The Academy - Friends vs. Family (27 page)

Gabriel let go of my hips and I swayed to the music on my own. I bent
my knees a little and swung my arms close around my head like he did.

His crystal blue eyes lit up. His lips parted and he sang along as
he danced. This caught me off guard and I almost stopped moving. His voice was
so smooth and beautiful. He smiled at me as he sang, reached out to put an arm
around my waist and started swaying with me again. His cheek met mine; his
voice filled my ears until he was the only thing I could hear.

He backed off again and I wondered where he was going. Sensing
someone behind me, I spun, and nearly wobbled on my high heels, and found Luke.
He grabbed my hands and danced with me, too. Nathan got up on his feet, and the
four of us danced and laughed together. Nathan wasn’t quite as graceful but it
looked like he was having fun. I felt ungraceful and ridiculous but their
smiles were addicting. I didn’t want to stop.

Luke moved away from us and came back with a CD. He popped it into
the stereo. I blushed when I recognized the song.

“What’s that?” Nathan asked next to me.

“Some Japanese rock,” I said. “Luke stole one of my CDs.”

Nathan smiled and grabbed for my hand. “Sounds good to me.”

We danced to this song, too. I thought they might laugh at my
music but they bobbed heads and swayed their hips. I sensed eyes on us but was
terrified to look and see if North and the others were watching. I focused on
Nathan, Luke and Gabriel dancing so I wouldn’t feel so out of place.

The song following it was different, a symphonic rock tune and
slower in tempo. Nathan backed away from me and I watched after him, confused
as to why. A hand brushed my arm.

Victor stood behind me, fire eyes ignited.

I stilled, unsure. He took my hand in his and wrapped his arm
around my waist. In time with the violins of the music that streamed from the
stereo, Victor held me close to his body while he led the way. My heart
fluttered and I glanced down to try to avoid stepping on his feet.

“Look at me, Sang,” he said in his sweet baritone voice. He let go
of my hand, his fingertips tracing my chin until my gaze lifted. My face was on
fire as bright as his eyes were burning. The hand touching my chin dropped to
waist. My own trembling fingers pressed to his chest. He guided me through the
dance steps. His fingers smoothed across my back, fingertips traced along my
ribs. My heart was melting. He was graceful, handsome.

When another song started, Kota got up and crossed the room toward
us. His eyes were intent on mine. Victor and Kota shared a look that I didn’t
quite understand. Victor’s eyes blazed, Kota’s were determined. Victor let go
of me and Kota took his place.

“Ready?” Kota asked.

A drift of his spice filled my nose. I bit my lower lip, unsure of
what he meant.

Kota moved with precision. He put his hand to my lower waist, drew
me close to him and guided me through the steps.

“One, two...” he counted under his breath. He pulled me to him,
pushed me out and twirled me so the skirt flared and brought me back. I had no
idea what I was doing, just following his lead. He spun me, dipped me. His
hands clutched at my waist. It was way too intense. His green eyes swallowed me
up. The quiet smile on his lips, the way he held me close at some points until
my chest was pressed against his had me floating. I was on the toes of my boots
to keep from tripping. My heart was going crazy.

When the song was over, I backed away, fanning a hand before
anyone else could step up. “Okay guys,” I said to them, breathless. “I can’t
any more... in these heels.”

They all laughed.

I wobbled my way back to the couch, and fell into the seat between
Silas and North. The others left the music on but moved to the bean bag chairs
and grabbed Xbox controllers.

“Here,” North said, patting his leg. “Put your foot up here.”

He dropped a hand on my knee and brought my leg up until it was
hooked over his. He unzipped the boot and tugged it off. Surprisingly, this
didn’t bother me in the slightest. Gabriel had dressed me, North was undressing
me. Sort of. He was removing my shoes. Was I finally getting used to their
touches and the way they did things for me?

While he was doing it, I was leaning against Silas. His stomach
growled. I laughed, and his face tinted. “Why didn’t you tell me you were
hungry?” I asked him.

“You were busy,” Silas said.

“Should we get started?” North asked. He finished taking off my
boots and left the socks on. He pushed my legs off of his knee and stood up.

“I thought I was cooking.”

“You are,” Silas said, standing and reaching out for me. My hand
disappeared into his and he pulled me to my feet. “We’re helping.”

I slipped across the carpet in the socks as I followed them into
Kota’s kitchen. North opened the fridge, checking the contents. “We’ve got two
pounds of ground beef. So I guess grilling burgers is out. That’s not enough
for all of us.”

I stepped up next to him to inspect the fridge. As I did so, I pressed
my cheek against his arm to look inside.

North shifted and his fingers closed around my shoulder and pulled
me in tighter next to him. “Have an idea?”

I glanced at the contents, spotting bacon and onions. “Hmm...
could make a big pot of cowboy stew.”

“What’s that?”

I snagged bacon and onions and the ground beef from the fridge. I
dropped them on the counter and was looking around at the cabinets to try to
guess where the pots were.

“What can I do?” Silas asked, his hands stuffed in his pockets as
he leaned against the archway. His broad shoulders bulked against the baseball
jersey he was wearing.

“Can you cut an onion?”

He smirked. “I think I can handle that.”

Within a few minutes, I had bacon sizzling at the bottom of a big
pot. Silas chopped onions next to me on the counter and I was directing North
to grab other ingredients.

When the bacon was finished cooking, I scooped it out onto a
plate.

“Want me to drain the fat?” North offered. He hovered over me,
watching as I worked.

“Nope,” I said. I motioned to Silas to bring his cut onion over
and he dumped it in.

“Fat’s not healthy,” North said.

“Your brain is made of fat,” I replied. “You need fat for your
brain.”

North smirked, rolling his eyes.

Silas laughed, and massaged my neck and scalp with one hand.
“She’s right. She cooks and she’s smart. Let’s keep her.” His big hands were
rough and not as precise as Kota’s or as soothing as Gabriel’s, but I enjoyed
it.

As I cooked, Silas and North asked what I needed, and found things
for me quickly. When I was almost done, I added barbeque sauce to the mix.

“How much are you adding?” North asked. “Are you measuring?”

“Not really,” I said.

“How do you know when it’s enough?”

“When it tastes good.” I stirred the sauce into the mixture of
ground beef, bacon and beans. “There. Let it stew for a while. It’ll taste
better if you let it sit.”

North gripped my hand over the spoon. He brought the spoon to his
mouth, holding my hand as he took a bite. He let go and licked at his lips.
“It’s simple, but it’s good.”

“What are we having?” Erica asked as she came into the kitchen.

“Cowboy stew,” Silas replied. “Sang’s recipe.”

Erica beamed. “We’re going to have to get together and swap
recipes.”

I blushed. “I wasn’t sure what else to make. There’s so many
people here.”

Erica waved me off. “Sometimes I just order pizza for them or we
grill out. We’re flexible.” She bent over the pot, smelling deeply. “I think
I’ll make cookies.”

“Should we help?” Silas asked.

“Nope. You’ve made dinner,” she said. “I’ll take care of dessert.
You three go have fun.”

We tried to insist we could help or at least clean up but she
wouldn’t allow us to remain in her kitchen.

Back in the living room, North and Silas went back to the couch.
The others were playing some car race game on the big screen.

Luke was sitting alone in one of the bean bag double chairs. He
waved me over to him. I slipped into the chair beside him. With the way the
bean bag chairs worked, we were tilted in together, our hips touching. It felt
more intimate.

Luke swept a finger across my cheek and brushed a lock of hair
from my face. “So how do you like it?”

I blinked at him, confused.

“I mean the chairs,” he said. “The ones we got.”

I’d only sat down for a minute, but it was cozy. “It’s
comfortable. I bet I could curl up in one and take a nap.”

“That’s perfect. We’ll keep them.”

I laughed, dropping my fingers across my mouth. “Would you have
kept them if I said I didn’t like them?”

“Nope.”

“Is my opinion that important?”

“Yes.”

“But...” I hesitated, remembering what Gabriel had said about
girls sometimes dissing themselves, but this was different. “I mean, what if
you like them? You bought them so you should feel comfortable in them and not
worry about my opinion.”

“All our opinions matter,” he said. “You’re one of us now.”

“Sang!” Gabriel’s voice cut through the chatter and the game
music. “Come race the cars.”

A controller was tossed at us. I was teamed up with Nathan for the
game, racing against Victor and Gabriel.

Nathan took one look at me and mouthed the word:
cheat
.

Easier said than done. Swimming cheating was one thing. How was I
going to cheat now?

To start, I climbed away from Luke. Victor’s chair was closer to
the screen, and I plopped down next to him. Victor beamed. He leaned into me,
his side pressed to mine. My arm, because of the way I had to hold the
controller, was neatly tucked under his.

The game started and I had plenty of trouble trying to figure out
the right controls. As it was, I was dead last from the start. Nathan wasn’t
doing too badly.

I tried bumping my car into Gabriel’s, and taking dangerous cuts
across the street in the game just to be a block for Victor but it wasn’t
helping. Every move I made just pushed me further behind.

Out of desperation, I nudged my elbow into Victor, hoping to
distract him.

“Hey, hey,” he said in a low voice. He started nudging me back.

Well, if he’s going to do it...

I moved my hand from the controller, poking him in the stomach.
His muscles flexed out of reaction. He laughed, nudging me over with his elbow
and practically leaning over me, trying to get me to stop and trapping my arm
against my body.

He managed to take the lead in the game. I went for curling my
fingers and tickling.

“Sang!” he called out, cracking up. He kept leaning on me but I
had given up trying to beat any of them so I left the controller in my lap.

My hands sought out his sides and I brushed my fingertips against
his red polo shirt. “Yes, Victor?”

He grunted and dropped his controller, reaching for my hands and
drawing them together until they were over my head. I struggled but he collected
my wrists in one hand and his other moved over my stomach and he started to
tickle.

“No!” I squealed, laughing and trying to twist and pull away from
him. It didn’t help. His fingers found my sides and he traced delicately along
my stomach. I was howling with laughter and in near tears. In order to find any
relief, I was pressing myself close to him to trap his arm between us. His
breath fell against my ear as he giggled.

“Hell yeah!” Nathan shouted, dropping the controller in his
beanbag chair. He pumped his fist in the air. His car spun on the screen,
declared the winner.

“God damn it,” Gabriel said. He glared over at us. “What the hell
are you guys doing?”

“She’s cheating,” Victor said breathlessly through his laughter.
He let me go but I was still in a fit of sniggering.

“That’s my Sang,” Nathan said. He leaned over in his beanbag with
his hand up in the air. I slapped my palm against his for a loud high five.

“That’s it,” Gabriel said. “She’s on my team now.”

“Fine,” Nathan said. “Then I get Kota.”

“I’ll play,” Kota said. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor.
He patted his palm to the spot next to him. “Sit next to me, Sang.”

“Watch out,” Nathan said as I pulled myself out of Victor’s chair.
“She’ll get you. She fights dirty.”

I crossed the floor and sank to my knees next to Kota, sitting on
my heels. I tried to give Kota my most innocent smile.

“She won’t cheat around me,” he said, his eyes narrowing at me but
there was a slight curl to his lip. “She wouldn’t dare.”

“You get him, Sang,” Gabriel ordered.

I bit my lower lip a little and grasped the controller.