T is for...he's a TOTAL jerk (Grover Beach Team #3) (16 page)

About what? Tipping…or getting too close and playing with fire?

The thunder rolling in the distance seemed to come closer, but I didn’t care. My heart banged against my ribcage, totally out of control.
So much for refusing to fall for this guy.

I sucked my bottom lip between my teeth,
then released it, breathing a little harder. Oh damn, could he pull me that last inch toward him now and kiss me, please? I was aching for it.

Tony blinked.
Once. Twice. Then he closed his eyes and a deep sigh escaped him.

No, he wasn’t going to kiss me. Not now or ever…

She was all,
Kiss me! Kiss me, Tony!
Frankly, I had no idea what stopped me. All I knew was that I took a deep breath, clenching my teeth, then I let go of Sam and took a small step back. As far as the wall of solid rock behind me allowed.

Her mouth fell open, her dark brown eyes turned wide like those of the stallion she’d been riding before. Her nostrils flared slightly.

Fuck, I’d hurt her.

Again
, a grumpy voice inside my head pointed out. Yeah, I could do that like no one else. What surprised me was that she would let me kiss her after all the crap that had been going on between us since the day of her arrival. One might think she would shove me off the cliff the first chance she got.

But for a reason I couldn’t explain to myself, she didn’t. The girl just stood in front of me with saggy shoulders and an expression that tugged at my heart.
Ow
.

The good thing was, by now I knew how easily distracted Sam could get and I seized the chance. “Turn around,” I told her as softly as possible without letting my frustration at my hesitation slip into my voice.

Her brows quirked. “Hmm?”

I nodded at the landscape behind her without breaking eye contact, and this time she looked hesitantly over her shoulder. Then she spun around and gasped.

Mission accomplished. Samantha Summers was sucked into the beauty of the fascinating scenery before her and had forgotten all about me. Why did this make me ache to hold her again?

Pressing my back against the wall, I raked my hands through my hair and cut a scornful look skyward. This couldn’t be true. I was attracted to Sam Summers. Another
Summers
out of all the girls in town. This was crazy. Shit, what was it about me and the women of her family that I couldn’t keep my distance from them?

Sam half-turned back to me…and smiled.

Unfair!
I wanted to scream at her.

“This is just beautiful,” she breathed.

I pressed my lips together, forcing a tight smile, and lifted my brows quickly, tilting my head.

Sam gazed down at the multitude of trees, bushes, flowers, roots, and moss again. “It looks just like a page ripped out of a storybook. What an enchanting place.” She was so immersed in the view that she didn’t notice the first few drops of rain falling on her head. Only when the rain quickly got harder did she look up at the sky and wipe the drops away from her face. “I guess we missed our chance to get home dry.”

How right she was proved ten seconds later as the sky opened its gates and a downpour washed over us.

Ducking her head, Sam shrieked and giggled at the same time. She was the only girl I knew who could do that and still sound lovely. With a wry expression on her face, she turned questioning eyes at me. “What do we do now?”

I grabbed her arm and pulled her toward me, then pointed at some sort of a man-high crack in the rock face a few feet above us. “You get up there and hide in the cave,” I said loudly enough for her to hear me over the rain.

Helping her climb the first two steps, I made her move. But when I let go of her and jumped down from the ledge, she stopped, looked back at me, and shouted, “Where are
you
going?”

“I’ll get your backpack!” With the rain coming down like this, her drawing would be ruined within minutes.

Little runs formed quickly at both sides of the path. I almost slipped on the soft ground. By the time I arrived by the tree where I had left my bike and Sam had left her bag, my shirt clung to me like a second, nastily wet skin. I strapped the dark red backpack over my shoulders and darted back to the rock face, scaling toward the cave where Sam waited.

The hiding place was a narrow crack in the surface, barely broad enough for two. To get there, I had to climb a few steps higher,
then jump down a meter onto the ledge. Sam had stepped back as far as she could, standing on a small rock. I reached her slightly out of breath and braced my impact with my palms at either side of her head.

She gasped as I stopped inches before her face.

Water dripped from my hair, down her sweet snub nose. A taunting drop wanted to be kissed away. Oh man. Why did this girl tempt me so sorely?

She wasn’t
Liza, I tried to argue with myself, but the cousin of the girl who was going to ruin my last years at high school with a lie. I couldn’t trust Sam. Didn’t want to.

But I wanted to fucking kiss those sensual lips.

Aware that I hadn’t moved for the last half minute but only stared into Sam’s big brown eyes, I dipped my chin a little. Just so much that the tip of my nose brushed that rain drop away from hers.

Sam’s breathing sped up. Almost at eye level with her, I could feel it warm and soft on my chilled skin. Her hands touched my chest, uncertain and light.

“You shouldn’t do this,” she said, her voice a shaky whisper.

I shouldn’t kiss her?
“Why not?” Leaning in just a little more, I sounded gentler than I thought I could. Skimming the tip of my nose across Sam’s cheekbone now, I closed my eyes and inhaled the fruity scent of her hair.

Her lips brushing against my cheek ignited a sensual shiver down my back as she answered, “Because you don’t really want it.”

Two minutes ago I might have agreed. But right now I couldn’t imagine anything I would rather do than kiss her. Just one short nip of that luscious bottom lip. Then I would pull back. And everything would be fine.

“Do
you
want it?” I breathed and placed a tender kiss on the soft spot behind her ear.

Sam stilled,
then she sighed, slipping her fingers underneath the straps of her backpack. “That doesn’t matter.”

“It matters to me.”

“I can’t seem to figure out what’s going on inside you.”

“You don’t have to.”

“See, that’s the problem,” she almost whined. “You’re confusing me. Everything you say seems to be at war with everything you do. This really is a bad idea.” In spite of her words, she leaned into me, pressing her cheek against mine. In God’s name, who was the hypocrite now?

Her skin felt velvety soft, tempting me to nibble a path along her jaw. “You sound like you’ve never done anything stupid in your life,” I whispered in her ear.

“Not like this. I think it would change too much…for
me
.”

My palms still solidly placed against the rock behind her, I touched my brow to hers and looked her in the eye. “You think too much, Bungee.” And with that, I was done talking. I tilted my head and brushed my lips against hers, leaving her no choice.

She
wanted it.
I
wanted it. Who was going to stop me?

I took her bottom lip between my teeth and gently sucked. Sweeping my tongue across it, I tasted the cherry lollipop, getting lost in her soft moan.

Just one little kiss. Nothing was going to change. We would still be friends tomorrow. Not more.
Nothing. Would. Change
.

Ignoring her weak protest, I took her hands in mine and moved them away from my chest, lacing my fingers through hers. Feeling her soft hands made me fully aware of how fragile and small she really was.
A girl who needed to be protected…from idiots like me.

What the fuck was I doing? I didn’t want a girlfriend. Especially not Cloey’s cousin.

Sam tasted wonderful, but I had to stop it now, or I wouldn’t be able to in another moment. Just when she opened her mouth at my gentle demand and the tips of our tongues brushed against each other, I pulled back, struggling to catch my breath.

This.
Was.
So
. Wrong.

His mouth was on mine. I didn’t want to give in, but I could do nothing to stop myself. My eyes closed, and I tilted my face just that last little bit to meet his gentle lips.

Tony stroked the inside of my wrists with his thumbs,
then pulled my hands away from him. His fingers laced through mine, and he tightened his hold.

My knees turned rubbery. In my stomach a nest of butterflies broke loose. But inwardly I raged. It felt so beautiful for me, while for Tony…this was only a game. After his last rebuff only minutes ago, it was clear the kiss didn’t mean half as much to him as it did to me. I was going to be the loser in this gamble.
Because I had put my heart on the line.

But he wouldn’t stop kissing me.

His tongue stroked a seductive path along my bottom lip, then he easily worked my mouth open, our lips moving together in a soft rhythm. So effortlessly, he had me giving it all.

Our tongues touched, slid against each other. It set my body on a flaming tickle that centered at the base of my belly.

And then, it was over. Just like that. Tony had pulled away. Utter shock gleamed in his eyes, like he’d come to his senses, and I got what I deserved for being so stupid. My heart fell and fell until I could have stomped on it with my feet. Or Anthony Mitchell could—because he actually was right now.

There you go, Sam.
Happy now?

He released my hands and raked his fingers through his wet hair, turning toward the forest and then back to me. “Ah, Sam…
listen—”

“No,” I cut him off, almost in a panic. “Just—don’t—say anything.” I didn’t want to hear his apologies or darn excuses for a moment that was so beautiful. It wasn’t his fault alone. I should have known better. After all, it was Liza he wanted. Not me.

Taking a deep breath, I tried to push back my hurt before it overcame me. Then I shrugged and even smiled. “We kissed. It doesn’t have to happen again. It’s all right.”

Tony hesitated. He didn’t show any of my forced nonchalance. But eventually he nodded.

I stepped off the rock, leaving the comfort zone of Tony’s eye level, and walked out into the rain that had ceased to a drizzle in the past couple of minutes. Climbing down the rock face, I looked up at him between watching my step. “Just don’t go back to being an asshole,” I begged with a warning note in my voice.

A sly smile appeared on his face.
Finally. “Can I call you tiny?”

Refusing to flip him the bird, I stuck my tongue out at him instead. “If you want me to kick your shin, go ahead!”

My feet touched the ground, and Tony was down two seconds after me. We walked to his bike, but instead of mounting it, he looked both ways along the path, deliberating. “Are you cold?” he asked me. “If you want, we can go back to Carry’s house and wait until the rain stops.”

I shrugged. “Yeah, I am.
A little. But I’d rather go home now.”

After a curt nod, Tony wheeled his mountain bike in the opposite direction from which we’d come, and when we had left the woods and returned to a paved street, he had me sitting on his handlebar like before. With the wind and the rain gushing at my face and
bare arms, I was freezing. But the cold also numbed my mind, and I was glad I couldn’t start thinking about what had happened back in the forest. Later, when I was alone in my room, would be soon enough.

Tony helped me down in front of my aunt’s house and handed me the backpack, but before I could walk inside, he grabbed my hand and held me back. Surprised, I spun around to him.

For a brief moment, Tony looked strangely forlorn. Then he cleared his throat, tightening his grip around my wrist a little more as if he expected me to wrestle free and run off.

“Look, I know you said it’s cool, but I’m—” He paused and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. You’re a nice girl. And I
kinda like to hang out with you.”

I kept my expression blank. “But…”

His answer took a while to come. “But I just don’t do the girlfriend thing right now.”

“Yeah, I figured that out.” For him, it was either Liza or nobody. “And I told you,
it’s okay. I’m not looking for a boyfriend.” I would tell myself so for the rest of the day. And in the end, maybe I’d believe it.

Giving him a tight little smile, I pulled my hand away from his. “See you tomorrow at lunch?”

“Sure.” He looked away.

I turned and hurried inside, out of the rain and away from the boy who’d broken my heart this afternoon. As soon as the door banged shut, I slumped against it and ugly, fat tears spilled down my cheeks.

“Sam, is that you?” my aunt shouted from the kitchen a couple of seconds before she appeared in the doorway.

It was too late to dry my tears. Pam rushed to me and cupped my face with her warm palms. “Darling, what happened? You’re wet to the bones, and why are you crying?”

“We got caught in the rain,” I choked out, then sank into my aunt’s caring embrace, sobbing into her shoulder. “And he kissed me.”

“Who?
Tony?”

Nodding, I looked up. And it was just my luck that Cloey stood behind Pamela, her face full of horror. She didn’t stay long enough to hear the end of the story, but whirled around and dashed upstairs. A moment later, the thunder of her door slamming shut echoed through the house.

Pam looked over her shoulder, oblivious to what was going on. She then held me tighter against her chest and caressed my hair. “If he kissed you, why are you feeling miserable?”

“Because he didn’t want it,” I told her truthfully. “I don’t know why he did it. But he said he didn’t want me as a girlfriend. He’s still in love with a friend of mine.
Has been his entire life.”

“Oh, Sammy.
He must feel something for you if he kissed you. Maybe he just needs a little more time to understand what he really wants.” Stroking my bangs out of my face, she gave me an encouraging look. “Who’s the other girl he’s in love with?”

“Liza Matthews. She’s with Jessie Hunter’s son.”

Realization shone in her eyes. She pressed a soft kiss to my brow. “Be patient. He’ll see that you’re everything she is. And more.”

I gave her a tight hug, grateful that she was here for me when I needed her. Her comforting words meant a lot to me. And they actually gave me hope that she might be right.

Even if a relationship wasn’t in his plans, Tony wouldn’t have kissed me if he hadn’t felt anything for me. And for the time being, that was enough. I valued his friendship.

Soaking in a long, hot bath helped to clear my mind of all the shit that was going on inside me. When I came out of the bathroom an hour later, I felt light and refreshingly confident. But most of all I felt cozy and warm in my sweatpants and a dark gray fleece pullover.

I flopped onto my bed with my cell phone in hand and keyed in a message for Susan. It was time to tell somebody about this odd afternoon. I had just sent the text when my glance skated over my backpack, which sat totally forgotten next to my door.

Taking it with me onto the bed, I pulled out my folder to examine my latest work. At this time, I still thought it was perfection. When I shoved it back into the folder, I found another drawing inside. This one wasn’t from me—but
of
me.

My mouth fell open. This was a portrait of me on Jostle, galloping across the paddock. It was done in light lines, just a rough sketch, but the features were accurate, my hair and the stallion’s mane wafted in the wind, and Tony had even caught my joyful laugh. His signature across the bottom-right corner brought a smile to my lips.

I was bored.

T.

A whistle from my cell phone told me Susan had read my text and replied. Of course, she was shouting for deets about the kissing. I’d call her in a minute, but first I had to do something else. Tony’s drawing reminded me that he also wanted to send me something. Wondering if there was already an email waiting for me, I booted up my laptop, which I hadn’t done in a while, and opened my mailbox.

There were a few spam emails, then one from my mom sending me pictures of our neighbor’s birthday party, and two from friends in Finland that I still wrote to every once in a while.
But none from Tony. My heart sank a little then, but I refused to let this spoil my joy about his picture.

I dialed Susan’s number, then squeezed the cell in between my ear and shoulder and typed a reply to my friends while I waited for Susan to pick up.

“Hey! What’s going on?” she screeched in my ear. Startled, I let the cell drop onto the bed.

“A lot.
And then nothing,” I told her when I had the phone back in place.

“What do you
mean, nothing? You spent the afternoon with Tony. Alone, for heaven’s sake. Tell. Me. All about it.”

I sighed and rolled my eyes, but I also laughed. “He came over, found me practicing in my uncle’s gym, and made me come to his aunt’s. She has horses, and I needed a live model for my AVE project.”

“Wow. He just walked into your house like that? Did Cloey see him?”

Finishing the first mail and sending it off, I answered, “Yeah. She wasn’t happy. But I really don’t care. It’s their problem, not mine.”

“So what happened next?” From her excited voice I knew she wanted me to get to the part where Tony kissed me.

“He had me sitting on his bike and we rode to his aunt’s.”

“That worked?”

“Yes. It was scary, but we made it
there all right. I worked on that one drawing I needed, and afterwards I got to ride a gorgeous stallion.”

“Tony?” she teased me.

“Ha…ha.” I sent off the second email, then closed the lid of my laptop, concentrating on Susan only. “But you know what? He drew a picture of me while I was on the horse. I didn’t know he had. Just found it in my folder.”

There was a stunned pause at the other end,
then Susan sighed dreamily into the phone. “Aw, this is so romantic. Liza was right. He really must like you.”

“I thought so when he kissed me in the woods,” I confessed then. “But he broke off the kiss before it got hot, telling me he didn’t want the girlfriend-boyfriend shit.”

“Dang.”

“Yeah.
That’s that. It won’t happen again.”

“Shame…” A smile sneaked into her voice. “But did you like the kiss? How was it? Is he a good kisser?”

“It was—” Amazing, wonderful, breathtaking, sweet, and gut-wrenchingly hot. “—nice.”

“Oh.”
Hard to miss her disappointment.

At that moment, my laptop made a low ding sound. I opened it again and found a new email in my inbox.
From Tony. My heart zigzagged wildly inside my chest.

“Hey, Susan,” I said, trying to mask my excitement. “Can I call you back later? There’s…another call coming in.”

“Sure.”

I rang off and tossed the phone onto my pillow. This should give Susan time to call Simone and Liza and spread the news.

Struggling to rein in my quickened breath, I opened Tony’s message.

___________________________

From:
Anthony J. Mitchell

To:
Samantha Summers

Date:
Sun, 11 Nov 2013 20:59

Subject:
helpful material

1 Attachment (1.65 MB)

Hey Sam,

Here’s the material on how to draw bodies.

I hope you didn’t catch a cold in the rain.

T.

Though his message was short, it didn’t escape me that he’d added a personal line. It kept my heartbeat in a fast rhythm.

The attached file contained a detailed description with sample pictures for each step. I scrolled through them and couldn’t wait to use this information for my next project. I saved it with my personal files,
then went to type a reply.

___________________________

From:
Samantha Summers

To:
Anthony J. Mitchell

Date:
Sun, 11 Nov 2013 21:13

Subject:
no cold

Thank you for the file. And for saving the drawing(s) today.

Sam

___________________________

From:
Anthony J. Mitchell

To:
Samantha Summers

Date:
Sun, 11 Nov 2013 21:14

Subject:
You’re welcome

You’re welcome.

To say I hadn’t hoped for a longer reply would have been a lie. But what did I expect really? A romantic letter with hundreds of explanations as to why this afternoon had gotten out of control? Well…a girl could dream, right?