Riley's Torment, A Moon's Glow Novel #2

by Christina Smith

  To her, it looked like I was surrounded by three hunky guys all vying for my attention. So I wasn’t surprised that she stared at me coldly, shooting daggers in my direction. I just smiled and waved at her, making her so angry, she stomped off the beach with her puppets following her.

  “Who’s Stephanie?” Derrick asked, but before I answered, his eyes widened. “Isn’t she that witch who cut your hair?”

  Since he caught me with my mouth full, I just nodded.

  “You really need to get back at her.” He shook his head, staring down at his soda can.

  I swallowed. “Why, she’s a spoiled rich snob. I don’t care what she thinks.” I took a sip of my drink. “Besides, wouldn’t that be stooping to her level?”

  “Who cares, she deserves it,” he shot back at me. Emma and I exchanged glances as he creased his brows in thought. “You know what you should do?”

  I chuckled, never having seen this side of him before. “What?” I asked.

  “Dye her hair green or her skin blue. Hell, a little hair removal in her shampoo bottle would do her some good.”

  Who knew he could be so vindictive, and utterly girlish? All that was missing from his suggestions was hair pulling. I raised an eyebrow instead of answering. He shrugged. “So I watch too many cheesy chick flicks, it’s your fault.”

  Emma laughed at him then turned to me. “So Sarah, what are you going to do about Lucas’ book?”

  Derrick glanced at her and answered for me. “What’s the big deal, just go up and tell him that you have it. He’s sitting right over there.” He gestured with his hand. I looked over to where he pointed. Lucas was sitting with Andy and Kyle two tables away. I hoped he hadn’t heard us talking about him.

  Emma was glaring at Derrick like he’d lost his mind. “She can’t just go over there, he won’t talk to her.”

  “What’s the big deal?” he asked again, shrugging his shoulders.

  “You are such a guy.” She tossed the crust from her bread down on the table. Emma was the only seventeen-year-old I knew who still didn’t eat the crust on her sandwich.

  I decided to interrupt them. “Oh my God, it’s not a big deal, I’m going.” They could bicker back and forth for hours if I let them. I just wished they’d finally kiss and get it over with.

  I stood up and headed over to where Lucas and his friends were sitting. I could feel Emma and Derrick’s gazes on my back.

  As I approached their table, Kyle and Andy smiled and nodded to me. Andy asked if I was finished with my homework for our chemistry class, and I said yes. While we were talking, Lucas never looked up from the paperback he was reading. “Lucas?” I couldn’t keep the slight tremble out of my voice. Nothing; he still didn’t look up. “Lucas!” I said a little louder.

  Andy and Kyle just shrugged. “Dude!” Andy smacked Lucas’ shoulder.

  He finally glanced up at me, his glasses falling forward a bit. He pushed them back then glared at me with his deep hazel eyes. He was quite good-looking when you were close enough to notice. He was tanned, and his long brown hair suited him, giving him a rugged look. He had a strong jaw, and a sprinkle of freckles along the bridge of his nose.

  “What?” he said, interrupting my thoughts.

  I was a little flustered at his annoyed expression. “Um…I don’t know if you know me? My name is Sarah”

  “I know who you are,” he interrupted.

  “Well, you dropped your book when I bumped into you this morning. I didn’t bring it with me, but if you want to meet me at my locker, I can give it to you.”

  He looked at me like I was speaking a different language. “Why don’t you just bring it with you to history next period, and give it to me there.”

  I was shocked. “You’re in my history class?”

  Now he looked even more annoyed. “I sit behind you in the back corner, and you probably didn’t notice me because you’re always talking to Emma.”

  I felt a twinge of guilt, but it was quickly replaced by irritation. Why would it matter to him if I always talked to Emma? To my knowledge, he didn’t even know I existed before today. “Fine, I’ll do that.” My voice was cold, but I didn’t care.

  I nodded to the other guys and walked back to our table. “You were right. I shouldn’t have gone over there. He’s weird.” I told them what happened.

  As I knew she would, Emma gloated with an “I told you so.”

  Acknowledgments

  Again, I have many people that helped with this new novel. First, I would like to thank my mother and my sisters Debbie and Brenda for listening to my constant talk about the book.

  To Ashley Stoyanoff, author of The Souls Mark: Found, for all her pre-editing and advice.

  Again, thanks to my husband, Brad, and children, Josh and Megan, for being patient with me while I was locked up in my room writing. I love you all.

  To my mother in law Donna for her reading, pre-editing, and input.

  And to Stephanie Mooney for creating such a great cover, and Christina Hickey for doing such a great job at editing.

  About the Author

  Christina Smith grew up in Kingston Ontario, Canada, and after getting married, moved to a small rural town in the country. She lives there with her husband, Brad, two kids, Josh and Megan, and their dog, Bailey. Even though the house is peaceful, surrounded by nature and the occasional deer, she’s still a city girl at heart. She misses civilization and visits with her mother and two sisters.

  She spends a lot of free time writing and has numerous ideas for future novels for both young adult and adult fiction.

  Visit Christina’s website www.christinasmithbooks.com for more information about her books.