Breathless by Heather C. Hudak Page B

came off aloof. I didn’t look at it from your perspective. Forgive me?”
     
    I closed the car door and looked into his emerald gaze.
     
    “ You don’t have to do this,” I said. “We barely know each other. I’ll understand if you think this is a mistake.”
     
    “ Never,” he said. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily. Besides, how can I break up with you when we’re not even going out?”
     
    We sat in silence for another minute before he put the car in gear and began driving toward my house. My mom would be calling soon to be sure I went straight home from school. For the record, she would be keeping up with the grounding guise for at least a few more days so she wouldn’t seem weak.
     
    As we rounded the corner, Chaseyn shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He glanced at me through the corner of his eyes. His actions made me nervous. He slowed to a stop in front of my house. I wanted to ask him to come inside, but I decided we should slow things down a bit. Besides, I really needed to catch up on all the homework I had ignored on the weekend.
     
    “ As if you could ever be mysterious,” I said, breaking the silence and referencing his earlier comment. It was hard to keep from laughing as I spoke the words. “Right.”
     
    I smiled as I said the last part so that he would know I was teasing, and then, I reluctantly began collecting my things to leave. It took all of my strength to thank him for the ride and get out of the car. He looked at me longingly as I walked to the door. Fumbling with my key, I finally managed to ease my way inside, stumbling over the kicker when I turned to step through the door and wave goodbye at the same time.
     
    The phone was ringing before I could remove my shoes and coat. Sometimes, I wished Addie would calm down and give me a minute to catch up. I was prepared to tell her so much, but when I lifted the receiver a different voice greeted me on the other end.
     
    “ Do you think I could come over later,” he asked. “I really can’t stand to be away from you.”
     
    I hesitated for a second. I was sure my mom wouldn’t mind; Chaseyn had some sort of strange power over her. Then, I remembered a quiz I had taken in one of my mom’s Cosmo magazines a few months ago. According to several relationship specialists, the best way to keep a man in your life was to keep him guessing. Rather than giving in to his every whim, you should be mysterious, play hard to get.
     
    “ I don’t know if that’s such a good idea,” I said. “I’ve got a ton of homework to do, and Addie will be expecting a call.”
     
    “ I swear,” he began. “You won’t even notice I’m there.”
     
    “ When were you thinking would be a good time,” I asked. Just then, the doorbell rang.
     
    “ Hold on,” I said, putting the phone on the counter as I made my way to the door.
     
    “ I only got as far as the stop sign,” Chaseyn said, greeting me from the other side of the door when I pulled it open.
     
    Shaking my head, I walked back to the counter and hung up the phone. Chaseyn followed me into the kitchen. He picked up my book bag along the way.
     
    “ So, where do we begin,” he asked.
     
    As if on cue, the phone rang. I checked the call display before answering.
     
    “ Hey, mom,” I said cheerily. “What’s up?”
     
    I tried to feign surprise at the sound of her voice. She wanted to believe that she had caught me off guard by checking in on me, and I let her. We chatted idly for about two minutes before she felt she had done her motherly duties sufficiently well. She reminded me she would be home just past eight, as if to offer me solace for a few hours to phone my friends and conduct all-round inappropriate acts before her return. She knew I would never behave in such a way, but it was a considerate gesture. And, it was another clue that my grounding was coming to a quick conclusion.
     
    By now, Chaseyn had made himself at home. He had poured a tall glass of