Fearless (The Story of Samantha Smith #1) (19 page)

“You ever hear that old martial arts thing about using your enemy’s force against them?”

“Uh, I guess.”

“That chick had more jealousy than everyone in this party combined. All I had to do was point it away from you, toward her boyfriend. The rest took care of itself.”

Christos cocked his chin toward the pool, where Emilio was climbing out of the shallow end while Cassandra slogged through water nearly to her neck. She was really short.

I turned back to Christos. “But I still don’t get why she was so jealous. What was she so worried about?”

“Are you serious?” Christos scoffed. “When was the last time you looked in a mirror?”

I didn’t follow. I shrugged my shoulders.

“You’re easily the hottest girl at this party.”

I laughed. “No I’m not.” The truth was, Cassandra was really good looking, despite how much of a bitch she was to me. She didn’t need to worry about me stealing any men.

Christos grinned and shook his head. “You need to get your eyes checked. That poor girl was totally jealous of your looks.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

“It does to me.”

The people around us had tired of watching the spectacle of Emilio and Cassandra dripping by the poolside, and had gone back to dancing.

“Wanna dance?” Christos asked.

“Sure.”

The music suddenly changed to a slow song. Christos swept me into his arms and stared into my eyes. Had Cupid picked out the playlist?

My hands pressed lightly against Christos’ rock hard chest. I had intended to put my arms up in protest, but now I felt his chest muscles flexing beneath his shirt. Wrong move on my part.

I wanted to lean my cheek against his chest, but resisted the urge. So I slid my arms around his muscled back. Another wrong move.

He pulled me close. I was enveloped in his arms, protected from everything in the world. I looked up at him. He gazed at me through his thick lashes. Hadn’t we just been here earlier today?
 

The entire frontside of my body pressed against his. His pelvis pressed gently into mine. I started to throb downstairs. Tingling sensations fluttered out from my thighs and swam up my spine. My breasts pressed against the tops of his rippled abs. I pulled myself into him tightly. Surprised by my own boldness, I glanced up at him, expecting rejection.

He gazed down at me. A slow smile stretched across his lips. I so wanted to lick them. I think he read my mind, because his tongue slid out from his mouth and glided across his luscious lower lip.

Heat flared in my chest and flowed up to my face. I needed him to kiss me. I tilted my head back and parted my lips with a sigh. My eyelashes fluttered in anticipation.

He leaned toward me. His eyes suddenly blinked and he frowned. “We can’t do this.” He pulled away and released me from his arms.

“What?”

“I’m your mentor, Samantha. Not your boyfriend.”

Hello, rejection. I was surprised to hear him say that after he’d defended my honor in front of Cassandra and Emilio by calling us boyfriend and girlfriend. But that was just a ruse he’d used to diffuse the situation. He hadn’t really meant it.

I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to be hurt or angry. Or feel nothing at all.

I wanted to run away. I wanted to stay. Then I remembered what I’d overheard Jake saying in the house. Was it possible that Christos had my best intentions in mind? That he wanted to help me become an artist, not just hook up with me like he did with all his other girlfriends?

I was disappointed on some level. I know I’d seen genuine desire in his eyes. For a moment. I wanted that fleeting feeling to last forever. But on the other hand, I’d never had someone devote themselves to helping me realize my dreams beyond an accountant’s career.

Which was more important to me?

Art mentor or hot boyfriend? A career I actually wanted, or this amazing man? Could I have both? Or would a relationship interfere with the coaching?

This sucked. I can honestly say I couldn’t decide. My mom would’ve said I wanted to have my cake and eat it too. What the hell did that even mean? Who served up cake then told everyone not to eat it? That never happened in real life. Screw you, Mom.

I wanted both.

Christos had a pained look on his face. He wasn’t going to let me eat his damn cake.

“I need some air,” I said, backing away. I turned and squeezed past the other couples before he could follow me.

I stumbled into the house and wandered from room to room. Tears ran from my eyes. I thought I could stop them, but it was impossible. Christos rejecting me hurt way too much.

Eventually, I found Madison. She was making out in a dark hallway with Jake.

“Can you take me home?” I begged tearfully.

Madison broke off her kiss with Jake. “What’s wrong, Sam? What happened?”

“I need to go. I’m sorry, Jake. I really need Mads to take me home.”

Jake and Madison exchanged a concerned look. “No problem, Sam,” he said. “Take care of her, Mads.”

Madison grabbed her purse from Jake’s room and walked me to her car. Fortunately, she wasn’t parked in by all the cars on the street.

“What happened, Sam?”

“It was Adonis.”

Madison’s brows cinched together. “What did he do to you? That guy is such a player. I knew he was going to hurt you!”

“Samantha!” Christos came running up to us. “There you are!”

“Get the hell out of here, asshole!” Madison glowered. “Haven’t you done enough damage already?” Madison shot him a warning glare.

Christos stopped short.
 

“No, Mads,” I said. “It’s okay. You don’t understand.”

“Samantha, we weren’t finished,” he said, exasperated. “I wanted to tell you—”

“There you are, asshole!” Emilio shouted, strutting down the driveway, still damp from his dip in the pool. “Cassandra broke up with me and left me here, yo. If your ho girlfriend hadn’t been up in my shit, none of this would’ve happened. It’s your fucking fault.”

Emilio had two friends with him. Both looked equally unruly and pissed off.

“Easy, bro,” Christos said calmly. “I don’t have time for this right now. We can work it out later.”

“We’re working it out now, mother fucker.” Emilio stepped in and swung downward at Christos’ head with a massive fist.

Christos swiftly side-stepped and grabbed Emilio by the wrist with one hand while pushing against the back of Emilio’s elbow with his open palm. He pivoted and flung Emilio into the door of a parked car. Head first.

Emilio dropped like rocks.

Madison and I exchanged a look of surprise.

Emilio’s two friends stopped in their tracks, shocked looks on their faces. Emilio was bigger than both of them. Neither of them were remotely as big as Christos.

“Get the fuck out of here, or you’re next,” Christos warned. “Take your friend with you.”

Emilio groaned on the ground.

One of the friends reached into his pocket.

“Whatever the fuck you’re reaching for in your pocket, stop right now,” Christos growled. He advanced a step toward the guy. “Or I will break your fucking arm.”

The guy stopped. “It’s cool man. Just my car keys.”

Christos glared at him. “Take them out slowly. With your fingers.”

The guy tweezed his keys out of his pocket with his index finger and thumb. He jingled them for everyone to see. “See? Just keys.”

“All right, get your shit out of here.”

The two friends helped a dazed Emilio stand up. Blood dribbled from Emilio’s nose. They put his arms over their shoulders and walked him into the darkness.

“What. The Hell. Just happened?” Madison asked, mouth agape.

“I have no idea,” I said. I started to laugh. I think I was releasing the tension. Madison joined in. We both looked at Christos.
 

He shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t look at me. I swear I had nothing to do with their breakup. That guy brought it all on himself. His girlfriend was a peach.”

“Am I missing something?” Madison asked.

“I’ll tell you later,” I said.

Madison looked from me to Christos. “Are you two okay? Do I need to intervene?”

I smiled at Christos. “No, we’re good. Can we have some privacy, Mads?”

“Talk amongst yourselves,” Madison said, flicking her splayed fingers. “I’ll be inside if you need me.” She went into the house.

“I wanted to explain myself,” Christos said. “Back there.”

I looked at him and arched my brows. “Please continue.”

“Samantha, you’re a gorgeous young woman. There’s no denying that.”

I blushed and tilted my chin down, trying to hide. But I gazed up at him shyly from beneath my brows.

“The thing is, I don’t want anything developing between us getting in the way of my mentoring you.”

“It’s not getting in the way.”

“Not right now, but it could. I don’t want that to…” He trailed off. His eyes narrowed and he peered over my shoulder.

“What?”

“Get down. Now.” He shoved me to my knees.

“Christos! What are you doing!” When I recovered my balance, I twisted and saw a car stop in the street at the end of the driveway. Emilio and his friends. The windows were rolled down. One of the friends leaned out of the back seat with a gun.

Christos dove on top of me. “Get down!” We rolled behind a car on the driveway.

I heard five pops and then the engine rev. Tires screeched and the car sped off.

“Are you okay? Did you get shot?” Christos asked desperately.

“I don’t know, I don’t know!”

Madison, Jake, and several other people came running out of the house. They were all yelling.

“What the fuck!” Jake shouted.

“Somebody shot someone!” a random person cried.

“Sam!” Madison screamed. She ran up to me. “Sam! Are you okay?”

“I don’t know. I…I think so.”

“Dude, are you all right?” Jake asked Christos.

“Yeah, man. I gotta get the fuck outta here. The cops are going to be all over this place in a couple minutes.”

“Okay, bro. Go.”

Christos looked at me. “Are you okay?” He looked all over my body. “You’re not shot, are you?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Madison,” he said, looking right at her. “Make sure she’s okay. I have to go. Now.”

She nodded.

“Wait! Why are you leaving!” I cried. “You didn’t do anything! They shot at us!”

“I have to go, Samantha.” Obvious panic strained his face.

He stood before I could stop him and sprinted down the street to his car. I heard his tires screech, and I’m pretty sure he drove in the opposite direction of Emilio’s car, At least he wasn’t chasing them.

So why was he running? I gave Jake a pleading look. “Why did he leave?”

Jake shook his head. I wasn’t getting any information from him.

Madison slapped Jake’s arm. “What the fuck, Jake! What just happened? Why did Adonis run like that?”

Jake didn’t answer. Madison started slapping at him like crazy.

“Madison! Stop!” I pulled her off of Jake. “He didn’t do anything.”

“It’s his stupid party! You almost got shot!” Madison clapped her hands to her face and started bawling.

Jake put an arm around her and she leaned into him. He looked at me. “Are you okay, Sam?”

My adrenalin was still going, but I was pretty sure I wasn’t shot. My knees felt tender, probably skinned from when Christos pushed me down, despite the protection of my jeans.

“I’ll take you home,” Jake said.

“I’ll do it,” Madison said. “Just give me a few minutes.”

“You guys should go now, before the cops get here.”

“You’re right.” The same inner confidence I’d discovered I had in situations like this took control. “I’ll drive.”

“What?” Madison asked through a mask of tears. “You can’t drive!”

“You can’t either. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. Let’s go.” We climbed into her car and drove off.

The only thing on my mind was the fact that the only two people who had seen the shooting were Christos and myself. With him gone, I didn’t want to be there when the cops showed up and started asking questions.

After Christos’ arrest in the SDU parking lot at the beginning of the school year, I suspected it was for the best.

I had been right all along.
 

Christos really was trouble.

I drove Madison’s car back toward my apartment. We didn’t talk much. I think we were both in shock.

When we got close, I asked, “Do you want to hang with me for awhile at my place? Or go back to Jake’s?”

“Do you want me to? I’m sure Jake’s place is a nightmare right now.”

“I wouldn’t mind the company.” I turned into the small parking lot of my apartment building.

Christos was leaning against his car.

“Oh,” I said surprised. I noticed Madison scrutinizing my reaction. “On second thought, maybe I should leave you with Adonis.”

I parked in my space. “Sorry. He looks like he wants to talk.”

“Are you going to be all right?” She rested her hand on my forearm protectively and gave me a concerned big sister look.

“Yeah, as long as no one shoots at us,” I said half-seriously. Why did I fear regular shootings were an actual possibility with Christos around? Maybe I was better off with him as only my mentor.

“You’ll be fine.” Madison patted my arm. We both got out and she climbed in the driver’s seat.

I walked over to Christos. Madison rolled down her window when she got her car turned around. “Keep her safe,” she said to Christos.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let anything hurt her.”

“You better not.” Madison waved and drove off.

As I stared into his blue eyes, the entire world fell away. In that moment, I believed the only thing that might actually hurt me was Christos.
 

“What happened back there?” I asked. “Why’d you run away?”

He put his hands on my shoulders. “We need to talk. Can we do it inside?”

I didn’t like the sound of that. “Okay.”
 

We went upstairs to my apartment. I was suddenly grateful for cleaning earlier. Women’s intuition is rarely wrong. I let us in the front door. “Do you want anything to drink?”

“Water’s fine.”