“I just needed to get home,” comes my lame excuse.
“Everything all right Laura?” I look over when I hear Milo’s question. He actually sounds genuinely concerned, which is unfamiliar.
All three guys are huddled close by and their presence is overwhelming to say the least. I cast my gaze over to where I last saw Delaney standing, and I'm not surprised when I find her staring daggers back at me.
“Laura?” It's Dante this time. Why are they talking to me, why are they acting like they know me, or care?
“Yeah,” I croak back then clear my throat. I forget sometimes how little I speak.
“Maggie was pretty upset you left without telling her, that you walked when she made us promise to give you a ride.”
I wince, well now I know why they are talking to me. They probably want to give me an earful, just like the one they probably got from Maggie.
“Sorry if I got you guys in trouble. I'm used to taking care of myself. Let Maggie know it was my fault, I won't let her blame you.” Oliver wrinkles his eyes and nose a bit. His face is so very expressive. If I had to guess, I'd say he's confused.
No one speaks for a few seconds, but we're all standing there in the silence. I feel all of them looking at me. I tug my backpack up on my shoulder higher and shuffle my feet.
“I'm glad you made it home safe,” Dante adds, finally breaking the silence with his deep voice. When I don't respond Milo tugs the broken strap of my backpack.
“We should probably head in, the bell's about to ring.” His words register and I start forward heading past them and the rest of the students still milling around.
I make it to my first class and find my seat, my heart beating fast. I'm not used to all the attention from the boys, and what they bring with them.
The next few hours pass with me alternating between worrying about my mom and trying to forget she might be gone for good. Delaney and the guys are circulating in the back of my thoughts. I'm not sure I can handle all the problems their acknowledgement might bring.
I move through the halls quickly, keeping my head down but my senses alert for any sign of trouble. I make it to my locker with no hassle when I realize I forgot to make myself a lunch this morning. Great.
Sitting on the top step, I scour my bag for a snack to hold me over until I can get home. I'm just peeling back the wrapper on a somewhat smashed granola bar when I hear them coming up the steps.
Dante turns the corner on the landing and stops when he sees me. Oliver, who's still hopping up the stairs behind him, crashes into his back. Dante barley jolts, only taking one shuffle of a step before planting his feet back on the landing. If that would have been me, I'd have gone flying Boy’s got some balance.
Oliver continues around his friend like nothing happened and plops himself right next to me. “Hey, what's up?”
Taken back by his familiarity, I look at him for a long second.
“Nothing, I guess. What's up with you?” I finally respond, and he cracks an easy grin.
“Oh, just wondering why this beautiful girl I know ignores me in class and always sits in this stairwell for lunch. Got any ideas?” A blush stains my cheeks. That’s the second time he's called me beautiful, and it isn’t something I could easily forget. I've dropped some of my barriers with Ollie, he's just so sweet, and now that I know he and Milo are together it seems easier to be around him, harder in some respects too.
Our eyes connect, and I feel a tugging sensation in my stomach, almost like a pull, down low. My hand flies to my lower abdomen as a pooling warmth gathers there. Oliver sucks in a deep breath and his eyes widen a fraction.
I break the connection, looking away and noting the way Milo and Dante are watching us with rapt attention.
I dismiss the strange feeling in my body for attraction, which I'm unfamiliar with, and take a bite of my granola bar just to give myself something to do.
Dante takes a step forward and spins like he might try to squeeze into the space between me and the wall. I scoot over instinctively, and my hip and thigh meet Ollie’s. Dante slides down and we're all three smashed together on the step. This is the closest I've ever been to someone, let alone two someones. The warmth in my abdomen doubles and the tingle I've come to expect from touching them is zinging across my thighs.
What is it about these boys that makes my body go haywire? I've never really gotten close to anyone, but there have been times in my life where I've bumped into people or been touched by someone while passing through crowed area, but I've felt nothing close to this.
Dropping the granola bar to my lap, I run my palms over my denim-covered thighs, contemplating how to ask if it's normal and if they feel it too. Milo sits down on the step below us, wedging his back against Ollie’s legs and turning his face up to us. I swallow thickly and shift my knees closer to Dante to allow Milo more room.
“No, that's okay,” he mutters and grabs my ankles by wrapping his arm around them and pulling me back even closer to him.
The moment he touches me a low hum fills my body. It's like a circuit has been fully connected. My body comes alive with sensation.
I know my eyes must be huge as I look at the three of them with questions.
“Is that... what’s happening?” I don't know what to say, but I have to say something. Do they feel this? Is it normal?
Milo’s eyelids are heavy as his head drops back onto Ollie’s knee, his arms still wrapped around my legs. He looks like he's about to fall asleep and I feel like I'm touching a live wire.
Dante’s low gravelly voice comes from right next to my ear, “What we've been waiting for.”
Nine
Beyond confused I start to panic. My breathing becomes labored and my heart rate skyrockets. What does he mean I’m what they've been waiting for? I jump up and step over Milo, severing the connection. Backing away from them feels wrong, but I don't know how else to handle them.
Ollie is the first to stand. His face is kind, his eyes soft with understanding. He licks his lips before speaking, “Laura, I'm sorry we jumped the gun.” He turns back to the others behind him briefly. “I think I can speak for all of us in saying that we find it hard to be around you but not close to you.”
“Why, what's happening? You do feel it don't you?” My last words come out as more of a hiss than a question.
Dante takes the lead by stepping closer to me. “Yes we feel it.” He confirms with a heavy look in my direction.
“What is it you feel exactly?” I question in confusion, but I’m hoping I can make some sense of the craziness that has become my life.
“A connection, a strong connection. One that we've known was going to happen and we've been waiting for.”
“I don't understand what you mean.” My voice is almost shrill. I shake my head unable to accept what he’s saying.
The three of them share a look between themselves, and Dante again takes the lead when he asks in his usual low rumble, “You don’t know anything?” At my blank look he continues almost in a whisper, “Anything about who or what you are?” He seems apprehensive, worried even, but he sounds a little skeptical.
“Of course, I know who I am,” I scoff at him.
Heels clicking on the worn tiles of the school halls stops our conversation in its tracks. Delaney and two friends saunter up the stairs at an unhurried pace. Each of them personifies perfection with their expertly styled hair and clothes.
The guys’ heads, which are already trained in their direction, follow them up the stairwell. Milo takes a step down, bringing himself closer to the girls, but Ollie stops him dead with a hand on his shoulder. After a long second Milo shrugs off the boy’s touch and turns back to face me. He looks angry, his face is red and his lips are tight, I think he might just start yelling any minute.
I take another step away from them. There's no way I want his stormy eyes pointed at me right now.
“Hey,” Delaney purrs without a shred of self-preservation.
“I thought we
were meeting at the front lobby, in like five minutes?” Dante sighs with a small shake of his head.
Delaney shrugs a delicate shoulder. “What can I say, I couldn't wait.” Her hand goes to the flare of her narrow hip and she arches her back slightly, pushing her chest out. Everything about her is suggestive, her skirt has to border on a dress code violation, and her painted red lips are turned up in a sultry smirk.
The two girls with her seem a little less bold but are equally alluring.
Dante, whose back seems rigid, pushes up the sleeve of his gray thermal shirt, exposing his toned forearms. The black leather cuff encircling his wrist catches my eye and I can’t seem to look away.
I need to know what's beneath that thick band. I take a step forward to do just that when Ollie’s voice jars me from my intended target, a good thing too. With my single-minded focus, I didn't even care that I would have looked crazy pawing at him with his girlfriend standing a few feet away.
With that thought, a cold sinking feeling washes over me, effectively reminding me I have no place here. Looking at the ground, I miss the fact that Milo and Ollie have moved past Dante and up to me until I feel Ollie’s fingers under my chin, forcing my head up so I meet his eyes.
“Sorry I started this here,” he says with a grimace. “Can we talk after school?” I nod without thought; his clear green eyes don't give me much of an option.
“I need to get to class,” I mutter when my tongue becomes unglued from the roof of my mouth. Ollie gives me a cheeky wink, letting the seriousness that had invaded our conversation fall away.
I turn and dash for the open doorframe that will take me to the hall where my locker is, and away from these confusing boys, but I don't make it far. I let my back hit the wall to catch my breath.
I hear murmurs from the stairwell when I'm settled enough to take a deep breath and the buzzing in my ears subsides.
Dante’s low growl is broken by Milo’s urgent hiss, “I don't care what promises you made. I'm tired of her sniffing around every time you're out of her sight. I'm not letting her, or you ruin this.”
Deliberately stepping closer to eavesdrop I hear Ollie, in a much quieter voice, soothe as he says, “that's not going to happen Milo, because Dante won't let it. He knows how important this is.” He pauses before he adds, “To all of us.”
With that I push away from the wall and rush in the opposite direction.
Last hour comes way too fast, not only do I to have to sit next to Dante in art, but I also told Ollie we could talk after school. I've already made several excuses in my head as to why I'd need to rush home instead of talking with them, but all the cop-outs sound lame, even to me.
The only one that could get me out of it easily would be to tell them the truth, that my mom disappeared.
I'm not ready for anyone to know that.
Avoiding them tonight will not get me any closer to the answers I want either, but I do need to be careful around them. I don't want Delaney getting the wrong idea.
I haven't missed all the snide little remarks she makes every time I've passed her in the halls or the cunning way she watches me in class. There's no way she's going to let me slip back into invisibility.
Surprisingly, Dante is at our table before me. It's a first. I'm not sure if I was that slow getting here, or if he rushed.
His head is down looking at his wrist as I enter. As soon as I breach the door, his head pops up and his eyes land on me. My step falters under his scrutiny. The way he's looking at me makes me want to turn around and run, not walk, out of the room.
Dante stands like he knows exactly what I'm thinking, and he'd be willing to chase me if I did. His head tilts to the side and his eyes, which seemed so intense seconds ago, soften.
The hard edge of his jaw relaxes and it changes his appearance completely. I go from wanting to run away from him, to run toward him instead.
With a small shake of my head I remember I can't. Not only because he has a girlfriend, a girlfriend who isn't very nice and he isn't very nice to either, but because I can't let anyone know me. My mom would freak out if she knew I was even entertaining the idea of talking to him and the other guys.
That thought reminds me it might not even matter anymore, mom’s gone. Maybe for good.
I take a few tentative steps forward. Dante pulls out my stool as I round the table.
“Hi Laura,” he drawls in his deep baritone.
My heart thuds painfully hard once, before rushing on in a quick staccato.
“Hi Dante,” I reply while putting my bag on the floor and sliding onto my stool. Mr. Adams saves me seconds later when he calls the class to attention.
Thankfully we're both too busy finishing up our portraits to do any talking through the rest of the class.
I have been sneaking looks at him every chance I get though, sometimes when I do, he's already looking at me.
“All right guys, we have until Thursday to get all these beautiful faces ready for display. Principal Cooksey and I will select three works from each grade for submission into the Scholastic Art Awards.
As you all know it's a pretty big deal to be selected and an even bigger honor to win. So, leave a little of yourselves on the paper for everyone to see and maybe, just maybe, one of you will walk away with a pretty nice scholarship in a few months.”
The noise level in the class picks up a bit after his announcement; excitement floats in the air, settling on everyone's shoulders with weight.
Dante stares at his drawing, it's so amazingly detailed I would believe it was a photograph if I hadn't seen all the work he's put into it over the last week.
“It's really beautiful, I bet you'll win.” My words flow out easily. Not just a compliment, but full honesty.
His head turns, and his eyes meet mine and he looks sad, almost troubled. His mouth parts on an inhale before he whispers, “I thought I wanted that.”
“But?” I ask when it seems like there is one.
“But I'm not so sure anymore. It doesn't feel important anymore, ya know?” His words are softly spoken, like he's not sure he should even say them out loud.
“I think it's important. What you can do... the way you can make it looks so real. It's really a gift. Something you should be proud of.” I don't know where the words come from, but they're the truth. He is gifted.
“Thank you.” He sounds a little surprised.
The bell rings and neither of have returned our stuff to the back of the room. As the other students start to scatter, I look away from his amber eyes and rush through sorting my things.
When I return to get my bag, he's still standing at the table, waiting for me. I look at the empty doorway, expecting to see Delaney slithering through any second.
“Ready?”
I nod even though I'm not. My tongue feels thick in my mouth when I mutter, “I'll just meet you, go on ahead.”
Dante's brow furrows. “I thought we’d just walk together.”
“Aren't you meeting Delaney?” He looks shocked for a brief moment.
“No, why would you think... never mind. Let's get out of here.”
I follow him from class, still nervous we might be seen together. I feel guilty the whole way because Delaney has every right to not want me hanging out with her boyfriend. Not when he makes my heart beat so fast, and how hearing him speak is like being covered with a warm blanket.
Dante leads us through the quickly emptying halls, past the old gym and to a set of taupe double doors. Pushing through, sunlight pours in, brightening the dim corridor.
When my eyes adjust, I see the back parking lot of the school. Several cars are still parked out here; a few of them seem rather nice for a bunch of high school students.
I spot Ollie's light hair as he stands looking in our direction. He's positioned in the open passenger door with his elbow propped on the roof. Looking at him gives me the same dip in my stomach I get when I see Dante.
Guess I haven't let go of the crush yet, seems I have a
thing for unavailable boys.
A sly smile lights his face as we approach. “I was sure we'd have to hunt you down girl.” His voice is light, teasing even. Without any real answer I give an uncommitted shrug, pulling the strap of my bag higher on my shoulder.
A heavy silence settles over us as we cluster around Dante's car.
I hear Milo nearing moments later, his feet crunching over the broken blacktop as he hurries over at a near jog.
“Hey,” he pants, not really out of breath, but I can tell he rushed to get here. The butterflies get impossibly stronger and my cheeks heat with something almost like embarrassment.
The way I’m surrounded by these boys makes me feel different, and not in a bad way. But in a way I'm completely unfamiliar with. I'm tempted to run.
Why am I here? Why are they even talking to me, and why, after all these years of never getting close to anyone, do I want to be here with them?
Now that Milo has arrived, Dante walks around the back of the car and opens the trunk. The hinges whine in a way only older cars do as he holds up the hatch. His black t-shirt rides up, giving me a view of his side and a glimpse of his stomach. I look away quickly, embarrassed how it makes me want to see more.
He tosses his bag in and the other two boys do the same. I grip my shoulder strap tighter, not ready to let go of it. Dante looks over at me, and his eyes slide down to my hands where they clutch my bag over my chest. Without a word he lets the lid go, and it drops down with a harsh slam.
“Shotgun,” Oliver exclaims, but Milo jabs him with an elbow and nods in my direction. “Oh yeah, Laura you want front or back?” he asks, not missing a beat as he nears the passenger door.
I don't know why, but it’s at this moment it actually sinks in that I might leave school with them. I never really thought about where we were going to talk.
Dante speaks up, “I thought we would head over to my place. No one else is there, but if you'd rather go to your house, we could do that.”
“No,” I whisper. “My place… it's not... we can't really go there right now.” I lie.
Oliver steps closer to me and drops his arm around my neck. The warm tingle reminds me why I need to do this. “Come on Laura, you look like you’re about to get in the car with a stranger offering candy. I promise you’ll be perfectly safe, and we'll be on our best behavior.” His pointer finger makes a small X over his heart and he grins down at me.
Infinity Chronicles Book One: A Paranormal Reverse Harem Series Page 7