You were on coffee duty today and I'm so dying for caffeine right now.” She let out a sound that was between a growl and a groan. “You know how I am without my cup of jojo, Em!”

  I rushed to grab my book bag, pausing at my mirror to fix the white headband in my hair. “Chill out. Aria just texted me, she’s here now.”

  “Fine. But get some munchies. The guys are totally gone and need some sustenance.”

  She disconnected before I could reply. I put my phone in the back of my white skinny jeans and pulled a little at the hi-low hem of my peach blouse. I went through eight outfits until I finally settled on this one. Nothing big, but not simple either. I’m sure my mom would be oh so pleased.

  The boots were my go-to shoes, my favorite since they were from my sister. Kathrynn was eight years older than me and my biggest confidant. She was seriously the best sister you could ask for; selfless and caring and had the biggest heart. She and her husband, Jon, had T.J at nineteen, and had another one due in three months.

  My phone vibrated in my back pocket. Pulling it out, I read the text from my other best friend, Aria.

  Aria! Girl hurry!

  Rushing from the room, I make sure to ruffle the silk fluff that was my two Persian cat’s heads on the way out. They were my babies, along with my two black great Danes, and had been gifts from my parents for my 10th birthday.

  Our housekeeper was walking up the curved staircase to my wing with a basket of folded clothes as I ran past. She almost lost her balance when she tried to dart out of my way.

  “My goodness, child, where’s the fire?” she called after me.

  I chuckled and waved behind me. “Sorry, Jay!” Then I felt bad for almost knocking her down the stairs, so I hustled back and pecked her cheek. “I’ll be careful next time.”

  Aria was waiting in front of my house in her grey convertible. Believe me when I say riding in her car was a serious risk to your safety. She loves speed, and that car zoomed with barely a kiss to the gas pedal. I, on the other hand, prefer safe. That’s why I stick to my Miracle – my white SUV.

  “Faster, mamacita! We gotta hit the café still!”

  I tossed my bag into the back and jumped over the passenger door – something I’ve perfected ever since Aria got the car. As soon as my butt touched the seat, she hit the gas, tires squealing around the giant water fountain that sat in the center of our circular driveway. Mom was so gonna shit when she sees the marks Aria no doubt left in our wake. Again.

  I shook my head and took a deep breath, and right as I let it out Aria took a sharp right onto the main road and I tipped sideways. My hair flung in my face and I impatiently shoved it back.

  “Jesus, Aria! Couldn’t you at least wait for me to put my seatbelt on, you lunatic!” She just laughed and reached over to pat my leg. “Both hands on the wheel!” I yelled as I buckled up.

  Aria and I have been best friends since we were six and she accidentally spilled glitter all over a painting I was doing in kindergarten. Turned out, the glitter actually gave my picture a perfect shine. That painting hangs above my bed now. She was tall, Mexican, and had a temper to match a raging bull. Her dad, Alberto owned Al’s Pizzeria and Gaming downtown. It was the best place to hang out after school and after games since it was so close to the high school. Her mom, Henrietta, was an English teacher at our school.

  “Calm down, Em, and listen to this.” She threw me a wicked smile before focusing back on the road. “Dad hired a new dude to work the game floor. Total hot guy in a dark way and eyes that see into your soul.” She fell back against her seat as she stopped at a red light.

  I pursed my lips and eyed her obvious swooning. “Um, does Zane know about this so-called hot guy?”

  Her scoff didn’t surprise me in the slightest. When it came to Zane, Aria was either scoffing, yelling in Spanish, or sucking his face off. Together since they were ten, Aria and Zane did not tone down their possessiveness of each other for anything. Their chemistry was off the charts and enviable.

  “We were both there when Deklan came for an interview. He even hung out afterwards with Zane and Luke. They totally hit it off.”

  I nodded and then fiddled with her radio. “So Cody’s been stalking me for a few weeks now.”

  I say this nonchalantly, as if it’s no big deal. Aria immediately explodes in a rush of Spanish, and pounds her steering wheel for emphasis.

  I dated Cody for most of our junior year before I just got annoyed with him. He was clingy and freakishly demanding. Anytime I wasn’t with him, he’d blow up my phone, or randomly show up somewhere I was. When I would turn it off, he would get pissed and accuse me of cheating. During our last month together he started to get too aggressive and physical for me.

  I broke it off two months before summer. The closer it got to the beginning of our senior year, the more he tried to worm his way back to me. As if the ten times I told him we were so over didn’t give him a clue.

  “Are you gonna get the guys on his ass?” she asked hotly.

  “No, don’t get them involved in this, Aria.” I shook my head adamantly. “I can deal with Cody. Just wanted you to know in case I go missing soon.”

  She glared at me. “That’s not funny. Shit like that happens for real, Em.”

  "Okay, okay! My bad, but seriously don't tell the guys. It's harmless, really." I playfully nudged her elbow and changed the subject as we went to get coffee. It was when we were parked in the lot of the school that Aria shocked me.

  She turned to me before getting out of the car. “Okay, so I forgot to mention a few things about Deklan.”

  I tilted my head curiously. “What?”

  She looked over my shoulder at the others then back at me. “His dad is in prison because he sorta murdered someone, Deklan just got out of juvie a few months ago, and goes to this school now. Oh, and Zane invited him to hang with us. Okay, that’s it.”

  Then she pract
ically shot from the car, slamming her door closed before I could even take a breath. I sat there, letting her words repeat in my head at a much slower pace. Did she really just say that to me? I could have gone without this knowledge of a guy I didn’t even know.

  Murder.

  I cringed at the word whispered in my mind. Such a violent word. I couldn’t even process what Aria said, didn’t want to. Violence was happening all around the world anymore, and it was devastating.

  Shaking my head, trying to clear up the small delay in my brain, I grabbed my book bag and the doughnuts, and got out of the car. Aria was at the rear with her body securely attached to Zane’s.

  “Come on, guys. It’s too early for me to see any of that.”

  Zane lifted his head and gave me a dimpled grin. “You know I can’t resist.” His dark brown hair was cut short on the sides, but the top was an inch or so longer, and fell over onto his forehead. He was tall and muscular with an assortment of piercings in his left ear. He had a few tattoos, and even had Aria’s name inked on his chest, over his heart. He was the calm and playful to Aria’s serious.

  I didn’t respond to him, heading over to the others.

  Liam, Reggie, Jeff, Bianca, Luke, Zane, Me, and Aria. All close friends since forever, we stick to our little group. I couldn’t ever ask for better friends.

  “All right! Who’s ready for senior year?” Liam asked, drumming his hands on Reggie’s truck.

  “It’s going to be great!” Bianca cheered, snatching a coffee from one of the holders. Reggie perked up from his perch on his tailgate.

  “Doughnuts, shit yeah!” He pushed at Jeff’s feet, who was lying back with a book inches from his face. “Bro, we got doughy goodness. Get the fuck up.”

  I pushed the boxes into his hands, glad that I’d put my four doughnuts in their own bag. I grabbed my latte and leaned against the truck, beside Reggie. Class was about to start so I hurried and scarfed down my treats.

  The school was crowded by the time we walked in. Freshmen walked around with their heads glued to their schedules, others were surrounding the large map of the school that was framed on the wall. I remembered when my friends and I were one of those kids. Now, we were at the top of the ladder – finally.

  Luke and I left the others to go to our first period class; English with Mrs. Alvarez. Which was a score, because a lot of people favored her. As we walked up the stairs to the second floor where Mrs. Alvarez was in the blue wing, I took out my phone out to text Aria.

  Me: FYI, we’re having a serious convo later. Be prepared.

  I just walked into class when she messaged back.

  Aria! No we don’t, actually.

  I clenched my phone in irritation, deciding not to engage this over the phone, and gave Mrs. Alvarez a tight smile. I took a seat near the back of the class as the last bell rang.

  “Good morning class,” Mrs. A greeted us warmly as she shut the door. “I see some familiar faces, and a lot of new ones. This is good, we’ll all have a chance to get to know each other more in the days ahead. This year is going to be exciting for us.”

  She walked around the room passing out a piece of paper to each of us. “This is our calendar. Everything we’ll do for the month is on here. I’ll hand these out at the beginning of every month.” She got back to the front of the class and grabbed a clipboard.

  I was looking over the calendar when the door to the classroom opened. The sudden complete silence in the room was eerie, making me automatically look up. The pen in my hand dropped to my desk, my vision tunneling on the guy that had just walked in.

  Holy. Mother. Of God.

  I knew it was him, I just knew it was. He was huge, maybe a little taller than Luke, who was about a foot taller than me. He had on a grey shirt that looked glued onto his wide frame and over his dark blue jeans. He was all tattooed and pierced, and his black hair was gelled up in short, disarrayed spikes. His very presence seemed to suck up all the oxygen in the room. The only noise was the ticking of the clock and the thunderous thump of my erratic heartbeat.

  “Ah, you must be Mr. Mayfield. I didn’t think you’d be joining us,” Mrs. Alvarez said brightly. He nodded and handed her a piece of paper.

  “Deklan, yeah. Sorry I’m late. This school’s kinda big.” His voice was so deep and silky. Shiver-inducing. Shit!

  My burning eyes were indicating that I was still staring at this hulking figure. I blinked, gave my head a small shake to clear my thoughts. I looked around at the other kids, who were just as enthralled as I was. This dude had some serious affect to your senses.

  “That’s perfectly fine. There’s an extra desk at the back of the class.” She looked up and pointed to Luke, who was sitting at the desk next to mine. “Luke, would you mind going next door to Mr. Johnson’s room for an extra chair, please?”

  He nodded and got up to leave.

  She handed Deklan the calendar sheet and gestured for him to go to his new desk. The sounds of his boots getting closer had my heart rate shooting up. He was walking up my aisle, to the desk right behind me. I didn’t know whether to sit up straight so I looked as if he didn’t affect me, or shrink down in my seat so he wouldn’t see me.

  But then I made the mistake of looking up.

  His eyes, dark blue and beautiful, held mine. I inhaled sharply through my nose at the strange feeling inside my stomach, like a little ball of lightning was bouncing around within me. He froze in mid step before regaining his composure, looking at me with the same confusion I felt. He had two small hoop piercings on the bottom left of his lip, and one bar in his eyebrow. The guys all had eyebrow piercings, thanks to a drunken night that went awry. None of them have their lip pierced, though.

  I blinked, and that was all it took. Deklan took his gaze from mine and passed by my seat. His cologne trailed behind him, wafting around me until I got a little dizzy. I shook my head to clear it, but the smell just wouldn’t go away. Luke walked in with a chair and brought it to the back.

  “Thank you, Luke,” Mrs. Alvarez said and pushed up her glasses.

  He nodded; the same blank expression on his face as always, returning to his seat. When Luke wasn’t scowling, his face remained blank, expressionless.

  Class resumed, but I was nowhere near paying attention. I could feel him behind me. I picked up my pen and gripped it so hard that my knuckles turned white. I had to remind myself that this guy was violent. Not only that, but he was way out of my league. The guy was a walking sex God for crying out loud!

  I had no experience to anything sexual, and Deklan oozed sensuality. I wanted to turn around and just look at him, but I forced myself to see reason. Jesus, I didn’t even know him! I’d literally just had first sight of him thirty freaking seconds ago.

  “Emma?” I jumped at the sound of Mrs. Alvarez’s voice. I looked up to see her standing over me with a concerned expression. “Nina, are you all right? You’re so red, are you feeling ill?”

  I brought my hand to my heated cheek and shook my head. This was so embarrassing. “No, Mrs. Alvarez, I-I’m fine. I just, um, I need some air, that’s all.”

  She nodded and I handed her my assignment book for her to sign. As soon as she handed it back to me I grabbed my purse and got out of there as fast as my short legs and heels could take me.

  Instead of heading outside, I went to the restroom and checked myself out. Sure enough, my face all the way down to my chest was deep red. I could just die. Taking my phone out of my pocket, I texted Aria.

  Me: Trouble! Deklan Mayfield sitting behind me! Freaking out!

  While I waited for her to text back, I splashed cool water on my cheeks and forehead. I wiped my face off and was just about to reapply my lip gloss when my phone vibrated.

  Aria! Calm chica. He won’t bite. Is he yummy?

  I rolled my eyes.

  Me: Not going there. See you third period.

  I put on my gloss and shoved it back in my purse. Breathe, Em! Breathe! So he was hot, so what? I’ve seen my share of hot.
Although, the last guy I was around that was Deklan-hot was a model that I bumped into at one of my mom’s fashion shows, and he didn’t even hold a candle to Deklan. But there was also this deep sizzle that crackled within me when he looked into my eyes. It was strange and new to me, and completely freaked me out.

  Deciding that I was being a ridiculous idiot, I left the bathroom and headed back to class. If I couldn’t handle being around one damn hot guy, then I should be disappointed in myself. I was a Van Buren, and we could handle anything. I can totally effing handle this!

  The rest of English went by in a blur. I focused as much as I could and pushed thoughts of the new guy from my mind. As soon as the bell rang I was out of my seat so fast that I knocked the literature book that Mrs. Alvarez gave us off my desk.

  I groaned at my carelessness and was just about to bend over the seat to get it, when a big tattooed arm came into view. I held my breath as Deklan picked up my book. When I turned around he was holding it out to me. I gulped as I came face-to-chest with him.

  “You might want to slow down, little girl.” His deep voice almost pulled me in, but his words stopped me. Taking a step back I looked up – way up – into his gorgeous face.

  “Excuse me?” I asked incredulously. I hated being called that.

  Deklan smirked and shrugged. “Just stating a fact.”

  Okay, now I was mad. Who did this ass jockey think he was? I huffed and snatched my book from his hand, shoving it into my bag. I tossed one of the straps over my shoulder and glared back at him. “My name is Emma Van Buren, and I’m not that little.”

  He raised his pierced eyebrow and raked his eyes over my body slowly. The jerk had some nerve! Even if tiny sparks were going off inside me, and my skin was a little hotter than it was ten seconds ago! The guy was being plain rude.

  When his eyes came back to mine he gave me that same damn cocky smirk and flicked his tongue over the twin piercings on his bottom lip. Oh jeez, that was hot, and my reaction to him just seemed to piss me off more.