Lexi liked that about Emma.
Shaking her head, she watched Chase help her brother to his room. Figuring out the male species was a useless endeavor.
Travis plunked down on his bed and stared at the swirling ceiling. Closing his eyes, he was haunted with Emma’s faerie face. Why couldn’t he get this girl out of his head? What made her so unique?
No matter how many times he wondered the same questions, he never got any answers. And he’d been with plenty of girls, didn’t make a horse’s butt of a difference. He still didn’t get girls.
Maybe he should just do what he’d always done. What was holding him back?
Compel her, some dark corner of his mind encouraged. Just like all the others. Take her.
That was just it, he didn’t want to. She was the first girl he’d met that the thought of using his inhuman powers on her twisted his stomach. Something told him that he didn’t need to make her like him. Her bold emerald eyes were never filled with fear.
What would that be like? To have a girl not be afraid of him or afraid of his touch?
That wasn’t real. It was a cruel fantasy.
*
Emma lay on her bed, earbuds in and tunes cranked. For the life of her she couldn’t figure out why Travis Winters face would not leave her mind. It was not like he had shown any interest in her. Well unless you count all the times she caught him staring at her in study hall. She actually lost count around seventy-three.
When their eyes clashed, she forgot to breath. He stole the oxygen right from her lungs. She knew immediately after spotting him the first day of school that he was a player.
Please, with those dimples and godly boy next door golden looks, how could he be anything else? But for Emma, it was all in the eyes. Those deep turquoise eyes did things to her that should be outlawed.
Especially on school grounds.
She shivered just thinking about him.
Four months. Four months of him turning her inners into mush, and her stomach in turmoil. Four months of him caressing her from head-to-toe with brazen glances. He made her heart sigh.
Recently the steaming gazes weren’t enough, she wanted more. More of Travis. She wanted to know everything about him. What he liked. What he hated. And if those lips would feel as amazing on hers as she imagined.
She was tired of waiting for Travis to make a move.
That bonehead. Seriously already, what was his deal?
Had she not returned some of those steaming glares with ones of her own? Her cheeks hadn’t turned crimson for no reason. What was he waiting for?
A freaking invitation?
Maybe she was to old fashion or naive. Maybe she needed to take matters into her own hands. If she continued waiting on him, things might never go past the eye ogling, let alone to second base.
And she desperately wanted second base with Travis Winters.
Get in line, her subconscious nagged.
Her subconscious was such a downer. She knew he didn’t have a girlfriend (she inquired), so why not take a chance? Emma realized she might not be model worthy like Sierra, but then again she wasn’t a haggard bitch either. That had to count for something.
She really hoped that Travis being a senior wasn’t a problem. He was only one year older for goodness sake. Forget that her parents weren’t going to see it that way.
“Emma!” her mom called from her doorway, startling Emma.
Ripping the earbuds off, she felt her cheeks flushed and smiled apologetically to her mom “Sorry, I’m coming,” she replied. Thank God her mom wasn’t a mind reader.
Burying Travis as far from her thoughts as she could, she skipped down the stairs. Stepping into the kitchen, she popped a grape from the fruit bowl into her mouth. Family dinner at the Deen house was a must. Their household ran on structure and organization. Dinner was always at six o’clock, laundry was done on Thursday and was expected to be folded and hung, and beds were made every morning.
Her mom was strapping a wiggly Abigail into her highchair, who squealed in delight. For Abigail, highchair meant nummies, as she called them. Abi was adorable, with her chubby cherub cheeks, strawberry blonde hair, and large green eyes. You couldn’t help but fall in love with the little monkey.
Setting the table, she snuck a grape to Abi who gave her a toothy grin. “Emmie,” she sung in her giggle voice.
Emma put a finger to her mouth. “Shh monkey. You’ll get me in trouble.” She tickled Abi’s baby fat, loving the sound of her giggle.
“Nummy,” Abi mumbled, smashing the grape between her plump fingers.
“You’re supposed to eat it silly monkey,” she informed a grinning Abi. “Watch me.” Emma snuck another in her mouth. “See?”