Say the Word(9)
Caught up in my thoughts, I didn’t hear the car approaching until it was far too late to move off the road. It whizzed by on my left, careening through a puddle at nearly forty miles per hour and dousing me completely with a torrent of dirty rainwater. I gasped, startled by the sudden icy downpour, and immediately began shivering as the chilly winds plastered my now-sodden coat and jeans to my body.
“Asshole!” I screamed after the car, shaking a fist in the air as it drove away.
My eyes widened when the car abruptly slammed to a halt about fifty yards up the road, its red brake lights brightly illuminated in the overcast sky. It was a nice car – a two-seater Mercedes hard top convertible, from what I could tell at this distance. I watched in horror as the white reverse lights flipped on and the car began backing down the vacant roadway, toward me.
Shit. I was so going to get beat up.
Here I was, walking alone on an empty roadway with no cellphone and no means of escape. Come to think of it, I was pretty sure this was the exact plot-line from the beginning of a horror movie I’d watched last Halloween…
Defenseless, isolated, idiot girl? Check.
Overcast, dark, stormy day? Check.
Psycho-killer in an expensive automobile? Check.
Dammit. Jamie was going to be so pissed at me when they found my body in an alligator-infested swamp somewhere in bum-f*ck Florida.
When the Mercedes came to a stop next to me, I held my ground and stared menacingly at the darkly tinted passenger window. Whatever this jerk thought, I wasn’t going down without a fight. I was Lux Kincaid – badass bitch extraordinaire, albeit in a five-foot-four, blonde pixie-like package.
Ha! I was so dead.
The window slid down silently, sending beads of water streaming off the shiny black passenger door and ultimately revealing the *’s face. I had to clamp my lips together to keep them from falling open when the driver came into view.
Better than a road-ragey psycho killer, but not by much.
Sebastian Covington sat behind the wheel – honestly, the last person I’d expected to see. He was the most popular guy in the junior class, in part due to his looks – which even I had to admit were gorgeous, in an Abercrombie model sort of way – but mostly because his father was a U.S. Senator. I may have been the Typhoid Mary of my class, but even social rejects would recognize him on sight. Plus, I’d noticed today that he was in my Latin class. It had been hard to miss him, as there were only about twenty students enrolled, but since we sat on opposite sides of the room and had never previously interacted in the three years we’d both been attending Jackson County High, I very much doubted I’d crossed his radar.
“Hey,” he called out the window, his eyes apologetic. “I’m so sorry about that – I took that turn a bit fast and didn’t see you in time. I’m still getting the hang of driving this baby.” His voice was nearly bashful as he gently stroked the leather steering wheel.
Translation: Daddy bought me a new, expensive toy and I almost ran you down you with it… Sorry!
Great apology, rich boy.
I rolled my eyes, turned away, and began walking again. To my utter annoyance, the car crept forward, keeping pace with my strides.
“Ouch, okay, the silent treatment. I guess I deserve that.” I heard the sound of light laugher. “But why don’t you ignore me from inside the car? It’s warm and dry in here and I can tell you’re freezing.”
I cast a glance over my shoulder at him, trying to see if he was serious.
“I mean it, get in. I’ll give you a ride home,” he volunteered. “It’s the least I can do.”
I drew to a stop, considering his offer with raised brows. It was another half hour walk until I’d reach the hospital, and I was turning into a human popsicle with each passing minute. A glance up at the heavy clouds overhead assured that the rain wouldn’t be letting up any time soon. I didn’t want to accept a ride from him, but I also didn’t want be out in the cold anymore. And, if I wanted to make it to see Jamie at all today, it was my best option.
With a martyred sigh, I reached out and grasped the door handle. Yanking it open, I smirked as I settled my sopping wet jeans onto his pristine tan leather seats. Prince Sebastian over there would probably have a conniption if I ruined his flawless interior. I set my backpack on the floor by my feet, crossed my arms over my chest, and looked up at him defiantly.
To my surprise, he didn’t look even mildly fazed by moisture that was currently causing irreparable damage to his seats. His expression was open, friendly even. I quirked one eyebrow at him, wanting to ask what the heck he was staring at.
“Sebastian Covington,” he prompted, holding out his hand for me to shake. Or maybe kiss. You never knew when it came to rich people and their weird rules of etiquette.
“I know who you are,” I muttered, clicking my seatbelt into place and turning to face the windshield so I wouldn’t stare at him. He was beautiful – easily prettier than most of the girls in our grade. His cheekbones were prominent, offsetting a pair of stunning green-gold eyes that seemed altogether too honest and warm to be genuine. They set me on edge, those fathomless eyes – the sincerity they conveyed seemed to me like a mask, put in place so no one would look too close or see the secrets they guarded. His jawline was so chiseled it was almost ridiculous. He was even better looking up close than from across a classroom – that realization made my stomach churn with nausea and brought an unstoppable flush to my cheeks.