Playing With Fire (Sweet Secrets #3)

by Taylor Henderson

  This time instead of laughing, he let out a guttural groan.

  “That’s for dropping me in the water,” I said, turning and swimming away from him.

  “What was the other one for?” he asked.

  I glanced back as I said, “Because you said it wasn’t cold.” I poked my tongue out at him.

  He shook his head and laughed. “You are so going to pay for that.”

  I screamed as he advanced toward me. I tried to run through the water, going against the current. Now that I was moving I was starting to warm up some. I didn’t make it very far before Shane caught up to me, grabbing me from behind. I screamed again as he lifted me out of the water.

  “Got you,” he said before he fell backwards, taking me down with him.

  When I came up, I wiped the water from my eyes and stood on my toes to kiss him lightly on the lips. He held my body against his, leaning down and kissing me back. His mouth was warm against mine, and my heart beat faster as he pulled me impossibly closer to him. His arms flexed as they wrapped around me, and when he pulled away I almost groaned in annoyance.

  “Having fun?” he questioned, not moving from our position.

  I nodded. “Yeah, I am. I even like kissing you despite how salty your lips are right now,” I joked.

  He laughed, and then tilted his head down to kiss my forehead. “Good, I wanted you to have an unforgettable day at the beach in November. So you’d know you made a good choice in staying.”

  I smiled up at him. He was really sweet. A few weeks ago I filled him in on the events that had happened in my family recently. He knew that I missed my dad and Lena, and he’d promised to try and take my mind off of them whenever he could. He was making good on his promise. “I did, and I know I made a good choice in staying. I’m happy here.”

  “Good,” he said before he scooped me up into his arms and proceeded to toss me into the water again.

  Chapter 7

  Trinity was practically vibrating with excitement as she sat in the seat next to me and placed her salad down in front of her. Her dark curls were pulled up into a slick ponytail, and she was wearing Brandon’s bulky varsity jacket. The jacket made her thin frame seem even smaller and it looked as if she was drowning in it.

  “Hey guys,” she chirped, smiling around the table at Riley, Amaya, and me. Avery had ditched us for the day to sit with some of her friends from dance team a few tables over.

  Riley raised an eyebrow at Trinity. “Whoa, calm down. How much coffee have you had today?”

  Trinity furrowed her eyebrows. “None. Why?”

  “You look like you’re running on a caffeine high, that’s why,” Riley answered with a shrug.

  “What’s up?” Amaya asked, voicing the question that was undoubtedly on each of our minds.

  I dug my plastic spoon into the little pile of potatoes and gravy on my tray and took a bite. The week before Thanksgiving always had the best lunches in my opinion. I kept my eyes on Trinity as she looked around the table at each of us. Her smile grew wider with each second.

  Then, after another moment she brandished her left hand and everyone let out a screech of excitement.

  “Brandon got me a promise ring with my birthstone on it for our anniversary.”

  “I’m so jealous!” Amaya practically yelled.

  I leaned over, taking her hand in mine to examine the bright turquoise stone on the thin silver band. It was simple and pretty.

  “I love it,” I said, looking into her eyes and smiling. “That’s such a perfect gift.”

  Trinity nodded forcefully. “I know, right? He did well.” She pulled her hand back and popped the lid off of her salad container.

  Riley leaned forward and asked what Trinity got him, but I started to zone out. My thoughts traveled to Shane, and how we had been seeing each other for four months now and were still title-less. I’d moved on from the party-kiss incident, but seeing Trinity so excited about her boyfriend was making me a little jealous. What was keeping Shane from asking me to be his girlfriend? I really wanted us to be exclusive, but maybe that just wasn’t what he wanted.

  Trinity pulled me out of my thoughts as she poked me in my side, causing me to squirm uncomfortably.

  “Here comes your boyfriend,” Riley said, raising an eyebrow at me before looking toward Shane’s usual table.

  My gaze followed hers and landed on Shane as he made his way toward us. When we made eye contact, he smiled and held my stare until he got to our table.

  “Hey ladies,” he said, leaning down beside me and looking around at the other girls.

  “Hey Shane,” Trinity responded, mixing in her dressing and then taking a huge bite of her salad. She was so obviously unfazed by his looks, while the other girls just smiled back at him and said nothing. Riley’s grin was so wide that all of her teeth were on display.

  Shane smiled down at me, brushing his hand against mine. “Do you girls mind if I borrow Ms. Gabriella Snotty for lunch today?” The question was addressed to the girls, but his gaze remained on me as he spoke.

  I scowled at the usage of my full name, and even furrowed my eyebrows harder just because he was watching me.

  Riley was the first to answer with a simple, “I don’t mind.”

  Amaya joined in by giving her blessing. “Not at all.”

  When it was Trinity’s turn to answer I looked up at her. She focused her big brown eyes on me and I noticed a subtle curve to the corner of her lips. She was smirking slightly as she told Shane that it would be nice if he took me off of their hands for once.

  My scowl deepened as Shane’s smile turned on full force. I could practically picture his tail wagging happily as he lifted my tray full of Thanksgiving lunch and waited for me to stand. I thought about telling him that another day would be better, but I didn’t want to disappoint him. I promised that I would sit with him and his friends at some point, and I had to stick to that. I had been hoping that the day when I had to make good on my promise would be far in the future.

  I stood up slowly, glaring at Trinity, who just smiled innocently and ate her stupid salad. I waved bye to the girls before Shane and I walked side by side to his table.

  “I’m excited for you to sit with us,” Shane said, glancing sideways at me. He looked really happy, which was the exact opposite of how I felt inside.

  “Me too,” I lied through my teeth. As we neared the table where Carter and the rest of their friends were sitting, I fluffed my hair a little and prayed that my makeup still looked fine. Each of Shane’s girl friends tended to look flawless at all times, no matter how long they went without fixing their makeup. They always had their hair and makeup styled perfectly, and they always wore the best clothes. It was a little intimidating. How can people always look so perfect? I used to try to find ways to become a part of the in-crowd, but after everything that had happened to me in the past two years I was no longer interested. I just wanted to have real friends. I didn’t want to feel obligated to change who I was to fit in with Shane’s friend group.

  As we reached the table, everyone’s gaze turned to me. I smiled awkwardly under the heavy scrutiny of their eyes. The only one who looked genuinely happy to have me there, other than Shane, was Carter. April even picked her bag up from the ground and placed it on the empty seat next to her. As if my first instinct was to sit beside her.

  “Hey guys, Ella is going to sit with us today,” Shane told them all as he placed my tray down in the empty space between his seat and Carter.

  “Thanks,” I mumbled as I slid in.

  “Hey Ella,” greeted Chloe, one of the girls across from me. I had met his friends multiple times before now, but we’d never been forced to hang out together for very long. Whenever I spoke with the girls Chloe was always really nice. She actively made an effort to include me in the group. She was friendly, but sometimes I felt like she looked down on me because I was younger than them. She tended to treat me like a child even though I was only one grade below them. Chloe was one of tho
se girls who grew up popular. Her dad, Henry Garner, was the CEO and founder of Garners, a huge retail chain on the West coast. Because of her dad, Chloe and her older sister Claire grew up doing commercials for the store. They were in them when they were younger, and were still in them now.

  “Hey Chloe,” I replied, maintaining my smile as I dug my fork into my potatoes.

  “We were just talking about spring break plans,” she filled me in. Her straight blonde hair was parted in the middle so that it framed her heart shaped face. Normally I hated that style, but it actually looked really nice on her.

  Next to her, her best friend Paige Hyland placed her elbows on the table and leaned in. “Chloe wants us all to go to Miami, but she doesn’t realize that not all of us have millions to our name.”

  Chloe rolled her eyes at her friend. “Okay, but if we get tickets now and plan accordingly, then we’ll only be spending a couple hundred for a week-long trip.”

  I bit my lip, not knowing what to say to that. I agreed with Paige. Not everyone could afford to spend a week in Miami.

  Carter laughed. “I don’t know about you guys, but I don’t even think my parents would let me go.”

  On the other side of Carter, April Miller pouted and placed her hand on his forearm. “Aw, but it would be so fun if we all went.” I squinted my eyes at her in a slight glare. Before she left, Lena asked me to keep an eye on April for her, because she knew that April still had feelings for Carter. Everyone knew. April didn’t even try to hide it.

  Carter not so subtly shrugged out of her hold. “I think you guys would have fun without me.”

  April shook her head and leaned closer to him as she batted her heavily lashed eyes. “No, we won’t. Who could have any fun without you around?” she asked with wide eyes. Her dark curls fell over her shoulder in waves, and her bottom lip still protruded slightly. With her naturally tan complexion, dark hair, and freckles she was undeniably gorgeous, but it was all ruined by her attitude and personality. She was mean to anyone she deemed unworthy of her attention. Lena and I fit into that category perfectly. We were just roadblocks in the way of her imagined destination—Carter Anderson. Too bad for her, he was irrevocably and undeniably in love with my sister.

  Shane placed his hand on my knee under the table, gaining my attention. I turned toward him and he smiled before he said to the table, “I could have fun without him around.”

  On the other side of April, Christa Lowes laughed lightly. “Shane could have fun with just a bottle of lotion.”

  Everyone at the table laughed, even Shane.

  Chloe tucked her hair behind her ear on one side. “Oh my God. You’re disgusting. That’s way too much information.”

  Paige shook her head, still laughing. Her nose scrunched adorably as she said, “I could’ve gone my whole life without that image in my head.”

  “I think we all could have,” Chloe agreed. Then she took a sip from her water bottle. “Ella, what are you doing for spring break?”

  I shrugged, shifting uncomfortably under everyone’s gaze. “I might go see my sister and my dad, or maybe Lena will come here.”

  April rolled her eyes.

  Carter smiled brightly. “I hope she comes here. Then I wouldn’t even want to go anywhere.”

  “Yeah, I want them both to come,” I replied.

  Carter patted my shoulder, and Shane squeezed my knee under the table.

  Chloe, Paige, and Christa just forced smiles, while April looked down at her food and picked through it. April excluded, I appreciated that they were trying to include me in their conversation, but I didn’t have any history with them. We knew each other, but we didn’t really know anything about each other. They were Shane’s friends. Not mine.

  For the rest of the lunch period I sat in silence, just listening to the conversation at the table and eating my food. Every once in a while Shane would squeeze my knee and smile at me sweetly. He seemed hopeful that I would get along with his friends and it was actually kind of cute that he cared what I thought of them.

  He looked so adorable each time he smiled at me that I decided to try and befriend them for his sake. Even if that meant being nice to April despite her bad attitude.

  Hey, what’s the worst that can happen?

  Chapter 8

  “John, where did you put the box labeled ‘Christine’s Accessories’?” Mom asked, yelling down the hall as she bustled around the living room.

  “It should be behind the couch under one of Ella’s boxes,” he called back. Almost instantly one of the twins began to cry. I was so used to the sound of their crying now that I could tell which cry belonged to which twin. My little brother, Taylor, had a guttural cry that sounded like a wail, while my sister Cameron’s cry sounded like high-pitched screaming. This cry belonged to Cameron. Neither she nor Taylor had been put down for a nap today so they would be easy to put to bed in about an hour. John and my mom figured they would be easier for me to watch tonight if they slept the entire time. I was thankful for that, because both of them together could be a handful.

  I shifted from my position on the couch so I could watch Mom as she followed John’s directions and went behind the couch I was sitting on in search of her box of accessories. The living room was filled with boxes of our things. A little under a month ago, John asked my mom if she and I would move in with him and the twins, and after my mom said yes, we began to move things over. Our goal was to finish moving and unpacking by Christmas so we could all spend our first Christmas together, unless I went to spend Christmas in Virginia with my dad. My mom was excited at the idea of being able to spend the twins’ second Christmas with them. We had been lucky enough to get to spend their first birthday with them over the summer. Like my mom, I was also excited to live with John and the twins. John and I got along well, and it would be nice to be able to see Taylor and Cammie every day. Also, John made my mom really happy. It was rare these days to catch her without a smile on her face.

  Tonight she and John were going out on a much needed date night. Between taking care of the twins, moving, and living in separate houses, they barely got a chance to spend any alone time together. Some nights Mom spent the night here so she could help out with the twins and get to see them and John. After my mom came back into the picture, John’s mom moved out. She didn’t go far, and still came to help with the twins some days, but tonight she was busy so I offered my services to take care of Taylor and Cammie.

  Mom moved a box that was stacked high on top of another box and crouched down low. She dug through the box, making little noises here and there. When she finished, she sighed in relief and stood up to full view, holding a pair of white gold hoops in her hand.

  “Found what you were looking for?” I asked, eyeing the earrings.

  She nodded. “Yeah, finally. I thought I packed them, but I wasn’t sure. I would’ve been mildly annoyed if I had left them at your grandparents’ house,” she answered as she began putting the earrings on.

  “Why? You still look beautiful without them.” I took in her simple black dress, elegant up-do, and red heels. Her makeup was light and perfectly done, if I had to say so myself. I went through her closet earlier with her and had styled her outfit and done her makeup. She had done her hair on her own after I’d finished.

  Mom smiled, looking down at her body. “Do you really think so? John hasn’t said anything about my outfit yet.”

  I rolled my eyes and smirked a little. She sounded like a teenage girl. “I really think so. He hasn’t had a chance to really look at you. He’s too busy making sure the twins are all set, even though he knows I know where everything is.”

  She let out a breathy laugh and nodded. “Thank you, honey. You’re right. I’m being crazy.” Then she straightened her dress and called out to John, asking if he was ready to go.

  John said yes as he turned the corner, carrying both of the twins in his arms. Taylor was gnawing on a teething ring, while Cammie was red-faced and frowning. I was just grateful she was
n’t crying anymore. As soon as John entered the room he froze in his tracks, staring directly at Mom. His eyes were practically bulging from his head, and I wouldn’t be surprised if his tongue unrolled from his mouth and landed on the floor.

  I glanced at Mom and winked at her—a silent version of, “I told you so.”

  “Wow. Chris, you look amazing,” he said after a moment. Then he stooped down and set the twins on the carpet. He didn’t take his eyes off of Mom once. It was too cute.

  “Thank you,” Mom said, blushing lightly. “You look very handsome too.”

  John thanked her and then checked his watch. After seeing what time it was, he went over the basics with me, and then the pair was off to dinner and a movie. Once they were gone, I took the twins back into the playroom so they weren’t around all of the boxes in the living room. I played with them for a while; blowing raspberries into Cammie’s tummy each time she looked on the verge of tears. She was so tired that she yawned after every other breath. Around eight o’clock, about an hour after Mom and John left, Taylor’s eyelids began to droop. I decided that it was time to put them to sleep, so I laid Taylor down so his head was in my lap while I rocked Cammie to sleep. Moments after their little eyes closed, my phone rang loudly in my pocket, waking them both up again.

  I practically screamed in annoyance when they both began crying as I opened my phone to answer it.

  “Hello?” I answered, my voice coming out frustrated.

  “Hey,” Shane answered. “Is this a bad time?”

  I sighed into the phone. “A little. I’m trying to get the twins to sleep.” He already knew that I was babysitting at John’s house tonight. I looked down at Taylor, who was screaming on my lap, and then at Cammie, who I was holding uncomfortably in my arm.

  “From the sounds of it, it seems like that task isn’t going too well.”

  “It’s not,” I groaned in response.