Page 78 of Inception

His eyes climbed back up to mine. “Stop what?”

The door crashed open behind us. “Dammit, Trace, I’ve been waiting outside for you since the bell!”

I couldn’t see who the voice belonged to but she sounded really familiar. And annoyed.

“I’ll be right there, give me a minute,” answered Trace without stepping away from me or taking his eyes off me.

“Fine! Hurry up. I mean it.”

Unable to resist, I peered over his shoulder just in time to catch a glimpse of Morgan’s red hair leaving the classroom.

Wait,Morgan? What the heck was he doing with Morgan? And how did she know we were in here?

He was still staring at me when I turned back to him.

“Where are you going with Morgan?”

“Time’s up,” he said, ignoring my question. He pulled his hands off the desk and stepped back, taking all the heat with him. I instantly felt the loss.

“I still have questions.”

“I told you to make it count.” He crossed his arms though his mouth hinted at a smile.

“Can we meet up later?”

He stared back at me strangely.

It was hard to decipher what was flickering through his eyes though I was already preparing myself for a battle, certain that he was going to turn me down. And then, just like that, his expression changed—relaxed. “Okay.”

“Okay?” I nearly fell off the desk. “Really?”

“After school…if you want.”

“I want.”I definitely want.

22. THIRD WHEEL

My heart picked up its thrum as soon as I spotted Trace standing by his locker after school. This type of reaction was happening more and more lately, like I’d developed some sort of heart arrhythmia every time I got too close to him. Or him to me. I told myself they were just palpitations, like a stress response, probably caused by my aversion to his mood swings.

“Ready to go?” I asked.

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. “About that,” he said, staring into his locker. “I don’t think—”

“Don’t even try to get out of it. You said we could talk. We’re talking.” I wasn’t about to make this an option for him.

He didn’t answer.

“That is, unless you want me following you around school every day asking you questions?” I shrugged innocently. “Who knows, maybe that’s exactly what you want.”

He shot me an irritated look like he knew what I was up to. “I’ll meet you in the parking lot in five.”

“Great,” I faked a smile. “See you then.”

I decided to detour through the athletics complex on my way to the parking lot so that I could thank Caleb in person for helping me out with the locker situation. I knew that he had off-ice hockey training after school so I figured the fitness center was the best place to start looking.

“Are you lost or something?” asked a tall senior with short brown hair and matching eyes. He walked up from behind me and was carrying a hand towel slung over his shoulder.

“I’m looking for Caleb Owens,” I said as I peeked inside the fitness center, hoping to spot him training with the rest of his team. They seemed to be in the middle of some sort of group discussion.

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