Diary of a Teenage Jewel Thief(21)
And I fall for him a little more.
Chapter Nine
Trin pulls out a chair across the lunch table from me and sets her elbows on the tabletop with a heavy thud. Seconds later, perfectly manicured fingertips with seafoam-green nails appear over the top of my book, curl along the pages, and push heavily. Trin’s not-so-subtle cue she wants to talk. I sigh in resignation as I lower my book, but I can’t fully bite back a smile.
As soon as she has my full attention, Trin lifts her sunglasses to sit on top of her head and raises her eyebrows in expectation. “So…?”
“So…?” I return. I know what she wants. She’s trying to draw me into conversation about Will, more specifically about my dance with Will at the club last night.
“So, you looked like you were having a good time last night. Until you ran out of the club like the whole place was on fire.” She looks pointedly somewhere over my shoulder. “Or maybe just one person was, yeah?”
Heat creeps into my cheeks and down my neck. Will must be behind me, but how close is he? I’m torn between turning to look and completely ignoring everything she’s just said. But the part of me that daydreams about having a best friend, about girl talk and movie marathon sleepovers, really wants to share with her. So I subtly shift sideways in my chair and reach for my bag like I’m looking for something. When the angle is right, I sneak a quick glance in the direction Trin looked.
I spot Will immediately, like he’s specifically magnetized to draw my gaze. He’s across the cafeteria, sitting with his back to me at a table with a guy I recognize from my civics class and a couple others I don’t know. His chair is turned backward, and he’s leaning forward with his arms resting on the back of it.
As if he senses my gaze on him, he turns and scans the lunchroom. I spin quickly in my chair so he won’t catch me looking at him.
When I turn back to Trin, her grin is pure Cheshire, an I-caught-you look of satisfaction. The heat in my face turns fiery, and I cover my mouth with one hand to hide a dumb grin of my own.
“He’s cute, right?” I ask. I know he is—even if she answers in the negative, it wouldn’t change my mind, but I’m testing the waters. I’m new to this girl-talk thing and not quite sure how to go about it.
“Adorbs. You like him?”
I nod.
Trin mirrors the movement. “He likes you, too, you know?”
Something like a combination between embarrassment and satisfaction sends my stomach tumbling into a tight ball of nerves. “You think so?” And now I just sound desperate. I clamp my lips shut before any other dumb stuff can slip out.
Trin doesn’t seem to mind the question, though. “Definitely. You should go for it, girl. Put a leash on that boy before someone else does.” She closes her advice with a wink, then moves her gaze to the area behind me again. “And here’s your chance. Incoming.”
I can practically feel Will approaching, and the wait for him to arrive plucks at my tightly strung nerves. Finally, he enters my periphery, pulls out the chair next to me, turns it around, and straddles it. The move is smooth and practiced. He’s all grace and charm, and I’m a nervous wreck. I close my book without bothering to mark my page and set it on the table. Then I clasp my hands firmly in my lap to hide how shaky I’m feeling.
“Hey.” His voice is slow and deep, and I feel it in my core. Suddenly, I’m imagining us in a much more private setting and him speaking for my ears only. I shut down my overactive imagination before it gets too far ahead of things. I hope he doesn’t notice me blushing, or at least can’t guess the turn of my thoughts. He’s so close, I can see every nuance of his ice-blue eyes, every silvery fleck, the pale gray ring around each pupil. His eyes crinkle in amusement and his eyebrows lift. He’s still waiting for me to respond.
“Hey,” I finally greet him back.
Trin pushes away from the table in a flash. “I think I see Lacey. I’m going to, uh…go make sure. You kids have fun.” She winks at me before grabbing her textbooks and practically scampering away in search of the friend who doesn’t even have lunch this period. She’s leaving us alone to talk, and I’m both grateful and terrified.
“So it was nice seeing you at Grade last night.” Will wastes no time jumping right in, and his words are heavy with meaning. “Did you really have to leave so soon?”
I can’t tell him the truth, can’t tell him that the strength of my attraction to him scared me right off that dance floor and out of the club. “I, uh, didn’t want to miss my curfew.” My nonexistent curfew.
I can tell by his expression that he doesn’t believe me, but he doesn’t press. “I had a good time with you.” He’s watching me, watching for my reaction.
I drop my gaze to avoid his, but it’s a mistake. My attention hitches on his chest, on the way his black T-shirt is pulled tight across his muscles, conforming to every sinewy ripple and curve. “Yeah, me, too,” I answer in an almost whisper.
He leans in so that our faces are inches apart, and the rest of the world disappears. “I was thinking we should go dancing again, you and I.” A lock of dark hair falls across his forehead, and I have to resist the urge to reach out and sweep it away. Touching him would not be a good idea. I’m barely holding myself together as it is. I’ll probably just melt into a puddle of adoration if I actually touch him right now.