Frostbite (Touch of Frost) (2 page)

One that included a boyfriend
and
a best friend. Sneaking kisses in dark movie theaters when we were supposed to be watching the show. Lazy days by the pool. College applications.
Normal.
Not one that involved running from scientists who wanted to dissect me to learn about my powers.

College would be awesome with the dorm-living, all nighters, pizza binges…

“Got another one for you, Ms. Stevens.” The high-pitched voice squeaking behind me sounded like the gym teacher.

I turned in my seat to see the lucky person risking his life to sit next to me for the next ninety minutes. My gaze landed on Zach Landry, and the room temperature took a serious nosedive.

“Not you too, Zach.” Disappointment tainted Ms. Stevens’ voice.

Zach’s wicked, steel-gray stare bore into me, and my heart almost shot out my open mouth.

What planet had I been teleported to if
he
got thrown into detention? He’d never been in here with me before, and I pretty much owned this room.

Zach stared and cocked his head as if he was trying to read my mind.

My cheeks burned, and I knew I needed to turn around and face the front, but that crooked smile of his nearly undid me. No one had dimples that big.

Not to mention the lips. They were full, but that bottom lip, the way it pouted out a smidge—

“Thank you, Ms. Catts.” Ms. Stevens reached for the sweater draped around the back of her chair.

I will not freeze anyone today. Especially my teacher!

I drew in a breath through my nose and let it out my mouth as I ripped my gaze away from six feet of all male. Damn, he tripped my ice trigger. More his tight, lean, totally munchable body did. And that chocolate hair…

“Come on, Zach. Take a seat up here, next to your new best friend.”

Normally, I despised my long, dishwater-blond hair, but today—not so much. It formed a nice curtain between me and Zach. I needed that right now to mentally beat my body into submission. Snow would start flying soon if I didn’t calm down.

This was exactly why I stayed away from guys. People in general. Too dangerous. Too tempting.

He sat in the front row of desks directly beside me. I could tell because a wave of spicy cologne washed over me. What was that scent? Heady. Fresh…Bergamot. I’d smelled some wicked-awesome cologne once at a department store, and the chick had mentioned the base was called Bergamot.

And man, that spicy-fresh scent fit Zach perfectly—the jock he was.

“Amanda?” Ms. Stevens’s voice diverted my train of highly restricted and pretty much forbidden thoughts.

I sat up, willing myself not to sneak a peek at Mr. Off Limits. “Ah, yeah?”

“What brought you here this time?”

“Um, nothin’.”

The teacher’s short, auburn locks fell forward as she lowered her chin, peering over her glasses.

“I skipped a class.” I shrugged. “And I might have ripped on the mystery meat being served in the cafeteria.”

Zach snickered. He combed his fingers through his wavy, chocolate hair, and a grin filled his flawless face.

Oh boy, I was in trouble.

I turned away, because if I stared at him any longer, those steel-gray eyes nestled beneath his long, black eyelashes might crack through the ice protecting my heart.

And that’d be trouble for us both.

Ms. Stevens sagged into her chair, hugging her sweater tight around her. “Get some homework out, please.”

Poor Ms. Stevens. Always stuck in detention or study hall. And mostly with me. She tried talking to me. Like, to help a poor, troubled student. She had no idea just how troubled. I couldn’t explain my reason for making sure I stayed isolated most of the time or skipping gym class every chance I could. I couldn’t tell her
I
was the reason she had to put on a sweater a few minutes earlier.

I’d find myself in a straight jacket faster than I could say “popsicle.”

Maybe that’s why Georgia and I were such good friends, despite my best efforts to prevent it. She never got into any trouble—besides her rebellious act of getting a nose ring. She was a wicked-awesome artist, and I always felt comfortable around her. She was the closest thing to normal I had. It was nice.

I leaned over to grab my sketchbook out of my bag and couldn’t resist a quick peek at Zach.

I wish I had, though. He busted me flat out.

Wait—was he staring at me?

THREE

“A
manda, I’ll see you in Chemistry, right?” Ms. Stevens smiled as I stood to leave.

“Chem?”

“I’m subbing today.”

“Crap,” I whispered.

Hadn’t planned on going. A quiet, dark room was what I needed to refocus. Sitting next to Zach for over an hour had heated me so thoroughly I thought ice might break out on my skin just to cool me down.

“Yeah, um…see you there.” I glanced at Zach. He wore that annoyingly handsome grin I’d seen earlier. Like he knew a secret I didn’t.

I bolted through the doorway and headed straight for Georgia’s locker. She’d calm me down. For some reason, she always could. Probably had no idea she did that, but I needed it big time right now.

“So, you’re not a fan of Chem?” Zach asked from behind me.

I skidded to a stop on the slick linoleum floor, nearly tripping over my feet. The water bottle I’d grabbed from my bag crackled. A thin sheath of ice covered the plastic.

Oh crap.

Some chick plowed by, nailing my shoulder with her oversized chest. I spun a three-sixty from the impact. That actually hurt. She could have passed for Paul Bunyan’s daughter she was so huge. “Walk much?”

Zach chuckled and fell in step with me.

I shoved the nearly frozen bottle into my bag and hoisted the strap around my shoulder. “Laugh it up, quarterback. The second-string linebacker didn’t just tackle you.”

He laughed even harder. I forged onward, but he matched my stride. At least he couldn’t see my insides churning, because my heart and ribs started a death-match tournament.

“So, back to my question. You skipping?” he asked again.

I stopped and faced him, totally confused at his sudden attention. I’d done pretty well staying away from everyone at this school, and mostly him. If I’d started hanging out with him I’d never be able to keep him at arm’s length like I needed to. “And why are you so interested in my whereabouts, Mr. Never-talked-to-me-before?”

I will not freeze anyone today. Especially super-hot guys I’d rather be kissing.

“Let’s skip together.” He nailed me with that steel gaze of his.

I nearly choked on the bundle of nerves lodged in my throat. Asking me to skip with him was pretty much asking me out. And yeah, I so wanted to go out with him, but couldn’t. More I
shouldn’t
. More attachments meant more sadness when I had to bolt. I was already in too deep by having a best friend.

Oh, but a boyfriend…
No!

A line of goose bumps rippled up Zach’s bare arm, and he glanced around. Hopefully he didn’t notice the snowflake of frost form in the corner of the glass window encasing the fire extinguisher. If I didn’t calm down soon, the hallway would turn into an igloo.

I will not freeze anyone today.

I had to get out of there before I frosted over. “Well. Thanks for the offer, but I’ll pass. See ya.”

G
eorgia stabbed a finger into my shoulder, and I turned in my seat. “What’s with the jabbing today, Chica?”

“Class is over. Let’s go, dork.” She stood over me and crossed her eyes at me like I was insane.

She wasn’t far off. When I should have been listening to a lecture on molecules, I hashed out how I could possibly make it work to have a boyfriend.

Every scenario ended in disaster. Either I’d frozen his lips—or other vital organs—off. Or I had to bolt in the middle of the night because the
Coats
showed up.

The one that really sealed the deal for not trying it with Zach was his death. The
Coats
could seriously hurt him. Kill him.
That,
I refused to risk.

I slapped my notebook shut and shoved it into my bag.

As we sauntered out of class, Georgia said, “Okay, spill.”

I wished I could tell her how my day
really
started, but instead, I recounted each and every detail of my interaction with Zach—except the frozen water bottle part.

“No wonder you were zoning in class.” A giggle slipped past her shiny lips as she smacked my shoulder. “Zach’s hot—not to mention recently single. You should go for it.”

“No way.”

She tugged me to the side, near the water fountains. “Mandy. What’s the deal, girl? He’s hot. You’re hot—”

“Like he was serious. I mean, look at me.” I took inventory of my appearance. A glob of chocolate the size of a quarter spotted my faded blue jeans. Coffee stains sprinkled my pink t-shirt from when Scott’s cuss-fest freaked me out this morning.

“True. You’re a train wreck.”

“Thanks.” Little did she know it was strategic on my part. Blending in, keeping isolated…that had always been the plan.

Georgia, on the other hand, always looked good with her dark, spiky hair and big blue eyes.

“I’m kidding, Mandy. Don’t say crap like that.” She tugged at the ends of my hair. “You’re beautiful—a little scary with the ‘tude sometimes, but beautiful.”

There’d been a time when I was all about the
in
clothes, boys, friends. Hell, I was even on cheer squad.

Years ago…when I was human. But now—

The tone sounded.

“Ah, crap.” Georgia took off to the right.

I bolted straight ahead. Too bad I had English Lit, which was on the opposite side of the world from where I was.

“You’re going to need a pass.”

I skidded to a stop. The voice sounded like it came from ahead of me and around the corner.

I peeked and Zach’s steel-gray eyes bore into me for the second time in one day. He stood so close I detected the smell of my favorite flavor of minty-fresh gum.
That
morphed my mouth into Niagara Falls, and I had a flash of me nipping at that plump bottom lip to get me that yummy gum.

That sent a zinger right to my belly.

He looked down at me, which wasn’t hard since I was only five-three compared to his bulky six feet, and crossed his arms over his chest.

To my great surprise, frost didn’t cover his burly arms. Instead, he captured my hand and yanked me in the opposite direction of my class.

“What do you think you’re doing?” I needed to get to class. Things would get ugly in the Smith household if I got another rotten grade.

Zach squeezed my hand and said, “You’ll see.”

This would be
way
more fun than class. Well—as long as I didn’t freeze him.

He tugged me around another corner. The door leading to the janitor’s closet was propped open.

“You’re joking, right?”

He glanced around but didn’t say anything.

What’d he think? I was just some easy chick up for an afternoon quickie?

That arrogant son of a bitch. The hair on the back of my neck prickled as heat blazed my cheeks.

“Oh, please. Can we say lame?” I stopped, my shoes squeaking against the shiny floor. Sounded like we were in the gymnasium. I yanked my hand from his grip. His eyes went wide, probably wondering how I did that so easily.

Let him wonder.

He stepped toward me, but I stood my ground, arms across my embarrassingly flat chest. Sure, I could lift a car above my head…but no boobs.
Hardly fair
.

His dark eyebrows raised up, crinkling his smooth, tanned flesh. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. His yummy scent wrapped around me, drawing me forward. My arms would fit around his waist perfectly. My head was about the exact height of his chest. I could nuzzle right up in there—I straightened my back, snuffing out the spark starting to flame in places it shouldn’t.

“Scared?” he asked.

“
Pul-leeze
.” If anyone should be scared it should be him.

Of course, the idea of heading in there with him, peeling away that slightly too tight t-shirt, did hold a certain appeal. Getting lost in Zach. Forgetting about everything going on around me. All the danger. Frustration…
No.
Not an option for me.

I cleared my throat. “Arrogant much?”

His bottom jaw dropped.

“What makes you think I want anything to do with you, Zach? Especially in a stuffy, nasty, and totally disgusting closet?”

I wasn’t the brightest light bulb out there, but I wasn’t
completely
dim either, so I pivoted and strode away before I changed my mind.