their cars in a daze, staring off in different directions. I almost felt bad for how strange it seemed, this lack of recognition of each other. If I had only glanced over briefly, they would have appeared to be waiting for someone, but the longer I stared, the more it seemed they were mourning something.
“They’re the family that built that big house on Fallen Leaf Lake,” started Tyson, Tana’s boyfriend.
“What does their dad do?” Ashley asked, her cinnamon hair falling perfectly straight down herback.
“Nobody knows. My mom works at Tahoe Review Journal, and she said that the lady who interviewed them for the welcome column told her that their parents objected to doing the interview. Something about a death in the family made them too sad, so it was Dylan who did the interview,” Tyson commented.
“Dylan?” Iasked.
“Yeah, the blond with the hot English TA—I mean, wife,” Tyson corrected. Tana snorted, and he smacked a kiss on her cheek. “Not as pretty as you, ofcourse.”
Tana rolled her eyes and turned her shoulder away from him as she crossed her arms. There was a chill from the window when Bri steppedcloser.
“What sort of business do you think they have here?” sheasked.
“Probably the illegal sort,” Tana retorted.
I watched their beauty more closely. They were too graceful, too fluid, and they definitely weren’t here for anything illegal. It was something else entirely, my intuition informed me. Suddenly, Lucas directed his gaze toward me. I froze again. The thought of our skin tingling together frightened me, and I remembered how my room had smelled of him. I was starting to dislike him more already.
He held his stare as his lip curved up crookedly, saturated with curiosity. Still looking at me, he said something that made the other two follow his gaze. I glanced away quickly, but the shiver still came, knowing they were watching. But then his See you in class jarred my next step, and I couldn’t help but lookback.
When he waved to me with a taut smile—as if he knew I would look back—I swung around, somehowupset.
“Hey, Zara, we’re all going to the movies. Want to come?” Tanaasked.
I couldn’t think straight, not with the feeling I was being watched. I tightened my grip on my bag and looked away. “Not today, Tana. I’ll catch one nexttime.”
I was on Lake Tahoe Boulevard when I decided Lucas was like a scratch ’n’ sniff. There should be a sign plastered to his shirt that says scratch here, because you can only scratch so far before you realize you aren’t going to get anything in return. Nothing but a bad taste in yourmouth.
A migraine formed later that night as I washed the dishes. It had a cold edge to it, like an ice pack left on my head. Mom let me leave the dishes to go upstairs and rest. I had just opened my bedroom door when my cell rang. I leaped for it and stubbed my pinky toe on the hardcover history book I’d left on the floor. I picked up the phone, cursing at myself for the agonizingthrob.
“Zara?”
I sat down, reached for the wretched book, and angrily tossed it on the bed. “Hey, Bri.”
“Oh my heck. That family, here?” she started, soundingelated.
“Yeah. Imagine,” I said, more interested in rubbing mytoe.
“I have atheory.”
“Theory?”
“Yes. They’re cops, the undercover kind. Something is about to go down at our school. You just wait. I’m alwaysright.”
“Bri, they are not undercover cops,” I declared.
“You’ll see. Hey, listen. I wanted to call you and get your okay withthis.”
She suddenly sounded bubbly. It made me nervous. “Withwhat?”
“The girls and I decided we should do a girls’ night at the new club in Reno and . . . we wanted to invite that new TA, Gabriella.”
I didn’t have a problem with Gabriella. It was her steamy brother who gave me a funny feeling, a deep-in-my-soul bad feeling. I didn’t feel right aboutthis.
“Why? You just said you thought she was acop.”
“I
“They’re the family that built that big house on Fallen Leaf Lake,” started Tyson, Tana’s boyfriend.
“What does their dad do?” Ashley asked, her cinnamon hair falling perfectly straight down herback.
“Nobody knows. My mom works at Tahoe Review Journal, and she said that the lady who interviewed them for the welcome column told her that their parents objected to doing the interview. Something about a death in the family made them too sad, so it was Dylan who did the interview,” Tyson commented.
“Dylan?” Iasked.
“Yeah, the blond with the hot English TA—I mean, wife,” Tyson corrected. Tana snorted, and he smacked a kiss on her cheek. “Not as pretty as you, ofcourse.”
Tana rolled her eyes and turned her shoulder away from him as she crossed her arms. There was a chill from the window when Bri steppedcloser.
“What sort of business do you think they have here?” sheasked.
“Probably the illegal sort,” Tana retorted.
I watched their beauty more closely. They were too graceful, too fluid, and they definitely weren’t here for anything illegal. It was something else entirely, my intuition informed me. Suddenly, Lucas directed his gaze toward me. I froze again. The thought of our skin tingling together frightened me, and I remembered how my room had smelled of him. I was starting to dislike him more already.
He held his stare as his lip curved up crookedly, saturated with curiosity. Still looking at me, he said something that made the other two follow his gaze. I glanced away quickly, but the shiver still came, knowing they were watching. But then his See you in class jarred my next step, and I couldn’t help but lookback.
When he waved to me with a taut smile—as if he knew I would look back—I swung around, somehowupset.
“Hey, Zara, we’re all going to the movies. Want to come?” Tanaasked.
I couldn’t think straight, not with the feeling I was being watched. I tightened my grip on my bag and looked away. “Not today, Tana. I’ll catch one nexttime.”
I was on Lake Tahoe Boulevard when I decided Lucas was like a scratch ’n’ sniff. There should be a sign plastered to his shirt that says scratch here, because you can only scratch so far before you realize you aren’t going to get anything in return. Nothing but a bad taste in yourmouth.
A migraine formed later that night as I washed the dishes. It had a cold edge to it, like an ice pack left on my head. Mom let me leave the dishes to go upstairs and rest. I had just opened my bedroom door when my cell rang. I leaped for it and stubbed my pinky toe on the hardcover history book I’d left on the floor. I picked up the phone, cursing at myself for the agonizingthrob.
“Zara?”
I sat down, reached for the wretched book, and angrily tossed it on the bed. “Hey, Bri.”
“Oh my heck. That family, here?” she started, soundingelated.
“Yeah. Imagine,” I said, more interested in rubbing mytoe.
“I have atheory.”
“Theory?”
“Yes. They’re cops, the undercover kind. Something is about to go down at our school. You just wait. I’m alwaysright.”
“Bri, they are not undercover cops,” I declared.
“You’ll see. Hey, listen. I wanted to call you and get your okay withthis.”
She suddenly sounded bubbly. It made me nervous. “Withwhat?”
“The girls and I decided we should do a girls’ night at the new club in Reno and . . . we wanted to invite that new TA, Gabriella.”
I didn’t have a problem with Gabriella. It was her steamy brother who gave me a funny feeling, a deep-in-my-soul bad feeling. I didn’t feel right aboutthis.
“Why? You just said you thought she was acop.”
“I
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