Peachy.
He was going to get an earful from Chase tonight, something to look forward to. At least his evening wouldn’t be boring.
Mind? Emma thought. Who was he kidding? The more time she got to spend with him the better. There weren’t enough hours in the day as far as she was concerned. “No not at all. Aren’t you going to get into trouble?”
He smirked confidently. “Are you kidding? Not a chance. I have shop with Mr. Burke. Half the time he isn’t even there.” He also used his mad skills in persuasion, best to keep that little tidbit to himself.
She played with her food, pushing it around the plate, suddenly aware of how many eyes they had on them. It always seemed that no matter where they went, people were staring. Was it that unusual for them to be together? And that got her thinking… “How come you’ve never talked to me before?” The question had been burning on her mind since yesterday. They had gone from stolen glances to skipping classes within twenty-four hours. That was definitely an about-face, though she wasn’t complaining. This was more than she had wished for.
His eyes twinkled. “I didn’t think you noticed me.”
She choked on her water. Not notice him. Was he insane? There wasn’t a girl at Hall High that didn’t notice Travis Winters. “You’re joking?” She had only spent the entire forty-five period of study hall for the last fourth months eye raping him.
He shrugged. “You’re different than what I thought.” Okay so it wasn’t utterly untrue he knew she watched him, it was more that he thought she wouldn’t want to be near him. She was different.
Watching him pop a fry in his mouth, she thought that he had the most delicious mouth on the planet. “You are impossible to ignore,” she said softly.
He grinned at her, and his dimples lit up the room. “Yeah I get that a lot.”
No doubt.
Picking a french fry off his plate, she tossed it at him. “I just bet you do,” she replied, smiling.
Stretching out his legs under the length of the small table, he asked. “What are you doing after school?”
“Umm.” His leg brushed up against hers, and she lost her train of thought. Heat scorched through material, and the blood started to swim her veins, all from his legs leaning on hers. What was the question? She fumbled in her thoughts for an answer. Dancing. That’s what she was doing. “I have to go to the studio,” she finally managed.
He watched as the tiny flecks of green in her eyes deepened and darkened, he was pleased. It wouldn’t be fair if he was the only one suffering here. Not when he was fighting the urge to lean over the table and take possession of those pink lips. With difficulty he refocused his thoughts. “What about this weekend? There somewhere I want to show you.”
Lord help her, she wanted to throw everything she worked hard for to the wind. She was going to be obsessed with a boy if she wasn’t careful. “Sure. Can I meet you somewhere? My parents are strict–” Strict was an understatement.
“You don’t have to say anymore. I got it. Why don’t you just come to my house? I’m sure Lex would love to meet you,” he added, giving her a drool-worthy grin, hoping to seal the deal. He wasn’t letting her slip through his fingers.
“Okay,” she replied a little breathy and leaned on her chin.
“Good. Then it’s a date.”
“It’s a date,” she agreed, beaming.
Someone pinch her.
*
After school she went straight to the dance studio. Changing into her leotard, she was going over her lesson planned for today, a group of five and six year olds. They were so energetic like little packages of pop rocks.
Stretching out her muscles in front of the mirror, she studied her reflection. Her strawberry hair was pulled back, and wisps fell on her face. She thought her eyes were too big, her skin too pale, and she was too curvy for a dancer.
She sighed. What teenage girl didn’t wish they could change something about themselves? Emma was no different.
Lost in self-pity she was startled by a movement from the corner of her eye. Looking up, she was shocked when Travis’s dimpled grin smiled back at her. Turning around, he stood leaning on the ballet barre at the back of the room.
She hadn’t even seen him come in. One minute he was just there.
“I hope you don’t mind that I came by.”
She shook her head and grinned foolishly at him. “No, I’m glad you did. Are you here for a lesson, ‘cuz you’re in luck. I’m teaching today.”
Pushing off the bar, he walked toward her never losing eye contact. His blood was purring at the sight of her in skintight black. There wasn’t a spot of her left that he couldn’t envision and was itching to get his hands on. For a dancer she was still curved in the right places. Maybe not as much as the skankbait Sierra, who was forever throwing herself at Chase. Em was beautiful. And his.
The second he thought it, he knew it was true.
“Hmm, tempting,” he murmured.