Divided (28 page)

His eyebrow arched even higher on his forehead. "I know you know the answers because I'm psychic."

"Just answer the question," I demanded.

"Why," he asked, smiling again. "You didn't answer mine."

I folded my arms across my chest and stared at the clock. Twenty minutes more and Dad would arrive to take me to my doctor's appointment, so I could stop wearing the stupid brace. Sarcasm aside, I didn't lie. I hated lying, and I hated liars. Kelsea was a liar. Bill was a liar. I didn't want any commonalities to exist between them and me. But it killed me to answer him because it showed what a loser I was. I had no family to hang out with, no friends to talk to, and absolutely nothing to do. Staring at my arms, I managed to mumble, "Nothing."

He ran his fingers through my hair again, grasping the back of my neck and guiding me to look at him. "Back when your hair was still blonde, I'd come to class, and you were so bored. The way you glared at everything and sped through all the work made me laugh. I didn't know why you bothered with it. I still don't. It's pointless, you know."

He surprised me with his honest answer. But the reality was we were stuck here. To get out, you had to do the work. "It's a grade, Brodie. You have to get them to move on. Don't you want to move on?"

He shrugged, but kept a serious eye-lock with me. "Sometimes yes, and sometimes not so much. What are we moving on to?"

Hadn't I just been feeling the same exact thing about leaving my office family? The shared sentiment caught me off guard. I hadn't expected to have anything in common with this guy other than the stupid attraction we seemed to feel to each other. I didn't like the unexpected.

I knew my heartbeat was too fast, and he surely noticed the way my breathing sped up. I had to pull my mask back in place. "Can we just get this worksheet done? Since we're both so smart, it should only take a second, right?"

He studied me for a moment and nodded gravely. I looked back down and tried to keep my voice even as I read the first question again. "What is the major reason for—"

He moved his chair next to mine and scooted so close to me that his left thigh pressed against my right thigh. He put his arm around my waist, making all kinds of hormones react in my body. Leaning his upper body so close to me I could easily kiss his cheek, he placed his right hand over mine and moved our hands and the pen toward the first question. I was so freaking flustered that I didn't even know how to react. My head was screaming
push him away
and everything else in me was screaming
kiss him
.

His warm breath sent shivers down my spine. "What is the primary reason for conflict in Congress and state legislatures?" He moved our hands to the first answer. "Nope, not this one." Then he moved us to the next answer. "Not that one either."

"Mr. Decker." Mr. Vigil stood in front of our table. "What are you doing?"

Brodie didn't move an inch. "We already know what we think. Now we're pairing and sharing."

"Move away from her," he said sternly.

Brodie pulled his hand from my waist and sat up straight again. He was quiet until Mr. Vigil walked away from our table. "There's a party Saturday at Crisper's house. Come with me."

My nerves were fried, I still hadn't caught my breath, and this guy was seriously wearing me out. I laughed in his face for like a solid minute. Mr. Vigil came back and gave me a concerned look. Covering my face with my hand, I waved at him. "Sorry, sorry." Somehow, I managed to get control of myself and looked at Brodie again. "No."

He didn't flinch or miss a beat. His immediate response was, "Why not, sunshine?"

"Why do you keep calling me that? I'm far from sunny and chipper. Is that supposed to be a sarcastic insult?"

"Not at all. Something about you makes me feel kinda light and sunny. I can't explain it better than that. And I'm an excellent judge of people." He tucked a few stray strands of hair behind my ear. "This whole black hair, sarcastic, tough girl thing you got going on—it's just a front." I glared at him, but he just moved closer, our noses only a few inches from touching. "Hey, your secret's safe with me. You do a good job—it's a good front—I'm just better at spotting who people really are than others."

Right, he was the freaking Yoda of Armstrong High. I looked back down at the stupid worksheet and circled all the correct answers in less than a minute then put my pen and binder away. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see him still watching me.

My impatience finally got the better of me. "What?"

"Lemme see your pen again."

I couldn't hold back my exasperated sigh as I dug it back out and handed it to him. He surprised me by grabbing my right arm and turning it over, palm up on the desk. Along my arm he wrote his number and the words, "Use It."

"Change your mind about Saturday."

What was up with this guy? How did he live with so much confidence? Didn't it make it hard to walk through doorways with a head as big as his? He didn't say
If
you change your mind or
In case
you change your mind. No, it was a command.

Three beeps on the intercom had me sighing in relief. A male voice I knew to be Mr. Jones' said, "Mr. Vigil, please send Risa Neely to the front office for check-out."

"You're leaving?" Brodie asked in an almost sad voice that made me look at him. He actually seemed disappointed.

"I have a doctor's appointment." I pointed to my knee brace and leaned down to pick my crutches up off the floor.

He slid his fingers through mine, and I couldn't completely hold back my smile over the way he kept touching me like he was my boyfriend. For someone who'd been doing her damnedest not to feel anything at all, he was seriously derailing my progress.

"Saturday?" he asked.

But I simply shook my head, pulled my fingers from his, and hobbled out of the room.

Kimberly Montague was born and raised in the Bay Area of California before moving to North Carolina with her husband where they now live with their three dogs and oversized cat. When she's not reading, gardening, spending time with her family, or antagonizing her pets in creative and loving ways, she can be found with some form of electronic device mounted on her fingers as she tries to keep up with the large conference of characters battling for individual dominance in her brain.

This is the second novel in the Setenid Blight series.
Manipulated: Setenid Blight Book Three
will be available by fall 2012. She also has two adult romance novels:
Racing Outside the Line: A Love Story at 190 mph
and
Until the Morning Sun.

Contact Kimberly Online:

Twitter:
http://twitter.com/kimbermontague

Website and blog:
http://www.kimberlymontague.com

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/AuthorKimberlyMontague