by Clark, Bekah
And that was what he was doing when the door rang again and he opened his eyes to see Brad and Steven.
“Hey guys, what are you doing here?” Kyle made sure he was a bit hidden by the counter while he tried to imagine anything but the sexy images of Lyssa he had had dancing in his head. He had to calm down a bit.
“We thought we saw Lyssa pulling out. Did she come to visit you?”
Grinning, Kyle nodded, “Yes she did. She’s stalking me.”
Brad grinned up at him, “So what is she like?” He waggled his eyebrows.
“We haven’t done that yet. And even if we did, I wouldn’t tell you.”
“Why not,” exclaimed Steven, “She’s hot!”
Kyle rolled his eyes, “Yes, but I want her to be my girlfriend, not just a hook up. If she found out after the deed that I went bragging to you that could end it.”
“Why would you want to do that? You heard about her and the football team at her last school. I also heard…”
“Shut up, ass! How could you believe Tori? You know what she’s like. She’s trying to ruin Lyssa’s rep. I’d think the two of you would be loyal enough to me to not help Tori. She’s a total…witch.”
Steven started barked out a laugh, Brad snorted as he said, “Total witch?”
Kyle could feel his skin darken into a blush, as he looked away, “Lyssa hates swearing. I promised her I’d try not to.”
Both of them started howling at that. A customer walked in and the two of them checked out magazines while snickering and looking at Kyle. After the customer left, they came back, still grinning.
“You gave up swearing for a girl you hardly know?”
“I’ve known her about three weeks. I share classes with her and I see her in the library every day. I talk to her all the time. Well, the library is more me watching her read weird stuff. But, I really like her. I don’t want to mess this up. Haven’t you ever met a girl and you just didn’t want to blow it?”
Steven snickered, but Brad nodded, “Once. I ended up blowing it. So, Tori is the one behind the rumors. Does Lyssa know about you two?”
“I told her everything. Not that there is much to tell.”
“How did Lyssa take it?”
“She said she understands I had a life before.”
“But?” Brad asked.
“But, she didn’t look happy about it.”
“Well no duh. Would you be happy to hear about her ex-boyfriends?”
Kyle glanced out the front of the store, “Lyssa doesn’t have any ex-boyfriends. I’m the first. Well, hopefully I’ll be the first. Damn ‘trial basis.’ But Tori isn’t an ex-girlfriend. We went out three times. First date was bad. Second date was me giving her a second chance and the third was to tell her we weren’t a couple and that we were not going to start dating. And, she hit me when I did. Tori’s a b… witch. She’s pissed at Lyssa for dating me and me for dating someone other than her.”
Steven grabbed a bag of chips and a soda and dropped them on the counter, “Well, we’ll make sure people know Tori’s rumors are false. Good luck with getting off of ‘trial basis.’ That is fuckin’ hilarious by the way.”
Kyle frowned as he rang up Steven’s purchase, “No it isn’t.”
“Oh yeah, dude, it is,” chimed in Brad. Great.
“What do you guys want to do later?”
“Sweet, we thought you were going to abandon us for Lyssa.”
“I didn’t make any plans with her. Wanna go to Faneuil Hall? Get something to eat?”
“We can try to pick up girls.”
“You two can pick up girls, I got Lyssa.”
Laughing, Brad said, “Yeah. On a trial basis.”
Turned out he wasn’t able to go out at all. When he got home from work, his father wanted him to help out in the yard. That sucked. What was worse is his father wanted to work out in the yard with him. Kyle loved his father, but when his father wanted to work out in the yard together that usually meant he wanted to have a talk.
Kyle raked leaves quietly, waiting for his dad to start. It always took a little while before the actual conversation began. His father was on the other side of the yard and they were making a pile in the middle. The silence stretched out and Kyle was just starting to believe that maybe, just maybe, his father wouldn’t want to have a talk.
“So, how’s school going?”
Damn, Kyle thought, and then said aloud, “Good.”
“Just good? What about a girlfriend?”
Finally, the real question his father wanted to ask popped up. Kyle sighed. Then, he smiled smugly, “I’m on a trial basis.”
His father stopped raking and looked at him confused. Kyle grinned at his dad. He didn’t think his father would understand that one.
“What the hell is a ‘trial basis?’”
“Well, I like her. I asked her out. But she’s never really dated before so she wants to give this a trial run before she decides to be my girlfriend.”
His father brushed some more leaves into the pile. Kyle could see him trying to figure that out. It wasn’t like Kyle had ever said something like that to him before. It also wasn’t difficult for Kyle to get himself a girlfriend. He had had several. It was just that it always ended in him being a bit disappointed by the girl. The ones he had picked in the past had been gorgeous, but ultimately shallow. Lyssa was sexy as hell, but she was complex and unlike any other girl he had known. He’d never really considered a quirky girl; he’d always gone for normal. Good body, great smile and pretty eyes were pretty much all it took for him to decide to ask a girl out. But, after the Tori debacle, he’d taken a little bit of a break and decided he’d think about it before he asked a girl out.
Then, he met Lyssa. Most girls would respond to him with a little flirting. Unless they were really shy, but even they’d show that they wanted him. Not Lyssa. She’d been uninterested. She didn’t want to get involved with people to protect herself and he wanted to know why. He’d tracked her down and found her charming, funny and interesting. When he found her in the library she wasn’t reading a fashion magazine, she was reading H. G. frickin’ Wells! She was odd and refreshing.
“You really like her.”
Kyle looked up to find his father staring at him. He smiled sheepishly and looked away, “Yes.”
“You using protection?”
“God, dad! We aren’t even at that point yet.”
“Yeah, well when you get to that point, make sure you do. I don’t need a grandchild this soon. Tell me about her. Cheerleader?”
Letting out a sharp laugh, Kyle shook his head, “No. She’s actually a really odd girl. Beautiful and doesn’t care one bit about popularity. She doesn’t fall easy for my charms and I’ve been trying. I feel like she really likes me. I just have to be persistent.”
Kyle looked up when his father started laughing at him. His dad gave him a grin and Kyle arched a brow, “What?”
“You don’t sound overly confident. You also sound far more interested in her than any of the other girls you’ve dated. Don’t hurt her if you manage to get off being on a ‘trial basis.’”
Going back to raking, Kyle was quiet for a moment. Then he said softly, “I won’t.”
“If you really want to fall in love with her, you gotta put yourself out there and be open to getting hurt.”
“Honestly, dad, I think I could get hurt. Really hurt. It’s only been a couple of weeks since I met her and… I don’t know what it is.”
Walking over, his father clapped him on the shoulder and grinned, “It was like that with me and your mother. But, we were seniors in college, not high school. Don’t go running off and marry her. Date her. For a long time. A long, long time. Got it?”
“Dad, I like her I’m not… Well we only just met.” Meeting his father’s gaze, he rolled his eyes, “I promise I won’t run off and marry her.”
“Good. Coz I loved your mother, but getting married after two months was stupid. Sometimes I’m amazed we never got
divorced.”
“Ah! Dad! I don’t need to hear the word divorce.”
Laughing, his father gave him a bear hug, thumped him on the back and went back to raking. Kyle’s mom always went on about her epic love with his father. It was embarrassing, but the love his parents had was something he wanted someday. But, not in high school. Hell, if he and Lyssa went out, it wasn’t like they were going to get married. College would come and Lyssa was pretty sure that they’d move before the next school year. He’d probably never see her again.
Kyle stopped what he was doing. Why did it bother him if after high school he’d never see her again? Sure, she was cute. No, beautiful. No, beautiful and sexy. So damn sexy. Plus, her personality was not like any girl he’d ever met. Every time he learned something about her, it was exciting.
Dammit. Maybe he was falling harder for her than he thought. Graduation was months away. They’d probably break up before then. All the girls he’d ever dated before, well, he eventually got bored with them. What made Lyssa different? All the others had been pretty. A few were even as sexy as Lyssa. All of them had started by acting as if dating him was an accomplishment. They had practically tossed themselves at him the moment he’d shown interest. Lyssa had strongly resisted. He had to trick her to get her to go out on a date with him. She was interested in what he liked, but she never tailored her tastes to his. She didn’t behave like other girls either. It made her unpredictable and he didn’t quite understand her.
Shaking his head, he decided not to dwell on it. He was nearly eighteen. This was his senior year and, hopefully, he’d officially have himself a hot girlfriend soon. Yep, this was gonna be a great year. He just had to get off that damn trial basis b. s.
Chapter 10
It had been a little over two weeks since the first encounter with Tori. Lyss and Lexx made their way into the school a bit early. No one was in the hall, which was a good thing when they came to Lyssa’s locker.
“That bitch!”
“Lexa, language.”
“Lyssa, she wrote whore on your locker in large red letters. I think this deserves some sort of action.”
Lyssa sighed and looked at her sister with a gentle smile, “It doesn’t matter. I don’t think a lot of people have seen it anyway.”
Searching the hall a moment, Lyssa nodded to Lexa who took up scanning the hall for any newcomers. Lyssa put her hand over the red letters and they slowly faded from sight until they were simply gone. By the time Missy called out to them and made her way towards the sisters, Lyssa’s locker looked normal and she was opening it.
“What are you two doing?” Missy grinned as she leaned against a nearby locker.
“Just trying to get ready for class. How’s it going, Missy?”
Missy started gushing about some romance novel she was reading. Apparently, Lexa was also reading it because they were talking about some chapter or another and how hot the romantic lead was. She was surprised and delighted to see her sister interested in reading books. Even if they were definitely not something Lyssa would have read. She finished exchanging her books, making sure to grab her current novel, Journey to the Center of the Earth. It was awesome. She smiled as she listened to Lexa bemoan the lack of character development in this particular romance. Having never really read a romance novel, Lyssa wasn’t sure what qualified as character development in one. Romance novels had just never been something she was interested in. Now, however, she found herself a little curious. Would it give her helpful tips on dealing with Kyle? She wasn’t sure. Old science fiction was safe, a fantasy world where she could escape the reality of their situation. There were many times when Lyssa would bury her nose in a book after scouring the tabloids for odd news. As long as it didn’t seem there were any Hunters around, she could let herself get lost in her own world. If only for a little while she could live in a place that was not her own where she did not have to worry whether Lexa was in danger or not. Then, she would close the book and worry again.
Although, lately, her thoughts were occupied with Kyle. There was something about him she just couldn’t escape. When she wasn’t with him, she craved his attention. There date was still on hold because his co-worker had quit and until the boss got a new hire, he was on Saturday duty. But, that was fine, she just would visit him again while she bought snacks. Plus, they saw each other every day in school.
Lately their routine was during his free period they’d head into the back area of the library and talk quietly. She could sense when a teacher would head their way and always made sure they were sitting a respectable distance and reading. They still had not had a first real kiss and that was making Lyssa anxious. He said he was waiting for their next real date. Most likely, he was telling the truth but Lyss couldn’t help but worry.
Often, they would share the latest gossip about Lyssa and laugh. His genuine disbelief in that nonsense was all she needed. Normally, she’d tell him about the writing on her locker, but how could she explain why it vanished. As she slipped into her seat in her Physics class, she realized she probably should not have removed it. Or, at least, she should have left it looking like a custodian had painted it. Damn.
The guy himself made his way over and sat down next to her. Lyssa had done something she normally would never do, she “convinced” the teacher to let him change seats so that they were next to each other. Leaning over to her, he kissed her brow. When was he going to kiss her lips?
“Hey, beautiful, what’s shaking?”
She rolled her eyes, “What’s shaking? Seriously?”
Grinning, he bumped his shoulder to hers, “Seriously.”
“Not a whole lot,” she smiled up at him with a slight blush, “What about you?”
“Want to come to my house for dinner?”
“Um… what?” She squeaked out nervously.
“My parents want to meet you so I’m inviting you to dinner.”
“What… if they don’t like me?”
Kyle grabbed a lock of her hair, tucked it behind her ear before he pinched her cheek softly, “I like you. They’ll like you too. Please?”
Looking aside, she said softly, “I gotta check in with the family. I’ll let you know later?”
“Sure.”
With that, the teacher walked in and Lyssa kept her eyes glued to her work or the teacher. For once, she didn’t have her hand up with every question. When the class finished, she was called over.
“Everything okay, Miss Stone?”
Smiling softly she replied, “Yes, Mrs. Johnson. Just a little headache. Sorry I didn’t participate as much as normal.”
“Do you need a pass to go see the school nurse?”
“No. I’ll be fine. Thank you for your concern though.”
“Well you are one of my best students and you always participate. Such unusual behavior from you made me worry. But if you say everything is okay…?”
“It is, ma’am, trust me.”
Nodding, the teacher went back to the stack of papers on her desk, “Alright, then, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
With that dismissal, Lyssa headed to the library. Once inside, she made her way to the back where the science books were. She and Kyle usually met up in there when his free period started. She sat down with her book and started reading, losing herself in the fantasy world of an old sci-fi classic. She loved the imagination involved in such books. She was enchanted when an author of the past wrote about something that humans had recently made reality. However, when it came to the ridiculous and simply impossible, she smiled and enjoyed the good piece of fiction it was.
“What the hell are you doing?” It was Tori. Great.
Looking up with a cold smile, “I’m ensuring my brain doesn’t atrophy like yours.”
Tori blinked and tossed her black hair over her shoulder. Lyssa had to admit she was pretty with her contrasting creamy skin. Just behind her were two girls. Back up, Lyssa supposed. The last thing she was afraid of was humans. So, Lyssa played it cool and tilted her
head as she waited for the girl to get it.
“What the hell does that mean?”
“It means wither and die. Generally, from lack of use.”
Tori stormed over and grabbed Lyssa’s shoulder, pushing her back so that their gazes met. Tori’s eyes were full of burning hatred and embarrassment. But the moment she looked into Lyssa’s eyes, Tori backed up a second, eyes widening when she saw how cold and emotionless the older Stone sister was.
“Are you saying I don’t use my brain?”
“It would appear that way.”
Tori’s lips twisted into a hateful smile, “There are three of us you know.”