by J. L. Weil
My friends sneered. Okay I was prone to weird things happening around me and I did have what I would call an explosive anger issue, but that didn’t me my life was freaking side show.
I glared their way. “Hardly,” I muttered.
By the time lunch ended, I’d picked my way through what food I had. My appetite was on the fritz. Tossing the remaining in the trash, I glared at Gavin and took off after my friends.
Walking side by side both Austin and Tori’s interest were piqued beyond control now that we were alone. They stared at me gleaming, waiting for me to dish.
I rolled my eyes. “It was nothing. I ran into him when I left yesterday – literally. End of story.”
“Wait… he ditched yesterday to?” Tori asked, putting together the facts.
“I guess.” I was reluctant to admit.
“He oozes trouble,” Austin commented like it was hot.
“You’re telling me,” I grumbled under my breath.
“You better not let that slip away babygirl,” he hollered as we split off to our separate classes.
The final bell sounded, piping into the classrooms during my French lesson, interrupting my traveling thoughts. Shuffling into the halls I weaved my way between the cluster of eager kids ready to kick start their weekend.
He was leaning casually up against the wall by my locker, one leg over the other. His stance was lazy and relaxed. Shifting my gaze to his face it skimmed the sharp angles that defined his jaw line. His black hair was edgy with stands that framed his searing sapphire eyes. Those eyes were thickly fanned by dark eyelashes. Gazing into the pools of blue, I realized that he was staring at me. His mouth upturned in a smirk. Memorized I watched as he played with the ring glittering his lower lip.
“So you made it through the whole day.” His lips split into the knee-shattering smile.
I stared hard after him, watching him walk away with a bewildered expression on my face.
“Damn,” I murmured, silently praying I don’t behave like a blubbering idiot the entire school year.
Dazed, I grumbled my way to the parking lot.
Chapter 5
EVERY OTHER SATURDAY I WENT into the shop at noon and usually stayed to till closing. With Halloween around the corner the displays and floral coolers were filled abundantly with the vibrant colors of fall, burnt oranges, deep reds and golden yellows. Tiger Lilies, marigolds, chrysanthemums and pansies showcased the majority of the collections.
There were the traditional spooky arrangements in shades of black and orange sprinkled with glitter or ghostly accent pieces. The shop also stocked specialty items. Scattered between the floral designs were mystical figures, seasonal decorations and artwork from local artists hung on the walls.
Homecoming just so happened to be this weekend. The orders for corsages and boutonnieres over the week had piled up and were now ready for pickup. With everything going on the last few days, the school event never even crossed my mind. I somehow in my distraction missed all the décor and posters that usually littered the school. Not that it made a difference.
Homecoming wasn’t really my thing or any school function for that matter, so it was no surprise that I was relieved to be working.
The commotion of the event made the hours fly by. Especially the last few before the dance began. Normally I just manned the counter, helped with customers and rung up sales. There were also two other part-time employees besides myself who helped out. Today it was just the two of us and I had about reached my limit of babies breathe, roses, and dyed carnations. I was clueless to why my peers matched the flowers to the exact shade of their shoes or dress. Sadly very few actually knew my name or that we attending the same school.
Missy Walters was one of the last to come in. Her sun-bleached hair curling and cascading prettily over her exposed shoulders.
“Are you here to pickup a corsage?” I sweetened my voice like I hadn’t uttered that phrase a hundred times before.
She nodded, sending her bouncing curls for a wild ride. “For Walters,” she added, unaware that I already had her corsage in hand. She wasn’t the brightest crayon in the box.
“Do I know you?” Her voice was fit for a little girl, all cutesy.
“Umm… yeah, I think we have Interior Design together, fifth period” I replied offhandedly, while tying a ribbon on the box of her corsage.
She popped her pink gum and giggled. “Oh yep, that’s it. You sit in the back row.”
Actually I sat in the second row, but for her it was close enough. I don’t how she heard herself over all the snapping of the gum, so I just nodded in agreement.
“Well thanks for the flowers.” She smiled when I passed her the package.
“Have fun tonight,” I called as she headed for the exit. I wanted to make sure she heard me over the gum smacking.
“Sure thing, you too.” Her voice was all too bubbly, like her gum.
Oh loads I thought mockingly. I had big plans for tonight that involved the snugness of my bed and the current Nora Roberts book I was reading.
The chime on the door rang near the end of the night while I was wiping down the counter. We had an hour left before the shop closed, but most everything was cleaned, straightened and restock. I stopped what I was doing to greet the customer, absently tucking a hair behind my ear.
“Hi, is there something –” The rest fell from my lips as I realized who came through the door.
Gavin strolled across the room in dark jeans and some loud t-shirt to where I stood behind the glass counter. The clatter of his half untied boots echoed at his approach.
“Actually there is something you can help me with.” He reached the counter and stood in front of me, leaning a hip against the glass.
I ignored his words. “Are you stalking me?” I was stunned by that fact that he was in front of me.
“That’s not exactly the greeting I was hoping for.” He leaned in, smiling at me with teasing eyes.
“So you are stalking me?” I smiled back. No idea where that came from. I hadn’t the first clue how to flirt.
“No actually…”
And that was all I need for my mind to go off in a tangent. What if he’d actually come in to buy something? I assumed he was here for me, but what if he wasn’t. Maybe he was here to pick-up flowers for homecoming. It was late – but not enough so that he couldn’t still go to the dance. My heart sunk at the image of him dancing with another girl. He might be new here, but he would have no trouble finding a date. Hell it was possible that Rianne had asked him. She made her interest overtly clear at lunch. How soon my minds forget that he had shut her down.
He watched me as mind ran through the entire horrible scenario before finishing. “I wanted to ask you something.”
I swallowed back the large lump that suddenly formed in my throat. “Sorry, long day.” I pasted on a smile, yielding and internal scolding myself to be as polite as I could be. “Is there an order you’re picking up?” I assumed, trying to keep my voice even and the disappointed from it.
He played with the hoop on his bottom lip – absently twirling it. “No.” His brows drew together at my assumption. “But I was hoping you were almost done here?” There was a touch of hesitancy to his voice, completely out of character for his normally so sure of himself attitude.
Wide-eyed and tongue-tied I went all spacey.
“I was hoping you could show me what people did for fun around here,” he continued after I failed to have a coherent thought. I never even heard my aunt return from the backroom in the middle of his invitation.
She smiled brightly over his shoulder at me as she made her way around the counter. Gavin straightened slightly at her approach. His gaze went from mine to hers.
“Hi, I’m Clara – Brianna’s aunt.” She grinned at him sincerely. “Are you a friend of hers?” She was fishing for information, more specifically
if he was something more than a friend. I couldn’t blame her inquisition. A hot guy in the shop asking me on what could be misconstrued for a date was a rare commodity – or in my case a singular incident.
Not giving him the opportunity to give her false hope I quickly recovered and cut in. My aunt didn’t have a judgmental bone in her body. Everyone got an equal chance until you deserved otherwise. But I think her genuine acceptance caught Gavin a little off guard. Looking like he did probably brought more caution with parentals.
“He just moved here,” I lamely answered with more volume than I meant to. I took a quick breath. “We met a few days ago at school.” This time I lowered my tone but raced my words. The whole situation was making me jumpy.
“Hmmm…” My aunt pursed her slightly grinning lips, no doubt picking up my odd behavior.
This was not going at all like I would have hoped. Not that I had even a moment to think about what was happening here.
“I was just asking Bri if she would like to show me around town. That is if you don’t mind?”
She raised her eyes at the nickname and I could see her internal mind making all kinds of wrong assumptions. “Brianna would love to.” She excitedly agreed on my behalf.
“I could drop her off at home afterwards. I’ll make sure it’s not too late,” he added.
“Perfect, she’ll be ready in a few.” She took my place behind the counter, gently nudging me into action.
I don’t know how everything had spun out of my control. They were talking as if I wasn’t there or didn’t have a say in the matter. Maybe I didn’t want to go. Totally not true but at the least I should be the one to say yes or no. I mean the idea of spending an entire evening with Gavin was both elating and frightening. The fireflies danced in my belly.
“I haven’t finished –” My aunt interrupted my protest. I wasn’t against going out with Gavin; I don’t know anyone who would, just slightly infuriate about being maneuvered.
“Don’t worry. I got it covered. Go. Have fun,” she rebuked.
I eyed her, letting her know I wasn’t happy about being finessed. “I’ll be ready in a minute,” I mumbled.
Surrendering my fate I headed to the backroom. Doing what I could with what I had, I ran a brush through my hair, reapplied my eyeliner and mascara and tossed on my favorite strawberry flavored lip gloss. Luckily we don’t have any kind of uniform at the shop. Usually I just wore whatever. Today it was jeans that made my butt look good – thank goodness for small wonders and a black halter. Digging through my bag, I pulled out a pair of silver dangling earrings and fitted them in the holes.
This was the best I could do under the circumstances.
Walking back into the shop, he was casually conversing with my aunt. They both looked to me at my approach.
“Ready.” He lifted the brow with the sterling bar in it.
I just nodded my head and waved good-bye to my aunt. She mouthed have fun and grinned from ear to ear.
He led me to a sleek and shiny car that probably cost more than my aunt’s and mine combined. Coming around to the passenger side, he opened my door. The gesture was completely sweet, unexpected and made me extremely self-conscious.
“Thanks,” I uttered.
He drove a black ‘69 Charger. At least that’s what he told me. It looked like straight out of the showroom. Not exactly the car that came to mind for him. I envisioned him on a motorcycle, something more daring. But once the engine howled to life and thundered with the powerful rumble, I got the appeal. Strapping on my seatbelt, I buckled in for what proved to be a very fast ride.
The radio was on low, pumping an alternative band. His interior was clean and smelled of leather and exotic woods. If someone had told me last week that I would be going out on a Saturday night with an extremely hot guy, I would have asked them what kind of medication they were taking. I honestly thought I wouldn’t date till I got to college. There would a fresh batch of guys who didn’t know me and a whole world of opportunities.
“Were to?” He looked over at me for direction.
He was so asking the wrong person. “There really isn’t anything fun to do here,” I reluctantly admitted. I didn’t want him to know how boring my life really was.
“Well in that case, I guess we’ll have to make our own fun.” He smiled devilishly at me from across the seat. “What’s open late?”
We ended up at a little coffee shop near the edge of town that I went to often. Carmel Macchiato had become a self-indulging addiction I took every advantage of. Taking a seat in a quiet section near the back, we sat opposite of each other. The place had a scattered array of patrons sipping on steaming mugs, tapping away on laptops or sucking on frozen concoctions gossiping.
There were multi-colored hanging lights casting a low glow, giving a secluded atmosphere. Each table had three tealight candles flickering in unruliness.
Immediately upon sitting we were greeted by a young girl, Carla her nametag claimed. She couldn’t have been much older than me and her eyes were glued on Gavin. Invisibility wasn’t a foreign feeling. Her uniform was a little tight and I was afraid she was going to fall out of the top.
Folding my hands on table, I watched her soak up the sight of him. Steeling a glance at him, I noticed a strange spark about his eyes. They were normally pools of deep blue, but this was something else. Blinking to clear the glare of the soft light above, he turned and asked what I would like. Whatever I thought I saw was gone.
“Carmel macchiato,” I said on auto-response, still wondering what just happened.
Smiling, he gave Carla my order and his – coffee black. Carla scurried to get our drinks. I don’t remember the service being this good. The coffee is great, but the service was usually crap.
“So is it just you and your aunt?” He casually inquired bringing my focus back to the present.
“Yeah, my parents died when I was five,” I confessed, glancing around the room. My paranoia must be setting in because it was either that or everyone was staring at us.
“That must have been hard.” There was sincerity and compassion in his expression.
I shrugged. “I don’t really remember it much. It’s always been the two of us.” I kept taking a peek to see if anyone was looking our way.
“And what about you’re other relatives, do you see them?” He was just full of questions.
I hadn’t thought about my family in some time. My aunt was mostly it. I did have a grandma on my mom’s side that I visited, but I couldn’t picture one face from my dad’s. “I have a grandma not far from here, but no one else really,” I admitted slightly sadden by the lack of people in my life. “What about you?” It was time to turn the table. “Do you have any siblings?”
He relaxed his posture and smirked. That said everything. He adored his family. “I have an older brother and a younger sister. Jared is in college and Sophie is a sophomore.”
“At our school?” I was taken by surprise that I hadn’t seen her yet.
He nodded his dark head. “I’m sure you’ll see her around. She is eager to meet you.”
“You told her about me?” My tone skeptical.
He laughed. The huskiness of it flooded over me and packed my belly with the heat of fireflies. “It’s kind of unavoidable. She has a way of pulling information out of you without you knowing. A small talent of hers, you’ll see what I mean.”
Carla returned with our drinks and asked Gavin pointedly if there was anything she could do for him. I fought the urge to kick her from under the table, anything to get her attention elsewhere.
“That will be all thanks,” he graciously dismissed.
“Is your sister psychic or something?” I teased.
He grinned. “Not quite.”
“Okay now I’m intrigued and a little afraid.” I took a sip of my macchiato and closed my eyes as the sweet flavor hit my
tongue. Swallowing the hot liquid I opened my eyes to find Gavin staring intently at me. They lured me into unexplored territory.
“You are not at all like I thought.” There was a low husky strain to his voice.
His admission caused a powerful flush that had nothing to do with the coffee and everything with the way he looked at me. Absently turning the cup in my hand I tentatively asked, “I’m not?”
He stared, looking at me like I was a mystery waiting to be solved – totally ironic considering I was trying to do the same with him. Apparently neither of us could figure the other out.
“No, you have my mind spinning in circles. I can’t figure you out,” he admitted not entirely happy about it.
“What’s there to figure out? I’m just a girl from a small town.”
Turning away he sighed. “I don’t know. It’s more complicated.” He tugged on his lip ring looking lost in thought. “Come on… I should get you home,” he said before I could ask him what was so complicated. I wanted to press the subject, but the confusion in his expression stopped me.
The car ride to my house was death-defying. He drove at speeds I never ventured before. Yet somehow I never felt like my safety was threatened. Everything about this guy screamed danger, but I didn’t believe it.
My aunt left the porch light on, as he walked me to the door.
Once we made were on the porch he held out his hand. “Let me see your phone.”
I eyed him wearily, but gave it over. Our fingers touched for a split moment and a shock like static tingled at the spot.
If he had felt anything, he never led on. Scrolling through the menu, he punched on the keys. There wasn’t much light on the porch so I couldn’t see what he was doing.
“There.” He handed the device back.
“Thanks, I think.” I stood in front of him, shuffling my feet uncertain how to say goodbye. When he traced his fingertips alongside my face, tucking loose strands behind my ear, a bolt of shock and something more caused my head to snap up.
His eyes glimmered, but I swear behind the twinkle was a hint of regret. “Sweet dreams Bri.”