“I finally found her in my second year of college. She’d transferred to be closer to her boyfriend,” he said the word with mock disgust, making Gemma smile. “I couldn’t believe that I had finally found her and I couldn’t believe she was taken. Man, I was jealous of that guy. Even when your mom broke up with him and got together with me, I still couldn’t stand him. They remained friends and it drove me crazy.” He looked out the window and licked his lips. “I nearly ended up losing Lena over it. I was such an idiot.”
“How did you keep her?”
“She sat me down one night and told it to me straight. That I was dork if I thought for one second that her ex could ever give her what I had. That if I didn’t believe our love could withstand a guy like him, than how would it ever hold up in the real world.” He shook his head with a wry smile. “I never thought she’d looked more stunning than at that moment. I gave up the jealousy thing and ended up as a groomsmen at the guy’s wedding.”
Gemma laughed. “Yeah, can’t really picture that with these two.”
“The point is, Gem, you have to find out about Simeon and you can’t do that if you’re worrying about Harrison.”
“What am I supposed to do?”
“Tell Harrison he’s being a dork and if he doesn’t want to lose you, he needs to trust you.”
“I’ve tried.”
“Try again and keep trying until he gets it. You may have to break up with him to make your point.”
“What? Dad!”
He raised his hands to stop her furious spiel.
“Not for long… just so that he gets it. He has to support you through this. It’s not just about your relationship. You have got to stay a step ahead of Alistair and Penelope. It’s that simple.”
Gemma took her time getting home. She needed to think. Her irritation was an itchy rash on her emotions. Harrison should have known better, but she could kind of understand his frustration. Simeon would push any button he could find and always relished the reaction. He was probably laughing himself silly over Harrison’s punch. It was just what he wanted. She hated that Harrison had played right into his hands.
In spite of that, Gabe’s right. You have to find out who this guy really is and avoiding him won’t achieve anything.
With yet another sigh of resignation, Gemma parked her bike in the garage and wove her way through the house waiting for her mother to pounce with fiery words of discipline flaming from her lips.
Where have you been? Why didn’t you call? Where’s Simeon?
Much to her astonishment she found the house empty until she entered the upstairs TV room. Simeon was stretched on the couch, lazily flicking through the channels.
His head popped up with a winning smile as he heard her approach.
“Hey. You okay? I was worried about ya. You just took off.”
“Yeah, well I couldn’t stand the company of two complete morons any longer.”
Simeon let out a sheepish chuckle.
“How’d you get home?”
“Oh, um, I grabbed a lift from… Dana, is it?”
Gemma winced then nodded with a grin.
“What?”
“Nothin’.” She shook her head.
Resisting the urge to retreat to her room, she took Gabe’s advice and slumped into the plump cushions, close enough to be friendly, but far enough away not to be touching.
Simeon glanced over with a wink before continuing his channel surf.
“So, where is everyone?”
“Your parents were out when I got home. I think they have some benefit at the hospital tonight.”
“Oh yeah. I forgot about that.”
“Should have stayed out longer, huh?”
Gemma smiled.
“Where’d you go?”
“Just for a ride. I like to be on my own every now and then.”
“Yeah, understandable. I like to get away too.”
Gemma shot him a sidelong glance then began picking at a loose thread on the cushion beside her.
“So besides surfing and movies, what do you do for fun?”
“Run, kick box, play sport. You know, normal stuff.”
“You travel much?” She gathered the cushion onto her lap.
“A little.”
“I mean, across the line.”
“Yeah, I know what you meant.”
Gemma studied his expression, but couldn’t tell if he was lying. His posture was very relaxed.
“So, who do you get the traveling genes from?”
“My mom. Hey, why don’t you go call Harrison?”
Gemma was taken back by both the suggestion and its swift arrival. Managing to keep her composure, she answered shortly.
“I never call him from here in case my parents unexpectedly come home or something.”
“Yeah, but I’m here to cover for you. Go on, you should. He was really worried about you and… hell, I may as well admit it, he’s a nice enough a guy, just fun to tease, that’s all.”
“Look, I’d really appreciate it if you didn’t. He means a lot to me.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know. You love him.”
Her brow puckered with annoyance.
“Don’t worry, I won’t get in your way anymore. Just friends. Really. I’m sorry I annoyed you. I won’t do it again.”
His smile seemed genuine, the look in his eye trustworthy, but something still felt wrong. Rising hesitantly, Gemma headed for the door.
“Hey maybe after you’ve finished talking we could order in a pizza and watch a movie.”
“Sure.” Gemma ignored her gut and left the room.
Am I an idiot? Is Simeon really this horrible person? He seems so genuine sometimes.
She closed the door behind her and reached for the phone. She waited three rings before hearing a morose greeting.
Her anger diminished at the familiar sound of his voice.
“How mad are you?”
“I’m pretty much over it now. I just needed to get away.”
“Gem, I’m sorry. I saw red and I couldn’t stop myself. I hate the way he talks as if he’s entitled to you and I’d just seen him flirting with Rosie that morning. All I wanted was for him to leave her alone, but he just… I couldn’t stop myself.”
“Babe, you need to try. You know he’s only doing it to rile you. He got just what he wanted today.”
“I know.”
Gemma could hear the self-loathing in his voice and felt her first pangs of sympathy for him.
“I went to see Gabe. He gave me some advice.”
“Oh yeah?”
“You’re not going to want to hear it.”
“Great.”
Gemma’s lips rose, but dropped again as she began to pace the room. “I need to get to know Simeon better. I need to find out why he’s really here and if I’m going to do that, I need to know you trust me.”
“Of course I do.”
“Really? So that’s why you punched him today, because you trust me?”
“Gem…”
“No, listen. This is the last time I’m saying this. It’s you. Only you. No one could ever take your place. So you need to…” taking a quick breath, she steeled herself and took the plunge, “stop being a dork and starting acting like nothing can break us, because nothing can unless we let it. Get over yourself, Harrison. This jealousy thing doesn’t suit you. I want my boyfriend back! Are we clear?”
The line remained silent.
“Hello?”
“Gemma,” Harrison’s voice was like melted chocolate. “Ti amo.”
She felt her cheeks burn as she nibbled her cheek.
“I love you too. See you tomorrow.”
“I’ll be there.”
Chapter Twenty-One
St Augustine, Florida – 2011AD
Harrison met Gemma with a kiss the next morning and was on his best behavior for the rest of the day. He was determined to prove that nothing would break them and so he stopped reacting to Simeon’s subtle plays f
or Gemma’s attention and found them diminishing. Things were getting easier, he supposed. Simeon had his moments of likeability, but they didn’t squash his wariness. Something about Simeon ate at him and he could sense Gemma’s mirrored feelings.
It had been just over a week since he’d smacked the guy. Simeon still shot him baleful looks at any opportunity, but he had backed off. He no longer spent his lunch times hovering around Gemma and touching her at any opportunity, which suited everyone. It’s not like he was in short supply of female affection.
Harrison glanced over Gemma’s head and spotted the olive skinned movie star at the other end of the table. His usual posse of girls surrounded him, Rosie included. The big brother instinct had been kicking in frequently as he watched his impressionable sister swoon over Simeon. Gemma had brushed off his concerns, sure nothing would ever come from it, but that wouldn’t stop Rosie getting hurt. He’d tried to mention that Simeon was not really a great match for her, but Rosie had shot him down with a sharp-tongued rebuff. After tasting her venom, he’d decided to remain a quiet observer unless things got too serious. Under no circumstances was Simeon going to mess with his family.
Rosie’s head tipped to the side and her cheeks bloomed with color as she giggled. His stomach curled, but he held his eye roll in check. Gemma nudged his shoulder and smiled.
“Go on, roll them, you know want to.”
Happily distracted from his dark meanderings, Harrison ran his hand down his girlfriend’s sleek hair and nuzzled her neck. He was going to miss her over Thanksgiving. Why, oh why, did Bryan's family insist on meeting so far away? He had nearly refused to go on the grounds that he couldn’t leave Gemma, but he knew that wouldn’t hold. There was no way she would ever be allowed to go with them and so he just had to leave her… with Simeon.
“That tickles.”
He nipped her skin and felt the gold chain resting beneath her clothing, pleased that she was wearing his birthday present.
Of course she’s wearing it, you dork!
The bell trilled, cutting his silent diatribe short. It still annoyed him that he fought with doubts over what went on when Gemma was alone with Simeon. He believed one hundred percent that Gemma would never betray him, but he didn’t trust Simeon. As his holiday departure grew closer his torturous mind grew more unsettled. Dreams of the guy sneaking into Gemma’s room at night or “accidentally” walking in on her in the shower taunted him. And the very idea that he would see her naked when they traveled made him want to impale something.
Thankfully Gemma had stayed put over the last month. He wasn’t sure why her parents had suddenly stopped going back to help people, it made him wonder if all those trips she had been on when they first met were just a farce. They never stayed together as a group, who knows what her parents were up to while she was off fulfilling the other part of the mission. If they had been traveling for themselves then whose to say they weren’t accumulating things for their own gain along the way.
Maybe that’s why they’re so loaded.
Harrison kept the thought to himself and shone Gemma an innocent smile before kissing her goodbye.
“See you in History.”
She gave him a wave and left. Harrison headed his own direction, still lost in a jumble of theories.
Maybe every trip has really been about finding those pieces? It would take years of hunting to find all those hiding places. Maybe all those trips were actually just test runs?
As he worried his way through thousands of questions, he continued to come back to the same thought.
If her parents had spent this many years trying to open that box, they weren’t going to give up now. Simeon was part of this. He had to be.
Gemma had been trying to glean information from her exchange student as subtly as possible, but he was a clever craftsman and seemed to be able to weave his way through any story giving you the impression he had answered your question. It wasn’t until hours later when you were replaying it that you realized you in fact had nothing.
She did have the basic facts of his history. He was born and raised in Santa Barbara. His mother traveled and taught him the skill. His trips had been pretty basic and self centered… going back a few hours to remember where he’d left something or tripping back a couple of days to make sure he didn’t miss the opportunity to ask some girl on a date.
Apparently his mother had sought out the Hart family hoping they might be able to teach him to travel further and inspire him with some of their trips. Gemma was not sold on the story, but Simeon did make it sound plausible. Gemma had very boldly raised the point in front of her parents that she didn’t understand how Simeon could travel alone as didn’t everyone need to be bonded to a leader? She’d watched her parents hide their squirms and suggest that that is why Simeon had only ever been able to travel such short distances.
“They are such liars!” she had complained the next day. “But what’s worse is that they’ve turned me into one as well.”
“You do it for your own survival, babe, and it won’t be forever.” He comforted her with a hug.
Harrison stepped into History, savoring the opportunity to lose himself in his favorite subject. White lightening cracked through his pleasure as he entered the room and watched Simeon whisper something into Gemma’s ear. She laughed and pushed him away with a shake of her head, rolling her eyes with a smile.
Harrison tried to look unfazed by it all as he took his seat between them.
“Hey Harry. How’s it?”
“Good thanks, Sim.”
The scathing tone licking the tip of his tongue tasted sweet, but he bit it back. He didn’t want Gemma thinking he didn’t trust her.
“So.” Simeon stretched and rested his hands behind his head. “Gem tells me you’re heading to Memphis for Thanksgiving.”
“Yep.” Harrison tapped his pen on the desk.
“Kind of a long ways to go.”
“My stepdad’s family are all converging. It’s kind of a middle ground for everyone to meet.”
“Yeah, well, say hi to Elvis for me.”
“Will do.” Harrison punched out a laugh.
“And don’t worry about your girl.” Simeon leaned over, his voice a whisper. “I’ll look after her for ya.”
Harrison flicked his eyes towards him and caught the ebony gleam.
“If you…”
His threat was cut short by the teacher’s vivacious entrance. Instead he gave a silent warning that was met with a mischievous chuckle. He felt his fist tighten beneath his desk as the fury worked through his system. A soft tap on his ankle from Gemma had him glancing over.
She mouthed, “Are you okay?”
He forced a grin and nodded.
Her eyes softened to that liquid jade he loved and all he could hear was her voice on the phone. Nothing can break us unless we let it.
Pulling in a calming breath, he turned back to Simeon.
“Thanks, man. I really appreciate you taking care of her for me.” He slapped his shoulder and focused on the lesson, but not before the triumph of watching Simeon’s face smolder.
Chapter Twenty-Two
St Augustine, Florida – 2011AD
Gemma dragged her feet towards the exit. She didn’t care that she was free from school for a whole five days and she didn’t care that Dom and Ruby were arriving in less than an hour. All she could think about was the fact that in five minutes Harrison would be getting in a car with the rest of his family, driving to Jacksonville then boarding a plane to Memphis.
“I’ll be back on Sunday night,” he reminded her with a smile, but she didn’t buy it. She could tell he was just as disappointed as she was.
Simeon wasn’t helping as he strolled beside them, his arm casually swung across Rosie’s shoulders. His gesture was one of friendship only, but Rosie was beaming so brightly she could have been mistaken for the sun.
“Would you guys get over yourselves. You probably wouldn’t have been able to see each other anyway.”
He rolled his eyes and shot Rosie a dry look, making her giggle.
Gemma found the sound annoying. They had no idea what it was like to be in love. The sheer idea of Harrison being unreachable made her feel limbless.
They slowed to a halt at the base of the stairs. Gemma gave Helen and Bryan a half-hearted wave. They laughed at her expression before noticing Rosie’s elongated embrace. Both their faces puckered with concern, but eased a little as they watched Simeon detangle himself.
“Have fun, kid.” He ruffled her hair and shone the parents a winning smile. They reciprocated with polite reserve. Rosie let out a disgruntled snort and huffed into the van. Gemma shook her head with a grin at Rosie’s quick emotional switch up as her face melted with a mushy smile at Simeon’s wink.
Harrison’s gentle hand on her cheek stole her attention and she happily sank into it.
“Take care of yourself.” His whispered words conveyed more than he could say. Gemma nodded, locking her eyes on his, promising all she could without saying a word.
“I’ll miss you.”
“It’s only four nights. I’ll be back before you know it.”
She shone him a smile and kissed him goodbye. Relishing the fire, she clung to the flames and stored them away in her memory bank.
The car horn started honking.
“Okay!” Harrison shot Bryan a black look, not taking his hands from Gemma’s face.
“I love you,” he mouthed before gifting her one more kiss and walking away.
She watched the van until it was out of sight, trying not to cry.
Don’t be so pathetic! If you even think about crying in front of Simeon I’m going to bust your butt! It’s five days, you moron!
Simeon’s arm snaked around her shoulders. Her body stiffened in response, but she forced herself to remain beneath his weight. She’d rather have his arm there than elsewhere.
Pure Blood (Time Spirit Trilogy, #3) Page 12