Golden Blood (3 page)

He brushed the crumbs from his lips and
walked past her with a cheeky grin.

“Stop.”

No way. She couldn’t have seen…

“Turn.”

He knew that tone. Keeping his expression
bland, he turned. His mother’s eyes narrowed and she tipped her
head.

“What’s that look in your eyes?”

“What look?”

“That one you get when you’ve seen something
you want and are coming up with a plan of attack.”

He shrugged. “Don’t know what you’re talking
about.”

Her eyes narrowed further. He was done
for.

“Do you like one of the girls you’re going to
the movies with tonight?”

“Nope.”

She leaned towards him.

“You like
someone
.”

He looked at the floor.

“Harrison Nathan Granger.”

“It’s no big deal, Mom.”

“This isn’t going to be another Amy incident,
is it?”

He tipped back his head and rolled his eyes.
“Mom, I was a love sick romantic when she dumped me, of course I
was going to react badly.”

“I haven’t seen this look on your face for a
long time. Don’t forget I know you better than you think.”

He shook his head. “Amy never would have
broken it off if we hadn’t been moving for the millionth time that
year.”

“Hey…”

“Anyway, if you’re serious about staying here
until after I graduate, that gives me a year and a half to have a
little fun, so what’s the big deal?”

“That’s not your style, baby. You’re always
all or nothing.”

Harrison sniffed and shoved his hands in his
pockets. “Well, it’s nothing, so don’t worry about it.”

Helen’s face crinkled with a frown, her eyes
storming with intensity. Harrison sighed and placed his hands on
her shoulders.

“Mom, I know it’s like asking you not to
breathe, but you can do it, okay? You don’t have to worry about
me.”

“I just don’t want to see you get hurt again.
I know-”

“Mom! Justin’s cheating!”

“I am not, you little brat!”

Helen closed her eyes with a sigh. Harrison
patted her shoulders and turned to leave.

“Harrison.”

He glanced back and felt his spine ripple
with unease. There was that look. Her eyes were glassed over in
memory and he wondered yet again if she was seeing his father. She
never spoke of him.

In the past, one look like that would have
sent her into a week’s depression. They usually moved a month or so
later. Harrison felt his insides hitch.

“Mom! Justin, stop it!” Sam’s demand was
followed by a sharp yelp.

Helen’s eyes snapped back into focus. She
cleared her throat and gave her son a shaky smile. “Don’t be late,
okay?”

“Yes, ma’am.” He gave her a wink followed by
the grin that always made her smile. It worked.

Chapter Three

Ponte Vedra Beach,
Florida - 2011AD

Gemma sprinted the last hundred meters and
stopped in the sand by the wrought iron gate leading to the pool
area of her house. She checked her watch as she walked to the
ocean’s edge and back, pulling in large gulps of air. Six and a
half minutes faster than yesterday.

She didn’t want to admit why she had pushed
herself so hard. Her father would go into a lengthy lecture if he
knew how much her limbs were burning right now. If anyone had seen
her tearing down the beach that fast, she’d be in big trouble. They
weren’t supposed to show their true colors in public.

Shaking out her arms, she rolled her neck and
walked down the beach access pathway to the back of the house. The
pool looked inviting, but she didn’t think her legs would cope with
a swim. Her body had also adjusted to southern Florida’s heat and
the idea of swimming in January now seemed ridiculous.

She paused by one of the blue and white
striped loungers to stretch. Placing her left ankle on the back of
the chair, she folded her body over her long leg and winced at the
pull. Her hamstrings would be paying her back big time in the
morning. She was such an idiot.

Stupid Harrison Granger. He was ruining
everything!

She cut her stretching short, another insane
decision, and headed for the glass doors leading into the games
room. Grabbing a hand towel from the linen cupboard, she wiped her
face down and headed through the main entrance and up the
stairs.

She was happy before. She had resigned
herself to this life, but now… Flinging her towel into the laundry
hamper, she walked through her large closet and into the bathroom.
With a huff, she sat on the lid of the toilet to undo her
shoelaces.

“Ugh, Gemma you stink.”

Her older sister, Ruby, came through the
doorway of her own walk-in closet, her delicate nose scrunched in
disgust.

“I’m just about to have a shower.”

“Wait until I’ve finished my hair.”

Gemma leaned back against the cool tiles and
watched Ruby pull out the hair dryer, styling her dark locks with
precision. If people at school thought Gemma was pretty, they
thought Ruby was stunning. The girl had model written all over her
and she knew it.

Her curvy frame was wedged into a pair of
skintight jeans and a purple top with a plunging neckline. Her
voluptuous breasts were pushed together by a lacy purple bra that
could just be detected through the fine fabric of her shirt.

Looking at Ruby dressed that way made Gemma
all too aware of her non-existent breasts. She had always loved
being small chested, it was easier for training, but every now and
then she wished for some shape. She could never look sexy.

“Hot date tonight?”

Ruby wrapped the cord back around the hair
dryer and grinned. “You need to ask?”

“Who is he?”

“Marcus Wright. You know the tall blonde with
longish hair and muscly arms.”

Gemma could picture him strutting the
hallways like a peacock. He was an egotistical, second string,
quarterback with the annoying habit of pointing and winking at the
pretty girls. Ruby would make a meal of him.

“So, what are you telling Mom?”

“That I’m out with Jenny and the girls.”

Gemma bent her head to hide the cringe. She
had never been able to lie to her parents the way Ruby and Dom did.
They had made an art form of straight-in-the-face fallacies. They
always looked so innocent and sincere too. Gemma sometimes hated
them for it, but the feeling never lasted. She didn’t want to be a
liar, which is why she sucked so badly at it.

“What are you doing?” Ruby fiddled with her
bangs until each hair stood exactly where it was supposed to.

“Not sure. Are Mom and Dad home?”

“Mom got back from the lab an hour ago and
Dad’s due home at seven.”

“In that case, I might go to the movies.”

“By yourself again?” Ruby frowned. “Gemmy,
how are we even related?”

She bit the corner of her lip as Ruby opened
her make up drawer and pulled out various products. So much for
having a shower.

Dominic’s large form appeared in the doorway.
Unlike Ruby, he was still wearing the same clothes he’d been
slouching in all day.

“Rubes, I just spoke to Marcus. We’re
doubling.”

“What? No we’re not!”

“It’s the only way I could get Angie to say
yes, okay?” He walked into the room and checked his hair in the
mirror. “Don’t get your panties in a twist, we’ll split after
dinner. I need some time to turn that shy little red head into the
woman she was born to be.”

“Oh puke.” Ruby snapped her foundation closed
and dropped it in the drawer. “I hate to break it to you, Dom baby,
but you’re not that much of a stallion.”

“You’d like to think that.”

“Whatever.”

Gemma watched from her perch on the toilet,
grinning broadly. Her mother always said the twins had been
squabbling since having to share a womb. Ruby had nothing on Dom’s
size, but she was feisty, which made for an even match.

What people would never know is the lengths
the twins would go to for each other. Secretly, they were each
other’s best friends.

“Hey slim.” Dom knuckled the top of her
head.

She flicked his hand off and punched him
lightly in the stomach. He blocked her blow with a laugh and
knuckled her hair again. She smoothed it back with a dignified
smile.

“How was the run?”

“Faster than yesterday.”

“Nice.” Dom smiled. “Ask Ruby how her run
went?”

“Shut up. I’ll go tomorrow morning.”

“Don’t we have training with Dad
tomorrow?”

“Oh crap!” Ruby shoved the brush back into
her mascara. “I forgot. Can you guys just tell Dad I ran anyway,
please?”

“What was your time?” Dom folded his arms at
Ruby’s black look. “You know he’ll ask.”

“Just make it three minutes slower than
Gemma’s.”

Dom looked at his little sister.

“I actually ran 19 minutes today.”

“For five miles?” His eyes bulged. “Who was
chasing you?”

“I pushed too hard.” She bit her lip. “Dad’ll
be annoyed.”

“Okay, fine.” Ruby turned to face them both.
“Dom you ran your usual 24, I was 27 and golden girl over there can
be 23. Everybody happy?”

Dom looked a little miffed, but he couldn’t
deny that Gemma was now beating him regularly. She squashed the
pride that rose in her chest then bit her lip.

“It’s only a baby lie, Slim. You can do
it.”

She cleared her throat. “You know I suck at
lying.”

“That’s just because you don’t try hard
enough.” Ruby stretched her lips wide to apply her lip pencil.

Gemma huffed and Dom placed his hand on her
shoulder. “Once you know the tricks of the trade it gets easier.
You just have to practice.”

“I don’t want to-”

“Gem, sweetie.” Ruby opened her lipstick
tube. “The only way to survive in this family is to learn the art
of falsehood. Think of it as acting. We’re just playing the role of
normal teenagers.”

“But we’re not normal.”

“Well we can at least try to be!”

Gemma looked away as Ruby’s eyes flashed down
at her. “Anyway, that rule doesn’t apply to Mom and Dad. You
shouldn’t be lying to them.”

“If we didn’t lie we’d be as friendless as
you. Mom and Dad’s expectations are unrealistic. No dating until
college? Seriously.” Closing her make up drawer, Ruby turned her
face from side to side, admiring the reflection.

“Ignore Ruby. If you’re happy how you are
Gem, stay that way. We all do what we do to survive.”

He gave her knee a quick horse bite and
left.

Gemma rubbed her knee and looked back at
Ruby.

“You look really pretty.”

“Thanks, sweetie.” Appeased, Ruby shone her a
bright smile and headed out the door.

Gemma listened to it click behind her sister
before rising from her seat and turning on the shower. Since she
wasn’t meeting anyone she had the luxury of having the longest
shower in the world. Her indulgent smile faltered as the previous
thought reentered her brain. She wasn’t meeting anyone. She was
never meeting anyone.

Thanks to her porcupine behavior at school,
no one dared approach her, even Dom and Ruby had stopped inviting
her to their senior soirées. The only person who smiled at her in
school was Mr. Lomax. The guy was in his late forties.

Gemma, you’re such a loser!

She ran her hand under the spray to check the
temperature and went to take off her smelly clothes.

Harrison spoke to you today.

She frowned.

He seemed interested.

Her frown deepened and she shut off the
spray. Drying her hand on her towel, she hung it over the rail and
knocked on Ruby’s door.

Her sister was standing in her closet
debating various shoe options.

“Can we talk?” Gemma squeezed past her and
perched on the edge of her bed.

“What’s up, stinky?”

“I just had one question.” Gemma picked up
one of the many teddy bears and stroked its soft ear. “When you’re
with… well, if you were kissing a guy or maybe holding his hand.
Did… does it…”

“Does it what?”

“Does it ever feel like your skin’s on
fire?”

Ruby looked up from her shoe collection and
thought for a minute. “I guess if it gets kind of intense my skin
feels hot.”

“I mean-”

“But then you have to ease back. Never have
sex, Gem. That’s one of the golden rules. You can mess around, but
you need to keep the relationship casual and breakable. If you
start falling for a guy, you want to tell him things.”

Gemma’s mouth went dry as Ruby’s expression
lost all its playfulness.

“Why are you asking?”

“No reason, I-”

Ruby’s right brow arched and her eyes
narrowed. Gemma blushed and looked down.

A sharp knock on the door saved her life.
Before Ruby could respond, Penelope Hart breezed into the room.
Even in casual wear the woman looked like a high-class lady. Her
black hair was pulled into a precise ponytail at the nape of her
neck. Her penetrating blue eyes, highlighted with perfectly applied
make up, missed nothing.

“Gemma, you really shouldn’t be sitting on
Ruby’s bed when you smell that bad.”

Gemma gave her a meek smile and stood. She
took her time returning the teddy bear to its rightful place,
praying her mother couldn’t read minds. One whiff of Harrison
Granger and her parents would come down on her with the wrath of
Hades. Well, that’s what she thought anyway.

“My, my, Ruby Hart. Don’t you look a
treat.”

“Thanks, Mom.” Ruby grinned as she pushed her
foot into a high heeled sandal.

“Where are you off to?”

“Just out with the girls. I think Dom’s
trailing along too.”

“Hmmm. Make sure he keeps those hands to
himself. You know what he’s like around girls.”

“Oh, Mom. You know he’d never break the
rules.” Ruby kissed her mother’s cheek and squeezed her arm.

Gemma knew she shouldn’t be surprised by her
sister’s award winning performance, the twins had been doing it for
years. She just didn’t understand how her parents bought it so
easily. The one time she’d lied to her parents about drinking a can
of coke they had read her in a snap and made her write a two page
essay on the evil liquid. She was totally grossed out, so the
punishment worked, plus she’d never tried to bend the rules again.
The look of disappointment on her father’s face had been
crushing.