Shadows at Sunset: Sunset Trilogy ~ Book 1 (27 page)

“Unless what?”

“Unless you’d like to stay in. We could order a pizza.”

Noah smiled. “I’d love to.” He stepped away from the Explorer, opening up my access to the door. “I’ll see you Saturday, then. But I promise I’ll call before the weekend.”

I returned his smile as I reached for the door handle. “You better,” I teased.

He grinned mischievously, suddenly lunging at me from behind. He wrapped his arm around my abdomen and planted his hand above the front button of my jeans. “Or maybe I’ll show up here every day after school to see how your day was,” he whispered in my ear. After he kissed my cheek, he released me. “See you, Laken.”

I turned in time to see his back as he headed for his police car. I was about to call out a quick good-bye when I noticed Xander leaning against the door of his pick-up truck across the lot. His long black trench coat, black pants, and untucked black shirt nearly blended into the black paint. Despite the overcast sky, dark sunglasses shielded his eyes. A frown flattened his mouth, a five o’clock shadow sprinkling his chin. I felt his intense stare on me even without being able to see his eyes. Shaking my head, I turned to the Explorer as the hair on the back of my neck stood on edge. Facing away from him, I still sensed that he was watching me. And I couldn’t wipe the image of his stone-cold expression out of my mind.

Desperate to escape, I tossed my book bag into the back of the Explorer before sliding into the driver’s seat. With barely a glance at Ethan, I started the engine and backed out of the parking space. Then I guided the Explorer out of the lot as fast as I safely could, grateful to leave Xander and his unsettling stare behind me.

***

I almost got through the rest of the week without running into Xander. Almost.

My last class on Friday was History. As I entered the classroom, students chatted eagerly, excited about the upcoming weekend that would begin as soon as class ended. I wandered through the maze of desks to find an empty seat three rows back. Before I sat down, I slid my book bag strap off my shoulder, pushing my light pink sweater back into place as it shifted. I wore jeans again today with tall black boots. My necklace rested against my chest just above the scoop neckline of my shirt. My hair fell behind my shoulders in soft curls and silver hoops dangled from my earlobes. I had dressed much nicer since Tuesday in case I saw Noah again, but unfortunately I hadn’t. At least he had called or sent me a text message every night as he’d promised, so I knew he was thinking about me.

I dropped my book bag to rest at my feet and sank into the seat. The classroom had been devoted to American history with a huge United States map marking Civil War battles tacked up on the interior wall. The northern states were colored blue and the southern states blood red. Across the room from the map, large windows extended from a ledge about four feet high to the ceiling. The blinds had been secured at the top, letting sunshine brighten the classroom. Mountains rose up beyond the school lawn, predominantly green with splashes of yellow, orange, and red.

As the noisy students settled into their seats, I gazed longingly at the mountains. I suddenly remembered my hike last Sunday with Xander. I would love to get out there again this weekend, but not with Xander after his strange behavior this week. I shook my head to erase the memory of the nice Xander I had gotten to know last Sunday as I bent down to find my History notebook and a pen in my book bag.

Noah. Think about Noah and his exciting kisses and another Saturday night with him. At least this Saturday night shouldn’t be interrupted like last weekend,
I thought as I placed my things on the desk. But the image of Noah that swept across my thoughts vanished when Xander filed into the room with a few other students. I shifted my eyes down to the blank page of my open notebook, but not before I glimpsed him in blue jeans and an untucked white button-down shirt. Without his usual black clothing, he seemed less dark, less brooding than he had Tuesday afternoon in the parking lot. Once again, I scolded myself for letting him push my thoughts of Noah away.
Stop thinking about Xander!
He doesn’t deserve your attention after the way he treated you this week. Besides, he’s made his decision to go out with Marlena. You don’t even want to be friends with him. She’d probably kill you just for that,
I told myself.

As I stared down at my pen, Xander passed my desk and sat behind me. I turned in my seat, leaning down to sort through my book bag. Only I didn’t need anything, except to steal a glance at him. He smiled subtly as our eyes locked in the briefest moment. I whipped my gaze away, unsettled by his blue eyes, and sat back up in my seat. Three days ago, he had glared at me like he wanted to kill me, and now he was smiling again?

The bell rang and those students still standing scrambled to their seats. Our History teacher, Mr. Jacobs, strolled into the room. He was young with dark floppy hair, black-rimmed glasses, and a scruffy shadow of stubble across his face. He wore khaki slacks, a light blue short-sleeved shirt, and a mismatched green tie.

This was his first year at our school and, according to rumor, his first teaching job.

Despite Mr. Jacobs’s youthfulness, he commanded the students’ attention with ease. Most of us liked his unique teaching style that brought American history to life.

“Good afternoon,” he said as he dropped a few books on his desk and leaned against it. “We’re going to skip the lecture today.”

His announcement was met with loud cheering and clapping. With a patient smile, he gave the class a minute to quiet down.

Once silence and order returned to the room, he continued. “Okay, guys, I know it’s Friday afternoon and you’re all busting at the seams to get out of here. But we still have to fulfill the class period, so don’t get too excited. We’re not having a lecture because I have an assignment for all of you to get started on.”

A chorus of groans erupted as he reached behind his back to grab a stack of handouts. Then he crossed the room to the front corner desk next to the window, counting heads and enough papers to pass out.

“Here you go. Please pass these back.”

As he moved across the front desks, distributing the handouts to each row, the sound of shuffling paper rustled through the room.

When the girl in front of me handed the papers back, I took one and silently passed the remaining copies to Xander. Our eyes met again as he took them from me, but I was careful not to let our hands touch in the transfer. Twisting around to face forward, I read the first few sentences on the handout with dread. “In pairs of two, students shall research a history topic of their choice. Topics shall involve a historical event that occurred in New England.”

I lifted my eyes from the paper in time to see Mr. Jacobs return to his desk. As he explained the assignment, I could only focus on one thing--that this project was to be done in pairs. I had no problem with the assignment itself. That was the easy part. But as I scanned the other students in the room, I couldn’t find anyone I particularly wanted to team up with.

Frowning, I listened as Mr. Jacobs continued to explain the project. “You’ll have about three months for this assignment, but to keep you all on track, I have assigned due dates for various milestones. They are listed on the handout. The final paper and presentation will be due in December, but your first assignment is due next Friday. You’ll need to have a partner and a topic by then. You may use the rest of the class today to pair up and start brainstorming on your research topic.”

He turned and circled back around to the other side of his desk while the students started chatting. Slowly, everyone began pairing up to discuss the assignment. The room steadily grew louder as my classmates finished reading the handout and turned to their neighbors to find a partner.

“If any of you have questions, don’t be afraid to ask,” Mr. Jacobs added in a loud voice above the noisy crowd. “And don’t worry about not finding a partner. There are an even number of students in this class, so everyone will have someone to work with.

I looked around the room, wishing that Brooke or Ethan was in this class. Without them, I was hard-pressed to find a partner. As the seconds ticked by, I realized that nearly everyone seemed to be paired up already. Desperately searching for anyone who was still alone, I noticed Angela Bradley sitting quietly in the front row. Her shiny black hair hung behind her in a ponytail, her thick bangs skimming the top edge of her blue-rimmed glasses. She sat sideways in her chair, also searching the class for a potential partner. I didn’t know her very well, but I knew that she was smart and kept mostly to herself. She would make a perfect partner.

As I stood and began to make my way over to her, a boy walked up her aisle and started chatting with her. Her expression instantly registered relief, and I knew right away that I was too late to ask her to be my partner. I sighed, turning around slowly, scanning the class for another potential partner. My heart sank as everyone was talking to someone else. Everyone, that is, except Xander.

I was about to return to my seat when I felt a light tap on my shoulder from behind. I whirled around to face Xander. His white shirt was unbuttoned at the top, and I noticed the shark tooth necklace he had worn on our hike. I swallowed back my nerves as I raised my eyes to meet his.

“Hi,” he said softly.

“Hey,” I replied, frowning. I knew what was coming next.

“It looks like we’re the only two left without a partner. So what do you say?”

I shrugged as if it didn’t matter while my thoughts raged internally. He was the last person I wanted to team up with. “Looks like I don’t have much of a choice.”

Where was Marlena or Carrie when I needed them? If one of them was in this class, Xander would have been taken before the teacher started explaining the assignment.

“You don’t have to make it sound so dreadful,” he said with a soft smile.

“Why not? It’s not like you’ve been that nice to me this week.”

His smile faded. “I’m sorry about that. I needed a few days alone after you turned me down. I don’t take rejection that well.”

I desperately wanted to ask how all his flirting with Marlena constituted being alone, but I bit back my sharp tongue. Mentioning Marlena might make him think that I was jealous. Whether or not I was, I certainly didn’t want him to think that I was.

“So what are you saying?” I asked.

“That I’d like to be friends. I had a really nice time hiking with you last Sunday and I think we could do a good job on this project together.”

He sounded sincere, but I wasn’t ready to believe he actually was. However, I didn’t have another option for the History assignment. “Like I said, I don’t seem to have a choice.” I felt as though I’d been backed into a corner with nowhere else to turn.

“Okay,” he said slowly. “I guess we’re partners, then. But you don’t have to sound like the world is coming to an end.”

“It’s not?” I gasped, widening my eyes in mock amazement.

“Ha, ha.”

We returned to our seats, and I sat facing backward.

“I guess we’d better get down to business,” he said. “First things first. We should exchange phone numbers and email addresses.”

I reluctantly agreed.
What’s the big deal?
I asked myself.
He knows where you live and it would be much better to get a text from him than to have him show up on your doorstep whenever he wants to talk about this project.

We took down each other’s phone numbers and email addresses in our notebooks.

Satisfied, he asked, “Do you have any ideas for what we can do this project on? I’m afraid I’m going to have to leave that up to you since you’ve lived here a little longer than me.” He flashed a warm smile, and a slight tingle rushed through me. In spite of his mood swings, he was still very handsome. I couldn’t help smiling back at him, suddenly forgetting his question. “Laken?” he asked, breaking me out of my trance.

“Yes?”

“Did you hear me?”

“Um, yes, I heard you,” I replied quickly. “But no, I don’t have any good ideas right now. Give me until Monday. I’ll think of something.” With that, I spun around to face forward. I hunched over my desk, leaning my forehead on my folded arms while the other students continued their chatter. A shiver crept up my spine. I was certain of one thing. No good would come from spending more time with Xander, even if it was just for a school project.