Red Phoenix's Passion is for Lovers Collection (Boxed Set) (4 page)

“You’re lucky.”

She chuckled. “No, you’re lucky. I would kill for fresh-baked bread.”

He put her backpack on the floor and patted her on the back. “No need for murder. I’ll get you a piece.”

Tessa had to catch her breath. Just the simple touch of his hand on her back sent a wave of shivers through her. There was no way he could know the effect he had on her. Being here in his house, just talking to him, was almost too much. Adding touch to the mix threw her into pure delirium.

She watched him take the bread out and slice a piece on the cutting board. “Butter?”

Tessa nodded, afraid to speak. Afraid of saying something stupid and ruining this. He handed her the buttered bread with a lopsided grin. Tessa about died inside. “Thanks,” she managed to squeak out. He watched as she took a bite. She smiled while she chewed. It was embarrassing.

“So, what’s all this talk about you and a bathroom?”

Tessa almost choked on the bread she was swallowing. She gagged a little and put the rest down on the counter. Her mind began racing. Kevin had brought her to his home. Why?
He thinks I’m going to go down on him!
It was one thing to fantasize about a guy and something
way
different to actually do it. How could Kevin think she was that type of girl? She was disgusted and turned to leave.

“Tesse.”

The way he said her name was so sweet. No one called her Tesse. It was adorable. She stopped in her tracks and turned to face him.

“I know it’s a lie. I was trying to be funny. Sorry about that.”

Well, at least she wasn’t the only one sticking their foot in their mouth. “Yeah, well, I’m not laughing.”

“Your school sucks.”

She snorted. “It’s your school now, buddy.”

“Fine,
our
school sucks.”

Tessa laughed, releasing all the built-up tension. “Yes. Yes, it does.”

Kevin handed her the piece of bread back. “I won’t say anything until you finish. I don’t want you choking again.” He winked at her and her stomach did a flip. Kevin was far too charming for
her
own good.

He buttered a piece for himself and they sat at the table, chewing silently. When she finished the last of it, she admitted, “I’m afraid to talk. I am terrified of saying something wrong and upsetting you.”

Kevin sighed. “I know. There are just a lot of things in my past I don’t want to bring up.” She was surprised when his eyes started to water. He blinked several times and regained his composure. “There’s too much that hurts.”

“Okay. Well, I won’t ask about your past.” Then she giggled and added, “Or about presidents.”

He looked at her with those dreamy blue eyes and smiled. “Fair enough. Look, I have to ask. Why are you here? What are you doing with a guy like me?”

“Like what? New to the school?”

He snorted. “You know what I mean.”

“I don’t know.” She paused. It was still too soon to reveal her total obsession with him. “It’s just that when I saw you I knew I had to meet you.”

“It’s not a normal reaction.”

She brazenly touched his hand when she joked, “I’m not normal.”

He looked down at her small hand on top of his and said nothing. Tessa suddenly felt stupid and took it away, putting both of her hands in her lap.

There was a commotion at the front door and Tessa saw a pudgy woman with a huge smile come through the doorway. “Hey, Kevin! I see you brought company.”

Both Tess and Kevin stood up. “Yeah, it’s the girl I told you about. Tesse, this is my mom Rachael. Mom, this is Tesse.”

Tessa decided not to correct him. She rather liked the name Tesse. “It’s a pleasure, Mrs. Reese.”

The woman hugged her tightly. “No, no. It’s Rachael, dear.” Tessa smiled, accepting her warm embrace.

She liked this woman, even though Rachael was the exact opposite of the norm. Rachael had short-cropped brown hair, a large muumuu-type blouse, and sandals for shoes. But there were no strained smiles or pretended interest. Rachael genuinely liked Tessa and she knew it.

“The bread was delicious, Mrs… Rachael.”

“Oh, I am glad you liked it. Feel free to have more. In fact, I think I’ll grab a piece or two.”

While she cut herself a slice, Kevin motioned for Tessa to sit again. “Mom was wondering about your family.”

Tessa smiled slightly, wondering if Kevin was curious too. “I live with my mom. My parents got divorced when I was five. She’s a lawyer and works all the time.”

Rachael asked, “So, any brothers or sisters?”

“Nope, just me.”

“That must be hard,” Kevin said with strained emotion behind his words.

Tessa looked at him strangely. “No, not really. I like it. I’m my own boss. It’s nice to rule the world.”

“That’s a good attitude. Embrace what you’ve been given and run with it,” Rachael said with a sad smile.

Tessa sensed that they were stepping into treacherous waters again. Both Kevin and Rachael looked lost as they stared at one another. What terrible past were these two trying to recover from?

“Anyway,” Rachael said, attempting to sound cheerful. “I have been curious to meet you ever since Kevin mentioned you his first day of school.”

Tessa glanced up at Kevin in surprise.
He noticed me?
His cheeks colored. There was no doubt his mother’s comment was something he’d rather keep secret, but Tess was glad to know it. It seemed both of them had a thing for each other.

“Kevin is an interesting guy, Rachael.”

He gave Tessa a sarcastic look. “Using the word interesting to describe a person is usually meant as a hidden insult.”

Tessa threw it back at him. “No hidden insult here, buddy. It’s right in your face.”

Rachael burst out in a belly laugh. “Oh, I like your sense of humor, Tesse. Most people treat Kevin like he is made of glass.” When Kevin cleared his throat, his mother stuttered, “Um, well… Anyway, do you have any pets, dear?”

Tessa spent the afternoon learning superficial things about Kevin. Even though he was a senior, he was already nineteen. She had to assume the burns had something to do with it. Kevin used to like the color black, but recently changed it to green—no explanation given. His favorite food was steak and potatoes, and his favorite band was Green Day.

Tessa tried to share about herself without sounding conceited. However, it was hard not to when Rachael peppered her with questions and seemed interested in everything she said. Once, while Rachael was going on about what a good baseball player Kevin had been in middle school, Tessa snuck a peek at him. She looked longingly at his lips and wondered again what it would feel to kiss them. When Kevin caught her staring, she blushed and turned her attention back on his mother.

Tessa eventually forced herself to leave because of the ton of homework she still had to do. Kevin offered to drive her home, but she declined. “I could use the fresh air.”

She hefted her heavy backpack on her shoulder and headed out. Her home was in the opposite direction from his house, naturally.

Day 7

T
his time when Kevin came into the classroom, Tessa said loud enough for everyone to hear, “Hey, Kevin.”

He glanced at her warily and answered, “Hey.”

It wasn’t much of a response, but maybe he was still worried about Brian. Tessa realized too late that Kevin might end up with another black eye. She turned around and saw that Brian and Samantha were giving
her
ugly looks. Oh well, their stares weren’t going to kill her, although she could feel the heat of them on her back all through class.

Nothing happened in Mr. Steele’s class, but she didn’t try to talk to Kevin afterwards because she was afraid of causing trouble for him. At lunch, Tessa sat down next to a group of nerdy guys who seemed friendly enough. “Hi, guys.” They made room for her. Soon, however, Brian stood behind Tess. The entire table became silent.

“We need to talk.”

She glanced at Brian dismissively. “No, we don’t.”

Samantha sidled up next to him. “Yes,
we
do.”

Everyone sat there in awkward silence for several minutes. The pressure was unbearable. Tessa finally relented. “Fine. Where do you want to talk?”

“Outside,” Sam said.

Tessa followed the two out of the lunchroom and into the courtyard, fighting the sick feeling in her gut. Sam wasn’t her friend anymore and Brian never had been.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Samantha accused, as soon as the door closed behind them.

“What? What am I doing?”

Brian got in her face and snapped, “Don’t play stupid. We see what you’re doing with the Freak. It’s embarrassing.”

“I’m not doing anything,” she answered, backing away from him.

“Bullshit! I told you not to go near him,” Sam shrieked.

“What does this have to do with you? This is
my
life and I can be friends with whoever I want!” Tessa felt jittery when they approached her as a unit.

“Oh no, not when it involves us,” Samantha countered.

“How does it involve
us
?” Tessa spat. “We aren’t even friends anymore.”

“Oh really? That’s news to me.”

Brian demanded, “And what about me, Tess? How long are you going to play hard to get?”

“Are you really that dense?” Tessa questioned.

Brian grabbed her arm and hissed, “I am so sick of you toying with my feelings.” Before she could stop him, Tessa felt his hard lips on hers. She struggled against Brian, but he held her head still with his iron grip.

When he finally broke the kiss, he looked at her lustfully. “There’s more where that came from.”

Tessa struggled to get away, but Brian’s hold was too tight. “Sam, help me!” she pleaded.

“I am. I’m helping you to hook up with the right guy.”

Brian pulled her into him, trying to kiss Tess again. She cried out, “Stop! Get away from me. Stop it!”

“You heard the girl.”

Tessa looked in the direction of his voice.
Thank God!
Kevin stood alone with a group of students gawking from the lunchroom window.

“Don’t tell me what to do, Freak. I promise I’ll mess you up permanently this time.” After his warning to Kevin, Brian leaned in to kiss her again. Tessa wasn’t having any of it and bit his bottom lip. Brian grunted in pain and pulled away. He immediately slapped her face with enough power to throw her off balance.

Kevin was already there, slamming into Brian. Kevin held him down, but Brian kneed him in the chest. He lost his grip and Brian immediately grabbed his injured arm, twisting it back ruthlessly. Tessa wondered why Kevin didn’t punch him.

Brian jumped on top of Kevin and started beating him without restraint. She heard the sickening thuds as punch after punch landed on Kevin’s face. Tessa was disgusted to hear cheering coming from the lunchroom. The crowd was hungry for the fight. She tried to intervene, but Sam threw her up against the wall, holding her in place.

Tessa cried, “Stop him!”

“You caused this, bitch!” Sam jeered. “You just wouldn’t listen to me.”

Kevin never cried out as he took the onslaught. Tessa wailed at the top of her lungs, “Somebody stop him! Please!” Eventually, the teachers noticed the commotion outside and broke up the fight.

The four spent the rest of the afternoon in the principal’s office. Brian received a week of suspension, but Samantha only got three days of afterschool detention. Kevin, on the other hand, received two days of suspension for “initiating” a fight that didn’t involve him. The principal insisted that Kevin should have handled the situation more maturely as a legal adult. “You go to the authorities, Kevin. Never take the law into your own hands.”

“I didn’t even hit the turd.”

“But if you had, you’d be looking at assault charges. I hope this is a lesson to you.”

As the obvious victim, Tessa was exempt from punishment. Her mom came to pick her up after school. Tess announced on the drive home, “I’m not going back. They’re all a bunch of creeps, Mom. Every one of them except Kevin.”

“How come I didn’t know anything about this Kevin person?”

“He’s new to the school. Kevin’s been here less than a week.”

“I don’t approve of him, Tessa.”