The Roses Academy- the Entire Collection

by Tara Brown

  “Exactly.” He lifted his mug up and drank, making a face that made me burst into laughter. The women in the café were also laughing at his expression.

  It was a bit creepy, seeing all the attention he got. “Is it always like this?”

  He glanced around. “What?”

  “The women are staring at you. They look like they might attack at any second. Are you a celebrity I should know about?”

  “No, God no.” He grinned his sexy smile at me. “Fresh meat in a small town always gets noticed. I could have three arms; to these women all I am is new. How do you feel about the boys in this small town? Do you judge them by the girls they’ve already dated?”

  “Ugh.” I grimaced. “You have no idea.” I stuffed the last of the tart into my mouth and sucked back my latte, not wanting to discuss the fact my sister had ruined all the boys. “Let’s go.”

  “Where?” He stood as I did and walked ahead to get the door for me. I loved gentlemen. I wanted to be a feminist, but I also wanted my door held. It was confusing but maybe acknowledging it made it less hypocritical.

  When we were outside again, I asked, “What are you reading?”

  “Me?” He laughed but it stopped short when his eyes met mine. “You.”

  I sucked my next breath in as my eyes widened.

  “I’m kidding.” He nudged me back. “I’m reading Bram Stoker’s Dracula in Romanian.”

  “Oh.” I sighed. “How many languages do you speak?”

  “Too many to count.”

  I had been proud of myself until he said that. “I only speak four. But I’m working on my fifth right now.”

  “I’m surprised the CIA hasn’t scooped you up yet. You’d be a good spy.”

  “You’re obviously not American. I can hear an accent but it’s faint. Where are you from?”

  He laughed. “You’re quite clever for what—eighteen?” He was asking my age. This was a good sign.

  “Seventeen. I graduate soon. I’ll be eighteen soon after.”

  We walked, talking about nothing. Certainly not the one topic I should have brought up.

  “Where will you go after you graduate?”

  “College in the city and then stay to work, I guess. No more small towns for me.” I wasn’t sure how I felt about that anymore. Leaving my dad was frightening now that my mom was gone.

  “What do you want to be?” He stared out at the sea.

  “I don’t know.” I paused. “A doctor before because I wanted to help people, but I recently visited a friend at Children’s Hospital in the city and it broke my heart. Now I’m not sure where I fit.”

  As we stopped at the end of the pier, he smiled differently. “You’re young. You will figure it out.” His tone was filled with sadness.

  I stared into his eyes, wondering if they had crystals inside. They sparkled like they might. His face was that of a Greek statue from thousands of years earlier, chiseled and strong—fierce when he stood here next to the sea. I got lost in a moment of imagining him as a king or great leader. He suited the strength of his name, like a Viking standing at the helm of the great warship.

  But then he cocked an eyebrow. “You okay?”

  “Yeah, sorry. Spaced out. It happens.”

  “You’re getting cold.”

  I hadn’t noticed the bitter chill. “Sorry, I didn’t realize. I’m still weak.” I tried hard not to shiver. I hadn’t even asked the big question yet.

  He frowned. “Were you ill?”

  “Yeah.” I paused, trying to see if he was serious. “I was drugged at a party. We had this conversation, remember?”

  He looked confused. “You were being serious, about the drugging?”

  “Yes. A man date-rape drugged my friend’s drink, and she and I shared it. She is in organ failure now at Children’s and I’m recovering. She’s the friend I was visiting there.”

  “Oh my God, I thought that was some twisted game you were playing to hit on me.” He blushed. “What happened after you took the drugs?”

  “The memories are fuzzy, but we were found in a pile of vomit and she was taken to the hospital right away. I allegedly put myself to bed so everyone thought I was fine. But the way I remember it is that you were there and I was choking, and you saved me by getting the vomit out of my throat.”

  “No. You must have seen me around town and dreamed it. You don’t remember the man who drugged you though?” He almost had me convinced I had dreamed him up.

  “No.” I shrugged. “But he’s following me now. He’s stalking me. He came after me in the woods.”

  “Why were you in the woods?”

  I blushed. “I was looking for you. The place where I saw you before, I was in the woods there.”

  “You need to be extremely cautious then. Stay with other people. Haven’t you ever heard that saying ‘stay with your herd?’”

  “No.” The answer came out as a chuckle.

  “That, and stay out of the woods.” He gazed downward and muttered, “I can’t stand the idea of anyone hurting you. Or of you being alone.”

  I didn’t know how to respond to that sort of intensity or familiarity, but my cell was going wacky in my pocket. “I have to get that.” I pulled the phone out and scanned the dozen messages.

  “Shit.” I called my dad quickly and looked back at Aleksander. “Excuse me for a moment.” I held up a hand and walked to the other side of the pier.

  My dad answered in a panic, “Hello—Aimee?”

  “Hey, Dad.”

  He bellowed into the phone. “Do you have any idea what I have been going through this last hour? I sent Shane looking for you. I almost called the police, young lady.”

  “Oh God.” I shuddered. “Sorry, I just got caught up in the conversation I was having. It was refreshing to be a normal kid for an hour.”

  “Oh, come on,” he groaned into the phone. “Aimee, the coffee shop phoned and said you were having coffee with a strange man no one knows. He could be the psycho.”

  “No.” I looked down the pier at him. “No, Dad, he’s not. I know this is not the guy. His mouth isn’t the same and he’s too big. This isn’t him. He’s a fellow art lover from the library, not a crazed rapist.”

  “Okay. Well, I want you home in the next half hour. You have school tomorrow and you’re going for the full day. God, I feel like I’m talking to your sister, not you.” He ended the call with the guilt left dangling at the end of the conversation. My poor dad had been through enough. He didn’t need me acting like Alise. He already had one in that model.

  I glanced back at the end of the pier to look for Aleksander, but he wasn’t there. The pier held private moorage all summer long and was starting to fill up, and in the midst of the boats and docks I couldn’t see him.

  Hurrying as best I could, I tried to get back around the corner to see the entrance to the docks, but my side hurt too much. I slowed and gave up searching for him.

  When I rounded the corner to get back to land, Shane was walking down the pier. He appeared angry. I had forgotten about him completely which seemed odd, considering the conversation we’d had.

  He was beautiful in his jeans and dark-blue tee shirt that made his troubled blue eyes stand out more. “Where is he?” Shane spoke firmly.

  Technically, I hadn’t done anything to feel guilty about, and yet I did. “What? Who?”

  “The guy you were having coffee with.” He didn’t seem impressed.

  “I don’t know. He was here and then he left. At least now I know who the guy with the crazy blue eyes from your party is. His name is Aleksander. How could you already know I was with him?”

  “Thelma at the coffee shop called your dad and he called me. Where is he?” He sounded increasingly annoyed.

  “Of course.” I shivered from the cold ocean air. “I swear I don’t know. I phoned my dad and he was gone.”

  “Does that seem like the behavior of a nice guy?” He raised an eyebrow at me.

  “No. I guess it doesn’t.�
� I hated how hurt he was. I had not only ignored our conversation on the phone, but had also hung out with another guy. “Shane, you know how badly I wanted to solve the mystery of the man from my memory.” I tried to sound injured by his assumption. “When I saw him I got distracted. It’s been plaguing me for weeks and there’s the answer.”

  “We need to get you home.” He pulled me along the pier, wrapping an arm around me gently.

  We didn’t speak again on the drive to my place, what with all the confusion on both our parts lingering about. My dad was at the door when we pulled up.

  “He was really worried, Aimee.” Shane’s eyes burned. “I was worried too.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I just needed to know who he was. Thanks for the ride, Shane.” I leaned over to kiss his cheek, but he turned his lips and pressed them into mine. It was my first kiss—ever—and it was a bit stolen. He pulled me in, pressing into me a little harder. I kissed him back. It was soft but passionate, exactly the way I had always imagined it would be. My heart did a flip and then a flop. He put his hand on my lower back and pulled me into his chest.

  “Think about what I said on the phone earlier.” His eyes were different, feisty. I almost leaned in for another kiss, but I stopped myself, knowing my dad was watching the entire awkward moment.

  Breathlessly, I climbed out of the truck instead.

  “Night, Shane. Thanks.” My dad waved as Shane waved back at him through my open door.

  “Night, Mr. James. Night, Aimee.” He didn’t smile. He didn’t need to. I knew what was racing through his mind. It was going through mine too.

  “I know.” I climbed the steps to my front porch and nodded to my dad. “I’m sorry, Dad. I didn’t mean to worry you.”

  “It’s okay.” He put an arm around me. “I really like that kid.” His smile was expectant.

  “Yup.” He wanted details, but I shrugged. “He’s the best.”

  My dad winced. “Ooouuuu, poor Shane. He’s the best? It’s too bad he doesn’t know he’s been friend zoned.”

  “No, he hasn’t.” I didn’t have an answer. I collapsed onto the couch. “Daddy, I don’t know what to do. A month ago, I had no boys. I had my books and Blake. Now I have a stalker, a new BFF who is a total moron but I really love her, and I haven’t read a book in weeks. And Blake—I can’t even, Dad. He’s dating Alise, which I get; she’s hot, but come on. She’s horrid.”

  A memory came back.

  I was lying in the grass the night of the party, thinking how handsome Shane was, telling him I didn’t get why he liked my sister. He was staring at me the way he had before he kissed me. He was about to kiss me that night, before Alise came stumbling out onto the grass, cussing like a pig and tripping everywhere. My face lit up even more.

  “Honey, no matter what number of Daddies you say, which we both know I love, it won’t solve your problems. You need some separation and time. You need to heal and worry about graduating, not boys. You have college to worry about. And your sister is not horrid, Aimee. That’s a cruel thing to say. She’s just extreme and passionate in everything she does.” He patted my head and went into the kitchen.

  “Whatever.” I cringed and pulled a pillow over my face to scream a little. I pulled the pillow off and sat up slowly. I was still nursing my side, which was better than it had been in ages, but I was exhausted from all the day’s activities. “You’re right, Dad. I need Emma.”

  “Sweet God.” He groaned. “No, please. Anything but Austen.”

  “No?” I limped over to where my mom’s movie collection sat. “Maybe you’re right, Sense and Sensibility. Marianne would have had a much better life if she had chosen wisely and picked Colonel Brandon over Willoughby. They had passion, but it wasn’t enough and she nearly died. Whereas, Colonel Brandon loved her enough from the beginning, and if she had chosen prudently, she would have been spared that pain.” Shane was my Brandon. I saw that now. But did that make Aleksander a Willoughby?

  My dad exhaled loudly as he made us both an omelet. “When has the heart chosen wisely, my dear? As a scientist, I will say, love is one thing we will never understand, not fully.”

  “You’re a big man, admitting you don’t completely understand the chemicals inside us.”

  He laughed. “I like that Prejudice one better. I rather enjoy that Darcy fellow. He is a man after my own heart. Things seem simple with him. Can’t we watch that?”

  I frowned at him over the couch. “No, it has no bearing on my love life at this moment. Her situation with Darcy and Wickham is nothing like mine. Neither of the boys I like is wicked like he was. Dad, I have never had a love life, but something has changed in me. I need to honor it with Austen, and I think either Emma and the triangle with Frank Churchill and Mr. Knightley, or Marianne’s with Brandon and Willoughby.”

  “I liked you better when you were more like me and less like your mom. How is it you love the boy from the bookstore already?”

  I stuck my tongue out. “Love at first sight, maybe. Sense and Sensibility then. Even you will cry.”

  “Love at first sight isn’t real, Aimee. It’s called lust.”

  I cringed. “Ew, Dad, jeeze.”

  My dad laughed as he carried our plates of fruit and omelets into the living room while I set up the movie. We didn’t have a huge TV or a great surround sound system. We were “fireplace and a good novel in hand” sort of people.

  I had never been dramatic or caught in a triangle. It was not something I would have ever imagined for myself. I let go of the situation I was in and just enjoyed the movie with my dad. I think he may have even shed a slight tear toward the end.

  Chapter 15

  What hot guy? Oh right, my boyfriend

  School was boring the next day, until my sister followed me into the bathroom. “Okay, spill. Who is everyone talking about? Who’s the hottie?” Her shrill voice caused me to straighten quickly. I nearly died from the pain of standing so sharply. Sweat crept along my brow.

  “What?” I had been leaning against the sink, taking deep breaths, trying to get past the side stitch where my liver was located. I thought about what I had eaten for lunch and knew the salad wasn’t the issue. “What hottie?” I groaned.

  “Don’t even, Aimes. Just spill.” She primped in the mirror.

  “Is that a mini dress or a shirt you’re wearing as a dress?” I scowled at her reflection.

  “Both.” She held her arms out, beaming like I had complimented her or cared about fashion for even a second. “You like it? I got it a few weeks ago but haven’t been in the mood to wear it. Today seemed like the right moment.”

  It was silver like her eyes and puffy at the bottom but super short, showing off her long, lean legs. She had on a jean jacket, strappy sandals, and a pale pink scarf completed the ensemble. The outfit was amazing but a little over the top for twelfth grade in a town famous for fishing and forestry.

  “It’s amazing.” I rolled my eyes at her as she glared at my plain blue jeans and gray three-quarter sleeved cotton shirt.

  “Dude.” She grimaced. “Do you have to wear that kind of stuff out of the house? It looks like pajamas.” She plucked at my shirt, leaving an indent in the cotton. “Just let your hair down. It’s really pretty down and it’s long so it’ll hide this.”

  “No,” I moaned. “I like my bun.”

  “Here, let me do your makeup.”

  “Stop.” I pulled my lip gloss out of my pocket.

  “Use some of my lipstick,” she offered.

  “No, thanks. I know where your mouth has been, firstly. Secondly, the last time you got to play West Coast Barbie with me, some freak tried to kill me. I’m good with plain gloss and its subtle hint of pink, my slightly stained gray cotton shirt, granny bun, and all of it.”

  She groaned, “God, you are a drama queen. It was Giselle he was after, not you. You just got in the way, like always.”

  I didn’t usually let her get to me, but that hurt a little. I raised
my eyebrows at her and started to walk away, but she grabbed my arm. “Okay, that was mean. I’m sorry. Anyway, who is this hottie you were spotted with?”

  “I don’t know.” I pulled my arm out of her grip. “Some guy I met at the library. He’s working here for a few weeks. We were talking books and art. You know, fellow nerd.”

  “No, not him—the one you were at the café with. Everyone’s been talking about him since yesterday. Who is that one?”

  I sighed. “That’s him.”

  She eyed her reflection again. “You know, I like these geeks you hang out with. How is it all the geeks are hot?”

  “God believes in being fair?” I shrugged and left the bathroom. I was miserable and certainly not in the mood for her crap.

  As another tense moment hit my body, I decided the doctors needed to check me out, in case things were not healing the way we had assumed they would.

  I walked from class as my phone went nuts again. I pulled it out and perused the thirty-five messages I hadn’t read in the last few hours. Many were from Blake. He was begging to talk to me. I bit the bullet and asked him to meet me at our math class, right away.

  I got to the class to find Blake sitting on the bench outside the doorway.

  He was wearing a tee shirt with a Jesus fish with legs and a tail on it—the Darwin symbol. I almost laughed when I saw him bent over his iPad and grinning.

  “Guild chats?” I asked.

  He smiled. “You know it. We are arguing about whether having an Alliance character is traitorous.”

  “Absolutely, but I will admit, I did for scientific purposes once. I wanted to see where all their secrets were and what the character starts were like.”

  He appeared to contemplate what I was saying before he started typing again. He closed the iPad and put it in his backpack before he looked at me. “They miss you, the guildies.”

  “I miss them too.”

  “I need to tell you something, and I need you to just listen to the whole thing before you slap me, leave, and never speak to me again.”