Entanglement (YA Dystopian Romance) - By Dan Rix Page 0,31
afraid she might have read his thoughts. At the same time, she glanced at him too, and their gazes snapped apart.
It was a stupid idea, he decided, now hyper-aware of Amber as she played with her hair. An underwater current would have swept the vial away by now, or buried it in the sand.
Amber leaned against him and whispered in his ear, her breath hot. “Aren’t we supposed to say goodbye to each other?”
He tensed up, doing all he could to resist bringing her into his arms. But he nodded. That’s what they had come here for.
He hadn’t seen a tattoo, but that didn’t prove anything. Obviously, Clive knew something about her he didn’t. But what? Aaron scooped up a palmful of sand and watched the grains slip through his trembling fingers.
“Fine. If you’re just going to sit there, I’m going to leave,” said Amber, shoving him off her towel so she could fold it up. “Can you at least give me a ride home?”
“Look, I’m not really in the mood to be chivalrous right now,” he said.
“So you want me to walk back? My house is way up on Mission Ridge.”
“Then take it at a jog. You’re athletic.”
“In sandals?”
“How’d you get here anyway?” said Aaron, standing up next to her.
“I got a ride like a normal person,” said Amber. “How do you think?”
Aaron cocked his eyebrow. “Would it kill you to be polite for once?” he said.
“Polite to you? Maybe if you weren’t about to blow me off . . . ” She gave up and sighed, “Whatever.” Then raised her voice. “Buff! Aaron’s being a butthead.”
Unable to resist, Aaron gave into the urge and tousled her hair—and was stunned how soft it felt.
“I thought you weren’t touching me?” she said, smoothing her hair back again.
“I shouldn’t be,” said Aaron. “But you’re . . . ” he trailed off, not sure what he’d been about to say.
Amber stepped close to him. Kissing distance. “But what?” she said, “But I’m getting hard to resist?”
Aaron studied her face, the mischievous glint that lit up her eyes—concealing everything behind them that was dark. “I think I can manage to keep my hands off you for five days,” he said.
Her piercing green eyes held him captive. “What about a lifetime?”
***
After Amber slipped into a jean skirt, she and Aaron walked across the sunbaked asphalt toward his Mazda. She held his shirt hostage.
When they reached the car, Amber faced him. “Did you have fun today?” she said.
Aaron held open the passenger door for her.
She didn’t budge. “Did you?”
“If I was bored I would have told you,” he said.
“What kind of answer is that?”
“I did.”
She cocked her head. “Did what?”
“I did have fun.” But even before the words left his mouth, a lump formed in his throat.
Amber’s golden hair shimmered in the sun and blew across her cheek. “Me too,” she said, and she climbed into the car.
Once inside, Aaron pulled off the panel under his steering wheel and dug through the wires. His fingers trembled.
“Are you stealing this car?” she said.
Aaron pressed the wires together and jerked his thumb away as they burnt him. His car rumbled to life. “It’s my car,” he said.
“But you stole it?”
“I lost the keys.”
“Uh-huh,” she said, eying the wires doubtfully.
Aaron revved the engine, yanked the wheel, and they flew out of the parking lot. He was aware of Amber’s gaze on the side of his face.
“Why didn’t you steal a nicer car?” she said.
“I didn’t steal it,” he said.
She wrinkled her nose. “This one smells.”
For the next few minutes he followed her directions up Mission Ridge, past glinting red convertibles and glass mansions. The ocean glittered through the palm trees.
But he hardly noticed. He focused on Amber, radiating heat right next to him, just as tense as he was. Her warm scent floated through the car, and the thought of saying goodbye to her was unbearable.
Aaron spun the wheel, shifted into second, and carved around a switchback.
Below them, the green valley shimmered under waves of heat, and the sun’s reflection winked off hundreds of tiny cars. Up here, the mansions were even bigger.
“This is my house,” said Amber, pointing to a Mediterranean-style palace.
Aaron parked in front of a blue Corvette on Loma Sierra Drive. He unwound the ignition wires and his car shuddered to a stop.
The moment the AC quit, a yellow heat flashed through the car and the sun blazed their skin. For half a minute, neither of them spoke.