None Other Than You Page 14

  Teigan shifts a little closer. "Why 'maybe'?"

  I shrug. "I'm a bit of an insomniac. No big deal." He nods, obviously not believing me.

  "What about your other siblings?" He prompts.

  "Well, there's Eleni, but she and I aren't close at all. She usually keeps to herself. Daniel and Sean are a different story." I say, smirking at the thought of my two older brothers.

  "Tell me about them." He says, grinning at my smile.

  "Well, they kind of work as a pair. Daniel is two years older than Sean. They act like they're both three most of the time. They're constantly playing pranks on each other and Ryan and I. They're extremely protective of me too. Ryan caught onto that quickly." I chuckle.

  "What do you mean by overprotective?" Teigan asks. I notice he's shifted a little closer again.

  "Well, like now for instance, if they saw me, sitting on your bed, late at night, talking to you in my pajamas with you sitting as close as you are, they would probably pull you out of the room and pummel you in the hall for trying to make a move on me." I grin as he leans back slightly.

  "You think your brothers could pummel me?" Teigan asks, his cocky grin back in place.

  I smirk back at him. "Seeing as how they're built about the same as you and there's two of them, yeah, I think they could." For a moment the two of us are simply smiling at each other, our eyes locked, before a yawn escapes through my lips.

  Teigan smiles. "Tired?"

  I shrug, another yawn escaping. "Only a little."

  His eyes dart over to his window. "You could stay here if you want."

  The thought vaguely registers in my mind. All I can think at the moment is that I'm tired and Teigan's bed is extremely comfortable. I hadn't noticed, but all this time I'd slowly been scooting down the headboard and now a pillow was resting gently beneath my head.

  "Is that a yes?" Teigan asks softly as I curl into a ball on top of his sheets. He laughs softly and tugs the covers out from underneath me and tucks me in.

  "Where will you sleep?" I hear myself mumble.

  "In my bed." He says nonchalantly. My eyes are closed so I can only imagine the smirk splashed across his handsome face. I'm too tired to comprehend the fact that I am also in his bed, so I just murmur an 'OK' and curl even more into his warm sheets. I take a deep breath, savoring his smell on them.

  I vaguely remember feeling his weight on the bed and his arm lying softly across my waist before I drift into a calm, comfortable sleep.

  * * *

  A ray of sunlight escapes through my curtain in the morning, startling me awake. I turn to roll over when I feel a weight around my waist. Looking down, I'm confused to see an arm. Slowly, I turn all the way around to see Darren Teigan sleeping peacefully, holding me close to him.

  I stifle a yelp and jump out of the bed. His bed, I realize. Last night comes rushing back to me and I realize I fell asleep in Teigan's house.

  My movements wake Teigan and he stretches and yawns, still managing to look handsome after just waking up. "Morning, Ace." He says casually, like this isn't a big deal at all.

  I clench my fists together and, as I'm about to chew him out, notice the sunlight coursing through the window once again.

  "What time is it?!" I shout, horrified. Teigan rolls over to check the clock beside his bed and chuckles. "Well?"

  "It's ten thirty, Ace." He says with a slight grin.

  "SHIT! We have classes! We—I struggle to think of what to do. I'm still in shock over waking up after spending the night next to Darren Teigan. All other thoughts are having some trouble being processed.

  I don't notice Teigan get off the bed, but suddenly he's right in front of me, hands resting gently on my arms trying to calm me down. "Relax, Ace. We'll get to school. You've never shown up late before?"

  "No!" I shout at him.

  "Shh." He says softly. "I'm sorry then. I forgot to set my alarm last night."

  "Why were you in the bed with me?" I yell at him.

  He laughs, a full, loud laugh that I can feel rumble through his arms. "Where else was I supposed to sleep?"

  "I don't know!" I shout, throwing my arms in the air. "On the couch of something, just not next to me!" I begin pacing the room before he stops me again, his right arm holding my left and his left hand tilting my chin up so my eyes are locked with his.

  "Why would I sleep somewhere else when there is a beautiful girl in my bed?" I stare at him incredulously.

  "Are you serious?" I ask, my eyes still locked with his. "Teigan this is seriously crossing the boundaries of 'friends'—"

  "And maybe I want it to." He replies, cutting me off. I'm too stunned to answer. I think somewhere inside of me I knew he—No. I'm not even going to think it.

  I tear my eyes away from his, they're too sincere for me too be caught in at the moment. "We need to get to school, Teigan." He nods and grabs a shirt, pulling it on over his slightly ruffled black hair.

  "Do you need anything from your house?" He asks, pulling on his shoes.

  "Well, I'd kind of like to change and brush my teeth—"

  "No time for that if you want to get to school in time for Paxton's class. You wouldn't want to miss that would you?" I let out a low growl and he laughs.

  "Come on, Ace. I'll take you home after school, let's just get there first." He's still smiling as we clamber into his car. I barely have my seatbelt on before he peels out of his driveway and speeds down the street.

  "Don't kill us!" I mutter under my breath. I turn to look out the window, I don't want to have to look at him. I just spent the night with Darren Teigan. It almost makes me feel dirty somehow. Maybe part of it is I've never had a boyfriend and spending the night with a guy who I don't like in some way makes me feel a tad bit whorish. "Do you realize people are going to talk?"

  He nods, but it doesn't seem like he cares. "You don't give a damn do you."

  "Language, Delaney, dear." I stare at him in disbelief as we pull into the parking lot of Oakridge High.

  "Ugh! I can't believe this." I mutter, pinching my nose to curb the oncoming headache.

  Teigan is out of the car and pulling my door open before I can even blink. "Relax, Duke. You'll be fine. I'm sure no one will even notice the two of us came in together alright?" Just then, the bell signaling lunch rings, and the two of us catch each other's eye. "Or maybe I could be wrong."

  "Ugh!" I jump out of the car and walk inside. I highly doubt anyone will notice me, though I'm sure they will note Teigan's absence.

  Marching into the school, I blend easily into the crowd moving towards lunch. I head to my locker to grab my books for the day and, as soon as I'm there, Emma appears out of nowhere and pins me against the locker bank.

  "Where were you this morning? I came to get you from your house but Ryan said you weren't there. He figured you had left with me. We had no clue where you were and—You made us talk! Ugh! I'm really frustrated with you right now!" Emma grabs me by the collar, making me the rag doll again. "Now really, where were you?"

  "I just slept in late. I don't know how Ryan managed to miss me. I was in my bed—"

  "You were not, Delaney Rose Knight." Emma says, turning around and stopping in the middle of the hall. "I went up to your room myself to check because I didn't believe your stupid brother." She glares at me for a moment. "Now where. Were. You?"

  We stare at each other stubbornly for a few moments before I sigh, caving in. "I have a math test today, alright? So I asked Teigan if I could stop by after work and have him help me study. Well, we kind of … ended up…"

  I can tell Emma is intrigued. Her eyes are growing wider with every word I say. "Yeah? What did you end up doing?"

  "Well, I fell asleep and woke up this morning and we were both on his bed and he had his arm around me." I can feel the heat rush up to my cheeks and Emma squeals. "What?" I ask, startled at the noise.

  "I knew you liked him!" She shouted. The people standing in the hall turned their heads to look at us with strange expressions
on their faces.

  "What? Emma you're crazy. You think I like him? You've got to be kidding. Darren Teigan is the most pompous, pigheaded, egotistical creature that ever existed." Emma says nothing and I blanch. "… He's, right behind me, isn't he…" Emma nods slowly and I turn, looking into the same clear blue eyes I woke up next to this morning.

  "Emma, mind if I borrow our lovely friend here for a moment?" He asks, his voice smooth and calm, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips. I don't know if Emma even responds, but Teigan's hand finds mine in the midst of the crowd and he pulls me down the hall to stairwell hardly anyone ever uses.

  "Are you going to get mad at me again?" Teigan looks up, surprised.

  "I'm not mad at you, Ace. I understand you're upset about this morning. I don't think you really think all those things about me—" Well, if I don't think them, then I sure thought them before. "I just wanted to apologize. I didn't realize you would be so uncomfortable with sleeping with me."

  I shudder at the thought and Teigan, obviously thinking it was from being cold, pulls the jacket he probably pulled from his locker off and places it over my shoulders.

  "Thanks." I murmur. He nods and the warning bell rings.

  "Good luck on your test, Delaney." I nod and reach up to grab the jacket off my shoulders. He holds my hand down and leans in, his sculpted face merely centimeters away from mine. "Maybe it will bring you luck." I can feel his breath playing on my face, and I close my eyes, reveling in his scent. For a moment I think he's going to kiss me, and my heart starts beating fast, but I feel a light peck on my forehead, and when I open my eyes, I see his back, retreating towards his class.

  What in the world is happening to me?

  Chapter Fourteen: Everything In Motion

  "I'm so excited!" Emma says as we pull on all our snow gear at her house. "I haven't gone skiing since last year!" She squeals. She already has all her things on, now she's just waiting for me as I pull on my snow pants on over three other layers. I forgot how much of a hassle snow clothes are. There're too many layers for me.

  It's perfect weather for going out today. The sun is shining and there was a fresh fall of snow last night so there will be plenty of fresh powder. It's also a good day because I passed my math test, and I haven't had to spend any time alone with Teigan since he drove me home the other day. Talk about an awkward car ride.

  I can't help but feel like he's going to try talking to me again today about going on a date or something. I'm just getting this weird knot in my stomach and it's making me hesitant to follow through with the plans for today.

  They involve a lot of being alone with Teigan.

  "Come ON, Duke. You're taking forever." Emma whines, pacing by the door.

  I zip the bottom of my pants down so that they will stay over my snowboard boots. That's the difference between Emma and I; she skis, I snowboard. The funny part about this situation is that Ryan also skis, and guess who snowboards.

  I'm sure you guessed right, Darren Teigan.

  I sigh and haul myself up, walking awkwardly across the floor, though not as strangely as Emma. I chuckle at her awkward gait and we head out to the car. I glance nervously towards my house where I know Ryan and Teigan are getting ready. Teigan made sure that Emma and I were going to be ready at least an hour before he and Ryan headed up so that they wouldn't see each other as they left and back out.

  Now the two of them are probably playing Guitar Hero or something in the basement as Emma and I load the car with Emma's ski's and my snowboard. Emma is grinning from ear to ear as she hops into the driver's seat of her yellow jeep. She usually doesn't drive it, but when it comes to going up the mountain to the ski resort, she absolutely loves to drive.

  "So how come you decided to go skiing today?" I shrug in the passenger seat, buckling my seatbelt.

  "We haven't gone yet this year, it's Christmas break now, and we don't have anything to do today. That's why." I smile at her and she shakes her head, smiling.

  "Okay, so where does Carrie live?"

  "Just go onto the main road and it's three streets down on the left, corner house." I have the directions down because Teigan made me run over them about eight times. Once Jake found out, he decided it would be a good idea to get Carrie in on the plan, and Teigan thought it would be a good idea to have more backup for today. So here we are, the girls, snowboarding on the second day of Christmas break.

  And also trying to get the most perfect couple back together.

  Picking Carrie up doesn't take half as long as we thought it might as she only needs to load her board onto the rack on the roof and hop in the car and we're ready to go. The ride to the ski resort after that takes half the time it usually would because of Emma's driving skills.

  I think Carrie looks like she's going to be sick when we get out of the car and I just laugh.

  "You'll get used to Em's driving. Someday." Carrie looks at me with disbelief.

  Emma pops around the car, looking hurt. "I do not drive that horribly." She mutters.

  "Yes, Em. You do." She pouts and pulls her skis off the rack. "Well maybe you'd like to walk home then."

  "I might." Carrie mutters, holding onto her stomach and looking a little green.

  I laugh aloud, enjoying the day so far. The knot in my stomach might still be there, but with these two for company I don't think it will bother me all too much.

  "You won't be leaving anyone up here. You like me too much and you promised Carrie's mom you'd bring her home."

  Carrie laughs. "In one piece! If I get in that car again there's a chance I'll be in many more than one!" I laugh aloud again and Emma growls in Carrie's direction.

  "Come on, let's go." I laugh, walking towards the edge of the parking lot towards the snow to put on my board. After all three of us have our gear situated and Emma glides easily down to the lift (Carrie and I doing our awkward snowboard walk. One leg off the board, one leg on; kind of a waddle thing) the three of us wait in line before getting on to our own seat. We settle in for the long ride up the hill, Carrie and I resting our boards atop our unbound foot and Emma swinging her legs merrily in her skis. I close my eyes, relishing the cool mountain air. The air is always so fresh up here and I love it. I breath in and out slowly before bringing my head back down to watch the first skiers and snowboarders flow down the mountain through the fresh powder dusting the trails. I can't wait to fly down the mountain through that snow. A chill runs down my spine just thinking about it.

  Carrie starts fidgeting next to me, pulling me out of my reverie. "What are you doing? I ask as she starts unzipping random pockets on her jacket. Holy crow there are a lot of them!

  "I'm—" She unzips another one. "Just looking—ugh." She fidgets through the pocket. "Ah-hah!" At last she pulls out a bright green iPod shuffle and headphones. "Just looking for this. I knew I put it in there somewhere!" She smiles brightly, proud of her find and jams the headphones into her ears. Emma and I laugh at her childish display and pull out our own iPod's. There's nothing better than flying down the mountain to an awesome Snowboarding playlist.

  An hour later we're on the same lift, laughing and pointing as inexperienced, and sometimes expert skiers and snowboarders completely screw up and tumble down the mountain.

  "Ouch!" I say, cringing as a man face-plants after flying down the hill at some thirty odd miles an hour. "That had to hurt."

  Carrie snickers beside me. "You're one to talk miss tumble-down-half-the-mountain-before-landing-face-first-in-a-snow-drift." Emma and Carrie both break into peals of laughter.

  "Oh, Ha, ha, ha." Very funny. Well at least I didn't barrel into four hot guys who got extremely pissed off and called me a fag."

  Carrie stops laughing. "So not as funny."

  "To you maybe."

  "Wow." Emma comments. "You two banter worse than Duke and Ryan." The three of us look at each other and Emma changes her mind, all three of us saying. "Nah," at the same time. We break into laughter again and I jump on the seat as my cell phone
vibrates in my pocket.

  "Holy crap, I felt that!" Carrie says, also recovering from jumping at the vibration coming from my jacket pocket.

  "I have a text." I say, pulling my phone out. Luckily I'm on one end, sitting with Carrie in the middle and Emma on the other end. I know exactly who this text is from.

  T

  Here. Just gettin on lift

  Think I saw u 3 get on

  Get down the mtn be4

  we r at top.

  I send him a text back, telling him I'll do my best, and we're off the lift and down the mountain within ten minutes. He sends another text telling me to get back up to the top, stall, and then race down the mountain with Carrie before Emma realizes what's going on. I grin. So the plan is about to begin. I show Carrie the text while Emma stares at a bird on a tree (don't ask) and she nods, understanding.

  Getting on the lift, I try to estimate the time. This kind of math I can handle. I think. The ride up the mountain on the lift is about seven minutes, and going full speed down the mountain takes at least ten to fifteen minutes, depending. The trail we plan on sending Ryan and Emma down is five minutes down the trail. I send Teigan a text with my estimates and, after he laughs aloud (I swear I can hear him on the lift) and agrees. We plan to have me text Teigan about a minute down the trail, stall, then race down the mountain. Emma will attempt to catch up with us and Ryan and Teigan, on a crossing path, will bump into her. Teigan will mysteriously disappear, Ryan will chase Emma a little farther down the mountain, and Jake and Tyler, already lying in wait, will cut them off to head down the trail.

  Then comes the fun part. Teigan and I follow the couple with the computer, and on our own, the rest of our expert team waiting for any news or possible accidents.

  Are we idiots or what?

  We expertly exit the lift, (or not. I manage to sprawl and fall down the three foot hill and knock into a three year old on skis who starts bawling his eyes out) and, after Carrie and I strap our feet in, begin the descent down the mountain. I allow myself the allotted minute before stopping, and claiming I need to re-strap my boots. I pull out my phone, feigning getting another text, and tell Teigan where we are.