“It should be a good game.” Eric offered his gaze still on Zeke who had crossed his arms over his chest. That shit! Eric looked uneasy as he looked back at me.” I’ll see you later Alexis.” Then he disappeared into the crowd. I looked up to see Zeke’s smirk back in place.
“What was that about?” I asked trying not to laugh.
“We wanted to meet the guy who was asking you out on a date.” Asher explained.
“He didn’t ask me out.” I argued.
“He was trying too.” Zeke chuckled. I shook my head at them, I didn’t know if I should be mad, annoyed or just laugh.
“And you stopped him.” I pointed out. “Is this going to become a thing?”
“Isn’t it better if you know right off if he has a problem with your five guy friends?” Asher asked. I rolled my eyes. He had a point; that didn’t mean I liked it but he was right.
“Good point.” I shrugged dismissively. “Besides, I got a date with Dylan tomorrow night.” Asher’s eyebrows went up, his eyes widened. He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me to his side smiling.
“And when did this happen?” I snickered as I wrapped my arm around his waist.
“On the phone last night.”
“Where is he taking you?” Zeke asked adjusting his bag looking a bit tense.
“Meeting him at Vegabond.” I looked up at Zeke. “By the way he wants to thank you for kicking that guy's ass last Saturday.” Zeke made an puzzled face.
“It had nothing to do with him.” He pointed out, looking uncomfortable.
“That’s what he told me.” I offered. I gave Asher a squeeze and looked up at him. “Hey, I got a text from Rory. That woman, Emily Hann’s going to live.” He gave me a big smile.
“That totally makes my morning.” I nodded and let go of Asher before heading down the hall.
“See you guys at lunch.”
When we got to our table at lunch, Zeke and Asher were already there. Zeke offered to watch our bags as long as someone grabbed him something. I volunteered immediately. He handed me his money and we headed to the cafeteria. As we went through the line, I picked the most healthy, tasteless food I could find. Revenge is sweet. I was headed back when my conscious twinged at me. I stopped and picked him up a candy bar I’d seen him eat earlier this week. That I stuck in my pocket. The look on his face when I handed him his steamed rice, chicken and veggies was priceless.
“Lexie what the fuck?” He asked stunned at what I picked up. The other guys burst out laughing.
“Revenge is sweet, Zeke.” I smiled at him across the table. His eyes met mine as he glared.
“I made a point to pick you up healthy food that tasted good.” He pointed out. I did feel a little guilty. I was still smiling when I pulled out the teriyaki sauce packets and put them in front of him. He was still glaring at me as he picked them up. I started laughing again as he looked pained looking at his food. Okay, yeah, I was starting to feel bad. A little. I pulled out the candy bar and tossed it to him.
“You think I would do that to you?” I asked in my sweet voice. Zeke smirked at me and started eating his lunch.
“So, have you asked Kristina to the game yet?” I asked Ethan as I started eating my tuna salad sandwich. He nodded, his mouth fill. When he finished chewing, he answered.
“Yep, I’ll be meeting her there tonight. Don’t really want it to be too date like, girls get weird after that.”
“Speaking of dating, some guy was hitting on Ally in the hallway today.” Asher announced, his eyes sparkling. I rolled my eyes and continued eating.
“Oh, who?” Isaac asked excitedly.
“What’s his name?” Ethan chimed in resting his chin on his hand giving me his full attention.
“How did you meet?” Isaac continued in a girly voice.
“Was he cute?” Ethan said in the exact same tone. The other guys burst out laughing.
“Oh my god, stop please.” I exclaimed as they continued to make doe eyes at me. “His name's Eric and he’s in my English class.”
“Oh, never date someone you have a class with it gets weird when you breakup.” Ethan cautioned as he went back to eating.
“Yeah, there’s that. We’ve done stuff, but now we don’t talk awkwardness when you're near each other.” Isaac added.
“Don’t worry about that; Zeke scared him off.” I told them dismissively. Heads turned to Zeke who shrugged unrepentant.
“What did you do Zeke?” Miles asked his voice growing colder. He smirked.
“Mild glaring.” He admitted to them before turning to me. “If that scared him away you're better off. Because any guy that comes around, we’re going to be asking him questions.”
“What are your intentions?” Asher offered.
“Where are you going?” Ethan added.
“When will you be back?” Isaac supplied. I looked around the table at them to see if they were serious. They were all nodding, including Miles.
“And does this rule apply to Dylan?” I asked hoping to hear a no. They all smirked.
“We all just happen to be going to Vegabond Saturday night, so we might as well carpool.” Asher said nonchalantly. I sighed and rested my forehead on my hand.
“I’m never going to date again.” I groaned. The guys thought it was hilarious. I looked up and pointed at them. “I am warning all of you. If you scare off every guy that wants to ask me out, one of you are going to have to go to homecoming with me, and winter formal. And prom. And anything else I want to go to.” They didn’t stop laughing until after the bell for 6th period rang.
The rest of the day went on as usual. Gym was dull. But when I was on the phone talking to Zeke as we walked the path, I couldn’t see Bitch Ghost. It sent a chill down my spine. She could be somewhere else on campus. Then I put it out of my mind, during art class Asher drew stick figures jumping to their deaths. This time out of an airplane, at least there was a variation. After class, I headed out to the parking lot only to see Miles car gone. I went and waited next to Zeke’s Jeep. Isaac soon joined me.
“Where did Miles and Ethan take off to?” I shrugged, I hadn’t texted them to find out. Isaac pulled his phone out and started texting. He had a small smile on his face when they answered.
“They say they’re running errands.” Isaac told me. As we waited for Zeke, we talked about the party. Isaac told me about the girl he had his eye on for a while now. I asked him all the questions they had asked me earlier. He promised never to do that again. Revenge is sweet.
After a great deal of bitching Zeke drove us by Isaac’s house and mine to pick up clothes, we pulled into the circular drive in front of the house. We walked into the living room to hear shouting from deeper into the house. I dropped my bags on one of the couches and followed Zeke and Isaac into the family room. Ethan and Miles were on the big couch their backs towards me. I watched as one character on the screen continued to beat the other into submission. Zeke sat next to Miles and Isaac took the other couch to the left. I took off my shoes and walked over behind Isaac’s couch. I climbed over the back and plopped down next to him. He bumped his shoulder into me. I bumped mine back.
“Who’s winning?” I asked crossing my legs under me.
“Miles.” Isaac and Zeke said at the same time. I looked over at the other boys. Ethan was cursing under his breath as he hit buttons. He didn’t look happy. I watched the screen as his character was knocked out. Ethan cursed and tossed the controller to Zeke.
“I give up. He wins every time.” Ethan grumbled. Miles smiled before leaning forward and tossing me the controller. I caught it.
“Before we start, what are we doing for dinner since Asher isn’t here?” I asked eyeing the boys. They all looked at each other seeing if anyone had an idea. I rolled my eyes. “Is there food in the kitchen? Like ingredients?”
“Usually.” Miles replied.
“I’ll go see what I can make.” I got to my feet and headed for the door. “Since none of you are getting off your asses.”
“Oh, wait, we’ll help.” Isaac called in a very uninterested voice. I left the family room, walked into kitchen and opened the fridge. I pulled out 2lbs of hamburger and put it on the counter. If we had breadcrumbs, we were having meatloaf. I checked the pantry and found breadcrumbs. Yay, I can make something I know how to cook. I preheated the oven and began looking for the rest of what I needed. I was trying to reach a big metal mixing bowl when a hand with silver rings reached up and snagged it. I jumped and turned my head, Ethan was bringing down the bowl from the cabinet. He held it out to me.
“Thought you might like help.” His smoky voice was back. I had to remind myself not to curl my toes. That voice should really be illegal.
“I’ll take it; can you get the eggs out of the fridge?” I asked as I started looking for the spices. He went off to do that.
“So, what are we making?” He asked closing the fridge door. I was pulling down the spices I wanted when I answered.
“Meatloaf. It’ll take an hour to cook.” I washed my hands, opened the meat, and dumped it in the bowl. “Take off your rings hon; you’re getting your hands messy.” He groaned as he went to the sink and washed his hands.
“How did you learn to cook?” He asked with his back to me. I chewed on the corner of my lip as I picked up the breadcrumbs.
“My Mom taught me, before Dad died.” I shrugged, pushing away memories. “After that if I wanted something not cooked in a microwave, I had to make it myself.”
“That sucks, Lexie.” Ethan came back over to stand in front of the bowl his hands clear of his rings. “You can always come over to our house; Mom makes bad ass enchiladas.” He pointed to the mixing bowl. “I take it I’ve got to mix?” I nodded and reached for the pepper. The idea of a home cooked meal made by a real mom sounded much better than it probably should have. I pushed that thought away before adding pepper to the mix.
“I might just take you up on that. I like enchiladas.” I said reaching for the salt. We talked about the party tonight while we finished making the meat loaf. I put it in the pan and waited for the oven to heat up. I hopped up on the counter and watched as Ethan did the same on the other side. “So, tell me about Kristina.” I asked genuinely curious.
“She’s a nice, sweet girl. That doesn’t even curse. She’s also kind of shy.” He kicked his foot against the cabinet. “She’s the opposite of what I usually go for.” He admitted. I raised an eyebrow at him.
“What are you talking about?” I asked trying to understand. “I don’t know the history here, catch me up.”
“I’ve dated all kinds of girls.” He began fiddling with one of his rings. “Goth, punk, Emo, geek, band geek, now I’m up to the prim and proper. And I always have the same problem.”
“Which is?” He started to shake his head. “Nu-uh. No, you don’t get to squirm out of this topic; you guys know almost all my shit, now spill.” He chuckled softly.
“Fair enough.” He looked toward the door as if to see if the guys were around, then he looked back at me. “Physically we click, it’s great, and it’s hot. But eventually she realizes I’m not who she thought I was, and she’s not who I thought she was. So we split.” His eyes darted to the doorway and back to me. “So, I’m trying to date girls that I normally wouldn’t go for, like Kristina.”
“Sounds like a good idea.” I said trying to figure out how say the next part. “You really do need something more in common with a someone, beside you both thinking the other one is hot.” I offered trying not to overstep. Ethan snorted.
“Yeah, Miles said that too.” I kicked my bounced my foot against the counter under me. "Miles usually gives pretty good advice.”
“Yeah, why is that?” I asked, dying to know the answer.” He knew I was freaking out Tuesday. And I thought I hid it pretty well.” Ethan looked at me his eyebrows raised.
“You were freaking out?” He asked eyebrows raised, his eyes wide. Apparently, I hid it good enough to fool the others.
“He didn’t tell you?” Oops. Ethan shook his head.
“Guy code Beautiful.” He reminded me. Shit. I just ratted myself out. I was going to have to get the hang of this.
“That’s not the point.” I reminded him really not wanting to talk about it. “The point was he noticed it.” Ethan took the hint.
“Well, it has to do with Zeke really.” Ethan explained. “A lot of messed up shit went down with his family and his Aunt Sylvia wanted him to deal with it in a healthy way. So, Zeke went to a lot of therapy. Miles wanted to help him deal, so he learned everything he could about psychology.” I looked up to see Ethan watching me, his face serious. “I’m not telling you about Zeke’s shit, that’s not my story to tell.”
“I can respect that.”
“Just know that even when Zeke is barking at you, and bossing you around, he genuinely wants the best for you.” Ethan eyed the door way again.
“That’s why you guys put up with it?” I asked getting up to put the meatloaf in the oven.
“Yeah, it’s how he deals.” Ethan shrugged. A tense silence filled the kitchen. I eyed him suspiciously. “Your cell phone isn’t on right?” Ethan burst out laughing.
Dinner was ready an hour later. I microwaved some bags of green beans and put them into a serving bowl. It wasn’t Asher’s cooking, but it was food. The guys were coming down the hall as I was pulling the meatloaf from the oven. Everyone dished themselves up and thanked me for cooking. After we ate, Isaac and Ethan agreed to clean up. The rest of us went back to the family room. I was in the middle of trying to kick Zeke’s butt at the fighting game when they came back.
“It’s a party I need to blow off some steam.” Isaac snapped at his brother as they walked in.
“Blowing off some steam is fine, but you have training tomorrow.-”
“And I’ll deal with it.” Isaac interrupted, his tone making it clear the subject was closed. I have never heard Isaac serious about something. It was weird. It distracted me enough that Zeke got the upper hand and knocked out my character. I checked the clock and saw the time; it was 5:45pm.
“Well, I’m going to go soak in the tub then get ready.” I got to my feet and handed the controller to Miles. “Miles avenge my honor.” Zeke cursed.
“As my lady wills it.” Miles said in a gallant puffed up voice. I walked into the bedroom and dropped my bags on the bed. I pulled out everything I’d need for my soak including my mp3 player. I left my clothes and makeup to grab later. Though I did take my cell phone with me. I went into the bathroom and started the tub. Soon I was soaking away all my worries with the jets on. I dunked my head once to get my hair wet then I put my earbuds in and started my music. Everything drifted away. All the stress of the last week disappeared. It always amazes me the way a good tub soak could make you feel like new. I was playing Angry Birds when I remembered that Dylan had a game today so I sent him a message.
Alexis: Good luck at your game tonight.
I was just about to go back to the game when my phone vibrated. Wow, that was quick.
Dylan: Thanks it should be a good game. How was your day?
I smiled as I texted back, feeling girly.
Alexis: Not bad. Miles had to lend me a hoodie to go under my jacket today. Why is it so freaking cold here?
Dylan: Lol, we’re in the mountains sweetie. It even snows here.
I tried to ignore the warm feeling in my stomach I had when he called me sweetie.
Alexis: I’m going to freeze. How was your day?
Dylan: Lol, the usual. Just killing time until we need to get in our gear.
Alexis: What position do you play? You never told me.
Dylan: I’m a running back.
I smiled, that meant he was quick, light on his feet and ran the ball a lot.
Alexis: What’s your yards per carry?
There were a couple heartbeats of silence before he answered.
Dylan: You know what stats are?
Alexis: Yeah, watched football with my Dad
a lot. He always answered any question I had. And I wanted to understand what was going on.
Dylan. Let me get somewhere quieter and I’ll call you. I need to hear you talking about stats.
Panic clutched my chest tight.
Alexis: NO!
I winced as I sent that then quickly tried to explain.
Alexis: I can’t talk on the phone right now. I just remembered you had a game today and I figured you’d be too busy to talk to me.
I felt my face turn pink as I hit send.
Dylan: Where are you that you can’t talk?
I groaned, he probably thought I was on the toilet or something. That was worse than the truth. Sighing I texted him back.
Alexis: I’m kind of soaking in the tub. I just wanted to wish you luck tonight, didn’t think you could talk.
It was a couple minutes before he replied.
Dylan: Damn, Lexie.
I snickered to myself.
Alexis: I tried not telling you.
Dylan: I’m calling.
Alexis: I won’t answer.
Dylan: I’m so going to talk to you when you're naked.
Alexis: Not today, you're not.
Dylan: Tell me there are bubbles.
I started laughing so hard I almost dropped my phone into the water.
Alexis: LMAO.
Dylan: Fine, don’t tell me if there are bubbles. Or if your hair is down or up.
Alexis: Okay, I’m hanging up now.
Dylan: Okay, I’ll behave. What are you doing tonight after the game?
Alexis: The guys are taking me to a party somewhere.
Dylan: Zeke going?
I looked at my phone suspiciously. Why did he want to know about Zeke?
Alexis: Yeah, why?
Dylan: Just suddenly very grateful you have guy friends.
My heart melted as I texted him back. But I was also a little irked he thought I needed protecting, it was a weird feeling.
Alexis: You're sweet, but I can handle a party.
Trying To Live With The Dead (The Veil Diaries Series Book 1) Page 33