Storm (Elemental 1)

Her cheeks were burning. It was a lot harder to maintain independence and indifference when a hot guy was standing half-naked in front of her. She gulped and grasped at the banister. “I was looking for Chris’s room—but, ah—you know, I’ll just see him tomorrow—”

“No way.” He grabbed her hand. “Come here.”

He dragged her around the corner. His fingers were warm on hers. She stared at the beige walls, at the neutral carpeting, anything but the guy attached to her arm.

He knocked on a door. “Hey, Chris. There’s a girl here for you.”

Something heavy hit the door. “Shut up, Gabriel. I’m busy.”

She stared at the doorknob, unsure whether to be dismayed or relieved. But at least she knew who had hold of her arm.

Gabriel knocked again. “Hurry. I’m not sure how much longer I can hold her.”

Angry footsteps, then the door flew open. Chris glanced from her to his brother and back. “Oh.”

She stared back at him, knowing her face was still flushed, her eyes desperate for a fully clothed target. Luckily, Chris fit the bill with sweatpants and a tee shirt. She could see into the room behind him: nice, really. A double bed that hadn’t been made that morning, with a navy comforter haphazardly thrown across the bottom. The floor was mostly clean, though his laundry sat in a pile in the corner, under a rather impressive fish tank. It had a fluorescent light and everything, and reminded her of something a little boy would have. Finding it in his room was somehow ... charming. A desk sat by the open window, almost an afterthought. The tiny halogen light was on, books and notebooks strewn across the surface.

“See?” said Gabriel. “A real one. Breathing and everything.”

Chris didn’t look entirely happy about her presence. “What are you doing here?”

She dug her free hand into her pocket and pulled out the sixty dollars. “Here.”

His face went stony. He made no move to take the money. “You came all the way over here for this?”

Becca wanted to throw the cash at him. She jerked her hand out of his brother’s. “No. I came all the way over here to tell you Tyler and Seth showed up at the pet store where I work.”

Gabriel got in front of her and crossed his arms. The smile was gone. “What are you talking about?”

She stared up and over his right shoulder and gritted her teeth. “Could you please put a shirt on?”

“Did they hurt you?” said Chris.

“No. Yes. It’s fine. Tyler just—” Her throat suddenly got tight.

Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

They were both staring at her. Of course.

Chris shoved his brother in the shoulder. “Go. Put on a shirt.” Then he took a step back. “Come in. Sit down a minute.”

She deliberated in the doorway for a moment, then followed him in. She glanced dubiously at the bed. No way was she sitting next to him on it. So she edged around him and sat in the desk chair. She dropped the crumpled twenties next to his Physics textbook.

He settled on the corner of the bed and rested his forearms on his knees. “You want to tell me what happened?”

She fought for any emotion to replace the tears. Anger usually did the trick, and this time was no exception.

“Why’d you give me sixty dollars?” she demanded.

“You said I owed you.” A dark smile, though there wasn’t much humor to it. “Personally, I thought sixty bucks was pretty cheap.”

“Whatever. You know I was kidding. Didn’t you think what it would look like? You don’t have to treat me like a—”

“Wait a minute.” He came halfway off the bed. “I didn’t treat you like anything. I asked you out, you said no.”

“Asked me out. You asked me to a soccer game.”

“So what?” He looked incredulous. “God, you are the most baffling girl—”