Beautifully Unnatural: A Young Adult Paranormal Boxed Set (70 page)

His hands moved to my hips. “Falling for me again? It’s either that or I give you vertigo,” he said softly, a smile playing on his lips.

My gaze dropped to his mouth, then lower. Zack had a dimple in his chin. A very sexy dimple.

“I…” I what? The pressure of his thumb at my hip bone turned my brain into soup and I couldn’t squeak out even one syllable.

“Are you okay?” A frown marred his forehead.

“Yeah, sure.”

The lines over his brows disappeared and he shook his head as if wiping away cobwebs. “You should get going, don’t you think? Daniel’s probably waiting for you.” He smirked, then dropped his hands. “That one’s a keeper, huh?”

My brain engaged and I returned his smirk. “And you’re so much cooler?” I turned and headed to my next class.

Once I rounded the corner, I exhaled, sure I didn’t sense Zack close by. I couldn’t think about how I knew when he was near. Couldn’t think about a lot of things right now. I just needed to watch where I went and how fast I moved, especially where Zack was concerned.

After my last class, I stopped at my locker. As I rooted around for the books to take home, I felt thick arms wrap around my waist, lips nuzzling the back of my neck.

“You ready to go to Bill’s Bean and Brew? We’re due for some quality time together,” Daniel whispered in my ear.

No, I wasn’t ready for that at all. But it would give me the perfect opportunity to end things. That is, if we actually made it to the coffee shop and not some deserted road for
quality time
. But since I really wanted to have that talk with him, I’d take what I could get and fend him off.

“I’ll meet you outside.” I shoved my books back in the locker and faced him, fully expecting to dodge him when he swooped. Instead, he flashed me that same sweet smile he used to give me before we started dating. Too bad the sweetness wouldn’t last.

Daniel took off. I turned to follow when I noticed Zack sauntering toward me. Why couldn’t his locker be at the other end of the hallway?

Zack gave me a thumbs up, mouthing, “He’s a winner,” as he passed me.

I hated that Daniel was such a creep and Zack had judged me by that.

I needed to get this breakup on.

Sighing, I resumed the book search, loaded up my backpack and headed to Daniel’s car. Right outside the double doors, I saw Gina twisting her hair around her finger as she talked to Zack.

Could he be the mystery guy she’d hooked up with at the party over the weekend? Except that Gina had said Zack had a girlfriend. Maybe he’d recently become available.

Zack seemed to like Gina just fine, but he couldn’t stand me. A feeling deep inside me fought its way up. Jealousy. Which I need to get over, because Zack didn’t like me and all. He and Gina were probably perfect for each other. They could sit together at lunch and judge everyone.

As I approached my car, I noticed the rear tire all plump and healthy. I searched the lot, expecting to see someone walking away with a car-jack. No such luck.

Who’d filled it up? If my dad had noticed — which was unlikely since I’d parked across the street yesterday where he couldn’t see that side of my car — he would’ve insisted on driving me to school or at least mentioned it to me and warned me to be careful. Zack maybe?

I dumped my backpack in the Taurus and scanned the parking lot for Zack. Instead, I spotted Daniel’s black Audi gleaming just several cars away. Daniel casually leaned against the passenger side, glaring in another direction and oblivious to my presence. I followed the path of his gaze to Zack and Gina, wondering what Zack had done to annoy him — besides being way hotter than him.

“Hey,” I said, as I approached.

“Hi, babe. You should park your car on the street, so we don’t have to rush back before the gates get locked.”

I backtracked to my car, but halted two steps later and spun around. Knowing Daniel, he’d invite Jeff and Natalie. We wouldn’t be alone at all. “I can’t go for coffee.”

“Okay, but you said you wanted to talk. Get in and we’ll drive around the block or something.”

Which was what I’d wanted. But did I really want to be trapped in his car with him?

“Actually, I really need your help with something,” Daniel said, his blue eyes pleading. “I’d rather not talk about it here.”

I sighed and climbed into the Audi. I was about to put on my seatbelt when he gripped my arm.

“Not so fast.” He leaned over, cupping my face. “You look really pretty today.”

I leaned back, so Daniel’s mouth couldn’t reach me. Instead of noticing my retreat, he gazed past me and frowned. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Gina and Zack talking at his car. My tummy fluttered. So not the reaction I wanted when seeing him. He gave Gina a wave, then went back into the school.

“What’s with you and Zack?” I asked.

Daniel pivoted in his seat and started the engine. “For starters, he’s a total tool.”

Whatever. I probably wasn’t going to get anything else out of Daniel, so didn’t try.

As he barreled through the gate and swerved into the lane, which was how he always drove, I pondered what I’d say. How did you go about telling someone you don’t like them anymore?

My palms moistened and I racked my brain for the right words. Then I stared out the window and noticed we were a few hundred yards from Angeles National Forest — with plenty of secluded spots hidden by trees. Why was I not surprised that he’d driven me to a very private place to park?

Daniel killed the engine under a covering of trees and unhooked his seatbelt.

I scooted toward the door. “We’re not
parking
this time, Daniel. We need to talk.”

“We can do that later.” Daniel lunged, his mouth devouring mine. As he squished against me, my elbow wedged against the door and his weight on my chest pressed into my air passages. I couldn’t breathe.

CHAPTER SIX

“Daniel!” I shouted. “I wanted to talk, not make out.”

He lifted his head, brows drawn. “You mean you were serious?”

“Yes.” I shoved, but his full weight made him hard to budge. Disgusting. “Get off.”

“I don’t mind getting off. Just put your hand right here—”

“You know what?” I gritted my teeth. “Just take me to my car. Now.” He didn’t even deserve the speech, whatever it may have been. After today, I’d never speak to his stupid ass again. He’d get the idea soon enough.

“What? We just got here.” He aimed for my mouth, his tongue poking past my lips.

I shoved harder, blasting his back into the dashboard.

“Ow!”

“I said
no
.” I adjusted my shirt.

“Damn it, Autumn. You’ve kept me waiting for weeks. I swear, I’m not waiting until prom night.”

“Prom night?” My face skewed. He assumed I’d sleep with him then? Oh, he had some nerve.

“Come on, baby. I promise you’ll love it.” Daniel reached over and hit the button to make my seat recline, then he pounced. In a flash, he was climbing over to my side, trying to kiss me again.

I turned my head. “If you don’t get off me right now, I’m going to scream.” My arms thrashed until my palm connected with his chin. He yelped. “I’m not kidding. Let me go.”

“Fine.” He clambered over to his own seat and rubbed his jaw. “But I’m done waiting, Autumn. You’d better start getting your priorities straight.”

“Screw you, Daniel.” I shifted in the seat so my back faced him. The creep didn’t speak another word after he started up the Audi. A few blocks from the school, I couldn’t take it anymore. I didn’t want to be in the same city with him, much less the confined space of a car. “Pull over and let me out.”

“What?” He glanced at me briefly.

“I said stop. I can walk the rest of the way.”

“Whatever.” Daniel swerved dangerously and bumped the curb.

“Don’t you dare come near me ever again,” I hissed. Without looking at him, I swung the door open, leaped out and slammed the door shut. His tires screeched behind me.

Still trembling from rage, I texted my mom to tell her I’d been delayed, then sprinted to the school. The run felt good, liberating. Barely winded from the exertion, I climbed into my car and leaned back in the driver’s seat.

What an ass. I shouldn’t have waited so long to dump him.

A knock on my window made me jump and my stomach clenched, thinking it was Daniel. Not out of fear, but revulsion.

Zack motioned for me to roll the window down and I did. A whiff of his woodsy, earthy scent invaded my nose and I stared into piercing green eyes.

“Car not starting again?” He pulled his cell out and looked at the screen.

To check the time, I assumed. Apparently, subtlety wasn’t a quality Zack possessed. If he was short on time, why did he bother stopping at all? “What are you still doing here?” I asked.

“Detention.”

“On your second day at a new school?” I scrunched my nose.

He exhaled and aimed his eyes at the sky. “Tried to break up a fight, then your boyfriend said I started it.”

Daniel rated high on the douche meter, for sure, but
that
high? “What about the guys who were fighting? They pin it on you too?”

“Yep.” He straightened and folded his arms over his chest.

I made a conscious effort to keep my jaw from dropping. Zack didn’t seem the type of guy to let someone walk all over him that way. Daniel and his creepy friends would fully deserve anything Zack dished out.

He rolled his eyes. “Are you stranded or not?”

I blinked, still stuck on Daniel and his evil deed. “I haven’t tried.”

“Why don’t you try it
now
?” He lifted one brow.

“Geez, no one’s forcing you to stay. I’m sure you have more interesting things to do.”

“Yeah, like get to work, which I’ll be even later for if you don’t speed things up.” He gave me the hurry up motion with his hand. “Start it.”

I turned the key and the car fired to life right away. My gaze returned to the open window, but Zack was already yards away.

“Zack. Wait.” Leaving the motor running, I scrambled out of my car and chased after him.

He pivoted on his heel and faced me. “What?”

“Did you fix my flat?”

His eyes darted to my tire. “Somebody did.”

“So it wasn’t you?”

“You think
I
fixed it for you?” Zack gave me a really good are-you-crazy-look.

I lifted my chin. “You didn’t answer the question.”

“Really?” Zack laughed once. “You’re going to make me even later to work for small talk?”

“I just want to know if I should thank you for fixing my tire. You don’t have to be such an ass.”

“You and Daniel act like you’re better than everyone else, but I’m an ass?” He shook his head, his mouth twisting.

The thought of being lumped in with a guy like Daniel made my stomach churn. I opened my mouth to tell him that Daniel and I were so over. “Listen—”

“Spare me your devotion to him, okay?” Zack grimaced. “You guys remind me of this lady when I was a stock boy at Dollars and Deals. She’d come in with her fake blond hair and fake boobs and treat me like her personal slave. Ran me around and never once thanked me.”

“Uhm…” I didn’t get it. My boobs were real and I wasn’t blond. He should’ve been able to figure out by looking at my car that I wasn’t rich either.

“One day, this guy came in and we ended up talking about cars. After a while, he shook my hand and thanked me for my help. All I did was point him to the paper towels.”

I frowned, trying to guess Zack’s point to the story.

“Turns out he owns all the Dollars and Deals across the country, yet he didn’t act like he was better than me. After talking with him, I felt
good
about myself. It made me realize that truly decent people treat others with respect.
That’s
what makes them better. Not how many things they own or how popular they are.”

I tilted my head, hoping he wasn’t saying what I thought he was saying.

“They don’t go around
acting
like they’re superior and making everyone else feel like crap.”

“Oh.” I blinked, finally getting it. My mind reeled in outrage. “You mean like what you’re doing right now?”

Gina was a hundred times the snob I was — if I was one at all. Why was Zack nice to her? And if Zack was right about me, I wouldn’t be friends with John or Ashley.

But seeing him scowl froze the words in my throat. Next thing I knew, Zack had turned his back on me and lithely jumped into his Jeep. As he disappeared beyond the gate, my hands balled into fists.

I couldn’t let myself care what he thought.

After texting my mom, saying I was still alive, I hopped into my car and drove. I took the long way home, through windy roads that hugged the edge of the forest, until my anger dissipated.

Once at my house, I found my mom sitting in my dad’s lap on the couch.