After the second week we actually started to get to know the wrestlers and we were making friends and it started to be a lot of fun. I had more guys saying “Hi” to me in the halls, and more girls talking to me to find out how I knew this guy or that one. They'd even ask me to put in a good word for them, in turn; I made more girl and boy friends. My mom always said you can never have too many friends.
Hump day, Nic and I were waiting by the gym exit for our rides and were leaning up against the half wall by the doors, per usual. That’s when he walked into the lobby. His hair was dark, messy and wet, he had a reddish-brown leather coat on and no shirt underneath. His skin was a soft golden brown, a couple shades darker than mine and smooth, his jeans were a faded shade of blue and the hems were tattered. His brows were thick and bold but his eyes were soft and dreamy, a deep caramel. He had wrestling shoes on that were unlaced and opened sloppily, but he wasn't on the wrestling team. I think I was staring at him with my mouth open because when Nic said something to me, she had to nudge me in the ribs with her elbow to get my attention. “What?” I had to ask her to repeat. I kept staring at him when Storm walked up to him and dropped his bag. They were talking and jabbing each other fooling around, then Storm's friend laughed. When he laughed his brilliant white teeth showed and his abs flexed showing every muscle in his washboard stomach. Most guys have a six pack of muscles but he looked like he had more of an eight pack, the way his whole stomach rippled all the way to his jeans. He was beautiful; the rays of heaven must have been shining down on me, to make me notice him.
Nic said loudly “Don’t drool!” Jabbing me in the ribs again.
”What” I replied and started to laugh. “Holy crap do you know him.” I asked in a whisper.
“Of course I do, that is one of Storm’s brothers.”
“His brother!” I was stunned.
“I didn't even know he had brothers or that they went to this school. What’s his name? Do you know him? Can you introduce me?”
“You knew he had brothers because he told us at the wake. His name is Jett but I don’t really know him, I just know he's Storm's brother. I think I heard he broke up with his girlfriend though, Lisa something. He is way out of your league though, sorry. Plus, you can get in line behind every other girl in school. Storm said all the girls like him. Plus, the girl he was dating, they like dated for a whole year and they were serious so Storm thinks the breakup is temporary. Lisa is real popular too. Besides you have Cale.” I just gave her a hum drum look.
“Ha, ha but not for long... How come I didn’t notice him before?” Nic explained to me that he was probably in another sport. I was going to have to figure out which other sport that was.
I was still staring at Jett; I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. He looked over at me as I was staring at him and I just couldn’t look away, he actually smiled at me. Nic nudged me again, I said loudly enough so others could hear “Oh sorry, I was star struck” – I hope he knew what I meant. You know how you stare at something whether you want to or not and you can’t stop looking, you're in a trance, you want to look away but you don't. Not sure what it's called but I call it 'star struck.'
“Nic does he know what I meant? I don’t want him to think I was staring because I think he’s gorgeous. Although....he is....”
Nic looked at me again, “What's wrong with you?”
I told her “I'm in love…”
“Well, you need to take care of Cale first.”
I shook my head, I wanted to tell her I saw Cale in that house that night but I just didn't.
“Don’t you think he’s awesome?” I said and nodded my head toward the new guy.
“So you're in love with all the brothers” she retorted.
“I’m sorry, but I don't even know who the other brother is... How do you know them and I don't?”
She turned to me and said “I just know their names but nothing about them. His older brother's name is Kyle, he is not bad looking either. Don't fall too deep, you may not be able to...” She tapered off. “What about Cale?”
“Oh good god, quit mentioning his name, I can't take it.” I said with humorous agitation in my voice while rubbing my temples. Nic laughed.
I had to look again. The top button to his faded and tattered tight fitting jeans was unbuttoned. His hair still wet and disheveled, it looked good on him. Storm slapped him in the stomach and called him fat ass! And Jett laughed, took a swipe at him and said “Your ass, you’re the one who's fat.”
Storm replied “Get some pants that fit.” They both laughed and I couldn’t help but giggle about it myself. Some tall, dark and grumpy guy came out into the lobby and said “Would you two quit screwin' around, let’s go.” He held himself like the alpha of the group. It had to be Kyle, he was attractive in his own way.
None of them had an ounce of fat on them. They were a very good looking group of guys, they weren't pretty like Cale, but ruggedly handsome. Jett had a smile that just made me melt, he didn't have dimples but had this double crease at both corners of his mouth; it was adorable. Plus, nice straight white teeth, his skin looked soft and tan. I really wanted to run my fingers down his chest and stomach!
I turned to look at Nic, she started “Are you in love with all three of them? They are all brothers ya know.”
I looked at her with a question on my face. “That's one good looking family I tell ya, they all have different physical charms, but no, not in love with all three, just in love with Jett.” I said subtly and let out a breath of air. Just as the last word came out of my mouth Jett pushed the door open and turned around and glanced in my direction with his sexy smile showing all his straight perfect pearly whites.
“Oh ----- my ----- gosh ------! Did he hear me Nic?”
She laughed “I doubt it, I barely heard you. However the timing in which he turned around was spooky, like he did.”
“Nooo.” I said covering my mouth. “He couldn’t have heard me he was pretty far away.... If he did hear me, I'm sure it's nothing he hasn’t heard before. I'm sure lots of girls have said it to him or about him. Just look at him,” I sighed, yet another incentive to get this Cale thing over with. All I knew was I’d fallen in love at first sight, I watched him walk out into the parking lot, and thought about his sculpted muscles that showed when he flexed.
Nic immediately said “Snap out of it girl, you need to focus on breaking up with Cale so you can move on.”
“I know Nic, I tried but it just wasn't the right time, plus, he makes me nervous now. I'll do it tomorrow and if I don't tomorrow I'll do it over the phone, okay?”
“Good.” Nic agreed.
Tall, dark and handsome. I couldn’t get his smile out of my head all night. I couldn’t study and I certainly couldn’t sleep. That night I dreamt that Jett asked me out. I was hoping that this dream would come true.
The next night my dream wasn't as pleasant. I was having a myriad of dreams. I saw the girl losing her bracelet, the truck rolling, and someone getting cut. I woke up at the usual time 3:17a.m., and couldn't go back to sleep.
The night after, I found myself hoping not to sleep, and it didn't come until after 1:00. It didn't take long to start the damned dreams again. I saw only flashes of things, nothing making sense. Someone running through heavy brush and their face getting whipped by branches, another of someone hopping into a pickup truck and slamming a door, a tall guy kisses an older lady, and then a man putting a baseball cap on. Me running but not being able to run fast enough or scream, that being typical dream stuff for everyone, I think. Then another flash of me, I was lost. I wasn't able to find my way in the daytime. Weird, weird stuff. I woke again at 3:17a.m. That was it for sleeping that night.
I was exhausted. I got to Art class and Nic told me I looked horrible. At least it was Friday, maybe I could catch up on sleep this weekend. Halfway through class I finally lifted my head off my desk and in walked Cale. He glowered at me untrustingly, causing my heart to race a million miles a minute. I swallowed h
ard and felt the lump go down my throat. I put my hand on Nic's arm slowly and squeezed it, not taking my eyes off of Cale, he didn’t look away from me either. “It was him.” I said steadily to Nic. Cale walked over to Topher and started talking to him like nothing happened.
“What was him?” she asked.
“That night at the house, the injured guy inside the house, it was Cale. I wasn’t positive it was him, at least not at first. I wasn’t sure until now, did you see the look he just gave me? The only thing I could have done to deserve that look was spy on him and get caught.... One more thing, when we were doing the army crawl, I think I saw the bracelet.”
“Why didn't you tell me? We could have gone back to get it.”
“That's exactly why I didn't tell you. We can't mess with that, what if Cale's the one who killed Jewel?”
“He's a high school kid, he didn't kill anyone. Just because you think you saw her killed at that house doesn't mean Cale killed her, maybe they rent the house and the owners killed her.”
“Doesn't matter who, you want to go back to a murderers house to get a bracelet, and then what?
“Right, well we have to do something.”
Cale walked up to my desk slowly and put both hands on either side. My palms became clammy, my throat tightened and my heart raced instantly. “So how are you girls doing? Did you have fun last weekend?” he said stiffly giving us a more serious look than social.
“It was all right, we had fun, we hung out at Addie's house and stuff… and you?” Nic said cautiously. I just pressed my lips together and avoided eye contact, it's hard to avoid when you want to.
“We had some trespassers this weekend, it’s always disheartening when your trust has been betrayed.”
“I know.” I said finally looking him in the eye. “I thought you rented,” my voice said dryly, I cleared my throat “…an apartment?” He let the corner of his mouth flash a glimmer of felicity, and then it was gone. He turned around and left. I hadn’t planned on saying anything but my mouth has a mind of its own obviously.
Nic suggested I break up with Cale immediately. No duh, I thought. When I looked up Cale was in the doorway peering at me and nodded his head toward the hallway. “Maybe he'll do it for me.” I said to Nic as I slid off my bar stool.
He was leaning up against the wall sliding his hand through his hair, I thought I would feel frightened around him, and although I was very nervous I wasn't scared. If he was going to hurt me he would have done it by now. His shirt had two buttons opened, it looked good on him. Of course, the first thing I asked him “Where did you get the scratch?” pointing to the open part of his shirt and pulling it sideways a bit.
He knocked my hand aside and said ”Who knows, I was skiing.” He said a little defensively, but then softened his tone right away “Sorry I didn't call, not much time for phone calls, besides it’s not your thing right? I'll call you tonight maybe we'll catch a movie”. He kissed me on the cheek and left and I let him. I watched him walk away and I didn't say a word to him, like 'Right skiing, I saw you this weekend, or don't bother calling, I’m busy or even 'Hey, I don't want to date any more I'm breaking up with you.' All good choices but not a one of them passed my lips. I hate good after thoughts.
I went back to my desk and put my head down. Nic asked me “Did you break up with him?”
“No” I said grumbling into my sleeve. Nic and I started an accelerated chat about Cale, and she offered to let Cale down gently for me and we talked about how and when I would do it. We went over my past dating history with Cale. And the real reasons I am calling it off were: What is he up to? How and why did I fall asleep on that one date? Why did I have marks on my arm after? Why don't I remember anything from that date? And why was he at that house sick when he was supposed to be off skiing?
When I got home from school I found a note from my mom. “Cale said sorry but he can't go out tonight he had to go out of town last minute. He'll see you in a couple of days.”
Thank goodness! I went and fell face forward on my bed and didn't wake ‘til morning.
CHAPTER 9
That Monday at school I couldn’t wait to see him, I couldn’t wait to catch a glimpse of his smile and see if he still looked as good to me today as he had before, I was focusing all my positive energy on Jett. I didn't know how to find him during the day or how I would see him, but I was going to try. We just started our second quarter of school and Nic and I stayed in Art Class but this time it was called Design. Cale had moved on which was nice so I didn't have to see him in any of my classes.
This morning we both talked about Cale and Jett in the lowest of whispers. I not only wanted to catch a glimpse of Jett, but I was supposed to break up with Cale today. Even so, I kept daydreaming about Jett all day but never did find him, I was disappointed.
Nic and I got to wrestling practice and did our normal routine. We cleaned the mats, put everything away and sat up against the wall as we usually did. All the usual wrestlers started coming out of the locker room and were warming up when Storm came over and chatted with us.
“Storm, how come you didn’t tell me you had two other brothers just as good looking as you?” I said playfully. He looked at us with his gorgeous green eyes and said “I was hoping to keep you two for myself.”
“Good answer.” I replied in a higher octave.
“How nice of you to say,” Nic agreed.
“Which one of you likes who?” Storm replied nonchalantly. He looked at me and asked “You like Jett? Of course you do, everyone likes Jett.” Storm snarked.
I was quick to answer “I don’t like either of them I was just making an observation. Don’t get in a huff.”
“Besides” Nic chimed in “You're dating Shelby, you shouldn't care.” And on that note he stood up out of his squat laughing to himself and walked away.
“Why in creation is that so funny, I'm good girlfriend material.” I said while making an iffy face at Nic, holding my hand out, tilting it side to side.
She smiled, “Oh I bet you are,” with a little sarcasm.
I let out a long sigh “I don't.... I haven't told Cale yet, he just got back from his trip today and I didn't see him, for your information.”
Nic gave me a look “I know - - whatever…” she retorted and walked away.
I knew I had to break up with Cale tomorrow; it was the right thing to do. Cale, Cale, Cale, thinking about him and trying to break up with him was exhausting. I'm sure he knows it’s over himself. I thought I should do it right after Algebra, because that class was on the same floor as his locker. Nic and I plotted, she offered her help.
To my surprise, when I walked out of Art class Cale was waiting for me; we didn’t speak at first. I started walking, he grabbed my hand which threw me off guard. I told him I needed something from my locker so we passed my history class, and kept walking.
“I need to talk to you about something.” I started off a little shaky. He let go of my hand and slid it up my back to my shoulder and said “Oh yeah,” in a low soft voice. I was hoping I had the courage to continue as I choked back the lump in my throat, looking at the floor for wisdom. But standing right in front of my locker stood Jett and some of his friends, my heart plummeted. I just stood there, rooted, looking at Jett and his friends, Jett was leaning on my locker, I wasn't moving or talking.
Cale broke the ice “Uh, excuse us, we need to get in there.” I thought I heard a growl. I looked around at Jett and his friends not sure who made the noise, not sure if anyone else heard it besides me. They all moved. Cale put his hand under my elbow I turned around so my back was to my locker. Cale slid his hand to mine.
“Can we talk later?” He asked. I cleared my throat and sent back a shaky “Uh, yeah” and nodded. Thank goodness, because I couldn't get any other words to escape from my lips. He leaned in and kissed me on the mouth, pressed generously until our lips parted. I let my eyes fall closed, it felt cold and manipulative and I felt watched. When we were done I couldn’t look at C
ale so I looked over and noticed Jett was looking right at me, leaning against the wall opposite me with one leg bent and his hands in his pockets. As I caught his gaze he did a half nod of acknowledgment to me, and turned into the classroom he was standing next to.
I finally got to my class and sat down. My face was flushed, my hands were clammy and my heart still rushing at a fast pace. I could hear it pitter-patter, pitter-patter. I was a little too preoccupied to pay attention to the lecture. I had to figure out when my next chance would be to talk to Cale, because he now knew something was up, he kissed me, what was that all about. Algebra, I remembered was on the same floor as his locker. It’ll have to be after algebra…
I thought Storm wasn't talking to me again, but he leaned over in his chair and whispered “I thought you weren’t interested in Jett.”
“I’m not interested in him! I’m trying to break up with Cale! What's it to you anyway?” I stammered. I was trying to figure out how he might know I was interested in Jett, interested is a strong word though, I was definitely crushing on him. I only told Nic and I was sure she wouldn't tell anyone else.
“Well, if you’re not interested in him then I'll let him know.”
“Let him know? Why would you need to let him know? Better yet, why don't you keep your nose in your own business, if Jett has any questions for me you can send him on over to me.” That shut him up. He seemed to swallow that explanation hook, line and sinker. Although, now he wasn't speaking to me, I could tell by the way he was sitting. I had one thought, Declan. I had asked him about Jett and Declan was good for gossip that's for sure.
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