I hear and feel him lean forward in his desk. He's close, so close I swear I feel his hands on my hair. I'm grateful I wore it down today because having it up, my neck exposed, would leave me feeling naked and push me over the edge.
I take a deep, steadying breath when Ms. Pritchard finishes her blather about adverbs. I can do this. I can.
"We're going to start the semester off with something a little different," Ms. Pritchard says, going from row to row passing out packets of paper.
I sit, waiting for Aaron in front of me to pass back my packet and then… then I have to turn and give one to Coop. The butterflies have come alive again.
I turn and hand the packet to Coop, who winks at me and grins that too-sexy grin that makes me melt. I can feel my face flame red and he chuckles as I quickly turn to face forward. I glance at Lisa who is grinning. The traitor. Where's the sympathy for her BFF? I send her a glare and give her the finger in return and she laughs under her breath.
I tune in just in time to hear Ms. Pritchard tell us that we're going to be working on a fictional story, we can choose the genre. This totally rocks! I will, of course, be writing a romance or romantic suspense.
"You'll be working in groups of two. Now let's see," she says as she starts going around the room pairing people up. It would be amazing if I get Lisa as my partner, but from the way she's pairing people up it looks like I'm going to be paired with—
"Mr. Cooper and Ms. Wilks."
My face must reflect my horror and Lisa reaches over and nudges my arm. OhGod,ohGod,ohGod. This can't be happening. A semester-long project with Kyle Cooper. Fuck my life.
I drop my head to the desk, my forehead hitting it with a thud.
I glance to Lisa, who gives me a reassuring smile, just as I feel a tug on my hair. I sit up and slowly turn to look at Coop.
"Hey," he says, smiling brightly, "—partner."
"Hey," is all I can manage to say.
"From your reaction there, a person would think you don't like me or want to work with me," he says, his grin not quite meeting his eyes. Oh crap. He totally read that wrong.
"No, no. Oh my God, Kyle, that's not it at all," I tell him, absentmindedly reaching out to touch his forearm.
His hand covers mine. "Yeah? You sure?" He sounds so un-Kyle-like… almost insecure.
"Positive. I'm happy to work with you," I tell him, smiling, hoping he can't feel the erratic pulse as he squeezes my hand.
"Happy… that's more like it. I like enthusiasm. You should shout that from the rooftops. It's a pretty big deal, being able to work with me."
I roll my eyes and he chuckles.
"So you're gonna wanna do the chick thing, huh?"
I get lost in his eyes. "Chick thing?"
He smiles that smile again and my heart flutters. I'm barely able to hold back my sigh. He is so completely gorgeous. I just want to lick his lips. Maybe gently tug on the bottom one with my teeth.
"Yeah, romance. The chick thing."
"Oh," I reply, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "That was my plan—well, until she said we were partnering," I say with a wry grin.
"It's cool. We can do a romantic suspense or something."
"Really?" I thought for sure he was going to go all macho and insist on writing horror or straight suspense or thriller.
He shrugs. "Sure. So long as there's murder and mayhem, why not?"
"Um, okay."
"Do you have any plot ideas?"
"No, not just yet." Truthfully, I'd like to write a fictional story of my dream version of me and Coop. We'd be in a relationship, in love and no one would ever be able to come between us. I sigh and he chuckles.
"Already 'romancing' I see."
I blush and shrug.
"We've got a lot to plot out. Age, race, characters, the suspense part, the romance, location…" He trails off and I nod.
"It's going to be a big project."
He nods. "We'll have to hook up outside of school to work on this, probably two or three times a week."
OhMyGod. I had planned on doing a lot of the work on my own and letting him come in and give his thoughts and changes. I hadn't planned on him participating. At all.
He must notice the surprise on my face because he tilts his head and asks, "What?"
"Uh, well. I guess I didn't figure you'd want to put that much effort into it and that's fine. I don't mind doing more of the work."
His brows furrow and he frowns. "Why would you think that?"
"I don't know," I shrug. "I guess I didn't think you'd have time with all the stuff you've got going on." You know, I think, basketball and Macyn. Only if what Lisa said is true, there is no more Macyn. Snoopy dance. Inside, of course, because outside would be mortifying.
"Nah, I make time. I'm not one to slack off on the work. Remember Biology?"
I smile. "Yeah, I remember."
He grins and my breath catches. Oh God, that grin. For an entire semester. One-on-one. I'm never gonna survive.
"You were so repulsed I thought for sure you were gonna puke right there in the lab."
"I came pretty close—especially with those worms." I shudder.
He laughs. "Yeah, you looked pretty green with those."
I sigh.
"What?" he asks.
"Green is so not my color."
He laughs again. "Oh, I don't know. You were pretty cute."
Cute? Did Kyle Cooper just call me cute? I instantly blush.
"You have your cell on you?"
"What?" I'm still hung up on the cute comment.
"Do you have your cell phone with you?"
"Oh, yeah." I pull my iPhone out of my back pocket and hold it up.
"I knew it would be pink," he says just before he reaches for it. I won't apologize for being a girlie-girl who loves pink. I won't apologize for the daisy stickers on it either. I'm girlie. People can deal. Every day I wear something that has pink in it. I don't know why, but I just love the color. Lisa hates it and wouldn't be caught dead in pink.
Kyle reaches for my phone. I quickly pull it back against my chest, narrowing my eyes.
"What do you want with it?"
"I'm not going to go through it or anything. I was just going to put my number in so you can text or call whenever you want to hook up."
My mouth goes dry. Coop's phone number. In my phone. Holy shit.
I keep my eyes narrowed and slowly hand him the phone. He works it like a pro, then I hear a beep. He pulls his nearly identical iPhone out of his back pocket, only his is black where mine is pink. He slides his long fingers across the screen.
"There." He turns his phone toward me. "Now I've got your number too." He wiggles his eyebrows.
"Well, don't go all naked pics like Hanson did last semester when we had to work on that Psych project."
I look at him and his eyebrows are raised.
"Seriously?" he chuckles. "He sent you nudes."
I sigh. "Yes. I threatened to share them with the whole school and after that he sent them more frequently."
Kyle laughs out loud.
"It's not funny," I defend.
"Hell yeah it is." This from Lisa, the traitor across the aisle.
"Thank you very much," I say sarcastically, sending her a glare.
"You're welcome," she replies, sweet as can be.
"Did he stop?" he asks.
I shrug. "Eventually but only after I saw way more of Timothy Hanson than I ever wanted to."
Lisa leans over again. "He's totally hung."
I roll my eyes and Kyle cringes. "Not something I need to know."
Lisa snickers.
"Now I've got a visual. Thanks a lot, Renzi," Kyle chastises with a shudder.
I flashback to the photos and shudder too. "Gah."
Lisa laughs. "Gotcha both."
"Bitch," I tease.
The bell rings and I breathe a sigh of relief. Hopefully something—anything—can distract me from the memory of Hanson's naked man parts.
/>
He leans forward, his nose nearly touching mine and I barely cover my gasp—barely. My heart speeds up and I can't look away from his eyes staring directly into mine.
"This isn't over. You'll tell me what he did."
"You think so, huh?" I reply smartly.
He nods. "I do."
"We'll see," is all I say as I grab my books and stand.
"I'll give you a call tonight after basketball practice and we can figure out a schedule."
I nod. "Sounds good but I'll need—" I was about to say my phone, when he leans forward, his chest brushing mine, his lips a hair's breadth away from mine. My eyes widen as I lick my lips. His gaze locks onto the movement as he reaches around me and boldly tucks my phone into my back pocket, my breasts brushing against his chest as he does. My breath catches and I know he hears it. He pauses and looks at me, his eyes now almost black as his gaze sears into mine.
After what feels like an eternity but is really only a matter of seconds, he pulls back, straightening to his full height, and touches his index finger to the tip of my nose. While the gesture is light and flirty, he doesn't crack a smile.
"I'll call you."
I nod. As he walks away, I pull my books up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them. My eyes still wide. My mouth hanging open. He's rendered me speechless.
"Wow," Lisa breathes, standing next to me.
I can only stand there and nod. What the hell just happened?
Lisa elbows me and wiggles her eyebrows. "And," she says saucily, "he's single."
"He's not interested in me like that."
"Don't be stupid, Wilks," Aaron says as he turns and starts walking toward the door. "His eyes dilated and darkened. He's more than interested."
"Because you shared that information, again, I won't cuff you upside the head for the insult." Sometimes Aaron's nerdiness is informative.
He grunts and gives a half-assed wave as he walks out the door.
Lisa smirks. "See? Girl, you're neither dumb nor blind."
No, I'm not but… he's Kyle Cooper and I'm just… me. He is way out of my league.
She nudges my shoulder with hers. "Let's go. We're gonna be late."
"For what?"
"Tryouts."
Kill me now.
FALLEN CREST HIGH
©2013 Tijan Meyer
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Chapter One
It was a Friday night, two in the morning, and my two best friends were shrieking in drunken laughter behind me. I sighed as I pulled into the gas station. My little Corolla had been chugging near empty for the last few miles. And I’ll admit that I’d been worried we would’ve broken down on the side of the road, not for my car’s sake, for my sake. I didn’t know if I could’ve handled walking with Lydia and Jessica. And on cue, Lydia rammed her elbow in the back of my head.
“Oh, Sam!” Muffled laughter. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—” She dissolved in laughter once more.
Jessica wrapped her hands around the passenger seat and leaned forward. “Can we go to another party?”
“Puh-leaze?”
“No.” I unclipped my seat belt and started to get out.
They scrambled out, or tried. Lydia tripped and was nearly clocked by my side mirror. Jessica tumbled after and leaned her weight on Lydia’s shoulders so she wouldn’t fall while she sidestepped over her.
What a friend.
“Why not? It’s our last Friday night before school. Come on, Sam!”
Lydia stood and straightened out her skirt and top. When her boobs were back in place and the skirt barely covered her ass, she turned her pleading eyes on me too. “It’ll be fun. Come on! I know where a public party is.”
Jessica whirled to her. “Oh! That sounds awesome.”
They bounced together. Both wore flowing skirts, tight tops, and brown curls that flung everywhere. When one hit me in the face, I swatted it away.
“I’m taking you guys home. You’re both drunk.”
“Come on, you’re such a loser tonight,” Lydia moaned.
Jessica frowned and flipped her hair over her shoulder. “Yeah, you are. What’s going on with you?”
“Did you and Jeffrey have a fight?” Lydia’s eyebrows wiggled up and down. She peeled over in laughter once more.
I gave them my polite fuck off smile and each rolled their eyes. Then Lydia lifted her nose and got a whiff of gas station pizza. Her stomach growled and off they went. As I watched them skip together, holding hands, and giggling over the fact they were drunk, I leaned back against my car.
While the gas was guzzling into my car, I heard Jessica’s question again. Was something wrong with me? And I sighed. Only my whole world had changed that afternoon. I could see my mother’s face when I had left Jessica’s house and went home for the afternoon. We’d all been so happy to go out that night. Even me. Yes, Jeffrey was usually an ass, but a small part of me had wondered if tonight was going to be the night we slept together. He’d been my boyfriend for three years now. He was nice, well, he was a douche at times, but he still seemed to like me. And I liked him too, but while my mother had been happy jumping from bed to bed before she got knocked up with me, I didn’t want to end up like that. So I had taken everything slow with Jeff, but when I got home to get ready for the party that night, little butterflies were in my stomach.
They died and burned in flames when I opened my front door. Boxes upon boxes were lined inside and in the middle of them sat my mother. A bottle of wine was half empty beside her as she sat in her silk bathrobe. Tears coated her face, but when she saw me a bright smile was forced out.
“Hey, honey.” Hiccup. “How are you?”
I let the door go and it slammed shut behind me. “What happened?”
“Oh.” She gave me a dismissive wave. “Nothing. You don’t need to worry about a thing.”
“Worry about what?”
“We’re going to be fine.”
I hadn’t moved. My purse still hung from my arm. “Mom, what happened?” Boxes were everywhere, even in the kitchen. I saw two empty wine bottles in the sink.
“You and me, honey. We’re going to be just fine.”
“Where’s dad?”
Her hands froze. She’d been taping up a box, but she sucked in her breath and held still.
“Mom?”
She finished the rest of her wine and she almost fell backwards from the effort. When she set the bottle aside, I asked again, “Mom, what’s going on?”
She started sobbing. “Oh honey. I’m so sorry about this. I really am.”
“Mom! What’s going on?”
“Ifellinlovewithsomeoneelsean dwe’releavingyourfather.” She hiccupped again and swiped at some of her tears.
“What?”
She took a deep breath. “I…we’re leaving your father.”
My insides screamed at her. My hands curled into fists and I wanted to launch myself at her. I wanted to pound the hell out of her, but I didn’t do any of that. Instead, I collapsed on one of the couches and I listened to everything she said. She’d fallen in love with someone else. She wanted to be with him. She told dad, he kicked us out, and tomorrow we were going to move in with this boyfriend of hers.
“Who?”
“Huh?” She lifted tear-stained eyes to me.
“Who?”
A soft sob and she whispered, “James Kade.”
“James Kade?”
She nodded and wiped her arm over her face. “He has two boys your age, honey. You might know them.”
Know them? Everyone knew them. Mason and Logan Kade. While they were rich, their dad owned five of the factories that our town thrived on, they chose to go to public school. Everyone knew the Kade brothers. They could’ve gone to the private school, where most of the rich kids went, or where I went because my dad
was the football coach, but they’d shaken everything up when they chose public school.
And now I was going to be living with them?
As I watched my mom, who sobbed as if she’d been the one cheated on, something shriveled up inside of me. I would never be like my mother. Never. And sorry, Jeff, but that meant he wasn’t going to be getting laid by me for a very very long time.
However, after I had spent most of the afternoon and evening packing my things, he wasn’t excited to hear my change of plans when Lydia and Jessica waited for me to go to the party that night. In fact, he’d been a jerk. Not surprising. A few choice curse words, a few beers guzzled, and he wiped his mouth clean of me.
“I’ll get someone better, bitch. You’re not the only hot chick here.” And off he went. His jeans rode low, a beer in hand, and his hair gelled into badass spikes.
I rolled my eyes and went in search for my friends.
Heaven help me, but Jeff would be back. I was at the point where I wasn’t sure if I cared or not.
An Escalade wheeled into the slot beside mine. At first I didn’t pay attention, lost in my world-ending daydreams, but when someone shouted all my attention snapped back to reality.
Four boys spilled out of the vehicle and two passed by me.
I sucked in my breath.
“Fuck that, man. Let’s go to Molly’s instead,” one boy laughed as he hung on his friend. He threw his head back and laughed on a carefree note. His brown curls danced and he seemed invigorated. “You’ll get pussy there. Promise.”
He laughed another maniacal laugh before the two disappeared inside.
My hands clenched the gas nozzle tightly and I couldn’t take my eyes off of him.
Logan Kade, my soon-to-be-roommate. While I watched through the window, he laughed at something his friend said. Lydia and Jessica saw who was in the other aisle and quickly went to flirt with them. The friend looked interested, but Logan skimmed a bored eye over them and went back for something more inside the store.
I hadn’t seen the Kade brothers up close, not in a long time, but I’d heard plenty about them. Logan was a junior, like me. Mason was a year older. Both were good looking and Mason was rumored to be six foot one with a muscular build. He played defensive lineman for a reason on his football team. Logan had the leaner build, but he was an inch shorter.