Tear

  I scrolled through the pages on my phone trying to find any sort of rumor as to why they were going to school rather than touring or whoring around.

  “Miss Murray, your phone.” Mr. Meservy held out his hand. Irritated, I slapped it into his hand, but not before clicking the top of it so he’d have to use a password to get in.

  “Anyone else want to tempt fate today?” Mr. Meservy looked around the room challenging more students to pull out their phones.

  Someone made a choking noise behind me, and suddenly Alec was at the side of my desk. “Um, actually that’s my phone. She was probably confused which is why it was out on her desk.”

  Mr. Meservy rolled his eyes. “Fine, I’ll play. And how would she have your phone?”

  “She tripped.” Alec shrugged giving a cool smile to the teacher. I shivered when his hand gently touched my shoulder. “Her books and phone fell out of her bag and then the bell rang. I helped her grab her stuff, but had to set my phone down on the floor to do so. Simple mistake.”

  Even I believed him, and I knew it was a bald-faced lie.

  “Besides…” Alec leaned his tanned hands against my desk and smirked. “We all know how many times my phone goes off. It was probably burning up in her hand.”

  At this the entire class began chuckling, because really it had to be true. The guy was a celebrity. Grown women wanted to rape him. Naturally, his phone would be blowing up the cellular universe.

  “Fine, Alec, you’ll get your phone back at the end of class.”

  Alec turned his back to Mr. Meservy making me want to gasp. You didn’t turn your back on teachers. Clearly I was sheltered.

  “Here’s your phone, Nat.” His smile disappeared. He handed me the iPhone 5, slipping it into my hand before walking back to his desk. It felt sleek in my hands, and insanely more masculine then my sad little free phone with its pink cover.

  “Thanks,” I mumbled.

  I now had two things he had touched and I was ready to fall out of my seat. Seriously. Must. Stop. Watching. TV!

  Chapter Two

  By lunchtime, word had spread and it was nearly impossible to see Alec and Demetri without a swarm of people stalking them down the hallways. It made me wonder why they chose Seaside of all places. Granted, we were on the Oregon coast — far away from their homeland of Canada, and nowhere near L.A., but still. We had the Internet. We had phones. They were in no way invisible to our sleepy town. It was only a matter of time before they high-tailed it out of here. I mean, they didn’t even have body guards!

  With a sigh, I fished out my lunch money from my back pocket and looked at the choices of the day.

  Tacos or a salad.

  Or, I gave a mischievous smile, taco salad. I quickly made my little concoction and grinned even brighter.

  “I must say…” A deep voice said from behind me. “I’ve never seen a girl get so excited over a taco salad.”

  “Well,” I turned to face Demetri, of course it would be Demetri. “I like food. And I think I get a gold star for being creative.”

  He laughed and leaned in closer his golden hair falling gracefully across his forehead. “Think you can make me one too?”

  I put one hand on my hip. “That depends. Are you asking me so you don’t have to make your own, or are you just wanting an excuse to talk to me?”

  “Both.”

  I laughed. “Fair enough. But be warned, perfection doesn’t often happen twice in a row.”

  He smirked and stood next to me as I made him a similar salad. “So, where are all your admirers?”

  “With Alec.” He nodded his head toward the other side of the cafeteria were Alec was holding court with at least fifty people. His face was as handsome and stern as ever.

  “Does he smile, like ever?”

  Demetri shook his head, a bright grin creased his lips. “He smiled at you, didn’t he?”

  “That was a smile?” I handed him his tray. “I thought it was a grimace. Easy to confuse the two on his face.”

  “Don’t let him hear you say that. He may just fall in love with you if you tease him.”

  “No danger of any guy falling in love, no worries.” I kept my head down so I wouldn’t have to look at his gorgeous face and walked away, but felt his hand touch my arm.

  “Hey, where are you going?”

  “To eat, like normal people. It is lunch time and we only get fifteen minutes.”

  “Sit with me.” His blue eyes sparkled, and his dimples seemed even more pronounced as his smile spread even wider across his face. Stupid rock star.

  “Um, no thanks,” I said as politely as I could.

  His smile faded. I continued walking to my usual table, when I felt a hand on my arm again. “No thanks?”

  Demetri sure was persistent, but I didn’t want to be a part of his harem. “Let me guess, you’ve never faced rejection before.”

  He looked a little less confident as he shuffled his feet, his eyebrows drew together. “No, um, not really.”

  “There’s a first for everything, Demetri. Enjoy your salad.” I patted him on the shoulder and continued walking in a straight line even though my legs were wobbly. Why the heck did I just turn down a lunch date with the hottest guy I’ve ever seen?

  I turned back around to see if he was following me. Big shock there, he was surrounded by at least twenty girls, each of them touching his arm or shoulder, even his butt. Disgusting. And that was the reason I wasn’t sitting with him. I wasn’t them. I would never be that girl.

  I blew my hair from my face and plopped into my chair. Evan gave me a confused look. “Did he just ask you to eat with him?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Maybe?” Evan repeated. “Are you high?”

  “No,” I said, as I opened my juice. “I just didn’t want to eat with him.”

  “Right. And I don’t want to get laid by Cameron Diaz.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “Does everything always have to be about sex?”

  “Yes.” Evan gave me a serious look before taking a huge bite of his sandwich.

  There was officially no hope for the male species.

  The bell rang a few minutes later, meaning I only got to enjoy part of my salad. I rushed to my next class. Just as I was rounding the corner, a guy bolted out of the classroom door slamming me against the locker and sending me sailing to the ground. For the second time that day my eyes came into contact with expensive boots.

  I was literally my own teenage soap opera.

  “I promise I’m not doing this on purpose,” I said as I pushed myself to my knees and gathered my books, stuffing them into my bag.

  Alec leaned down and shook his head. “You sure about that?” His mouth curved upward into a smirk.

  I felt my nostrils flare. “Yeah, I promise. Plus, it’s not like I trip in order to get attention. That’s the last thing I want.”

  Alec grabbed my bag and handed it to me. “Believe me, you’re the center of attention whether you trip or merely walk down the hall. Have a good day, Nat.” His hooded green eyes seemed to mock me as he looked me up and down then walked in the other direction. So what if watched the way his muscles stretched underneath his T-shirt?

  I sighed and shook my head.

  “Really Nat?” Evan whispered over my ear.

  “Crap!” I jumped. “Don’t scare me like that!”

  “Scare you?” Evan put his arm on my shoulder and directed me toward class. “I was standing behind you for like two minutes saying your name before I whispered in your ear. Geez, what’s the big deal about those guys? So they’re like rock stars. Who cares? They still shit.”

  I burst out laughing. “Thanks, Evan. Your eloquence and wisdom is always so refreshing.”

  His chest puffed up as he pushed me teasingly into class. “It’s what I do.”

  The day progressed slowly. I almost believed everything was normal. I walked to my locker and forced it open. It was only Monday and I had enough homework to officially keep me locked in my
bedroom all night.

  “So, what are you doing tonight?” I knew his voice by heart now. It was deep, sexy, and always had some sort of smug inflection. Maybe it was my imagination, but it seemed like his words always took longer to pronounce than a normal person’s.

  “Homework.” I slammed my locker door shut and gave him a smile. “And you?”

  “Whitney.”

  “Huh?”

  Demetri gave me a shameless grin and burst out laughing as I felt my face flush red. “I’m kidding, girl. You really need to get out more.”

  Preaching to the choir.

  “Okay.” I sidestepped him, not even sure why I was angry that he would joke about hooking up with some girl I didn’t even know. It really wasn’t all that funny to my little virgin ears. If anything, it made me want to smack him.

  “What’d I do?” He stepped in front of me and grasped my arms. His eyes scanned me from head to toe as his hands caressed upward toward my shoulders. His smile was mocking. And suddenly I wanted to be anywhere but in the hall with this very attractive boy who was used to getting exactly what he wanted regardless of the consequences.

  I opened my mouth to speak, but stopped when I felt a warm hand grip my shoulder.

  “Really, Demetri? Begging isn’t your style.” It had to be Alec.

  Demetri’s face immediately broke into a grin. “I’m sorry, Nat. He’s right. I don’t beg. I don’t usually have to, but you make me want to.”

  I was officially pinned between two of the hottest guys on the planet and all I could think about was not passing out. Demetri was in front of me, all 6’4” and packed muscle. I staggered backward only to find myself up against the same thing. Only Alec smelled like expensive cologne. The type that should burn your nostrils but instead makes you want to close your eyes and moan.

  It was probably Abercrombie. I swear they put pheromones in that stuff.

  “Run along,” Alec said over the top of my head.

  Demetri nodded once and walked away, but not before giving me a seductive wink.

  I exhaled, not realizing I had been holding my breath. Alec’s hand moved across my shoulder until his arm was around me. I stumbled in shock.

  “You sure do that a lot,” he said without looking at me.

  I watched his face as his eyes scanned the hallways. He was walking me out the door as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Clearly he had lost his mind.

  “Trip?” I offered.

  He nodded.

  Apparently Demetri got the personality in this family.

  “I can’t help it, I’m clumsy.” I shrugged, liking the way the weight of his arm felt on my neck and shoulders.

  “Yes. You are.”

  “Well…” I stepped out of his embrace. “As stimulating as this conversation’s been I got a ton of homework tonight, so I’ll see ya later.” I walked away but froze in my tracks when I heard gut-wrenching laughter behind me.

  I whipped around and truly wished I would have just kept walking. Then I wouldn’t have seen the way Alec’s smile totally transformed his face. The twinkling green eyes basically glowing on the tan skin. He lifted his hands into the air in surrender and approached me.

  My inability to breath was not helping the situation.

  “You think I’m boring, don’t you?”Alec seemed amused as he leaned in closer to me.

  Exhausted, I laughed and put my hands on my hips, fighting to keep myself from making eye contact. “Yes. But you’re pretty to look at, so as long as someone doesn’t scratch your face off, you’ll always have that!”

  I slugged him like we were on some sort of baseball team and laughed. The look of horror on his face was priceless. Clearly, he was also used to getting exactly what he wanted.

  “Sorry.” Still laughing he shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’m not used to much social interaction.”

  “Says the poor afflicted rock star.”

  “Girl’s got bite, I like that.” He winked. “Can I walk you to your car?”

  “Are we stuck in the fifties?”

  “It is Seaside,” he countered, offering me his arm.

  Well, really what else could I do but take him up on the offer? I rolled my eyes and took it. “You gonna carry my books too?”

  “Wait, do guys still do that?”

  “It is Seaside,” I reminded him.

  He took my books as if they weighed about a pound and walked me to my truck.

  Alec’s eyes scanned the ride in approval. “Beautiful girl, drives a truck, hates rock stars… Hmm, I just might write a song about you.”

  My heart hammered in my chest but I kept myself in check. “Is this where I’m supposed to swoon and tattoo your name on my ass?”

  “You don’t have to swoon.” He leaned in, his body shielding me from the school and all air that smelled like anything other than his cologne. “But can you make sure to spell it with just one L?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Why are you here?”

  “I like you.”

  “Thanks,” I muttered, feeling that all too familiar blush. “But I meant Seaside, Oregon. It’s literally the most boring place on Earth. Well, I guess that’s not true. That title actually goes to Boring, Oregon.”

  His smile tightened a bit as he licked his lips and then looked away. “I’ll see you later, Nat.”

  He walked off without an explanation. His mood had changed again.

  I jumped into my car and shook my head. This had to have been the weirdest day in my existence.

  My cell rang. I slipped it out of my pocket. “Crap!” It wasn’t mine. I still had Alec’s cell. How could I have forgotten that?

  I looked at the screen. It was flashing my number. I wanted to drop the cell like a hot potato or at least hide it or something. Oh my gosh, he’s going to think I seriously stole his cell phone like some crazy stalker!

  Without any other option, I answered with a shaky hello.

  “Naughty girl stole my brother’s cell phone,” the voice said mockingly.

  “Hey, Demetri.”

  “Hey yourself.” His voice sounded deeper on the phone. My body shivered involuntarily.

  After a few awkward seconds I asked, “Is there something you needed?”

  “That depends.”

  “On?”

  “If you’re offering to help me with my… needs.”

  “You’re disgusting.”

  “Aw, thanks sweetheart.”

  “Look.” My hands shook as I tried to calm myself down. “I didn’t mean to keep Alec’s phone. Is there a place I can drop it off or something?”

  Silence and then, “Why don’t you just keep it until tomorrow? We’ll see you at school and I’ll make the swap.”

  “He’s going to know his phone’s missing. Besides, he has mine.”

  “I know. I’ve already hacked into it. High School Musical, Nat, really?”

  I groaned aloud and fought the urge to bang my head against the steering wheel. “It’s good running music.”

  “So is the entire Hannah Montana soundtrack. Doesn’t mean you put it on your playlist, Nat.”

  “Wait. How do you know the Hannah Montana soundtrack is good running music?”

  “That’s beside the point. We’re talking about you now.”

  “Did you need anything else?” I snapped.

  “Are you offering?”

  “Bye, Demetri.” I hit end and ignored the silly butterflies that had taken up permanent residence in my stomach. I refused to be one of those girls.

  I looked back at the school. It was as if you could see a wave of lust blow through the front door as girls walked out and began texting on their phones, hiking up their skirts, and giggling obnoxiously. No doubt each of them wanted a chance with the guys. And again, I refused to be one of those girls. If anything, it made me want to put on baggy sweats just so I could set myself apart from the groupies.

  At any rate, I had a crap-load of homework but my job was calling my name. I quickly put the
truck in drive and made my way over to Seaside Taffy.

  Chapter Three

  “Hey Evan,” I called. The door jingled when I walked in. I was immediately hit with the sweet smell of taffy and homemade ice cream cones.

  “Nat, didn’t think you’d make it.” Evan gave me a wicked grin and nodded his head in approval. “Had a little bad boy run-in in the school parking lot, did ya?”

  “I hate you.”

  I threw on my pink Seaside Taffy visor and tied my apron.

  “You want him.”

  “Who?” I grabbed a piece of taffy and popped it in my mouth.

  Evan punched me in the shoulder like I was a dude and laughed. “Who cares!? All the girls want them both. I would give my right n—”

  “Language.” Our boss suddenly appeared from the back office and narrowed his eyes at us.

  Evan lifted up his hands in surrender. “I was going to say…” Evan bit his lip in thought.

  I rolled my eyes. “Sorry, Mr. Dexter. I’ll be sure to keep Evan on a short leash today.”

  Mr. Dexter was really weird about any of his employees using slang or bad language. In fact, he preferred we say golly instead of gosh. True story. Maybe it was because the entire store looked like the fifties threw up on it. At any rate, poor Evan still hadn’t received a raise, even after working there for a year. He kept getting yellow slips in his employee box to remind him not to say things like ass to children.

  Mr. Dexter disappeared and shut the office door behind him.

  I started cutting the taffy to give out for free samples.

  “So…” Evan came up beside me. “You going to tell me what Mr. Rock Star wanted?”

  I shrugged. “He was just taking my books to my car.”

  Evan choked on a piece of taffy. “Nat, I promise you, he wanted to take more than your books to your car.”

  “That doesn’t even make sense.”

  “Yes it does,” Evan argued. “He wanted to take you to your car and throw you in the backseat, have his way with you, have sweaty, angry, se—”

  “Evan?” Mr. Dexter appeared behind us again.