by Piper Shelly
And he’d driven me to the vet. “I’m not worried about him.” Not anymore. “I just don’t want to spoil our girls-only time. I’ll go grab it from Tony right now.”
“He isn’t home.”
“How do you know?”
“Soccer training until seven thirty. Chill, Sam. He’ll give it to you when he gets home. And no one will mind.”
All right, if she said so.
We walked up to Liza’s house and Susan entered without bothering to ring the bell. I stopped on the doorstep, uncomfortable, but she grabbed the sleeve of my hoodie and pulled me inside.
“Her parents aren’t home tonight, and Liza said we should just come up to her room. Loosen up. I think recently I’ve hung out more often in this place than in my own room. It’s all cool.”
I climbed the semi-winding stairs after Susan and followed her into a room to the left. Liza, Allie, and Simone were already there and arguing over the first film they wanted to watch tonight.
“Hey, everyone.” I gave a quick wave toward were they sat on the bed.
Liza jumped up and pulled my backpack from my shoulder. “Give me that and make yourself comfortable.” She placed it on the swivel chair in front of her desk, which was overloaded with books and some other stuff. It could hardly be the place where she did her homework.
I glanced around the rest of the room and found I liked it. Untidy to the core, with clothes tossed over furniture and random items such as a hairbrush, a bottle of OJ, and DVD cases littering the carpeted floor. It looked more like home than any room in my cousin’s house. A chest and wardrobe were placed against the door wall with a hi-fi unit, and another shelf next to the desk held a widescreen TV.
Oh, Nicholas Hoult—on that screen; I was so ready for it.
And I was lucky, Allie and Simone shared my enthusiasm about the film. We all moved together so everyone could sit on the bed while we watched it. We had put on our PJs. Allie, Liza and I were in boy shorts and tank tops, while Susan wore long flannel bottoms and a sweater. Supermodel Simone had to outdo us all with her long silvery satin nightgown.
We’d inhaled three cartons of pizza and Nicholas was about to sling his arms around Teresa Palmer and jump from the building because the zombies had cornered them, when a whistle from outside caught our attention.
“That’s for you, Sam,” Liza said, not taking her eyes off the screen.
Neither did I, and I didn’t understand what she meant anyway. “Huh?”
Liza grabbed the remote for the DVD player and stopped Nicholas and Teresa mid-fall.
No—no! Don’t stop it. The kiss… I wanted to see the kiss. Ugh.
But it was too late.
“Your sleeping bag has arrived.” Liza got out of bed and walked to the open window, leaning outside. “Hey, guys,” she said, and I could hear her surprise.
“Are you girls all dressed?” came Ryan Hunter’s voice, mischievous as always when he talked to his girlfriend.
“Yes. But you’d better not plan on coming up here.” A rustling sound like a tree in the wind drifted inside and cut Liza short for a moment. “That’s against the rules,” she said next with a playful sharpness and at the same time she backed away from the window. She turned to us. “Sorry, girls. I hope it’s okay with you if the guys come in for a moment?”
The guys? And come in how? I hugged my knees to my chest, feeling a little uncomfortable wearing my pajamas.
“Is Sasha with them?” Allie whispered excitedly.
“I couldn’t make him out in the dark,” Liza murmured. “There’re many of them.”
Ryan was the first to climb through the window. While he hugged Liza from behind and kissed her temple, Tony, Nick, Alex, and even Sasha Torres followed. The room was suddenly crowded and filled with wild blabbering.
Tony came toward the bed and tossed a rolled-up red bundle at me. I caught Pam’s sleeping bag and held it on my lap. “Thank you.”
He nodded once, then his gaze landed on the bandage on my bare leg. “Sexy socks, Summers. How’s that wound doing?”
I curled my toes. “No pain, no more limping. I guess I’m out of the woods.”
He smiled then, and that smile was…wow…pretty enough to hold my attention for a silent couple of seconds.
“You know,” Liza told Tony from behind, “you could have dropped it on the doorstep. No need to bring half the soccer team up here to deliver it.”
He turned around, and his smile widened to a lewd grin as he let his gaze move slowly up and down her body. “Blame your boyfriend, pretty girl. He was the one showing up at my house ten minutes ago and dragging me over here.”
I wasn’t exactly sure why, but the corners of my mouth turned downward at that look on Tony’s face. I couldn’t help it, but I didn’t like how he gaped at Liza. And Ryan apparently didn’t like it either.
“Back off, Mitchell,” he warned Tony with a mocking note in his voice and hid Liza behind his back. “She’s mine.”
Liza giggled as she was shoved around by her boyfriend. She was probably used to the boys’ bantering and Tony’s coming on to her. I wasn’t. Holy crap, it gave my heart a twinge that hurt and annoyed me more than not being able to watch sexy Nick Hoult with my friends.
Too weird.
I climbed over Susan’s legs, out of bed, and went to the bathroom. I’d been to the loo only half an hour ago, but I needed a minute to myself to sort this out. Where the heck had this uncomfortable feeling in my chest come from? I sure couldn’t be jealous of Liza. No freaking way. Not because of Anthony Mitchell.
I glared at myself in the mirror. “You. Suck.”
Yeah, I did. When the hell had I grown feelings for stupid Mitchell? He was not my type. Or maybe he was, because I always fell for the blue-eyed blonds…
But tonight I refused to.
I squared my shoulders and swallowed the silly dryness in my throat. But when I wanted to walk out of the bathroom, I couldn’t bring myself to open the door. I cringed, remembering that I was wearing boy shorts and stupid pink wool socks. Oh, the misery of it. Why couldn’t I have brought freaking long pajamas like Susan tonight? Or even a silk gown like Simone. She definitely wasn’t embarrassed in front of Alex wearing that.
I slumped with my back against the door. Get a grip. Get. A. Grip! Now wasn’t the time to panic. And I was probably mistaken anyway. I’d misinterpreted that twinge in my chest. Totally. No such thing as infatuation right here. I’d only been annoyed because Liza had gotten all the attention in the room and I’d gotten none. Yeah right, that must have been it.
Ha ha, my inner self laughed at me. Like you’ve ever been the person to crave attention in a room.
I told my inner self where she could go with her laughing and aggressively pulled the bathroom door open. Crunching on my molars, I went back to Liza’s bedroom and found everyone sprawled out across the room; Susan and Allie still on the bed, Liza in Ryan’s lap on her swivel chair, Alex and Simone cuddling up on the floor, and Nick, Sasha, and Tony fighting over the remote for the hi-fi unit in the corner.
I assumed the girls’ night was officially over. Great.
CHAPTER 11
I grabbed my sleeping bag, unrolled it at the foot of the bed, and sat down cross-legged. Before long Nick slumped down beside me.
“Hey, Finn Girl,” he said and nudged my shoulder with his. “You sneaked off today and missed out on all the morning fun.”
“Not intentionally. Ryan insisted on his father patching my leg up.” I scrunched up my face. “I’d rather have stayed with you instead of having this wound burned out from the inside.”
Someone dropped down at my other side and I was surprised to see it was Tony. Glad that I could look at his face and not feel like I needed to instantly kiss him, I relaxed. I was mistaken after all. No crazy attraction. Whew. I was safe.
“And you should have heard this little one swearing,” he sold me out to Nick. “I promise you’ve never heard anything like it before.” Tony leaned in an
d said in a lower voice to me, “From a girl’s mouth, anyway.”
A grin tugged at my lips. “You find that funny, do you? Me suffering?”
“Not at all.” He bit his lip a little too obviously, trying not to smile. “I was totally suffering with you. You were such a poor puppy, curling up in that corner. I was afraid you’d start to yip on me any second.” By the end of that line, he was laughing so hard that I felt the urge to shove my boot down his throat.
Giggling, because his good mood was infectious, I gave him the best death glare I could manage under these circumstances. “I hate you.”
Tony’s laugh ebbed to a cool smile. “I don’t care.”
But the warm look he gave me then said he did care. He knew I didn’t mean it—anymore. And he seemed happy about it, which created a cozy feeling inside my chest. Way different from what I’d felt before.
Music came on and tore my attention away from Tony. It was a remix of some old Italian song. Sasha, who had won the fight over the remote, settled down on the floor next to us. After a few beats, he skipped to the next song and the next. He did it so many times that Susan finally lost her patience, leaned down from the bed, and snatched the remote from his hand.
“If you guys want to stay,” she warned them, “you go by our rules. We say what’s going to happen.”
“Ooh, and what is going to happen, book lover?” Ryan teased her, stroking Liza’s forearm up and down.
“Nick kissing Teresa. That’s going to happen,” I chipped in, casting a grin at Susan over my shoulder. “Turn the film on again.”
“Me kissing who?” Nick asked, totally confused but looking quite eager at the idea of kissing someone.
We all started to laugh. “Not you, silly,” I told him. “Nicholas Hoult. You guys came in before we could watch the best scene of the movie.”
Susan restarted the DVD and Nicholas and Teresa reemerged from the pool.
Tony quirked his brows. “Ew, a film kiss? That’s what you girls do when you’re by yourselves?”
“That’s what we’ve been waiting for all week,” I breathed, eyeing Tony. “So, in God’s name, be quiet now.”
He released an exasperated moan as he fell back against the bed, but I ignored him. Because at that moment, the other four girls and I were swooning over No-More-Zombie-Nick.
The only trouble with that was that I suddenly wasn’t seeing Nicholas and Teresa any longer, but imagining the couple on the screen to be Tony and me. With a start I straightened my spine and held my breath. Shit. Not what I wanted.
Turning my head, I scowled at Tony and found him looking at me. I hadn’t the slightest idea what he was thinking right then, but we stared at each other for a long, awkward moment. Slowly, he arched one brow.
I smiled and shook my head, then turned away again. Oh no, this was too weird. I needed to concentrate on something else or I would go crazy with that butterfly feeling on the rise in my stomach.
I had thought if I ever fell for one of the guys, it would be Nick Frederickson, because he was a real cutie. But Tony? The one who had given me no break from the start? I couldn’t—no I wouldn’t have that.
I slumped back against the bed like the guys had and crossed my arms over my chest, glaring at the TV.
Damn. I could feel it, Tony’s eyes fixed on my face. My heart started to pound a little harder. Please, please, stop, I begged. I don’t want this.
I didn’t move a muscle until the film was over, but as soon as it was, I rose from the floor and flopped onto the bed next to Susan. Anywhere was good, as long as it was away from Anthony Mitchell. “Boy, that kiss was hot,” I exclaimed, fanning myself with an old birthday card from Liza’s nightstand. Of course, it wasn’t the kiss that had gotten me all hot and jumpy, but no one needed to know that.
“Yeah, way hot,” Simone seconded me. “Anyone want ice cream? I think we need that now, Liza.”
“Agreed.”
She got up from her boyfriend’s lap, and we all followed her downstairs, where we gathered around the rectangular dining table. Liza dished out bowls of strawberry and vanilla ice cream for everyone.
I had chosen a seat farthest away from Tony, just to be safe from myself. But every now and then I sneaked a glance over at him. However, he returned none of my looks. Not one. He was busy with his ice cream and talking to Alex about a new video game called GTA or something. I stopped looking at him then and let myself be dragged into an argument with the girls about which fictional creatures were the sexiest, vampires, werewolves, or demons.
As if there was even room for a discussion. “Vampires, of course,” I declared. “Do none of you watch The Vampire Diaries?” If there was one guy in the world hotter than Nicholas it was Joseph Morgan. Blond hair, blue eyes…just sa-woon-worthy. But maybe that was only me.
“Vampires? Seriously, Summers? I thought you’d go more for the smaller creatures. Like one out of the seven, you know,” said Tony, and he totally startled me with a smirk.
“The seven?” I quirked my brows.
“Dwarfs,” he mouthed then and winked at me.
I grabbed a wafer role from the pack in the middle of the table and tossed it at Tony, who ducked out of the way before it hit his eye. It was amazing how he got away with mocking me for being tiny these days. But then, none of what he said seemed or sounded in any way like an insult. I would have never guessed that I could actually enjoy his bantering. Even if he deserved a kick in the shin for it.
“So, which one’s the sexiest, Summers? Sneezy or Dopey?”
Everyone laughed. Even me. But I couldn’t let him off scot-free. “Come here, and I’ll give you Dopey.” I shot up from my seat and dashed around the table, but before I got to him, he’d risen, too, and escaped into the living room.
Tony jumped gracefully over the dark brown, L-shaped leather couch and used it as a barrier between us. I stopped beside the coffee table, glowering at him.
“What, you’re scared of a tiny dwarf now?” I teased, then lurched forward over the couch, ignoring the slight pain in my leg. But he was out of the way before my feet touched the floor again, and I spun around, finding him five feet away from me.
What was I doing here, chasing after Tony? He was bigger, he was leaner, he was faster, and I’d never catch him. Even if I did, what was I going to do to him? Wrestle him to the ground and force an apology out of his mouth? Well, it was an option.
He caught my hesitation, and the jerk actually started to sing “Heigh-Ho.” Before I knew it I had made one fast jump forward and knocked Tony over onto the couch, landing on his chest.
With his arms slung around me, he stared into my eyes, openly surprised. Then he started to shake with laughter underneath me. “Speedy,” he choked out in between his barks.
I wrestled my upper body free from his hold, but I couldn’t do any damage like pinching or tickling, because he’d captured my wrists in an instant again. I found myself in a very weird position straddling Tony’s hips, trying to get my fingers closer to tickle him.
“Now, what have you got planned, Summers?” he taunted me. “It takes two of your size to actually overthrow me.”
“I just overthrew you. And I’ll get you eventually. You just wait.” I put all my strength into my arms, but it was nowhere near enough. All it did was make Tony Mitchell laugh harder.
“Guys, I’m under dwarf attack. Can somebody help me, please?” he shouted, turning his head toward the entrance to the living room.
I clawed my fingers, but it did me no good. Tony’s grip was gentle enough but firm. Like velvety iron.
Nick and Ryan came in then and both bit down a chuckle when they saw me having a go at their friend. “Having a good time, guys?” Ryan asked, while Nick came forward and slung his arms around my body to lift me easily off Tony.
I shrieked, I laughed, and I choked. I lightheartedly cursed them all for sticking together against a single helpless little girl. Nick pressed my back against him, holding me prisoner, until Tony sa
t up and ran a hand through his hair.
“You’d better not fall asleep tonight, Mitchell, because I know where you live,” I growled at him. But in the next instant that threat was forgotten, when Nick’s hand on my stomach surprised me as it homed in on my belly button.
“What the heck is that?” he said, and without warning he pushed my top upward to expose my belly and looked over my shoulder to catch a glimpse.
I sucked in a breath and stepped away from him. “Excuse me?” But I couldn’t push my tank top back down fast enough. He’d already seen my belly button piercing. I would have showed it to him if he’d asked, but pushing up my top in front of Tony and Ryan was hardly the way to go. I was lucky he hadn’t shoved the top up any farther, because I usually wore no bra underneath my PJs.
Tony tilted his head, looking impressed. “Nice.”
“Awesome,” Nick said. “Did it hurt to get it done?”
It had. But compared to the pain of this morning, it had felt like a bug bite. I pressed my lips together and nodded once.
Ryan grabbed the doorframe and leaned into the kitchen. “Baby, Sam has a belly button piercing.”
“I know,” Liza answered. “I saw it at cheerleading training the other day. Looks cool, huh?”
“Yeah. Can I have my eyebrow pierced now?”
“I don’t think so.”
“My lip?”
“Nope.”
“A nipple?” He looked sweet as he waggled his eyebrows at us.
“No!” came the resolute end to that conversation. It sounded like this was an argument the two of them had been having before tonight.
“Women,” Ryan muttered with a frustrated pout and sat down on the other side of the couch. “They find everything cool as long as their boyfriends don’t have it.”