| |
Giselle managed to make it through the rest of the day without embarrassing herself any more. Quite the feat, considering all she normally had to do was open her mouth and embarrassment would just follow.
Walking down the stairs toward the student parking lot, she fumbled through her bag, looking for her phone. She didn’t see Ash or his truck until she plowed right into the grill. Thank god it had been parked. So much for not embarrassing herself further.
“Sonofa—”
“Nice. A blind wolf.” Ash laughed and walked over to her.
Even if she’d had a witty comeback, at that moment the words would have died on her lips the moment she locked eyes with him. Gorgeous and icy, the most stunning pair of eyes she’d seen, with tiny flecks of blue. Damn, if he wasn’t just the perfect package of hot and forbidden fruit at the same time.
“I think you might have a concussion. You have a glazed look in your eyes, and you’re drooling.”
“Shut up.” Embarrassment more than anger colored her tone. She’d been caught drooling like an idiot in front of wolfboy. Snap the hell out of it! She mentally smacked herself back into reality.
“We have got to stop meeting like this,” he laughed.
Finally, something other than stony silence from him. If he’d looked hot before... adding a smile amplified it by ten. Damn!
She struggled to her feet but kept tripping over herself. “I’ve been trying to, but you keep popping up everywhere.”
“I was here the whole time, getting into my truck when you ran me over. For the second time today.”
“Whatever. I didn’t see...”
“The two-ton, cherry-red truck right in front of you.”
“Nope.” He had her, but she wasn’t conceding her last shred of dignity. “Maybe try a brighter color next time.”
Ash snorted.
At least laughter was better than the reticent cold shoulder he’d given her all day. “Go ahead, get all the giggles out of your system. And when you’re done, you can be a gentleman and help a lady up.”
He feigned confusion, looking all directions but hers. “Where? Who? I don’t see a lady.”
Giselle kicked his shin playfully.
“Oh... you?” Ash asked with a sly grin. “I suppose I could help you this once.”
“So you’re not planning on making this a regular thing?”
“Not if you’re planning on running me and my poor truck down on a daily basis.”
“Oh dear. What would people think?”
He extended his hand. “Get up.”
“Thanks. My name is Giselle, by the way, since you didn’t ask.”
“Yep. I know. Mr. Harper... remember?”
“Oh.” How could she not? Damn jerkoff teachers loved to make sure everyone knew your name when publicly humiliating you.
“I’m Ash, though I have a feeling you already know. I saw you sitting with Diana Hernandez.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” The pack animosity was definitely there, though he made a fair attempt at playing it down with a casual shrug of his shoulders.
“You’re with them, right? Part of the pack?”
“Not yet.”
His eyebrows arched as he cocked his head sideways, a confused look that make him that much more attractive. Seriously... was he a model or something? Every move, every facial expression was GQ-worthy. “You are a wolf. I can smell it on you.”
“Lone wolf.” Giselle raised her hand as if answering a question in class. “I’m staying with them, but I haven’t committed myself.”
She wasn’t sure of which part of what she said turned him off, but the coldness returned to his eyes and he set his jaw with that stony expression of cold indifference. “If you have a choice... Don’t.” Asher turned away and walked back to the driver door of his truck.
She should sue for whiplash as fast as he’d blown her off. They’d almost had a moment there, and he’d done a complete 180 back to being an asshole in the time it took for her to blink “That’s what you’re leaving with?” she mocked his masculine tone. “‘Don’t’?”
“If you have a choice. Don’t join the Hernandez pack. They’re not good people. But I think you’ve already made your mind up, so there’s no point in continuing the conversation, lone wolf.”
“You say ‘lone wolf like’ it’s a bad thing.”
“Just as bad as being part of the Hernandez pack.”
Wow. Just wow. Nothing about her was right for this guy. What a jerk. She shouldn’t defend herself to him, but the words flew from her mouth before she could stop them. “Not all of us are blessed with good parents. Or a family at all, for that matter. I don’t have a choice on what I am. Hello... foster kid. Not exactly in charge of where I go until I’m eighteen.”
Her revelation should have evoked some emotional response from him. You’d have to be one stone-cold jerk to not sympathize with the plight of a kid stuck in the system. But maybe he was beyond comprehending how hard of a life that was, because his reaction just cemented the title of Asshole of the Year for him.
“If you’re one of us, and been in the system any length of time, I’m sure you know your situation is not permanent. You can find a way out.”
Though his words had some truth, the delivery of them made her want to punch him. Sure, she’d been kicked out of many a good home for being... well, herself. But that didn’t make her situation better any time it happened. If anything, each new family, until the Hernandez group, had been worse than the one before. “I am not going to jeopardize my home on the word of a stranger. Especially a jerk like you.”
He didn’t even flinch at her name calling. Either he was proud of it, or she was so beneath him that he simply didn’t care. “You do what you like. I’m just giving you a friendly warning.” He hopped up into the cab of his truck and slammed the door closed before she could respond.
Maybe the girls were right. Ash was certainly not giving off the super-friendly vibe, and telling her to screw up the first good home she’d found... not earning any points in her book. If anything, after talking to Asher, she was beginning to put serious thought to accepting Martina’s offer.
“There you are!” Di honked the horn on her Prius and waved her over. “Let’s go.”
Giselle trotted over to the car and hopped in the back seat behind Taylor.
“I saw what you were doing,” Di said as Giselle settled next to her in the back seat. “Haven’t I already told you? Leave Ash alone.”
“No. See, that’s the thing. You all are good with the warnings, and not so good with the why.”
“Ask Martina. She can tell you what’s up.”
“Oh, I will.”
“But not before we take you shopping.” Taylor’s cheerful tone helped to lighten the mood.
“What? Why, didn’t we just have Christmas?”
“Uh. Yeah. And we have gift cards to burn, and you seriously need some new clothes.... If you’re going to be hanging with us,” Taylor said as Di gunned it out of the school parking lot.
“You guys do a lot of shopping, don’t you?” Giselle snickered.
“Yep. As much of it as I can.” Taylor waved a handful of gift cards in the air. “Retail therapy is a good way to pass the time. Besides, Martina called and said she needed the house to herself for a few hours.”
“Really? what’s she doing?” All manner of devious scenarios ran through Giselle’s mind. Asher had been so adamant that Martina was evil, or, her pack was. What if she was up to something? Plotting a pack war? Spying on the other pack? No. Martina was too much the soccer mom type to be involved in inter-pack espionage. Or was that just a really good cover story? Geeze, one word from that asshole Ash had her whole world view compromised. Damn him!
“Don’t be nosy,” Diana barked at Giselle. “She’s probably looking for a little alone time with her husband.”
Giselle’s mind changed gears faster than a NASCAR driver, and suddenly her super-spy foster mom turned into a stripper. “TMI. Seriously. TMI.” She’d need some mental bleach to fix the horrible stains left from those thoughts.
“Well, you asked, Ms. Nosey. Martina said to make ourselves scarce until dinner. So, why not hit the mall and have a little fun, right?” Di wasn’t really asking, and the mall was already in view.
Giselle shrugged and relaxed into her seat. Might as well go along for the ride. “Only if I can get some pretzels with cheese from the food court.” The school lunch had done nothing for her, and she still felt like eating her weight in junk food.
“Take it easy on the junk food, Elle. You have to learn to control yourself,” Di said. “Your metabolism can only handle so much.”
“Your inner animal wants meat. Not junk food, but it will settle for whatever it can get. I’ll text Martina and see if she has steak available. That should help settle your cravings.”
“Thanks, Tay.” Giselle had learned something completely new about herself. Shocking.
“See. Good things come from being in a pack. Knowledge is power.”
“This afterschool special is brought to you by....”
The girls erupted in laughter as they pulled into the mall parking lot.