They had all gathered around in a giant circle, hollering and waving their hands in the air, cheering on the morons who were apparently fighting, and I was silently hoping I didn’t know who those morons were. As I finally broke through the crowd, I was horrified to see Scott standing over Adan, who was currently laying on the floor with his hand covering his nose. It wasn’t bleeding, but it was obvious that Scott had hit him.
So much for our mature break up.
“What are you guys doing?!” I hissed, coming to stand next to them. “Scott?”
I had to drag my eyes away from Adan because the urge to bend down and make sure he was okay was overwhelming, and I didn’t want to do that in front of Scott and all his friends. Scott was breathing hard and glaring at Adan, he wouldn’t look at me nor did he try and answer my question.
“Just a little bit of a disagreement, Sara.” Adan finally said. “But I think it’s all cleared up now.” He rubbed his nose and got to his feet.
Scott’s posture relaxed, but only by tiny bit. “As cleared up as it can be.” He replied.
I looked around as the crowd started to thin out, and I was extremely annoyed as people waved their hands in our direction, obviously disappointed by the lack of fight they were expecting.
Scott looked at me, not sure what to do next. “I hope you don’t expect me to apologize to him.”
“No, but I also didn’t expect you to hit anybody either.” I looked at Adan. “Is it broken?” I asked him.
“I don’t think you can break steel, but you can break bones.” He said, looking over my shoulder at Scott I heard him huff behind me. I narrowed my eyes at Adan, clearly not in the mood for his jokes. “You’re not going to hit me too, are you?” Adan teased. “Because don’t think for one second I won’t make you kiss it afterwards.” I gaped at him and turned toward Scott, but I was surprised and relieved to see he wasn’t there anymore.
I felt Adan come up behind me and whisper in my ear. “Don’t worry spitfire, he was gone before I said that.” He said, reassuring me.
I turned back to look at him, and for the first time, I didn’t feel that nagging feeling of guilt for talking to him. It felt amazing.
“Are you-” He stopped as the band started up a new song and the music blared around us, drowning out Adan’s question.
He looked around and then I felt his fingers wrap around my elbow. He pulled me toward the exit of the building until we were outside and away from the noise.
“That’s much better.” He said, looking around the empty parking lot, no one was around.
He let go of my arm, putting space between us, and I used the wall of the building to lean up against. Neither one of us said anything for the longest time, but I could tell Adan was anxious, and for whatever reason, it made me feel anxious too.
“Are you going to tell me what happened in there?” I demanded, when I could no longer stand the silence.
“I’m not really sure,” he answered, “I was going to see if you were okay, and before I knew it, I was on the floor.”
“He just hit you? He didn’t say anything to you?”
“Nope. I figure he thought the punch pretty much said it all.”
“I can’t believe he hit you.”
“Now before you go being all impressed by you’re boyfriend’s right hook, I think you should know I let him hit me.” I believed him.
“He isn’t my boyfriend anymore.” I told him quietly, and he just looked at me and then nodded.
“Well that explains the fist to my nose. Which I’m pretty sure he broke his hand.”
“What?! Why do you think that?”
I tried to picture the way Scott had looked before he had wondered off. I didn’t remember him holding his hand, but it had been limp at his side and that could have been why he had left without saying a word to me.
“I just know.”
“I should have checked on him.” I said, feeling guilty. If it hadn’t been for me, he wouldn’t have felt the need to hit Adan to begin with.
“I’m sure the last person he wanted to know that his hand was broken is you.”
He was probably right, Scott didn’t like to show weakness, and he especially didn’t like to show it in front of me when we had been dating, which had been twenty minutes ago. I’m sure he really wouldn’t want me to know now that he had broken his hand, and because of Adan no less. Looking at him now, I realized that he didn’t look like he had just been punched in the face. His nose wasn’t swollen or even red! There had been no blood whatsoever, but yet Scott had broken a hand? How was that even possible?
“How is it that you don’t even look like you were just his in the face less then fifteen minutes ago.”
“I told you, you can’t hurt steel.” He said smugly.
“You didn’t even bleed.” I pointed out the obvious. “I just don’t get it.”
He shrugged his shoulders not seeming to be all that concerned about it. “I don’t know. I doubt I could explain it anymore then you can.”
“Why don’t I believe you.”
“So you don’t have a boyfriend anymore?” He changed the subject, trying to seem nonchalant about it as he fiddled with loose gravel on the parking lot ground.
“Like you didn’t already know that. That’s the reason you let him hit you.” I said, calling him out.
He was silent for a minute. “Maybe. I may not have been a big fan of Scott’s, but I’m not very proud of what I’ve done. I figured the least I could do is take one for the team.”
Forgetting about the loose rocks, he stepped on to the sidewalk and came to stand directly in front of me. He wasn’t standing too close, but I could still feel the electric crackles as they sizzled off of him, magnetizing toward me like static cling. It was as if my body knew there was nothing holding me from giving into Adan anymore, and it was pulling me to him without any effort from me.
“You have a team?” I teased him.
“Team Sara and Adan.” He whispered. His eyes became blue flames, and I could see the ribbons of sparks swirling around, stealing my breath from me.
“What happened to team Adan and Jasmine?” I asked him, wondering how I could have forgotten who he had arrived here with.
Come on Sara, you know that there is nothing going on with Jasmine and I.” He took a step closer and I swear I could see the electric blue lines flowing off of him and reaching out for me.
I don’t know how I’m suppose to know that when you show up with her on your arm.” I argued, ignoring the currents.
“And that bothered you?”
“Yes!” I answered before I had time to think of what he was asking me. “No. Fudge. I don’t know.” I looked at him accusingly. “Was that your plan? Try and get a rise out of me? I know you like to play dirty, but bringing Jasmine?”
“No it wasn’t my plan.” He said softly, seeing how upset I was. “I’m not going to lie though, it’s a bonus. Admit it, you care.”
“I guess I didn’t like it. She’s not who I would have picked for you anyway.” I tried to back paddle.
“Oh really?” His interest suddenly piqued. “I’m curious then, who would you pick for me?”
He took another step closer and the ribbons reached further. I could feel the flutter inside my body explode, making my head spin. I used the wall for support, and tried to hide the reaction he was responsible for.
“There are plenty of girls here who are far better than her. I’m just saying.” I was having a hard time trying to pay attention to this conversation.
“And you’re just repeating yourself Sara. Are you okay?” I could see the smirk he was doing a horrible job at hiding.
“I’m f-f-fine.” Where had all the air gone?
One more step brought him so close that the currents no longer needed to stretch to a breaking point in order to reach me, and I my skin started tingling in every spot they touched.
“Why can’t you just admit it?”
“Admit what?”
“I just think you could do better then her.” I know that’s not what he meant.
I didn’t come to your party with Jasmine. I would never do that to you. I didn’t plan on coming here tonight, I knew it would cause problems with Scott, so when I saw Jasmine outside, I used her as a way to get in without Scott freaking out. She means nothing to me, and yes I realize using her wasn’t right, but I was desperate.” He finally stopped to take a breath, but it didn’t last long before he was talking again. “I heard what you said yesterday, but I can’t help myself. I can’t control anything when it comes to you. You are constantly inside my head and you have no idea how hard it was to stay away from you these past two weeks.”
He had moved closer to me during his confession, and I had to lean my head back just to look up at him. His hand came up and he brushed my cheek with the back of his hands, before tucking a piece of hair behind my ear and curling his fingers toward the back of my neck. His palm rested against the pounding pulse at my neck. I could feel the warm currents flowing between us, and my heartbeat seemed to be in sync with the flutter.
“Please tell me you feel the same. Tell me it was just as hard for you, and the only thing keeping you from me was Scott. I tried to stay away from you Sara, I did, but that nearly killed me, and I won't do it again. I can't.”
His words left me breathless and I knew it was pointless to try and fight it anymore. I dropped my head, looking down between our bodies. “I don’t think ‘hard’ is the right word. Torture maybe?” I looked at him with a smile, and his thumb massaged hypnotic circles under my chin.
He laughed and touched his forehead to mine. “I could definitely agree with torture.”
The tips of our noses grazed one another’s. Our lips were so close, only a breath away, and with each one he took, I could feel it against my chin and down my neck, chasing shivers down my arms and making my heart beat faster. I wanted him to kiss me, but it didn’t feel right, not today. He must have sensed my apprehension, because he lifted his head, removing the temptation and smiled down at me.
“I’m sorry about you and Scott.”
“You are?” I asked skeptically.
“Well no, but I’m sorry you’re upset about it.”
“Thank you, I’m sad, but its better this way. I just wish I had realized it a little earlier.” I felt the tears stinging my eyes again, thinking about my conversation earlier.
Adan pulled me into his arms, cradling the back of my head against his chest. It felt so good to be in his arms, and I immediately felt comforted as he pulled his warmth tighter around me.
“I’m sorry Sara, please don’t cry.”
“It’s my party, and I can cry if I want too.” I mumbled into his chest, and I felt the rumble of his laughter.
He was serious again. “Are you going to miss him that much?” he asked, sounding hurt. “Are you sure this is what you want?”
I realized I had given him the wrong idea. Pulling away from him, I looked up at him.
“I’m going to miss him as my friend. We were friends before we were a couple, and I just wish there was a way that nobody had to get hurt.”
“I might have something that will cheer you up.” He said, and excitement lit his voice.
“What?” I asked, intrigued and happy about the subject change.
“Come on, follow me.” He grabbed my hand and started pulling toward the cars in the parking lot.
I looked back toward the venue, and I could still hear the people inside cheering and singing again with the band.
“What’s wrong?” He asked.
“I haven’t told Eli that she is my ride home yet. I don’t want her to leave without me when she doesn’t seem me inside.”
“I can take you home.” Adan said, and although I was tempted, I still didn’t think it would be right.
“I think it’s better if Eli takes me home.”
He seemed to wrestle with the idea, but finally agreed, “Okay, it will okay take five minutes. I promise.”
I took another look back, but allowed Adan to pull me along. “Where are we going?” I asked, as he weaved us in-between the parked cars.
“Here.”
We stopped in front of an old beat up hatch back. It was orange, but the doors were blue. There was a long hairline crack in the windshield, which led to a spider web of cracks in the middle, and a missing windshield wiper. It was probably the ugliest car I had ever seen in my life, and I planned on telling him just that.
“What the heck is this?”
“What?” he asked, his brows pulling together, sincerely confused. “It’s my car.” He said proudly, slapping his hand against the rusted roof.
The action caused some of the blue pain chips to crack off. I could see his eyes glance toward the fallen paint, and he tried to discreetly cover them with his hand.
I stifled a laugh behind my hand.
“Are you sure about that?” I raised my eyebrows, unbelieving that this could be considered anything, but scrap metal.
“Hey be nice to Steve.”
“Steve? Don’t guys usually name their cars after girls?”
His eyebrows jumped up and down. “This is a dudes car, you don’t name dude cars after girls.”
“Thanks for the lesson.” I said, sarcastically.
“Besides,” He gave me a sly, “I’m not like other guys.”
“Someone likes to break the rules.”
He snorted, cutest sound ever. “I know you’re joking, but you have no idea how true that is.” Before I could comment, he continued, catching my full attention. “Be nice otherwise you don’t get your gift.”
“Gift?”
“I knew that would get your attention.” He pulled open the door, and it made an ear piercing squeak.
I walked over to the door and waited, as he bent inside the car to grab a small mahogany wooden box, which had been sitting on the passenger seat. Ducking out of the car, he came around the open door and handed me the box. His eyes sparkled with anticipation.
“Happy birthday.” He said softly.
I grabbed the box with both hands and rubbed my fingers over the smooth surface of the box. I traced the indented lines of my initials carved into the delicate wood, and the unique pattern displayed around the edges of the lid. Bringing the box to my nose, I breathed in deeply pulling in the sweet perfume only this type of wood gave off.
I looked up at Adan. “It’s beautiful.”
“You think?”
I nodded. “I love it.”
He seemed relieved. “I made it.”
My eyes shot up to his. “You made this?” The detail was so intricate and flawless, I would have thought it was made by someone who had been doing this for years. “It’s amazing. When did you do this?” There was no way he could have done this in a short amount of time.
“It’s been a work in progress, I started it a few years ago, but I didn’t finish it until a few days ago when I added in your initials.”
“A few years? Adan I don’t know if I should take this.”
“You don’t want it?”
“I do!” I said a little too loud, but the last thing I wanted to do was hurt his feelings “It’s just, you’ve worked so long on this, and put a great amount of detail in it. Are you sure you want me to have it?”
“There is no one else I would want to have it.”
I looked at him through my lashes at his soft declaration. “Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome, but this is not actually your birthday present.”
I frowned, confused. “It’s not?”
“Nope. Open it.”
His enthusiasm was rubbing off on me. I flipped open the lid and my attention was immediately drawn to the shiny combed clip inside the box. Taking the clip out, he took the box from me so I could explore the clip. It was gorgeous. It had two teeth about a finger length long. At
the top end of the comb, there was a dragonfly, and I didn’t know if it was coincidence or not, but it didn’t really matter. Parts of the dragonfly wings were painted a blue fading into black, which faded to a green on the tips, and other parts of the wings were made up of tiny blue and green gems that matched the body of the dragonfly as well. I had never seen anything like this before.
“Where did you get this?”
“Do you like it?”
“I love it. It’s perfect.” I traced the intricate details.
“It reminded me of you.”
“Why?” I asked, looking up at him.
“You have a mark on your shoulder blade. It’s almost the shape of a dragonfly.”
“I do?” I tried to recall if I had ever seen the mark he was talking about, and I couldn’t “Should I be concerned that you’ve seen a mark on me that I didn’t even know was there?”
He laughed. “I saw it the night I was at your house. After Scott left.”
I remembered the night clearly. “I’ve never even noticed it before.” I made a mental note to check it out when I got home. “I don’t know what it is, but I have this weird connection with dragonflies. They seem to be everywhere.”
“Isn’t that supposed to be a good sign?”
“I don’t know is it? I feel like I might have had an obsession with them before, but I’m not sure.” I shook my head, throwing off the sixth sense, I looked at him. “Thank you so much! It’s the best birthday present ever.”
“I’m glad you like it. It’s worth the look on your face right now.” He laughed when I blushed. “And definitely this.” Moving close to me, his thumb swept across my cheekbone. “I love the way you blush.” He whispered. He took a step back and held out his hand to me. “Will you dance with me?”
“There’s no music.” I pointed out.
“Easy fix.” He snapped his fingers together.
It only took a minute before we were surrounded by music. His fingers encircled my wrist, the flutter flared, sending erratic pulses throughout my body, and I shivered at the shock. He tugged on my wrist, pulling me toward him and into the street. His arm slipped around my waist, and he pulled our clasped hands between us. He took the lead, our bodies swaying to the music.
Flutter (The Discover Series) Page 42