Drool Alert-Code Red!
“Does she?”
“Asher,” I groaned. “Stop dancing around the question.”
“Speaking of dancing, we’re going to practice tomorrow. We need to win the NDT to get out of Knut’s class and graduate, remember?”
“No, I forgot,” I said sarcastically. “Where are we meeting?”
He shrugged mysteriously. “You’ll see.”
I opened my mouth to protest but realized he’d done it again. He’d somehow distracted me from my original train of thought.
Asher sighed loudly when I didn’t speak to him for three straight minutes. “I don’t know why this is bothering you so much. My relationship with Brenda was the same with the other girls: sex. That’s it.”
My mouth twisted. “You just used them for sex?”
He turned to face me, anger starting to simmer. “No! They knew what I wanted, and they wanted the same. It wasn’t like I promised them fantasies of ponies and castles in the sky.”
Shaking my head, I laughed softly. “Now I understand. Brenda wanted more than you were willing to give.”
“Yeah, she did,” Asher scowled. He leaned back into the couch cushion and sifted a hand roughly through his hair. “Is that what you wanted to hear, Ivy?”
I stood, steadfastly avoiding his gaze. My signals were so mixed, and I vaguely wanted to apologize, but I was too annoyed. And annoyed that I was annoyed. “It’s none of my business, Asher. I already knew about your reputation with women.”
Heading to the kitchen, I started cleaning up the mess he’d made. A sick feeling had blossomed in my tummy, and for some reason all I wanted to do was crawl into bed and hug my teddy. With all the time I’d spent hanging out with Asher, the rest of his ‘qualities’ had fallen between the cracks. I was too distracted by the bad boy part.
He used women, and they didn’t mind. He was devastatingly gorgeous, smart, and the object of every girl school’s desire. Sadly, I could now understand why Brenda acted the way she did. When Asher was affectionate, he made you feel like the center of his world…losing that must hurt.
Why was this bothering me so freaking much?
I didn’t notice that Asher was standing behind me. He yanked on my elbow, forcing me to face him. “Stop it. Stop trying and convicting me in there,” he growled, tapping my head with a finger.
“Why would I?” I failed at trying to pull myself from his grasp. “It’s none of my business.”
“Ivy! Cut it out!” Asher shouted when I continued trying to escape his grip. He raised a hand…
…and I froze. Fear flooded my system, and before I knew what I was doing, my hands reached up to hide my face.
Asher released me like I was on fire. Dropping to the floor, I curled into myself, keeping my face buried in my hands, shaking violently. It had been a long while since I’d had a panic attack. I’d forgotten how awful it was.
I heard the sound of rustling jeans as Asher crouched next to me. “Ivy, I…what can I do?”
My phone beeped, and I managed to croak. “Phone.”
The sound of his footsteps as he went to retrieve my phone gave me enough time to try to get myself under control. I lowered my hands to the ground and met Asher’s sapphire orbs as he handed me my phone.
I kept it clutched in my hand, not opening it.
“I wasn’t going to…angel, I would never lay a hand on you,” Asher said gently. “I put my hands in my hair when I’m frustrated.”
Oh. I knew that. I’d noticed him doing it every time we argued. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. Asher unfurled my fisted hands. “I’m sorry.”
“You’ve got nothing to be sorry for, Asher,” I whispered tiredly. “You shouldn’t be friends with me. I’m too screwed up to be much of a friend.”
Before he could reply, I flipped open my phone. I had a new text message from an unfamiliar number.
My fingers shook as I pressed the Open key.
“He’s out. He knows about the restraining order, and he doesn’t care. Keep your eyes open, and be careful.”
The phone clattered to the floor.
Asher picked it up and an instant later, he was dragging me onto his lap. I curled into him, burying my face in the soft cotton of his shirt. His arms wrapped around me, and I felt his mouth move in my hair.
“He’ll never hurt you again, Ivy.”
Asher’s voice was full of determination and anger.
“He’ll have to get through me first.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Should Have Castrated Him At Birth
“Are you sure you won’t veer off and burst into flames?”
Asher dangled the keys from his fingers and smirked at me. “I’m not an invalid. I can get home in one piece.”
“But is just stopped snowing an hour ago, the roads are going to be hard to maneuver, especially if you were bleeding to death less than twenty-four hours ago,” I insisted.
Asher tightened his leather jacket on his shoulders and winked at me. “Careful angel, or I might just think you care.”
What the-? In a space of a second, Asher had managed to piss me off again.
“You think I don’t care? Yeah, I bring in random people who’ve been wounded in a loan-shark assault and let them sleep in my house and raid my kitchen. Of course I care,” I huffed.
Asher’s studied me for a minute, and his mouth curved up in a smile. “You actually mean that, don’t you?” he mused.
I harrumphed.
“Don’t worry, angel. It takes a lot more than some frozen water to hurt me,” he said confidently. “Go get some sleep. You need it.”
I shifted on my feet. He was referring to the past hour I’d spent recovering from my panic attack, and the dark circles under my eyes from staying up late to bandage his wounds. “Sure. Don’t forget to turn your headlights on,” I said with a sly grin.
Asher rolled his eyes. “We both know who the better driver is in this room.”
I pushed him over the threshold. “What do you know, it’s me!”
He grinned, and tipped an imaginary hat in my direction. “See you tomorrow.” With that he began trekking through the snow to his car.
“Wait! You’re still not going to tell me where we’re going?”
Asher glanced back at me. “Where’s the fun in that?”
He drove off with a last honk of his horn before I could tell him off. Smiling absently, I locked the door and fell into an armchair.
My cell ringtone started to play, and I tensed. Moving slowly, like it was a bomb on the verge of detonating, I checked the caller ID and gave a sigh of relief.
“Hey Dana,” I greeted, resuming my position on the armchair.
“Ives! I’m on the way to the mall. You should come. How was your lonely night without your best friend ever? Ugh, I’m annoyed right now.”
Chuckling, I made myself comfortable. Dana could ramble for a while. “And why’s that?”
“I’m stuck on the highway. Traffic isn’t moving because-wait for it- someone found an abandoned car and blood on the highway. It’s a crime scene now.”
I sat up quickly. “Seriously?”
“I don’t think it’ll last much longer, since it’s hardly a crime without a body. But this is cutting into my ice cream time which I do not appreciate.”
I could barely hear her. “Dana, I’ll get back to you in a second, okay?”
I hung up before she could reply. Rapidly scrolling for Asher’s number, I began to pace my living room. Asher picked up on the fifth ring. “I’m not dead yet, angel.”
“There’s blood, and a car, a-and it’s a crime scene!” I shouted.
“What? Slow down.”
“The police found a car and blood on the highway. I’m guessing your blood is in there and the car is from one of the men. Asher, they’ll find out it was you!”
“Calm down, Ivy. Everything is under control. I know what I’m doing,” Asher assured me patiently, completely undisturb
ed by the fact police were investigating a crime scene connected to him. “They won’t be able to get a conclusive reading because the blood samples will be too diluted. Trust me here.”
“Just…be careful, okay? You’re too flipping arrogant for your own good,” I said, and hung up.
My phone buzzed with a text.
Asher: Hanging up on me is a serious no-no, angel.
Rolling my eyes, I didn’t bother answering and plugged my phone in the charger. The snow wasn’t too bad. Shrugging, I grabbed my keys and skipped to the car, leaving my phone behind. I’d had enough of that thing for a long while.
Turning my radio on high, I headed to meet Dana at the mall. I didn’t like shopping too much, since my clothes weren’t usually more fabulous than a pair of jeans and an oversized sweater.
I parked the car in the busy lot and weaved through the shoppers to find Dana where I’d expected to find her; situated in front of the Daily Freeze.
“How can you even consider ice cream in this weather, you freak?” I laughed, sitting across from her. She peered up and gave me a vanilla grin.
“Ives! You came! You can have my second order, this one was more filling than I thought,” Dana said, focused on fishing out the M&M in her caramel ice cream.
Shrugging, I took the ice cream from the cashier, who looked like she had seen way too many teenagers on way too many snowy days.
The ice cream was delicious. I dug in, chatting with Dana about how awesome it was we had a day off, and how much it sucked that we’d probably have to go to school tomorrow.
After we polished off every last bite of the ice cream, we strolled around the mall, window- shopping and occasionally sniffing random products. Dana complained about Jason.
A lot.
“He STILL hasn’t bought tickets to Homecoming! I don’t know what he’s waiting for, divine intervention?” she vented, poking a mannequin angrily in the chest.
“Maybe he’s, uh, nervous?” I tried. Honestly, I had no real advice when it came to the male psyche. My guesses were usually way off.
“Enough of my problems, what’s your drama? How’re things with Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome?” Dana winked, momentarily getting distracted by a churro stand nearby.
Really, how she kept her great figure when she ate anything that didn’t move was a question for the Magic 8 ball. Maybe she and Spencer were part of a secret club that worked out in the dead of a night to burn off calories.
“More like Tall, Dark, and Deadly,” I muttered.
“Ooh, dish,” she said with exaggeration.
“You know you sound like a bad eighties sitcom, right?” I checked.
She gave me a blank look. “That’s the point. You suck at girl talk. I gave up on subtly fishing for information years ago.”
That explained so much.
“And don’t change the subject. I’m your best friend, and I’m starting to worry. What’s been going on with Asher Grayson?”
I paused. I had to be careful not to tell her anything with Asher’s history. It hurt me to keep something from her, but they weren’t my secrets to tell.
“He’s…been nice,” I said simply.
She linked arms with me as we purchased an iced mocha. “Nice? Nice how?” she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
“Get your mind out of the gutter,” I said, blushing.
“You’re blushing! Don’t do this to me Ives, I’m going to be a fifty- year old cat woman with only these stories to keep my going,” she pleaded dramatically.
“Fine!” I gave in. “He’s arrogant, frustrating, stubborn, too gorgeous for his own good, has no idea what personal space means, and wouldn’t know tact if it ran him over! Is that what you want to hear?”
Dana stopped, pivoting to scrutinize me for a second before her eyes widened. “Ivy…do you like him?”
“What? No! That’s ridiculous!”
She pointed her finger in my face. “You’re cheeks are red! You’re lying!”
“Shut up! No, I’m not!”
Thankfully, Dana’s attention was diverted from me. “Do you see that?” she asked, pointing to a shadowed corner behind a donut shop.
My gaze traced the path she was pointing at. “No…”
She crept forward, transfixed on the mysterious object. I followed her curiously, starting to wonder if she had a bit too much sugar in her system.
We stopped, hidden from sight. “Right there, near the doors…is that your brother?” Dana whispered.
My brother? I squinted, making out two distinct shapes obscured by an awning. Just then, the moon shifted a little…
Spencer! What was he doing?
A girl’s giggle came from their direction. “Spencer, no! Someone might see us,” she cooed.
That voice was oddly familiar. I didn’t have time to dwell on it, as Spencer answered. “Babe, you’re such a tease. C’mon, no one will notice. It’ll be fun, I promise.”
Oh, God, barf. “Can we please go before she takes him up on his offer and I’m carted back in to Dr. Paxton? Although I might need a whole new level of therapy for that.”
Grabbing Dana by the elbow, I dragged her away from the start of a rated X movie.
“No offense or anything,” she started casually as we exited the warmth of the mall. “But your brother is a total slut.”
I shuddered. “This is the second time in a week I’ve been subjected to his flings. Mom and Dad should’ve had him castrated.”
Dana giggled and reached up to hug me. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I hugged her tightly. “See you.”
We parted to our separate cars, and I turned the heat on immediately. I felt like such a terrible friend. Dana had no idea Jared was back, but I didn’t know how to tell her.
Hey, my psycho ex-boyfriend that was institutionalized somehow got released, and now he’s bent on revenge? Would you like sprinkles on your ice cream?
Yeah, that’d go over real well.
My driveway was dark when I got home. Mom and Dad must be getting in late from L.A. Unlocking the front door, I let myself in and grabbed my phone and a box of chocolate blueberries before going to my room.
I had a few missed calls from Mom and Dad, so I texted them that I’d been out with Dana.
My phone buzzed with a text.
Asher: Don’t forget to meet me after school tomorrow.
Ivy: Still think you should tell me where we’re going.
Asher: Be honest, you like the suspense
My mouth curved up in a smile.
Ivy: Is everything with you suspenseful?
Asher: Can’t help being awesome.
Asher: And you know you love it
Ivy: K, I’m going to bed before you’re ego explodes.
Ivy: Goodnight Asher
Asher: Sweet dreams, angel
I fell asleep with a smile on my face.
Chapter
Twenty-Three
Ditch, Dance, & Decide
The bell rang for lunch, and no one shot out of their seat faster than I did.
I met Dana at the doors to the cafeteria. “Math was even more excruciating than usual today,” I complained, waving as Caleb came toward us, Kyle and Jason in tow.
“Hey guys,” I greeted. Dana glared at Jason balefully.
“Babe, hear me out, I’m sorry I haven’t bought the tickets yet,” Jason pleaded. Dana stormed off, Jason at her heels. The rest of us sat on the table and extracted our lunches. Kyle watched them leave, a strange expression on his face.
Kyle and Caleb talked about their upcoming soccer match with our rival high school, Montecello High.
“Are you guys scared?” I queried, taking a bite of my cookie. “After all, I heard they’re vicious players.”
Kyle scoffed. “We can take them anywhere, anytime, anyplace. We’re the Darwin Finches!”
“Funny, he says that now, yet runs for the hills the minute they walk in,” Caleb mumbled, cursing when Kyle smacked the back of his head.
“Well look who the cat dragged in,” Kyle muttered.
The Plastics entered, looking as spiffy and posh as always. Brenda flipped her golden hair over a shoulder as she delicately picked at her food. She was sitting next to Asher, who looked utterly bored. Brett sat on the other side of the table, glaring at him. No wonder, since Asher had publicly kicked the tar out of him like it was just another Tuesday.
“Ivy?” I was poked in the arm.
“What?”
“You were staring,” Caleb commented.
“Must have zoned out,” I mumbled.
Kyle stretched, popping his bones. I winced at the sound. “Sorry, forgot you hate that noise. I’ve got to run, Coach wants to go over a few details with me. I’ll see you guys later.” With one lingering glance at Dana, he gathered his things and left.
They resumed talking, but I was distracted by the Plastic’s table. Asher and Brenda appeared to be caught in an intense argument. I watched as Brenda flushed with anger and Asher smirked, his eyes cold.
“I don’t know how you spend so much time with him, Ives. He’s so…unnerving,” Dana murmured, also watching Asher’s exchange with Brenda.
That’s what makes it fun.
I shrugged. “He doesn’t act that way with me.”
Caleb took a bite of his lettuce and nearly spat. “This is cabbage. My mother has got to stop trying to force feed me cabbage!”
Caleb’s mother was a health nut, and her latest obsession was with cabbage, because it apparently prevented health issues by opening up your chi.
The bell rang as Caleb was depositing his lunch, and with regretful sighs, we parted for our classes. I dropped into my seat in Physics and waved at Phoebe, who came over to chat. She perched carefully on the seat next to me and smiled, pushing her huge glasses up the bridge of her nose. “Hi Ivy.”
“Hey Phoebe! How’re you liking this class?”
She glanced at the board and cringed. “My nightmares ask me about their electrical charge.”
Giggling, I talked to the cute junior for a few minutes before she spotted Asher and booked it back to her seat, giving me one last smile.
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