Alec was… well, he was Alec. There was something mysterious about him. At least running would make it so we didn’t talk too much. I was still curious about why they were here in the first place, but if I couldn’t get it out of Demetri the night before, than I sure wasn’t going to get his brother to budge in that area.
“Ready?” I watched as he turned on his music and put his headphones in. With a quick nod in my direction he was off.
We ran a mile in silence.
I never looked in his direction. But it was hard to keep my eyes focused on the road when I was running with some mysterious yet famous bad boy.
Once we reached the second mile I was ready to yell. He was staring at me. I could feel his gaze. I was practically burning up from head to toe with mortification. Finally I stopped in my tracks and found the ear buds that had been tucked in my pocket. I needed to listen to music if I was going to have to put up with his brooding stare.
I slid ear buds into my ears but didn’t turn on the music. “What!”
Alec bit his lip and reached up to pull out his ear buds. “I’m just surprised.”
“Do I even want to know?” I stretched my arms.
He moved behind me and gently tugged them into a tighter stretch then whispered in my ear, “You tripped over your own feet twice yesterday. I wasn’t sure you could even walk in a straight line until now.”
“I’m in track.”
His warm chuckle gave me shivers as he moved my arms behind my back and crossed them so that my shoulders and chest were getting a better stretch.
“That explains the body.”
“What?” I jerked away from him and turned around.
“Your body.” He looked me up from head to toe then met my gaze. “You have long legs.”
The way he said it, almost in reverence. Confused, I squinted at him. Normally, guys said things like you’re hot, or nice bod. Instead, he just complimented the length of my legs like I was some sort of giant. I wasn’t sure why I felt a blush coming on. Maybe it was because his compliment didn’t make me feel objectified, but more special. I seriously needed to get out more.
“What?” Alec grinned. I hated it when he smiled at me like that. As if I was his sun, moon, and stars. When clearly, that was not the case.
“You can’t just walk around saying things like that to girls.”
“Just did.” He shrugged. “But I guess in a way you’re right. I shouldn’t say things like that to my brother’s girl. There’s rules for that and all.”
Irritated, I glared at him and grabbed my phone to change songs. “I’m not his girl.”
Alec whistled. “Don’t tell him that. Plus, I saw the two of you last night.”
“Studying?” Why was I so hopeful that he didn’t see us later that night?
“At the beach,” Alec confirmed, his eyes narrowing before he broke out into another earth-shattering grin. “But it’s cool. Demetri likes you. Look.” Alec sat on the edge of the fence near the boardwalk. “I want to be your friend. I’m not going to lie and say I’m not angry that my brother got to you first. But I’ll overlook your obvious lack of good judgment if you promise you’ll come to me if you need anything. Okay?”
I nodded slowly, my heart thumping way too loud for us to be in the friend zone or any zone near it.
“Cool.” He grabbed my Blackberry. “Justin Bieber, Nat? Really?”
I felt myself flush. “It’s good running music!”
“I’m a little hurt. Are we even on here?” My worst nightmares were coming true as he scrolled through the playlist.
“Give me that!” I lunged for him. Unlike his brother, he wasn’t okay with allowing a girl to win. He held me off with one arm. I kicked. He only laughed harder.
“No way! You love me!” He jumped up and down and waved his hands in the air. This was not the Alec I knew. The Alec I knew brooded. What the heck?
“Give that back.” Teeth clenched I held out my hand.
“Are you blushing?” he teased.
“No, I’m just, winded.” Lame answer, Nat. Lame answer!
“I like this playlist best too.”
I cursed and looked down at my phone, when he handed it back to me it was on the playlist marked. Crush.
I wanted to kill him.
“Want me to sing to you right now?” he asked, amusement making his eyes twinkle more than usual.
“No, I kind of want to jump into the ocean and drown myself though.”
“I’m not worth it, and neither is Justin Bieber. Don’t let me see that crap on your run mix again.” He put his ear buds in.
I reached for his phone, but he had it in his pocket before I could snatch it. “What do you listen to?”
“Myself, of course.” He laughed as he set the pace for our run back.
“Doubt it.”
“Wanna bet?” He stopped.
“Yup.” I knew the guy probably had himself on his playlist it only made sense, but I highly doubted he actually listened to himself sing, that would be vain, and he didn’t seem the type. Now, Demetri on the other hand…
“Fine. I win, you have to go to Evan’s party with me next Friday. You win, I’ll let you drive my car for a week.”
“What kind of car?” I asked. I was skeptical since I hadn’t since either of their rides over the past week. Then again, I hadn’t exactly stalked them like the rest of the student body.
“What kind of car do you think I drive?”
I liked this side of Alec, the playful one. He reminded me of Demetri only more devastating. I’m sure any girl on the opposite end of that smile would willingly throw their V card, no questions asked. “I’m guessing you drive something classy, dark. Hmm, black Mercedes, tinted windows?” As I watched the sweat trickle down his cheek, I could almost pretend like he was a normal person… almost. My comfort level with Alec had definitely changed.
“Not even close, but it’s nice. I promise.”
“Fine.” I held out my hand. “Hand it over.”
He placed the phone in my hands. I gasped. He really was listening to himself, but it didn’t say AD2 it said Alec Daniels.
“What’s this?”
He shrugged.
I unplugged his ear phones and slipped mine in.
The music wasn’t the usual techno that the guys were famous for. It was… raw. It made me want to cry. My heart lurched when his voice reached the high notes. It was an acoustic track, and then the music stopped and he was talking about changing the verse. The music started again and his voice reached the same painful heights that made me tremble.
Shaking, I handed the phone back. “Is that going on your next album?”
“Nope.” He laughed bitterly. “That will never see the light of day. Not if my brother has anything to do with it.”
“Why?” I blurted.
He shrugged. Should have known he wouldn’t give me any details. “So this party…” He placed his phone back in his pocket. “I’ll pick you up at seven.”
I rolled my eyes. “A bet’s a bet.”
“Yes it is.” Alec said, starting to run again. I followed him. We ended the run in silence. He waved as he ran inside. I might be late for my school meeting, but it was all worth it.
Mom had yet again fallen asleep in her office.
I yelled goodbye.
Silence greeted me.
I hated being ignored so much, but the only other option would be to charge into her room and share my feelings. I’d rather be ignored than be a client.
Irritated, I jumped into my truck. But for the first time in years I was excited for school.
I just hated that it was Alec’s face that came into my head, Not Demetri’s. I turned on the radio to distract me, and rolled my eyes as one of AD2’s infamous songs began to play. Alec’s voice was first. I only knew that because I’d seen the music video. I hated that while Demetri was the one irritating the crap out of me, Alec was the one I was curious about. It had to be the whole hard-to-get thing, not to mention he was brooding. Girls liked brooding. I got to school and tried to push the thoughts of the guys out of my head. Math. I needed to focus on math.
Chapter Seven
By the next Friday the news had been announced that the band AD2 was taking a much needed hiatus from touring, claiming the brothers were exhausted and spending time at their cottage in Oregon and attending school in order to bring some normalcy back into their lives.
It sounded super believable. I would have probably thought the story was legit. But Demetri made me doubt it. But what other purpose could there be behind them being here?
My mom was as reclusive as ever, and I was actually looking forward to going to Evan’s party with Alec.
We ran together every morning. Demetri never said anything about it, but I wondered if it upset him.
Demetri followed me everywhere at school like a puppy dog. If he was trying to annoy me, it was working. Though it was more flattering than annoying. I got more glares from girls in those few days put together than I had in my entire life. Alec ignored me completely as if he was embarrassed to be seen in public with me. He was always glaring at people and hardly ever said two words unless spoken to.
The one time I approached him, he gave me a small smile and brushed me off. I wish I could say that I stopped running with him, but I couldn’t help it. I was drawn to him. It seemed like the mornings were ours. We talked about music and his family. Never about his brother and never about school.
After a few weeks I was able to be seen in public with either guy and not freak out, meaning I could walk in a straight line and chew gum without choking. Demetri had warned me that his brother was different, that I needed to keep my distance, but I figured that was just jealousy talking. Not that I was anything to be jealous over. I mean, Demetri had kissed me. But he hadn’t made a move since then. He joked around with me, carried my books everywhere, but that was the extent of it. Maybe he found me interesting, like some sort of pet he could watch and spend time with. Oh, my gosh! Was that what I was? A fish? Some sort of entertainment because he was curious about high school life and the real world?
I had two hours until the party and still hadn’t decided what to wear.
My cell sang the familiar AD2 ringtone. Demetri had successfully hacked into my phone and changed all my ringtones to their band. I was too impressed to be upset.
“What’s up, Alesha?”
“You’re going tonight, right?” she asked excitedly.
“Um, yeah, I told you this morning.”
“Oh.” Long silence. “I forgot. Anyway, wanna get ready together?”
“Yeah, but Alesha, I don’t really have anything here to wear—”
The line went dead. Well, that was Alesha for you.
Within minutes she was hauling a pile of clothes and a makeup tote through the door.
“Are we moving into Evan’s?” I choked.
“No, silly, but it is a sleepover, so pack some cute lingerie.” She swatted me with her free hand after she put down the duffel. “You’re already with Demetri, not that I can blame you. He’s staked his claim repeatedly. First by kissing you on the cheek in the hallway and then again when he told every guy in the locker room that if they looked at you he’d castrate them. I swear, if peeing on you would mark his territory more, he’d do it.”