By the Pale Moonlight (Book One of the Moonlight Series) (15 page)

Wait a minute. "Mind reader?"

A small dot of red appeared high on his
cheek. "That's right."

"Really?"

He glared at me out of the corners of his
eyes. "Really. If you must know, I've been waiting a very long time
for you to come to your senses and dump that jerk."

My breath caught. "How long?"

"A long time."

"But you were dating Carrie all that time.
Didn't you guys? I mean, you know..." Now it was my turn to have my
cheeks go up in flames.

The corner of his mouth lifted. "No."

"Oh." I was stunned.

"Anyway, the point being—she couldn't have
known. Just trust me, okay?"

"Have you ever?"

He closed his eyes, the pink dot expanding.
"No."

My heart shot off into space. "Me neither," I
confessed.

An awkward silence stretched between us. Had
we really wasted so much time?

His rich laughter filled the car
suddenly.

"What's so funny?" I said.

"I'm just trying to picture the look on
Vince's face when you called him out in front of half the school."
His green eyes danced with humor and soon I was laughing along with
him.

"Man, I wish I could've seen that," he
said.

"It was quite the shining moment for me.
I..."

Ty reached across the seat and ran his
fingertips down my cheek. I froze, my breath leaving me completely.
Unblinking eyes burned into mine as he slowly leaned toward me and
captured my mouth with his. His lips were soft and warm, and he
tasted like peppermint. Strong arms encircled my waist and pulled
me closer, deepening our kiss in the process. When his tongue
brushed against mine, I gasped softly.

Time seemed to slow around us as we tasted
and touched one another. Despite a burning desire on both our
parts, we didn't rush anything, allowing ourselves time to explore
and be explored. A light rain pattered on the roof of the car,
providing the perfect soundtrack to the moment. I memorized every
last detail—the salty taste of his skin, the feel of his hands upon
me, the way our bodies seemed to mold together perfectly.

It was innocent, a promise of something
more—someday.

When he at last pulled away, I didn't want
him to go. His eyes were lit with a heady desire that matched my
own, but we both knew this was neither the time nor the place. We
would take this slowly, get to know each other on this level one
step at a time.

"I better get you home," he whispered.

"What if I don't want to go?" I kissed him
again.

He groaned in the back of his throat. "I
definitely need to get you home."

We untangled our limbs. Somehow I had ended
up halfway in his lap. I took a moment to straighten my blouse.
Making out with Ty now topped my list of favorite ways to spend an
afternoon. Yes, we definitely needed to do this again.

He pulled the car out of the lot, and we
drove back to town with me sitting mere inches away from him. The
air between us danced with electricity, a connection though we
weren't touching.

"Did you plan this?" I asked.

His lips curved upward. "Of course."

"Does this mean you'll let me drive your car
now?"

"Uh, no."

I hated tests. I despised them even more when
I had so many other things on my mind.

Despite knowing I had to do well on the SATs
in order to get into a good college—who hasn't heard that one,
right?—I kept finding my thoughts wandering. Somehow two trains
departing a station in opposite directions didn't quite stand up to
Ty and our upcoming experiment.

The stillness of the room started to agitate
me. The pencil scratches, turning of pages, and the occasional
cough from the other test-takers only served to put me on edge as I
eyed the clock. We'd all agreed to wait until the writing section
to give the whistle a little toot, but my glance kept sweeping
across the room to study the bowed heads and hunched shoulders of
the other students. Could the person who attacked Kim be in this
room?

The gymnasium had miraculously transformed
over night. Rows upon rows of desks crammed the area, each holding
two students separated by enough distance to ensure they couldn't
cheat. Ty sat three rows up and two aisles to my left. Melanie was
one row up from where he sat. On my way in, I'd managed to finagle
a seat in the last row. This would provide me a full view of the
room to see who—if anyone—squirmed in discomfort at the
high-pitched sound of the dog whistle. Anyone other than Ty that
is.

I focused on his wide shoulders and
momentarily forgot where I was. He was dressed in black running
pants and a long sleeved white T-shirt. He puckered his lips
slightly as he concentrated on the booklet before him. I admired
his profile while softly chewing on the end of my pencil.

I fingered the small chain around my neck.
The dog whistle hung on the end, and a small pang of worry went
through me when I remembered the pained expression on Ty's face
during our test-run. I'd have to be quick and spare Ty as much as
possible.

A soft ahem from the proctor jerked me back
to reality, and I almost had a heart attack when I realized how
much time had lapsed during my little gawk-fest. Taking a deep
breath, I concentrated on finishing the remaining questions. I
barely managed to fill in the last bubble on the scantron before
time was called.

The proctor released us for a short break. I
huddled together with Melanie and Ty out in the hallway.

"How's it going so far?" Melanie spoke
low.

"Fine." I left out the part about being
unable to concentrate. "Only problem is that Caleb isn't here."

She nodded solemnly. "I know. We'll have to
catch him another time. I'll be right back—bathroom." She stepped
to the back of the long line assembled outside of the women's
room.

I inched closer to Ty. "What about you? How's
it going?"

There were deep circles under his eyes. I
couldn't say for sure how long he and Melanie had stayed up the
previous night, but he looked like he hadn't gotten any sleep. I
wouldn't know, as he had forced me to return home early, walking me
to my door to make sure I made it inside safely. Under strict
orders not to go anywhere, of course.

"I'm having a blast," he said with a
yawn.

"I bet. I'm getting you some coffee." I
started toward the teacher's lounge, but he stopped me and pulled
me in close.

"Mac, you need to concentrate on your
test."

I opened my mouth to protest.

"Don't pretend you didn't spend a good five
minutes staring at me during that last section."

"But..."

"I won't let you ruin your future because
you're too busy worrying about me—or because you think I'm cute."
The corner of his mouth lifted.

I rolled my eyes. "You're so full of
yourself."

"Tell you what. You concentrate and I'll take
you out for ice cream after."

"Oh, gee!" I laughed. "How exciting."

I smiled as he leaned down and brushed his
lips against mine.

"Eyes on your own paper, okay?" he said
softly.

"Slave driver."

We started to return inside, our arms
brushing together as we walked. Every part of my body felt
electrified as his fingers lightly played with mine, never quite
interlocking, but far from separate.

"Hey, Ty...Makenna."

Ty and I automatically stepped apart as
Carrie made her way over to us. I hadn't realized she was taking
the test today, but then the whole senior class had been crammed
into the gym. It only made sense. That didn't mean I didn't harbor
resentment at her presence. I eyed her suspiciously, not quite
giving up on my scorned girlfriend theory.

"How's the test going?" she asked.

"Fine." Ty and I spoke at once.

Boy was this awkward. "How about you?" Ty
asked.

Her eyes darted from my face to his. "It's
going okay. I'm having a little trouble with the math sections, but
that's never been my strong suit." She paused. "Is something
wrong?"

"Not at all." I glanced at my watch. "We
better get back inside, though. They'll be starting soon." Throngs
of students pushed by us into the testing area, nudging me further
away from the ex-couple.
Ex
. I clung to that word.

"Move," someone said from behind me. I turned
to find Jenna and several of her groupies waiting for me to step
out of the way. When I didn't, they brushed past me, pushing me
further away from Ty and Carrie.

I strained to catch the sound of their voices
above the hum of the students pouring into the gym. Ty stood out
above the crowd, but his lips weren't moving. He nodded, his mouth
pulled into a firm line. I knew Carrie was the one doing all of the
talking. I tried to catch his eye, but the proctor came to the door
and ushered me inside.

What had she said to him? As the next leg of
the exam began, my mind ran through several different scenarios. I
told myself not to worry and that Ty would tell me later. At least
I hoped he would.

Clearing my mind, I concentrated hard on the
bubble sheet before me. Time seemed to speed up and soon the
teacher at the front collected our exam booklets and passed out the
materials for the written section. Game time.

I waited until the proctor turned her back to
me before slipping the whistle into my mouth. Its metallic taste
was bitter on my tongue. Ty glanced over his shoulder and gave me a
go ahead wink.

It was now or never.

With a deep breath, I gently blew through the
end. Even from a distance, I saw the sudden tension in Ty's body as
he clenched his shoulder blades together. With my second blow, he
leaned on the desk with cupped hands over his ears. My lips
trembled, and I almost dropped the damn thing.

I tore my gaze away from him and ran it over
the other students. A boy from my biology class hacked into a
Kleenex, but other than that, I couldn't discern any peculiar
movements in the room. I continued to puff away. Nothing. I went
from desk to desk, only momentarily lingering on Carrie's dark
head. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and seemed
occupied with her essay. I moved on to Jenna, in the very front of
the room, and then David a few desks up from me. Nothing.

Melanie coughed loudly into her hand. My
heart sank.

Ty sat hunched over his desk, rocking
slightly. That was the final straw. I dropped the whistle and let
it slide back below my shirt. Tears of frustration momentarily
blurred the pages before me, but I bit them back. Ty's posture
returned to normal and soon he began to scribble his essay. With a
resigned sigh, I did the same.

o0o

With the last of the test materials
collected, relieved expressions blanketed the room. I finally
allowed myself a moment to relax. The attempt to unmask the other
werewolf had failed, but at least the SATs were behind all of us. I
took a second to relish the milestone.

When we were allowed to exit the room, I
couldn't help but notice Ty didn't wait for me.

Melanie waved me over, a sympathetic frown on
her face. "I'm so sorry things didn't work out. We'll try something
else." She squeezed my shoulder. "Are you ready to go?"

"What?"

"Ty wanted me to give you a ride home." At my
clearly puzzled expression, she paused. "He just caught me and
asked if I could give you a lift. Didn't he tell you?"

"No." Speak of the devil, I caught sight of
him heading toward a side exit. "Give me a minute, okay?"

"Sure thing, but be quick. My mom needs the
car." She went in the opposite direction.

I kept my eyes glued on Ty as I fought the
crowds to get to him. He only paused when I yelled out his
name.

"What's going on? I thought we were riding
home together." My words had a wheezing quality to them as I
struggled to catch my breath.

"Didn't Melanie find you?" His face remained
impassive.

"Yeah, but..."

"I've got a headache from that damned
whistle. I just need some time to be alone right now."

"But, I thought..." Something in his eyes
silenced me. "Wait. What's going on?"

Before he could respond, I turned to find
Carrie approaching. She stopped a few feet from us and my mind
reeled. "Oh." I lifted my eyes to his.

"It's not what you think it is," he said.

I shrugged off his words. "It's fine. I-I've
got to go meet Melanie."

My heart felt like it might break in half as
I rushed down the hallway, carefully averting my eyes away from
Carrie. Ty called to me, but I ignored him in my hurry to get away
from them both.

The pounding music coming through my speakers
made it practically impossible to concentrate on the calculus
problems before me. It didn't matter. Even in the solitude of a
tomb I wouldn't be able to focus when Ty was out with Carrie.
Images of them together began to creep in. I spun the dial to my
stereo until the windows rattled with the thumping bass. A headache
bloomed in my temples, but it felt better than facing the reality
of my life. If I couldn't keep from thinking of them, I'd damn well
make sure I couldn't think at all.

After my fifth failed attempt to work the
same problem, I slammed the book shut and flung myself across my
bed. How could this be happening? His sudden need to speak with
Carrie didn't make sense.

The crazy thing was that in my mind's eye all
I could see was the face of a pretty junior at our school.

I closed my eyes, trying to erase her image
from my mind.

God, not again. Not Ty.

o0o

"Have a good summer," Mr. Keane had said,
glancing up at the clock above the door. "Never hurts to start
break early."