The Encounter

“Are you okay? You’re talking to yourself.” He has thick dark hair with some cute curls around his ears. He’s tall, so I have to look up at him.

Yeah, I really hate him. Jax stupid Saddington. I’m just going to ignore him. I don’t know why he bugs me, but he does. That, and I can barely breathe. I’m sure it’s because I’m worried about my mom.

“I’m Jax.” He grins and props his arm over my head on the steel fence. I look at his arm, then back at his pretty face, and roll my eyes.

“Congratulations.”

“Do you need a ride?”

I’m almost too shocked to respond. Almost. “Um. No.” I push off the gate and walk a little bit down the street, digging in my purse for my cell phone.

“You sure?” He smiles again, his long legs putting him by my side in seconds. What is happening? I can’t be any more obvious, right?

“Yeah, I’m sure, thank you.” I turn my back on him and look out. Manhattan, I kind of love her madness. It suits me. Best place to get lost in. Unfortunately, I’m standing here with one of the notorious Saddington twins and can’t exactly let the city calm me. I glance over at him. Okay, he’s gorgeous, like superhot, but that’s it.

“Seriously, I’m fine. You can do”—I look around to see if his brother is near—“whatever it is you do.”

“Why are you standing out here alone talking to yourself?”

“Oh my God. I wasn’t.” And there go my cheeks again. “Don’t you have other things to do? Where’s Tess?” As soon as it’s out of my mouth, I hate myself. Why would I do that? Why?

“With Reed.” Again, he leans against the railing as if he has not a care in the world. Which is true, he doesn’t. And that makes me hate him more. Since I’m probably going to go home to my mom, who will be pretending that she’s happy that Joe left her. She’ll put on a great face that we’re better off, then decide to dye our hair blond or something.

That’s how I know if we’re screwed. If she says we are dying our hair blond, DEFCON 4 has happened. Absently, I reach to twirl my auburn ponytail around my finger and glare at him.

“Everyone thinks you’re with her.” I snort, swinging my bag to the ground, still feeling around for my phone. Which shouldn’t be hard to find, but this guy is making me nervous.

“Who, Tess?” He laughs, and I falter for a moment, noticing some weird flutter in my stomach I’ve never felt before. He has dimples, wow. I guess this is the first time I’ve been this close to him.

“Yes, Tess! You and your brother are obsessed with her.” He arches a dark brow, then pushes off the gate to look down at me while I still fumble around trying to find my phone.

“Tess is like a sister to me. She’s Reed’s.”

I freeze and look up at him. “Did you just say she’s Reed’s? What does that mean?” I laugh. “You guys are freakin’ weird.” Then I mumble, “This whole school is.”

He shrugs, not acknowledging anything, but not disagreeing either. “Why are you out here? Seriously, my driver is right there.” He points over his shoulder. The sidewalk is crowded with people and I stand on tiptoes to look over his shoulder. Sure enough, a tall guy with dark glasses waits by a large SUV.

“You look like you’ve had a rough day.” He smiles again and out pop those dimples. I sigh. I do need a ride and, let’s be honest, I’m never gonna see this guy again.

“Hold on. Let me call my mom.”

I finally feel my phone and jerk it out of my purse. He watches me, and for the first time in my life, I’m self-conscious. God, this day sucks. Turning, I give him my back and punch in Mom’s number. Of course, it goes to voicemail. I bite my lower lip. I don’t want to have to go back and ask Principal Keely for that ride, and I shouldn’t get in a vehicle with a Saddington, but what choice do I have? It’s not like I have money. I glance down at my phone, then peek over my shoulder. My stomach dips again. Yep, he and those cute dimples are still waiting.

I walk a few feet farther away. I will not think he’s hot. Oh God, I just did and now I want to throw up. I push on my mom’s number, and this time she picks up sounding out of breath.

“Ava, are you on your way?”

“What’s wrong? What’s happening?” Another great thing about Manhattan is the noise level. With all the noises of the city, no one can hear you.

“All kinds of shit. I’ll tell you when you get here. But we’re moving. We have to.” She sounds like she’s been crying.