T is for...he's a TOTAL jerk (Grover Beach Team #3) (24 page)

If he wanted to know what was going on between Nick and me, I would honestly tell him…nothing.
Because it wasn’t Tony’s fucking business. And if he intended to tell me he was still in love with Liza, I didn’t care to hear it. So why go and see him anyway?

Simone answered my thought when I stood rooted. “If you don’t go and talk to him now, you’ll regret it for the rest of the night.”

I heaved a deep sigh. Then I handed her the Coke. “Can you give this Susan?”

“Sure.” Simone yanked the can out of my hand and pushed me in the direction of the kitchen. “Now go. And fill me in on all the
deets later!”

I heard her laugh behind me, but it was quickly drowned out by the loud music as I reluctantly walked back the way I’d just come. Getting closer, I caught a glimpse of Tony sitting on the kitchen counter, his head dipped back against a cupboard as he studied the ceiling. I had made it as far as the arch in the wall. But just before I entered the kitchen, my courage gave out and I stopped in my tracks.

The guy sitting in there was an ass. He’d been an ass from the first time we’d spoken with each other, and not even a kiss—or two—had changed that. He’d fooled around with me when his heart beat for someone else. For a friend of mine. I really,
really
didn’t want to talk to him right now.

About to disappear into the crowd, I spun on my heel, but not fast enough. Tony tilted his head to find me turning tail.

I rushed away, fighting a quick path through the dancers. But a familiar shape a few feet in front of me made me stop dead, my heart stopping with me. I would recognize those skyscraper-high heels and the black mini-dress anywhere. The one disturbing thing was that my cousin’s hair had gone. Not all of it, but two thirds of its original length.

Fuck
!

Cloey was talking to a guy with dreadlocks and leather pants on, running her hand through her newly cut hair. Oh, this was priceless. I felt the urge to walk up to her, shove her so hard she landed on her butt, and ask if she was trying to
become
me
for a reason!

But this wasn’t the right place to start a family fight. She wouldn’t get
that
from me. Not here, with all my friends around to watch.

Breathing fire now, I darted off to the left, finding myself in front of the wide, winding stairs.
Whatever. This was as good an escape from Tony as any. I dashed upstairs, then headed down the corridor and, after a tentative knock on the door that brought no reply, I slipped into Ryan’s room.

Moonlight floated in through the window and tinted the room in cool shades of blue. I didn’t turn on the light because I didn’t intend to stay long.
Just a minute—to pull myself together.

My hands shook and I was feeling way too warm. Raging about Cloey didn’t become me. Then again, it wasn’t my cousin whom my thoughts currently circled around.
And around. And around.

Goddammit, Sam! Get a grip, girl!
I scolded myself. How was it possible that Tony had totally thrown me off balance when I had successfully withdrawn my heart from that stupid game?

Because maybe you weren’t that successful?

Well, thanks, dear subconscious. Just rub it in!

I exhaled a long breath, aware that I might get in trouble if someone found me in here. But where else could I go? Home, the answer came to me. Suddenly, I was more than ready to leave. I was tired. The last week had exhausted me more than I was ready to admit, especially the latest accusations from my aunt and uncle.

Whatever Cloey’s plan was, I needed to talk to Pam and set things straight. Or I wasn’t going to have an even halfway pleasant time in their house for the next four months. But now, getting to my room and climbing under my comforter was all I yearned for.

Ready to go, I swept the room with one last glance, and it caught on Tony’s jersey, which still lay on the bed where I’d left it before. Maybe now was a good time to give it back to him. And leave.

Or leave…and give it back later.

I fetched the shirt and silently closed the door behind me. With a heart as heavy as a rock, I descended the stairs, the music growing louder as I
dropped my glance, focusing on each slow step I took.

Cloey was somewhere in the crowd below. She sure was having fun. Nick would have, too, and so would Simone and Allie.
Susan, maybe not so much with her crutches. But Ryan certainly was giving Liza a good time in the garden right now. Why was I the only one feeling depressed? Why did a painfully sad twinge torture my chest while everyone else was having a blast? This was more than a little unfair.

A few steps from the bottom, I lifted my gaze from my feet. And there stood my answer. Back pressed to the wall, arms folded over his chest. One leg angled and the sole of his shoe placed against the wall. He’d
dipped his chin low, the blond strands of his hair falling forward into his eyes as he tilted his head sideways to look at me.

“Tony,” I said, surprised, taking another step down. Then I hesitated.

“You’re not making it easy for me to get a hold of you tonight.”

“I didn’t know you were trying to.”

“Liar.” He sounded way too soft.

I opened my mouth to contradict him, but nothing whatsoever came out. So I closed it again.

“I think you went upstairs for a reason. Didn’t you?” Tony pushed away from the wall, climbing up the stairs toward me.

I couldn’t talk to him right now. Not with my mind spinning like mad from…well, from
everything
that had happened in the past couple of weeks. Trying to escape, I sidestepped him, aiming for the bottom of the stairs to start with and then out. But I didn’t get even half as far.

Tony lifted his arms, grabbing the rail with one hand and placing the other against the wall, so he stood spread-eagle one step beneath me, successfully putting a stop to my escape.

The crazy thing about this was that we now stood eye to eye.

“Didn’t you, Sam?” he repeated slowly.

“I—I went to get your jersey. It was in Ryan’s room,” I stuttered, taking a step back up and clasping his shirt harder.

Tony came after me.
“Oh, no.” He almost chuckled. “I think you were hiding from me.”

“
Hiding?”
My eyes turned wide; not from confusion about his wrong conclusion, but because he was dead on.

“Yes.
Hiding
. Why are you trying to avoid me, Samantha?”

Damn, could he stop saying my name in such a sensual drawl already? It made my knees wobble.

“I just don’t think there’s anything left to tell you.”

“Right.”
Now he laughed…a bitter sound. “Everything’s been said already, hasn’t it?”

For me, this was true. “It seems so. Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to get my things and go home.” Shit. That came out in a shaky croak.

“You want to leave?” Tony tilted his head, but his hands remained where they were. “So early? No more dancing with
Nick
tonight?”

“There’s nothing between me and Nick Frederickson,” I shot back before I could even think about it.

“I know there’s nothing going on between the two of you.”

“You do?”

“Yes. Frederickson is one of my closest friends,” he pointed out with a snort, like he didn’t get how I could have missed the obvious. “In the current situation, he would
never
hit on you.”

Current situation.
Right. What was that again?

“But that brings us to one conclusion only,” he continued.

And that was what?

Tony’s eyes narrowed. “Are you trying to make me jealous, Sam?”

Ugh. No!
“Not intentionally—”
Anyway
. “But if it happened…” I grimaced. “Did it work?”

“Well, it…” Tony cut a disbelieving glance at the ceiling, shook his head, and smiled to himself.
“Hurt.”

“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that.”

The smile remained on his lips. “Are you really?”

No. Actually, my heart did a double-
backflip at his confession. But that was my secret. “I don’t want to be a pain for you.”

His features became stern and very earnest. “The thing is
, I feel terrible when you’re
not
with me.”

Holy
shit, did he really just say that? Out
loud
?

Tony pulled his hands away from the rail and the wall, tucking them into his pockets. I was free to pass through if I wanted to. He’d given me a choice.

I chose to stay. For now.

But I folded my arms over my chest, still clasping his shirt, and glared at him with my lips compressed. Then I cocked my head. “You say that now. But no one knows when you’re going to change your mind again. You kiss me. You hate it. You kiss me again. You regret it, because you’re in love with Liza. What next? You kiss me and then drop out of class, because you can’t bear to look at me anymore?”

His brows pulled to a deep, accusing V. “I didn’t regret the kissing. And I certainly didn’t hate it. Actually, thinking about kissing you is what drives me crazy these days.” His sigh was my undoing. “I can’t seem to stop.”

“Honestly, Tony, I don’t understand what you want from me. You like kissing me, all right, but you told me for more there’s not enough in
there
.” I stabbed his chest hard with my finger, fighting my rising frustration, and failing. “I’m not up for your crap, really. You said you liked to hang out with me. Okay, let’s do that.” I’d talked myself into a rage, getting louder and louder, focusing on Tony with a scowl.

For some reason that made him smile,
which angered me even more.

“But I don’t think I can do even that anymore,” I growled, “because every time I’m with you, you make my mind spin, and it feels like I’m losing ground and—and—”
Shit!
Where had that come from?

“Oh, shut up already, Bungee.” Tony cupped my cheeks and leaned forward, pressing his lips to mine.

His gentleness caught me unawares. It took my breath away. Eyes wide open, I saw that he’d closed his, pouring his heart into the kiss. The sight rocked me awake. He was free. Free for me, with no thought of another girl in his mind. He’d committed to me.

Me alone.

His jersey slipped from my fist and dropped to the stairs. I reached up and wrapped my fingers around his wrists, shutting my eyes, too, and sinking into his seductive kiss.

Tony pulled back a tiny inch and looked me straight in the eyes. “I’m not.
Ever.
Going to regret this,” he breathed.

Oh, hell, he tempted me so sorely to believe him. I wanted to fall against him, wrap my arms around him, and never let go. But I couldn’t do that. Instead, I warned in a whisper, “You’d better not, Anthony Mitchell, because I’m not one of your toys to play with when you’re bored.”

He stroked his thumbs along my cheekbones. “You just became my only toy, Sam.”

And then his lips were
on mine again. With his tongue, he traced the line of my bottom lip, nipped it gently, then took it in his mouth and softly sucked. The taste of Cherry Coke exploded in my mouth. The kiss intensified fast, making my mind spin out of control as our tongues touched. Tentatively at first, then Tony grew bolder, going for what he really wanted.

He swirled his tongue around mine, roaming my mouth, until I thought I was floating two feet above the ground. I heard no music, no party noises anymore. I was lost in him.

Where his warm hand had touched my cheek, a cool spot remained as he pulled it away and thrust his fingers through my hair, getting a gentle but firm hold of my neck. He yanked me harder against him.

I let go of his head, dragged my hands to the front, stroking the smooth skin of his cheeks. Feeling the muscles work in his jaw as he kissed me senseless.

Tony stroked his knuckles along my jaw and caressed further down my throat, making my skin there tickle and then burn for his touch. He moved his hand around to my back, slipping in between my hoodie and the top underneath, and drew me gently against him. When his warm fingers splayed at the small of my back, touching naked skin there, he ignited a shudder at the back of my neck that ran all the way down to my toes.

My hands slipped to his chest. I could feel the beat of his heart there. It was pounding as fast as mine.

Dazed and panting, I broke the kiss, but as soon as I did, I noticed his happy eyes on me. A smile tugged on the corners of my mouth. Tony stroked my bangs out of my face and shaped his palm to my cheek once more. As he leaned in, I thought he was going to kiss me again. But instead, he placed a soft kiss right underneath my ear, then whispered, “Are you game?”

“Game for what?”

“The girlfriend thing…” he drawled.

My heart stuttered. Tony wanted me to become his girlfriend. He’d
asked
me to be. How could I not say yes?

I chuckled, pressing my cheek against his.
“Only if I can keep your jersey.”

Tony released me, bent over, and picked it up. Then he offered it to me with a teasing smile. “It looks better on you anyway.”

When I took the shirt from him, he took my hand in turn, lacing his fingers easily through mine. “Should we go back down? What do you think?”

“I think I want a Cherry Coke now.”

Tony laughed. “All right. Let’s go get you some.” He turned around and dragged me down the stairs with him.

That was the first time I remembered we weren’t alone. The crowd was still moving, dancing, or chatting. Only a few guys stood against the wall at the other side of the hall, their familiar faces turned our way, gazes on us.

“Looks like we had spectators,” Tony said over his shoulder, apparently noticing them at the same time.

My
cheeks grew red. “At least they look like they enjoyed the show.”

Liza pressed her palms to her
face, her expression sweetly scrunched up. Hunter winked at me, then gave Tony a thumbs-up. Alex Winter held a simpering Simone, and Susan had her arm slung through Nick’s, who looked happy, like the rest.

Tony squeezed my hand. “Oh yes, they were so waiting for this.”

I smiled brightly at them when Tony wasn’t looking.

But not far from our friends, I found another pair of eyes fixed on us.
Jealous eyes. The sight of my pissed cousin made my shoulders slump.

Cloey trudged toward us just as we reached the bottom step. When Tony glimpsed her for the first time, I felt the shock tensing his muscles. “Fuck,
Summers, what’s going on with your hair?”

She’s slowly
transmuting into me
, I wanted to tell him, but held off.

Cloey gritted her teeth, answering him with a death glare. She turned to me. “Now don’t you two make a nice couple?” Saccharin sweetness dripped from her voice.

“Shove it, Clo,” I snapped. “It’s none of your business.” Shit, in those shoes she was as tall as Tony and I had to tilt my head back to look at her face.

“It
is
my damned business when this jerk is coming to
my
house and fucking my stupid little cousin.”

My mouth dropped open. What in the world made her say that?

But obviously, she wasn’t done yet. Folding her arms underneath her breasts, she looked down her nose at me, leaning slightly back and displaying her disgust. “I hope you’ll enjoy him. Meager skills, I’m sorry to say. But then you’re one to be easily satisfied, aren’t you? Not making high demands on someone as long as they’re willing to just let you follow at their heels like a dull puppy. You’re so pathetic, little cousin.” Her voice turned low and cold. “But I guess that makes you two the perfect match.”

Horror clogged my throat. I had to swallow hard before I could say anything. When I spoke, it was loud enough for the rest of the room to hear. “Why are you such a shit, Cloey? Whatever did I do to you that meant you must destroy my every happy moment? You probably don’t even realize that jealousy brings out your ugliest side. Why can’t you back
the hell
out of my life?” I stomped forward and added, my voice lethal, “And what do
you
know about Tony’s skills? You nev—”

“Sam!” Tony’s hand closed tightly enough around mine to cut the blood flow to my fingers. He pulled me back. I looked at him over my shoulder. His gaze sharp, he mouthed, “You promised.”

“But—”

“No, Sam.” He eased his grip on my hand but didn’t let go. “She’s not worth it.”

A second passed. I couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t let me defend his honor. But in the end, it didn’t matter. “You’re right,” I said, turning away from Cloey and toward him. “Let’s get out of here.” I pulled him with me and we headed outside.

The heavy door closed behind us and the music faded to a dull noise. A cool wind whirled my hair around my face as we walked down to the street. Finally letting go of Tony, I raked my hands over my skull, tilting my face up. Thousands of stars dotted the sky. The silence was calming. I sighed.

A gentle arm snaked around my shoulders and pulled me against a comforting chest. Being so close and held by Tony made the little hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

In a soft voice, he said in my ear, “I’m sorry about the crap she threw at you.”

“She’s not over you yet,” I mumbled against the fabric of his shirt.

“Looks like she isn’t.”

“Is it strange I feel sorry for her, no matter how ugly she was to us in there?”

“Not at all.
She can style her hair like yours all she wants. Your compassion will always be the one big difference between the two of you.”

I wrapped my arms around his waist, enjoying his caress on the back of my neck. “So you think so, too. She’s trying to copy me, isn’t she?”

“M-hmm.”

“But why?
She hates me,” I whined.

“Maybe she does. But she also adores you, I think. Did you know that imitation is the highest form of flattery?”

Now I tilted my head back and gave him a skeptical look. “Where did you get
that
from?”

Tony grinned, loosening up the tension inside me easily.
“Data. I’m a Trekker.”

He was? Realizing I knew so little about him yet, I hugged him tighter. “So you love
Star Trek
…what else?”

He cut a glance up at the stars, deliberating. “There would be cheese crackers and mayo, for one.
Dolphins. And video games.” He looked down at me again with a smirk. “And then I love you in that hot black top you’re wearing right now.”

That made me laugh
.

We strolled off, hand in hand. When we reached Tony’s car, or rather that of his mother, he said, “Want me to give you a ride home?”

“Umm, no thanks. I think I’ll walk tonight.” I needed to calm down before I got back to my aunt’s house.

Tony pouted. He looked so
sweet, it made me want to kiss him on the tip of his nose for it. “But if you like,” I added in a low, hopeful voice, “you can
walk
me home.”

His pout disappeared and the corners of his lips tilted up. Oh yes, he liked.

I walked slowly, because I didn’t want to reach my aunt’s house too quickly. Ambling in the dark with Tony appealed to me. He swung our hands back and forth, stroking his thumb over my knuckles. We didn’t talk much at first, which was a shame, because the only thing missing for me to make this moment perfect was the sound of his voice and laugh.

Thinking about it made me remember last Sunday, when he’d taken me to his aunt’s house. The day with him and the horses was one of the very best of my life. With the memory also came the image of the picture he’d drawn of me that afternoon. The one I’d destroyed.

“I’m sorry I shredded your drawings,” I said in a low voice.

Tony eyed me sideways. “Why did you?”

“Because I thought I hated you.”

“You
thought
?”

“Yeah, well…” I raised our joined hands to his view. “Obviously, it wasn’t true.”

He smiled at that. “Don’t worry, Bungee. I do have one or two more drawings of you.”

My shoulders dropped.
“The witch?”

“Nope, not the witch.”
He frowned into the distance. “I burned that one the other day.”

“Really?”
That was news to me. Good news. “Then what?”

“Nu-uh, not saying.”

“Oh, please,” I begged, dancing before him, walking backward a few steps. “When did you draw me?”

Tony smiled, pulled me to his side, and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, not letting go of my hand, so my left arm hung diagonally across my chest. “The
first one I drew after you practiced with the cheerleaders for the first time.”

I creased my forehead, thinking. “That was—”

“Tuesday. Your second day at school.”

The information sank in and I stopped dead. His hand dropped from my shoulder. “That was before Miss Jackson gave us that particular homework.” I turned to face him. “Why did you draw me back then? And what
did
you draw?”

A sly grin sneaked onto his face. “No,
Summers. You’re not making me tell you that right now.”

“Ryan said
it looked quite awesome,” I mumbled, remembering how he’d found me under the tree in tears.

“Yes, he was the only one who actually saw
them. Or
one
of them.”

“Will you show me?” I pleaded when my curiosity actually killed me.

He laughed, obviously feeling a little uncomfortable now. “Maybe. One day.”

Okay, that wasn’t a
no
, so all it would take was a little more persuasion. And I would have lots and lots of time for that…now that he was my boyfriend. Oh my freaking
God
—that word alone combined with Tony made millions of tiny, excited butterflies erupt in my stomach.

Tony pulled me on, asking, “Why do you wear camouflage pants all the time?” I knew he’d changed the subject so he wouldn’t get pestered about the pictures anymore.

I let it go. “Why not? I like them. And you never know when they’ll come in handy.”

He arched his brows, dipping his chin, and gave me a dubious look. “Come in handy?” he repeated flatly.

“Yeah. See, if I ever need to hide from someone, I just jump in here…” For demonstration purposes, I let go of his hand, jumped into one of the bushes in someone’s front yard, and spread my arms in a silly
ta-da
pose. “And no one can see me. That’s it. I’m a bush.”

Tony’s laugh made my heart skip. “Come here, Bush.” He took my hand and roughly pulled me out of the bush and against his chest. Looking down at me, he picked a twig and some leaves out of my hair, then brushed a strand behind my ear. “You know that you’re insane, right?”

I smiled up at him.

At the same time, his cell phone went off in his pocket.
Just a whistling sound. He pulled it out, studied the display, then keyed in a message.

“Who’s texting you?” I asked.

“Hunter wants to know where I am.” When he was done, he laced our fingers again and we strolled on. But a few seconds later, another text arrived. “He asked me to come to his beach house tomorrow afternoon. Most of the clique will be there, too.”

An invitation?
It didn’t escape me that my cell phone hadn’t buzzed with a message. I wanted to pout but held off. Instead I gave Tony a cute look. “Can I come with you?”

“No. You’re too crazy,
Bush.
” Playfully, he tucked me under his arm.

Squaring my shoulders, I looked into his mocking eyes. “I can do normal.”

“Oh, really? I’m dying to see that.”

With a resigned pout, I stuck my tongue out at him.

“Relax, Bungee.” Tony chuckled. “Hunter actually said, ‘Bring Sam’.” He taunted me with a roll of his eyes.

A lunatic grin on my face spread wider and wider.

“Give me your telephone number,” he demanded then. “I’ll call you tomorrow before I pick you up.”

We’d reached my home, and I sat on the curb of the sidewalk, reciting the numbers while he punched them in. Tony lowered himself beside me, stretching his legs out on the street. They were so much longer than mine. “My dad says there’s a chance I’ll grow a little more
before I turn eighteen,” I told Tony for no obvious reason. Maybe I just felt I had to defend my height to him.

“That’s cool. But I like you the way you are.” He said it so absently, so naturally, that it sounded more like the truth than anything else I’d heard from him. My mouth dropped open, but he didn’t notice as he was still busy with his cell.

The next instant, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out. “You’re calling me?”

Tony rang off before I could answer his call. “Yes.”

“Why?”

“Now you have my number, too. And if you get bored alone in your room later, you can send me a text.” He winked at me, setting my blood on boiling temperature. Texting Tony. That was like emailing him, only better. And I’d loved reading the emails he’d sent me the other day.

Anticipation crawled into my chest. I tried to hide it from him, because it made me feel a little silly. With my finger I traced the outline of one of the holes in his jeans. “So, you expect me to send you a message later?”

“No.” His answer came out flat and emotionless, but in the next moment his eyes took on a mischievous shine. “But I hope you will.”

Oh, he could have that. Now I couldn’t wait to get inside and think of a nice goodnight message to send him.