His face warmed by a dozen degrees when he saw Eve waiting for him in the same spot as yesterday, clutching her lunch bag in front of her, her eyes scanning the crowd, looking for him.
He sidled up and bumped shoulders with her. “Looking for someone?”
Eve’s face split in half, and her cheeks bloomed with color as she turned towards his voice. “Hi.” She sucked in her lips, her mind suddenly blank.
“So I was wondering, would you like to meet some of my friends today?”
“Sure! That would be great.” Eve was dreading the inquisition her friends were bound to put her through today, anyway. This would be a perfect excuse to avoid that.
“Let me just grab some food.”
Eve nodded and followed him to the lunch line.
“I had a really great time last night. Thanks for having me over.” Zeph dared a glance in her eyes. They were sparkling, and he took it as a good sign.
“Me too. Thanks for coming. My family really likes you.”
“You think so? I got the feeling your brothers weren’t impressed.” The scrape of his tray on the metal rail echoed the feeling of Alex and Andy’s menacing glare.
“No, they’re just not used to having another guy around. It intimidated them. But they asked me when you were coming over again, so I’m pretty sure you made a good impression.”
Zeph’s chest puffed a little, and he loosened his death grip on his tray. “What are you doing tomorrow? Would you like to hang out? You could come over to my place.”
Eve’s face dropped and Zeph’s heart followed. “I’d love to, but I have a Mathlete competition. Are you free in the evening instead?”
Zeph’s heart reinflated. “That’s okay. My mom actually wanted me to invite you to dinner.”
Eve’s grin returned like the sun peeking out from behind the clouds. “My turn to be under the family microscope, eh?”
“So, your competition — is that something I could watch?” Zeph asked, interested in anything that involved spending more time with her.
“Sure! I mean, if you want to. You’d probably be kind of bored, though.”
“You like it, right? There must be something fun about it.”
“I like math and the competition. It can get pretty intense sometimes.”
Zeph’s mind conjured up a team of athletes tromping into an auditorium, sporting thick eyeglasses and waving calculators, ready to engage in an epic math battle. “I’d like to see you battle it out. I can be your cheerleader.”
Eve giggled. “It’s not really much of a spectator sport, but you’re welcome to come if you’d like to.”
“Would you like me to?”
The thought of him watching was kind of intimidating, but Eve couldn’t resist the chance to spend more time with him. She gulped and nodded. “I’d love that.”
“Then I’ll be there. I’ll be the guy with the pompoms.”
Eve chuckled, and Zeph led the way towards his old lunch table where Maddock and Cheydan sat, staring eagerly.
“Eve, these are my friends, Maddock and Cheydan Engel.” Zeph pointed out each brother. He didn’t have any trouble telling them apart, but Eve might. “Cheydan is the one who dresses better.”
“Just because he doesn’t mind wasting his time ironing things.” Maddock rolled his eyes. “I have better things to do.”
“I would tease him about wasting his time doing stupid stuff instead, but he’s actually one of those do-gooders who spends all his free time volunteering at the soup kitchen.”
Maddock plucked at his crumpled shirt and shrugged. “Wrinkled clothes help me fit in better.”
Eve smiled. “That’s awesome. I’m Eve. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, too,” they echoed in unison, flashing their dimples.
Zeph instantly regretted introducing them. The Engel twins had so much more going for them than Zeph did. What if one of them appealed to Eve? He had no idea why she liked him in the first place. She could do so much better.
“So, what’d you two do last night?” Cheydan plucked a french fry off his brother’s tray, and Maddock slid it over to him.
“Zeph came over and watched Wings with me. Have you guys seen it?”
The twins nodded.
“Yeah, that’s really good. We watched it, too. Maybe next week we can all watch it together.”
Zeph made a face at Maddock.
Maddock wiggled his eyebrows and grinned. “Unless you two want to watch it alone.”
Eve ducked her head and let her hair hide her smile.
“So, who’s your favorite character, Eve?” Cheydan asked.
“Oh, I like them all, but I guess my favorite is the shy one with light brown hair.”
“You mean the one who looks like Zeph?” Maddock teased.
Zeph and Eve shared a blush. “I guess I didn’t notice that, but, yeah, that’s the one.”
“He kinda acts like Zeph, too, dontcha think? All quiet and sensitive and stuff.” Zeph wanted to strangle Maddock right about then.
“I think he’s mysterious.” Eve tilted her chin and winked at Zeph from the corner of her eyes. The Engel twins’ eyes went wild, bugging out and dancing between Zeph, Eve, and each other.
Zeph ignored them and turned the conversation to less embarrassing topics.
When the bell rang, Zeph waited a moment for the twins to walk away before cementing plans with Eve for the weekend.
“Thanks for inviting me, Zeph. Can I bring anything?” Eve reached out and grasped his hand. Her touch short-circuited his brain.
“No, just you will be great.”
Eve rewarded him with a thousand-watt smile before walking away.
Zeph watched her leave, her shiny hair swaying like a field of wheat just above her small waist.
Maddock returned to Zeph’s side, having noticed Eve’s exit while he emptied his tray. “Man, you’ve got it bad, don’t you?”
Zeph blinked and shook his head when Eve disappeared down the hallway. “Can you blame me?”
“I like her — she’s cute, and she stands up to me. Good catch, buddy.”
“Do you think she’s a Celestia?”
Maddock shrugged. “I’ve never seen her at the meeting. Is she new here?”
“No, I think she’s lived here all her life.”
“Then why wouldn’t her family go to the meetings if she’s a Celestia?” Maddock’s brow wrinkled in confusion.
“I think her dad was a Celestia, but he disappeared when she was a baby.”
Maddock dismissed the idea with a shake of his head. “A Celestia would never do that. Why do you think that? Did her mom say something to give you this idea?”
Zeph shook his head. “Her mom’s a human, and I’m not sure she has a clue.”
“I don’t get it, Zeph. What makes you so sure she’s a Celestia?”
Zeph stared in confusion at Maddock. Was he the only one that could see the difference between humans and Celestia?
Chapter 9
“Risse, what should I wear to a Mathlete competition?” Zeph hollered from his room as he shuffled through his closet, getting more nervous by the minute.
“Khakis and an oxford!” Risse yelled back.
Zeph walked through their shared, Jack-n-Jill bathroom and knocked on his sister’s door before opening it. “Which one?” He held up two dress shirts with a quizzical expression.
“Why are you going to a Mathlete competition?” Risse was sitting at her vanity, twining her long, blonde hair into a fancy braid, but she didn’t miss a beat at the interruption. Her fingers flew through her hair expertly, crisscrossing five different strands in a complicated pattern of her own creation.
“I’m going to watch Eve.” A wide smile softened his face as he spoke her name.
Risse returned the smile, happy to see her brother so excited. “The blue one brings out your eyes.”
He nodded and tossed the other shirt back towards his bedroom so he could put on the blue
one. “Eve’s coming over for dinner tonight. Will you be there to help me keep Mom and Dad under control?”
“You betcha.” She winked, then turned back to the mirror to check the braid.
Zeph thought about asking her what she was doing today, but he knew she’d start yammering on about stuff he didn’t care about, and he needed to leave in five minutes. Instead, he closed the door to her bedroom and checked out his reflection in the bathroom mirror.
The shirt really did make his eyes pop. He tucked it in neatly and ran a comb through his hair then spritzed on a squirt of the cologne Risse gave him for Christmas. He rarely bothered with it, but Eve always smelled so sweet, he thought she might appreciate it if he made a little effort. He popped a tiny whitehead next to his nose and checked out his complexion for any more blemishes, but thankfully the zit cream he borrowed from Risse was doing its duty. Satisfied that he looked as good as possible, he grabbed his phone and keys and headed downstairs.
The parking lot of the convention center was full of school vans, and teams of eager teenagers streamed from them in matching polo-shirt groups. Zeph parked and headed towards the entrance, wondering if he’d have trouble finding Eve in the melee. He didn’t have to worry long, though. She was standing at the front entrance, smiling and waving.
He almost didn’t recognize her dressed in a navy blue polo with the Indy High logo and a pair of khakis, but her bright copper locks caught a ray of sunshine and dazzled him for a moment.
“Hey Zeph, thanks for coming!” She reached out and gave him a hug, which surprised him so much he wasn’t sure what to do with his hands, so he just let them dangle. When she pulled away, he immediately missed the feel of her soft body pressed against his. He wanted to drop his head to hide the blush he knew had reddened his face, but her bright eyes caught his and he couldn’t break free of their hypnosis.
“Thanks for inviting me. I’ve never been to a Mathlete competition before. What’s it like?”
“Well, it’s sort of like a basketball bracket. Each team competes against another in a separate room, and the winners move up a level till there are only two teams left. Then they hold the final competition and everyone else watches.”
“How far does your team usually go?”
Eve shrugged nonchalantly. “We won last year.”
“First place?”
Eve grinned and nodded.
“That’s… amazing.” Zeph gulped, suddenly feeling like a complete loser. “There’s so many people here!”
“This is just a local competition.” Eve dismissed his astonishment. “We have a great group of people, and we work really well together. Come on, I’ll introduce you.” She grabbed his hand and led him through the crowd towards the large auditorium. Zeph followed in a daze, distracted by the warm softness surrounding his fingers. All this physical contact was sending his mind and body into a frenzy. Was it possible that Eve was really attracted to him? She sure was acting like it.
Mr. Volnar was standing with a group of kids Zeph recognized from school, including Eve’s science club friends — Tara, Reggie, Tyler, and Garrett. Even Rachel and Cameron were there, but in street clothes instead of the uniform polo. They all greeted him enthusiastically, and Zeph returned the hello.
“Zeph, it’s so cool that you came to watch today!” Tara grinned at him and winked at Eve. Eve blushed a little and squeezed the hand she still held.
“You thinking ‘bout joining the team, dude?” asked Reggie. His polo shirt stretched tight across his wide shoulders, too short to tuck in, and his feet were shod in neon orange and green sneakers.
“Uh, no, I, uh, I just came to watch Eve…” Zeph stammered.
“Are you two going out now or something?” Garrett’s eyes bugged out at their entwined fingers.
Zeph glanced at Eve for any signs of disagreement before nodding. “I guess you could say that.”
A broad, white smile split Reggie’s dark face, and he clapped Zeph on the back with a giant hand. “That’s my man. Gotta go where the ladies are!” Reggie laughed at his own joke, and the rest of the group tittered.
“Worked for me.” Tyler smirked and threw an arm around Tara.
The emcee took the stage before Zeph had much more chance to talk to anyone, but the speaker only spent a few minutes going over the format of the day’s proceedings before dismissing them to their first round of competition.
“I want Reggie, David, Tyler, and Samantha up first,” Mr. Volnar said after giving the team a pep talk.
“Good, that means I can sit with you for the first round,” Eve whispered.
Their group moved en masse towards the location listed on their competition sheet, nervously chattering. The room held two tables, each decorated with notepads, pencils, and a buzzer centerpiece. A computer-synced projector shone the competition logo on a large screen in front of the tables.
The starting team members took their spots at the table, and the rest of the group settled into folding chairs set up behind them. Eve led Zeph to a spot in the back row and encouraged Rachel and Cameron to join them.
“When the round starts, they’ll put a math problem up on the screen, and the teams will work to complete it. When you think you have the answer, you hit the buzzer. If you’re right, you earn the points, but if you’re wrong, the other team gets a chance to steal,” Eve explained to the three visitors.
“If no one buzzes in before the timer runs out, the question gets forfeited. The audience isn’t allowed to talk during the round. We usually try to answer the questions on our own — for practice.” She held up a pink notebook decorated with yellow daisies.
The quizmaster took his place at the podium, and Eve’s team leaned together for a fist bump. “Mathletes unite!” Garrett yelped, thrusting his other hand in the air before plopping down into his seat at the table, his leg jiggling rapidly.
“How much caffeine does that kid ingest in the morning?” Zeph whispered.
Eve giggled. “This is as calm as he gets. He’s addicted to Mountain Dew, but he’s not allowed to drink any on competition days.”
“I think somebody ought to give him a sedative.”
When the first question lit the screen, Eve dipped her head and started scribbling in her notebook. In a few seconds, she had written her answer on the paper and circled it, long before anyone hit the buzzer. Indy High took the first points, and Eve made a neat checkmark next to her answer. Zeph nudged her and gave a warm smile when she looked up at him. The next several questions went the same way until Zeph was thoroughly impressed by Eve’s prowess.
“You’re so much faster than the rest of your team. When are they going to put you in?” Zeph whispered at the second time out of the round.
“Eve’s the secret weapon,” Tara explained, her plain face lighting up. “They put her in at the end if the score is close, and she always starts when we get to the final round. She blows the other team out of the water so fast, they never have a chance to catch up!”
Zeph quirked an eyebrow at Eve, who dropped her head and ran a fingernail down the seam of her pant leg. “So, what you’re saying is, my girlfriend is a superstar in the math world?” As soon as the words left his mouth, Zeph’s heart clenched in panic, and sweat sprouted from his forehead. Just because Eve had agreed to a few dates didn’t mean she considered them a couple!
Eve’s insides bubbled up like a shaken can of soda, and the corners of a wide smile peeked out of her cheeks, but it wasn’t just the compliment that inspired it. It was the word ‘girlfriend.’
“Total rockstar.” Tara nodded, winking at Eve. The ‘girlfriend’ comment hadn’t escaped her, either.
The Indy High team had no problem winning the first round, even without Eve, so she stayed on the bench next to Zeph, working the problems in her notebook and resisting the urge to draw hearts and flowers. Zeph leaned over her shoulder, seemingly content to watch her.
They won two more rounds before they broke for lunch, and Zeph was surprised at how qui
ckly the time went. He wasn’t exactly a fan of math, but it was kind of exciting to watch the teams competing, especially when Eve got to participate. She led the team with quiet grace, effortlessly working the problems in her notebook and holding up her answers to her teammates. She always let someone else on her team hit the buzzer.
“Who’s up for tacos?” Tyler asked as their team straggled out of the room, stretching their arms and legs exaggeratedly.
“No!” cried a chorus of voices, and Zeph looked at Eve with a silent question.
“Tyler gets a little gassy when he eats Mexican food,” Eve whispered.
“A little? He stink-bombed the whole auditorium at the last meet!” Reggie bellowed.
They tossed lunch ideas back and forth for a few minutes before deciding on Dairy Queen. Garrett insisted he needed ice cream if he couldn’t have soda.
“So, what do you guys think? You wanna join the team?” Tara asked the spectators — Zeph, Rachel, and Cameron. The three exchanged incredulous glances.
“I couldn’t do half those problems with a calculator, let alone a paper and pencil!” Cameron admitted, twisting his face in a caricature.
Zeph didn’t think Cameron had paid attention to even one question. He and Rachel had spent the whole morning cozied up together in the back row, touching and whispering and making googly eyes at one another. Zeph couldn’t help but envy them a little. They seemed like soulmates.
He glanced at Eve, admiring her long, titian hair and her smooth, pale skin that looked like porcelain. Her curves were slight but still soft, and her face shone with a feminine gentleness, like a painting of the Madonna. She exuded a grace and humbleness that made Zeph want to worship in her presence.
Rachel might have been considered more traditionally beautiful, with wavy blond hair and a model figure, but it was Eve that sent electricity coursing through Zeph’s body, making the nerve endings spark with static from his desire to be close to her. If Eve could care for him even half as much as he did for her, he would stay with her forever.
Eve felt his gaze and tilted her head to peek at him from around the curtain of hair that hung past her shoulders. In a sudden burst of braveness, Zeph held out his hand and she took it, giving a little squeeze that set off a chain reaction of emotions.
Date with Destiny Collection: Angel Romance Series: Books 1 - 4 Page 6
