“What’s with
your eyes, honey?”
Shit. I quickly
hooded my eyes and stared at the floor.
Too late. She
gasped. “They’re totally red. Liza Isadora Matthews—”
Oh great, the
full name. This was going downward.
“Have you been
drinking alcohol?”
In contrast to
her roar, my voice dropped to a mumble. “Only a little bit. And I didn’t know
there was alcohol in the soda, I swear.”
From there she
pulled off the full parental orchestra of scolding. She shouted, she grunted,
she called me irresponsible for drinking. But the worst thing, she grounded me.
The only time
where I would see daylight was soccer training Tuesday and Thursday, and she
only gave in to that because I begged on my knees. After all, I couldn’t
not
show up for the first week of training when it had been so hard to get onto the
team.
Then she brought
me a glass of water, hugged me, and said she was happy I didn’t get hurt. Duh,
she didn’t know about my hammering head yet.
Back in my room,
I slumped on my bed and made plans for a week trapped inside. At least my
to-be-read stack would shrink drastically this way.
Later that day,
my phone vibrated on the night stand, with Tony’s name flashing on the display.
I pushed the button to cut him off. Just letting it ring wouldn’t have been
enough. He needed to know that I didn’t want to talk to him.
A few moments
later, I got a text message. ARE YOU MAD AT ME?
Jerk, I wouldn’t
answer to that.
It didn’t take
long for him to send the next text. SO IT’S NOT A QUESTION OF
IF
BUT OF
HOW
MUCH
.
I clamped down
on my teeth, scowling sinisterly at the phone since he wasn’t here to receive
the evil glare himself.
I WOKE UP IN A
STRANGE HOUSE, IN A STRANGER’S BED, WITH A STRANGER SLEEPING NEXT TO ME. WHAT
DO YOU THINK?
I texted back, then picked up my book, and read three more
lines before my cell beeped again.
WHAT DID HUNTER
DO TO YOU? I’M GOING TO KILL HIM!
HE DID NOTHING.
HE WAS A PERFECT GENTLEMAN. OTHER THAN YOU, IDIOT!
No text came
after that. But soon my phone rang again. This time I picked up. “What?”
“I’m sorry.”
“I don’t care.
You forgot me at the party.”
He sighed before
he replied. “I didn’t forget you. It was the middle of the night, and I figured
the way you were—”
“Drunk?”
“—yes. I thought
it wasn’t a good idea to take you home. And your mom finding out. You seemed in
a good place in Hunter’s room. He promised you’d be awake already when he would
go to sleep.”
“What time did
you leave?”
“One. Why?”
Okay, so he
couldn’t know what happened. “Someone threw up in the hall. The party was over
at three.”
“Shit.” He
paused. “So will you come and hang out on the beach with a few of us?”
“I can’t. I’m
grounded all week. Will Cloey be with you all?”
“Um…yes.”
Terrific! Tears
of frustration welled up in my eyes.
“You only met
her yesterday. I don’t see how you can hate her so much.”
“You know what I
think about bimbos.”
“Look, she’s not
a bimbo,” he tried in what should be a soothing tone. “And I think you two will
get along well once you know each other better.”
“No thanks. I’d
rather stay grounded for the rest of the summer.”
“Agh, Liz. Just
when have you become so complicated?”
Me—complicated?
“Know what? I wish you a nice day at the beach. Now, if you don’t mind, I have
a book to read.” I didn’t wait for him to say bye, or anything for that matter,
but pushed the disconnect button and tossed the cell into the laundry basket
across the room. Screw him and the Barbie Clone. Screw them all.
As the first tears
came out, I wanted to rip my room apart with the anger I felt. But I was going
to spend a lot more time than usual in here the coming week and I didn’t want
to live in a mess. So I took it out on my diary. In the evening I watched some
TV then went to bed early.
It was still
dark when someone shouting my name in a subdued voice woke me. Since there were
not many people who called me Matthews, I jerked upright in my bed, my heart banging
in my throat. I rushed to the window and found Hunter standing in our yard,
dressed in shorts and a black tee.
“Hi,” he said
and smiled when he saw me. “You don’t look like you’re ready to go.”
I fought to find
my voice but kept it low, leaning far out of the window. “How did you know this
was my window?”
“I didn’t. It
was trial and error.”
Gag. “How many
windows have you tried?”
“Yours.”
Okay.
Oh—kay
.
I needed to calm down. The captain of the soccer team waited below my window,
and I stood here in my tank top and boy shorts. Duh, it was five in the
morning.
“Are you
coming?”
“I can’t. I’m
grounded.”
A sly smile
played on his lips. “For sleeping with me?”
“For not
sleeping in my own bed,” I whispered back, fighting to bite down the grin he
teased from me.
“How long are
you grounded?”
“Until Sunday.
But I can come to the training.”
“At least
there’s that.” He scratched his chin, looking around my garden, especially
scanning the shed and tree next to my window. “What time do you usually get up
in the morning?”
What kind of
question was that? “I don’t know. Eight, nine, sometimes later.”
“So we have at
least three hours until someone will expect you downstairs.” The left corner of
his mouth tilted up, and he flicked his head, motioning for me to move. “Come
out.”
“What?”
“Get dressed and
climb to the roof of the shed. I’ll help you down.”
A hesitant laugh
broke from my throat. “You’re crazy.”
“
You
are
a coward.”
“I’m not!”
“Prove it.”
That cut me
silent.
Tony had used
the tree and shed to get into my room since we were nine years old. But with a
key to the front door, I had never felt the need to do the same.
“So?” Ryan
prompted me.
“Fine. Give me a
minute.” He was insane, and I was even crazier to agree to his stupid idea. But
heck, what did I have to lose? Apart from another week of freedom for a reckless
escape from my room.
I traded my
jammies for shorts, a white tank top, and trainers, then wound my hair back to
a high ponytail. Hunter was leaning against the trunk of the maple tree when I
returned to the window. He straightened when he saw me.
A little shaky
at first, I hoisted one leg over the window sill and then clutched the frame as
I let myself down to the roof of the shed.
“Good.” Ryan’s
low voice already sounded nearer than before. “Now hang on to that branch, and
I’ll get you down.”
Huh? “I’ll break
my neck if I fall.” Goddammit, I should have stayed in my room.
“I won’t let you
fall. Promise.” He lifted his arms toward me as if intending to catch me.
Breathing deep,
I grabbed the nearest branch then stepped off the wood board roof, suppressing
a frightened moan. My feet dangled in front of his face. He stepped closer and
ran his hands up my thighs until he had a good grip right beneath my bottom. I
swallowed hard and wondered if he had the slightest idea how that made me feel…
“I have you. Let
go.”
“What?” I cried
out, digging my fingers harder into the wood.
He laughed, and
I found I quite liked that sound. It felt soothing, somehow. “Let go of the
branch, Matthews.
Now.”
“
Ungh
.”
It took all my courage to uncurl my fingers and let him support my weight. As
soon as I let go, I clutched his shoulders, and he eased the grip of my legs to
wrap his arms around me and let me slide down flush to his body. When my feet
touched firm ground, I looked up at his face.
He didn’t
immediately release me but let a smile tug on his lips. “Hi.”
CHAPTER
7
THE BEGUILING
SCENT of Hunter enveloped me, just like his arms. Tony had hugged me on
countless occasions. But this was different. It screamed in comparison to the
placid emotions I experienced when my best friend hugged me. This was
mind-blasting, blood-boiling exciting. A thrill went through me. I stepped out
of his embrace.
“Can we go?” he asked,
making no effort to hide his amusement at my obvious discomfort.
“Where to?”
“The beach.”
That was about
one and a half miles away. Was he kidding? I’d probably drop dead half-way. But
I wasn’t a whiner—I hoped. I nodded, and we started off on a slow pace for
which I was grateful. In the morning, the street was unnaturally silent. I couldn’t
remember when I had last been out this time of the day. Five was way too early
to do sports. Seriously. The normally bright facades of the houses lining our
street all appeared in a monotone bluish-gray now.
“So your parents
got angry because you didn’t get home last night?” he said with perfectly even
breathing after the first quarter mile.
Did he really
expect me to jog
and
talk? My breathing was erratic, but I managed to
say, “No. My parents thought I crashed at Tony’s. Which is fine with them.”
“You do that
often?”
“You sound like
you disapprove.”
He only cut me a
sharp sideways glance. Heck, what was that? Did he really care?
“So why the
grounding?” he asked as we passed a crossroads and neared the ocean. The sound
of waves crushing on the beach drifted to us, breaking the silence of the
morning.
“My mom saw my
red eyes and figured I’d been drinking. Crap—” I panted. Sweat trailed down my
neck, my back, and between my breasts. “I forgot your sunglasses.”
“No worries. You
can give me them tomorrow before training.”
How did he do
this? Run so far and still speak to me like he was lounging on the sofa. Gasping
for air, I only nodded. The beach came into sight, and relief filled me. A few
more meters I told myself and pushed harder. Then my feet hit sand.
And I collapsed.
Dropping to the
beach like a sack of flour, I rolled onto my back and gazed at the soft pink
sky.
Ryan stood over
me. “What are you doing?”
“Dying.”
“No, you’re not.
Get up, we’re not done.”
“
I
am.”
My breaths sounded like those of a rasping woman on her deathbed. “But don’t
mind me. You just go on. I’m sure in a few hours someone will come and scrape
me off the pavement…dig me out of the sand…whatever.”
Amazing how the
sound of his laughter made me wish for the strength to stand up and continue
running just to be near him again. Luck was on my side today. A moment later,
he lowered to the sand, too.
Hunkered by my
feet, he…untied my shoe?
“Hey, what the
heck—!” I pulled my leg away. “You don’t steal from a dying person.”
He lifted his
palms in defense. “Fine, then take them off yourself.”
“What? Why?” Shocked
and a little curious, I propped on my elbows and watched as he untied his
laces. Hope filled me. “We’re going to take a swim now to cool off after the
training?”
“Nope. The
little run was only warm-up. The training begins here.”
“You can’t be
serious.” What was it with him and warm-up all the time? I was heated enough
when we left my street.
His eyebrow arched
up. “What are you willing to bet on it?”
Shit. He
was
serious. Ready to slump back and bawl, I clamped on my teeth instead and
gathered what little dignity I had left then sat up. I slipped out of my
trainers and hid them with Ryan’s close to the rocks and out of temptation from
by-passers.
If I thought
running to the beach was exhausting, then I sure didn’t know what it was like
to jog barefoot in the sand. The muscles in my calves took on a burn that
became unbearable after only a couple hundred meters.
I shot him a look
filled with loathing as I struggled to keep pace with him. He smiled, making me
gnash my teeth.
“Do your parents
know about this sadistic side of yours?”
He playfully
tugged at my ponytail. “What can I say? You bring out my best side.”
“Ah, great. I
feel so special now.” Each step became increasingly heavier as if my limbs were
weighed down with stones. “How far are we going?”