Deciding Love (4 page)

Great. I wasn’t looking forward to walking through the crowd. Cat pushed her way past a group of girls who were huddled around the passenger door.

“Move it or lose it,” she said.

I watched in horror as the same girl from geography who had speared me with her eyes turn on poor, innocent Cat.

“Excuse me?” she said, flipping her hair over her shoulder. Her narrowed look flickered over to me too.

“You’re excused,” Cat said coolly. “Now move.”

She opened her mouth, and I stiffened, waiting for a verbal smack down, but she was instantly interrupted.

“Back off, Hilary,” a smooth voice ordered from inside the car. Just the sound of it had me fighting back a shiver, my eyes trying to seek out the owner.

Cat smiled. “Yeah, back off, Hilary.”

“That’s enough, Cat. Get in,” he said.

Cat didn’t seem fazed, unlike Hilary whose face had turned a bright shade of pink. Opening the door, Cat pulled her seat forward, motioning for me to climb in the back. I didn’t hesitate, more than ready to get out of the tension. Ducking down, I eased into the car, settling back as I threw my bag on the space beside me, ignoring the glares from outside.

Keeping my head turned, I finally looked up front at the driver and my heart stopped. Cat’s brother was looking back at me with an unreadable expression. So slowly, time almost felt like it stopped, his eyes lowered down me all the way to my feet, and then back up to meet my gaze. I couldn’t breathe.

Kyle was all dark and cool, his black hair swept back from a face that should have belonged on a model, the sides of his head shaved close to his scalp. High cheekbones and a square jaw, with a wide mouth that was pressed together in almost a frown. He was the kind of guy I’d read descriptions about in books, but never thought actually existed.

It was his eyes that really drew me in though. They were so dark they were almost black, and felt like they could see right through me, as though all my inner thoughts were open for him. I felt exposed, some inner voice inside me warning to stay far, far away from that inscrutable face.

“Who’s this?” he said, addressing his sister instead of me. Which was probably a good thing considering I didn’t know if my voice would work right then. He hadn’t looked away from me, and I doubted I could look away from him even if I wanted to. I needed him to release me from this hold.

“This is Chloe,” Cat said happily, oblivious to my inner turmoil.

“Chloe?”

Oh. My. God. My name in his voice had me shivering. I prayed he didn’t notice.

“Yeah,” Cat said, turning in her seat to smile back at me. I tried to smile in return, but imagined it looked pretty forced and stiff. “Colt’s sister.”

He grunted. Just grunted. I didn’t know how to translate grunt, so I wasn’t sure what it meant. Then he finally looked away, face forward again as he pulled on a pair of Aviator glasses that hid his spellbinding eyes. I let out a quiet breath of relief.

“I need you to drop her off at her place,” Cat was saying. “Colt couldn’t pick her up and I knew you wouldn’t mind.”

He just grunted again before pulling away from the curb, waving at a few people as he did. His whole demeanor made me think he wasn’t happy about having to drive me, but Cat didn’t seem to notice as she prattled away at him about her first day of senior year. I didn’t know if he was actually listening - I knew I wasn’t. All I could do was concentrate on my breathing and hope we made it to my house as quickly as possible.

4

Kyle

Damn.

The road in front of me became tunnel vision as I tried my best not to look in my back seat again. Cat was going on about something beside me, not that I was hearing any of it.

Chloe Morgan was not what I had been expecting. To be honest, I hadn’t given her much thought at all when I’d heard she and Colt’s dad had moved to town. It never occurred to me that she’d be drop-fucking-dead gorgeous. Her presence was a temptation I couldn’t afford, or wanted for that matter. Colt would kick my ass if he knew I was even thinking of her at all.

Jesus Christ, the smell of her alone was going to drive me nuts. This was going to have to be the first and last time I drove her home.

“And of course I met Chloe,” Cat added. “Her and I are going to be besties, right Chloe?”

She hummed her agreement.
Do not look back at her, Kyle.

“Lovely,” I muttered.

“Aren’t her eyes amazballs, Ky? Did you look at them?”

Did I look at them? There wasn’t an inch of her that I hadn’t looked at, despite my best efforts. Her eyes had the ability to completely do me in. One blue, one hazel, they were the prettiest, most unique eyes I’d ever seen. I murmured a response that even I didn’t understand, but Cat didn’t seem to care as she went on about something else.

The light in front of me turned red, so I slowed down to a stop, my leg twitching anxiously. I just needed to get her home, and then I would make sure to stay as far away from her as possible. Just like I’d expect my friends to behave with my sister if they were ever attracted to her. Yeah, it could never happen.

The rear view mirror taunted me as I waited for the light to change. My hands gripped the wheel so tightly I was half afraid it would break. Cursing inwardly, I gave in, letting my eyes roam to glance at her in the mirror. She sat stiffly in the back, as though she were just as uncomfortable as I was. There was a pretty blush to her cheeks that hadn’t been there when she’d first gotten into the car.

My hands itched to touch her cheeks to see if they were warm as well. She kept her gaze locked to the window, looking outside. That suited me just fine as I soaked up every ridge and plain of her face. My focus got stuck on her lips. They were full and pink, and so damn kissable I was starting to sweat.

“Ky, the light’s green,” Cat said.

“Shit, sorry,” I said quickly, shoving the thing into first gear.

“So, Chloe,” Cat started, turning in her seat, “did you meet anyone yet like we talked about?”

Meet someone? What? Like a guy? What the hell was my sister doing pushing Chloe to get a guy on her first day in a new school? Colt wouldn’t like that. I waited for her answer, way too eagerly for my liking, even though I feigned disinterest.

“Actually, I did meet someone in geography that I thought you’d approve of,” she answered. She had a nice voice. Fuck, I needed to get her out of my car.

“Yay!” my sister clapped excitedly. “Spill the deets.”

“His name is Jax, and I’m pretty sure he’s on the football team.”

Jax? Really? That guy was such a douche bag.
He used to be your friend
, my smarter side pointed out. Used to be, being the operative word now. He was more of an acquaintance than a friend anyway.

“Jax? Seriously? He’s super-hot! I knew a girl like you would find someone quick.”

I gave Cat a disapproving look.

“What?” she said innocently. “I’m allowed to think guys are hot, Ky.”

I cocked an eyebrow at her. Really? I mean, obviously she was going to find guys attractive, but a jock-head like Jax Simpson?

Cat rolled her eyes at me. “He’s for Chloe anyway, don’t have a cow.”

That
did not
make me any happier.

“You should totally ask him to homecoming,” Cat said, looking behind her again.

That was it, I was going to strangle her when we were alone.

“Uh, I don’t think so,” Chloe said hesitantly. “I barely know him. And aren’t the guys supposed to ask the girls?”

“Oh, he’ll ask you,” Cat said, turning back around with a pleased look on her face, ignoring my glare.

I pulled up in front of the Morgan’s new house, remembering the address from when Colt had talked about it. I knew his and his dad’s relationship was still strained, but he was trying. He was definitely putting a bigger effort in when it came to Chloe than anything else.

Cat jumped out of the car, pulling up the seat to let Chloe out. I turned my head the opposite way, resigned not to sneak a peak of her ass as she got out. There were some lines I seriously could not cross today.

“I’ll meet you at the front tomorrow morning,” I heard Cat saying.

“Sure, sounds good,” Chloe replied.

Cat got back in, shutting the door and rolling down the window right after.

“Thanks for the ride, Kyle.”

I looked over to see Chloe leaning down to peer in through the window with a smile. Our eyes met again and I had to force out a smile as I absorbed hers.

“No prob,” I replied.

She stood, her face disappearing from my view. The girl not only had a breathtaking smile that had just been directed at me, but she also revealed she had dimples.

Fucking dimples.

Jesus, I was in so much shit.

We drove in silence for a bit before my sister finally turned in my direction.

“What do you think of Chloe?” she asked.

Too much.

I shrugged. “She seems sweet.”

“She is super sweet! I’m so happy she came to my school. I just know we’ll be good friends like you and Colt.”

“Sure thing, sounds like a blast,” I said dryly, turning to head into the rougher neighborhood we lived in.

Cat giggled. “You’re such a drab,” she said, punching me lightly on the arm. “What’s wrong with you anyway? You’re all, like, super serious and stiff? Are you hurt or something?”

“No,” I said with a shake of my head. “I just have a lot of shit on my mind.” Like how much I want to kiss your friend’s dimples, and then suck on those plump lips until I have her moaning and writhing beneath me.

“Is it Mom? How was she today?”

That sobered me up. Her concern had me relaxing, pushing all thoughts of Chloe Morgan from my mind. It was just what I needed, a reminder of what was really important. I reached over and grabbed her hand, giving it a light squeeze.

“She fine, kitty,” I reassured her. “It’s my own stuff, nothing for you to be worried about.”

I sensed her ease back into her seat.

“Good,” she said, giving my hand a squeeze back. “You’ll let me know if you need anything, right? You don’t always have to be the strong one between us two, you know.”

I smiled. “Yeah, I do. But I appreciate it.”

She just sighed, letting the familiar argument between us drop as we pulled onto our street.

The dish of spaghetti Bolognese sat in the middle of the table, tendrils of heat rising into room. Cat told mom about her day as I zoned out, trying my best to ignore the way my body reacted every time she said “Chloe”. Dad sat down in his spot and Cat started to dish out the food like always.

I ate in my usual silence while my family talked around me. Mom pushed her food around on her plate, barely eating any of it. Whether she thought we didn’t notice, I didn’t know. It was hard not to when she was practically skin and bones.

“I’ll bring her home one day after school so you can meet her,” I heard my sister saying to my mom. I could only assume she was referring to Chloe again.

I looked around our tiny kitchen that opened up to an even tinier living room, and tried to imagine what it would look like to someone like Chloe Morgan.

While our house was filled with enough love to make anyone happy, it didn’t negate the fact that it was still a piece of shit in an even shittier neighborhood. Our parents had done what they could to make it feel homey inside. It was still dismal compared to the homes on the other side of town.

Chloe’s house in particular was an amazing old home, right near the downtown area. That was prime real estate around here. I couldn’t even imagine her coming on this side of the tracks, never mind coming into our home and feeling comfortable here.

“I can’t wait to meet her,” Mom said, her smile genuine. She always loved meeting new people. And I think it made her happy to know Cat had found a new fried and wasn’t dwelling on things from around here.

“Well Ky drives her home, so it should be easy to convince her to come by one night,” Cat said.

I put my fork down, looking across the table at her. “Yeah, about that. I’m not driving her home anymore. That was just a onetime deal since it was her first day and all,” I said. If there was any hope for me retaining my sanity, I needed to keep away from Chloe. And that was especially the case when it came to confined spaces like my ride.

“What? Why?” Cat said, her eyes going all big and wide. Those things had always gotten her what she wanted, ever since she was a little girl. I looked away to stand my ground.

“I’m not a damn chauffeur, kitty,” I held. “Your friend is a big girl who can walk home on her own. It’s not like she lives where we do.”

“Don’t you like her?” she asked, her voice growing lighter and sad. She killed me with this shit. Even though I knew she was pulling a stunt, my reserve was cracking. “She’s the sister of one of your good friends. Can’t you make an exception?”

That was exactly why I couldn’t make an exception for her - not that I could say that.

“Kyle,” Dad said disappointedly, “I’m sure it doesn’t take much for you to give the poor girl a ride.”