Golden Blood (5 page)

“Sorry!” Gemma pulled back. “Crap, Harrison,
you need to concentrate or I’m going to damage you.”

His smile was coy as he ran a hand through
his blonde hair.

“I think it’s safe to assume that even if I
was concentrating, you could damage me.”

He didn’t want to admit how much of a turn on
that was.

They both blushed.

“You’re fast.”

He smiled. She frowned.

“Your Dad must be a really good teacher.”

Her chuckle twittered with nerves. “He loves
this stuff.”

A loud scream from the screen made Gemma look
up. The heroine was running across a field towards a bleeding body.
Dropping to her knees, she lifted his head into her lap and stroked
his graying skin.

“You really know how to pick ‘em, don’t you,
Hart? Talk about your feel gooder.”

A giggle exploded from her lips. The smile
spread over her face, turning it to sunshine. “That’s just what Dom
would say.” She shook her head.

“Your brother. He a movie fan?”

“Oh yeah. Last night he made me sit through a
four hour Jackie Chan fest.”

“I love Jackie Chan!” Harrison jumped up on
his toes and started dancing around like a martial arts idiot.

Gemma laughed. “You’re ridiculous.”

He aimed a high kick at her waist. She caught
his ankle and tugged. He thumped to the floor with a groan.

“You are cruel.”

Her laughter was nervous, her expression a
little guilty as she held out her hand to help him up.

He grabbed it, but didn’t let go when he was
hauled to his feet. She looked up with surprise and tried to jerk
away. He held fast until she relented, then rubbed his thumb over
her knuckles, sending warm licks of flame up his arm.

She gazed down at their connection then up at
his face.

“Want to go somewhere?” He spoke softly.

Her eyes flickered with uncertainty and she
tried to pull her hand away.

“I know a great spot on the beach. There’s
this huge pine tree. When you climb to the top, it’s like you can
see heaven. Up there with nothing but the ocean for a soundtrack,
you can believe you’re the only person on the planet.”

“I…”

“It’s also slightly more soothing than
screaming German.”

She smiled then caught her lip beneath her
teeth. Her eyes traveled down to their hands then over the carpet
and up to the screen before settling back on his face. Her pained
expression gradually morphed to a nervous smile. Her nod was almost
imperceptible and then everything changed.

Whipping her hand free, she stepped away from
him. Her eyebrows were bunched together, her expression
tormented.

“What’s wrong?”

“I have to go.”

“What?”

Running up the stairs, she collected her bag
and threw it over her shoulder.

“Wait a second. What did I do?”

“Nothing. It’s not you.”

She fumbled her water bottle and banged into
one of the seats as she stumbled out to the aisle. He strode up the
stairs and grabbed her arm as she tried to sail past him. With
lightning moves she threw him back into the seats.

Her eyes were so anguished he felt his breath
catch.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered before dashing
down the stairs.

“So am I.” He knew she didn’t hear him, she
was long gone. Rubbing his hands together, he tried to extinguish
the fire. It no longer felt warm and inviting.

Stomping down the stairs, he collected his
jacket and headed for the exit. He pushed open the door to the
strains of final music and turned to glimpse the heroine, dressed
in black, sobbing over a gravestone.

Harrison wandered back to the main foyer, his
brain a mix of confused disappointment and anger. He was more
annoyed with himself than anything. Hadn’t he specifically said no
girlfriends? Wasn’t he the one that had gone on about keeping
everything casual?

You’re such an idiot.

He never should have asked her to the beach.
Pulling on his jacket with a sneer, he shoved his hands in his
pockets and made for the escalators.

“Harrison!”

He spun at the sound of his name. Hiding his
disappointment when he saw Dana and her posse running towards him
was hard work. Darren trailed along behind them, obviously
surprised.

“Where were you man? I texted like three
times.”

“Sorry, I got the time wrong. I thought we
were going to the late session.” The lie came easy, which wasn’t
something he was proud of. “Was the movie good?”

“The ending sucked, but the effects were
pretty cool.”

“Wish I hadn’t missed it.” Another easy lie.
He crossed his arms and forced a smile.

“We’ll just have to go again sometime.” Dana
squeezed his forearm.

Harrison pushed out a halfhearted laugh and
uncrossed his arms. Stepping out of reach, he looked over at
Darren. “Well, you guys want to do something now?”

“We’re going to Dairy Queen. It’s blizzard
time.” Darren’s eyebrows wiggled.

“I’m in.” Harrison turned towards the exit
once more, ignoring the thought that the beach and Gemma would have
been a thousand times better.

Dana skipped over to him and threaded her
arms through his. “Can I ride with you?” Her smile was sultry. “I
just love your car.”

“Sure.” He coughed and forced another grin.
He really wanted to drop his arm and step out of Dana’s clutches,
but he knew that would be rude. He didn’t want to make his evening
worse by pissing her off. He people watched to distract himself
from the feel of Dana’s little fingers fiddling with his jacket
sleeve.

Gemma came into view and he nearly stopped in
his tracks. A stern frown crossed his face, but it fled. She looked
tired. She rubbed her forehead and smoothed back her ponytail,
which was no longer braided. Her clothes looked as though they’d
been hastily pulled on, but that was probably his imagination. She
just looked out of sorts.

Maybe she felt guilty about ditching him. He
hoped so, then instantly regretted the feeling. Stepping onto the
escalator, he stood five stairs above her. Dana was prattling on
about something, but her words were fuzz. All he could think about
was how much he wanted to chase the mysterious Hart girl down, ask
her if she was okay and wrap her in a hug.

He shook his head. Was he insane?

Just drive Dana for ice cream, smile, joke,
nod, be happy. Take her home and leave before Jordan sees you. You
might also want to mention, yet again, that you just want to be
friends. At least you have a valid reason now.

Not that he’d tell her that. Harrison winced.
In less than 24 hours his heart had been captured. He had a feeling
the siege would be a long one.

Granger, you’re pathetic.

He stepped off the escalator with a black
frown. There was no denying it. A night that was supposed to be fun
had taken a turn for the best then a severe downward slide for the
worst.

Chapter Five

Ponte Vedra Beach,
Florida - 2011 AD

The training room felt hot and stuffy. Gemma
wiped her brow and brought her fists up to protect her face.
Staying on the balls of her feet, she circled Dom, watching his
muscles twitch and jerk, trying to predict his next move.

They had been at this since seven-thirty that
morning and Gemma was over it before they’d even begun. She usually
didn’t mind family training sessions, but not today. Not when
images of Harrison’s disappointed expression kept popping into her
head.

Dom’s fist shot towards her, she blocked the
blow and moved to strike, but he was in the zone and countered her
attack. She spun behind him, giving herself space and time to
focus.

This sucked! She cringed to think what
Harrison must be saying about her to his friends. He and Darren
were probably together right now, playing XBox and laughing about
what a freak she was.

A bright pain tore up her jawbone. She
grunted and fell to the ground, grabbing her chin.

“Oh my g… Sorry. Gem, are you okay?”

Her brother was on his knees beside her,
rolling her to face him.

“Dominic! This is only training!”

Alistair Hart shoved his son out of the way
and moved Gemma’s hand in order to examine the damage.

“I’m fine, Dad.” Gemma sat up, wiped her chin
and saw there was no blood. At least the bruising would be gone
before school tomorrow.

“I was expecting her to block that.” Dom
pointed at his sister. “Didn’t you see it coming?”

She rubbed her forehead.

“Gemma, you’re not concentrating.” Her
father’s reprimands always stung.

“I’m sorry.”

Smoothing her hair back, she looked up and
was surrounded. Dom looked guilty, Ruby looked amused. Her father’s
eyes were narrowed and her mother was hovering with that annoying
“you better have an explanation for this behavior” look.

“I’m tired. I didn’t sleep well last
night.”

“Why? Are you sick? You’re taking your
vitamins, aren’t you?”

She nodded at her mother’s barrage of
questions, but the woman wouldn’t let up.

“Is something stressing you out at school?
What happened last night to make you tense? Is something going on
that we need to know about?”

“Mom! Would you give her break. I don’t sleep
well after a midnight debrief either.”

At that moment, Gemma would have handed Ruby
a platter of stars if she’d been able to. She shot her a quick
smile. Ruby’s wink was subtle as she stood up.

“Alright everyone.” Alistair offered his
youngest daughter a hand up. “Let’s take a fifteen minute break. Go
get a drink, take some time out. I want you all back here at ten
hundred and we’re going to practice this until we get it
right.”

Gemma looked over her father’s shoulder and
watched the twins roll their eyes and stifle groans behind his
back. She didn’t know whether they were blaming her for the
extended training session or not, but she didn’t want to stick
around and have their black looks aimed at her. Grabbing a towel,
she wiped her face and tore up the stairs to her room.

Slamming the door behind her, she fell on her
bed and gazed up at the ceiling. She blinked at the moisture
building in her eyes and covered her face with the towel as the
door crept open.

It was shut quietly behind her visitor. Gemma
didn’t want to look. She felt the bed shift beneath her as she was
joined.

“So, what’s up grumpy pants?”

“Ruby, leave me alone.”

“Not gonna happen, you may as well 'fess up
now.”

Ruby pulled the towel from her sister’s face
and threw it across the room. Gemma watched it land on the lip of
the laundry hamper. Gravity won and pulled the towel to the floor.
She resisted the urge to stand and pick it up. Their mother hated
mess.

Ruby placed an ice pack on Gemma’s throbbing
jaw. She winced at the cold, but held it in place.

“I have a problem.”

“No kidding.” Ruby’s mockery made Gemma
smile.

“I like a guy.”

Her sister gasped and sat up with bright
eyes. “I knew it! I knew you had a crush on someone. You’ve been
all weird and moody for months now. Who is it?”

Gemma cringed. “Harrison Granger.”

Ruby looked thoughtful for a minute then
grinned. “Yeah, I think I know him. He
is
cute. A little
skinny, but cute.”

Gemma rolled onto her side with a groan.

“So what’s the problem?”

“Ruby, don’t ask me that! You know what the
problem is.”

“Not really.”

Punching her pillow with a loud huff, Gemma
flicked Ruby’s hand off her shoulder.

“I never expected him to talk to me. I
thought if he ever did he’d be as weirded out as everyone else, but
he’s…” She turned to look at her sister. “He’s really nice.”
Turning back with a frown, she sniffed. “And I so can’t go there!
Why did he have to talk to me? Why couldn’t he leave me alone?”

Ruby was silent while Gemma stewed. She could
only imagine what her sister was thinking. She was probably trying
really hard not to laugh behind her back. Gemma couldn’t bear to
look, so kept her face stuffed into the pillow. Eventually her
sister sighed and placed a tender hand on her shoulder.

“Gem, this is high school. You only get one
shot and you’re completely wasting it. You need to go for this guy.
Have some fun.”

“How? Mom and Dad will see right through me
and I don’t trust myself to-”

“You’ve always been the perfect daughter.
They won’t expect you to break the rules. Mom even said she wanted
you to make a friend.”

“I don’t think she had Harrison Granger in
mind when she said that.”

“So what? She’ll never find out.”

Gemma winced.

“Look, sweetie, you need to enjoy the
opportunities that are coming your way now. I know you hate lying
and that’s why you push people away, but look how miserable you
are. You can’t spend the rest of your life trying to make Mom and
Dad happy. At some point you need to decide when this life belongs
to you.”

Ruby squeezed her shoulder and pulled her
around so they were face to face.

“You don’t see Dom and I moping around every
weekend. We know we can never get too close, but we can get close
enough to have a little fun… and you don’t have to lie to your
friends, just avoid the subject of who we are.”

“But I’ve screwed up before.”

“Once! You were thirteen! She was your best
friend. It was all new and you were trying to process it.”

“What if she’d believed me? What if she’d
told someone else?”

“But she didn’t.”

Gemma’s eyes filled with instant tears. “No,
she didn’t.”

She would never forget the look on Zoey’s
face after she’d told her. Her best friend’s voice had dripped with
disdain at Gemma’s excuse for bailing on her.
You know, I never
thought you’d lie to me.
She’d shaken her head and turned to
leave.
If you don’t want to be my friend anymore, you should
have the guts to say so.
Then she’d left and three days later
the moving company had arrived.