I GRABBED MY sleeping bag, unrolled it at the foot of the bed, and sat down cross-legged. Before long Nick slumped down beside me.
“Hey, Finn Girl,” he said and nudged my shoulder with his. “You sneaked off today and missed out on all the morning fun.”
“Not intentionally. Ryan insisted on his father patching my leg up.” I scrunched up my face. “I’d rather have stayed with you than have my leg burned out from the inside.”
Someone dropped down on my other side and I was surprised to see it was Tony. Glad that I could look at his face and not feel like I needed to instantly kiss him, I relaxed. It was a mistake after all. No crazy attraction. Phew. I was safe.
“And you should have heard this little one swearing,” he sold me out to Nick. “I promise you’ve never heard anything like it before.” Tony leaned in and said in a lower voice to me, “From a girl’s mouth, anyway.”
A grin tugged at my lips. “You find that funny, do you? Me suffering?”
“Not at all.” He bit his lip, trying a little too obviously not to smile. “I was totally suffering with you. You were such a poor little puppy, curling up on that table. I was afraid you’d nip me any second.” By the end of that, he was laughing so hard I felt the urge to shove a pillow down his throat.
Giggling, because his good mood was actually infectious, I gave him the best death glare I could manage under the circumstances. “I hate you.”
Tony shrugged it off. “I don’t care.” But the warm look he gave me then said he did care. He knew I didn’t mean it—anymore. And he seemed happy about it, which created a cozy feeling inside my chest. Way different from what I’d felt before.
Music came on and tore my attention away from Tony. It was a remix of some old Italian song. Sasha, who had won the fight over the remote, settled down on the floor next to us. After a few beats, he skipped to the next song and the next. He did it so many times that Susan finally lost her patience, leaned down from the bed, and snatched the remote from his hand. “If you guys want to stay,” she warned them, “you go by our rules. We say what’s going to happen.”
“Ooh, and what is going to happen, book lover?” Ryan teased her, stroking Lisa’s forearm up and down.
“Nick kissing Teresa. That’s going to happen,” I informed him and cast a grin over my shoulder at Susan. “Turn it on again.”
“Me kissing who?” Nick asked then, totally confused but looking quite eager at the idea.
We all started to laugh and I told him, “Not you, silly. Nicholas Hoult. You guys came in before we could watch the best scene of the movie.”
When Susan pressed play and Nicholas and Teresa reemerged from the pool, Tony quirked his brows. “Ew, a movie kiss? This is what you girls do when you’re by yourselves?”
“This is what we’ve been waiting for all week,” I breathed, eyeing Tony. “So, in God’s name, be quiet now.”
He released an exasperated moan as he fell back against the bed, but I ignored him. Because at that moment, the other four girls and I were swooning over No-More-Zombie-Nick.
The only trouble was I suddenly wasn’t seeing Nicholas and Teresa any longer, but imagined the couple on the screen to be Tony and me. With a start, I straightened and held my breath. Shit. Not what I wanted.
Scowling, I turned my head toward Tony and found him looking at me. I hadn’t the slightest idea what he was thinking right then, but we stared at each other for a long, awkward moment. Slowly, he arched one questioning brow. I smiled and gave my head a little shake in confusion then turned away again.
Oh no, this was too weird. I needed to concentrate on something else or I would go crazy with that butterfly feeling on the rise in my stomach.
To me, it had been a given that if I ever fell for one of the guys, it would be Nick Frederickson, because he was a real cutie. But Tony? The one who had given me no break from the start? I couldn’t—no I wouldn’t have that.
I slumped back against the bed like the guys had and crossed my arms over my chest, glaring at the TV. Damn. I could feel it, Tony’s eyes fixed on my face. My heart started to pound a little harder. Please, please, stop, I begged. I don’t want this.
I didn’t move a muscle until the movie was over, but as soon as it was, I rose from the floor and flopped onto the bed next to Susan. Anywhere was good, as long as it was away from Anthony Mitchell. “Boy, that kiss was hot,” I exclaimed, fanning myself with an old birthday card from Lisa’s night stand. Of course, it wasn’t the kiss that had gotten me all hot and jumpy, but no one needed to know that.
“Yeah, way hot,” Simone seconded me. “Anyone want ice cream? I think we need that now, Lisa.”
“Agreed.” Lisa got up from her boyfriend’s lap, and we all followed her downstairs, where we gathered around the rectangular dining room table. She brought out a pack of wafer rolls and dished out bowls of strawberry and vanilla ice cream for everyone.
I had chosen a seat farthest away from Tony, just to be safe from myself. Still, every now and then I sneaked a glance over at him. He returned none of my looks. Not one. He was busy with his ice cream and talking to Alex about a new video game called GTA or something. I stopped looking at him then and let myself be dragged into an argument with the girls about which fictional creatures were the sexiest—vampires, werewolves, or demons.
As if there was even room for a discussion. “Vampires, of course,” I declared. “Do none of you watch The Vampire Diaries?” If there was one guy in the world hotter than Nicholas Hoult it was Joseph Morgan. Blond hair, blue eyes…just sa-woon-worthy. But maybe that was only me.
“Vampires? Seriously, Summers? I thought you’d go more for the smaller creatures. Like one of the seven, you know,” Tony said, and he totally startled me with a smirk.
I frowned at him. “The seven?”
“Dwarfs,” he mouthed and winked at me.
I grabbed a wafer roll from the middle of the table and tossed it at Tony, who ducked out of the way before it hit his eye. It was amazing how he got away with mocking me for being tiny these days. But then, none of what he said now seemed or sounded in any way like an insult. I would have never guessed that I could actually enjoy his bantering. Even if he deserved a kick in the shin for it.
“So, which one’s the sexiest, Summers? Sneezy or Dopey?”
Everyone laughed. Even me. But I couldn’t let him off scot-free. “Come here, and I’ll give you Dopey.” I shot up from my seat and dashed around the table, but before I got to him, he’d risen, too, and escaped into the living room.
Tony jumped gracefully over the dark brown, L-shaped leather couch and used it as a barrier between us. I stopped beside the coffee table, glowering at him.
“What, you’re scared of a tiny dwarf now?” I teased, then lurched forward over the couch, ignoring the slight pain in my leg. Tony was out of the way before my feet touched the floor again, and I spun around, finding him five feet away from me.
What was I doing here, chasing after Tony? He was bigger, he was leaner, he was faster, and I’d never catch him. Even if I did, what was I going to do to him? Wrestle him to the ground and force an apology out of his mouth? Well, at least it was an option…
He caught my hesitation, and the jerk actually started to sing “Heigh-Ho.” Before I knew it, I’d made one fast jump forward and knocked Tony over onto the couch, landing on his chest.
With his arms slung around me, he stared into my eyes, openly surprised. “Speedy,” he said under his breath.
I wrestled my upper body free from his hold, but I couldn’t do any damage like pinching or tickling, because he’d captured my wrists in an instant. I found myself in a very weird position, straddling Tony’s hips, trying to get my fingers closer to tickle him.
“Now, what have you got planned, Summers?” He laughed at me. “It takes two of your size to actually overthrow me.”
“I just overthrew you. And I’ll get you eventually. You just wait.” I put all my strength into my arms, but it was nowhere near enough. All it did was make Tony Mitchell laugh harder.
“Guys, I’m under dwarf attack!” He turned his head toward the entrance to the living room. “Can somebody help me, please?”
I clawed my fingers, but it did me no good. Tony’s grip was gentle enough, yet firm. Like velvety iron.
Nick and Ryan came in then, and both bit down a chuckle when they saw me having a go at their friend. “Having a good time, guys?” Ryan asked, while Nick came forward and slung his arms around my body to lift me easily off Tony.
I shrieked, I laughed, and I choked. Then I lightheartedly cursed them all for sticking together against a single helpless little girl. Nick pressed my back against him, holding me prisoner, until Tony sat up and ran a hand through his hair.
“You’d better not fall asleep tonight, Mitchell, because I know where you live,” I growled at him. The threat was forgotten the next instant when Nick’s hand on my stomach surprised me as it homed in on my belly button.
“What the heck is that?” he blurted out. Without warning, he pushed my top upward to expose my belly and leaned over my shoulder to catch a glimpse.
I sucked in a breath and stepped away from him. “Excuse me?” But I couldn’t push my tank top back down fast enough. He’d already seen my belly button piercing. I would have showed it to him if he’d asked, but pushing my top up in front of Tony and Ryan was hardly the way to go. I was lucky he hadn’t shoved the top up any farther, because I didn’t usually wear a bra underneath my PJs.
Tony tilted his head, seeming rather impressed. “Nice.”
Nick topped that with, “Awesome. Did it hurt to get it done?”
It had. But compared to the pain of this morning, it had felt like a bug bite. I pressed my lips together and nodded once. In the meantime, Ryan grabbed the doorframe and leaned into the kitchen. “Baby, Sam has a belly button piercing.”
“I know,” Lisa answered. “I saw it at cheerleading the other day. Looks cool, huh?”
“Yeah. Can I get my eyebrow pierced now?”
“I don’t think so.”
“My lip?”
“Nope.”
“A nipple?” He looked sweet as he waggled his eyebrows at us.
“No!” came the resolute end to that conversation. It sounded like this was an argument the two of them had been having before tonight.
“Women,” Ryan muttered with a frustrated pout and sat down on the other side of the couch. “They find everything cool as long as their boyfriends don’t have it.”
“I don’t know.” I shrugged and parked myself on the armrest of the couch, placing my feet on the seat. “I think I’d love my boyfriend to have a nipple piercing.”
A smirk slipped onto Ryan’s face then. “Baby—”
“No, Hunter!” Lisa cut him off. Then she came in and massaged his shoulders from behind. “I like your nipples the way they are. Clean and without bars in them.”
Ryan snagged her wrist and pulled her over his shoulder, down onto his lap, making her giggle. He wrapped his arms around her, whispering something into her ear that made her blush and smile. She bit his earlobe next, and Ryan gave a playful growl. They were definitely the sweetest couple I knew.
Everyone found a seat on the couch then, except Alex and Simone, who made themselves comfortable on the carpet in front of the coffee table.
“What’s your plan for the rest of the evening?” Ryan asked us girls, squinting around Lisa’s head.
“I know,” Tony said, “we could play strip poker…and remove your sexy socks, Summers.” He hooked his index finger in my left sock and pulled gently as he smirked at me.
I slapped his hand away, but the sensation of his finger skimming over the sensitive skin of my ankle stayed even after he’d removed his hand.
“It’s supposed to be a movie night,” Susan informed the guys. “Any wishes for what to watch next?”
Allie’s suggestion was Twilight.
The boys immediately turned their thumbs down and made sick faces.
“Okay, then maybe Titanic?” Susan suggested.
“Oh come on, you don’t expect us to watch sob stuff,” Alex complained. Of course, the other guys backed him up.
“Excuse me, but it’s not your night,” Simone declared, sending her boyfriend a teasing look. “You’re lucky we let you hang out with us and don’t kick you out.”
Holding on tighter to his girl, Alex rolled his eyes. “So can’t we just find a compromise? Kissing and some action?”
We all silently deliberated. It wasn’t actually that bad an idea.
“Which movie?” Lisa asked.
“Avatar?” Tony and I said simultaneously. I looked down at him and he smiled back.
Surprisingly enough, everyone was happy with that, and we agreed to stay downstairs, because there was more room for all of us on the couch. Lisa jogged upstairs to get the DVD. In the meantime, I slid down from the armrest and made myself comfortable next to Tony in the only free space left on the couch.
“God-awful taste in socks, but good taste in film, Summers,” he told me in a low voice.
The fact that he wouldn’t leave my socks alone made my cheeks grow warm. It was time for a confession. “I can’t help it. I’m still cold in this unfamiliar climate.”
“I can see that. You’re sporting goose bumps.” With the back of his knuckles, he rubbed my upper arm up and down once…and totally startled me out of my mind. Tony must have noticed my surprise. It obviously made him uncomfortable, because he pulled his hand away and cleared his throat, looking down at his fingers quickly and changing the subject. “So, how’s the catching up for AVE going?”
“Not too bad. I’ve done four and started with the last today.”
His gaze caught mine again, impressed. “You’re fast. Which one’s left?”
“Speed. I want to draw a racing horse.” Remembering the trouble I’d had with it that afternoon, my forehead creased.
Tony, who caught my frown, demanded, “But?”
“But…it’s hard for me to draw without live models. I guess I’ll need a few more days to finish this one.”
He seemed to consider my answer for a moment, but he said nothing more when Lisa put the DVD into the player, turned off the lights, and the film started.
Scooting lower in the couch, I stacked my feet like everyone else on the coffee table, while we watched two blue creatures getting personal. All this time, a cloud of the enticing scent of Tony’s shower gel enveloped me. I took a few deep breaths, utterly relaxed, and soon realized that I should have taken that darn nap in the afternoon.
My eyes started to close for longer than just blinks. I had to fight to keep them open. Damn, the room was full of classmates. I couldn’t just fall asleep next to them and be the weakest link. How embarrassing would that be? Especially with Tony sitting right next to me. What if I talked in my sleep?
What if I snored?
I had to stay awake and battle through the movie.
But the lack of sleep last night haunted me, and eventually I lost the fight.
*
There was a gentle tug at my hair. “Sam. It’s time to wake up.”
Tony’s soft murmur dragged me sluggishly out of a dream about me turning blue and the president of the United States trying to catch me for a new freak zoo. I snapped my head up and bumped against something…hard. Pain seared through my skull.
Leaning back and opening my eyes for the first time, I rubbed the sore spot, trying to focus. I was half lying, half kneeling on the couch, my top had ridden up at my back, and there was moisture at the corner of my mouth.
Everyone was getting up and the girls were saying goodbye to their boyfriends. Only Tony remained on the couch next to me, feet still on the coffee table. He whined and clamped a hand over his mouth, squeezing his eyes shut.
I had no idea what was going on.
Eventually, he stuck a finger into his mouth and when he pulled it out, there was blood on the tip. “Thanks for the head-butt. You just made me bite my tongue. And after I let you sleep away half the movie on my shoulder and drool on my shirt, too.”
My gaze dropped to a wet spot on the green fabric of his shirt. Still dazed from sleep, I wiped my lips with the back of my hand. As the heat of shame crept to my cheeks, I croaked, “I’m sorry.”
Tony grunted. I couldn’t blame him for it. He rose from the couch and hurried after the others. “Guys, wait, I’m coming with you.”
I waved at all the others when they said good night to me, then they slipped out the door. Tony was the only one who didn’t turn to me. I heard him say goodbye to Lisa, and then he was gone, too.
It quickly grew quiet in the house. I was ready to walk upstairs and curl up in my sleeping bag. But suddenly I found myself the focal point of intrigued stares. “What?”
The girls cornered me, slumping down on the couch around me. “We haven’t really had a chance to talk since last night,” Simone cooed.
“We did,” I countered. “We talked when Susan and I got here.”
Allie Silverman flashed a wide grin. “We talked about your leg. But not about the obvious stuff.”
“And that would be what?”
“You and Tony.” Susan copied Allie’s smile. “Things seem to have changed a lot between you two since the camping.”
A queasy feeling ate at me. “Umm…maybe they have changed a little. No big deal, though.”
“No big deal?” Lisa lifted her brows. “I only know of one other girl he ever let sleep on his chest.”
Chest? I thought it was his shoulder. “He probably had no other choice when I tipped over.”
“Believe me, if he wanted to, he would have had another choice.”
Maybe Lisa was right. I was glad though, that Tony hadn’t shoved me away like a nasty old dog with bad breath. That would have been even more embarrassing.
“Was it nice sleeping on his chest?” Susan demanded.
“I was asleep. How would I know?” Oh, for heaven’s sake, could they stop pestering me now? Why did this feel like I was caught in crossfire?
“You know,” Allie said in a low voice to Simone, “I think she’s falling for him.”
“You know,” Simone replied, “I think you’re right.”
“Shove off, girls. I’m not falling for anybody. And it’s really not fair to squeeze information out of someone who just woke up.” I rose from the couch, waiting with an exasperated expression for them to follow me upstairs. It was two thirty in the morning. I yearned for sleep.
Fortunately, the girls took pity on me and we all went up to sleep in Lisa’s bedroom. But two minutes after the light was turned off and everything was quiet, Lisa whispered, “Know what, Sam? I really think he likes you, too.”