insignificant animal making a noise.
“Jules.”
His voice is thick and smooth, and the sound of my name on his lips sends a shiver shooting down my spine. The corner of Roman’s mouth turns up, and his eyes trail down my body. Slowly. More heat moves through me, and once again I find myself squirming. The look he’s giving me is too intimate. Almost as like he’s been here before and is giving in to the memory.
The boy next to Roman clears his throat, and I focus my attention on him, eternally grateful for the distraction.
“You going to introduce us?” he asks with a teasing smile.
Roman returns his grin, and I get the impression I’m missing something. Like they’re laughing at an inside joke.
“This is Mac.” Roman tilts his head toward the other boy. “Jules is the daughter of the new JO from D.C.”
Mac bows in an exaggerated way, giving me a second to size him up. These two don’t seem to fit together at all. While I have Roman pegged as a juvenile offender, Mac seems more like a nerd—for lack of a better word. He’s tall and thin and carries himself with an exaggerated awkwardness. Like he knows his social status and has decided to embrace it. His hair is on the long side, like Roman’s, but it’s clear by the way he constantly flicks his head to the side that it’s new and he isn’t quite comfortable with it. Even the tattoo peeking out from under his sleeve screams nerd. It’s the Apple symbol. An odd choice, considering the company is now nonexistent and obsolete.
“All set for your first day of learning?” Mac asks in mock seriousness.
I smile despite my continued discomfort under his friend’s piercing gaze.
“Mac should really be teaching the class.” Roman’s voice is flat, almost bored.
I study him as he flicks his head, moving his hair out of his face. The gesture looks different than when Mac does it. It seems like an unconscious action, while Mac acts almost irritated by the hair being in his eyes.
Roman’s hair moves to the side, revealing an ugly bruise by his left eye, and without thinking, I let out a gasp.
“Where'd you get the black eye?” Mac asks.
Roman leans against the wall and crosses his arms over his chest. “Kyle and I had a disagreement last night.”
“Over what?” Mac snorts, but he doesn’t seem surprised. Odd. Kyle seemed nice to me…
Roman’s answer is a shrug.
He leans his head back and stares up at the ceiling like he’s avoiding Mac’s gaze. Like he doesn’t want the other boy to know why he and Kyle were fighting.
Mac lets out an exaggerated sighs as he shakes his head. “How many times have I told you to just let the whole team Edward thing go? You’re never going to change Kyle’s mind.”
Roman looks at Mac with a raised eyebrow, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
“I mean, at the risk of getting punched in the face, I’m going to have to side with Kyle on this one. I’m team Jacob all the way. Edward was dullsville, but Jacob kicked some serious vampire ass.” Mac turns to me. “Don’t you think so, Jules?”
My mouth drops open and my cheeks grow warm at the sudden attention. Mac lifts his eyebrows while he waits for my response, and every inch of him looks totally serious. Like this is an issue that has torn families apart, not a silly thing from the past that never really mattered to begin with. At Mac’s side, Roman studies me with a little half-smile on his face.
I focus on the floor.
Yes, I’ve read the Twilight books. Even saw the movies. My mom and I always went together. But did I have an opinion on this…
“Um…” I gnaw on the inside of my cheek while I search for an answer, then tear my gaze away from the floor and say, “Edward in the books and Jacob in the movie?”
Both Mac and Roman smile, and fire spreads across my cheeks.
You are the biggest nerd in the world, Jules! I scold myself.
Mac was joking, but I’d answered him seriously anyway. Why couldn’t I have come up with
“Jules.”
His voice is thick and smooth, and the sound of my name on his lips sends a shiver shooting down my spine. The corner of Roman’s mouth turns up, and his eyes trail down my body. Slowly. More heat moves through me, and once again I find myself squirming. The look he’s giving me is too intimate. Almost as like he’s been here before and is giving in to the memory.
The boy next to Roman clears his throat, and I focus my attention on him, eternally grateful for the distraction.
“You going to introduce us?” he asks with a teasing smile.
Roman returns his grin, and I get the impression I’m missing something. Like they’re laughing at an inside joke.
“This is Mac.” Roman tilts his head toward the other boy. “Jules is the daughter of the new JO from D.C.”
Mac bows in an exaggerated way, giving me a second to size him up. These two don’t seem to fit together at all. While I have Roman pegged as a juvenile offender, Mac seems more like a nerd—for lack of a better word. He’s tall and thin and carries himself with an exaggerated awkwardness. Like he knows his social status and has decided to embrace it. His hair is on the long side, like Roman’s, but it’s clear by the way he constantly flicks his head to the side that it’s new and he isn’t quite comfortable with it. Even the tattoo peeking out from under his sleeve screams nerd. It’s the Apple symbol. An odd choice, considering the company is now nonexistent and obsolete.
“All set for your first day of learning?” Mac asks in mock seriousness.
I smile despite my continued discomfort under his friend’s piercing gaze.
“Mac should really be teaching the class.” Roman’s voice is flat, almost bored.
I study him as he flicks his head, moving his hair out of his face. The gesture looks different than when Mac does it. It seems like an unconscious action, while Mac acts almost irritated by the hair being in his eyes.
Roman’s hair moves to the side, revealing an ugly bruise by his left eye, and without thinking, I let out a gasp.
“Where'd you get the black eye?” Mac asks.
Roman leans against the wall and crosses his arms over his chest. “Kyle and I had a disagreement last night.”
“Over what?” Mac snorts, but he doesn’t seem surprised. Odd. Kyle seemed nice to me…
Roman’s answer is a shrug.
He leans his head back and stares up at the ceiling like he’s avoiding Mac’s gaze. Like he doesn’t want the other boy to know why he and Kyle were fighting.
Mac lets out an exaggerated sighs as he shakes his head. “How many times have I told you to just let the whole team Edward thing go? You’re never going to change Kyle’s mind.”
Roman looks at Mac with a raised eyebrow, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
“I mean, at the risk of getting punched in the face, I’m going to have to side with Kyle on this one. I’m team Jacob all the way. Edward was dullsville, but Jacob kicked some serious vampire ass.” Mac turns to me. “Don’t you think so, Jules?”
My mouth drops open and my cheeks grow warm at the sudden attention. Mac lifts his eyebrows while he waits for my response, and every inch of him looks totally serious. Like this is an issue that has torn families apart, not a silly thing from the past that never really mattered to begin with. At Mac’s side, Roman studies me with a little half-smile on his face.
I focus on the floor.
Yes, I’ve read the Twilight books. Even saw the movies. My mom and I always went together. But did I have an opinion on this…
“Um…” I gnaw on the inside of my cheek while I search for an answer, then tear my gaze away from the floor and say, “Edward in the books and Jacob in the movie?”
Both Mac and Roman smile, and fire spreads across my cheeks.
You are the biggest nerd in the world, Jules! I scold myself.
Mac was joking, but I’d answered him seriously anyway. Why couldn’t I have come up with
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