mesmerized by the sight.
“Whatever. It’s just a car,” I say, pulling Bree up the driveway with me. The last thing I want to do is stand around discussing the size of Demetri’s package. Besides, he’s a dick both inside and out of his pants. It’s a wonder anyone cares to take a look under the hood. Mom blinks through my mind, and I chase her away.
“Just a car?” Drake pops up beside me. “That thing is like the Waldorf Astoria on wheels . That car has a fucking aristocratic linage—not to mention the often underappreciated suicide doors.”
“Suicide doors, huh? Sounds like the only redeemable quality.” Demetri sporting a luxury ride doesn’t surprise me. Personally, I’m rooting for the suicide.
We make our way to the backyard, straight into a sea of bodies, young and old alike. It’s a mish mosh of who’s who, with Charlie, Gage’s yellow lab, being the first to greet us.
“Hey, buddy.” I kneel down to give him some back scratching love, and, before I know it, Drake and Brielle have already claimed a spot at the pool. She whips out her own tub of margarine, and Drake doesn’t waste a moment before diving in and buttering Bree up.
Figures. The two of them are already on second base, and here I haven’t even found Gage yet.
I stand and inspect the place for the hottest Oliver around. I spot Dr. O busy tending to the barbeque, sweating up a storm. A dull laugh trembles through me. Maybe I’m more interested in the coolest Oliver. I stand on my tiptoes, but no such luck. Instead, I revert back to Barron who’s now being henpecked to death by Emma. You’d think there weren’t another person on the planet who can cook the way she’s harassing him at the grill.
I glance across the pool to find Ellis talking with Gage, and my stomach pinches tight because those piercing blue eyes have already set their sights on me. His dimples dig in, but he doesn’t break his stare. Ellis goes on and on, but Gage crosses his arms while dousing me with his full attention. It’s something deeper than simply looking, or staring. Gage is searing me with his intense gaze, touching me with it. My skin blisters under his watchful supervision. A trail of heat lingers over my body as his eyes ride up and down over me. He bites down on his lip as if he’s preparing to savor a meal he’s been waiting forever to have. And he is.
“Time to eat!” Emma screams it out like a battle cry.
“Oh, yes it is,” I whisper, indulging him with a private smile.
And Gage is plenty hungry.
“Skyla?”
I turn to find Dr. O’s smiling face along with Dr. Booth and another man about their age, each with matching dark-framed glasses. They make an adorable trio, and I can’t help but wonder if my own father were still alive if he’d fit into their circle with a matching pair of frames.
“Dr. Booth.” I give him a long, rocking hug. Dr. Booth is a Levatio like Gage. Tad had me locked up in a psych ward once, for basically no reason, and Dr. Booth was my psychiatrist for a time.
“Skyla, I’d like you to meet my new partner in psychological crime, Dr. Flanders.” He holds out a hand to the man on his left. “He and his family just moved to the island a few months ago.”
“Nice to meet you.” The salt and pepper-haired gentleman extends his hand. “My son, Cooper, and his girlfriend, Laken, attend Host. Dr. Oliver mentioned you and his son went there as well.”
“I know Coop.” My heart thumps because suddenly this backyard get together feels like old home week. “And I know Laken, too.”
“We were actually just talking about a boy named Wesley Paxton.” Dr. O narrows in on me. “Are you familiar with him, Skyla?”
My heart freezes in my chest. My muscles go rigid as if my body has turned to stone, ready to crumble into a million little pieces. It was one thing to meet up with Wes in the Tenebrous Woods, it’s another for him to start bubbling to the surface and existing in the real world. Even if
“Whatever. It’s just a car,” I say, pulling Bree up the driveway with me. The last thing I want to do is stand around discussing the size of Demetri’s package. Besides, he’s a dick both inside and out of his pants. It’s a wonder anyone cares to take a look under the hood. Mom blinks through my mind, and I chase her away.
“Just a car?” Drake pops up beside me. “That thing is like the Waldorf Astoria on wheels . That car has a fucking aristocratic linage—not to mention the often underappreciated suicide doors.”
“Suicide doors, huh? Sounds like the only redeemable quality.” Demetri sporting a luxury ride doesn’t surprise me. Personally, I’m rooting for the suicide.
We make our way to the backyard, straight into a sea of bodies, young and old alike. It’s a mish mosh of who’s who, with Charlie, Gage’s yellow lab, being the first to greet us.
“Hey, buddy.” I kneel down to give him some back scratching love, and, before I know it, Drake and Brielle have already claimed a spot at the pool. She whips out her own tub of margarine, and Drake doesn’t waste a moment before diving in and buttering Bree up.
Figures. The two of them are already on second base, and here I haven’t even found Gage yet.
I stand and inspect the place for the hottest Oliver around. I spot Dr. O busy tending to the barbeque, sweating up a storm. A dull laugh trembles through me. Maybe I’m more interested in the coolest Oliver. I stand on my tiptoes, but no such luck. Instead, I revert back to Barron who’s now being henpecked to death by Emma. You’d think there weren’t another person on the planet who can cook the way she’s harassing him at the grill.
I glance across the pool to find Ellis talking with Gage, and my stomach pinches tight because those piercing blue eyes have already set their sights on me. His dimples dig in, but he doesn’t break his stare. Ellis goes on and on, but Gage crosses his arms while dousing me with his full attention. It’s something deeper than simply looking, or staring. Gage is searing me with his intense gaze, touching me with it. My skin blisters under his watchful supervision. A trail of heat lingers over my body as his eyes ride up and down over me. He bites down on his lip as if he’s preparing to savor a meal he’s been waiting forever to have. And he is.
“Time to eat!” Emma screams it out like a battle cry.
“Oh, yes it is,” I whisper, indulging him with a private smile.
And Gage is plenty hungry.
“Skyla?”
I turn to find Dr. O’s smiling face along with Dr. Booth and another man about their age, each with matching dark-framed glasses. They make an adorable trio, and I can’t help but wonder if my own father were still alive if he’d fit into their circle with a matching pair of frames.
“Dr. Booth.” I give him a long, rocking hug. Dr. Booth is a Levatio like Gage. Tad had me locked up in a psych ward once, for basically no reason, and Dr. Booth was my psychiatrist for a time.
“Skyla, I’d like you to meet my new partner in psychological crime, Dr. Flanders.” He holds out a hand to the man on his left. “He and his family just moved to the island a few months ago.”
“Nice to meet you.” The salt and pepper-haired gentleman extends his hand. “My son, Cooper, and his girlfriend, Laken, attend Host. Dr. Oliver mentioned you and his son went there as well.”
“I know Coop.” My heart thumps because suddenly this backyard get together feels like old home week. “And I know Laken, too.”
“We were actually just talking about a boy named Wesley Paxton.” Dr. O narrows in on me. “Are you familiar with him, Skyla?”
My heart freezes in my chest. My muscles go rigid as if my body has turned to stone, ready to crumble into a million little pieces. It was one thing to meet up with Wes in the Tenebrous Woods, it’s another for him to start bubbling to the surface and existing in the real world. Even if
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