By Hook or by Wolf

I’m not sure why I obey Trevor Claw, but I do. I fetch the phone from my pocket and hand it over. He takes it, swiping it to unlock it, and then hits a couple of buttons. He hands it back and smiles mischievously.

“What did you do?” I ask even though I probably don’t want to know. I thought he was just going to put in his phone number, it seems as though Mr. Claw did a little more than that.

“I put in my phone number so you can call to ask me for my address,” he says. “And I took the liberty of scheduling a date for us on Friday night.”

“What?” I screech, looking at the calendar app on my phone. “I didn’t agree to a date.”

“Oh, no? I’m sorry,” he says innocently. “Natasha, will you go on a date with me and my brothers on Friday night?”

“What?”

“Friday night. Eight o’clock. A date.”

“You said with...all of you?” I cock my head to the side. I shouldn’t even be considering saying yes, but somehow, the idea of saying no just seems impossible.

His voice softens. “Would it be so bad?” Trevor reaches out and traces my cheek with his hand and somehow, I know that there’s no way I’m turning him down.

I’m not turning them down.

“One date,” I whisper.

“One date,” he agrees.

“Nothing more,” I say.

“I wasn’t asking for anything else,” he tells me.

“I’ll text you,” I say. I turn to leave, but he reaches for my hand, pulls me close, and cups my face.

“A promise,” he whispers. “Should be sealed with a kiss.”

He brings his lips down to mine. He dominates me with his mouth, kissing me over and over again. Somehow, this feels so right. Somehow, everything I’ve been thinking about just floats away. All of my worries and concerns and fears just disappear as Trevor and I make out in front of his display at the art show.

I realize that we’re making a scene and that some of the parents are definitely going to see us, but I don’t care.

I can’t stop myself from stealing this moment.

I can’t stop myself from taking everything he has to offer.

Chapter Nine

Trevor

“You did what?” Lee and Cody don’t quite have the reaction I was hoping for.

Then again, I did kind of spring this on them.

“I asked her out,” I repeat. “For Friday night.”

“That’s in less than a week,” Lee says, as though I’ve never looked at a calendar before.

“Yeah, I realize when Friday is,” I say.

“What did she say?” Cody asks. “Tell me everything.”

I lower my voice, fully aware of the fact that my mother is resting in the next room. She’s been very tired these days. I’m sure it’s part of the cancer, but part of it could just be stress. I’m also afraid that my mother doesn’t know how to take a break. Gerald is running the pack and taking care of business on that end, but Mom doesn’t seem to know how to delegate. Her entire life, she’s been the one running the show.

Now she has to count on other people to take care of her.