Her insides tingled. Since the hallway was empty she gave him a quick kiss on the lips. “I’ll see you in History.”
“I’d like to see your house.”
Harrison’s random comment brought Gemma to a screeching halt. “What?”
“Your house. I’d like to go there sometime.”
“Why?”
He reached for her hand and ran his thumb over her knuckles. “So I can picture you in it.”
The tingling grew to a warm glow. “I guess I have seen yours.” She grinned then bit her cheek and looked to the floor. “My dad’s away and Mom’s working this afternoon. If we leave straight after school…”
Harrison kissed her.
“You two have thirty seconds to get to class or I’m issuing detentions.” The stern voice of Mr. Clark pulled them apart and had them scooting in opposite directions. Gemma glanced back at Harrison’s quickly retreating form. The idea of showing him around her place was a little scary, but…
He wants to picture me there!
Holding in her giddy sigh, she glided to her seat and sat down with a dreamy smile.
*****
Harrison parked his car three blocks from Gemma’s house then jumped on the back of her bike. He wasn’t sure why he wanted to see her house so badly. It’s not like he was expecting time spirit memorabilia—if there was such a thing—to be openly displayed. He was just intrigued. The more he learned about Gemma, the more he liked her. The idea of picturing exactly where she was when she was sneaking him a text message was somewhat tantalizing.
A few minutes later, they were passing through two huge gates. Gemma pulled the bike around the circular driveway and parked alongside the ornate water feature. Harrison had been expecting nice, but he was almost intimidated gazing up at the palatial home.
“I know. It’s ridiculous.” Gemma half-grinned as she took Harrison’s hand and pulled him through the stunning Japanese-style gardens around to the back door of the garage. She unlocked the door and paused just inside to listen for any noise. Harrison noticed the four-car garage was empty and figured they were alone, but Gemma still treaded cautiously as they crept through the internal access door.
They padded down the tiled hall and stopped in the archway of the modern kitchen. It was twice the size of his kitchen. The island in the middle was the same size as their dining room table.
“Do you want a drink?” Gemma shoved her hands in the back pockets of her jeans and rolled onto the sides of her feet.
Harrison smiled and shook his head. “Just a tour’s fine.”
“Okay.” She grinned. “Well, this is the kitchen and the dining room is through here.” She pointed and led him through the adjacent archway and into an elegant dining room with a beautifully carved ten-seater table. Everything looked expensive. It was a far cry from the mish mash of furniture he had at his place.
They continued the tour, through the front entranceway with the chandelier and up the sweeping staircase to the bedrooms. The first room she showed him housed a mammoth TV and enough equipment to fulfill every entertainment need. His mouth dropped open as he eyed the two walls of DVDs.
“Dom, the movie buff.”
Harrison nodded mutely before being dragged into the biggest bathroom he’d ever seen. As he went from one astonishment to another, he noticed Gemma’s agitation grow. The tour became quicker and it wasn’t until he forced her to stop outside the next door that he found out what she was thinking.
“You think this place is really ostentatious, don’t you?”
“No.” Harrison rubbed the base of Gemma’s back. “Just different.”
“They like nice stuff. It’s always got to be the best, you know?”
He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “This house is amazing, Gem. I think it’s great.”
“Yeah, but it doesn’t have the same cozy home feel as your place, does it?”
Harrison swallowed down the resounding yes and cleared his throat with a grin. “It’s yours and I can picture you here. Thanks for showing me around.”
Gemma nodded with a nervous smile and pointed at the next door.
“My room.” She turned the handle and led him inside.
A slow smile worked across his face as he studied the finely crafted furniture. The walls were a soft mauve, her bed cover deep purple. The pictures on the walls were ornately framed. He inspected the various fun-filled shots of Ruby and Dom along with the formal family photo. He deduced Gemma must have been around twelve in the photo. She was beautiful then too. He shone her a smile, which made her promptly blush.
“Your skin is a lot darker than the rest of your family.”
“I know, apparently there’s some Navajo in our history. Managed to skip all of them and land on me.”
Harrison wondered why she sounded disappointed. She had the look of a super model and she didn’t even know it.
She watched him slowly peruse her room, biting her cheek and fidgeting with her fingers.
He leaned against the large wooden desk in the corner. “I like your room.”
Her smile was adorable. “I text you from in the closet.” She walked past him and opened the door, revealing a huge walk-in wardrobe. “Just under here.” She pointed to the back corner. “I have to lock the bathroom door in case Ruby waltzes in, but she wouldn’t care. She’s helped me keep you a secret so far.”
“It doesn’t bother her?”
“Well she can hardly talk. She’s practically dated every senior in the school.” Gemma’s nose wrinkled. “Although she’d probably flip if she knew how I felt. She’s always going on about keeping things casual and light. I don’t know if I can do that with you.”
Gemma turned beet red as she suddenly registered the words coming out of her mouth.
He chuckled softly at her mortification and drew her back into the room.
“Come on, there’s one more room I want to show you.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him down the main stairs, through the games room into what looked like a closet. She flicked on the light, revealing a second door with a keypad. She put in the combination and the door clicked open.
They wallked down a narrow staircase and into a huge room that looked to be the same size as the ground floor of his house. To one side was a complete set of gym equipment. In the center of the room was a raised platform with padded flooring. Glass cupboards lined the walls and held every weapon from long swords to rapiers, bows and arrows, through to 18th Century pistols.
“Whoa.” Harrison moved to inspect the contents. “This is amazing! Where’d you get all this stuff?”
Gemma shrugged, grabbing the key and unlocking the cupboard so he could inspect a medieval bow more closely. “Dad’s spent his life hunting it down. Before we were born he used to travel back, find what he needed, and store it somewhere safe so he could dig it up years later.”
“How often do you train?” Harrison gently lifted the bow and pulled the string back.
“Every weekend, unless Mom and Dad are away. We spend the first half of the morning on hand-to-hand combat and the second half on weaponry.”
Harrison shook his head. He couldn’t have found words if he’d tried.
“Anyway.” Gemma took the bow from him and gently replaced it. “I brought you here for practice. Take off your shoes and jump up here.” She slapped the padded platform.
He did as commanded. She then went about working his sorry ass until he was sweating.
Punching.
Kicking.
Blocking.
Repetitive drills.
Corrections.
He braced his hands on his knees and watched droplets form on the ends of his hair as he panted.
“That was good.” Gemma slapped his back. “Let’s do it again.” She stood straight and walked back to her position.
“Let’s not.” He ran toward her and tackled her to the ground. She let out a yelp and began to laugh as she shuffled beneath him. He pinned her arms to the floor.
“Harri
son, get off me.”
“In a minute.” He gazed into her eyes for a long moment before kissing her.
The slow fire simmered along his lips then down through his body as he drew her deeper into the kiss. Running his fingers down her body, he tucked them underneath her shirt and ran his hands up her smooth flesh. The fire raced down his arms. Gemma ran her fingers into his hair, grasping a handful as she sank into his kiss. Harrison’s body felt like it was flaming blue as his thoughts jumped to places he wanted to go with this girl. His mind warned him they should stop now or he might not be able to control himself.
Were they ready for this? His body screamed a very firm yes, but…
“Gemma? You’re home early. Where are you sweetheart?”
They jumped apart as if electrocuted.
Gemma’s eyes were as wide as saucers. She roughly shoved Harrison toward the gym equipment. Pushing him onto his stomach behind the treadmill, she ordered him not to move as she threw on a pair of boxing gloves. He tried to slow his breathing as he listened to Gemma pound the bag with venom.
“Gemma?” He heard a female voice followed by the quick clip of heels on stairs.
“Oh, hey, Mom.”
Harrison could hear the nervous twitter in her voice. He hoped her mother didn’t notice it.
Part of him wanted to stand tall and reveal all. He hated the thought of Gemma battling this out on her own, but hated the thought of being screamed from the house even more. Who knew what kind of restrictions her parents may enforce if they knew the truth.
“What are you doing home so early? I thought you were studying with Courtney this afternoon.”
“Yeah. She had to cancel.” Gemma sighed. “I thought I might as well come home. Aren’t you supposed to be at work?”
“Yes. I just forgot my phone.”
There was a horrible pause.
Harrison watched a drop of his sweat hit the concrete floor and prayed her mother didn’t have super sonic hearing. He could almost picture Mrs. Hart sniffing the air as her suspicions grew.
Don’t bite your cheek, Gem. Just stay cool.
“Are you okay, Mom?”
“I’m just wondering why you’re down here working out in school clothes instead of upstairs doing your homework.”
“Oh.” Gemma’s laughter sounded forced. “I… I just felt like burning off some energy. Sorry, I know I should have gotten changed first.”
“Yes, well clothes can be washed, but still, Gemma, you know the rules?”
“I know, I know.” Harrison heard the ripping of velcro as Gemma took off her gloves. “I’ll go change.”
“No, it’s okay. Just five more minutes then I want you upstairs, showered and hitting the books.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Another long pause.
“And if you’re home for the night you should park your bike in the garage.”
“Oh, I will, um, I just thought I might go for a ride later…if I finish my homework in time. Is that okay?”
“A workout, homework, and a bike ride? Aren’t you trying to fit a little too much in?”
“I guess.”
“Make sure you’re home for dinner with the twins. I have patient testing then a meeting. I should be home by nine.”
“Okay. Hope it goes well.”
“Me too. Love you, sweetie.”
“Love you, Mom.”
The air went very still as Mrs. Hart clipped up the stairs and shut the door. He stayed lying down for a few moments more then slowly stood up, checking for sounds upstairs.
Gemma was frozen in place, staring at the wall.
“Hey.” Harrison slid his hand down her back, making her jump. “That was close.”
“I shouldn’t have brought you here.”
“Gem?”
“You can’t come here again. Ever. If she caught you…” Gemma shook her head. “There… They can’t know. It’ll be over if they know.”
“I understand.” Harrison kept rubbing her back, trying to ease the waves of nervous tension radiating from her body. The pale face and cheek chewing had him worried. “Gemma, maybe we should just tell them, get this out—”
“I can’t. I can’t do it.” Her body was so taut he thought her muscles might snap.
“I’m sorry to put you in this position. I know you hate lying.”
She let out a big sigh, her shoulders drooping as her eyes studied the floor.
After what seemed an age, she looked up at him with a soft smile. “You’re worth it.”
Her kiss was tender. Harrison held her face and relished the feeling. They had been official for just under a month and it was enough to solidify the welling feeling inside of him. He knew it was ridiculous to fall for someone so quickly. He knew he was playing with fire. But he’d rather get burned with Gemma than freeze without her.
Chapter Seventeen
St. Augustine, Florida - 2011 AD
Gemma stood in the doorway of the library pondering the new phenomena in her life. One, she had an amazing boyfriend who, after two and a half months, still looked at her as though she were the most precious jewel on earth.
Two, in spite of the news spreading like a bush fire at school, she was managing to keep it all under wraps at home. Her biggest fears were not being met and it was a pleasant surprise. Her mother was so relieved she had a friend that Gemma was able to avoid the third degree whenever she got home late.
The third phenomenon, and the most bizarre in her opinion, was the fact that she had managed to strike up a real friendship with Darren and Courtney, who incidentally started dating after their first Friday night movie.
Courtney had kept up her smiles and small offers of friendship, finally breaking Gemma’s shell. They had lunch together almost every day now in the cafeteria, and they hung out on weekends too. They had been to the movies three times, even once on their own when the boys had both been busy. Gemma had been so nervous about the event she had nearly chickened out a couple of times, but Harrison said he’d be really disappointed if she didn’t go, so she did…and she’d had a totally fun time. Courtney was sweet, occasionally ditzy, and very easy to be around. She was always content with Gemma’s vague answers, which was perfect.
Gemma caught the small hand waving at her as she walked further into the library. A natural grin stretched over her face as she approached the group.
“Hey, guys.” She dumped her books on the table and slid into the seat next to Harrison.
“What took you so long?” He kissed her nose in greeting.
“I had to go to the bathroom.” She shot him a quick wink, letting him know that this time was, in fact, just a normal bathroom break.
Pulling her books toward her, she shuffled through the pages, looking for her notes. Mr. Lomax had landed them with a huge assignment leading up to the end of the semester. Most of the class had groaned; Harrison’s eyes had lit with excitement and Gemma’s stomach had dropped with fear.
The task was to build an intricate family tree, tracing back as far through their personal genealogy as possible and to then choose an interesting ancestor to write a full report on.
Harrison had thrown himself into the task and after much cajoling finally got out of Gemma that she didn’t know much about her family history and was afraid to investigate. The subject was always a little taboo in their house for some reason and with Gemma already treading on eggshells to keep her school life hidden, she didn’t want to make any waves. When she had casually mentioned the assignment to her parents, their faces had blanched and her mother had walked toward the phone chattering on about how she would call Mr. Lomax and get her out of the task. Gemma was mortified and after much discussion they had decided it was safer for her just to make something up, so she was currently compiling a list of people in history that could possibly be related to her.
“I can’t believe my great-great-great-grandfather was a bank robber.” Harrison slumped back in his seat with a sigh.
“Aren’t
you more mortified that your great-great-great-grandmother was a saloon girl.” Courtney put it delicately, making Gemma giggle.
Darren rolled his eyes. “I can’t believe you’ve traced your family history back that far. You’re making me look bad, Granger.”
“Well, my mother’s side has been relatively easy to trace. Besides, it’s interesting.”
“Geek,” Darren mumbled.
“Are you going to do your report on…” Gemma leaned over his notes. “Wallace 'Coyote' Granger, wanted dead or alive?”
He shot her a dry look. “I haven’t decided yet.”
“I think he sounds interesting.”
“I think you should do it on your great-great-great-grandmother.” Darren’s eyebrows wiggled up and down.
“I think you should concentrate on your own work.” Courtney gave him a quick slap on the arm.
Gemma choked down her laughter as she watched the interplay. She didn’t realize having friends could be so much fun. She never thought it would be possible, but Harrison made her feel so safe that she never needed to worry about letting her secret slip or being embarrassed about her quick departures. He was always there to cover for her and made it look so innocent and natural that she almost believed him.
A warm hand slid over her knee and rested on her thigh. She felt the sparks fly up her body. She glanced at her boyfriend. With his free hand he continued writing his notes, his eyes flicking from old newspaper clippings he had printed to the assignment sheet from Mr. Lomax.
His incessant need to always be touching her, even in the smallest way, was a huge bonus Gemma hadn’t expected. They still hadn’t slept together and if she was honest Gemma felt relieved, she wasn’t quite ready for that step in spite of the fact she could sometimes devour her boyfriend. They couldn’t seem to get enough of each other.
They had both found excuses to do their homework together at school before heading home at night. Gemma had made dinner at Harrison’s place a weekly event and the weekends were now filled with trips to nearby National Parks and long drives in the Stingray. Harrison was still trying to wrangle the keys to the Ducati, but she hadn’t relented yet. She wasn’t quite ready to see someone else speeding down the highway on her baby. Harrison was playing mean and not letting her drive his car either so they remained at an impasse. She wondered who would break first.
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