Authors: Veronica Blade
“Gina will be happy to hear that.” I laughed nervously, but my mind was screaming, “Oh, my God.”
Zack gazed into my eyes as he inched closer.
My heart thumped in my chest as I imagined that he might kiss me. As every nerve ending in my body went on red alert, I held my breath.
He shook his head and released my hand. “Uhm, when my mom is gone, whether it’s weeks from now or months, Aunt Cara will probably want me to stay. But I wouldn’t feel right imposing on her any longer than we already have.”
I couldn’t be sure why he told me that, but my mind was even more muddled by my great disappointment over him not kissing me. I was sure he’d been about to. I struggled to focus. “Maybe your aunt loves you and won’t consider you an imposition.”
He nodded. “But I can’t stay. I have no idea where I’ll go. Mexico. Canada. Maybe I’ll go to Italy. When I’m on the road, I don’t know how often I’ll talk to Trevor and I’m closer to him than anyone.”
I got the picture. He wasn’t going to be around and wanted me to know that once he left, I’d never see him again. Don’t get emotionally attached. “So you’re saying that you don’t want to form any ties that can’t be easily broken?”
Zack exhaled in relief, nodding. “Exactly.”
If he felt the need to tell me, I must’ve given myself away somehow. Maybe when I’d been waiting for him to kiss me. God, how obvious I must have been. “Thanks for letting me know,” I said lightly. “That’s nice of you, Zack.”
I let us inside my house and he waited downstairs while I ran to my room to change. Leaning over the bed, I steadied myself with my palm flattened near the edge of the mattress. Damn it. He was just a guy. And a grouchy one at that. Nothing special.
Except that he was helpful, gentlemanly and totally gorgeous.
Getting pathetically infatuated with a guy who didn’t want me was stupid, stupid, stupid. And even if he could muster up some feelings for me, it didn’t matter, because he wasn’t sticking around.
I dashed downstairs and into the family room to see him holding a picture of me when I was about five-years-old. “I think I’ll pass on the beach,” I said. “You guys can go without me.”
“And me be the third wheel? Not on your life.” He refocused on the shelf of photos as if the matter was settled.
Like his word was final. I wanted to stand my ground, but I knew Maya would be disappointed if I didn’t go. “Fine. I’ll be right back.”
I went back to my room and wiggled out of my tank top, replacing it with a T-shirt. Nights could get chilly even in Los Angeles, more so at the beach. I stopped at the bathroom to double check my hair and makeup, then went to find Zack. He wasn’t in the family room.
“Zack? Where are you?” I followed his scent to the living room where he sat on the couch, staring. “What are you doing?” I asked.
“Nothing.” But he had a strange look on his face, like he’d just received some bad news. He got up and handed me my cell phone. “This is yours?”
“Yes, thank you.” I took it from him, then snagged my purse, pausing when I thought I heard him taking a long, slow breath. Was he smelling me again? I couldn’t be sure. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” He jerked his head toward the front door. “We should get going.”
I pulled my sweater off the back of the couch, tied it around my waist, and led the way to the front door. On the way to his house, he was quiet. Too quiet. For someone so talkative earlier, it seemed odd. Why would he encourage me to come if he wasn’t going to talk to me?
I really needed to stop obsessing on him. We would all go out together, have fun, then go home and I’d get to the woods as fast as possible to work off my frustration.
When we arrived in Santa Monica, we went straight to the boardwalk and got ice cream, then took off our shoes and walked on the beach. It was pleasant and relaxing, even though Zack had almost nothing to say. Why the switch?
After a while, we got bored of the shops and piled into the Jeep.
“Bigger Burgers is up the street here.” Zack pointed ahead to his right.
Oh, yeah, that sounded good. I turned to face Trevor and Maya in the back seat, swallowing the excess saliva, so I could talk without showering them. “You guys hungry?”
“For Bigger Burgers? Always.” Maya grinned. “Those are so good.”
The restaurant didn’t have a drive-thru, which was extremely disappointing to me, since going inside took more time. Further, everything was made fresh, so I’d have to wait even longer. We went inside and the boys claimed a booth in the far corner. As expected, Trevor and Maya sat next to each other on one side, leaving Zack and me to sit together. At least this time the guys went in first, which allowed the girls the possibility of escape. Not that I was going anywhere. I wanted that burger.
A busboy stopped to see what we wanted to drink.
“We’re ready to order,” I said.
“We are?” Maya asked, her brows flying up.
Trevor blinked.
“Sorry.” I dropped my gaze to the table, heat rushing into my cheeks. “I’m hungry.”
Maya giggled. “I guess so.”
On my left, Zack zeroed in on me. “We just got here. We don’t even have menus yet.”
“Right.” I nodded, hoping our server would get to that soon.
After a few minutes, a young man delivered our drinks. An eternity later, a woman arrived, wearing an apron and holding a pen and small tablet.
I hadn’t seen the menu, but since it was a burger place, I didn’t need to. I already knew what I wanted. Holding myself back, so I didn’t seem like a starving lunatic, I waited until Maya gave her order. My foot swung back and forth under the table. Finally, it was my turn. “Double cheeseburger with everything and fries.”
I fidgeted, feeling Zack’s eyes riveted on me as he gave his order. Why was he staring? Being hungry wasn’t a crime.
Maya tended to her phone after a series of beeps. “Oh, my God,” she mumbled, furiously texting as more messages came in faster than she could reply. Minutes later, Maya closed her phone.
“Get this.” Her eyes enlarged and her tone grew solemn. “Daniel was attacked by a wolf last night and dragged into the woods. Police couldn’t find a body and no one’s seen him since.”
Silence settled around the table like a thick fog.
My stomach knotted. Just because Daniel was a monumental tool didn’t mean I wanted anything bad to happen to him. “How do they know it was a wolf?”
She gestured to her cell. “That was Janine who spoke to a friend who overheard her dad talking — who’s a cop. It’s true. Jeff made a report at the station.”
“That’s… hideous.” I gaped at Maya, not knowing what else to say.
“I never heard of wolves in the area. Coyotes maybe, but not wolves,” Trevor said. “Can anyone else backup Jeff’s story?”
“Not that I know of,” Maya said. “Apparently, it was only the two of them. Jeff said they were camping.”
“And drinking, no doubt.” Trevor’s mouth set in a hard line.
“Maybe Daniel wanted some alone time,” I said. “And Jeff was too drunk to remember where Daniel went, so he made up a story to save his own ass. Or maybe something else happened and Jeff is covering it up by blaming it on an animal.” I didn’t think it was a wolf to blame. Certainly not
my
wolf. He’d never attack a human or he would’ve already hurt me.
“What did the police say?” Zack asked.
“Jeff called them right away. By the time they got there, Daniel was long gone. They searched the woods and couldn’t find a body or any evidence of foul play. For now, they’re assuming it’s a prank and waiting to see if Daniel shows up.”
“His parents must be going nuts,” I said, thinking of Mr. and Mrs. Austin and what pain they must be going through with their son missing.
“I can imagine,” Maya agreed.
“Jeff’s parents have loads of money and influence,” Trevor said. “Daniel’s too. I bet they’ll make sure it’s the sheriff’s top priority.”
Could a wolf really have gotten Daniel? Maybe there were other enormous wolves in the forest. After all, he came from somewhere, right? He could be part of a pack of oversized wolves. Weirder things have happened. I was proof of that. “Did Jeff say what color the wolf was?”
“It wasn’t black, Autumn,” Zack said quickly.
I turned to him, staring. “What makes you think I thought it was
black
?”
“Well…” He stared at the table. “Uh…”
“Your ex-boyfriend gets attacked by a wolf and you two are debating what
color
it is?” Maya narrowed her eyes at me, then Zack. “Seriously?”
“It’s pointless to talk about it at all,” Trevor added. “There was no wolf. You know how big it’d have to be to drag someone Daniel’s size? I don’t think so. I’m betting Jeff and Daniel were playing some dangerous games and things got out of hand. We’ll probably never know what really happened, because Jeff and Daniel’s parents are rich enough that anything damaging to their family’s reputation would be covered up. In any case, I don’t think we’ll be seeing Daniel again.”
Zack waved his hands. “Stop. Too much speculation. Ten bucks says Daniel shows up at school Monday denying there was ever an incident involving wolves.”
Trevor grinned. “I’ll take that bet.”
The plates arrived and the subject was dropped.
Had my wolf attacked Daniel? Or was there some rabid wolf around? Maybe Zack was right and I shouldn’t be in the woods alone, especially if the new wolf was as big as the black wolf.
I set the napkin in my lap, aware of Zack’s eyes on me. Slowly, I picked up the burger and took a dainty bite. I chewed, swallowed and took another.
The sauce was scrumptious, the pickles divine. I immediately went for another bite, moving the meat around on my tongue, reveling in the juices. I took note of the tomatoes and onions, grateful I’d ordered it with everything.
I got lost in the flavors, the people and things around me vanishing. Mmm. So good. As I opened for another bite, my gaze landed on Trevor and Maya. They were staring at me, their jaws slack and their eyes wide. Beyond them in the next booth, the occupants had twisted around to gawk at me. I closed my mouth and forced my hand to set the burger down. “What’s wrong?”
“Uhm…” Maya averted her eyes and mashed her lips together. The group at the next table behind Maya and Trevor were still ogling me.
I raised my brows and my voice to reach the eavesdroppers. “What?” I asked them. They quickly returned to their own meals.
Zack put his own burger aside and twisted to face me. “You were growling and making other… feral noises.”
Maya nodded in confirmation, her eyes still big.
On my list of life’s most humiliating and awful moments, this would be at the top. But they didn’t need to know the depths of my embarrassment, so I rolled my eyes and faked confidence I didn’t have. “Oh, is that all. Geez, you act like I’d grown an extra head. Lighten up, guys.”
Trevor and Maya laughed and I returned to my food, but made a point to set the burger down and make conversation between bites. It took all my concentration to remember we were in a public place and not slip into another world.
When Zack pulled up in front of my house, he tossed Trevor the keys. “Take care of Maya. I’ll walk home.”
He could’ve stopped home first, then let Trevor drop me off like last time. Hmm. I waved goodbye and took my time walking to the front door in case my hunch was right. Zack had something to say. Or
do
. My shoulders tensed, then I shook it off. Yeah, right. As if he would kiss me. Surely, if a guy planned to make a move on a girl, he wouldn’t act weird and distant all night. Even a guy totally inept with girls knew you had to try to impress them.
I heard the Jeep drive away.
“Autumn.”
I spun to face him. “What’s up?”
“Good burger, huh?” He studied me.
I laughed. “Yeah, it was great. Thank you.”
“Are we shopping tomorrow?” He took a step closer.
What did he want? I backed up with an eerie feeling. “If you’re up for it.”
He nodded, his face expressionless. “What time?”
“How about first thing in the morning?” I imagined having all day to shop. With Zack. Yum. “Nine?”
“I’ll pick you up.” Zack smiled, but it was strained. He held out his hand. “I’ll unlock the door for you.”
Body language said he wasn’t trying to hook up with me. So, what was up? Total gentleman or serial killer? If he meant harm, I could put up a good fight. My instinct told me, though, Zack wasn’t a creep. I dropped my keys in his hand.
“I wanted to talk to you about something. Do you mind if I come in?”
“Uh, I guess not.”
Once he unlocked the door, he swung it open and stood in the doorway. I squeezed past him as his nose neared me and he inhaled.
“You did it again.” I shot him a dark look, my hands on my hips. “Do you know how weird it is to have some guy constantly sniffing you? You have a fetish or something?”
“Autumn…”
“What? Spit it out already.” The anticipation was making me crazy. His proximity was not helping. Sadly, I was getting worked up enough that I
really
wanted him to kiss me.