Bound by Earth: The Nature Hunters Academy Series, Book 1

by Quinn Loftis

  Tara blew out a breath and resettled herself into her water cocoon. There was no point in trying to dissect his words. He either would answer any questions she asked or he wouldn’t. Life would go on, though it might be less exciting and intriguing if Elias didn’t answer her curiosities.

  It wasn’t long before she slipped off to sleep. Her mind was drifting peacefully until she woke with a start, her teeth beginning to chatter. The water had turned frigid. She pulled the plug and climbed quickly from the tub. After blow drying her hair, she was sweating and felt like she needed a cold shower to get clean again. Sometimes, being a chick sucked.

  She went into her room, turned her ceiling fan on high, and then laid on her bed, letting the cool air caress her skin. Her phone chimed and Tara glanced at the screen. She swiped open the message from Shelly.

  You’re not getting cold feet are you?

  Tara rolled her eyes and responded. It’s a dance, not a wedding.

  Not the point. The point is that you don’t want to go.

  You’re not wrong. But for you, I will.

  Shelly sent her a smiley face emoji followed by a heart.

  Don’t go getting all sentimental on me.

  Right. My bad. Here. She added a hand emoji that was flipping her off and then a meme of a girl bowing and ‘You’re welcome’ written over her head.

  Tara grinned. That’s more like it. Now leave me alone so I can finish getting ready.

  Fine. See you soon, you epidermis-selling woman of the night.

  Tara set the phone back down and began applying her makeup. When she was done, she shrugged at herself in the mirror. She wasn’t going to win any beauty contests, but she didn’t look like a clown, so that had to count for something.

  Her phone chimed again with a text from Carol telling her she had to work a double again. It seemed like Carol was working doubles more and more. Tara hated that Carol worked so much but also knew that she felt real responsibility toward her patients. If they said there wasn’t a nurse to come in and take care of them, then her foster mom would be the first in line to volunteer. That’s just the kind of person she was. It was why she had taken Tara, and so many other kids before her, in.

  Tara sent a quick text to Elias.

  I’ll send you pics of me and Shelly in our dresses. Please be safe and have a good night.

  When she glanced at the time on her phone, she realized it was already seven o’clock. Apparently, her little nap in the tub had been a bit longer than she’d first thought.

  Tossing the phone down, she headed for the closet and plucked the dress off the door. She removed it from the hanger and then slipped it over her head. Just as it had in the dressing room, it slipped down her body like a glove, molding to her form. The material was cool and instantly made her feel more feminine. Next, she pulled out her shoes and put them on. They made her two inches taller, but that was as ambitious as she dared to get with the height of the heels. The finishing touch was the earrings. They were simple diamond teardrops. She put them in her ears and then stepped in front of the full-length mirror hanging on the inside of her closet door. She’d left her hair down after blow drying it. The natural brown waves were shiny and flowed around her shoulders. Overall, the dress and her appearance were simple, but elegant. She liked it … a lot.

  She still had ten minutes until Shelly was due to arrive, so she figured she’d better get some food in her so she didn’t get cranky. Just as she finished the last bite of a sandwich, the front deadbolt turned. Tara headed for the front door and reached it just as Shelly pushed it open, key in hand.

  “Could you at least holler through the door as you’re unlocking it so I know it’s you and not some person trying to pick the lock and break in?”

  “It’s Buffalo freaking Kentucky,” Shelly said. “Who’s going to break into your house and why? To read your diary?”

  “No, I’m sure you’ve posted that all over social media. No one needs to break in here to get to it.”

  “Puulease, you know me better than that. I wouldn’t just give that stuff away for free. You write money-worthy stories in that book of yours. I’m going to make bank on it before I’ll just let any Joe Blow read it.”

  “Glad to know you have my best interest at heart,” Tara said flatly.

  “Always.” Shelly smiled. “Oh, and wow, you look beautiful.” She pulled out her phone and snapped a few quick pics of Tara and then waddled over in her ridiculously high heels. She held the phone out in front of them and said, “Smile for the selfie.”

  They both smiled at the camera and leaned their heads toward each other. Tara forced herself to ignore the fact that it looked like she was laying her head on Shelly’s boob because that’s where she reached her BFFF who was apparently wearing stilts for her shoes.

  “There,” Shelly said as she stared down at her phone. “I just texted you those pictures so you can send some to Carol.”

  Tara laughed. “She texted you to remind me, didn’t she?”

  “She knows you too well. You aren’t about to whip out your own phone and go selfie crazy. So, yes, she contacted the only one in this duo who happens to like dressing up and getting her picture taken.”

  “For your information, I did tell Carol I would send her some pictures of us in our dresses.”

  “That may be, but what you didn’t tell her, and what she already knew, was that you were lying. Now”—Shelly slipped her phone in the small little purse she carried-—“Let’s blow this popsicle stand. My feet are itching to move, and my hips are ready to groove.”

  “Don’t ever say that again,” Tara warned as she grabbed her phone. She didn’t bother with a purse or money. They were just going to the school and would be coming straight home afterward so she really didn’t need anything else.

  Tara’s phone chimed on the way. She looked at it, hoping it was Elias regardless of the fact that she’d gotten to talk to him only a little while ago. It was Tucker.

  I’m already inside when you get here.

  He was probably wondering if she’d stood him up, considering the prom had started over half an hour ago.

  We should be there in a few minutes. She texted back.

  “Tucker is already there,” Tara told Shelly.

  “Did he think you’d ditched him?”

  “He didn’t say as much. But he said he was already inside. Maybe that was his way of asking if I was still coming without really asking.”

  Shelly nodded. “Probably.”

  “Elias called me after school,” Tara said.

  Shelly’s head whipped around as she turned into the school parking lot. “Seriously?”

  “Yep.”

  “And what did mister curious-ass-cat have to say?”

  “He’s not an ass cat.”

  “For now. I’m sure he’ll do something at some point that will once again make him an ass cat. There’s no reason to remove the once deserved title so hastily.”

  Tara shook her head at her friend. Not that Shelly was wrong. Everyone was an ass cat at one point or another.

  “So what did he have to say?” Shelly asked again. She parked the car and cut the ignition.

  “Honestly, I think the whole point of the phone call was to convince me not to slow dance with Tucker.”

  “What?” Shelly laughed. “Dude has got it bad if he’s off on some work emergency— which, damn, that’s a long emergency, by the way—and is so concerned about you falling for another guy that he has to stop his work emergency and call you to ask you not to slow dance with him.”

  Tara nodded. “But I didn’t give him what he wanted for free.”

  “Oh my, do tell.” Shelly purred.

  “I told him that for every slow dance I turn down, he has to answer any question I ask, completely honestly.”

  Shelly’s eyes widened as she tipped her head at Tara. “Well played, Ms. Thompson. Well played indeed.”

  “I thought so. All right, ready?” Tara asked as she pushed her door open
.

  “I’ve been trying to get you to go to a school dance for four years. Hell yes, I’m ready.”

  “You could have gone without me,” Tara pointed out as they both shut their doors and headed for the gymnasium.

  “Batman doesn’t fight battles without Robin, and Piglet doesn’t stutter without Tigger. Why would I go to a dance without you?”

  “Okay, I get the whole Batman and Robin connection, but what does Piglet’s stutter have to do with Tigger?” Tara asked.

  Shelly scoffed. “Piglet only has a stutter because of Tigger. Tigger’s always bouncing off the freaking walls, literally, and all his motion makes Piglet nervous. Hence the stutter.”

  “Oddly, that isn’t crazy.”

  “My mom says even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while.” Shelly grinned and pointed at Tara. “Blind squirrel”—then she pointed at herself—“meet nut.”

  Tara snorted out a laugh. “Got that right.” She pulled open the gym door. The laughter and music assaulted them.

  “Sounds like people are getting their dance on,” Shelly practically sang as she walked into the building. Tara followed behind and forced herself to keep her arms down at her sides instead of folding them in front of herself. She wasn’t self-conscious, but she’d never worn anything like the dress she currently had on. As they moved deeper into the gym, despite the dark interior, she felt eyes on her.

  “I can’t believe this is our gym,” Shelly said as she turned in a circle, her eyes bouncing from one corner to the next, taking in all of the decorations. “It’s remarkable.”

  Tara had to agree. Huge backdrops bearing pictures of various cities’ skylines covered the gym’s concrete walls, and hundreds of gold, glittering balloons floated against the ceiling.

  “Wow! You look incredible.” Tucker said as his hands landed on her shoulders and turned her toward him.

  “Thank you,” Tara said as she looked him up and down. A black tux hugged his muscular body. His hair was combed and gelled to perfection, and his eyes glowed with excitement. He looked good.

  “You look handsome yourself,” she replied.

  Tucker’s lips turned up in a smile, taking his boyish good looks to roguishly handsome. “Thank you.” He turned to Shelly, took her hand, and pressed a quick kiss to the top. “You look beautiful, as well, Ms. Smith.”

  Shelly expertly batted her eyelashes at him. “Flattery will get you a dance, and I love to dance, so, do please keep going.”

  Tucker threw back his head and laughed. Had he always looked this handsome when he laughed? He motioned to someone, and Tara turned to see two guys she didn’t recognize walking toward them.

  “Who are they?” Shelly asked. At the same time, Tara said, “Do they go to our school?”

  “No,” Tucker answered and then added, “This is Seth and Hayden. They’re two family friends who live a couple towns over.”

  “Welcome to Buffalo,” Shelly said, shaking their hands. “Nice to meet you.”

  Both guys watched Tara with a little more intensity than was comfortable so she turned away from their stares and motioned to the table with punch and snacks. “Want to grab a drink?” she asked Shelly.

  Shelly must have noticed the weird stares because she nodded and grabbed Tara’s hand. “We’ll be right back, Tuck. Hold our spot on the floor for us.”

  Tara let Shelly pull her along beside her and didn’t speak until they were across the room from the three guys.

  “Was there something off about those two?” Tara asked.

  “If by off you mean, want them a piece of Tara pie, then yes. There was something off.”

  “Eww,” Tara’s face scrunched up and she shook her head. “Don’t ever refer to me as a piece of Tara pie again.”

  “You know,” Shelly said around a bite of brownie, “there’s getting to be a whole lot of don’t-ever rules in this relationship. I’m beginning to feel my creative put-downs being stifled.”

  “God forbid your insult creativity be stifled,” she said dryly.

  “It’s a rull threaft,” Shelly said, her mouth now full of brownie. She swallowed. “Take away a girl’s ability to get creative when she insults her BFFF and what does she have left?” Another bite of brownie.

  “The potential for a healthy relationship?” Tara shrugged.

  Shelly’s mouth fell open in shock, and a piece of brownie fell out.

  “How dare you try and shove healthy relationship changes down my throat when I’m trying to make sure that the weird one stays true.” The outrage was fake, and the stifled laughter at the brownie particles flying out of her mouth didn’t help things. Before long, Shelly was laughing as Tara shoved napkins at her and apologized to those standing too close who were splattered with brownie debris.

  “Wow, that was a delicious brownie,” Shelly said with a sigh once she’d finally controlled herself.

  “Are you sure you could tell? You spit most of it all over the floor and your fellow students.”

  “Meh, they probably deserved it.”

  “A couple of them definitely did,” Tara agreed.

  “I don’t think we can stall any longer. Tucker and his cronies are headed this way,” Shelly said.

  Just then, a popular pop song came out of the D.J.’s speakers, and the people in the gym went crazy.

  “Perfect,” Shelly said as she smiled and looked over at Tucker and his friends. “This is an awesome song! Let’s dance.”

  Tucker grabbed Tara’s hand before Shelly could and pulled her to the dance floor. Tara looked over her shoulder and saw that Seth had offered Shelly his arm and was leading her to the dance floor as well. Hayden had turned to a girl who was walking by and asked her a question as he motioned to the dance floor. She smiled and nodded and then they, too, were headed to dance.

  Thankfully, the song was much too fast to attempt any sort of slow dancing. Not even the awkward kind people who were desperate to touch tried. Once Shelly had caught up to them with her dance partner, she forced them into a group-dancing situation that worked quite well at keeping Tucker and Tara from getting too close. Tara found herself laughing at Shelly’s self-proclaimed Tucker deterrent and wondered why her BFFF was taking the job so seriously.

  They danced that way for three songs. But the next song was considerably slower. Of course, Tucker wanted to keep going, but Tara was out of breath and thirsty. So, she didn’t feel rude declining his offer to stay on the dance floor. They all walked over to the snack table and each got a glass of punch.

  “Why don’t we go take a seat over there?” Tucker pointed to an empty table farthest from the D.J. booth.

  Tara nodded, and Shelly bebopped along beside her talking to Seth.

  “You’re a fantastic dancer,” Tucker told Tara as he pulled out a seat for her.

  “Thanks.” She sat and took a drink of the punch. “You’re not too bad yourself.” Tara turned when she felt a nudge on her right shoulder and saw that Shelly was holding Tara’s phone. She had given it to Shelly to put in her purse when they’d been walking inside. Tara took the phone and looked at the screen. She’d received a text from her curious ass cat.

  You look stunning. I have decided there should be no dancing of any kind, anywhere, especially in a dark building set up to be romantic.

  Tara smiled. But then frowned. How in the world did he know what she looked like? She tried to surreptitiously glance around the dark room but must have looked ridiculous because Shelly leaned over and bumped her shoulder with her own. “He’s not here, you dork,” she whispered. “I sent him your picture.”

  Tara’s mouth dropped open, but she quickly snapped it shut. “You did what?” Tara asked her friend as she narrowed her eyes one Shelly. Tara could feel Tucker’s attention, but she didn’t turn to look at him. “How did you get his number?” She was trying to keep her words low but didn’t know if she was being successful.

  “He texted me.”

  This time when Tara’s mouth dropped open, it
did not shut back on its own. Mostly because she couldn’t believe what she was feeling. She was jealous. She was jealous because Elias texted Shelly. That was just wrong. Of all the people in the world who might betray her, Shelly was not on that list. Letting that realization set in, Tara finally closed her mouth.

  “He said he got my number from the personality test,” Shelly explained.

  “What did he say when he texted you?” Tara asked, though it was out of curiosity this time and not jealousy.

  “It was really sweet, T,” she said, her eyes softening. “He said he realized it was crazy but that he had very deep feelings for you and he was worried about losing you to Tucker. He asked me to make sure he had a fighting chance to win your heart.” Shelly fanned herself as she continued. “Not going to lie, Tara-bear, I was swooning, and he wasn’t even talking about me. Then he asked if I would please send him a picture of you so he could see how lovely he knew you must look. I’m totally rethinking the ass-cat title.”

  Tara’s heart pounded in her chest as she stared at her best friend, though Shelly wasn’t who she was seeing. Tara saw Elias’s face and desperately wished he were the one with her. She wanted to feel her hand in his, his lips on hers, and his arms around her.

  “Everything okay?” Tucker asked as he put his arm on the back of her chair.

  For those few minutes while Shelly was telling her what Elias had texted her, Tucker had ceased to exist.

  “Oh, um, yeah,” Tara stuttered as she looked over at him. Her phone chimed again. She’d set it down on the table after reading Elias’s text. She picked it up and swiped it open, so focused on hoping it was Elias that she didn’t bother to try and keep her screen private. She saw a wall of text.