Page 8 of Diem

Matt’s smile lights up his face and when he brushes my hair back from my face, I pull away uncomfortably.

I just cannot deal with one more thing I can’t control in my life, and I pray that maybe I’m wrong. Maybe Matt is tender and kind with all his friends. A girl can hope, right?

“Cool, I’ll head over after I go home and drop off my stuff.”

Nodding, I watch him go with a silent sigh before approaching my car. Truthfully, sleep sounds fantastic, but I’ve already agreed, and I refuse to back out on my friend.

“What’s the matter, sweet?”

My hand spasms around the handle of the door and I wrench it open as I say, “Nothing.”

After tossing my bag in the back, I slam it closed only to gasp when Diem presses against me, trapping me against the cool metal. With a shiver, I brace my hands on the window, staring into the distance beyond the car.

The warmth of his body flows over me like a blanket, and I close my eyes, wishing he were here to hold me close and tell me everything would be okay.Still, it’s the first time he’s tried to speak to me since that long ago night and I enjoy the contact more than I should.

“Tell me,” he breathes, breaking me from my foolish thoughts and I fight back a moan.

Why can’t I resist this mercurial boy turned man?

Since the sooner I answer, the sooner he’ll go, and I’m not sure how much longer I can resist before I turn in his arms and beg, I say into my arm, “Nothing. It’s just…Dixie.”

He pauses, his sinful mouth on my neck and I shudder when his lips caress my skin as he says, “Dixie?”

Fighting back a moan, I turn when he steps back. “Yeah. You know, my friend?”

“Right,” he says, pulling up his disgusting smirk but I’ve studied Diem in one form or another for years. I sense something is off, although I can’t put my finger on it.

“What?” I ask and his eyes shutter.

“Nothing, see you around,” he says before ambling away, whistling an offkey tune.

Shaking my head, I get in my car, and studiously ignore the way my core pulses all the way home.

∞∞∞

“You study for our Trig test?” Matt says and I glance at him with a rueful smile.

“Yeah, but I’m not sure it’s going to matter.”

Matt knows about my struggles, technically everyone does but I feel a rush of warmth when he says, “You’ll do fine.”

He’s always been my biggest cheerleader and I touch his arm, hoping he sees how much our friendship means to me when I say, “Thanks.”

Nodding, he turns back to the television while I study him quietly. I wish I could feel for him what I do Diem. Matt would be perfect for me. He’s kind. Quiet. Supportive. He looks at me like I hung the moon.

If only…

“Hey kiddo.”

“Oh, hey Dad,” I say sitting up with a smile. My cheeks flush for no good reason because he can’t possibly know of my thoughts.

Dad nods at Matt with a distracted smile and Matt says, “Hey, Mr. G.”

“Hey, Matt.” Dad drops his briefcase by the door and heads toward the stairs with a furrowed brow.

The soft thud of his feet on the carpet follows and I turn back to the television, forcing my thoughts away from Diem. Once again, I’m giving him too much power. He doesn’t deserve the amount of time I spend, putting it plainly, on my obsession.

“Where’s your brother anyway?” Matt asks into the silence, and I glance at him sideways.

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