I walked through the hallway, weaving around students who were heading to the cafeteria, and was almost to my locker when I heard a familiar voice. “Hey, babe, you’re looking good lately.”
I looked up and saw Logan standing in the middle of the hall right in front of me. Babe? Was he serious? “Thanks,” I said, trying to get around him. He moved, blocking my path. I was cornered between him and a locker. “What do you want, Logan?” I tried to make my voice hard, and was irritated that it shook slightly. The once busy hallway was suddenly empty. There were a few students at the far end, leaning against lockers, but none close enough to hear our conversation.
“You. I just wanted to ask you out for Saturday night.”
“No thanks.” I moved to the side to get around him, but again, he blocked me.
“Come on, I can show you a real good time,” he whispered in my ear. His cologne was strong, almost choking me. He was so close I could feel the warmth of his body. I had the urge to lift my knee up sharply.
“I said no! Now back off.” My voice held a slightly hysterical edge to it.
He scowled, angry now. His hazel eyes leered down at me. “You can’t turn me down. No one turns me down.”
I glared at him. “I just did.”
He backed up like I had slapped him. I took my chance and tried to slip away again, but he grabbed my arm, his fingers digging into my exposed skin. “Come on, I’m trying to be nice here. I just wanted to take you out, now you’re being rude.”
“I said I’m not interested,” I growled, yanking my arm out of his grip.
“No one turns me down,” he repeated, his voice low and harsh. He lifted his hand as if to hit me. I braced myself.
Footsteps pounded the tiled floor behind me. Someone shoved Logan into the locker before he could strike. “Were you seriously going to hit her?” Lucas’ face was twisted with anger.
“Get off of me, Luke, and mind your own business,” Logan snarled at his brother.
Lucas slammed him harder against the locker, and Logan’s head knocked against the metal door. I forced myself not to laugh. “Is this the way you get girls to go out with you? I always wondered how you did it, since you’re such a dick.” Logan pushed Lucas off him. “This is a new low for you, bullying girls into dating you. I’m sure Mom and Dad would be so proud.”
“I don’t have to bully girls, they come after me. When is the last time you had a date, Luke?” Logan said to Lucas then turned to me. “I don’t know what I was thinking. You want her, Luke? Take her, she’s all yours. She’s below my standards anyway.”
Unfazed by Logan’s hurtful words, I looked over at Lucas, who was shaking with anger but still not finished talking. “Logan, if you ever go near Sarah again. I’ll take you down, and you know I can.” He chuckled darkly. “You never could beat me in a fight.” With that, he grabbed my arm and dragged me through the line of kids that had gathered. In a high school, you could always count on an audience when a fight was brewing, although where was everyone just minutes before, when I needed help?
He kept walking, silently pulling me along. I noticed we were headed to the parking lot. “Where are you taking me?” I asked, a little frightened.
He didn’t slow down or look at me. “We’re ditching the rest of the day,” he said, still angry. I started to protest until he turned his head. The look on his face silenced me.
We were standing beside his car. “I can’t,” I said quietly.
His expression softened, and he whispered, “Please.”
Unable to reject him, I breathed, “Fine,” and climbed into the passenger seat after he opened the door.
He shut it behind me, slid in the driver’s side, and started the car.
Chapter Nine
The Waterfall
After a few minutes of driving in silence, Lucas finally turned to me, his face strained with worry. “Are you okay?”
I nodded.
“I’m so sorry. My brother’s a jerk, but I didn’t think he was capable of this.”
“It’s all right; you arrived just in time. Thank you, by the way. I probably would have hit him back, so you saved him a black eye.” I was trying to lighten the mood, but my words were true. Even though I was prepared for him to strike me, there was no way I would have let him get away with it.
He laughed. “I don’t doubt that at all, I’ve never heard a girl talk to him like that. I was impressed.”
The amount of trees passing by my window alerted me that we were headed out of town. “Where are we going?”
“Just a place I like to go to think,” he said, glancing at me. “I’ve never taken anyone there before.”
I gulped. Suddenly nervous, I dug inside my bag to take out my phone, unable to face him.
“Who are you calling?”
“Emma, to tell her not to worry about me, and that I’ll pick my car up later.”
He nodded. “Yeah, I’ll take you back whenever you want.”
I texted Emma, since she was in class, telling her that I was taking the rest of the day off, and to tell my mom I would explain later. After about ten minutes, my phone buzzed. I opened the text and read silently. “Where are you? Are you with Lucas? Heard what happened.”
I laughed. “News travels fast.”
“What did she say?”
“She already heard what happened.”
“I’m not surprised. There were a few people at their lockers, but no one was helping you. I was at the end of the hall. I couldn’t hear what you were saying, but you didn’t look happy.”
“So, should I tell her that you kidnapped me?”
“Yeah,” he said, laughing. “Make sure she tells your mother, the vice principal. Logan’s pretty stupid to pull that in front of witnesses. What if your mother finds out?”
I cringed at the thought. I didn’t want Logan to get into trouble; it would only make it worse.
“I’ll tell her not to get involved.”
“Why?” he demanded. “He should get what he deserves.”
“But won’t it look like I told my mommy on him? I’d rather just let it go.”
He grinned. “Or you could stay out of it, let things be, see what happens.”
“But since my mother is the vice principal, it will look like I told her, even if I didn’t.”
He thought about it. “I would love my parents to find out, and I can’t tell them.”
I didn’t know what to do. “I’ll wait and see if she says anything.” My phone beeped. I looked down and read what Emma wrote out loud. “I heard that Lucas defended you and beat up Logan. Is this true?”
“Tell her that I gave him a black eye.”
“How about, you pulled him off me and threw him across the hall.” We both laughed. I glanced up and saw that we were now sitting in a driveway; I didn’t even realize we had stopped moving, I was so absorbed in his presence.
“Hey, I’m a hero, I like it,” he said with a mischievous smile.
I sent Emma the message and then shoved my phone back into my bag. “So whose house is this?”
“Mine, but that’s not where we’re going.”
The house was a large, white-trimmed, red-brick bungalow with an attached garage. A basketball net hung above of the garage door.
We got out of the car, and I followed him past his house into his backyard. On the edge of the yard was a wooded area that went on as far as I could see. No neighbors behind them and none running parallel either. The house was secluded. An anxious feeling crept inside my chest.
He led me onto a path, through brush, fallen tree limbs, and bushes.
The leaves had turned color and were starting to fall. They made a crackling sound as I stepped over them. “Are you taking me someplace where no one will find the body?” I asked as we moved further through the trees.
“I would never hurt you, Sarah,” he said, his voice so heavy with emotion my heart skipped a beat.
We walked for a few more minutes until we came to a cleari
ng. I followed him up a small hill, where he stopped at the top. I stood beside him, and when I saw where we were, I gasped. We stood on the edge of a rock cliff, up about twenty feet. “Holy crap!” I said, backing away from the edge.
He laughed. “Don’t worry, you won’t fall.” He took his black leather jacket off and laid it on the cold ground. He sat on the jacket with his feet dangling over the edge. Taking my hand, he pulled me down beside him. “Look,” he said, pushing my chin forward with the tip of his finger.
Wow. Below where we sat was a cascading waterfall, lined with large boulders, and a variety of oak, maple, and pine trees. The leaves on the maples had changed color; they were a pretty red, orange, and yellow. The rocks followed the edge of the stream of water as it flowed all the way down. The water crashed up against the side of the boulders, which caused the water to spray over the side. The scene was breathtaking.
“It’s beautiful,” I said softly, mesmerized by the view. I couldn’t look away. We sat silently on the edge of the small cliff with our legs dangling. The only sounds were the roar of the water flowing down the rocks, and a couple of finches chirping in the tree branches above us. I felt like if we spoke, we would ruin the moment.
I turned my head to look at Lucas. He was staring at me, and his face held a thoughtful expression. “I’m sorry about the other day. I know I hurt you, no matter how much you deny it.”
I shook my head. “It’s fine.”
“It’s not fine!” His words were filled with frustration.
I glanced at him. “Um…what do you want me to say?”
He softened his tone. “The truth.”
I thought about it, and decided to go for it. “Yes, I was mad, and hurt that you didn’t show up. But I was more upset about your lame excuse. Playing basketball? I didn’t buy it, and it doesn’t explain why you didn’t talk to me for the rest of the day. It was your idea to have lunch with us anyway.”
His lips twitched with amusement. “Now, there’s the Sarah I’ve been getting to know, the girl who would throw a book at me when I was being rude, the girl who would tell my brother off when he was being a jerk, twice.” I raised my eyebrows at him. “I was in the cafeteria when he cut in front of you,” he explained. Lying back onto the grass, he looked up at the sky. “I could tell you why I really didn’t show up, but I’m afraid it will freak you out.”
We sat for a while thinking to ourselves. Lucas was still lying on his back, I was sitting up watching the waterfall.
“I’m afraid to ask. Is it that bad?” I finally asked anxiously.
He sighed. “I wouldn’t say it’s bad, just embarrassing.”
“Tell me.” I held my breath, waiting for his explanation.
He hesitated for a moment, and then started speaking so quietly I had to strain to hear him. “I had a dream of you the night we had lunch together. In it, you were killed. I saw your lifeless face, and it felt so real. I know you’re going to say it was just a dream, but it was as real as you and I are sitting here right now. The dream was so intense that I felt that if I had stayed away from you, you would have lived.” He was quiet for a moment then slowly continued. “I rushed to school to make sure you were okay. On the way there, though, I decided not to see you again, so then nothing bad would happen to you.
“When I saw you in the hall,” he said, “I felt so relieved. But you looked so beautiful I couldn’t resist. In class when I was away from you, I could see your dead face every time I blinked. I had to try. I don’t know why, but I have this feeling that if we continue to see each other, something bad will happen to you.”
I was stunned; he was having the same dream I was. Why was this happening, and what did it mean? I opened my mouth to tell him that I shared his dream, but something stopped me. I suddenly felt the need to keep it to myself.
“Did I scare you away?” He sounded worried, so I turned to look at him.
“No, you didn’t scare me away. But are you saying you don’t want to see me?” And why did just the thought of that leave me feeling empty?
He took a few seconds to consider. “I should say yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. But I can’t, I’m drawn to you.” He smiled, and grabbed my arm to pull me down beside him.
Relieved by his words, I stared at the sky, watching birds fly overhead and clouds morph into sheep, and one that looked oddly like the marshmallow man. I took in a deep breath, smelling the grass, dirt, and the faint hint of pine from the trees near the waterfall.
When I felt him touch my face, I turned my head to look into his eyes. His fingers moved softly against my skin, creating a spark that surprised and excited me. He pulled my face towards him and leaned up until he was just inches above me. “You sure you’re not scared?” he asked.
“No, I’m not scared.” I meant my voice to be strong, convincing, but the words came out in a whisper. He grinned then leaned in, touching his lips to mine. At first it felt wonderful, and familiar. Then he opened his mouth to deepen the kiss, and it became so much more.
When he finally drew away from me, I realized that I had never felt anything like that in my life. When he kissed me, I felt a buzz of awareness that told me I had finally found the one thing I didn’t know was missing.
“Wow,” he whispered. “We’re going to have to do that again.”
I smiled and touched his cheek. “How about right now?”
He gave me a lazy grin. “That can be arranged.” He pulled me up so I was sitting on his lap facing him, and tugged me forward for another kiss. I would have been happy to stay like this forever. He moved away from my lips and gently kissed my cheek, my jaw, and down my neck. It felt so good.
He took a deep breath. “Mmm, you smell like cinnamon.” He was about to start back up to my lips when my phone beeped. “Leave it,” he whispered, his breath tickling my neck as he spoke. He returned to his slow journey upwards.
I groaned. “What if it’s my mom?” My voice was so low I wasn’t sure he heard me.
He pulled back slowly. “We probably should get back to reality anyway.”
I looked down at my phone. I was right; it was from my mother. “Where are you!!!” it read. “She’s worried. I should call her. What time is it?”
He glanced at his watch. “Three o’clock. Would you stay with me for a while, we can order pizza. No one will be home until later. My parents work late, and Logan never comes home before midnight on Friday nights.”
The idea of staying with him made me feel warm and tingly inside. “Sure, I’d love to.”
His smile brightened his face, making his eyes shine; the sight nearly took my breath away. I climbed off of his lap and sat down on his jacket that was still spread out on the ground, and dialed my mom’s cell.
“Hello, Sarah, where are you?” she answered on the first ring. She sounded worried.
“I’m fine, Mom, something happened at school, but I don’t want to talk about it. I was a little shaken up, so Lucas brought me to his house to calm me down. I’m going to hang out here for a while, okay?”
“Do you mean when Logan harassed you? I heard about it, and he is in so much trouble—”
I cut her off. “No, Mom, you’ll only make it worse. Can we talk about it later?”
She sighed. “All right, but I won’t forget, and his parents will hear about this.”
“No, I don’t want that either, but I don’t want to think about that now.”
“Fine. So you’re with Lucas? What are you doing?”
I blushed; thankfully, she couldn’t see. “We’re just hanging out watching a movie,” I lied. I heard Lucas laugh softly.
“Don’t be home too late.”
“I won’t. Bye.” I hung up and glanced at Lucas. “It’s fine, I can stay for a while.”
He smiled, grabbed my hands, and pulled me up off my feet. I squealed, surprised by his sudden change of mood, but was cut off as his lips pressed onto mine.
“Let’s go,” I said, pushing him away. He bent down and pick
ed up his coat. After he put it on, he took my hand and pulled me onto the path, back to his house.
Chapter Ten
First Date
We passed through the trees and into his backyard. I followed him up the steps of the back deck, where he reached over the railing and pulled a hidden key off a hook.
“This is where we keep our spare key, if you ever want to sneak into my room at night to surprise me.” His tone of voice was teasing, but the spark in his eyes made me wonder if he was serious.
“Yeah, don’t hold your breath,” I said dryly, hoping to hide my sudden nerves.
He chuckled as he shoved the key in the lock and opened the door. We stepped inside, into an enormous, open kitchen with large stainless steel appliances that were so shiny you could see your reflection. A massive kitchen island stood in the center separating the appliances from the table. The cupboards were finished in a mixture of whitewashed wood and glass. Stainless steel light fixtures hung from the ceiling, creating ample light for cooking. This was a kitchen that belonged to someone with a passion for cooking. It was obvious that his father had designed it; he was the chef at their family restaurant.
“You want a soda?” Lucas asked, opening the fridge.
“Sure, do you have diet?”
He took out a cola for himself and a diet one for me then led me into their living room. It was big, but very comfortable. The centerpiece of the room was a fireplace with a flat-screen TV on the wall above it.
He sat down on the plush sofa and patted the seat beside him. I joined him as he turned on the TV. He turned it to a movie I had never seen before, but I didn’t really pay attention; I was very aware of how close he was. Our legs were touching, and I could feel warmth emanating from his body.
He leaned back into the couch, wrapping his arm around me and pulling me against him. We sat snuggled on the sofa watching the movie. His arm was so warm and comfortable, there was no where else I wanted to be.
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