Chapter Eight

“Let’s get the bus back to school,” Amber suggested as they stepped outside the mall, and she noticed the Number 72 bus to Barden Heights, which had just pulled into the stop, its engine idling. She squinted as the late afternoon sun shone directly into her face.

Despite the obvious fact that they were such total opposites, she still would love to delay their return to school and spend more time with him. Except she didn’t want to risk being late for check in and suffer the wrath of her resident manager, who was obsessed with tardiness. And she had a lot of work to do on her portfolio, which really should be her focus instead of Nik and his too-pretty face.

She was sure Nik wouldn’t want to be late, either. It wouldn’t look good for him to get into trouble so early on in his first year at Barden. She glanced casually in his direction, and her nerve endings tingled. It was crazy how he had this effect on her, and she seemed incapable of doing anything about it. She’d love to get into his head and find out if he felt the same.

Even if I’m not doing any kind of relationship this year.

They reached the bus together. Of course, he stepped to the side to let her on first. After showing their school-issued bus passes, she led them to the back. She scooted along the seat to the window, and he sat beside her. She gave a little shiver as his leg touched hers. And then she mentally slapped herself for being so ridiculous.

Apart from the two of them, there were only three other people on the bus: an elderly couple sitting at the front in silence and a young boy of around twelve sitting in the middle, headphones in his ears. She liked that there was no one close who could listen in on their conversation. She could pretend it was just the two of them. The bus hissed and jolted as it moved away from the stop and into the oncoming traffic, distracting her from her thoughts.

“Traveling by bus is fun,” Nik said.

She turned her head away from where she’d been watching the shops passing by, wondering if he was kidding. A quick glance at his face showed that he was being serious. She’d certainly never thought of being on a bus as fun. At least, not since she was very young and going by bus rather than car had been a special treat.

“I guess. I thought Europe was better at public transportation than we are. Don’t you have buses in your country?” Another of her dumb questions.

And whose fault is that?

“Yes. I just don’t use them,” he replied.

Simple answer. Except it still seemed weird that he found it fun.

“You drive everywhere?” she asked, searching for a reasonable explanation.

“I don’t drive.” He shrugged.

Amber frowned. He didn’t drive. He didn’t catch the bus. Surely his parents wouldn’t take him everywhere he wanted to go. That would be ridiculous, seeing as he was seventeen and not seven. Not only that, it wouldn’t be practical. “How do you get around?”

“We have a driver.”

A driver. Who the heck has a driver to take them everywhere? Movie stars. Yeah, well, he’s not one of those.

“A driver? What about if you want to go out late at night?” She idly brushed her fingers along the top of the seat in front of them.

“We have more than one. They work shifts, so there is always someone available.”

Drivers working shifts. Why didn’t she think of that? It was a whole new world to her. It was like Oprah or Mark Zuckerberg. Was it any surprise that he had that arrogant air about him? His wealth had to be in a different stratosphere compared to even the wealthiest kids at school. Either that, or life in his country was so different from her own that she shouldn’t be making comparisons.

“Whoa. That must make you very rich.” The words were out of her mouth before she could check them. How rude did that make her?

An awkward expression crossed his face, and he rubbed his chin. Yet again, she had the sense that he was hiding something.

Even so, she could’ve kicked herself for prying. She hated when people did it to her. She’d much rather keep things to herself. The thing was, she found his reticence to talk about his home life in more detail than a couple of words intriguing. There was a secret there, she was sure of it. That or he was just embarrassed at how rich his family really was. They could be billionaires and because he wanted to fit in with the students at school, he didn’t want to reveal that. She chewed on her bottom lip. Yes, that made sense.

“Compared with some people, we are, yes.” He frowned, and Amber couldn’t decide whether it was because he felt annoyed with her, or because…actually, she didn’t know what else it could be.

And it doesn’t matter. Being close to him now is all that counts.

“I didn’t mean to be nosy.” She sucked in a breath, hoping that she hadn’t ruined things between them.

“That’s okay.”

Her skin tingled as he snuggled against her and slid his arm around her shoulders, the tips of his fingers lightly grazing her collarbone.

She shuddered, her heart pumping erratically against her rib cage. She could hardly breathe. One thing was for sure, he didn’t hate her for prying. Then again, was the reason he was touching her to distract her? If it was, he’d scored big-time because all thoughts of his background were relegated to the far recesses of her mind.

Remaining motionless, she waited for his next move. She hoped more than anything that he was going to kiss her. She’d completely forgotten why that would be a bad idea. In fact, if he didn’t, she suspected that she might grab him and kiss him first.

But she didn’t have to, because sure enough, he turned to her, his blue eyes dark with desire. He cupped her face in his warm hand and tilted her chin ever so slightly. Leaning forward, he gently pressed his perfect lips on hers. Tendrils of heat shot through her body. She grabbed a fistful of his shirt and pulled him closer, their lips parting. He explored her mouth with his tongue, and she responded, enjoying the sugary taste from the pastry he’d eaten earlier. Her fingers glided down the contours of his back. She shivered. Who knew a kiss could feel like that?

And where would they go from there?

“Tell me again,” Lauren begged, sitting cross-legged on Amber’s bed, her eyes wide with anticipation. “This time in more detail.”

“Why?” Amber replied, stifling a smirk. She’d already told Lauren all about the kiss. The kiss. She’d played it over and over in her mind nonstop, since Nik left her outside her dorm. What’s more, in a way, it was almost like it hadn’t happened, because when they said good-bye, Nik didn’t mention them going out together again. He acted like they were back to being friends. Nothing more. Which she supposed was a good thing if she listened to her head. Though why would she do that when her heart was screaming the total opposite?

“Because I can’t quite believe it. After everything you said,” Lauren pointed out. She piled her blond hair on top of her head and then fluffed it back out again.

“I know, but these were extenuating circumstances.” Amber crossed her arms over her chest.

Her fists tightened as the enormity of her dilemma hit her. She knew she sounded crazy. Everything was so confusing.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Lauren asked.

“That it wasn’t something I’d planned, or even wanted. It just happened.” Her mind went back to the kiss. The feel of his lips on hers. Demanding, but not aggressive. It was perfect. And it probably wasn’t going to happen again. The thought dampened her spirit within seconds.

“Don’t tell me. Sitting on a bus put you in such a romantic mood that you couldn’t help yourself. You were so overcome by the atmosphere that you kissed him by mistake. You…”

“Enough.” Amber held up her hand indicating Lauren should stop. “He kissed me, actually.” She couldn’t make light of the situation. Not yet. Her emotions weren’t ready for it.

“Same difference. Unless you pushed him away, which you didn’t. Did you?” Lauren prodded.

“No. Not after that dreamy kiss,” Amber admitted.

“The best you’ve ever had. Yes, I know,” Lauren said.

“Well, it was.” She drew in a long breath, reliving it yet again.

“And have you arranged to see him again?” Lauren asked.

“He didn’t ask, and that’s probably for the best.” The words came out of her mouth, but she didn’t believe them.

“But if he asks you, you’ll go, won’t you?” Lauren insisted.

“I don’t know.” She wanted to voice her concerns, but it was going over old ground, and Lauren had all the answers. Answers she didn’t want to hear at the moment. “I can’t shake the feeling that he’s hiding something. I know you think that I’m imagining things, but I can’t help it. Plus, as I’ve already told you, I don’t want boy drama this year, and I believe this boy is all drama.”

“Well, you know my view. If you go out with him, then we can double date, instead of you two being a third and fourth wheel.”

Amber despaired at the eagerness in Lauren’s voice. How did she manage to make everything seem so easy? Amber knew for a fact that life wasn’t like that. Maybe she should be more like Lauren. She shouldn’t read too much into it. So what if it was a once-only kiss? She should just take things as they happened. Live in the present and not spend so much time worrying.

“He hasn’t asked me, so this conversation is totally hypothetical.” Amber’s stomach dipped once she’d voiced that out loud, because she realized that Nik not asking her out had gotten to her more than she’d thought.

“He will,” Lauren said with confidence. “And you can say yes. It will be fun. No one is asking you to marry him. Just go out together and enjoy it.”

Well, when she put it that way…

“He’s certainly different from any other guy I’ve been with.” She failed to stop the smile that tugged at her mouth.

“That’s a good thing, right?” Lauren uncrossed her legs and rested her feet on the floor.

Amber walked to the bed and sat beside her. “I guess.” She pulled her cell from her pocket and opened the email she’d sent to herself of the photos she’d taken of Nik. “What do you think? How cute does he look?” she asked Lauren, showing her.

“Really cute.”

“I know.” Her whole body heated from just looking at him.

“He didn’t mind you taking them this time, then?”

“I didn’t ask. But it’s not like anyone else is going to see them. I’m sure he won’t mind,” she confirmed, more to herself than to Lauren. She swallowed hard, suddenly panicking. She hoped she hadn’t done anything to damage things between them. “He won’t, will he?”

“No. Of course he won’t. He was just being stupid.”

Amber exhaled. “True. He probably regrets his over-reaction already.”

“It’ll be cool. Don’t worry.” Lauren rested her hand gently on Amber’s arm. It felt reassuring.

“Okay. But please don’t mention the photos to Josh. In case he tells Nik.” Although she asked, she knew that she hadn’t needed to because Lauren would always have her back.

“My lips are sealed. He takes an awesome photo, by the way,” Lauren said, clearly voicing her approval.

“I know. I told you that he would. Look at the outline of his jaw. And his hair, so blond. Isn’t the way it caresses the tops of his ears adorable?”

“Caresses the tops of his ears. Adorable. You’ve seriously got it bad, girl.” Lauren giggled.

“No, I haven’t. I’m looking at him with my detailed photographer’s eye. Nothing else.” Amber elbowed her in the ribs, a little harder than she intended.

“Ouch,” Lauren groaned.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“That won’t change the truth. Just admit it.” Lauren pulled out a lip gloss from her pocket and swiped it over her lips.

The text tone on Amber’s phone interrupted their conversation. She opened it, and her heart did a triple flip as she saw the text was from Nik.

“It’s from him. It’s Nik.” She couldn’t hide the excitement in her voice.

“What does it say?” Lauren demanded.

“How do I know? I haven’t opened it.” Amber stared at the screen, transfixed. Not wanting to open it in case it wasn’t what she wanted to read.

“Give it to me.” Lauren snatched the cell from her hand and before Amber could grab it back, she’d read the message. “Oh.”

“What? Tell me,” Amber practically yelled, grabbing the cell back and scanning the message.

Her heart plummeted. He was just thanking her for taking him shopping.

No date.