Connected: Book 1 Connected Series Read online

  I whispered, “She’s probably trying to listen.”

  “No doubt,” he whispered back. “I understand now.”

  I smiled. “Figured you would.”

  It wasn’t long before the sound of ice clanking against glass confirmed my suspicions. She sat on the love seat across from us, feigning interest in the movie.

  Of course she wouldn’t leave us alone. Not my sister.

  “Why are you here?” I asked her. “You don’t even like these movies.”

  “Well, you never know when it might get exciting,” she replied in a nonchalant tone.

  “You can be fairly confident it won’t be exciting tonight.”

  She gazed at me curiously. “Can I? How would I know that for sure?”

  I glared at her. “It’s edited for cable. All the good stuff is cut out.”

  She stared me down for a solid minute. “All right, then,” she conceded, before she stretched and stood. “I’ve got some homework to do anyway.”

  After the door to her room closed, I sighed in relief.

  Tommy gaped at me. “It’s like that all the time?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Damn.” He took a sip from the water I brought him. “That was wild. It’s like the two of you were speaking in your own little code.”

  “Apparently she thinks you’re going to rape me,” I said dryly.

  “Ha, you were the one who—”

  I could see where he was headed. “I think you’re safe. I won’t attack you.”

  “I’m just saying, if she would’ve seen how you were undressing me with your eyes—”

  “I did not! You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?”

  “I’m flattered, actually. No one’s ever leered at me like that before.” A flirtatious smile appeared. “It was exciting. The raw animal intensity…”

  “Like you could see from that far away.”

  “Are you doubting my super vision?” There was a perfect certainty to his voice when he added, “I saw it.”

  Of course, he was right. I did practically drool that day. But I wasn’t about to admit it to him. “Yeah, yeah. Do you want to watch the rest of this or not?”

  He didn’t say another word, but simply grinned. By some miracle, we got through the rest of the movie undisturbed. I walked him out to the porch afterwards. In the distance, I heard the dull roar of a sports car and I froze. It was identical to the sound the night of the accident.

  I leaned out over the porch rail, but couldn’t see anything. Was it the same guy?

  “What is it?” Tommy asked.

  “Nothing,” I said, feeling stupid. What the hell would I do anyway, even if it were him? Chase after him and yell at him for running me down? I decided then and there to let it go. I didn’t want to be skittish every time a sports car revved its engine. Besides, it was an accident and I survived, my non-confrontational mind rationalized.

  “Guess I’ll see you tomorrow at school,” Tommy said. I blinked my eyes, shaking off my train of thought, and turned to him. But he was already heading down the stairs.

  That’s it?

  “Yeah.” I watched in disappointment as he drove off. About to go back inside, I wondered how far of a distance he could hear from.

  “Tommy?” I said aloud, no louder than conversational level. Not a minute passed before he drove back towards me. A big, mischievous grin formed on my lips. “That really is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.”

  “You called?” He killed the engine then climbed the porch steps two at a time. I moved closer to him, my face mere inches away from his. He closed his eyes and took a slow, deep breath.

  His breath warmed me when he exhaled. Being so close to him, I felt a mixture of nervousness and excitement. Gazing longingly at his lips, I imagined how absolutely wonderful it would be to kiss him. I stood on my tiptoes and moved my face closer to his. My lips were about to touch his, but then the porch lights flickered. I backed away in defeat, letting out a frustrated exhale.

  He opened his eyes and smiled. “There it is again.”

  “What?”

  “That look. You were about to attack me, weren’t you?” He sighed. “Damn, Em, you sure are sending mixed signals.”

  “What? What do you mean?”

  “First you ask me out, then you act like you don’t want me to touch you, and now you try to kiss me. It doesn’t make any sense.”

  “No, it’s not that I don’t want you to touch me. I…” I trailed off, not knowing what to say. “It’s complicated.”

  “What’s complicated?”

  “I can’t explain it.”

  “Can’t or won’t?” His gaze became critical, and my heart began to pound.

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered. I turned to go back inside when he stopped me, gently touching my shoulder.

  “I don’t give up so easily, Em.”

  He leaned down and kissed me, too short but very sweet. A surge of heat traveled through me, warming me all over.

  The porch lights flickered again. “Must be my cue to leave,” he said and smiled. He got in his car and drove away.

  “That was nice.” I smiled to myself when the door opened from the inside.

  “It’s late. What were you doing out there?” Lauren fell into her normal disapproving stance, folding her arms against her chest with her signature scowl on her face.

  “We were saying goodnight. Why don’t you mind your own business?” I walked past her.

  “You are my business. You’re my sister. I’m going to watch over you.”

  “Whatever!” I yelled. Why wouldn’t she leave me alone?

  Chapter Seven

  The following morning at my locker, it took me forever to figure out which books I needed for class. My mind kept replaying last night with Tommy and that kiss. I blushed even thinking about it.

  The sudden heat next to my ear startled me.

  “It was really nice, actually,” Tommy whispered. A warm, tingling sensation traveled down my spine, and then branched out to my limbs, affecting my entire body. I smiled involuntarily at the feeling. I turned towards him and noticed a minor scrape on his arm.

  “What happened?”

  “Oh, it’s nothing.”

  “Are you okay?” I eyed his arm, wanting so much to touch it, to heal his wound.

  “Missed a step last night.” He flashed a flirtatious smile. “My mind was… preoccupied.”

  “Preoccupied?”

  “You’re quite a distraction, you know?” He inhaled deeply through his nose. “That incredible scent stayed with me.”

  “What scent? You’re making that up.”

  “I only wish you could smell it.”

  My attention was still on his arm, and the heat built steadily in my hands, as if they were anxious to heal him.

  He wore a rather curious expression, his eyes focused on my hands. “I wonder…” he began. Before I could ask, he grabbed one of them and clamped it over his scrape.

  “Wh-what are you doing?” I stammered out.

  “Testing a theory,” he said.

  I tried to retract my hand, but I couldn’t budge it, his hand dwarfing mine in size and strength. The heat began, burning hotter than ever. I couldn’t stop it. I felt the tingling, too, while the energy passed from me to him, healing his injury.

  “Wow, it’s so hot,” he whispered.

  “Tommy, I…” Words failed me. How could I possibly explain this?

  The heat subsided. He must’ve felt it, too, because he released my hand. All traces of the scrape were gone.

  His voice was still hushed when he said, “Holy shit, it’s true! I knew it.”

  I groaned, hiding my face in my hands.

  “What?”

  Peering through my fingers, I said, “You’re still here.”

  He laughed. “Did you expect me to run away?”

  “Well, yeah, kinda,” I said. “Or look at me like I’m a freak.”

  “Is this what you were af
raid of?” He took my hands into his. “Why you didn’t want me to touch you?”

  “You don’t understand. My hands… They get really gross sometimes.”

  He rubbed them gently. “I think it’s amazing.”

  “You do?” I half-expected to see some kind of frightened expression on his face. Instead there was genuine interest.

  He smiled. “I think you’re amazing,” he whispered.

  My heart began to pound when he glanced down at my lips. He leaned in closer to me, resting his hands on the sides of my face. I could smell a faint mechanical scent on his hands, an odor surprisingly not unpleasant. He had almost pressed his lips to mine, when the one-minute warning bell rang.

  “Guess we gotta go to class,” he said, backing away from me. “I’ll walk you to yours, if you want.”

  It was then I noticed him limping. “What’s wrong with your leg? We should go to the nurse.”

  “Twisted my ankle. It’ll be back to normal tomorrow.”

  I stopped him and whispered, “I can heal it. I mean, if you want me to.”

  His answer was a big goofy grin.

  “We’ll need for you to lie down,” I thought aloud. “Judy will let us use a bed.”

  We turned around to walk to her office.

  “You move fast,” he said.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Already taking me to bed. I’ve known you for what, a week?”

  I rolled my eyes at him.

  “Your sister is right to worry about you.”

  “Do you want my help or not?” I asked, annoyed.

  “Absolutely.” He grabbed my hand. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

  Judy greeted us as we entered her office. Glancing around, I noticed it was empty. I got enough strange looks from people without them knowing about my ‘gift.’ If they ever found out I could heal, I’d get the freak of the year award for sure.

  “Tommy twisted his ankle. Would it be okay if I…?” I trailed off seeing another student enter the office.

  “Sure,” Judy said, walking us over to one of the beds. She drew the curtain around us to give us some privacy.

  Tommy got situated on the bed while I grabbed a chair alongside. He sat propped up on his elbows. “Do I have to do anything?”

  “Take off your shoe.” After he slipped his shoe off, I whispered, “Now lie down and close your eyes.”

  “Damn, you sound so sexy when you say it like that.”

  The playful look in his eyes made me melt. I cracked a smile in spite of myself. “Relax, will you?”

  He settled back down, folding his hands over his stomach. His eyes closed and the sweetest little smile appeared on his face.

  My hands heated up the second I placed them on him, scanning his injured ankle. Some areas were warmer than others, and the hottest spots actually made my hands hurt a little while they passed over them. I rested my hands gently down on the hottest part of his ankle.

  “I can feel that. It’s so hot. And it tingles,” he said.

  I continued to treat him until the heat dissipated. Then I scanned again, treating the other warm areas, one at a time. The same kind of connection I had with Roz was there, an unbounded flow of energy from my body to his. When I no longer felt any hot spots, I lifted my hands.

  “Okay, I think we’re done.”

  He yawned when he sat up. “Too soon.”

  “Does it feel better?”

  “Yes.” He rotated his foot. “The pain is completely gone. Thank you.”

  To my delight, he leaned closer to me. We were right about to kiss, but then he stopped and sighed. Without the luxury of super hearing, it took me a few more seconds to hear Judy’s footsteps approaching.

  I pulled back the curtain.

  “How’d it go?” she asked.

  “Good as new,” Tommy said. He finished putting his shoe on.

  I thanked Judy on our way out. A lingering warmth remained as I held Tommy’s hand, as if the connection were still there.

  I stopped right before the door to my classroom. “This is it.”

  He glanced down both directions of the hallway, and my eyes followed his. There was no one in sight. “Now, where were we?” he asked, moving closer to me.

  He slid his hands behind my neck and his fingers interlaced through my hair to massage my scalp. The sensation produced an intense heat, which radiated slowly down through my body. I felt lightheaded, but I didn’t know if it was from the healing or simply his touch. I closed my eyes, in anticipation of the kiss. I waited, barely breathing, for his lips to touch mine.

  Then his hand abruptly disengaged from my hair. I opened my eyes to see the principal down the hall, walking towards us. Figures.

  “I’ll see you later,” Tommy said, his voice the very sound of frustration.

  * * * *

  I couldn’t wait to get to lunch. I had taken to brown bagging to avoid the line. Well, at least that’s what I told Roz. It was, in all actuality, a sad ploy to maximize my alone time with Tommy. He always brought his lunch and got there before me, so I began taking my own food to have a few extra minutes with him alone before Roz arrived.

  “Do you want to watch another movie tonight? We could go to my house.”

  I smiled. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

  He leaned across the table, and my heart pounded at the possibility of kissing him again. But then he let out a disappointed sigh, withdrawing back to his side of the table seconds before Roz approached.

  She raised her hands up in a surrendering fashion. “Oh no, don’t let me stop you.”

  “Is something wrong?” I asked. That feeling of frustration swept over me again, but stronger this time.

  Roz hesitated, looking down at her books. “You know what, I think I’ll catch you guys later.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “Outta here,” she said.

  While she walked off, a boy called out her name. I glanced in the direction of the voice and noticed Scott follow after her.

  “She should be careful with him,” Tommy said, motioning to Scott. “He’s trouble.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I heard him talking to his friends in the library. He’s bad news.”

  “Oh, they’re not dating,” I explained.

  “Yeah, not yet.”

  “I know, right? He does seem interested. I told her that, but she said he understood they were only friends.”

  Tommy’s eyes became serious. “He’s a predator, Em. I’m pretty sure he’s not going to be happy with ‘just friends.’”

  I gulped. I figured he was yet another boy with a crush on her. But the more I considered it, the more it made sense. He didn’t act nervous around her like the rest of them; there was a smoothness to him that made me uneasy.

  “I’ll let her know.”

  * * * *

  It took me awhile to figure out how to word the warning about Scott. I knew Roz probably wouldn’t react well, and I didn’t want to piss her off, especially with the way she’d been acting. So the bus ride home was quiet most of the way, until I got the words all lined up in my head.

  I had every intention of spouting this elaborate, precisely worded precaution. Instead, what came out was, “Roz, you might want to be careful with Scott.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “He’s dangerous.”

  She practically screamed, “I’m not dating him!”

  “I know. But I’m not sure what he’s thinking, and when he finds out you’re not interested—”

  “You’ve got a lot of nerve talking about him. Who did you get this information from anyway?”

  I didn’t answer her because I knew how she’d take it. But being privy to my extensive list of friends, all it took was a simple process of elimination.

  “Tommy said something, huh? Like he should talk.”

  “Those are rumors. I can’t believe you even said that.”

  She softened. “Em,
I’m only saying it could be the same thing with Scott. Can’t you see that as a possibility?”

  “Tommy wasn’t gossiping—he overheard him in the library. He wanted you to be careful, that’s all.”

  She folded her arms. “Fine, I’ll be careful.”

  “Do you want to talk?” I asked, hoping she would tell me why she’d been so angry lately.

  “No.”

  “Roz, I―”

  “Can you hang out tonight?”

  “I’m sorry, I have plans with Tommy.”

  She snickered. “Really? Tonight? Why am I not surprised?” Her voice was downright hostile.

  “What’s with the attitude? Is there something you want to tell me?”

  “Maybe there’s something you should say,” she muttered under her breath.

  “Roz, tell me what’s wrong.”

  But she didn’t say another word.

  * * * *

  The conversation with Roz bummed me out, like there was something I was totally missing. Like she had a reason to be pissed at me. All throughout dinner I tried to figure it out, but couldn’t come up with anything.

  While I waited for Tommy, I tried to relax by watching the unrated version of Cheerleader Massacre 5, but it didn’t help.

  Even Tommy noticed when he picked me up.

  “Em, is everything all right? You seem like you’re somewhere else.”

  “You know how Roz has been pissed off lately? I think it’s because of me.”

  “What did you do?”

  “Nothing,” I said. “At least I don’t think I did anything. I don’t know what her problem is.”

  “Well maybe My Bloody Birthday will take your mind off it.”

  And then it hit me. “Oh my God, stop the car.”

  He pulled over to the side of the road. “What is it?”

  “Today is Roz’s birthday. I totally forgot.”

  I was the biggest jerk on the planet. Birthdays were always such a big deal with us. We had a tradition of celebrating the day before and everything—that was why she’d been so annoyed lately. How could I forget her birthday?

  “No problem, I’ll take you over there,” Tommy said.