“We just did it there,” Mark said, shifting his eyes around the table. “And my parents are back.”
“We can always do what we did the week before,” a girl spoke up.
Jamison's eyes cut to the girl who spoke. “No.”
“Well,” Serena huffed. “If we didn't have certain people around then maybe we could talk more freely about what we want to do.”
Snowden shot up from the table and grabbed his tray before he glanced my way. “I'm done. You done?”
I shoveled a few more bites of salad into my mouth then stood, taking my apple and drink with me. “Yep.”
Drex stared at me with pained eyes. The whole conversation was uncomfortable anyways.
I didn’t know what the hell they were talking about and didn’t want to know either. Let them be rude. I have some friends I thought as I followed Snowden to the trash can.
I glanced around as I threw my salad away and noticed a lot of eyes on me. Snowden waited until I gestured to the cafeteria doors before he started walking again. With me one step behind him, I followed until someone caught my arm.
Twisting around, I saw Cass standing there. She seemed concerned. “What are you doing? I can't believe you sat with them.” She dragged me back to her table, gesturing over to Drex and the others. Serena was glaring at me along with Beth.
The other guys though seemed to be totally oblivious to what was going on. “Why were you at their table? What was it like?” she asked curiously.
I glanced over to the doors where Snowden had walked out and shrugged. "You know, the usual.”
“But they're not normal,” Cass refuted. “They do weird things.” Hmm. My gaze shifted to Win, who was watching me. Why would she say that? “This town is different, remember? They’re different.”
I glanced away when heat flared in my chest. For some reason, I wanted to defend them. “Look, we sat, we talked, and that was it.”
Her eyes widened. “Talked about what?”
“I don't know? Honestly, I wasn't listening anyways.”
Cass sat back, bewildered. “Huh. Somehow I thought their conversations would've been more interesting.”
I chuckled and walked away. “I'm sure they would've been more interesting if I wasn't there.”
I made my way to the cafeteria doors and saw Win standing there with arms folded and his back against the wall, his gaze trained on me. I walked that way, intending to pass him, when he matched my own stride. “Hey, what's your next class?”
“I don't know. Let me check.” I pulled out my schedule, but he took it from my hands before I could look at it.
“Just take it why don’t you.”
His mouth twitched in amusement as he glanced over it. I thought I saw a glimmer of light, but when I shook my head it was gone. “You and I have algebra with Mr. Flanigan.”
I glanced over his arm at my schedule, bewildered. “I didn't know that.”
“Yeah, your next hour, though, you have science with Mr. Lamb. Quinn and I are in that one, too. Then you and Drex have English with Mr. Olympus.”
I tore my schedule out of his hands and skimmed over it. “Are you sure? I had English this morning with Snowden in Mr. Gains classroom.”
Mrs. Reacher: Homeroom- Jamison, Drex
Mrs. Hall: Spanish- Snowden, Quinn
Ms.(Coach) Kay: Physical Education - Jamison and Drex
Lunch
Mr. Flanigan: Algebra- Win
Mr. Lamb: Science - Win and Quinn
Mr. Olympus: English - Drex
I looked over my schedule but didn't see Mr. Gains at all. Weird.
“You must have read it wrong,” he surmised, tossing an arm around my shoulders. “But don’t worry. Now you know. And each one of us are in your classes.”
He said that like it was a good thing. I paused in the hallway, and he stopped with me and grinned.
“Seriously. What’s going on?”
His face scrunched up in confusion. “What do you mean?”
I nodded back toward the cafeteria. “You guys have been so nice to me, and it’s weird. Is this some kind of payback where it’s like a ritual or something? Being nice to the new girl then mentally bringing her down?”
Win looked appalled. “No. We like you, and after that stunt you pulled the other day-”
I held up a hand. “I know. It was crazy.”
He grinned. “And you're just a crazy girl; we’re intrigued by you. And the whole jumping thing... we need to keep an eye on you.”
I rolled my eyes and walked out from under his arm. “Whatever. It was just me being free.”
Win rushed up to catch me. “Hey-hey. No need to run.”
I huffed. “I'm not running. I'm just walking fast.”
“You do walk fast,” he said doing a short jog.
I shrugged. “Always have, always will.”
“Have a cell phone?”
“Maybe.”
“Maybe you do, or maybe you don't?” he asked, trying to clarify.
“Maybe I do.”
“Good. I want your number.”
“Oh. Well, good luck with that.”
“Please?”
I stopped and turned to him. “What? So you can find out where I live?”
“Hey, don’t get your panties in a twist,” he said, hands raised defensively.
I leaned in close to him and whispered, “Dude, I like to live free. What makes you think I’d bind myself up with those?”
He grabbed my hips, his hand knocking against my pouch before they slid across the back of my jeans and pulled me close. “That’s an excellent thing to know,” he whispered back before jerking my phone out of my pocket and stepping away.
“Hey!” I tried to grab it from him but couldn't get to it quick enough.
He typed something in, most likely his phone number, and then I heard the phone ringing in his pocket. The ringing stopped as he kept the phone out of my reach, typing something else in before he handed it back. “There. Was that so hard?”
I kicked him in the shin.
“Ouch!” he growled.
Then I walked off. “Dick.”
“Hey, a hard dick is likely to happen around you!”
“Ass!”
“Not my forte but if you’re willing...”
Ugh. I shook my head and kept walking. My phone vibrated, and I lifted it to see the text message.
Loverboy: You seriously walk fast.
I swung my head around to Win, who was waving his phone above his head with a smirk and twinkle in his eyes.
I couldn’t help the grin that appeared and turned to continue on my way to class with him not far behind. He was totally an ass... a smartass.
Chapter Nine
I survived algebra with Win, but it was the next class that worried me. Quinn was in that one. He had said we needed to talk. I guess he didn't like that I lost him the other day when I ran from our kiss and the party.
While Win and I walked through the school hallways, our shoulders brushed together, and I couldn't help but notice the stares. Win didn't seem to, though. He was giving high fives, bringing people in for a shoulder hug, and appeared to have forgotten about me. I took that opportunity to slow my pace and drop back behind him a bit, so it wouldn’t look like we were together, together.
I took my phone out of my pocket when it buzzed that I had a notification from UTimes. It was from Maleficus. I pocketed my phone knowing I’d have to wait until I got to a computer to peek at what he’d sent.
After a moment or two of falling behind him, Quinn swung around looking for me. “Hannah?” Then he spotted me in the crowd of people that seemed to be trotting in his wake. “Hannah, get up here. I know you walk faster than that.”
My lips twisted. It was kind of hard to walk this slow. It wasn’t natural for me.
He stopped in the middle of the hallway and folded his arms, waiting for me. “Hurry it up.” Time seemed to freeze as onlookers paused to see what I would do.
/> Was he trying to set me up as a target for his stalkerish fan club off to the right? I picked up the pace and grabbed his arm to swing him around.
“Did you have to do that?” I hissed, letting go of all that muscle and grabbing hold of my backpack straps.
He turned around, so he was walking backward and facing me at the same time. His thumbs were tucked beneath his backpack straps and he lifted his other fingers in a dismissive manner. “Hey, you’re the one who likes to take risks. Just roll with the punches.”
Glaring at him I thought I should punch him.
He sighed, grabbed me, and threw me across his shoulders with a thump.
At first, I was shocked; then I hit his backpack. “Win! You put me down.” Even though nothing hurt, I worried about my life-pack and my medicine site. “Win!”
He laughed as he moved us along and tightened his hold on my legs. “No.”
My stress level spiked. “Please? You’re hurting me.”
He stopped immediately and gently put me down, leaving his hands on my shoulders as he looked me over. Concern filled his brilliant green eyes, his dusty red eyebrows dipping. “Hey, I’m sorry. Sometimes I forget I don't know my own strength.”
Feeling my hip area and realizing that I had no pain, I gave an inward sigh of relief. “It's okay.” I smiled, putting a hand on his arm. I could see that he really was worried. “I'm just a delicate flower,” I teased.
He shook his head and smirked. “Sure you are,” he answered, wrapping an arm around my shoulders as we started walking.
We walked together until we reached the door of our science class. In there I could see Quinn waiting, sitting in a desk that was meant for two, and two desks in front of him sat another person I knew: Novalee.
The seat next to Novalee was empty and when she saw me, her face lit up. She waved me over and I decided I'd rather be with her than have Quinn corner me about the party and the kiss we shared. I hurried over to her before the guys could make a fuss.
“Hey, girl.” She brushed back her short blonde bangs from her eyes, her gaze sparkling with excitement. As I sat, she leaned in and whispered, “So, I don't remember much from the party, but by all the rumors going around, something huge happened. I have to ask.” Her voice got real low. “Was it you? Was it you who did that awesome jump everyone’s talking about?”
I kept my face neutral and lied my teeth off when I answered, “I'm sure people would assume it was me because I’m new.”
I was going to deny I was the jumper until the last day. When it came down to it, I liked the attention when people saw; it add to the thrill. I just didn’t want my dad to find out. If people were wondering if it was me, they could possibly link me to my secret identity and that would definitely not go over well with him.
I kept my daring ways to a minimum back home in Maine, but I also had Trish to hold me back. Here, through this whole weekend, I had managed two risk-taking events which would have never happened if she was here.
“But it wasn't me. I didn't even see who it was; I just wanted to get out of there.”
Her perfectly shaped eyebrows slanted downward as she slowly replied, “O-kay. So why did we rush out of there? And you were wet.”
I was going to lie, just a little-itty-bitty- one, and confess one thing to deter her thoughts from the other. “Because someone pushed me into the pool and...” I twisted around and she followed. Quinn's gaze was on me. I smiled. His brooding expression lightened as he smirked back. Win waved and Quinn frowned, pulling his hand down.
Novalee turned back around and so did I. She grabbed my arm. “Okay, why do the two hottest guys in our class know you and are openly expressing it?”
“I kinda kissed Quinn at the party and that's why we left.”
“What!” she shrieked. I slapped a hand over her mouth, eyes wide, and glanced around. Quinn’s eyebrows were raised, as were Win’s. I turned back to Novalee. “Are you done?” She nodded, and I moved my hand away.
“Holy hell, you kissed Quinn Abbott,” she rushed out. “I can’t believe you were in town for a day, and you got to press your lips to that hunk of male. Why did you run off? Did something happen, or” - her face fell - “oh, was he bad?”
“No!” I sighed; I was starting to sound like her. “No, he was perfect,” I told her, trying not to dwell on the sexy hunks two desks down, most likely straining to hear what we were talking about.
Her eyes glinted. “I'm coming over after school and you have to tell me everything!”
Begrudgingly, I agreed.
After class, I walked out with Novalee, and there wasn't anything Quinn or Win could do as I sneaked off. I was quick, remember?
After parting with Novalee, I found my last class for the day. The one I had with Snowden. Unfortunately, I also had it with Beth, Serena’s minion. Snowden was on the far side of the room, sitting in a desk toward the back with an empty desk in front of him. Beth was in the middle of the classroom. She was occupied, talking with a few others, while Snowden was talking to another guy I didn’t know. I thought it was best to find a seat closest to the door to avoid any mishaps. While I was a daredevil, getting into it with Beth was a year-long commitment, and I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to deal with her for that long. It was the avoid-whenever-possible strategy.
I put my bag down beside me as I sat and pulled out my notebook. There were downfalls to starting a new school weeks after it started. I needed to catch up.
While in my musing, Snowden must have seen me because he was now next to me, grabbing my bag from the floor and my notepad from my desk without warning. My head jerked to him in an automatic reaction, and I tried to take my things back, but he was hauling them over to the empty seat in front of him before I could stop him. I was quick, but shock had slowed me down. I sat back in my seat at first, not sure what to do. Snowden raised a brow, almost as if to say, “Your move,” and I’m pretty sure I pouted. Then I shrugged. “Well, all right then,” I muttered under my breath. If that's how he wants it, I guess it’s all right with me.
Looking around at everyone who had stopped to watch our exchange, I glared at Snowden as I walked over to my stuff and sat down. “Wasn't sure if this spot was taken," I grumbled.
He grunted and briefly tugged the ends of my hair. “No question, Baby. This desk was for you.”
I twisted around. “Name’s not Baby, Thing One.”
He jerked back, confused for a moment until clarity came through and a slow grin appeared. “You can’t call me that, I was born second.”
I smirked. “Thing Two, then.”
His grin dropped. “Don’t like that one either.”
I turned around when the teacher rapped at his desk for our attention. “Well, too bad.”
***
At home after school, I had the house to myself. Dropping my stuff off in my room, I navigated to the kitchen and made a snack. Munching on a sandwich, I reached into my back pocket, took out my phone and opened the app that would give me my glucose levels. Frowning at what the app showed, I set my sandwich down on the counter and lifted my shirt.
As if it was the normal thing to do, I unzipped my jeans to check my life-pack. Peeling back the velcro, I peered at the medicine tube to see if I needed a refill. It was on track. Then I remembered the notification from Maleficus on my phone.
Ding-dong
Shit. I scrambled to tuck my life-pack back in and straighten my clothes before I answered the door. I forgot Novalee said she would come over. She wanted to get the lowdown on my kiss with Quinn, but all I wanted to do was look at UTimes.
As I made my way to the door, I couldn't think of what else there was to tell. He kissed me. It was incredible. And did I want him to do it again? Most likely, but I didn't think he should.
Well, that wasn’t true. I wanted Quinn to kiss me again, but I also wanted Jamison, with his authoritative ways. And Snowden, despite his player attitude. It also extended to his older brother and twin, Win. And not only them, but Dre
x had also caught my eye. My lustful teenage hormones were out of control. I needed to keep myself in check. I couldn’t have them all.
I reached the front door, pausing to look through the peephole before I opened it to an expectant Novalee - and Cass.
My lips tilted up into a polite smile. “Hey, Novalee. Cass. Come on in. There isn’t much here.” I gestured with an arm toward the front living room when they entered. It held one coffee table, a lamp, and a single couch against the far wall, separating the space from the kitchen. “But we can go hang in my room.” And I could get on my computer.
Cass grabbed my arm as she entered, excitement evident with her wide-grin and bright eyes. “You have to tell me everything!” she squealed. “Were his lips soft? Firm? Did he use tongue?” Her eyes grew. “Did you get close? Could you tell if he was turned on?”
Novalee snorted as she slipped in and closed my front door. “Cass, you forgot to ask if it was big.”
Cass let go of me and shoved her friend's shoulder with a shriek. “Seriously?”
I rolled my eyes. “Really, guys, all we did was kiss.”
Cass turned back to me, adamantly shaking her head. “No, you don't understand.” She gestured wildly with her hands. “No one just kisses Quinn.”
Novalee glanced toward me as we headed down the hall to my room. “She’s right. He’s never shown an interest in any girl - except for the girl he brings to the parties sometimes.”
I led them into my room and gestured to my bed for them to sit on. Cass picked up where Novalee left off as they sat. “You know, we thought forever that he was going out with her, and he let us believe it. Then Jamison let us know that she was his cousin that visits from time to time. It made for an awkward conversation.”
I thought over what they had said as I sat in my computer chair and swiveled to them, more curious than I should have been. “So, that means, like, he's never dated before?”
“Yeah, like never.”
Cass tilted her head to the side in interest. “The families who usually have more than one dad typically don't date. I don't know if it's a religion thing or what, but usually they don't interact romantically with girls. They tend to stick to their circles.”
The Bridge Over Snake Creek Page 7
