Focus (The Crescent Chronicles, #2) (14 page)

We were having so much fun that I
didn’t realize how late it was getting until Levi put an arm around
me. “Hey, Cinderella, if we don’t leave soon, you’re going to turn
into a pumpkin.”

I laughed. “It’s the coach that turns
into the pumpkin, not Cinderella.”

“
Same
difference.”

“
Is it really that late?” I
pulled out my phone and looked at the time. “One? It’s one
a.m?”

Levi nodded.

“
Why didn’t you tell me? I
have a test at nine!”

“
You were having fun. Are
you ready to go then?”

“
Yes!” I knew it wasn’t
Levi’s fault, but I really needed to get some sleep.

We said goodnight to everyone and Levi
walked me out to his car. “On the positive side, you’re not drunk.
At least you won’t be hung over tomorrow.”

“
No, not hung over. Just
falling asleep.”

“
Just get through the test
and take a nap.”

“
I will after
French.”

He laughed. “You’re such a goody two
shoes.”

“
Not exactly. I just like
passing my classes.”

“
Never change, Al. Please,
never change.”

I laughed. “I don’t plan on
it.”

***

By the time I finished my economics
exam, I could barely keep my eyes open.

“
Oh my god.” I gathered my
stuff and walked out of the classroom.

“
What’s up, Princess? Think
you failed or something?” Jared caught up with me before I reached
the hallway.

“
Actually no. I think I did
all right, but I swear I’m never taking another test after going
out again.” I pushed open the door.

Jared glared at a guy who bumped into
him. “Don’t swear about promises you can’t keep.”

“
Oh, I’m going to keep
it.”

“
You’ve got four years of
college ahead of you. It’s going to happen again.”

I rolled my eyes. “Well, all I want to
do right now is go home and go back to sleep. Damn
French.”

“
You could always
skip.”

“
I’m lucky I’m
passing.”

“
That’s where Levi comes
in, right?”

“
Yeah, yeah.” I looked
away. I didn’t want to see the smirk I knew would be on Jared’s
face.

I turned back and he didn’t disappoint.
“Did his French expertise win you over?”

“
Not quite, but he did
help.”

“
What’s holding you back? I
thought you were over everything.”

“
I still don’t know if I
can trust him.”

Jared looked me straight in the eye.
“You can.”

“
Thanks for your unbiased
opinion.”

“
Always at your
service.”

“
You know, you’re not as
bad as I thought you were.” I tried to bite back a smile, but it
came out anyway.

“
Wait, are you trying to
give me a backhanded compliment?”

“
Just accept it before I
take it back.”

He pulled up his sunglasses so I could
see his eyes. “You’re not as bad as I thought either.”

“
Good.”

“
So, I’ll see you for
training tomorrow?”

“
Yes, boss.”

“
Hey, you’re the one who
wants the help.”

I smiled. “Admit it. You like
it.”

“
I like that you’re not
nearly as weak and pathetic as I thought.”

“
Let’s stop while we’re
ahead here.”

He laughed. “Okay, enjoy French and
your nap.”

“
Will do. Tell Levi I said
‘hi.’”

Jared stopped and looked at me. “Okay,
I will.”

I met up with Owen and prepared myself
for fifty minutes of French hell.

Chapter Eleven

Jared picked me up in his black Mustang
convertible. “Nice wheels.”

“
I’m glad you think so.” He
pulled away from the curb before I’d even buckled my
seatbelt.

“
Where are we going?” He
finally thought I was ready to do some training outside of the gym.
I wasn’t sure if I was more nervous or excited.

“
Just down to the levee. It
should be empty at this time of night.”

Meeting Jared at the gym was one thing.
Sneaking off with him late at night felt different. It’s not like
Levi had to worry about something happening between us, that would
be the last thing that would ever occur, but I knew he wouldn’t
like the idea of me learning to fight.

Jared parked, and I got out. I was
dressed in black yoga pants, and a tank with a sweatshirt over it.
Jared was in shorts and a t-shirt. Pterons never seemed to get
cold.

“
Okay, I’m ready.” I braced
myself. I figured Jared wouldn’t actually hurt me.

He laughed. “You look ready to fight in
battle. What do you think we’re doing here?”

“
You said you’d teach me to
fight.”

“
I said I’d teach you to
defend yourself.”

“
Fine, so where do we
start?”

“
First, you need to listen,
and listen closely.”

I put a hand on my hip. I hadn’t
dragged myself out in the dark to listen.

“
You ready?”

“
I’m listening.”

“
You are never going to be
able to fight a Pteron or other paranormal head on.”

“
Come on.”

“
I’m being serious. You
can’t. Even the strongest human is too weak. And face it, Princess,
you aren’t the strongest human.” He touched my arm as though that
proved something.

“
Then what do you
suggest?”

“
First, remember to use the
old tried and true methods.”

“
Meaning?”

“
A good kick to the nuts is
going to give you a nice head start.”

I glanced at that region of Jared
without thinking. “Get serious.”

He caught the direction of my gaze
“Don’t even think of trying it out on me. Anyway, most of us have
such good reflexes, that you wouldn’t get the chance, but it’s
worth remembering.”

“
Okay, so what if that
doesn’t work or isn’t an option?”

“
You have to take your
opponent by surprise and go after their weaknesses.”

“
Do Pteron’s even have
weaknesses?” I certainly didn’t know of any.

“
We have one.”

“
What?”

“
Listen, this isn’t
something we ever admit, and I shouldn’t even be telling you.” He
studied his feet. He really didn’t want to be having that
conversation.

“
You have to tell
me.”

“
I will. But only because I
want you alive, for Levi’s sake.”

I glared at him. I was sure he could
see it in the dim light. “Nice, very nice.”

“
Do you want to know or
not?”

“
I want to
know.”

“
Then play nice.” He
smirked.

“
Please, Jared. Be kind
enough to share your wisdom.”

He laughed. “All right.” He pulled off
his t-shirt.

“
As much as being in our
Pteron form makes us stronger, it also exposes us.” He extended his
large wings.

I waited. I still had no idea what the
weakness could be.

“
Come behind me.” I
listened and moved behind him.

“
Put a hand on my back,
right where my wings meet.”

I hesitated. Touching his wings felt
almost intimate, as strange as that sounds.

“
Just do it, Allie. We
don’t have all night.”

I reached out a hand and placed it
right where he told me to.

“
If you pushed your hand up
right now, you’d immobilize me.”

“
Seriously?”

“
Yes seriously. And I
wouldn’t appreciate it if you tried it.”

“
Just by pushing
up?”

“
Yes. Of course, Pteron’s
guard that spot so it’s not going to be easy to get to it, but it’s
probably the only way you’d ever take down a Pteron.”

“
Did you bring me out here
just to show me that?”

He retracted his wings and pulled on
his t-shirt. “I appreciate your interest, but you really have to
stop coming on to me.”

“
Shut up. I just thought
we’d be doing more.”

“
I just revealed the
biggest Pteron secret, and you want more?”

“
Fine. I’m sorry. Thank
you. I really do appreciate it.”

“
Good. Now let’s get you
back to your dorm.”

“
All right.”

I got back into Jared’s car for the
short ride back. I stared out the window, enjoying the way the
street lights lit up the beautiful homes and live oaks along the
way.

Jared parked, got out, and leaned
against the door. “Sweet dreams.”

“
You too.”

“
Do me a favor?” I figured
it was just going to be one of his annoying jokes.

“
Sure.”

“
Tell Tiffany I said
‘hi.’”

“
Remember the
rules.”

“
The rules don’t prevent me
from saying hello.”

I laughed. “I guess not. Good
night.”

I went back inside, and hoped I’d never
have to use the trick Jared showed me. In the pit of my stomach, I
knew I probably would.

***

I’d never been in Owen’s truck before,
but when he offered to give me a ride down to the hotel, I jumped
on it.

“
Thanks for the ride.” I
put on my seat belt and smiled at Owen. It didn’t surprise me at
all that he drove a Toyota Tacoma. He kind of seemed like a truck
guy.

“
Not a problem.” He turned
down the volume on the Linkin Park song currently blaring from the
speakers.

It was strange. I’d gotten to know
Jared so well over the past months but still felt like Owen was a
mystery. I would have expected the opposite.

“
Are you excited to see
your dad?” He glanced over.

“
Yeah, but his call
surprised me.” I hadn’t seen my dad since the whole ring incident.
I had no clue what brought him back to town after so much time. My
gut told me it wasn’t good.

“
I bet. You should have
seen your face when you listened to the message.”

Dad rarely called me, so to get a
message from him in the middle of the day had been surprise enough.
Discovering he was in town, at the hotel, and wanted to meet up
with me bordered on shocking. “Well, at least it will be good to
see him.” That was true. I missed him. I just hoped he’d be his
usual clueless self and wouldn’t notice the ruby ring on my left
ring finger.

Owen pulled up out front of the hotel.
“I’m going to park and hang around for a bit. Give me a call if you
want a ride home.”

“
You make it sound like I
could just go home alone.”

He shrugged. “Technically, you
could.”

“
But someone would follow
me.”

“
Yeah, but you wouldn’t be
with them.”

“
I’ll keep that in mind.
Thanks for the ride.” I walked into the hotel slowly. I couldn’t
shake the feeling that this wasn’t going to be a pleasant
father-daughter lunch.

My dad was waiting for me at a table in
the dining room. He got up as soon as he saw me. “Hey,
sweetie.”

“
Hey, Dad.” I hugged him. I
didn’t pull away as quickly as I usually would. It felt nice to be
hugged by him. I took a step back. “You look great.”

“
Thanks.” He
smiled.

“
You’ve lost weight.” He
had, or maybe he was just trimmer or something. He was never
overweight really, but now he looked like he was in good
shape.

“
You can thank my
girlfriend for that. She’s been on my back about eating better and
exercising.”

“
Girlfriend? Why are you
and mom so into dating all of a sudden?”

“
Your mother is
dating?”

I rolled my eyes. “Yes. I thought we
discussed this.” In our brief conversations, the topic had still
managed to come up.

“
That’s enough about your
mom. How are you?” He pulled out a chair for me.

“
I’m doing all right.
College has definitely been an adjustment though.”

“
I bet. Are classes going
well?”

“
Mostly. I hate French, but
I’m getting through it.”

“
French? Why didn’t you
just take Spanish?”

“
I wanted to try something
different.” I unfolded my napkin and put it on my lap.

“
You seem to be all about
trying new things, nowadays.”