Secrets & Surrender: Part One (9 page)

I held out my hand to her as I stood, helping her up. She looked dazed. Her legs seemed to shake as she stood. Her hair was all over the place. Her blouse was damp, clinging to her shapely body. I brushed back her hair, keeping my eyes locked with hers. “You’re missing a feather.”

She didn’t say a word while I searched the ground. When I found it, I turned back to her. Her face was a mask. From the corner of my eye, I saw Cody standing next to Cassie. Both watched with anticipation. They looked worried for me.

Confused, I turned my attention back to Mandi, and attached the feather to her headband. “So does that mean you’ll go out with me? I’m guessing you will...seeing as how you brought me back to life and all.” I grinned.

Her mouth opened and closed as if she didn’t know what to say. Then she pressed her lips into a thin line and for a moment, I thought she was going to punch me again. And I would’ve deserved it, tricking her into kissing me like that. But when I gazed into her eyes, they were soft dark pools. It was then I knew. She did care, a lot, and for some reason she was fighting against it. Maybe Bianca was right. Maybe I had to show her that I cared for her too and that I wanted something more with her. With time, she’d see how much I cared if she just let her guard down a little bit.

“Bite me, Marcelli.” She turned on her heel, her hoop earrings swinging as she marched away.

Okay, so it was going to take a really long time.

“Ah, progress.” I threw Cody and Cassie a smile before I ran after Mandi yelling, “I’ll pick you up tomorrow at eight!”

She stopped in front of a beat up old car that looked like it would fall apart a stiff breeze. “Did you drive here in that?”

She swung around, snapping, “Yes. Do you have a problem with that?”

“No, I’m just saying...uh, it’s a nice car, really.” Mandi fumed the more I talked. “Look, what I meant to say was that I’m sorry about what I did back there, but I really do want to go out with you.”

“Oh, and assaulting me is supposed to make me fall over my feet to go out with you? Just because almost every single girl here is drooling whenever you walk by doesn’t mean I’m going to.”

“You notice how other girls react to me?” I grinned.

“Yes! No! Ugh!” Her face grew red. “Stop changing the subject. What you did is so not cool.”

“I know, and I’m sorry. But I do want to go out with you. It’s just a movie.”

“I don’t know.”

“Come on, Mandi. It’s
Die Hard
. Tough dude exploding things. Just one date, and if you don’t like it, I promise to lay off.” I crossed my fingers behind my back. Yeah, it was childish, but I had to keep myself covered.

“Well...okay, but don’t pick me up. I’ll meet you there.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t want you to pick me up. I can drive myself to the drive-in.”

“You’re going to sit in your car while I sit in mine on our date?”

Man, oh, man. This woman was seriously nuts.

I loved it!

“Maybe.” Her lip twitched. “I might even park my car next to yours if you think your BMW could handle being seen with a Pinto.”

“Really?” I glanced over at over the car. “Well, my beamer’s been eyeballing your Pinto all night. So I think he’ll be alright with that.”

She laughed. “You’re one crazy dude, Marcelli.”

“Me? Crazy? You’re the one anthropomorphizing our cars.”

“Ooh, nice vocabulary there. Learn that at your fancy private school in New York?”

“SAT vocabulary study cards. And you’re not serious about sitting in separate cars, are you?”

Her lips curled into a sexy smile as she opened the car door. “I guess you’ll have to wait and see.”

“I
can’t believe you’re actually taking separate cars to the drive-in on your date with Nic.”

Cassie sat on the edge of the bed, shaking her head. She’d been saying the same thing for the past hour as she watched me get ready for my date.

“Believe it.” I twirled a strand of hair around the curling iron.

“Why?”

“In case I want to make a fast get away.” I released the clip and quickly reached for the super sized can of Aqua Net.

She laughed. “Mandi, you are too funny. You know you like him.”

“Do not.”

“Do too. You’re like that character in Hamlet who protests too much.”

Glancing at Cassie’s reflection in the mirror, I scowled at the smug expression on her face. I let out a shot of spray, coughing as the room filled with a thick mist. “Yeah, well, I know for sure you like Cody, and I don’t see you doing anything about that.”

Her face fell. “That’s different.”

I placed the can of spray down and turned to face her. “Aww, Cassie. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I’m just pissed Nic tricked me into going out with him.”

“Yeah, well, at least you know Nic likes you.”

“Cody likes you.”

“As a friend maybe.”

“More than that, Cassie.” I waved a tube of mascara at her before I turned back to the mirror.

“No, only as a friend.” She let out a sigh. “If it were more, he would’ve said something last night. I thought he was going to. It seemed like he was, but he didn’t. I think he likes Lynette.”

“Ugh, don’t make me gag. I so do not like that girl. Seriously, Cody can do better than that. And if he’d just get a pair, he would’ve asked you out already. Actually, I should call him right now. I’ll cancel my date with Nic and go over to Cody’s house right now and help him find his balls.”

Eyes widening, Cassie’s voice came out in shocked whisper. “Don’t you dare! You can’t force him to like me.”

“Wanna bet?”

“Okay, so you probably can.” She laughed. “Seriously, don’t do anything. I guess it’s just not meant to be between Cody and me. And by the way, I see what you’re trying to do by being all sneaky.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I tilted my head, brushing on my third layer of mascara.

“You’re trying to back out of your date with Nic, and I’m not going to let you. You’ve been in front of the mirror putting on makeup for over an hour.”

“I know.” I sighed, dropping my hands to my side. “I don’t want to go out with Nic and at the same time I do want to go out with him.”

“You’re so messed up, Mandi.”

I chuckled. “I know, right?”

Cassie shifted on the bed, tucking her legs beneath her. “Okay, so I understand why you
do
want to go out with him. He’s super cute, and he’s not afraid to let everyone know that he likes you. And you do like him, don’t you?”

“Yeah, he’s cool.”

“So why’ve you been turning him down?”

“The problem is if I go out with him, then I’ll probably like him even more, and I just can’t do that.”

“Why not?”

I bounced onto the bed, sitting beside her. “I’ve told you before. He drives a BMW, and he wears those shirts with the alligator on them.”

“Mandi! You can’t be serious about that.”

“I’m totally serious. We’re from two different worlds. And the people in his world can hurt the people in mine.”

The room grew silent as her brown eyes gazed into mine.

“You mean the thing about your parents?” she asked softly.

There were only two people in this world that I’ve trusted to hold my family’s secrets: Cassie and her father. Now that Deputy Strong was gone, Cassie was the only person who knew about my family. And I had every intention of keeping it that way.

“Yeah.” I sighed.

“You don’t have to tell him. It’s just a date.”

“He’ll find out, especially if he gets close to my family. And if I go out with him, my parents will want to meet him. I like Nic. I really do.”

“Oh, Mandi.” She placed an arm around me. “It’s not fair for you to carry the burden like this. You’re allowed to have a little fun.”

“I’ll have fun after I get my college degree and earn enough money to help my family.” I hopped off the bed and reached into my purse. “One date and that’s it. Then no more of Nic Marcelli. He promised he’d back off.”

I should’ve been happy that it was only one date and that I would never have to mess with him ever again. I wasn’t. Tonight was going to be the hardest night of my life because there was a part of me that didn’t want to let go.

“O
kay, let’s get this over with.”

Just as he promised, Nic was waiting for me at the drive-in. It was easy to spot his BMW among the dozens of pickup trucks. When the Pinto finally sputtered its last breath once I turned off the ignition, it took me five long minutes before I could gather the courage to go to him.

“Well, hello to you too, beautiful.” He grinned as I slid in, slamming the door shut.

Why in the hell did he have to be so gorgeous? My eyes drifted from his stunning hazel eyes to his lips. My stomach fluttered as I remembered how it felt being pressed against his muscular chest and how those lips kissed mine, making me come alive. And that tongue. Oh my God, that tongue. The craving to have him kiss me again beat against me like a wild woman.

I inched back, getting as far away from him as I could in the small car. Those sexy lips of his cannot touch mine again. Ever. If they did, there would be no going back. I wouldn’t be able to stay away from him. I just had to hold on through this one movie.

“So how long is this movie?”

“Two hours.”

That long? Crap!

Okay, I can do this. Feet forward, hands in lap, and eyes on the screen. Two hours and I’m outta here.

I shifted a little more and winced when the door handle stabbed my side.

“Are you sure you don’t want to sit in your Pinto? If you get any closer to the door, you’ll fall out.”

“No, this is fine.” Ignoring how his sexy laugh made my stomach do wild flip flops, I glued my eyes to the movie screen. I groaned. The movie hadn’t even started. They were just showing the previews for the new releases. This was going to take forever.

My heart pounded hard against my chest with each minute that passed. Although he didn’t say a word, I felt his eyes on me. From the corner of my eye, I saw his hand slowly drift to mine. I held my breath as it hesitated just inches away. Then the movie finally started, and the energy shifted as he pulled his hand back into his lap.

I let out a breath, settling into the lush leather seat, smiling, and feeling relieved that he wasn’t going to make this hard for me.

Everything was going to be fine. All he had to do was keep to himself in his seat, so I could focus on the movie. How hard could that be? I mean, come on. It was Bruce Willis in all his glory on that screen. No problem, right?

No matter how much my brain demanded that my eyes keep looking forward at the cool explosions and a hot and sweaty Bruce Willis, I couldn’t do it. My stupid eyes went totally rogue and kept sneaking glances at Nic.

Damn him! Why did he have to be so good looking? His profile was gorgeous with that perfect nose and those sensuous lips. And then there was the chiseled jaw. I clenched my hands, digging my nails into my palms and fighting the urge to run my tongue along his jaw. I could almost feel the rough stubble under my tongue. I was slowly melting into a puddle of goo, and I didn’t like it. Not one bit.

Then hazel eyes suddenly locked with mine.

Oh, shit! Look at the screen! Look at the screen!

Eww, Bruce Willis is pulling glass out of his foot.

Nic chuckled. “It’s okay, Mandi.”

“What’s okay?”

“I know you like me.”

I balked. Taking a deep breath, I turned, determined not to be thrown off by how sexy he looked...and how his dark hair was brushed back off his gorgeous face...and how his perfect lips were smiling at me, flashing perfect teeth.

My heart was about to leap out of my chest if I didn’t think of something to distract me.

Bruce Willis’s feet! Bruce Willis’s feet!

“Pompous much?” I asked when my heart finally slowed down.

He reached out, cupping my cheek with his hand. My breath hitched as my stomach went into a free fall with that one simple touch.

“Don’t fight it.” His face drifted closer to mine. I couldn’t move even if I wanted to—and I didn’t want to. His lips were a whisper away as his hot breath hit against my lips. “Relax.”

I froze at the sound of his words. It was a phrase I’d heard in every teen movie I’d ever seen—typical stud athlete making the moves on the innocent girl. Ha! Well, this girl wasn’t falling for it.

“Bite me, Marcelli! You’re just like the rest of them.” I slapped my palms against his chest, shoving him away. I jumped out of the car before I changed my mind and decided to jump his bones.

“What did I do? Mandi!” He got out of the car and ran over to me, placing a hand over the Pinto’s door handle when I reached to open it. “Tell me. What did I do wrong?”

“I know what you’re up to.”

“I’m not up to anything. I just wanted to kiss you.”

“Uh-huh, yeah. And then after that?” I folded my arms across my chest.

“That’s it. And maybe get to know you better.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean by that.”

“Come on, Mandi. That’s not what I meant at all. I’m not like that, and I think you know it too. It’s like you’re making this all up just so you can—”

Realization filled his handsome face. “You
are
making this up. You’re still fighting it.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, you do.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Then why can’t you look at me?”

“I don’t want to.”

“Mandi, look at me. Look me in the eye and tell me you don’t like me.”

I couldn’t do it. If I looked at him, he’d know. If I didn’t look at him, he’d still know. I was going to have to make up something.

Slowly, my eyes drifted up, and what I saw crushed me. Hazel eyes gazed down at me with confused hurt, and I was the one who put that look there.

Damn it! Why did he have to look like that, all vulnerable and honest? Why couldn’t he be a self-centered ass?

“Okay, I admit it. I like you. But this,” I waved my hand between us, “can’t go anywhere beyond this one date. Okay?”

“No, it’s not okay. I want to know why.”

“Man, you’re stubborn.”