Gossamer (4 page)

“No collar?” The dog’s head tilted to the side at the sound of my voice. “I wonder who you belong to. You’re going to get hurt running around out here.” Thoughtfully, I chewed on my bottom lip.

As I thought about what to do, the dog’s head perked up. He seemed to have heard something. His head lifted, and he sniffed the air around us. I scanned the area as well, but couldn’t see or hear anything. Did he just smell the pizza drifting out of my car? Maybe I should give him a slice. It might have been a while since his last meal, but he seemed on high alert which made me doubt he was actually hungry.

I stood, looking around again. “What is it boy? Geez, I’m talking to freaking Lassie,” I mumbled.

The dog looked at me, his head cocked sideways, then paced around finally stopping right next to me. He faced to my right. I peered in that direction but didn’t see anything. His fur stuck up along his front shoulder blades, and he drew close to my leg. I could feel the soft rumbles in his body as he growled almost inaudibly. Fear gripped me. I glanced over at my car, then back at the dog. Time to get in and see if I could persuade the dog to join me. I would take him home and figure things out there.

From around the corner, something caught my eye. The movement came from the same direction the dog stared. My heart raced. I took another step closer to the car, and the dog moved with me. I could just make out a figure when a gust of wind blew by, lifting my hair behind me. The dog, once again, lifted his nose, sniffed and then relaxed.

“That’s odd,” I said softly.

There was enough light to tell me the figure heading our way was male, but with the dim evening sky I couldn’t make out a face. I spun toward my car, but hadn’t gotten far when I heard someone call out.

“Mocha!” The dog made a sound somewhere between sneezing and snorting. “There you are.”

I took the last step to my car and looked down at Mocha. He wagged his tail a bit. Well, he seemed to think this man was harmless. Eyes narrowed, I squinted to make out his owner’s face, and my mouth fell open. Grant. I quickly snapped it shut as he approached.

“I have been looking everywhere for you, boy.” The dog made that sneezing sound again. “Hey, thanks for finding my dog. I’m Grant.” His gaze met mine, and he stuck his hand out for me to shake. “You’re Kyla. We go to school together, right?”

My head bobbed.
Say something
.

I shook his hand. Electricity shot through my body, and I flinched at the unexpectedness of it. He eyed our clasped hands, then quickly released mine. Feeling like an idiot, I smiled, trying to appear friendly while casually smoothing my ponytail. Assuming it would be a quick trip to the pizza place and back, I hadn’t bothered to check my appearance. I never expected to see anyone, especially not him. Standing there, I nervously bit my lower lip, incapable of speech.

He smiled. “Well, it’s nice meeting you. We just moved to the area. When I noticed Mocha,” the dog snorted, “had escaped from the yard, I was worried. I wasn’t sure he could find his way home, and it will be dark soon. Poor little guy would probably be frightened all alone.” Grant regarded the dog, and his mouth twitched.

Mocha sneezed, another snorting sound and placed his head right under my hand. I absentmindedly petted him, running my fingers along his ear. He leaned into it, while Grant’s gaze followed my hand. He then smirked and shook his head slightly.

“My parents think we should neuter him so he will quit escaping from the backyard.” Grant sighed. “Guess they are right. He probably should be neutered.”

Mocha snorted.

The corner of my mouth tugged up. “He’s got quite the personality. He’s a good dog though, no harm done, I guess.”

“Yeah, I’m just glad I found him. He really is all bark and no bite.” Right on cue, Mocha snorted again. I glanced down, feeling a bit bewildered. Grant quickly continued, “So you live around here?”

“Yes, right down there actually. The last house on the corner.” He looked in the direction I pointed, and I continued, “I just picked up some pizza and Mocha ran in front of me. I stopped to see if he had a collar.”

“Wow, he’s really lucky he didn’t get run over.” He stared at Mocha disapprovingly, which earned him yet again another snort. “That’s really nice of you, to stop and help him. I’m sorry we’ve taken so much of your time. I hope your pizza isn’t cold.”

I shrugged. “It’s for my parents.”

Smiling, he said, “Well, then, apologize to them for me. I guess I should get going.” He rocked on his heels. “We’ve probably wasted enough of your time.”

“Do you need a ride home or anything?” I asked, hopefully sounding polite and not like a crazed stalker.

“It’s okay. I live just around the corner.” He gestured in the opposite direction of my house. “Thanks for the offer, Kyla.” My heart skipped a beat after hearing my name on his lips. “I guess I will see you at school tomorrow?”

I nodded, once again incapable of speech. He was even more gorgeous up close. He met my eyes, and a slight shiver ran through me. Mocha yawned loudly in a squeaky dog way. I stared down. He looked at me, then at Grant.

“I guess I should get Mocha home.” The dog snorted again.

“I don’t think he likes his name,” I commented offhandedly.

Grant laughed. “Probably not, but it’s better than Fudge which was my first choice. You know I figured chocolate lab, chocolate name.”

I laughed. Mocha sneezed.

“I will see you tomorrow, Kyla.”

I shivered again and bit my lip, trying to think of something else to say, something guaranteeing I would get a chance to talk with him, but unfortunately came up with nothing.

“Sure, I will see you tomorrow,” I said lamely.

I made my way around to the driver door of my car, keeping my face neutral in order to hide my giddy excitement, and hopped inside. As I drove away, I glanced in my rear-view mirror. Grant stood for a second watching me drive off, then motioned for Mocha and headed in the opposite direction.

I parked my car, grasped the barely warm pizza and floated inside. I found my parents snuggled on the couch watching a movie. As I observed them, I instantly hoped one day that would be Grant and me. Of course, I also realized that was probably super lame on my part considering I hadn’t even known the guy for a full twenty-four hours, but hey, a girl can dream, right?

“Hey Kylie, was the pizza place busy?” Mom glanced at me, then shifted her attention back to the movie.

“Actually, no, but I saw that dog from earlier running around. Good news is I found his owner. Bad news is your pizza got a little cold. Sorry.”

Dad stood up following the pizza, and me, into the kitchen.

“That’s okay, honey. I’m starved. It was nice of you to help that dog find its owner.” He flipped open the box and grabbed a slice, dangling the pizza over his mouth and took a big bite. I reached for some plates and handed him one.

“Thanks,” he said sheepishly, placing his slice on the plate. He took another piece for himself and two for my mom. He balanced both plates in one hand and two sodas in the other, then walked back to the couch.

“Grab some pizza and come join us.”

“That’s okay, Dad. I’ll eat in my room. I need to finish up some homework.” Taking a slice, I plucked off the pepperoni and sausage and threw them back into the box. I took my slice of now veggie pizza and soda up to my room.

Sitting on my bed, my thoughts drifted back to Grant. I picked the black olives off my pizza, eating them one by one. Then repeated the process with the mushrooms. I met Grant. Chewing mechanically, I envisioned his eyes–crystal clear yet very intense, with so much depth.

Grant was handsome, but not like most of the boys at my school. Those guys held no appeal. They were attractive and all but they were too…I don’t know, pretty. It was the only way I could describe it. There is nothing wrong with a guy dressing nice or fixing his hair, but when they started worrying more about that stuff than I did, it was a problem. Grant wasn’t exactly a mountain man or anything, but his looks were definitely more masculine. He looked like someone who could be friendly one minute and kicking some serious ass the next.

Finally, I pulled the cheese off my pizza, popping it into my mouth, then set aside my least favorite part, the sauce-coated crust. I took a drink from my soda and returned downstairs with my plate. My parents were still engrossed in their movie. I threw my drink away, placed my plate into the dishwasher and headed back upstairs. If I could stop thinking about Grant, I might actually try to do some homework.

Chapter 3

The next morning at school, I kept my gaze peeled for Grant. I’d taken extra care with my hair and makeup, and my stomach bounced with giddy excitement.

“What’s up with you?” Lexie asked. “Slow down or you’re going to gnaw a finger off.”

I yanked my hand away from my mouth. Lexie put her book bag in her locker as she eyed me warily.

“I met Grant last night,” I whispered.

“What?” Her large round eyes grew even bigger with excited curiosity.

“I was out and saw this dog.” I quickly scanned the area making sure no one was in ear shot. “I stopped to check for a tag so I could call its owner, and out of nowhere, there comes Grant walking around the corner. It was his dog. Can you believe it?” Excitement laced my hushed tone.

“No f-ing way!” Lexie seemed almost as excited as me. “Well, was he nice? What did he say?”

“He was really nice and–”

Lexie cut me off, clearing her throat. “Speak of the devil.” She stared just past me.

I twisted my head around and saw Grant walking down the hall. My heart fluttered. Was it possible he grew more gorgeous by the second? Even in his preppy school uniform he had my heart racing and skin flushing.

A smile crawled over my face as he walked closer. His eyes met mine. He seemed headed my way when Cerise stepped in front of him, putting him at a dead halt. My face fell. I quickly looked away hiding my disappointment, soon replaced by anger and jealousy.

I shifted my gaze to Lexie, who stood beside me. “Well, guess we should get to class.” While keeping my face as neutral as possible, I walked away.

“I can’t believe her! What a little– You should interrupt them, don’t let her get away with it, Kylie.” Lexie seemed even angrier than me.

“You know I’m not like that.” I heard the defeat in my own voice. “It’s okay. If he likes her, he likes her. Nothing I can do about it.” I shrugged.

We passed Grant as we made our way to class. I steered clear of him by crossing to the other side of the hall. Out of the corner of my eye, I could have sworn he glanced at me when I went by.

Lexie whispered, “He totally just checked you out.”

“He probably just recognized me from last night,” I said in an attempt to downplay the emotional whirlwind going on inside as a tiny bit of hope sparked.

We entered our classroom, and I plopped down in my desk. Figuring I needed a good pity party, I thought about Grant and Cerise. I would never be like her–the perfectly polished, pretty girl all the guys secretly loved and all the girls secretly hated. Not that I wanted the entire female student body to hate me, but I wished it was easy for me to get any guy I wanted. Of course, the only guy I wanted was Grant and, apparently, Cerise felt the same way.

I sighed. The sinking feeling in my heart depressed me. Who could blame him if he chose Cerise over me? Although confident I
was
a better person than her, she was beautiful and clearly extremely nice to
him
. He didn’t see the side of Cerise I now did, the evil wicked witch side that needed a house to fall on her ASAP.

* * * *

My morning classes seemed to drag. Gratitude filled me when lunch finally came around. Lexie walked with me to my locker, shoving her books inside. After grabbing our lunches, we sat at our usual table with Dylan and his friends. We only sat apart from them when Lexie gave him the cold shoulder, which was pretty much once a week. She sat by Dylan, and I sat next to her.

“’Sup, Kylie?” Bryce slid into the seat beside me. I smiled and nudged him.

“Not much. How’s it going?” I asked back with a grin tugging at the corner of my mouth.

“It definitely just got better.” He grinned, his eyes flashing with a flirtatious light.

I smiled coyly. “I tend to have that effect on people.”

“Oh, is that so?” He gave me a sidelong glance, his grin never leaving his face.

I laughed, nudging him again. Lexie was convinced Bryce had a crush on me because of our bantering, but he was just a good friend. Not that he wasn’t cute in his own way, but we had known each other since second grade. It was fun though–we both liked teasing one another.

“Hey, your birthday’s in a few days, right? Any plans for the weekend? And more importantly, am I a part of them?”

I rolled my eyes, unable to hide a smile. “I actually don’t have any plans this weekend. I told my parents I didn’t want a big deal made out of my birthday. They agreed a little
too
willingly.” I laughed. “I think my mom’s under the impression, if they ignore the fact I’m about to be eighteen, it will never happen. What about you?”