My Wolf’s Bane(4)

I instantly deflated. “What’s his deal?”

“Zack just enrolled. He’s been visiting weekends and summers for years, but now he’s here for good.”

Maya had crushed on Trevor since grade school and knew everything about him and, it seemed, his relatives. I couldn’t understand why she and Trevor hadn’t already hooked up.

“Did he fail a couple grades? He looks old enough to be in college.” I surreptitiously checked out the boys again, while I broke off a piece of my grilled cheese sandwich. Trevor’s hair was a little lighter and his features less angular, but both guys excelled in the cute department. Zack more so.

“Almost the same age as Trevor. He’s a senior like us,” Maya said, glancing back at them. “Though he’s grown about a foot and bulked up since I saw him last.”

“Steroids?” I asked.

Maya laughed. “He’s always looked older than Trevor.”

“He could have that aging disease,” I offered.

Gina still hadn’t taken her eyes off him. “Who cares? He’s smokin’ hot. You can practically see his six-pack through his T-shirt.”

Maya rolled her eyes as if Gina were insane to prefer Zack over Trevor. “I could find out more about him, if you want me to.”

Gina turned to Maya with a sneer. “You’re such a stalker.”

“Whatever, Gina. It’s called being nice,” Maya said through gritted teeth. “Something you don’t have a lot of experience with.”

Gina made a face at Maya, then focused on me. “You’ve been hogging the cutest guy in school for weeks. If Zack fell madly in love with me, the hottest guy would be mine. Compared to him, Daniel looks like he’s got chromosome issues.”

Even if I still liked Daniel, I couldn’t be offended at the absolute truth. Everything about Zack was exactly right. As if feeling my gaze, he turned sharply in my direction again. My dad once wore the same expression when he discovered the decaying remains of a cat under our house.

My cheeks heated and I dropped my gaze to pluck a potato chip from my plate.

Maya moved next to me for a better view of the guys. “Must be awkward starting a new school when the year is almost over.”

Before I could stop myself, my eyes found their way back to Zack.

“Not when you’re that hot. He’ll be just fine.” Gina’s fork banged onto the plastic tray when she tossed it and stood. “Time to introduce myself.”

As I watched Zack, the hair on the back of my neck stood at attention. There was something different about him… almost feral. I wanted to caution Gina, but she’d probably call me paranoid.

Gina sashayed over to Zack, coyly twisting her hair around a finger. Trevor got up, leaving them alone. I eyed them under my lashes as Gina said something. Zack chuckled and she laughed.

At that moment, I hated them both — him for making me feel like week-old garbage and Gina for making him smile when all I got was a scowl. To distract myself, I picked up my sandwich and concentrated on Maya.

“Gina’s in rare form today.” The soda can hissed as Maya popped the top, her gaze straying back to Trevor. He looked away when their eyes met.

“Yeah, sorry about that. I don’t know what’s up with her.” I let my hair fall forward to hide my face as I snuck a peek at Trevor, who was staring at Maya again. “You should talk to Trevor. I really think he likes you.”

Her eyes cut to mine. “How could a guy be interested in anyone else when you’re around?”

“What?” My mouth dropped open.

“C’mon, Autumn,” she said, but there wasn’t any bitterness in her voice. More like she’d accepted her fate. “You have perfect olive skin that never gets a zit and never needs a tan, you’re tall and thin and I’d kill for all that glorious, black hair.”

I eyed the locks cascading over my shoulder. “Dark brown, actually. Boring. And besides, Trevor keeps staring at you, not me. I bet he’d go for it if you asked.”

She rolled her eyes and flicked a thumb at Zack. “He seems nice.”

Obviously, Maya hadn’t noticed him scowling at me. “I wouldn’t know.” I focused on my tray, tracing little circles with my index finger. Hopefully, she’d drop the subject.

“On the way here, I saw him talking to some of the math geeks in the hallway. It’s like he’s not too full of himself to be seen with the unpopular kids. Can’t say that about Gina or Daniel.” Maya slid her sandwich out of the baggie. “John told me you’re grounded.”

My gaze shot to Gina’s hand resting on Zack’s forearm. She certainly moved quickly. “Yeah, but I haven’t told Gina yet, so don’t say anything, okay?”