Twisted (5 page)

Noah hesitates.

“Seriously, what else am I
going to do for the next several hours while you and Tate are gone?”

He nods. “Alright, if you'd
like. Thanks.”

“You're welcome.”

Noah tosses me a friendly
smile before he turns and heads for the hallway.

I stare after him for a
second with a silly smile on my face. I kind of like that guy.

The following morning finds
me in a much better mood than the day before. First and foremost, it is Friday.
Second, I am wearing a pair of new jean shorts and a dark tangerine colored
tank top with my new flip-flops. Even my toenails are painted a nice coral
color. I'm not normally the type to dress up and try to look good, but today I
kind of like looking halfway decent. Of course, it helps that my skin tone
always looks naturally tan. If I had pale legs, I wouldn't be feeling quite so
confident in the outfit.

As I climb out of my car in
the school parking lot, I sling my backpack over my shoulder and head for the
sidewalk. I'd left my hair down and it sways down my back as I make my way
towards the school. A few guys pause to check me out and
I
deliberately ignore them. I hadn't bought new clothes to gain attention. I'd
done it so I wouldn't be a sweaty mess every day.

That morning, I find that
changing my wardrobe made a difference as to how many people notice me. By
second period, I am almost wishing for my boring tanks and jeans back. I like
fading into the background because I hate being the focus of anyone's
attention. Unless it's Noah's. I like his attention. But when it comes to
strangers, I simply like doing my own thing without feeling like I am on some
sort of display.

Even though my clothes gave
the illusion that I fit in, no one really went out of their way to befriend me.
I'm okay with that and in fact, I find myself hoping to run into Paige. I feel
comfortable around her and if I am going to make friends with anyone, I hope it
will be with her. Unfortunately, I had yet to see her today. She hadn't been at
her locker before school and I hadn't seen her in between classes, either.

She happens to be at her
locker at lunch and my mood begins to lift. Paige is digging through her locker
for something but takes time out to glance at me and note the new outfit. “Hey,
I see you found the stores.”

“Thanks, again.” I spin the
dial on my locker and pull it open to shove my books inside.

Paige shuts her locker and
smiles at me. “No problem.”

“Paige, who's your friend?” A
masculine voice drawls.

My attention shifts over
Paige's shoulder and I see that her boyfriend Blake is standing there along
with another guy. I can't help but stare at Blake's friend. He definitely
doesn't look like your average high school senior. He’s a few inches taller
than Blake and his vintage tee clings to well-defined muscles. My eyes trek
down to his jeans and then down to his black biker boots.

“Like what you see?”

My gaze lifts and I meet
arrogant green eyes. “When I've got an answer for you, I'll let you know.”

His eyes drop and now he looks
me up and down boldly.

I don't care, I'm too busy
studying him some more. He is by far the cutest guy I've seen at school. His
light blond hair falls across his forehead and I catch sight of an eyebrow
piercing. I'm betting he's sporting some tattoos underneath those clothes. I
glance at Paige and see that she is biting her lip. I'm not sure if it's
because she hasn't officially asked my name yet, or if she's unhappy that one
of her friends is showing interest in me. I'm hoping it's the first and not the
last.

“I'm
Blayre
,”
I say to the blond guy.

“Cole. You must be new
because I would have noticed you before today.”

“This is only my second day.”

He nods, his eyes hooded as
they study me. “Have lunch with us.”

Once again, I glance at Paige
to see her reaction. Blake's arm is around her waist and she has a wary look on
her face that promptly turns into a bright smile. “I can always use another
girl to hang with. You game?”

“Sure, why not,” I say,
shutting my locker firmly. Cole is
hot
and I am always in need of a good
distraction.

Cole holds out a hand to me
and I'm a bit surprised. I slip my hand in his and his fingers are warm as they
slide between mine. He leads me down the still crowded hallway, leaving Paige
and Blake to trail after us. As we navigate the halls, I notice how people seem
to naturally move out of our way. That's interesting. Cole either has a
reputation around here or it's his presence, which has a hint of command. This
is a guy that that does not get ignored and I am more than a little curious
about him. I may not have much experience with guys, but one thing I am
learning here in California were guys didn't intimidate me. I'm expecting to be
led to the lunchroom, but instead I find that we are walking into the lobby and
then outside into the bright afternoon sunshine.

“Where are we going?” I ask
with interest.

Blake has an arm slung over
Paige's shoulders and he's the one to answer my question. “It's open campus
during lunch.”

As I walk with Cole, I notice
there are plenty of students sitting around on the front lawn as they bask in
the sun and eat their lunch. A few of them watch as we walk past. Open campus
is something that I am definitely very pleased to hear. This means I can escape
school once a day and get a much needed break in between classes.

When we reach the parking
lot, I see other students piling into cars and leaving. “Do you want me to
follow you guys?” I ask politely. It would be rude to just assume I would be
riding with them.

“No, you're with me.” Cole
leads me through the maze of cars until we come upon a parking space where two
motorcycles are parked side by side. Cole lets go of my hand and slings a long
leg over the seat of the motorcycle parked closest to us. He settles
comfortably on it and looks at me expectantly.

A slow smile creeps across my
lips at the idea of riding a motorcycle. I've always wondered what it would be
like to ride one. I walk closer and then tentatively climb on behind him. He
promptly reaches back, his hands grasping my bare thighs as he tugs me up
further so my thighs are now cradling his butt. “Much better,” Cole says as he
releases my legs and starts the motorcycle up.

It's loud—really loud and I
can feel the vibrations of the motorcycle beneath me as Cole revs the engine. I
slip my arms around his waist and hold on tightly as I glance at Paige to see
that she's clinging to Blake. Cole literally peels out of the parking space and
I gasp with shock before releasing a carefree laugh as I enjoy the rush of
something new.

The entire ride I cling to
Cole, a silly smile probably plastered to my face. It's such a rush and I love
every single second of it. I find that Cole has no fear. He takes the corners
sharply, to the point where I wonder if I'm going to lose skin if we get any
closer to the asphalt as the motorcycle leans to one side or the other. The
wind tears at my hair and I give up trying to watch where we are going.
Instead, I press my cheek against Cole's back. I'd had no idea that when I woke
up this morning, I would be sitting here on a motorcycle behind a hot guy,
barreling down streets and heading toward some unknown destination.

When we finally do come to a
stop, I study the building that looks like a bar. Cole effortlessly pulls the
motorcycle into a parking space. I swipe my long hair out of my face and climb
off, my legs slightly shaky from the ride. “Are we at a bar?”

“It's a pool hall by day, bar
at night,” Cole explains as he climbs off the bike and then comes over to put a
hand on the back of my waist, leading me towards the entrance.

I note the sign, which reads
“Blackie's” before we step inside and are greeted by the scent of cigarettes
and loud rock music. The sound of cracking pool balls fills the air as my eyes
scan the interior, taking in what looks like a regular bar. One side of the
room happens to be the main bar, complete with the long counter, stools and
all. The other side of the room is made up of booths and small tables, while
several pool tables take up residence in the middle of the room. There are
other teenagers our age milling around and eating what looks like greasy food.

Cole leads me to the bar as
Paige and Blake walk up to join us. He looks at me questioningly. “Hungry?”

“Sure.” I start digging in my
pocket for the cash I'd remembered to bring for lunch today.

Cole shakes his head. “I got
it. What do you want?”

There's a blackboard on the
wall behind the bar with all the food choices Blackie's offers. As I scan it, a
man wanders over to take our order and I find myself sidetracked by his
appearance. I swear his biceps are as big as my head and there is a bandana
wrapped around his forehead—biker style. Is that a scorpion tattoo on his neck?
I actually find myself leaning forward slightly to get a better look.

“The cheesy curly fries are
to die for,” Paige says as she nudges me, her eyes twinkling when I glance at
her. She'd evidently noticed my distraction.

“Sold,” I say.

“Two baskets of cheesy curly
fries and a pitcher of soda,” Cole says as he tosses a twenty on the counter.
The muscular bartender grunts in acknowledgment, and reaches under the counter
to grab a plastic number that we are to set on our table. We all walk towards
the other side of the bar and snag the last available booth.

Cole slides in next to me and
his bold gaze holds mine. “Where you from?”

“Minnesota.”

“Meet anyone yet?”

I shake my head. “Just you
three.”

The news seems to please him.
“Good. What electives are you taking this semester?”

“Wow, if only all my stalkers
were as bold as you,” I quip.

This earns me a wicked grin.
“Stalking's just a part time hobby.”

Blake snorts.

I fight back a smile and look
at Cole quizzically. “Why do my elective classes matter?”

“The classes you sign up for say
a lot about a person. Plus, I'm curious to see how hard it's going to be to get
you to skip with me.”

“You're pretty sure of
yourself, aren't you?”

“I'm always sure of what I'm
doing. Or who,” he adds, his eyes turning suggestive.

I try to ignore the heat that
flares in my lower belly. Instead of commenting, I deliberately turn my
attention to Paige and Blake, who are sitting across from us and watching with
silent interest. “Is he always like this?”

“Pretty much,” Paige says.

Cole leans into me and whispers
in my ear, “I always go after what I want. Those who hesitate come up empty
handed.”

A shiver trickles down my
spine and I turn my head so I am facing him, our lips only inches apart.
“You'll be coming up empty handed for a while where I'm concerned,” I murmur,
causing Blake to hoot with laughter.

Cole's lip quirks in the
corner, his green eyes flaring at the challenge. “We'll see.” His eyes shift to
Blake. “I'm low. You?”

“Yeah,” Blake answers.

Cole glances briefly at me.
“Paige will take good care of you,” he says simply before he is rising to his
feet and both guys are walking away, sauntering over to the crowded pool
tables.

I turn to Paige with
surprise. “What are they doing?”

She smirks. “This is what
they usually do at lunch. They hustle for cash and I pig out and watch.”

At that moment, Mr. Biceps
comes up to our table and places two huge baskets of fries in front of us.
“I'll be back with the soda,” he says curtly before walking away.

I find myself staring at the
large basket in front of me. “This looks absolutely lethal.”

“I know. I need to start
working out if I keep ordering these.”

“Damn, these are really
good,” I practically moan as I chew my first fry and find myself savoring it.

“Told you,” Paige says with a
laugh.

Mr. Biceps comes back with
our soda and then we are left to munch on our fries and watch the guys shoot
pool. I note that Cole looks like he knows what he's doing. As I watch him
closely, I can see every move is clearly calculated and sharp.

“Can I say something that
stays just between us? You won't repeat it?” Paige asks a bit cautiously.

My eyes jerk to her with
interest. “Sure.”

She hesitates before saying,
“Cole's...bad news,
Blayre
. He'll drag you down into
some deep shit if you let him.”

“What do you mean?” My
fries are promptly forgotten.

“You really want the truth?”

“Absolutely.”

“He's up to his eyeballs in
drugs,” Paige warns.

That has my eyes widening.
“He's a druggie?” My eyes jerk back to Cole with disbelief. He didn't look like
the sort to me.

“Don't stare at him like
that!” Paige hisses. “You seem like a nice girl so I'm going out on a limb here
to warn you. Cole will be pissed if he finds out.”

I note the slight hint of
anxiety in her voice and turn my full attention back to her. “I won't say
anything. I promise.”