The Tesla finally reaches me. The passenger door opens and, no lie, a ray of sun beams down as Alice climbs out of the vehicle.
I smile. See, it’s all a sign. I’m God’s favored son and this is the evidence. My girl has arrived in my dream car and the sun’s shining high in the sky.
“Hey,” I say.
Alice tips her head up in surprise. Wordlessly she points a finger at her chest.
My grin broadens. “Yeah, you.” I lope over to the car door and stick my head inside. “I’m Owen McCoy. Nice to meet you, ma’am,” I say to Alice’s mother.
The mother smiles. “Oh, I didn’t realize you’d already made friends, darling.” She holds out her hand. “Nice to meet you, Owen.”
I give it a firm, but friendly shake. “Nice to meet you, too. Don’t worry about Ace. I’ll take care of her today.”
“That’s wonderful.” A car horn honks and Ace’s mom jolts into position behind the steering wheel. “I better get going.”
“Wait, Mom—” Ace says, but I’ve already shut the car door.
I sling an arm around Ace. “Let’s go.”
She glares at me. “Who the hell are you?”
5
Alice
It’s the boy from the mall. The one who was staring every time I looked up. My nervousness evaporates as annoyance settles in.
“Why is your arm around my shoulder?” I shrug it off. “I’m not sure what you think you’re doing, but I’m not interested.”
At my last school, guys always tried to claim the new girl. They wanted to be the first to “lay pipe on virgin territory” as one asshole declared loudly during class. He got detention for that but it never wiped the smirk off his face.
I hate smirkers. I particularly hate smug hot guys because they always think that they can get away with anything because God put their features together a certain way.
“You’re right. You’re right.” He raises his palms. “No hands on you without permission. That’s smart and I know you’re smart.”
“What the hell does that mean?” I swing to face him and make the mistake of looking into his eyes. I remember them being brown from the first time I saw him at the mall, but what I hadn’t noticed at the time was the warm honey color that swam around the irises. Being this close to him allows me to see all the dangerous detail up close. I’ve never known that an eye color could be this rich and inviting.
There are crinkles at the corners of his eyes from his genuine smile. He doesn’t look away and neither do I. My pulse picks up as we stare at one another. Neither of us says a word. I’m not sure I’m even breathing.
His hand reaches up. “May I?”
I find myself nodding. A dimple forms on his left cheek, making his already handsome face dangerously gorgeous. He tucks a piece of my hair back into place, his fingers gently caressing my cheek. I close my eyes for a second, his touch lingering on my skin.
A slamming car door breaks me out of my trance. This time when I open my eyes I hope they look as if I’m trying to burn a hole directly into that handsome face of his. The last thing I need is for him to know I’m attracted to him. That his simple touch has done crazy shit to my insides. A crush is the last thing I need.
“I told you not to touch me,” I snap, which is irrational because I know he asked and I know I nodded, but I needed to get him to step back. I fold my arms across my chest and lift my chin, waiting for him to call me out.
“You did, didn’t you?” He gestures for me to move. “After you, then.”
I don’t like that he agreed with me. It’d be better if he thinks I’m a bitch and never wants another thing to do with me because I don’t have much of a defense against him. I need to move, though, because standing here next to him isn’t good for my nerves. I order my feet in motion and my body follows, heading toward the giant double glass doors set at the top of a wide, cement staircase. My phone dings from inside my bag. I dig in and pull it out, grateful for the distraction.
Mom: He’s handsome!
Oh God. Of course she is texting me about him. I steal a peek over my shoulder as I start to pull one of the doors open. Owen is still standing where I left him and he’s also still smiling, not fazed by my brush-off.
I jerk my head back around. Damn it. He saw me looking back at him. Why couldn’t I have played it cool and not looked back? My phone dings again.
Mom: Oh, you should invite him over for dinner. Obviously I’ll cook. LOL