Soulsearch (Teen Paranormal Romance Series) (The Soulmate Series: Teen Paranormal Romance Book 2) (10 page)

“So Zachary,” Mr. Donovan began, his voice deceptively cheery, “tell us about yourself.
 
Who are your parents?”

Despite his light-hearted tone, Zach knew Mr. Donovan was giving him the third degree and he couldn’t blame him.
 
He’d probably be a little suspicious too of some strange boy who asked his daughter to prom the day of the dance.
 
He decided not to be offended and answer the questions open and honestly. “Cara and Antonio Pasquetti, Sir.
 
My dad’s an insurance agent and my mom’s a florist.”

“So that’s where you got these gorgeous flowers!” Cathy gushed, fingering their soft petals.

“Yes, ma’am.
 
My mother would have a fit if I didn’t bring flowers,” Zach admitted.

“They’re beautiful, Zach.
 
I love orchids,” Paige smiled.

“You go to school with my daughter, Zachary?” Mr. Donovan continued, unimpressed by Zach’s romantic gesture.

“Yes, sir.
 
I’m in 11th grade at Allendale High School.
 
I make good grades and I’m on the wrestling team.”

“Wrestling, huh?
 
That’s awfully aggressive, isn’t it?
 
You have a lot of repressed aggression, son?” Edward Donovan scowled over his breadstick.

“Daddy!” Paige squealed, mortified by his behavior.

“I just wanted to participate in sports, Mr. Donovan, and I wasn’t as good at the ones that involved a ball,” Zach answered smoothly.

“He prefers to have his balls in a vise,” Rider couldn’t resist whispering in Rachel’s ear.
 
Rachel choked and sputtered on her pasta, bringing herself to tears as she tried to hold in her laugh.
 
Paige kicked her under the table while Rider smiled slyly down at his plate.
 
He was just happy they were cross-examining Zach instead of him.

“Zach works at Sundae’s, Dad,” Paige mentioned, trying to highlight his responsibility.

“You plan to sell ice cream for a living?” Mr. Donovan asked, not sure how else to challenge Zach’s character.
 
The kid was pretty slick.

“No, sir.
 
But my uncle owns the store and he offered me a chance to earn some extra money to save for college.
 
I want to be a scientist someday,” Zach explained.

“How ambitious!” Cathy cooed, thoroughly won over by all of Zach’s answers.
 
Even Mr. Donovan couldn’t completely hide his approval.

“Can you please stop interrogating my date now, daddy?
 
I think he passed with flying colors, don’t you?” Paige begged.

“Thank you for the delicious meal, Mrs. Donovan.
 
It was really amazing,” Zach praised, wiping up the last of the sauce on his plate with a breadstick.
 
Rachel, Paige and Rider offered similar compliments.

“You’re so welcome, kids.
 
Now let me take some pictures before you go,” Cathy replied, jumping up to grab her camera.
 
Reluctantly, the teens were pulled from their chairs and led around the house looking for the perfect backdrop for Mrs. Donovan’s photo shoot.
 
Thirty minutes and 300 shots later, Paige and Rachel begged for mercy, claiming they wouldn’t be able to dance if they had to pose in their high heels for any more pictures.
 
Cathy kissed them each on the cheek and reluctantly sent them on their way after insisting they return no later than midnight with reputations unsullied.

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“You really look beautiful, Paige,” Zach beamed as he proudly escorted his date into the prom.
 
The theme was “Frozen” and the gym had been draped in sheer white fabric, shimmering with iridescence.
 
Bare branches, spray-painted white and sprinkled with glitter, created a winter forest around the dance floor, and sparkly silver snowflakes of various sizes dangled from the ceiling.
 
Obviously aware of the theme, most of the girls were dressed in light colors — ice blues, winter whites, and the palest of pinks.
 
Paige felt conspicuous in her royal purple gown, but no one paid any attention to them as they entered the gymnasium.
 

“Shall we dance?” Zach offered reluctantly, eyeing the crowd of teenagers swaying gracefully to the music.
 
He had no idea what he was doing on the dance floor.

“Uh, yeah, I guess,” Paige replied, equally unsure.

Taking her hand, Zach led Paige onto the dance floor and scrambled to remember the proper position for slow dancing.
 
A quick glance around revealed he wasn’t the only one who had no idea where to put his hands.
 
Paige guided him into position with an understanding smile and the two began an awkward sway.

“So you know all about me now, Paige, but what about you?” Zach wondered as he led her carefully around the dance floor.

“I know ALL about you, huh?” Paige retorted.
 
“ I know like, two things!
 
That’s not nearly enough to decide if I like you or not.
 
You have to tell me more than you told my father.”

“Okay, so what else do you want to know, Miss Nosy?”

“Well, I am curious, how did you end up with red hair and an Italian last name?
 
Is your mom a redhead?” Paige asked, tugging playfully at his coppery curls.

“Oh well, you dug right to the heart of my sordid past with that one!” Zach replied cryptically.
 
Paige’s innocent eyes stared curiously at him and he decided he didn’t mind sharing as long as she kept looking at him like that.

“No, everybody in my family is Italian, but my dad, well….he isn’t my real dad.
 
See, my mom and her twin sister Carla were dating twin brothers, Marco and Antonio Pasquetti.
 
Carla and Marco were pretty serious, they planned to get married, but my mom and dad were just having fun…till my mom got pregnant with me.
 
Thing is, she was raped by some other guy.
 
My dad’s a good man, though, and he couldn’t bear the thought of leaving her after that, so he offered to marry her and help her raise me.
 
The two couples even had a double wedding.
 
Everybody thought it was pretty cool that twin sisters were marrying twin brothers.
 
People started to wonder, of course, when I came out all red-haired and freckled.
 
But my dad shut them down.
 
Like I said, he’s a good man, and he’s always been there for me and my mom.”
 
Zach quickly closed his mouth when he realized Paige was staring intently at him.
 
“Sorry, you probably didn’t want to know all that,” he muttered.

“No, I did, Zach.
 
Thank you for telling me.
 
It really means a lot that you were willing to share that with me,” Paige answered earnestly.

“I don’t think I’ve ever told anybody that,” Zach admitted.
 
“I don’t know why I felt the need to say it now.”

“You can trust me, Zach.
 
Your story’s safe with me.
 
Believe me, I know how to keep a secret.”

“I guess it’s not really a secret, it’s just not something I usually talk about, you know?” Zach explained.
 
“But you still haven’t told me anything about you.”

“There’s not much to tell, really.
 
I’m kind of boring, I guess.
 
I like to do exciting things — I like the rush, but there’s never anything exciting to do around here.
 
I used to spend all my free time hanging out with Rachel, till she moved away.
 
Now I just wander the halls of the school, lonely and rejected….,” Paige joked.
 
“You met my parents.
 
I also have a sister, Emily, but she’s a lot older than me.
 
She’s out on her own now.
 
Do you have any siblings?”

“No, I’m an only child.
 
My parents tried, but they couldn’t ever have another.
 
I guess it worked out good for my dad that he got me, even if I’m not really his.
 
I try hard to be a good son.”

“I’m sure he loves you like you were his own,” Paige assured him, moving in closer so she could feel the heat of his breath on her face.
 
His muscular arms wrapped tighter around her waist.
 
“Do you know anything about your biological father?”

“No,” Zach tensed in her arms, “and if I did know anything about him, I’d kill him.
 
He was a stranger.
 
He attacked my mom and left her, alone and hurting in the street.
 
If I knew who he was, I’d rip his throat out,” Zach snarled, but one look at Paige’s frightened face was all it took to soften his countenance.
 
“Sorry. I just can’t stand to think of anyone hurting my mom, you know?”

“I understand, Zach, I just hope I’m not with you if you ever do meet him!” Paige tried to lighten the mood.
 
“Did the police ever have any leads?”

“My mom never told the police,” Zach explained, with disappointment.
 
“She was too mortified.
 
She told her parents and my dad and that was it.
 
Later, when I was old enough to start asking questions, she told me, but it’s not something we talk about.”

Just then, Rachel and Rider passed by, too wrapped up in each others’ embrace to notice Zach and Paige.
 
Rider’s face was buried in Rachel’s hair and his hands were holding her impossibly close as they ignored everyone around them, too caught up in their own romantic moment.

“Your friends seem really in love, don’t they?” Zach noticed.

“Yeah, they are.
 
They were meant to be together, always have been,” Paige sighed, feeling the familiar ache of jealousy over their happy ending.

“I thought they just started going out not that long ago?”

“Well, technically, yeah, but they’ve known each other forever.
 
It’s….complicated.”

“It seems like the most important relationships usually are.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” Paige agreed.

Zach pulled Paige closer and sniffed delicately at her hair.
 
“You smell like jasmine,” he murmured.
 
“That’s one of my favorite scents.”

“I do?
 
I didn’t know what the scent was, I just liked it.
 
Did you learn about that from your mom?”

“Yeah, she loves everything about flowers.
 
I guess some of it rubbed off on me,” Zach shrugged, self-consciously.

“Don’t be embarrassed!
 
It’s romantic.” Paige smiled and laid her head on his shoulder, a feat only possible because of her extremely high heels.
 
She could feel his heart rate speed up as their bodies melted together inch by inch with each beat of the song, till she could no longer tell where her body ended and his began.

The spell was broken when the music faded and the principal came to the stage to introduce the prom court.
 
Unconcerned with the crowning of royalty, Paige took the opportunity to excuse herself and headed for the ladies’ room.
 
“I’ll get us something to drink,” Zach offered, reluctantly letting go of her hand.
 
His eyes followed her as she strode across the room, a stunning violet blossom in a snow-covered field.

When Paige had disappeared in the sea of students, Zach made his way towards the refreshment table.
 
His mind was on the way Paige had looked as she gazed into his eyes, her face soft with empathy as she listened to his story.
 
He couldn’t believe the random turn of events that had led him here, on a date with this amazing girl.
 
All his life, he had been misunderstood by the people around him; it was easier just to stay distant from them than to try to make connections.
 
He was fine on his own.
 
But Paige — he felt she might actually be someone who could understand him, who could know his secrets and accept him anyway.

Cups of fruit punch carefully balanced in each hand, Zach made his way towards the bathrooms to wait for Paige.
 
He leaned against the wall beyond the bathroom doors where the shadowy hallway left him practically invisible to the students exiting the restrooms, grateful to escape the noise and crowd for a few moments.
 
He let his mind wander back to the softness of Paige’s skin beneath his fingers and the intoxicating smell of her perfume when she leaned her neck into his.
 
Her dress was modest but the sharp “v” of the bodice curved enticingly around her feminine curves and his fingers ached to touch her.
 
He imagined crushing his chest against hers as his lips took hers in a passionate kiss.
 
His fantasy was interrupted when a couple guys he recognized as sophomores emerged from the men’s room, joking and laughing about each other’s dates.