Red Hot Obsessions (23 page)

Chapter 4
Out of my League

I couldn’t close my eyes last night. Not one second did I sleep. One moment I was thinking about Hunter so much I thought I was dreaming, but of course I wasn’t. Sometimes I even wondered if he was awake, too.

Dragging myself out of bed this morning was no easy feat. Normally I wake Evie up, but this time it was the other way around, which is unusual, to say the least. With half-mast eyes I make my way to class and sit down somewhere comfortable.

Suddenly the door to the classroom opens, and someone comes stumbling in. Everyone turns around in their seats, but I don’t really care today. I’m way too tired to check and see who it is.

“Well …” the teacher says, and puts down his book. “Mister Bane.”

The moment I hear his name my eyes jerk open, and I turn my head like an owl peering around. Hunter walks down the steps, carefully watching where he puts his feet. His eyes look even more swollen than last night, which I thought wasn’t possible until now.

“Be on time from now on. Next time you can wait outside,” the teacher says, his eyes following Hunter all the way down.

Until he sits down right next to me.

I gulp the moment he slumps down in his seat, his arm grazing mine. I hesitate to look at him, because I’m afraid he might look even worse than before. No, I know he does. And I don’t like seeing him that way.

The teacher glances sternly at him one more time before continuing with his lesson.

Hunter sighs and buckles. He drops his arms on the table in front of him and lets his head rest on them. With his head completely buried between his arms he looks like he’s falling asleep.

When he starts snoring, I know he has.

I pick up a pencil from my stack and poke him with it, but he only groans. He moves around a little, but doesn’t stop snoring. The more I try to wake him, the more he starts making noises, and I don’t want the teacher to hear. What if he looks this way and sees him sleeping in the middle of class? I don’t want Hunter to get in trouble. However strange it sounds, even to me.

I bend over and put my mouth close to Hunter’s ear. I’ve never been this close before, and it makes me shiver. My lips are so near to his skin, I could kiss him and feel what it’s like. If I could only do it. If I had the courage.

God, what am I thinking?

The smell of his aftershave is intoxicating, and my lips start to quiver the moment I try to speak. “Wake up,” I whisper.

He takes in a huge breath, and suddenly his face is turned to me.

A squeal almost comes out of my mouth, but I stop it by jamming my lips shut. He’s looking straight at me, eyes wide open. His lips are parted, his hair is messy, and I can feel his breath tingle on my lips.

Holding my breath, I just stare back.

“Well hello there,” he says, a devilish smile appearing on his face.

“I … uh …” I stammer.

I scoot back to my place and draw back as far as I can. I suddenly feel very, very exposed. Like I just kissed him or something.

As if I would ever do something like that.

“You what?” he says, leaning on his hand.

“You were sleeping in class. I was waking you up,” I say, staring ahead.

I don’t dare look him in the eye, because I realize what those eyes are starting to do to me. Once I see them, I can’t look away. They’re pulling me into something that’s really not good for me.

But damn, those eyes. I just can’t look away anymore.

“Nah,” he says, closing his eyes. “I wasn’t sleeping.”

He yawns, and it makes me chuckle a little. “Guess you didn’t sleep either last night.”

“Not really, no.” He comes up from his sleeping position and stretches, making me gaze in awe at his well-built features.

I can’t believe I’m doing this.

Why am I drooling like this? This is so unlike me. I never fall for the bad boy. I never like guys who act like him, aloof and cocky. Why is this so different?

Frowning, I sigh, and start twiddling with my pen.

“You always come so close to guys you barely know?” he suddenly says.

I open my mouth to say something, but I have no clue what he’s talking about. Shaking my head, I say, “What?”

“You were only a few inches away from my face a couple of seconds ago.”

I blush hearing him say that. I know I was, but I’d rather not be reminded of something embarrassing.

“I’m just trying to help,” I say.

“I don’t need any help,” he says, clearing his throat.

“You said the same thing last night.”

“Yeah, and I meant it.”

“Well, you sure looked like you could use some help,” I say, pursing my lips.

He sighs. “As if it could do anything. As if it could solve my problems.”

“Maybe it could, if you’d accept it.”

He slams his hand on the table, and the sudden bang makes me jolt up in my seat. He stares at me, the look in his eyes violent.

“Nothing,
nothing
, can help me,” he says, his nostrils flaring.

My eyes sting with tears, and my hands form fists just from anger. “Fine. Whatever. I’m just trying to help. You don’t have to take it.”

His hand slips from the table, and he turns his head toward the exit, probably thinking of a way to escape. He’s still breathing heavily, and I feel terrible because of his sudden outburst.

But we barely know each other. This whole thing, the way he’s acting, is not because of me. Something must’ve happened to him to make him act like this. I wonder what’s bothering him so much that it makes him so explosive.

Was it the phone call?

“Look … I’m sorry,” he says quietly.

I bite my lip as I almost see him think. He’s staring at his table, probably mulling over his words, over what is happening in his life.

Sometimes I wish I could see inside.

“I just had a rough night, and I’m kind of pissed about it, okay?”

“I understand,” I say.

He nods, still looking like he’s thinking about a whole lot of things at the same time. “Okay.”

I know I said I understand, but I don’t. I’m only saying it so he won’t be so angry anymore. It frightened me, but at the same time I’m still trying to figure out what the hell is going on in his mind.

*

It’s hot outside, and the sky is clear blue. There’s not a speck in the sky, and I feel good just being here. I’m sitting on the grass together with Evie. We’re studying and enjoying the nice weather. I like changing the location sometimes, keeps my brain from dozing off. Besides, the excitement of a new room quickly fades if you spend hours and hours locked up there.

Evie’s eating an apple, and every time she takes a bite it sounds like a horse is chewing.

I wince at the sound.

I look up, and before I can say anything I see a girl in a tight black dress stumbling over the grass, coming toward us in her sky-high heels. Scarlet.

I poke Evie in the side, and she almost drops her apple. With one eyebrow raised, I say, “Look who’s coming.”

When she sees Scarlet, she stops chewing. “Oh. My. God. Is she coming to us? Oh, please, no.”

I nod, sighing. I try to put up a smile for the girl, but I know everyone can see it’s fake.

“Hey girls!” she says with her usual cheerful voice. “What are you doing?”

Evie holds up her book and dangles it in the air without saying anything. Then she takes another bite of her apple to ensure she doesn’t have to speak.

“Studying,” I say.

“Oh … interesting,” Scarlet says, and she puts up a pretentious smile. “Mind if I join you?”

Before either of us can protest, she sits down on our blanket with her legs crossed like a real princess.

“Well don’t wait on us,” Evie snaps, and she throws away the apple.

“Wait for what?” Scarlet says.

Evie frowns and shakes her head, then she whispers in my ear, “Brains of a sheep.”

I muffle a laugh and hide it behind my hand. “Look, we really just want to study,” I say.

“I know. I was planning to do the same, but when I saw you girls out here I thought I could join you.” She smiles brightly, as if she thinks it’ll help convince us to let her stay.

Well, it’s not like she’s been mean. We have.

It’s just that she’s so not Brody’s type. He used to like the geeky girls. The strong girls. Not the Barbie-doll types. And from the looks of it, that’s all she’s got.

“Oh, and you know about English literature?” Evie scoffs.

“As a matter of fact, I do. I followed a class about poetry in high school.”

Evie chortles and has trouble stopping herself from bursting out into laughter. “Okay. If you say so.”

“Besides, you guys and Brody are friends, so I thought I should get to know you guys.”

Evie rolls her eyes and glances at me.

“Actually … I’m here to ask you for a favor,” Scarlet continues. “I’m doing research about discrepancies between the different social classes and common portrayals of stereotypes. I thought you girls could help me out with that, since you seem just like the type to discuss this. I study sociology,” she says.

My jaw drops. I’m struck in awe by the fact that her words came out in a way that make her seem smart. Her clothing and the way she acts hides all that, but now I’m starting to think she’s smarter than we thought. Maybe we misjudged her.

From the corner of my eye I see Brody approaching. He’s frowning heavily and his lips are smashed together. He doesn’t look happy.

“Scarlet!” he yells as he marches closer.

She turns her head, and when she sees him she starts waving. “Hey!”

“What are you doing?” he says with a high-pitched voice, as if he can’t believe she’s here.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

“You know you can’t be in the sun,” Brody says to her, ignoring my question. “Are you just going to ignore the doctor’s advice?”

“No, I was just talking. I didn’t plan on staying long,” she says, pursing her lips. “It’s just sun. Nothing scary about that.”

“You know it’s too hot for you!”

“Brody. It’s the sun. What’s your problem?” Evie snarls. “She have a heart disease or something?”

“Yes,” he snaps.

“What does the sun have to do with heart problems?” I ask.

“It’s none of your business,” he says, furious.

I draw back and look at him in confusion, while he grabs Scarlet’s arm and pulls her to her feet.

“Your heart is too fragile for this. You know better than to expose yourself to danger.”

“As if the sun is going to make my heart explode,” Scarlet says. “C’mon, Brody. A little warmth isn’t going to kill me.”

“You don’t know that. If you heat up too much your heart has to work way too hard to cool you down. There are risks. You know all this,” he explains.

She sighs. “It’s
my
heart, Brody.
I know
. I know the limits. Don’t tell me what to do.” She jerks her arm loose and turns her head away from him in defiance.

He lets out a huge breath. “I’m just worried about you.”

“Thanks, but I can take care of myself.”

He frowns. “I don’t have time for your nonsense. Stay if you want. I just want you to be safe.”

“Well, thanks, but see ya,” she says, still ignoring him.

In the meantime, Evie and I look at each other with raised eyebrows, both thinking the same thing. I don’t know what the hell is going on, but it has something to do with her heart. And Brody is acting like a total bitch because of it.

God, this is so not how I remember him from high school.

Has it been so long? Has he changed so much in the last couple of years?

He storms off again, and after a while Scarlet gazes at him with a sad look on her face. “I’m sorry, girls. I don’t …”

“Yeah, we know,” Evie says, nodding. “Don’t apologize for him. Not your fault.”

She smiles lightly. “Thanks. I’m sorry. I really have to go. But I’d really like to hang with you sometime.”

“Yeah …” I say, and a pathetic laugh comes out of my mouth. “Maybe sometime later.”

“Okay. Well, see ya!” She waves and then runs after Brody.

“Jesus. That girl’s something else,” Evie says after a while.

“Tell me about it.”

“I did not expect that.”

“No, I didn’t know she had heart problems. Kind of puts things in perspective.”

Evie hums in agreement. I’m staring at the grass, thinking about the whole scene. Brody really reacted over the top. I’m not sure it was necessary.

“Well, even if she has heart problems, it shouldn’t give Brody permission to act like that,” I say. “I think Brody’s really turned into a jerk.”

Evie chuckles. “Now you’re saying.”

“Yeah, well, I hate to admit it, but it’s true. He’s changed. A lot.”

“I wonder why. I mean, you always said he was the nicest guy you ever met. Then when I met him I thought you were crazy or something. He never struck me as a cool guy.”

“We used to be best friends. He always stuck up for me when I got bullied.”

“Yeah, I know. Still, he doesn’t strike me as the type to care right now.”

I nod and hum in agreement.

It’s true, what she says. I’m starting to see it more and more, but I don’t actually want to admit it. It means we’re really growing apart, and I don’t want that to happen. Before I came here I’d hoped we could be a tight bunch together, just the three of us, having fun, but now it seems he’s totally disconnecting from us. I barely see him anymore.

I don’t really want to think about it anymore, so I look at the people around me instead and focus on what they’re doing.

As I turn my head, my heart stops.

It’s Hunter.

He’s stretching his back and legs, alternating positions while staring up into the sky. His face is blank, concentrating on what he’s doing. The cut muscles hiding behind a thin layer of cotton are mesmerizing to look at, and he reminds me of those sportsmen who prepare for their challenge by increasing their limits.

He gets up on two feet and shakes off some of his energy. Then he starts hitting a large ball that’s hanging from a tree by a thick rope.

His strikes are hard and fast, and his face turns into the face of a fighter. Full of energy. Full of anger.

I don’t know which one I find more frightening.