All I've Never Wanted(78)

“Sorry, sir, I’m just going to borrow this for a moment,” Zack blurted, grabbing a huge map of the park from a passersby’s hands.

“Hey! Get your own map!”

Ignoring the man, Zack whipped open the map and shoved it in front of his and Venice’s faces just in time.

“This is ridiculous,” Venice hissed, glaring at a point on the map that indicated the location of the Slip-Slider. “What were you talking about? There’s no fire.”

“I know that,” Zack hissed back, afraid to lower the map in case Maya was looking in their direction. “But I had to do something.”

“Young man.” He twisted his head to see two security guards, neither of whom was the one they’d ran into earlier, staring sternly at him.

“Yes?” he asked weakly.

“Young man, we’re going to have to take you into headquarters for disturbing the peace.”

Venice and Zack let out simultaneous groans. Could this day get any worse?

* * *

The “outing” with James today had gone surprisingly well, except for that one weird incident during lunch when someone had yelled “Fire!”

I shook my head, slipping one foot out of my sandal and flexing it as James pulled into the Fioris’ driveway. Some people were too weird. Luckily, James wasn’t one of them. He had been funny, sweet and easy to talk to, and I actually had a lot of fun.

“Thanks so much for today, I needed it,” I said, smiling at him as I unbuckled my seatbelt. “And thank you for driving me back. You didn’t need to.”

“The pleasure was all mine.” James smiled back. “And of course I did, I wasn’t about to let you go on that bus at night. We should do this again sometime.”

I bit my lip. “As friends, right?” I liked him, but I didn’t like him, and I didn’t want to lead him on. He’s nice, but we got along a little too well. He did everything I wanted to or asked, and it was a bit…boring.

Not like Roman. The thought popped up so suddenly I almost jumped, but thank god I didn’t. I shook my head a little. Today must have gotten to me, because that thought alone proved I was going certifiably insane.

James lips twisted wryly. “As friends.” He glanced at the mansion in front of him, his expression darkening slightly. “Is this your house?”

“Uh, no, it’s my friend’s. I’m just staying here while my parents are out of town.” For some reason, I didn’t want to tell him it was Roman’s house.

“Who’s your friend?”

Guess I didn’t have a choice. “Er…Roman.”

James eyes suddenly sharpened as he whipped around to face me. “Roman Fiori?” The name came out as a hiss, and I instinctively shrunk back at his unexpected fierceness.


“Yes?”

James scowled. “Why are you staying here with him? It’s not safe!”

“Well, he offered…” My voice trailed off. “Anyway, he’s not as bad as you think he is, really!” I’m not sure why I was defending that pain in my butt, but I bristled a bit at James’ tone.

James snorted. “Yeah, right. He’s a menace,” he muttered. “You don’t even know what he did.”

I frowned. “What did he do?”

He stared at me for a moment before looking away. “Nothing, it’s not important,” he said. “Just—I just don’t like him.” He let out a deep sigh. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you like that.” His next smile was rueful. “Not exactly the way I wanted to end today.”

“It’s ok, I understand,” I assured him, though curiosity was still burning inside me. “You’re just looking out for me. I appreciate it.”

“Yeah.” James leaned closer, and I stiffened, thinking he was going to try and kiss me again. And he did—only it was a friendly peck on the cheek. “I’ll walk you to the door.”

“No need,” I said quickly, my face flushing. Don’t they only do that on dates? “It’s right there. But, um, I should get going. You know, it’s pretty late—“ I glanced at the car clock and winced when I saw it was only nine-thirty. Wow, I’m a loser.

Luckily, James didn’t say anything. “Ok, hopefully I’ll see you soon.” He gave me another, warm smile. “And if you need anything, don’t hesitate to call me, alright?”

I nodded, thanking him once again before getting out of the car. When I opened the door, I turned to wave goodbye, and waited until he pulled out of the drive before heading to my room.

I only got halfway there before something stopped me. Or rather, someone.

“Where were you all day?” Roman demanded, folding his arms over his broad chest as he stared imperviously down at me from the staircase.

I sighed, not in the mood for his interrogation. “I was out with a friend.” I started up the stairs, but he blocked my way.

I looked at him with annoyance. “What do you want?”

“Who’s your friend? I called everyone, no one’s seen you.”

“What, are you stalking me now?” I crossed my own arms, mirroring his stance.

He ignored my question. “Tell me!”

“For your information, his name is James!”