Dark Secrets (26 page)

“
Same.” He
smiled.

“
Okay, that’ll just
be a moment.” She skipped off.

David stared at me.
“That’s a lot of food. Can you really eat all that?”

Evidence that he
didn’t know me very well at all. “I think we should have a
challenge.”

“
I’m always up for
that,” Ryan said.

“
Cool. It’s a
who can eat the
most
challenge?”

Emily shook her head.
“Ew, no, sorry. Count me out. I’m on a diet.”

My eyes bulged. “A
diet?”

“
Yeah. I mean, no,
not like that.” She waved her hands around. “It’s just a healthy
eating thing—to stay fit. I’m on top of the pyramid. If I weigh too
much, someone could get hurt.”

“
Okay then.
Alana?”

“
Sorry. Count me out,
too. I have a really small stomach. I’ll probably lose on the first
fry.”

Ryan grinned wildly.
“Count me in, sister.” He shook my hand, then we both looked at
David, who leaned back in his chair, linking his fingers behind his
head.

“
I
don’t know. I can eat a lot. I could probably eat
you
and not think twice
about it.” He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table,
titling his shoulders closer to me. “Do you think you’re up for
that kind of a challenge, little girl?”

“
Bring it on,” I
said, and as I went to shake his hand, a jolt of static shot
through us, making me yelp. “Ow. I hate that.”

“
Sorry.” David
touched the sleeve of his thin black sweater. “I’m wearing
wool.”

“
Wool?” I exclaimed
with a certain amount of accusation in my tone. “How do you even
know that’s wool? You’re a guy!”

He leaned on his hand,
resting his knuckles just beside his smile. “A guy who knows what
wool feels like.”

“
Sometimes I think
you know too much for your age, David Knight.”

“
Well, I come from a
wealthy family.” He distracted himself, swapping the salt label
with the sugar one. “Grooming and Deportment were lessons of great
significance during my upbringing.”

“
Grooming and what?”
Emily asked.

“
Etiquette classes,”
I informed, leaning around David to look at her. “I had to do them
in modelling school when I was ten.”

“
Oh.” She sat back, staring ahead thoughtfully. “Hm, that
makes sense on
so
many levels.”

Yup, I thought so too.
Being raised like an English Lord explained why he was so charming
and charismatic and…otherworldly.

When we finished
dinner, David and Ryan discussed, rather heatedly, their opinions
on the best guitar brands while I lost myself to thought, sliding
my finger over the condensation on my milkshake glass. The waitress
took our plates and left the bill, which David snaffled quickly,
opening his leather wallet. “I’ll get this one, guys.”

“
Are you sure, man?”
Ryan offered a fifty.

“
Yeah. Hundred
percent.” David nodded, laying the cash out with a rather large tip
to accompany.

“
Well, thanks,” Ryan
said. “I’ll get the next one.”

David nodded, leaning
forward to stuff his wallet in his back pocket.

“
Ara.” Emily leaned
around David to look at me. “You’re not human, are you? How do you
eat so much?”

I patted my belly. “I
like my stomach to be full.”

“
No kidding,” she
said.

“
Well, I think it’s
good to see a girl eating,” Ryan said. “Don’t you,
Dave?”

“
Yeah.” He looked at
me with soft eyes, then linked his fingers through mine under the
table. “I don’t have to be one of those guys who’s gotta convince
his girlfriend to eat. Huh! She’ll probably eat mine t—” he stopped
mid-sentence.

Everyone at the table
stared at him, including me.

“
Girlfriend
?” Emily said. “So, it’s
official?”

David just sat
incredibly still, barely breathing, and certainly not speaking, so
I squeezed his hand and nodded.

“
Yes,” David said
smoothly, turning slightly to look at Emily. “It’s
official.”

“
Hey, that’s really
awesome, man. Congrats.” Ryan reached out and they shook hands,
bumping knuckles after.

“
I knew it,” Emily
practically squealed. “I just knew she’d be your type,
David.”

“
I
don’t think I have a
type
, Emily,” he said, and wrapped
his arm around me. “But Ara’s pretty much everything I ever wanted
in a girl.”

Everyone made a
cheering-yet-that’s-totally-lame noise at David’s mushy statement,
but my whole body flooded with warmth, making me feel almost
dizzy.

“
Way to make me look
bad, man,” Ryan said, laughing once. “If I even tried to say
something like that I’d be accused of reading poetry from the Lame
Book of Things Guys Shouldn’t Say.”

We all laughed, and
David pulled me closer until my head rested between his jaw and
shoulder, our thighs touching, the warmth from under his arm making
the sharp, sweet smell of his cologne so much stronger; a spicy
scent, like Brut, not the orangey-chocolate one he usually
wore.

“
Guess that just
leaves me now,” Emily said, leaning on her hand.

“
Well, if you’re not
with Spencer soon, maybe you should meet my best friend—he’s coming
to visit in a few weeks.” I leaned around David to look at
her.

“
Is he from
Australia?” she asked.

“
Mm-hm.” I put my
drink down on the table. “And he’s really cute.”

“
Cute, is he?” David
raised one brow.

“
Actually, yes. He
is.”

“
What does he look
like?” Emily leaned further around, forcing David to sit back a
little.

“
Well, why don’t you
come have a sleepover at mine next Saturday and I’ll show you some
pics.”

“
Yeah? I’d actually
really like that.”

“
Cool. Alana, you
wanna come, too?” I asked, allowing myself to feel the excitement
of a normal teenager for a moment.

She looked at Ryan and
smiled, shrinking into herself a little more. “Um, yeah, if Emily
doesn’t mind?”

“
Mind? Of course you
should come. Hey, I’ll bring a movie, yeah?”

“
Yeah, and I’ll get a
pizza,” I added.

“
Better make that
two,” Ryan said. “Otherwise the girls’ll go hungry.”

“
Funny.” I rolled my
eyes.

“
I’ll bring the
popcorn,” Alana said, shyly.

“
Great. It’s settled then.” And I was actually excited. Mike
would be, too, when I told him. In fact, this had been a great day.
The best ever. In a way, I was kinda glad my dad so cruelly forced
me back to school this week, because I had new friends now and my
horrible past was no longer a burden I solely owned. But best of
all, David liked me enough to want me as his girlfriend. In
fact…
love
. Love
is what he’d said.

I looked sideways at
David, flouncing his hand around in the air as he explained the
size of the pizza he ate last night. He didn’t know it yet, and I
wasn’t ready to tell him, but I loved him, too. Not in the way he
loved me—like the way you love your guitar or your best
friend—but
real
love. The kind of love you hold for someone you want to marry
one day.

The phone rang twice.
I waited impatiently, tapping my fingers on the desk.

“
Hey,
Ara.”

“
What you doin’?” I
asked, hearing a strange static kind of sound.

“
He’s playing a
death-match, online, with me,” another voice said very clearly into
the receiver.

“
Oh, hey, Josh.” I
laughed, wincing. Lucky I didn’t just blurt out my news the second
Mike picked up.

“
Hey, Ara. How’s
things, what you been up to?” Josh asked, half
distracted.

“
Well, actually. A
lot. That’s why I called,” I said in an eager, soprano
voice.

“
Hang on,” Mike said.
“I’ll just de-link the phone line from the headsets.” I heard a
noise, like someone tapping a fingertip on the lid of an empty tin,
and a bleep followed, making the slight static in the phone line
recede, leaving a clear, quiet hum. “Okay, I’m alone now. How you
doin’, kid?” Mike’s deep, sexy voice made my blood
warmer.

“
Well, actually, I’ve
been waiting up all night for you to get home so I could call you.
I’ve got good news.”

“
I’m
listening.”

I paused for dramatic
effect. “I’m having a sleepover next weekend.”

“
Really?” he dragged
the word out.

“
No, I was
kidding.”

“
Well, that’s great.
Are you gonna talk to the girls about what happened—with your
mum?”

I shook my head,
watching my reflection in the window. “Nope. Don’t need
to.”

“
Why?”

“
Already talked to
someone.”

“
Who?” he asked. “Was
it your dad?”

“
No, it was
David.”

“
Yeah? The guy you
like?”

“
Yep.”

“
Well, come on, fill
me in, then?” His voice glided in that husky smoothness that could
only be Mike’s.

“
Well, it turns out
he already knew.” I sighed, rubbing my forehead. “He spoke to my
dad before he even met me.”

“
Well, that’s cool.
And he still made friends with you?”

“
Yes,” I said in a
flat tone. “I know, I know—you told me it’d be fine.”

“
Did you tell him
about…you know, the other part of it—your inner guilt?”

I hesitated.
“Yes.”

“
And he still wants
to be your friend?” he asked, unperturbed.

“
Actually, that’s why I’m calling. We made our
relationship
official
tonight,” I beamed.

Mike went quiet. “Ara,
what did you do?”

“
What? Oh, no, not
like that, Mike.” I laughed, waving my hands about.

He exhaled. “So, like
what, then?”

“
As
in he said the word
girlfriend
.” I couldn’t help but
grin.

“
Well, that’s really
cool. I’m glad there’s someone lookin’ out for ya.”

“
You could make even
half an effort to sound happy for me, Mike.”

“
I am happy for you,
baby. I just—”

“
You’re still my
bestie, Mike.”

“
I know, but I’m not
there, Ara. And I’m worried. I know you too well, and I know that
tone. You’re pretty serious about this guy, aren’t you?”

“
Maybe.” I grinned,
glad he couldn’t see it.

“
Baby, you gotta be
careful. Grief can magnify emotions. You know that. What you’re
feeling, it may just be—”

“
Don’t say it, okay?”
I said, holding the phone away from my ear in case he did. “I don’t
need you telling me what to feel.”

He just sighed
heavily. “Okay. Fine.”

“
Thank you.” I sat
quiet for a second, considering just hanging up. “Hey, guess
what?”

“
What?”

“
I have a girl I want
you to meet when you come over.”

“
Ara, don’t play matchmaker. I’m coming to see
you
, not go on
dates.”

“
She’s blonde. And
cute,” I offered, my voice rising in question. “She’s the one I’m
having over next weekend for a sleepover. I’m gonna show her some
pictures of you.”

“
Well—” his voice
dragged, “—I do like blondes, but not dumb ones.”

“
Oh, no, don’t worry,
she’s definitely not stupid. But don’t get ahead of yourself,
Romeo. She might not even like you. You’re not that good
looking.”

“
Are you kidding? I’m
a hunk.” He laughed.

I smiled. “Yeah, I’d
pay that. But it takes more than just good looks to get the
girl.”

“
Well, how ‘bout my
charming personality and witty sense of humour?”

“
Might
work.”

“
Worked on
you.”

“
Not funny,
Mike.”

“
Sorry. I take it
back. I didn’t mean it like that.”

“
Whatever. Anyway.
You don’t need to worry about me now, okay. I’m doing well. I’m
still not fine. But I’m okay. Today.”

“
I’m glad, kid. You could use a bit of okay. But—” a long,
stretching groan sounded down the phone line; I pictured him
rolling his spine, straightening his arms behind his head, “—I’ll
be there soon, and then you’ll be
all
better.”