Secret Storm (2 page)

"Sorry," he mumbled, stumbling down the
sidewalk with his buddies.

She ignored him and shoved her way inside,
searching the dark interior for her friends. She found Austin
Sinclair first, former Bayfield College bad boy and current love of
Jane Elliot's life. He waved to her from a table in the corner.
Jane, her roommate, had been talking about moving in with him after
graduation.

Wow.
She still could hardly believe
Austin was mature enough for that, especially after what he'd done
to Sara in their freshman year. But she no longer held it against
him. She'd forgiven him when he'd finally admitted to loving Jane,
and had apologized to Sara, but she hadn't gotten around to telling
him.
Let him dangle for a while longer.

"Hi. How was spring break?" Jane got up to
hug her.

Austin pulled out a chair and Sara sat down.
"Awful. I dumped David." Saying it out loud hurt more than she
expected.

Her friend gasped. "What? Why?"

"I caught him cheating on me." Her voice
trembled.

"Bastard," Austin growled. "What'd he do that
for?"

She shrugged and poured a glass of beer, the
full pitcher quivering in her unsteady hands. "I never should've
tried a long-distance relationship with him. He could barely keep
his mind on
me
even when I was right in front of him."

"Well, maybe you're better off without him."
Jane passed the pitcher to her boyfriend.

"Yeah, you're probably right. Cheaters aren't
worth the trouble." Sara took a sip, sliding her glance toward
Austin. "I've forgiven you, by the way."

"Good to know." He nodded slowly. "Especially
since I never cheated on you."

"Oh. Right. 'Maybe we should see other
people.'" She narrowed her eyes.

"That's my story and I'm sticking to it." He
sat stiff in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

Jane shook her head. "Aren't we done with
this yet?"

Sara laughed. "Yeah, we're done." She turned
to Austin, who relaxed. "Get us some food before this beer goes
straight to my head."

His cell phone rang before he could find a
waitress. On the other end, Sara heard a familiar male voice
spewing curses and threats. Austin laughed. "I'll be right
there."

Jane looked up. "Where are you going?"

"Jack's car won't start. I gotta pick him
up."

"Again?" Sara's heart started pounding. She'd
been a little disappointed not to see Jack here with Austin. The
two were usually inseparable. Not that she wanted to see Jack
specifically; she just didn't want to be Jane and Austin's third
wheel again.
Right?

He nodded. "That thing's seen better
days."

"Do you want me to order something for you?"
Jane asked.

"Yeah." A naughty smile touched his lips.
"You know what I like." She laughed as he leaned over and kissed
her. "Be right back." He kissed her again, lingering a bit.

"Leave already," she scowled.
Go get Jack.
Now.
She gulped her beer, trying to drown out the persistent
chant of the excited little voice in her head.
Why am I so eager
to see him?

Jane sighed as Austin scooted out the door.
She frowned at Sara. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Talk about...?"
Wanting to see Jack? Does
Jane suspect something?
Her quivering hand searched for her
mug, grasping at nothing. She finally stumbled across it only to
find it empty.

"Breaking up with David?"

"Oh."
Whew
. Jane didn't suspect her
feelings for Jack.
Feelings
? Hot, tingly, electric sparks
that made her insides sizzle. "Not really." She took the menu the
waitress handed to her. "Why don't you order first?"

Sara wondered if she should order something
for Jack too. He loved French fries.
Why do I know that? Why
does it matter?
"I'll have a mushroom burger with extra fries,"
she said when the waitress asked for her order.

Jane chuckled. "Hungry?"

She pressed her lips together. Her friend
didn't need to know why she'd ordered extra fries. "Tell me about
your spring break."

"We had so much fun," she gushed.

Sara rested her chin in her hand and listened
to her giddy roommate babble on and on about her vacation with
Austin, wondering why she fretted about Jack when she should be
talking to her best friend about her bad break-up.

Did I do the right thing?
Did David
deserve a second chance?
Austin had changed. Maybe David could
have too.

"Austin wants to start looking for an
apartment next month." Jane giggled.

"Wow, that's a big step." Her needs could
wait.

***

Austin arrived as Jack dug around under the
hood of his '68 Mustang and swearing. "When are you gonna let that
thing die?"

"I can't let it die." Jack slammed the hood
shut and picked up a towel to wipe off his oily hands. "My grandpa
made me promise to keep it alive as long as he lived." He grabbed a
second towel to rub his fingerprints off the shiny red hood.

"He's eighty-two."

The failed mechanic sighed and put his hands
on his hips. "I swear he's gonna live to be a hundred. This
car...." He kicked the bumper and the old Ford shuddered. "Not so
much."

Austin laughed. "Come on. The girls are
waiting for us at McGinley's."

"Girls?" He climbed into Austin's old Jeep,
shaking his head when it started right up.

"Sara's back. And... she's available."

"Don't lie to me, man." Jack's heart hammered
like he'd just plowed through a tough defense—which was nothing
compared to Sara's. Where she was concerned, something always
blocked him—her boyfriends, his girlfriends, school
demands—slamming him to the ground just short of the goal line. If
what Austin said was true, then both Jack and Sara were single...
at the same time.
That's too much to hope for.

"Scout's honor." Austin saluted with the
wrong hand.

"You were never a boy scout."

"She said she dumped... um... Daniel,
Donald.... I forgot his name already.

"David, I think."

"Are you still seeing...? Damn it, what's her
name?"

"Erica? We went out a couple times, but that
was it."

Unlike Austin, he preferred having one
girlfriend to playing the field, but his relationships were often
short-lived. Sooner or later a girl always got too close, wanting
to know more about him, his background, his family.... He
shuddered. Unable to risk letting anyone get too close, he always
found some reason to end the relationship.

But he wouldn't do that to Sara. "I want more
with her."

"You've wanted her since the moment you saw
her."

Jack smiled. "If we ever get together, it's
gonna last forever."

He couldn't explain why their future seemed
as inescapable as his past. Since he'd broken up with Angie, his
last steady girlfriend, he'd dated a few women, but never anyone
serious. He held out for Sara, biding his time while she dated
someone else.

She'd been dating Austin when Jack first met
her. He'd always wondered how a woman as smart as Sara had fallen
for his friend, but a lot of women had fallen prey to that
heartbreaker's charm. He could see why Austin wanted her too. Her
golden blonde hair spilled over her shoulders like thick honey—long
enough to brush her full breasts, though he tried hard not to
notice that. Other guys noticed too, and he laughed when her blue
eyes flashed, irritated by the attention. Those gorgeous eyes
appealed to him more than anything else—confident, smart, cool.
Sara and Jack could speak volumes to each other with only an
exchange of glances: a connection without words. Jack wanted more
with her than friendship, but had never been sure what she
wanted.

After Sara and Austin had broken up, Jack had
tried to look out for her.

"I'm here, Sara. Let me help—"

"No! I can take care of myself. I don't need
another man in my life. Not for a long time."

He'd kept his distance, hoping someday she'd
look at
him
with the same lust and longing he felt for
her
.

But someday never came.

Graduation is only a few weeks away. Time is
running out.

"Well, she's single now," Austin said. "And
so are you."

"Yes I am."

"You'd better do something about it quick.
Sara's not the kind of girl to stay single for long."

Jack clenched his jaw. "What's that supposed
to mean?"

"She's a beautiful woman. Any guy would be
lucky to have her."

Like you?
"You have Jane," he snapped.
His hand curled into a fist and he counted to ten—slowly. Austin
couldn't be thinking
that
. His fingers uncurled, leaving
half-circles in his palm.

"I have Janie, and I never want anyone else."
Austin parked the Jeep. "Sara's all yours."

"Damn right." Now he just had to figure out
how to make that happen.

***

"There they are." Jane smiled and scooted
over so Jack could sit next to Sara.

Oh God.
Her heart pounded again. Only
two weeks had passed since they'd last seen each other. Jack drew
her attention as always, but this time she really
looked
.
His hair looked longer, almost touching his shoulders now.
Mmm....
She'd always wanted to get a handful of it. His
eyes, deep blue and so expressive, made her wonder what thoughts
lurked behind them. He seemed to hide some deep mystery, some
fascinating secret. A jagged scar through his left eyebrow gave it
a fiendish arch, and his smile held a hint of danger.

A warning, perhaps? What a wild thought.

Jack wasn't a dangerous guy—probably the
nicest one Sara had ever met. Kind, polite, gentle—except on the
football field. Jack Wheeler held the distinction of best running
back in Bayfield College's history. His coaches called him an angry
runner, fighting for every yard like his life depended on it. All
part of the mystery: where did that anger come from?

"Hi, Jack, how was your break?"

"Dull." He slid into the seat beside her and
picked up the only Coke on a table full of beer.

"You need something to eat." She signaled the
waitress. "Did you stay in town the whole time?"

"Yeah, I've got nothing to go home to. Mom
had to work double shifts, and Austin was in Florida with Jane
doing things I'd rather not know about."

Sara laughed and cast a glance at the two
cuddling in the corner. "No kidding."

"Everybody else went home or on vacation, so
I had the place to myself." He took a deep drink of Coke and sat
back in his chair. "I liked it."

"I should've stayed here too." She picked at
her French fries then pushed her plate away.

"That bad, huh?"

"Worse. I caught my
boyfriend—ex-boyfriend—cheating on me."

"I heard." He nodded toward Austin. "When you
say caught, do you mean...?"

"Caught him—with her."

"Ouch." He winced and reached for her
plate.

"Yeah, I threw her naked ass out the door and
told him he could screw himself from now on. He's never touching me
again."

"Good." Jack stole a fry from her plate. "I
mean good for you, for not letting him get away with it." He
stuffed another fry in his mouth. "You didn't want any more of
these, right?"

She smiled. "Nope. You can have them." With
her heart doing flip-flops over Jack and her head stewing about her
break-up, she didn't have much of an appetite anyway. She leaned on
the table and sighed. "That's the last time I get involved in a
long-distance relationship. I will never trust a man that much
again."

Jack looked at her as if trying to look
straight into her soul. She knew he had a gift for reading people,
but sometimes he stared at her like she was a book written in
another language. And then he'd say something profound or
mysterious and thought-provoking. "Trust has to be earned. It can't
be given away."

She pushed aside her turbulent thoughts long
enough to consider his statement. "Well then, a guy would have to
work pretty hard to earn my trust."

"A worthy quest." He smiled.

Or he'd say something just plain weird.
Quest
?

"We're going home," Jane giggled as Austin
dragged her out the door. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Sara groaned.
Great.
They
were headed for the thin-walled apartment she shared with Jane.

"That's gotta be uncomfortable for you."

"Let's just say I've been sleeping with ear
plugs for the last several months."

"Me too, but at least they're happy."

"Yeah, that's something." She watched him
happily finish off her fries. "Austin just ditched you."
Why am
I hoping something earthshaking is about to happen?

"It wouldn't be the first time."

Make it happen!
"I'll give you a ride
home."

"Thanks. I'd like that."

Has his smile always been so sexy?
A
little shiver ran down Sara's spine.
Yeah, more than happy to
give him a ride.
"My pleasure."

***

Jack couldn't be happier that Austin had
ditched him. Maybe now he could stop imagining the possibilities
with Sara and take some action. "Have you decided where to go to
grad school yet?"

"I applied to three. I got into two of them,
but I'm waiting to hear back from Greenwood University in Forest
Glen. That's where I really want to go. They have the best academic
program, the best faculty, the best internships...."

His heart sank. Forest Glen was four hours
away from Bayfield and at least half a day's drive from his home.
Time and distance allied against him. He sat next to her in the
separated bucket seats of her compact Honda Civic, so close he
could touch her if he shifted his arm—after three and a half years
of having to keep her at arm's length, he still didn't know how to
close the gap between them.