Unforgettable
Page 27
I touched my racing heart, letting out a deep breath. “Good thing you have quick reflexes.”
She giggled. “I couldn’t let you get hurt a second time.”
The bulky dude who had thrown the football sped past, and Elvira punched him in the arm. “Derek, you’re not supposed to throw in the halls.”
He glared down at her from his six-foot height. “I can do what I want. Besides, I was throwing the ball to my quarterback.”
I rolled my eyes upon learning that Train was a quarterback. I shouldn’t be stereotyping, but the girls at my last school had been all giddy over the quarterback, Deacon Shale. He didn’t have the drooling good looks Train had, but I would bet the girls in this school were gaga over the hunky football player. “Isn’t football reserved for the field?”
Derek raised a thick dark eyebrow. “You must be new in this school.”
Train stalked up with Austin, beaming at me. “Don’t pick on the new girl.”
I blushed. I never blush at a boy. I was mentally searching my body for the lust that should have been making me squeeze my thighs together rather than that mushy, swoony, heart-stopping feeling.
Austin’s brown gaze swept over my entire body. “Hey, cousin. Who’s your gorgeous friend?”
I mentally raised an eyebrow. No goose bumps, no butterflies, no lust with Austin, and he was gorgeous. Weird. Then my attention shifted to Train, whose gaze licked every part of my body. In my head, I broke out in hysterics as my damn skin tingled.
“This is Montana.” Train said my name with a heavier Southern drawl than before, and again, my body was leaning toward him, wanting him to read bedtime stories to me while his fingers did naughty things to my body.
Austin slapped his denim-covered leg. “Like Hannah Montana?”
The heat flushing through my body turned to a raging fire. I scratched my nose with my middle finger.
Austin lifted one white-blond eyebrow as Elvira swatted at him. “Leave my new friend alone.”
I could certainly handle my own battles, but I stuck out my chin a bit more, happy as my former cat when I’d scratched his ear that a person I barely knew had my back. Regardless, it was time for me to skedaddle. Bonding was great, but I wasn’t worried so much about Austin or anyone making the Hannah Montana reference as I was about Train and the urges I had to give him a sexual test-drive. I couldn’t risk any sip out of his fountain. With my luck, he would snag my heart and probably rip it out like Nikko had.
Just as I went to take a step, a loud bang tore through the hall, sounding as if a bomb had detonated. Chaos erupted. Girls screamed. Boys shouted. Doors slammed. Kids pushed one another. Teachers darted out of nearby classrooms, waving kids in. Like everyone else, I rushed to the nearest room, but I tripped over someone or something. I scurried to my feet only to be pushed down again by people running to get away. For fuck’s sake. I crawled in between people running in all directions, when a muscled arm, smelling like the ocean, wrapped around me, a hand clasping onto my boob. But I didn’t care where anyone touched me as long as I got out of harm’s way.
“In here,” Train said in my ear when I was upright.
Before I could protest or react, he was pushing me into the boys’ bathroom. As soon as we rushed in, the fire alarm trilled, jolting me back to life. Then a man’s voice blared from the overhead speakers in the hall. “This is not a drill. Head to the nearest exit in an orderly fashion.”
“Come on.” Train held out his hand. “It must be a fire.”
I hoped to hell it was just a fire and not some crazed kid who wanted to blow up the school. I slid my hand into his large, rugged, and protective one. When we emerged from the restroom, a faint smell of smoke made its way into my nostrils.
A sea of students paraded down the hall, their voices droning on as though nothing had happened. Then again, I shouldn’t have been freaking out. I attended a school in New York, where we’d had a few scares of students getting through security with guns and knives. One boy had even threatened a teacher with his gun.
“Something happened in the chemistry lab,” a girl in front of us said.
“You know the drill, people,” a deep male voice shouted ahead of us. “File out to the front lawn.”
I didn’t know the drill, and neither did my heart.
Students began to whisper. Others were texting and shuffling along with the group.
“Um, Montana.” Train’s syrupy Southern voice was medicine for my frayed nerves. “You don’t have to cut off my blood circulation. I kind of need my fingers to throw a football. Otherwise, Coach will have a coronary if I can’t play.”
“Aren’t you shitting your pants?” I asked.
“Not really. I’m a lifeguard. I can’t be scared when I’m saving lives.”
I let go of his hand. No one else seemed scared. So I shouldn’t be, either. “So a quarterback and a lifeguard?” I wouldn’t mind seeing him in swim trunks.
“Do you have a problem with that?” He sounded hurt.
“I bet you get all the girls.”
He leaned in. “Jealous?”
“You’re not my type.” Liar, liar, pants on fire.
He shook his head as we stepped out in the fresh humid air. I couldn’t tell what his reaction was. All I knew was my life wasn’t in danger… or maybe it was. Maybe Train would be the end of me.
BREAKING RULES
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Also by S.B. Alexander
To read samples and find out where to purchase all books visit: http://sbalexander.com.
The Maxwell Family Saga:
My Heart to Touch - Book 1
My Heart to Hold – Book 2
My Heart to Give – Book 3
My Heart to Keep - Book 4 (releasing late 2019)
The Maxwell Series:
Dare to Kiss - Book 1
Dare to Dream – Book 2
Dare to Love – Book 3
Dare to Dance - Book 4
Dare to Live - Book 5
Dare to Breathe - Book 6
The Maxwell Series Boxed Set – Books 1-3
The Maxwell Series Boxed Set - Books 4-6
Dare to Kiss Coloring Book Companion
The Hart Series:
Hart of Darkness
Hart of Vengeance - Coming Soon
Hart of Redemption - Coming Soon
Stand Alone Books
Breaking Rules
Rescuing Riley
The Vampire SEAL Series:
On the Edge of Humanity – Book 1
On the Edge of Eternity – Book 2
On the Edge of Destiny – Book 3
On the Edge of Misery - Book 4
On the Edge of Infinity - Book 5
The Vampire SEAL Collection - Boxed Set
Acknowledgments
Writing and publishing a book takes a village. But I couldn’t be more thankful to the one person who gives me the inspiration to do what I love—my husband. He’s been such a guiding light as he battles one of the worse diseases with no cure. He fills my heart with so much joy. He always has a smile on his face, he’s always laughing, and he’s always making sure I’m taken care of. He’s my angel. I couldn’t do this without him.
I’m also grateful to the team behind me who helps me every step of the way from my publicist, Ardent Prose, RedAdept Editing, my beta readers, my ARC team, my cover designer, Hang Le, and everyone in Maxwell Mania. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
A huge shout out to Christopher John at CJC Photography and his mad photography skills, and to the handsome Quinn Biddle and the gorgeous Jackie Coleman for making the cover come to life.
A big hug and mad love for
Kylie Sharp and Heather Carver. Love you gals.
Finally, to all the readers and bloggers around the world, thank you for taking a chance on me.