The Test by Ava Claire

THE TEST (His Dark Lessons, Part Three)
    Ava Claire
    Copyright 2013 Ava Claire
    SMASHWORDS EDITION
     
    The Student, Part One
    The Teacher, Part Two
    The Test, Part Three
     
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    ****
     
    "Pull the car over," I said through gritted
teeth. "NOW."
    For once, Chance Crawford obeyed me .
    I always thought that going to Mayor's Glen,
the rich suburb tucked outside of the city limits where Alicia
lived, was like stepping into another world. Tonight was no
different. Lush green trees stretched their arms to the dimly lit
night sky, like they were trying to catch a star with their wooden
fingers. The road stretched dark and abandoned in front and behind
us, isolated except for emerald and bark.
    Any other night, driving on this road would
have been relaxing; windows down, wind combing through my hair, the
sweet musk filling my nostrils. The night sounds of owls and
crickets would have been the music that flooded my ears until I hit
civilization and decided to crank up the radio. But tonight, the
green landscape was alien--along with the guy who was kowtowing to
the whims of everyone except the person that mattered.
    He put the car in park and in one swift, mad
as hell move, I unclicked my seatbelt and threw open the door. I
stepped out into the darkness, ready to pace until I wore lines
into the asphalt, but instead, my flats sunk into the soggy dirt
like quicksand. I let out an angry groan as I wrenched my feet from
the muck and stepped onto solid ground, walking in the opposite
direction.
    "Just where the hell do you think you're
going, Cassandra?" Chance yelled after me, the anger in his voice
almost grinding me to a halt.
    "Back to Alicia's,” I hollered over my
shoulder. “Apparently, I owe her a huge apology for standing
up for my boyfriend."
    Boyfriend . This dark, intensely
handsome guy with tattoos snaking up his arms and weaving onto his
back didn't really fit the cutesy sounding descriptor. Words like
'mate’ and ‘lover’ seemed closer to the truth; words that evoked
passion and trembling knees instead of valentines and first loves.
It was easy to forget that once upon a time I’d called him that
without hesitation, giving my whole heart and committing myself to
him. But that was before the bottom fell out, spilling my hopes and
dreams. Ruining that word. Ruining me.
    I shied away from the ‘b’ word even when I
dated other guys that made it official on Facebook. I never said it
out loud after I broke up with Chance. Boyfriend meant being
attached. It meant being vulnerable. But I’d called him that at
dinner tonight without even thinking about it.
    My heart hitched in my chest and without
seeing it with my own eyes, I knew that Chance had stopped
advancing toward me. The word caught him off guard too.
    “Boyfriend?”
    I shivered as his deep voice rushed over the
syllables, thinking of anything but candy hearts. I thought about
how his lips would feel pressed against my heated flesh. I thought
about the simmering pull in my lower abdomen that overwhelmed my
will to hoof it back to Alicia’s. I thought about turning around
and telling him to take me right there in the middle of the
road.
    "Does that mean we're official?" he probed,
words like warm honey as they went down. Even with the insects call
I could hear him rock back to motion, each step matching the
staccato tap in my chest.
    The nearness of him sent goosebumps up and
down my arms. The blush that started in my cheeks spread outward,
the current of warmth extending to my toes. How did he do it?
Chance