“You got it, babe,” he says, treating us to one of his panty-dropping smiles before heading back to the drinks table where a flock of girls begin to crowd around him.
“God, that smile,” Jacinta swoons.
“Tell me about it.”
Jacinta drags me into the center of the room and onto the makeshift dance floor. Together we let loose surrounded by what seems like a million of our classmates. The night flies by and before I know it I’ve downed my fifth drink and the room is spinning. I call out to Jacinta and tell her that I need to get some fresh air. She nods eagerly, though I’m pretty sure she’s far too drunk to understand what I’m saying.
I pull away from the dance floor and head towards the drinks table before pouring myself a glass of water. I drop three perfectly round ice cubes in, a little umbrella, and a straw before heading out of the room. I make my way down the hall and push through the doors into the night. The cold air hits me hard and is enough to sober me up, well slightly.
I find myself an old wooden bench and sit down, allowing my head to stop spinning and take a moment to breathe in the cool air. “What are you doing out here all by yourself?” I hear a familiar voice say nervously behind me.
I turn into the familiar face of an awkward Daniel, my alcohol consumption making him look incredibly sexy to me right now. “Hey, just needed some air. You want to sit?” I ask, indicating to the empty spot beside me.
“Yeah,” he laughs. “How much have you had to drink?”
“Ahh…I can’t remember,” I slur, joining in with his laugh. “But don’t worry, I stopped when the room started spinning,” I add. holding up my glass of water.
“Very responsible. I wouldn’t want you passing out on me at the first senior party of the year.”
“Oh, whatever,” I joke. “You guys threw it together pretty quickly,” I tell him, earning myself a proud smile from Daniel.
“Well you know us, as efficient as ever,” he jokes then suddenly turns serious, clearly having the same train of thought that it is now or never. “Look, I know now probably isn’t the best time for this, but I’ve been meaning to talk to you,” he says, “about…us.”
Oh geez. “Yeah, I know…me too,” I say quietly, not as confident as Daniel had been.
We both sit quietly for a short while, neither knowing how to start or how to get the words out. The silence is killing me when Daniel finally gets on with it. “Well, it’s no secret that I’m into you, Bianca,” he says with a shy smile, though on catching my eye, turns into a full-blown grin.
“Really?” I gasp, teasing. “I would have never guessed.”
“Well, I thought for a minute there, you might have felt the same way?” he asks nervously, unable to look me in the eye, though I give him points for at least having the balls to ask the question.
I sit quietly for a moment, dreading the conversation ahead of me, scared of hurting his feelings and possibly ruining a great friendship. “I have to be honest,” I finally say. “For a minute I thought I did, and then I talked myself into it a little more and I was so ready to start something with you. You know, you have always been so kind, you have this amazing smile, and you’re one of my best friends,” I say heading a little off track. I pause for a moment to gather my thoughts, “But that’s all it is. When we were watching that movie and you put your arm around me, I realized that I kind of lead you on and I’m so scared that I’m going to hurt you because you truly are one of my best friends and…I’m rambling…I guess, I just don’t want to ruin that,” I say a little more honest than I had planned. Too late now, the words are out. I look up at him with a cringe as I try to gauge his response.
He looks down at his hands with a thoughtful expression on his face, not saying a word. He finally looks up at me, “You know what?” he smiles unexpectedly. “I think you’re wrong,” he says, as a matter of fact, then continues at my blank and confused expression. “You see, after all these years, I know you pretty damn well and I think you just need time. I know we’re going to be good together.”
“I know, you’re pretty much perfect for me. We have this awesome chemistry and all this history together,” I admit, “but what happens if you’re wrong?”
Daniel gives me his usual charming look. “Oh, Bianca. You should know by now that I’m never wrong,” he laughs, throwing his arm around my side and pulling me close.
“I’m not so sure about that,” I tease. “Remember when you insisted that we all break into the pool for a midnight swim and you said we wouldn’t get in trouble, yet somehow we all ended up with a week’s worth of detentions and all our parents got called?”
“Yeah….so I might have been wrong, just that one time,” he cringes at the memory. “C’mon, let’s get back to the party,” he says pulling me up off the chair.
I remind him of a few other times where he’s been wrong and we’re halfway back to the party when we see the door at the other end of the hall open with numerous angry teachers storming through.
Well, shit.
Daniel grabs my arm and pulls me behind a pillar, caging me in with his hard body. His heart beats rapidly against mine and I’m not sure if that is due to the alcohol, the risk of getting caught or the heat of our bodies being pushed together.
I look up at Daniel and find his face just inches from mine. His eyes bore into mine and I know exactly what he’s about to do. I’ve always imagined what it would be like to kiss Daniel, would his lips be soft against mine? Would it be slow and passionate? Or would it be sloppy and awful like the rest of the boys in my grade? Daniel brings his face closer to mine, taking it slowly so he can make his intentions clear, but it’s Rylan I’d rather be doing this with. It’s Rylan’s arms I want to be held in, and it’s Rylan’s lips I want to feel against mine.
“Daniel, stop,” I plead, quietly, trying to drag my head away as far as the concrete pillar behind me will allow. “This isn’t right.”
“It’s so right,” he argues. “Just give it a chance.”
“How can you say that?” I whisper. “You know it means something different to me.” Something so different, say like wishing it was my hunky combat instructor instead, but how am I supposed to tell him that?
“I know, but just now, you looked like you wanted to, like you were fighting something and that gives me hope that deep down you do have some sort of feelings for me and I won’t stop until I figure out what that means,” he promises, shocking me with the level of honesty he’s been dishing out for me tonight.
I don’t have the heart to tell him that inner battle was because of my confused feelings for Rylan. I reach up and give him a small kiss on the cheek. “There’s a lot of things going on in my head at the moment that I’m confused about and I’m not sure what I want. But you’re right, I do want to kiss you, but not for the reasons that you want,” I say, hoping my words don’t cause any harm.
“Well, I always knew you wanted to kiss me, I mean, who wouldn’t?” He laughs then suddenly falls quiet. “I guess all I’m asking is that you don’t write me off just yet.”
I take a moment to think about what he’s asking of me and I at least owe it to him to consider it a bit more. Knowing how I feel about Rylan, I’m pretty sure I know what my answer will be. I’ll never be able to give him an honest relationship as long as my mind is consumed with all things Rylan. But, on the other hand, what harm could it bring for me to give it a few more weeks? “Okay,” I finally tell him. “For you, I’ll think about it. I just don’t want you to be hurt if the answer is still no.”
“If that’s what it comes to, then that’s fine. I’ll handle it. But at least I’ll know that you thought about it and gave me a chance.”
We stay this way for a while longer and I throw my arms around him and give him a tight squeeze. “Come on,” I finally say. “Let’s get out of here before we get busted.”
“Okay, I’ll walk you back.”
True to his word, he walks me to my dorm, hiding along the way in as much
of the night's darkness as possible to avoid being caught by the teachers who now seem to be everywhere. We chat about the party and I’m over the moon there are no awkward moments between us.
He deposits me at my door and says good night like any true gentleman and quickly makes his escape. It takes me all of three seconds to flop onto my bed with makeup, shoes, and jacket still well and truly intact before falling into a deep and calming sleep, dreaming about what it would have been like to kiss his sweet lips.
Chapter 10
I wake to a loud pounding in my head and open my eyes to the harsh bright light of Saturday morning. I grab my phone and hit the home button to see the time. 11:38 am. “Oh, crap,” I groan to myself, annoyed I’ve wasted my morning with sleep.
“What’s ‘Oh crap’?” I hear a groggy Jacinta ask from under her pillow.
“It’s nearly midday,” I murmur, dragging myself out of bed, pulling off my right shoe and heading into the bathroom. I face myself in the mirror and confirm that I look just as bad as I feel with my hair a nest of hairspray and my makeup smudged all over my face.
Jacinta joins me in the bathroom and I’m rewarded with her complete horror as she takes herself in, her hair and makeup even worse than mine. “I’m assuming you feel just as awful as I do?” I ask.
“Shhh, there’s no need to make all that noise,” she groans, riffling through the bathroom drawers until she finds the little packet of painkillers. “We have a lot to talk about, right after these babies kick in,” she says as she makes her way out of the bathroom.
I take a hot shower and get myself under control. Washing my hair two, then three times, and scrubbing the mascara off my face. Who’s idea was it to make waterproof mascara? Finally, feeling refreshed, I turn off the taps and wrap a towel around my clean, naked body.
I open the door just in time for Jacinta to barge her way through and close it behind me. Clearly, someone still needs a few extra minutes for those painkillers to kick in. I get myself dressed and ready for the day, not bothering with the blow-drying routine as I wait for Jacinta to finish her shower.
After what feels like forever she’s finally ready and we head out to the cafeteria to grab something to eat, praying there’s still some bacon and eggs to kill this hangover.
“So, spill the beans,” Jacinta says, grabbing a plate and searching the rows of food for something to soothe her stomach.
“Huh? Me? You’re the one who said ‘we have a lot to talk about’. You spill the beans,” I say, curious about what had happened after I left the party.
“Well,” she starts with a wide grin. “After you disappeared, I was talking to Trey and I don’t know how, but we ended up dancing and talking, and it was such a great night. Well, most of it is a little blurry, but it was so nice to spend time just the two of us,” she grins, completely smitten.
“Ooh, I see, and did anything happen?” I ask, probing for more information.
Jacinta’s grin falters and is replaced with disappointment. “No,” she sighs. “That’s what I don’t get. He had every opportunity to make a move and he just...didn’t.”
“How strange. Maybe he’s shy? Or maybe he wasn’t sure if you wanted to,” I suggest, trying my hardest to make her feel better about the situation.
“What? I was practically throwing myself at him,” she admits. “He definitely knew I was up for it.”
“Hmm…maybe he was just being a gentleman.”
“Yeah, right. ‘Gentleman’ is not a word I’d use to describe Trey,” she laughs. “I think he just doesn’t like me. If he did, he would have done something.”
“I know he does. I’m sure there’s a perfectly good explanation as to why he hasn’t come riding in on a horse and swept you off your feet yet,” I say, trying to be helpful. “Maybe he has performance anxiety.”
Jacinta rolls her eyes before letting out a deep sigh. “I don’t know, but less about me and more about you. What the hell happened to you? One minute you were there, the next…gone.”
“I told you. I went to get some air,” I say, breaking into a grin.
“Spill it,” she demands as she fixes me with an unimpressed look.
“So, I went to get some air,” I continue. “And surprise, surprise, Daniel followed me out, though maybe it was more along the lines of stalking.”
“And?” she asks, ignoring my comment and prompting me to fill in the million blanks I’ve just left.
“And, we talked about everything,” I tell her. “He told me exactly how he feels about me and how he thinks we’d be perfect together, so I told him I could only see him as a friend and I that was scared to hurt him,” I add, looking up at Jacinta who’s in complete shock that I had actually been honest with him.
Jacinta sucks in a breath. “How did he take it?” she asks, cringing at the thought of his poor heart shattering into tiny pieces due to my confused mind.
“Pretty well actually,” I say. “He asked me not to give up on him and to keep thinking about it.”
“Woah,” Jacinta says, impressed. “He really does have it bad. Who would have known that the kid had it in him?”
“Tell me about it. I felt pretty bad, but he seemed to take it quite well. I mean, that didn’t stop him from trying to kiss me while you guys were getting busted,” I add as an afterthought knowing the exact reaction I’d get from her.
“WHAT?” she shouts. “It’s taken you this long to get that part out?” she scolds in mock horror, grabbing me by both shoulders and demanding more information.
“Yeah,” I laugh, thinking of the memory. “Don’t stress, I told him no. As hot as it would have been, it wasn’t right.”
“Good girl,” she says approvingly. “He probably still tried anyway.”
I grin. “That he did.”
Finally, after my grouchy stomach is filled with pancakes and the hangover has started to wear off, Jacinta and I get up and make our way out the door. “So, are you ready for that awkward conversation with Trey?” I ask quickly.
“What? No way.”
“Okay, well he’s heading this way,” I explain, indicating towards the boys’ dorm where the figure of Trey looking down at his phone is walking our way.
“Oh, crap,” she gasps. “Put your head down. Pretend you didn’t see him. Crap. I barely even brushed my hair this morning. I’m a freaking mess.”
“Really? Are you sure? I could call out to him,” I tease.
“Do it and die,” Jacinta warns, grabbing my arm and picking up her pace.
We walk around the massive Academy exploring the ins and outs of the senior campus until we find a nice quiet spot away from the rest of the students who are bored on the weekend with nothing else to do. We lay down on a grassy patch of sunlight and take in the warmth of the summer sun when I hear the familiar ‘ping’ on my phone telling me I’ve received an email.
I fish my phone out of my pocket and smile down as I find mom’s name spread across my screen. I quickly open the email, always desperate for my mother’s words.
To: Bianca Moore, Amelia Moore
From: Gabrielle Moore
Subject: Checking In
Hi Girls,
Just checking in to see how you went with your first week of school. I haven’t heard much from either of you, so I’m assuming you must both be busy with schoolwork.
I’m going to see if I can get some time off in the next few weeks to spend a weekend in the guest housing at the Academy.
Bianca - I hope you’re staying out of trouble. I haven’t had any calls from your teachers yet, so let’s keep it that way. How are you going with Combat Training?
Mills - How are you enjoying the Junior Campus? What teachers did you get this year?
I miss you both,
Mom.
“What did she say?” asks Jacinta quietly as she runs her manicured fingernails through the long blades of grass.
“Oh, not much. She’s just curious why she hasn’t had a phone call from any of my teachers yet.
”
“She must be worried you’re sick,” she says in mock horror. “Tell her not to worry. I’m sure it won’t be long before you get busted doing something stupid.”
“She said she would try to get some time off work to come and visit for a while,” I say dismissively, trying not to get my hopes up as this isn’t the first time mom has promised a visit. Though I know it’s not her fault, her supervisor at work is a jerk. She works under The Guard, helping with the planning of their events, which seem to be all the time. Though she rarely attends the parties she actually plans. She’s a homebody like Millie. I must have got my wild spirit from my dad.
“Oh, seriously?” Jacinta questions, sitting up and beaming. “My parents said they wanted to come for a few days. Maybe we could arrange it for the same weekend.”
“Yeah, that sounds awesome,” I say trying to hide the resentment in my voice that Jacinta’s parents are able to drop everything to visit whenever they want. “But I can’t promise anything, you know how mom is with work.”
“I know, but fingers crossed,” she says hopeful, giving me an encouraging smile. “We’ll give her heaps of notice so she can get the time off with her supervisors. We’ll make it happen.”
“Hope so. Now, should we go watch a movie with a bowl of ice cream and turn off all the lights until this killer headache goes away?”
Jacinta lets out a relieved sigh. “That sounds phenomenal,” she says, jumping up and reaching a hand down to me to pull my lazy ass off the ground.
We cut across the field and right through a game of soccer, attempting not to get hit or bowled over in the process. Once we’re finally out the other side, we start heading back towards the dorms, but something stops Jacinta in her tracks. “Who the hell is that talking to Ms. Layton?” she asks with a lot more enthusiasm than my pounding head can handle. I quickly look up trying to figure out who she’s talking about. “They look pretty damn cozy together.”
I follow her gaze and in an instant, I recognize the figure Jacinta’s greedy eyes have come across. My heart races as I take him in looking a lot more relaxed on a weekend than he had in class, in a white shirt that hugs his body and a pair of loose jeans that hang off his narrow hips.
Soul and Disaster: Slayer Academy (Book 1) Page 8
