Page 11 of Treasured Secrets
I could hear the distraction in my voice. "No, my mom…" I trailed off for a moment and then finally I broke away from thinking of Everett's peculiar behavior, cautiously watching him pass us completely before continuing. "My mom came back home every time to have us, so that we would be U.S. citizens. So I have a birth certificate, a social security number, a driver's license, now... the whole nine yards."
His lips turned down in a quizzical manner. "But no accent?"
I shrugged, understanding his curiosity. It was a valid point.
"Well, my mom and dad grew up in the states. They were the ones who taught me to speak, so I guess I just adopted their dialect instead of the locals. Not to mention, there were a lot of other Americans in the village I lived in."
"Not much of a South American tan either," he said, motioning to my golden skin.
It was true. I didn't have the deep, rich tan the natives did, but I wasn't pasty either. It almost felt as though he was questioning my honesty. I didn't like that.
"No one in my family tans very well. This is about as dark as we get."
He nodded in acceptance of my answer and then spoke casually as he leaned up against the lockers. "So where in South America did you grow up?"
I started to feel interrogated.
"It's kind of hard to explain." I didn't know why, but I didn't really feel comfortable explaining. Thankfully, I didn't have to try to explain. His arm slid off my shoulders as Taryn ran up to us excitedly.
"My turn. Spanish is this way." She grabbed my hand, dragging me away from McKee. I waved at him. He smiled before disappearing into a classroom.
Spanish was even easier than calculus had been. As soon as the bell rang, Taryn jumped up and ran to my side.
"I'll just walk you to economics since it's on the way."
I was somewhat disappointed about that proposal, given that McKee said it was right beside his class. I assumed he would walk me there.
I wasn't used to being around guys I was attracted to. In Haluali, there were only a few my age and they were more like brothers. There really were quite a few American kids like me there - children of the fellow scientists from my mom and dad's team.
I never had any romantic feelings towards any of them. So this was different from anything I'd felt before. I really wasn't sure how to be attracted to someone, so I wasn't sure what it was that I was feeling. It wasn't the heart-stopping, drooling disaster I had encountered with the mystery guy.
I was lost in thought as we stopped by the lockers. I felt two hands grab my waist and whirl me around. It was McKee. My stomach did a slight somersault as I stared into his amazing eyes. They glistened with excitement as he spoke with such a cool tone.
"Are you ready for lunch?"
I had forgotten all about lunch, and apparently, so had Taryn. I'd been so nervous all day that I hadn't even felt hungry until he mentioned the promise of food. I was hoping my stomach wouldn't growl while I spoke.
"Yeah, I'm famished."
I looked around to see where Taryn went. Then I saw her come swishing back up. Her perkiness was still intact as she replied with a bit of silliness in her tone.
"Yeah, I just remembered it's lunch time. Come on, let's grab some grub."
We headed to the cafeteria. McKee led us through the line. He kept finding ways to touch me. I wasn't complaining though.
I grabbed an orange and some fruit salad - comfort food that reminded me of home. I paid for my food and headed toward the table where McKee and Everett were sitting. But I suddenly felt an uncontrollable compulsion to turn around.
Chill bumps flooded me without mercy, and my heart tried to explode. It was him. The guy I had spent hours trying to get out of my head.
Even from across the room, his eyes looked mesmerizing. His skin was smooth and toned. His lips were perfectly shaped and his body was brilliantly sculpted. He wasn't muscled up with bulk like McKee, but he had lean muscle.
His lean body glided across the floor so eloquently. His hair looked so soft and styled very sexy with some messy touches.
He had on a light blue, button-up shirt, but it was undone so that it showed the black tee underneath. He had on fitted blue jeans that looked as if they had been made specifically for him.
He was biting into a pear as he sat down with some other guys. I supposed he felt me staring at him, because he turned around and his eyes became locked with mine. I wasn't sure how to react. I was frozen and staring like a fool... again.
I'd secretly been begging for a chance of redemption, and here I was squandering it away. I definitely understood the whole deer in headlights thing now.
