Designer Genes - The Boyfriend Cut (11 page)

My fingers spread over the gravel and in a very far distance, someone called my name.

The lamp beside my bed cast the only light in the dark room. Memories flashed sporadically until my mind centered on one—an instant playback where I watched Sam's body collapse to the ground after Jordan belted him. After several attempts, my eyes finally focused. Jordan sat next to me, a deep crease slicing his perfect brow.

I snickered so hard I snorted."I can't believe you sucker-punched Sam."

Jordan expelled a loud sigh of relief. "What did they give you at the hospital? You're looped."

"Hospital? I don't remember going to any hospital." I scrunched my mouth. "Are you sure I went to the hospital?"

"Yes. I took you myself. Your dad isn't very happy with me."

"Does he know you're in here? He has rules
,
you know." I conjured up my best baritone imitation. "No boys in the bedroom."

"Trust me. I know
.
Why do you think your door is wide open? He's on the phone with his clinic. He's not about to leave me alone with you."

Another wave of silliness struck. "Why not? You're marrying me."

Jordan laughed. "Are you sure about that?"

My eyes closed and a silly grin plastered my face, "Oh yeah, because you're already hooked
.
" I opened one eye, finding a shocked look on Jordan's face. "Poor guy. Now you'll have to walk Muffy."

Jordan bent, gently touched his mouth to my forehead. I could smell the rosewood scent of his aftershave clinging to his skin, and wrapped my hands around his neck.

"You smell yummy. I want to lick your skin."

A faint buzz stopped a possible steamy kiss. Jordan removed a silver receptor from his pocket. He pressed the speaker then claimed the kiss waiting on my dramatically puckered lips.

"Hey Jess, what's up?"

My eyes widened.
Jesse?

"You've gone AWOL and the 'mothership' is going crazy. Where are you?" I giggled at Jesse's comical reference to their mother. "Bro, are you with a girl? Priceless! Mom will flip out."

"Actually, I think she'll be thrilled. I'm with Marli Davis." Silence. "Jess? You there?"

Jesse's teasing tone turned sullen. "Yeah, I'm here. Why are you there?"

"Uh, because I wanted to meet her. She
is
my assignee. By the way, you're right. She's beautiful, albeit slightly accident prone."

"Accident? Marli are you okay?"

"Hi Jesse," I replied in singsong.

Jordan kissed me again
.
"She's fine, or at least tastes fine." His lips pressed the sensitive spot below my ear and I moaned.

"More than fine," I hummed. Any common sense left in my fuzzy brain disappeared. "It's hard to tell which one of you kisses better. Jesse's make my toes curl, but yours—"

Jordan's lips froze halfway to meeting mine. His eyes narrowed. "Jesse kissed you?"

"Shit," Jesse hissed.

I forced a childish frown, sticking out my bottom lip. "You weren't supposed to find out. It's a secret."

Jordan snapped his phone shut. "I should go. I'll tell Rick you're awake."

"Wait!" I scrambled off the bed and my legs folded when the room twirled. Jordan caught me and I stood inches from his baffled eyes. My hand flared on the bare skin below the hollow of his throat and his pulse quickened under my fingertips.

At this moment, I felt coherent and intensely aware of the sensation Jordan's fingers evoked on the ribbon of exposed skin between my top and skirt. "Don't be mad about the kiss."

Jordan's eyes remained hooded, his expression unreadable. A slight smirk twisted a corner of his mouth."Tell me Marli, do
my
kisses curl your toes?"

"Let me check." I pulled his handsome face close, finding an invitation to compare waiting on his lips. Jordan's arms locked at my waist, crushing my body to him.

Dad walked in, catching us in an intense lip-lock, Jordan's tongue halfway down my throat. "Uh-hum!" Both brows rose over eyes burning my direction. "No wonder all hell broke loose today."

Jordan's face turned scarlet. He untangled from my arms and stepped back, putting a respectable distance between us.

"I should go. I've got a lecture tomorrow I'm required to attend."

I looked at the blackness beyond my window. "You're leaving now? But it's dark. It's not safe." Turning to my father, who already anticipated my question and scratched his scalp in frustration, I offered a solution. "Can Jordan stay the night? Please?"

"N-no, I'll get a hotel along the way," Jordan quickly offered.

Dad's resigned sigh confirmed I'd won. "Nonsense. Marli's right—about driving this late at night. You're welcome to sleep downstairs in the spare room." His finger tapped the top of my head. "But you, young lady, will remain upstairs."

I tried not to appear too joyful, but the wide smile on my face hurt. "Thanks Daddy." The endearment
daddy
I used when things needed to sway in my favor and worked like a charm. The sideways glower from Rick, however, informed me he also knew he'd been played.

A headache from Hell pounded my brain. Whatever made me slapstick silly last night left me feeling the total opposite once I woke. I rolled over and a piece of paper crinkled beneath my cheek. Rubbing my face hard to chase the last remnants of sleep away, I eased up against the headboard and unfolded the note.

Marli—Sorry I didn't wake you to say goodbye, but your dad stood guard at the door. You looked so angelic sleeping and I desperately wanted to hold you one last time. I hope the kiss I left on your forehead will keep 'till I can put another one on your lips. —"Hooked."

6

GOSSIP TRAIN

M
y restored vintage pink Mustang spent more time in the shop waiting for special parts than in our garage. Running behind schedule and facing the probability of missing a shuttle to school, I conned Rick into letting me drive his twenty-year-old Volkswagen—a trip that turned out to be its last mission.

The "bug" sputtered and jerked when I pulled into a space in the parking lot and I worried it might never start again if I shut it off. When a poof of blue smoke exited the exhaust pipe with a bang sounding like a gunshot, I feared the junkyard was next. Everyone within earshot ducked. A few swore at me, but that wasn't what attracted their stares.

News traveled at alarming speed and yesterday's events followed me like a neon arrow, pointing to the girl who sucked the lips off some stranger in a fancy car, not to mention letting said stranger attempt to murder her jealous boyfriend. Correction—
ex-
boyfriend.

I walked down the hallway aware of the thousands of eyes burning into the back of my head. When I rounded the corner, Brit and Alex stood guard at my locker cube.

"Wonderful, locker stalkers."

Brittany appeared annoyed, her tone sharp. "You didn't return any of our messages and your father wouldn't let us talk to you."

I engaged my data pad in the docking unit and downloaded my assignments for today's classes before answering the onslaught of questions coming my way.

"I was busy being passed out. Jordan took me to the hospital and they gave me something to make me sleep. Dad's also royally ticked at the moment."

Alex's breath felt hot on my ear. "Jordan
Mason
?" Brittany moved closer, officially consuming the rest of the oxygen surrounding me.

"Yes," I whispered. "He came to see me."

"We need some major girl time. Let's go to that new doughnut shop."

"Are you nuts, Alex? I can't skip classes. I'm up for Valedictorian. Rick bribed Principal Anderson with a free checkup on her cat to excuse me yesterday."

"Lunch, then."

"Nope. English test to make up I also missed yesterday."

The bell rang and the hall became a sea of rushing bodies. I scanned my wristband to lock my cube. Brittany and Alex remained permanent fixtures in front of me. I couldn't talk about yesterday's events at school and risk someone hearing, nor could my friends come to my house with Rick watching my every move. Alex's house was the safest to share secrets.

"Can we do a girls night at your house? I'll buy pizza."

Asking Alex to wait until tonight for details would prove torturous. Her lips squiggled several times as she contemplated my proposal. "No ditching."

The late bell would ring any moment so I broke into a half jog toward my class and yelled over my shoulder. "I swear. Seven, K?"

"Pepperoni and mushrooms," Alex hollered back.

Yuck. She did that on purpose. I hated mushrooms, but sighed with relief that she didn't demand anchovies as her revenge topping."

Dad sounded crazed when I relayed the news his "baby" wouldn't start. Sometimes I wondered if given a choice between his old car and me, who'd win out. After yesterday, the car—hands down.

The wrecker driver anchored the Volkswagen, shaking his head at the river of dark liquid streaming from beneath the car. When he pulled away with my father's pride and joy, I faced an empty parking space…and Sam.

His rock hard body slumped with a hint of insecurity. One hand hid in a front pocket and he scrubbed the back of his neck with the other, his foot nervously scraping the pavement.

"Need a ride?" Most everyone had left so it was either him or a shuttle. Definitely not my first choice. "Face it, babe, we're going to have to talk about yesterday sooner or later."

I stopped at the open door of his jeep. "I'm not your 'babe.'"

"Whatever."

Sam parked in front of my house, angling to face me. I undid my seatbelt and mirrored his body posture. Offense versus Defense. He drew a long breath.

"I'm sorry, okay? Maybe I was an ass and deserved the slap. Probably the punch, too."

"
Maybe?
Am I the only one who remembers where your hands were?"

"Shit, cut me some slack, Marli. I said I'm sorry. I know what I did was wrong."

This was heading for a disaster. I checked my anger. "How's your stomach?"

"Hurts. But not as bad as my heart."

"Sam, don't start. You've known from day one I'd end up with a candidate. Thinking anything else was a fantasy." I reached for the handle, but he caught my hand.