Treasured Secrets (The Coveted Saga 1)

The shirts were either really tight or flowing and loose - nothing in between. Tonight, Ash had put me in a white shirt that fell from one shoulder. Again, no clue as to why this was fashion. It seemed like someone messed up on the pattern and made one sleeve too long.

"Yeah. A new me," I said through a hoarse whisper.

My eyes drifted back to the guy. He was heading toward the game room attached to the restaurant. I just wanted to... I don't know what I wanted to do.

As Selesha and Jay walked by, I turned back to Gear.

"Can I meet you outside? I just need to use the restroom," I lied.

"Sure. You can ride back with us."

I nodded and headed toward the restrooms, but as soon as they exited, I changed course and headed into the game room.

What am I doing? What am I thinking?

An array of mixed emotions swirled around and tormented me as I sought to find answers for my irrational behavior. Without my permission, my eyes sought him out of their own accord.

"Oh this is stupid," I mumbled when I couldn't find him. Had I gone crazy?

I turned around and slammed into something that smelled like heaven, felt like a rock, and burned me through to my core. I gasped, taken aback from the colliding onslaught of sensations.

Icy blue eyes stared into mine, and my heart tried to leap into my throat. My legs became rubber, doing their best to fold beneath me.

"Excuse me," he murmured with a smirk, letting his delicious voice find my wanting ears.

My mouth dried, words refused to form, and my attempt to look like anything but a fool failed miserably.

"E...ex...cuu...s..." Yep. Pathetic. I know. But that's all I could muster. My IQ plummeted in that instant, and I became an unintelligible ball of mush.

He smiled bashfully then, apparently realizing I was gawking shamelessly. I couldn't stop though.

"You okay?" he asked after a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, and I blushed fiercely, still unable to speak anything of any sense.

A squeak left my lips in place of the words I wanted to say, and he chuckled lightly.

"Okay then. I need to get back to my family," he said softly, smiling as he passed me by.

A lost opportunity crumbled before me, and I shivered in his wake. How did I just manage to completely unravel and humiliate myself?

I turned to see him joining the slim blonde and the stocky male from earlier, and he glanced over his shoulder at me. Family? Does that mean she's his sister or cousin? Why the crap do I care?

Growing more and more frustrated with myself, I finally forced my eyes to tear away. I headed outside to see Gear on his way back in.

"There you are. I was getting worried."

I noticed Aster and her husband were still there as well, but I didn't know why.

"Sorry. I thought I'd check out the game room for a second. Aster and Chris waiting, too?"

He glanced their way, and then turned his eyes back to me.

"Yeah. Let's get back home."

Home. It sounded like such a foreign and meaningless word here. It still didn't feel like home. I missed Haluali.

When we pulled up to the massive home, I groaned loudly, which provoked a chuckle from Gear and Olivia. There were cars everywhere.

"Really? She's going to have a party this late?"