“Whoopee.”

Susan glared at Billy briefly before focusing her attention back on Devon. “Anyway, if you would like, I’ll take you around and show you everything.”

Billy and David shook their heads in disgust; they turned their attention away from Susan as they started talking about football. “Thank you, but I think I’m all set.”

Susan’s pretty face fell in disappointment. “Well, if you change your mind let me know.”

He gave her a brisk nod before focusing on Cassie once more. She was watching him silently, her eyes steady and calm as he met her gaze. His heart seemed to lurch again, for a moment he felt it beating fiercely in his chest, and then it was dead once more. Whatever the strange connection between him and this girl was, he didn’t think he would ever get used to it, or understand it.

He couldn’t take his eyes away from her as she lowered her lids slowly, once again focusing on the table as she dropped her half eaten apple on the tray. The loud ringing of the bell caused everyone to lurch to their feet like Pavlov’s dogs. Devon raised an eyebrow at the sign of automatic obedience, but he found himself following suit.

Her eyes met his again, her hands clenched tighter upon her tray. There was a sad acceptance in her gaze that he didn’t understand, a look of resignation that touched something deep inside him. He longed to reach out and touch her, longed to ease the aching loneliness he sensed radiating from her.

Melissa was before him again, her dark eyes twinkled brightly, amusement radiated from her as she smiled. Melissa glanced briefly at Cassie, her knowing smile widened. “What’s your next class?” He tore his attention away from Cassie, slipping the well used schedule from his pocket as he handed it to Melissa. “Oh good, Cassie and I have American history now too.”

Cassie inhaled sharply, a look of utter panic descended over her face once more. He was becoming accustomed to that look, he didn’t like it, but he was adjusting to it. For a moment it seemed she was going to bolt from the room again as her eyes darted frantically around. Then, her focus came back to him; a steely resolve descended over her as she nodded briskly, turned sharply on her heel, and hurried to the nearest trash can.

She dumped her mostly untouched lunch.

CHAPTER 5

Cassie shifted uncomfortably, her whole body hurt. She had taken quite the pounding in training today, pushing herself extra hard in the hopes that the exertion would help to bury the memory of the strange man that had walked into her life. It had not worked.

Cassie rolled her shoulders, trying to work the tension out of them. The hot water of her shower had helped to ease some of the tightness in them, but it had not relaxed them completely. She dressed slowly, listening to the TV as she ran the brush through her tangled hair. She winced as it got caught on a snarl but pulled it swiftly through.

Limping slightly, she pulled the door open. Chris was sitting Indian style on her bed, his hands folded before as he leaned toward the TV. The Red Sox were in the race for the playoffs and he was riveted. Cassie shook her head as he groaned loudly, pounding his fist onto the bed. “Damn, these guys are killing me!”

Cassie laughed softly as she settled onto the bed beside him. “Is it over?”

“Might as well be,” he muttered.

Cassie patted his knee gently. “Are you going to stay here tonight?”

Chris shook his head before rising slowly to his feet. “No, it’s pretty quiet over there and I suppose I should go home once in awhile.”

“I guess,” she muttered.

“Are you going to miss me?” he asked teasingly.

“Always.” Though it was true, Cassie didn’t tell him that she didn’t wish to be alone tonight. If she was alone then she would think, and if she thought, she knew that her thoughts would be centered upon him.

Cassie shuddered; she wrapped her arms tightly around herself. She didn’t want to think about Devon, she wanted to forget his existence entirely, but she knew that was going to be impossible, especially if Chris went home. Unfortunately she couldn’t bring herself to ask Chris to stay. He would know something was wrong if she did, and she didn’t want anyone to know just how much Devon affected her.

Swallowing her anxiety, she drew on her pride as Chris swung a leg out her window to take his normal exit from her house. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

Cassie nodded as he leapt onto the tree branch, swinging for a brief moment before scurrying down the limb hand over hand. His legs wrapped around the trunk as he swiftly used the other branches to climb to the ground. She watched as he loped across the street, disappearing through his front door.

Sighing softly, Cassie closed the window most of the way. Turning off her lights, she slipped into bed, knowing that she would not be able to sleep. Staring blankly at the flickering TV she tried hard to shut her mind off of Devon, tried hard not to think about him, but the harder she tried the more she found herself fixated on him.

Tossing and turning, Cassie finally managed to slip into a restless sleep at almost two in the morning. And the moment that she slept, she dreamed.

Of him.

***

Cassie squinted against the bright light of the morning, wishing that she had darker and stronger sunglasses. Her eyes were killing her; she was exhausted, twitchy, and extremely agitated. Her skin felt two sizes to small as she tried hard not to scratch at it with the strange urge to rip it off. The sun seemed to be burning it and she tingled with pain and discomfort.

It was going to be a miserable day and she hadn’t even made it into the school yet. Rubbing the back of her neck, she eased further into the shadows of the giant oak overhanging Chris’s Mustang. “Are you ok?” She glanced over at Melissa, nodding slowly as she hugged her books tighter to her chest. “Cassie…”

Melissa’s voice trailed off as a strange quiet settled over the student body. The tingling sensation of her skin increased tenfold, the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. She turned slowly, her eyes instantly latching onto the sleek black Challenger that moved slowly past. Her heart turned over, her mouth went dry. She knew instantly who was behind the wheel, even though the tinted windows were to dark to get a glimpse of the driver.

“Wow,” Chris breathed his eyes so wide Cassie was certain they were about to pop out of his head.

Cassie took a step back, wishing that she could disappear into the oak as she bumped up against it. Memories of her dreams from last night suddenly assaulted her, flooding her body with heat and making her skin crawl even more. Though the dreams had just been bits and pieces of him standing by B’s and S’s watching her, they had left her longing for more. The searing look in his eyes as he had stared at her still left her shaken and trembling with a strange sense of unfulfilled desire and need. She had never experienced anything like these feelings before. Although they left her confused, she could not deny that the excitement tearing through her was a wonderfully alive sensation, and something she had not felt in a very long time.

She watched breathlessly, her heart hammering loudly in her chest as the car slid into a parking spot and Devon climbed out. Though he wore dark sunglasses, she knew the moment when his gaze locked onto hers. Her legs went weak, her body turned to rubber as she felt his gaze burning into her. Trembling, Cassie hugged her books tighter to her chest, unable to move as she stared back at him. She felt like a fool for being caught staring, no gaping at him, but she could not bring herself to care.

His gaze was torn from her as Marcy and Susan hurried eagerly up to him. Cassie slumped against the tree, trying hard to catch her breath, and ease the pounding of her heart. She was shaking, trembling like a leaf as the lingering effects of his gaze coursed through her. Chris was staring at her questioningly, an eyebrow lifted in surprise.

“What’s wrong with you?”

Cassie shook her head, trying hard not to completely fall apart. “Nothing.”

He continued to stare at her, but thankfully Jason and Kara picked that moment to arrive and distract his attention. The game was discussed, plans were made, but Cassie barely heard any of it. Unwillingly her gaze returned to Devon. He was still standing by the car, but he now had a large group of female admirers surrounding him.

Cassie’s heart lurched, jealousy filled her. She shifted uncomfortably, trying hard to deny the emotions suffusing her. There was some strange connection between them (or at least she believed so), but it was more than apparent that he could have his choice of any of the girls, and that none of them were avoiding him as much as Cassie was trying to. Her anger mounted as Marcy touched his arm, grinning brightly as her hand lingered far longer than Cassie would have liked. All she wanted was to know what he felt like, and now Marcy did.

“He is wicked hot,” Kara gushed from beside her.

Cassie started in surprise; she had been so focused on Devon that she hadn’t realized Kara had moved to stand beside her. “Who?” she managed to croak out, knowing full well who Kara meant.

Kara grinned at her, her light brown eyes sparkling merrily. “The new guy, the one you’re staring at.”

Cassie shifted uncomfortably. She hadn’t realized that she had been so overt in her ogling. “Um yeah, he’s ok,” she hedged.

Kara laughed softly as she flung her backpack higher on her shoulder. Melissa moved over to join them, her gaze steady and intense as she watched Cassie. “You want to go over there with me?” Kara inquired.

Panic tore through Cassie as she fervently shook her head. “No.”

Kara shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

Kara slipped eagerly away to join the growing group of girls surrounding Devon. “You ok?” Melissa asked softly.

Cassie nodded, though she knew it was a lie. “Fine. I’m going to head inside.”

“I’ll go with you.”

Cassie moved slowly away from the tree, wincing as she stepped into the harsh sunlight. She could almost feel her skin burning, her eyes watered as she squinted against the bright light. She left a wide berth around Devon, but she could feel his eyes burning into her as she moved slowly toward the much needed shelter of the school.

It was going to be another very long, very hard day, and she wasn’t at all prepared for it.

CHAPTER 6

Devon was growing tired of being avoided. And she was going well out of her way to avoid him. Though he sat at her lunch table again, she did not return to it. In fact, she didn’t even come into the cafeteria, for three days in a row. He was growing impatient and aggravated with her. Every other girl in the school was throwing themselves at him. It was a fact that he was used to, but he most certainly was not used to women going out of their way to avoid him.

And that was exactly what Cassie was doing. And she happened to be the only girl in the whole school that he even remotely cared about talking to, and getting closer to. And now, finally, she was back in the cafeteria. He watched as she glided deftly through the crowd with an ease and grace that was captivating and amazing.

Her hair was a golden shimmer in the harsh light as she moved toward the lunch line. She was unable to move fast as she was accosted by endless people. Though she spoke with everyone, and smiled brightly, he could sense her impatience. He was just as impatient as she was. He wanted her over here, with him, where he could finally try and talk to her again.

He slid into the chair that had become his, tapping his finger impatiently on the table as he waited for Cassie to reappear. People slid in around him, and though they talked to him, he barely acknowledged them as his gaze remained focused on the wall she had disappeared behind. He still didn’t understand why he was so captivated with this girl, but he was. He dreamed of her every night, haunting dreams that left him shaken and unfulfilled in the morning. He wanted more of her, he wanted to know what she felt and tasted like. Wanted to know what she would really feel like in his arms, not just what her ghostly dream image felt like.

“Hello,” he glanced over at Marcy, nodding briefly as she slid into the seat next to him and leaned annoyingly close.

Devon shifted slightly, wanting to get further away from her. He knew he had a large group of admirers now; there was nothing that he could do about that, but Marcy was by far the most persistent and overt. She moved closer to him, her small hand dropped onto his arm. Cocking an eyebrow he turned slowly toward her, trying hard not to lose his patience with the clingy girl.

She smiled brightly back at him, her leaf green eyes twinkling merrily. She chose to completely ignore the impatience radiating from him. “Are you going to come to B’s and S’s tonight?”

Devon glanced back at where Cassie had disappeared, but she had not reemerged yet. He had not been back to the restaurant since he had first seen her. She had not returned there either in the past three nights, choosing instead to go to Melissa’s house with Chris. He was a little dismayed, and found himself more than a little pathetic for knowing that fact, but he did. For some reason though, he wanted to make sure that she was safe at all times and had to know where she was in order to do so.