Chapter 19
After everyone was gone, I sat cross-legged on my bed with my phone. I took a deep breath and pushed the call button.
“Penny.”
“Revere.”
Silence stretched on the line for a long time before I finally sighed and muttered, “I fainted.”
“Details.”
My upper lip curled. “After I watched a movie with two males and one female, I ate gingerbread and fainted.”
“What movie?”
I shrugged even though he couldn’t see me. “It was a horror movie.”
“Cars?”
I scratched my chin. “A truck.”
“Lots of blood?”
I took a deep breath. “Yes.”
“Two mages and a witch?”
I wrinkled my nose. “You would say that.”
There was silence on his side of the line for a long time while he contemplated the mysteries of the universe. “Any surprises?”
I hesitated. “Yes.”
“Letting your guard down?”
“Probably.” I scowled at the swing and the exquisite silk roses above the wooden carved seat.
“How do you feel now?”
“Hungry.”
He sighed.
“I’m angry. Confused. Frustrated. Also a little bit…” The word was hopeful, that somehow these people were my friends for real. I knew it wasn’t possible for that kind of thing, so much change so fast, but I hoped.
“Rosewood brats have ingenious ways of tormenting each other. It seems to me that your natural distrust for the mage was exacerbated during this intimate gathering. I advise you to keep physical distance from the opposite sex until you’ve secured a marriage.”
“How am I supposed to do that, secure a marriage without getting close to anyone?
It’s not as easy as it sounds.”
He inhaled long, loud, his sigh ringing with the exhaustion he always felt when dealing with me. “You clearly announce your intention to marry a peer, and select one of those who come forward.”
“And if I don’t like any of those who come forward?” If anyone did come forward.
“What does liking have to do with anything? You’ve romanticized marriage too much.”
I threw myself back on my bed, sending it swinging back and forth. “Thank you so much for your help, Revere. What would I do without you?”
He made a rude sound that made me smile. “Your mother asks if you’ve killed anyone yet.”
I scowled at the ceiling. “I’m pretty sure if I killed someone you would have heard about it.”
He sniffed. “If you couldn’t get away with murder, you’d better not do it.”
I rolled my eyes and almost giggled. “That is so true. Thank you for this truly inspiring conversation.”
He made another disapproving sound. “Your mother says that the fainting is most likely from…”
I waited. “What does she say?”
He cleared his throat. “Attraction.”
“Attraction?”
“Not only attraction, mindless response to physical chemistry, otherwise known as love.”
I clicked off the phone and dropped it from my limp fingers. Macaroons, bonbons, petit fours, ho-ho’s, ding dongs eclairs…
Chapter 20
The next day was great if you call Pas de Deux with Drake great. His hand seemed to drift towards the top of my leg, although his hand was supposed to be at the top of my
leg, and right beneath my breast, and his hands on my body while I was concentrating on turnout and not kicking the girl behind me, and holding my arms in a beautiful curve instead of like frog legs, it was too much.
My conversation with Revere kept playing in my head. If I were going to murder someone, I should start with Drake. His eyes glinted green as his lips curved showing sharp teeth. My fingers knew his mouth far too well. My heart pounded from being so close to him, from his scent and the feel of his strong hands holding me steady.
He wasn’t just the wolf who wanted to rip me to pieces, he’d hung my bed, made me gingerbread, and installed a top-notch security system with camera outside the room so if someone blasted off the door again, I’d know who did it. Every time he touched me I felt an electric current go through me that made the rest of the world disappear besides his touch, his scent, his wicked smile. I was falling for him after only one week.
After class, he grabbed my hand for a second. “You’re getting better.”
I gave him a sickly smile before I took off for Linguistics. I went to the Chinese corner and stayed there the entire time, listening for patterns in language, the best way to respond, and in general trying to get a grasp on the structure. Zach spoke to me a little bit, but I felt awkward about it after the night before. How was I supposed to be enticing him when Drake acted like that, making me a gingerbread house and asking me to a dance? Had Zach noticed me holding Drake’s hand through the movie?
I still had no idea what Zach liked. He just treated everyone kind of normal, and people treated him a little bit like… To be honest, they kind of treated him with watchful respect. Of course, because he was such a brilliant linguist. After class, I followed him, watching him and while he didn’t exactly interact with anyone, people gave him space and looked at him with that same kind of watchful respect. People threw their bubblegum in my hair, tripped me, called me a slut, a whore, and a lady of the night, which I really liked, while I spread love and cheer like a crazy person.
After lunch Zach was once more petting Henrietta’s dark nose when I came in the stable. He smiled at me slightly while I beamed back.
“How is Miss Henrietta today?”
He handed me a sugar cube to feed her. “She’s jealous that she didn’t get invited to the party. I told her about Drake’s hat.”
I held out my hand and tried not to remember Drake, dressed in that insanely attractive black suit with the hat perched rakishly over his eyebrows. “It was a wonderful party. Thank you Zach. Is that why you weren’t here yesterday, because you were helping maintenance with it?”
He shrugged. “I was keeping an eye on Drake. He can go overboard sometimes. He sourced all your rose themed stuff, sent back the things you ordered, and found a
custom woodcarver to do the shelf. Maybe he has a secret fetish about interior decorating. His room is nothing like yours.”
I licked my lips and glanced over at him. “What is his room like?”
He shrugged. “Black mostly, some silver and white but mostly black.”
“Do you know how to stop the woodland sounds? I had some really scary dreams last night and only Señor Mort kept me from climbing into bed with Professor Vale.”
Zach smiled at me, and led me around to Henrietta’s left side. He held the stirrup for me as I mounted. “Drake installed the sound system. You’ll have to ask him. His room has an incredible sound system. If we watched a horror movie in there, it would be even scarier.” His eyes lit up while he smiled at me.
I swallowed and held the reins in my hands lightly. “Happy thought. Zach?” I hesitated while I got up my nerve. “Last night you said that you’ve only liked one female.
What was she like?”
He grinned at me while he led me out into the sun. “To tell the truth, I’ve liked a few girls, but I don’t like to tell that to Viney. I don’t want her to feel bad that she’s not one of them.”
“But why? She’s cute and kind of funny, besides that she’s really good at video games.”
“Yeah, Viney’s fine, but she’s not my type.”
“What is your type?”
His eyebrows lowered. “It’s hard to describe. Maybe more confident and feminine while being strong yet warm?”
Like that helped. “Do you like Wit?”
He laughed. “It’s hard not to like Wit, at least from a distance, but up close she’s incredibly cold. Viney has a tough shell, but she’s not that bad once you get to know her.”
I exhaled in relief. If he wanted Wit
it was over for me. “I like her.”
His eyes widened. “You like Viney? She’s the one you’re trying to…?”
I shook my head too enthusiastically and Henrietta side-stepped, tugging on the bit warningly. “I like her as a friend. She’s fun. I feel like she noticed my chest way more than either of you, though. Why doesn’t she have a boyfriend?”
“Viney likes a guy. She’s liked him for a long time, forever practically, but it’s not mutual. What about this guy that you like? Are you just making him up to drive Drake crazy?”
I wrinkled my nose and tightened my knees too much on Henrietta’s back. “I think that Drake made him up. I do kind of like someone, but I don’t know him very well. It’s hard to get to know people at this school. Everyone is so busy.”
His face went kind of still before he smiled and nodded. “So, there is someone besides Drake? Good for you. Let me guess, someone you don’t know very well, someone busy, could it be Barry even though he’s already gotten your sister pregnant?”
I laughed before the laugh died as I thought of his smashed and swollen face, the crutches. “Linguistics isn’t nearly as fun without him. Do you think he’ll come back?”
He cocked his head before he shook it. “I talked to him about it. He’s not the greatest linguist. He only took that class because the one he really wanted to take was full. The other class had an opening so he transferred.”
I nodded slowly. “I guess that makes sense. What class is it? I’m not the greatest linguist either.”
He pursed his lips. He had very nice lips. I blushed and glanced away. He put his hand on my knee, his touch warm and careful. He was good with skittish animals, calm, patient, so nice.
“Advanced chemistry. This school is full of eager chemists.”
I nodded and held very still, half afraid he’d move his hand, half afraid that he wouldn’t. He finally pulled his hand off my knee and I exhaled.
“What about your tutors?”
I stared at Zach. “My tutors?”
He smiled sweetly. “I think that Viney is trying to set you up with one or all of them.”
I pursed my lips. “I’ve only met Lars so far. He’s brilliant.”
“Lars is. Does he like you?”
I shrugged. “He was nice.”
He smiled. “The last girl Lars dated was Marilynn Schroeder. She’s a really great dancer, singer, and does a lot of plays. Very vivacious and fun. You’re a lot like that.
You’d probably be a good match.”
I nodded and tried not to frown. If Zach was so easy-going about me liking someone else, that probably meant that he didn’t like me at all. “Good to know. Except if he liked that, why did he break up with her?”
He raised his eyebrows. “That, I don’t know. Marilynn isn’t the brightest girl so Lars might have gotten tired of her, you know, it can get irritating to try and have conversations with people who only understand life on a superficial level.”
Ouch. That explained why Zach didn’t like to talk to me that much. My stomach churned and I struggled not to kick Henrietta into a gallop and kill both of us on the nearest fence. I licked my lips and smiled brightly.
“That must be why you don’t talk to people very often. Do you geniuses ever get lonely with all your deep and brilliant thoughts?”
He frowned. “I wasn’t talking about…”
“It doesn’t matter. Why did Drake ask me to the dance? Is it a prank?”
He cleared his throat. “No, I mean, maybe, but I don’t think it’s about you. I think that he’s just doing it to irritate the other girls. That’s what he usually does. He wasn’t always like this. He used to be really quiet, kind of shy before he became captain of the Chemistry Club.” He glanced up at me. “He told you that, right?”
I nodded and giggled adorably. “He did. Drake tells me so many things that completely confuse me. To me it makes sense that smart guys would be the same as science guys, but apparently, the brainy bunch are completely different from the Science club.”
“Chemistry, not science.”
I smiled brightly. “Either way, I’m so excited to go back to the study hall every day and interact with all those bright minds. Some of them might rub off on me.”
He grabbed Henrietta’s bridle and pulled me up short. He looked me in the eye, his blue eyes intent, serious, kind of scary. “You aren’t stupid. Sometimes you’re ignorant, but that isn’t the same thing. I know that you pretend to be happy and cheerful when you’d rather burn something, but I like that. You make happiness seem possible.”
I licked my lips and let my smile fade. “Is it?” I shook my head and smiled brightly.
“Today I’m going to study with Orc. I can’t wait to see what he’s like.”
He gave me a sudden fierce smile. “You’re studying with Orc today? You’ll like him.”
I raised my eyebrows. “If you say so. What do you know about Oscar? I think Viney should date him. Wouldn’t they be cute together?”
He cleared his throat. “Very cute. You’re not going to study with Oscar? He’s the perfect blend of chemistry and philosophy.”
I shook my head. “Viney likes him. There’s no way she’d stomp her boots so loud or slam her fists on the counter so emphatically. I couldn’t possibly like someone Viney liked.”
He spent a long time looking thoughtful while I rode around on Henrietta and managed to stay on her back.
In Business, Drake sat up near the front and I sat near the back, and then when I looked up from unpacking my books, he’d moved to sit beside me. I stared at him and
he gave me a sharp smile while he gripped the edge of the desk with his hand. He had a ring on his middle finger, a gold band that slithered around like a snake or a dragon.
“I like your ring.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Do you want it?”
I leaned my chin on my hand. “Desperately. Forget the fact that it wouldn’t even fit me and that it would look ridiculous with all my outfits. Is that why you don’t compliment my skirts, because that would mean you want to wear them?”
He smiled at me slowly while he glanced down at my legs. “It’s not your skirt I admire.” When he glanced back up to my face I looked away. He stayed staring at me for a long time.
“What do you want?” I asked finally staring at him back.
“You.” He grinned widely while I squirmed. “I thought I should sit beside you in case you get scared during today’s film and need someone to cling to.”
I bit my lip. “Why are we watching a horror film in Business class?”
He leaned closer. “It’s the horror of bankruptcy. Prepare to be terrified.”
I shook my head and focused on my own desk, my own books, but he kept shifting beside me, his foot stretched out in the aisle between us, brown loafer scuffed and
comfortable looking beneath the edge of his navy pants. I stopped staring at his shoe and forced myself to pay attention to the teacher and then the video, but he was so close, and I could smell him, black cherry and vanilla, but I wanted to smell more, wanted to press my face into his skin and inhale until I passed out in his arms.
When the lights came back on, I took a shaky breath and smoothed down my vest. It was wool and there didn’t seem to be any show through, but maybe Viney was right. I shook my head because I did not need thoughts like that in my head, not when I turned and could imagine Drake without a shirt. He should wear a bra. And five sweaters. What was with the double standard? Why was it okay for guys to have nipples but not girls?
I stood up and left the room, class over, but Drake fell in beside me as we walked down the broad marble hall.
“I’ll see you at five-thirty tonight.”
I spun around to stare at him. “What?”
“Community service. Did you forget?” His green eyes sparkled, mischief and something else in them.
“What? Community service? Drake?” Witley stared at the two of us like we’d just turned into dodo bird
s.
I edged closer to Drake, automatically ready to say something stupid.
He beat me to it. “Wit, you’re invited if you’d like to come. It would be great for the whole community to be involved with our local hospital. It’s always terribly understaffed, and cleaning up vomit isn’t bad once you get used to it.”
I beamed brightly while he nudged me with his elbow. “Oh, Wit, do you think you’d like to come with Jackson? I had such a great time last week, and the hospital even has a cafeteria so you can get dinner without having to go anywhere. They have these amazing mashed potatoes that are freeze dried and then reconstituted. Isn’t that amazing?”
She gave Drake a large smile before she patted my shoulder with her strangely sensibly short nails. I kind of expected long and red, vampy like a real Telenovela star would have.
“You know how many girls would be throwing up in the halls of the hospital if they knew that Drake was the one cleaning it up? I’ll do you the favor of keeping it quiet.
Have fun, you two.”
She edged out of sight and he raised his eyebrows at me. “I’ll see you at five thirty for some community service and doubly amazing mashed potatoes. Don’t argue. Just stand there and look pretty.”
What? He was laughing as he turned away from me, his voice kind of low and reverberating through me in a completely ridiculous way. I rolled my eyes at myself and smiled brightly at the next girl I saw walking in the same direction I was going.
“Hi, I’m Penny Lane!”
In History, I sat down and unwrapped a lollipop. Viney sat beside me, pulling out her history book. She scowled at the teacher and then turned her scowl on me.
“Did you give Drake your answer?”
I stared at her. “What?”
She rolled her eyes. “Are you really that stupid? Sometimes you don’t seem quite as stupid as usual, but then other times you’re twice as stupid as seems humanly possible.
The dance,” she hissed, leaning close so no one else could hear.
“Oh, I…” I shook my head. “Didn’t I answer him yesterday?”
She raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms over her chest. “If you are going to say no to him, you have to be a little more clear than fainting. He’s not the kind of person who hears no very often. You should say no, just for all the pathetic girls who want him and can’t have him.”
Darkly Sweet Page 19