Sophie's Secret Crush - [Whispers 05]

by Tara West

  “What’s up, Mike?” I asked, trying my best to sound casual and not at all interested.

  He cocked a brow while his gaze slowly traveled up the length of my body. “You’ve grown up.”

  I eyed him suspiciously. “I thought you went off-campus for lunch.”

  Because of school overcrowding, most of the seniors got off-campus passes. I was surprised AJ’s brother was eating in the cafeteria. Even if he’d totaled his truck, I knew he had a million admiring females who’d drive him anywhere.

  “I decided to eat here today.” His smile widened. “I’m glad I did. Where are you sitting?”

  “With me.”

  I turned to see Frankie Salas looking like a bull ready to charge. He stepped up beside me, wrapping a protective arm around my shoulders. I have no idea why I leaned into him, which I knew totally gave off the impression we were a couple. I guess I figured out, of the two wolves, Frankie’s claws weren’t as sharp.

  Mike puffed up his chest, as if he needed it to look any bigger. “What’s up?” he said to Frankie. Then he nodded in my direction but didn’t bother making eye contact with me. “You seein’ Sophie?”

  Hello? I’m standing right here. Why don’t you just ask me?

  Frankie pulled me tighter to his side and glared at Mike. “Yeah.”

  Mike answered with a sneer before he shrugged his shoulders. “There’s more than one girl at this school.”

  He turned and strutted away like some kind of rooster, his chest still puffed out and chin held high.

  So that’s all I am? Just another girl?

  As if Frankie knew exactly what I’d been thinking, he leaned over and whispered into my ear, “You’re the only girl for me, Sophie.”

  My knees weakened at the feel of his warm skin against mine and his hot breath in my ear.

  Oh, not again!

  Though it was pure torture, I pulled out of his grip. Chin held high and spine rigid, I turned to face him. “I’m not your girl, Frankie.”

  He shrugged before flashing his sideways smile. “I know, but a guy can dream.”

  “Ugh!” I groaned before swatting his shoulder. “You’re such a pain in the butt!”

  I read the hurt in his eyes before he turned his gaze down. “I’m sorry about yesterday. Papí’s getting me a license and taking care of the car.”

  The sting of his rejection lanced through me and I could feel his insecurities and sorrow down to the marrow of my bones.

  Damn. Why did I always let that boy get under my skin?

  “I’m sorry I called you a pain in the butt.” My apology came out a hoarse whisper.

  “It’s okay.” Frankie heaved a sigh. “Speaking of butts, I saw you checking him out.” He nodded in the direction of Mike Dawson, who’d stopped amid the throng of cheerleaders, allowing them to squeeze his biceps while they squealed and giggled.

  Oh, gag. I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, right.” I groaned.

  Frankie winked and then nudged my shoulder. “I don’t blame you.

  It is a nice butt.”

  “Nice butt?” I gasped, looking at Frankie like he’d just sprung a second head. “I wasn’t checking out Mike’s butt. You were.”

  Frankie stepped back, and his bronzed skin turned a sickly white. “No, I wasn’t.”

  “It’s okay,” I laughed. “Mike has that effect on guys, too.”

  The look in Frankie’s eyes was one of pure terror. “I don’t check out guys, Sophie.” There was no mistaking the rising note of panic in his voice as he took another step back and eyed me like I was infected with the plague. Then, his overwhelming sense of despair jumped off his skin and his thought projected into my brain. Not her, too.

  “Okay, Frankie.” I raised both palms in a defensive gesture, forcing a smile in an attempt to calm him. “It was only a joke.”

  Frankie’s shoulders relaxed by maybe a millimeter as he flashed an awkward smile that didn’t mask the unease in his eyes. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s get something to eat.”

  I numbly followed him to the end of the line, and then stared at the back of his head with apprehension. Frankie wouldn’t even turn around to look at me. What the heck was going on? Boys were so strange. There needs to be a manual the size of a phone book just to figure them out.

  *****

  I never got a chance to speak with Ethan during Sleznick’s class. As soon as I sat in my desk, Sleznick told us to turn off our phones and prepare for the exam. The test lasted the entire period. In fact, I was bubbling in the final answer as the bell rang.

  Of course, the exam was way harder than it needed to be, with plenty of trick questions, like “how many barrels of tea were dumped into the Boston harbor?”

  Crud. Really? A lot of tea. I was pretty sure the answer was 342 barrels but he mixed up the numbers like 324 and 432. This wasn’t math class! I swear my history teacher was pure evil.

  Ethan had turned in his test a few seconds before me and was already out the door before I could get my stuff together.

  To make matters worse, Frankie had hardly said two words to me after that joke about Mike Dawson’s butt. The next two class periods went by in a blur. I could hardly focus on what my teachers were droning on about when I had so many unanswered questions rattling around in my brain.

  One thing I knew for certain, I was tired of playing mind games with boys. I was going to get some answers out of both of them, starting with Ethan after school.

  Supposedly, he was still driving me home after play practice. Ethan Maeson and I had a lot to discuss, and even if he refused to join in the conversation, he was damn well going to listen to what I had to say.

  Chapter Eight

  Rehearsal was awkward. Actually, it was really awkward. The other female lead, Vanessa, was out sick, so that meant practice had to be put on hold. There were plenty of scenes without Vanessa, but since she considered herself the queen of drama, she’d probably told the teacher to cancel practice. Knowing Ms. Jahns, she did as she was told. It was disgusting to see how much a teacher could fawn over a student.

  So the rest of us were stuck with set design. No biggie. I didn’t feel like rehearsing, anyway. I found a little spot in the corner of the stage and painted forest landscape onto the backdrop. Someone had already traced a pattern of trees for me. Turned out, that’s what my drama club friends had been doing over lunch. Too bad nobody included me in their plans.

  It was actually soothing after such a long day to immerse myself in art, even though holding the brush was awkward with sore fingers. Occasionally, I could feel Ethan staring at me, but whenever I’d look up, he’d quickly look away.

  Fine, Ethan, pretend I don’t exist. You’re still driving me home.

  The time seemed to fly by. I’d only painted half the landscape before Ms. Jahns was telling everyone to go home. I sealed the lids on the paint cans and took my brush to the back sink and washed it off, wincing as the hot water burned my sensitive flesh.

  “Does it still hurt?”

  I lifted my gaze to Ethan standing near me. It was then I noticed, really noticed, how terrible he looked. His clothes were wrinkled and he had dark circles underneath his eyes. His arms hung limply at his sides, like he was a rag doll without any stuffing. Oddly, even his normally windswept hair looked flat.

  I smiled and held up my hand. “Not much. See, it’s almost healed.”

  Ethan glimpsed at my hand and then looked away, unable to meet my direct stare. “I’m sorry,” he rasped. The circles beneath his eyes were even more pronounced from this angle. He was as pale as a ghost.

  My heart lurched as his feelings of guilt and self-loathing washed over me.

  “Don’t be,” I said. “It’s not your fault.” I moved closer to him and angled my head, hoping he’d see the sincerity in my eyes.

  He refused to look at me as he cast his gaze down. “Yes, it is.”

  I let out an exasperated breath. This boy was impossible. “Are you still driving me home?”

&nbs
p; He looked at me then, disbelief written in the lines of his forehead and in his weary eyes. “You want to ride home with me?”

  “Of course, Ethan. Then maybe we can talk.”

  If it was at all possible, his complexion paled even more. “There may be some things about me you don’t want to know.”

  “Trust me, Ethan, I already know more than you think.” I took a chance and placed my hand on his. He was as cold as a corpse. I squeezed his hand gently before smiling up at him. “And I like you just like you are.”

  His eyes widened, and for a moment, I thought he was going to bolt, but he simply nodded. Amazingly, his skin began to warm as color slowly returned to his face. I smiled, and he finally smiled back.

  “Hey, can we stop for burgers on the way home?” Finn bounded up to us and slapped Ethan on the back, knocking him into me.

  I squeaked as I bumped into Ethan and steadied my hands on his chest. I’d never been this close to him before. I reacted with an involuntary groan. Damn, he felt good, heating me to the core. He smelled good, too. Though his musk wasn’t as strong as Frankie’s, I kind of liked the subtlety of it mixed with the warmth radiating off his skin. I looked up into his bright blue eyes. His full lips were only a breath away from mine. I wondered what it would feel like to kiss him. My heart pounded out a wild staccato at the thought and my flesh hummed with burning energy.

  At that moment, I’d never wanted anything more badly in all my life than a kiss from Ethan Maeson.

  “Hey, no kissy faces.” Finn slapped Ethan on the back again as he practically yelled in our ears. “I’m hungry.”

  *****

  The drive home was agonizingly long. Finn insisted we pull through a greasy burger joint. Though my insides were churning too violently to even think about food, I did order a chocolate shake, hoping that would cool me down. After being so close to Ethan, my internal body temperature still hadn’t returned to normal.

  Damn, that boy set me on fire!

  By the time we’d dropped off Finn, I’d drunk half my shake but I was still burning up. “Ethan,” I asked, “Could you turn on the a/c?”

  “I’m sorry I’m making you sweat.” His flushed face turned an even deeper shade of red. “I can’t help it.”

  “It’s okay,” I said, “you’ll get better at controlling it.”

  When Ethan didn’t respond I stole a quick glance in his direction. He had tensed up again and he was holding so tightly to the wheel, I was afraid he’d bust it.

  Since this was the first time I’d directly referred to Ethan’s magic, I knew the conversation would be awkward, but Ethan’s discomfort was palpable.

  After I’d been burned yesterday, I couldn’t blame him, but I needed to make him understand I was okay with his powers.

  “So are you busy Friday night?”

  His words came out on a rush of air, and I’m surprised I even understood him. It took me a moment to process what Ethan was asking me and then it hit me with a rush of adrenaline. Ethan wanted to take me out Friday! I nearly jumped from my seat with excitement, until I remembered I was grounded this weekend, and stuck with two babies.

  My shoulders fell and it nearly tore me in two when I saw that nervous, yet hopeful expression in his gaze. “I have to babysit my sister’s twins Friday.”

  His brow furrowed, and for a moment, he looked lost in contemplation. “Two babies is a lot of work.”

  “Why does everyone keep saying that?” I groaned, shaking my head. “I take care of them all the time when my sister comes over.”

  “But never by yourself?” he asked, his voice laced with skepticism.

  “They’ll probably be asleep anyway.” I shrugged, pretending watching twin nine-month-olds alone was no big deal, but some little nagging voice in the back of my head warned that maybe I wasn’t prepared to handle the boys by myself.

  “Do you want any help?”

  I looked over at Ethan, hardly believing his offer. A spark lit inside me, and the warmth rapidly spread outward until I practically felt the glow throughout my entire body. Just the thought of Ethan helping me take care of the twins made me like him even more.

  “No.” I shook my head, pains of regret clenching my chest like a vice. Somehow I suspected babysitting with Ethan would have been really fun, not to mention, once the babies were asleep, Ethan and I could finally get some time together. “My parents said no boys are allowed at my house, not after….” I stopped mid-sentence, giving myself a mental slap for saying too much. Ethan really didn’t need to know I’d been busted for spending time alone with Frankie. Somehow, I suspected even mentioning the boy’s name would stir the embers of his jealousy.

  When he looked at me with both brows raised, I knew I’d been busted. “After what?” he asked in a voice tinged with accusation.

  I shook my head, hoping he’d just drop it. “Never mind.”

  But the growing tension between us was palpable. The sinking feeling in my gut told me Ethan wasn’t going to drop it.

  “Let me guess.” His voice dripped with sarcasm. “It has something to do with Frankie Salas.”

  Oh, no. This was going all wrong. I clenched the cool cup between my hands in an effort to soothe my shaky limbs. I couldn’t let this get out of hand, not when Ethan and I had finally started talking again. “Ethan, I like Frankie, but only as a friend.”

  Ethan squeezed the steering wheel so hard, his knuckles whitened. “The guy acts like he’s your boyfriend.”

  I heaved a sigh while leaning back against the seat. “Well, he’s not.”

  How could I explain this to Ethan without hurting him even more? I couldn’t exactly tell him that my makeout sessions with Frankie didn’t go as planned, or that I resented Frankie after he’d forced me to mind control a cop. And to tell the truth, I was too chicken say the real reason I wasn’t interested in Frankie was because I already had a major crush on Ethan.

  “What happened?”

  His eyes were glued to the road, and he was a stiff as a block of granite. That’s when I felt it, the cold aura that radiated off his skin.

  I swallowed back a lump which had formed in my throat. “What do you mean?”

  “He was your boyfriend last year, right?” Ethan spoke through frozen features.

  I shrugged. “Yeah, but it doesn’t matter. He wanted to get back together, but I didn’t want to.”

  Ethan shot me a skeptical glance. “Why not?”

  I groaned aloud as I glared at him. Gah! The boy could be so dense! “Because he’s not the one for me.”

  The cool aura surrounding Ethan evaporated in an instant. I looked at his face, at the smile lines I could see forming at the corners of his mouth. I couldn’t repress a smile of my own. Maybe I was actually getting through to the boy.

  He shot me a quick glance as he rolled to the stop sign just a block from my house. Were we here already? Damn! I had so much more to say to him. I noticed the visible worry lines forming along his brow, and just like that, his thought boomed inside my head.

  Just ask her!

  It felt like all the blood drained from my body as my stomach heaved and turned. I nervously brushed my hands down my pants. My palms had broken out in a sweat as my limbs began to shake.

  As we pulled into my drive, I breathed a sigh of relief when I noticed my parents’ cars weren’t in the driveway. Maybe Ethan and I could stay in his car and talk. I knew there was no way I could let him come inside my house, not after the incident with Frankie. Visions of my mom enrolling me in an all-girls boarding school swam through my head.

  I jumped when the phone in my jeans pocket buzzed with a text. Though I didn’t want to look, I knew if it was my mom, she’d be mad if I didn’t answer her right away.

  “I have to answer this,” I said to Ethan. “My mom gets angry if I don’t check in with her.”

  He nodded his understanding and let out a slow, shaky breath. I could tell whatever he wanted to say to me had him on edge.

  Imagine my surpri
se when I saw a message from an unknown number flashing across my screen.

  Hey, Sophie. It’s Frankie. I got a phone and my license. I’m on my way over.

  Holy crap! I hadn’t told him yet about my house arrest, or that my parents had threatened to burn him at the stake if he showed up again. Not to mention he was about to totally blow my moment with Ethan.

  I quickly fired back a response. You can’t come over!

  Why?

  Grrr. Couldn’t the boy just take no for an answer?

  I can’t have boys over here anymore!

  Then what’s Ethan’s car doing in your driveway?

  Holy crap! My gaze flew to the rearview mirror. Frankie’s Papí’s huge car was parked behind us.

  When a litany of swear words poured from my mouth, Ethan looked at me with wide eyes. Then he turned and looked out the back window. It was as if a giant vortex had sucked every last ounce of warmth from the cabin of Ethan’s car, and a hollow, aching cold chilled me to my bones.

  Oh, this so wasn’t going to end well.

  I inhaled a deep breath, and then slowly exhaled, trying to steady my nerves, even though the frigid cold was making it hard for me to concentrate on anything. “Ethan, don’t lose your cool. I’ll tell him to go home.”

  Ethan turned forward in his seat and tapped a frantic staccato on his steering wheel. “Just tell him to get his car out of my way, so I can leave.”

  My heart lurched. I didn’t want him to go, but he was angry again. Besides, I could hardly quell my chattering teeth. “Okay,” I said through a sigh before opening the door, “but you have to believe Frankie is only my friend.”

  Ethan nodded as his lips twisted into a scowl.

  I hurried out of the car, relief flooding through me as I was enveloped in the mild fall air. I slammed the door and rushed over to Frankie’s driver’s side door. The glare he shot me through the window was similar to Ethan’s scowl.