Games of Fire (22 page)

“It’s an
Ankh
,” he said. “The Egyptian symbol for eternal life.”

Fascinated and completely enthralled, Sophie’s brain didn’t even register her setting her sandwich down
, or even when she reached for him. Her fingers traced the weaving design to the
Ankh.
She followed the patiently inked symbol to the extravagant wings.

“Is it the same on the other side?” She didn’t wait for him to show her. She took his other arm and pulled it towards her, using her free hand to lift his sleeve.

Instead of the
Ankh
symbol, the wolves rose up as if prepared to devour the three edged design splayed across his upper arm. Three jagged spikes sunk into his flesh, drawing blood that wove and weaved around a circle in the center of the triangle. The roses were gone on this arm, replaced by blooming lotus flowers and there were enormous black birds swooping through the vines as if preparing to attack the wolves, to stop them from reaching their destination.

“This must have hurt a lot to get done,” she whispered, tracing a lotus flower.

“Only for a second.”

“I don’t think I could do it,” she confessed, chuckling sheepishly. “I’m too much of a big baby when it comes to needles. I cried when I got my ears pierced and I was like twelve.” She raised her eyes to his. “Aside from your arms and the ones on your chest, do you have any others?”

He shook his head. “I’m thinking about getting something on my back, but I’m not sure what.”

“Don’t you need to be eighteen or something to get a tattoo?”

He nodded. “Yeah, but my uncle’s roommate does them on the side. He did all mine.” He grinned. “So if you ever change your mind … ”

Sophie laughed. “That is very unlikely, but thanks for the offer.”

It took her a moment to realize she was still holding his arm and that his hand was resting on her thigh. Heat seemed to spider web from his fingers, up her leg to the pit of her stomach. She struggled not to shiver as it sent tingles up her spine. She released him slowly, keeping her eyes averted.

“Sorry.”

He carefully withdrew. “No harm done.”

They took up their sandwiches and resumed eating. Neither spoke again as they watched the rain pound a steady beat from the heavens, washing everything in sight with a vengeance. They finished and tossed their trash into their makeshift garbage box.

“Ready?” Sophie grumbled.

Spencer rose to his feet, dusting his fingers on his black sweats. “As I’ll ever be.”

The cleanup, Sophie realized as they plunged into the rain to take out the trash, was a cakewalk compared to the task of taking the garbage to the curb. The rain was like serrated blades crafted from pure ice. It sliced down on them, soaking them in seconds. By the time the last bag was rushed out, Sophie couldn’t feel her fingers. She was shivering so hard, she half feared her teeth would shatter.

“Here!” Spencer snatched up his jacket and swung it around her quaking shoulders.

“W … what about y … you?” she hissed through her teeth.

He ignored
he question a moment as he jogged over to the button on the wall and slammed the garage door down, restricting access to the cutting winds.

“Oh my God, it’s cold!” she gasped, hopping up and down on the balls of her feet, clutching his jacket tightly around her and attempting to generate heat.

Spencer returned to her side. He rested his hands on her arms and rubbed. “You should take a warm shower.”

She nodded in agreement. “T
h … that sounds so g … ood!” She took a deep breath, willing herself not to bite her own tongue off when she spoke again. “Th … th … thanks for everything.”

His warm fingers brushed away coils of plastered hair off her cheeks. The feel of them against her chilled skin pulled a moan from her that had her eyes fluttering closed and her face turning into his touch.

“Go take that shower.” The gruff vibration in his voice had her eyes opening and lifting to his face. His face was set in a hard line that was a toss between frustrated and furious. His pupils had expanded to engulf the gray in his eyes, so it was like falling upwards into the heavens at night. She almost whimpered when he pulled away, prepared to leave. “Keep it on,” he said when she began removing his jacket from around her. “Come by later if you can and bring it with you.”

She blinked. “You want me to come over?”

He shrugged, scooping a hand back through his damp hair. “I was going to order a pizza or something and watch a movie. You can stay and watch it with me if you like, or just bring the jacket.”

For a second, she forgot all about being cold. She beamed. “Yeah, I love movies
… and pizza.”

He grinned ever so slightly. “Awesome. I’ll see you later then.”

She walked him to the front door and waved him off before barreling upstairs for that much needed shower. She dressed quickly. She brushed out her hair and left it to curl naturally down her back while she grabbed up her phone and texted Lauren.

“Where r u?”

It took only seconds for Lauren to respond with,
“Home. Where r u?”

“Home, but going out.”

“???”

She hesitated, not sure why. It wasn’t as if Lauren would judge or tell her she was being nuts, although she probably needed it. She just wasn’t sure how to explain things with Spencer. It was so strange, so new. It wasn’t as if they were even together. He’d made it clear he didn’t want a relationship, which completely confused her after the kiss they’d shared, because her mother was right. There had been nothing appropriate about that kiss. They’d gone on a date, he’d said so himself. He was now inviting her over to hang out and watch a movie.

Her phone vibrated in her hand, reminding her Lauren was waiting for a response.

“Hello!”

Sophie sighed. She dialed Lauren’s number. If anyone could help sort out this mess she’d gotten herself into, it was her friend.

“’Sup!” Lauren greeted after the first ring. “How was garage cleaning?”

Sophie faltered before answering, “Fine.”

A moment of pause before Lauren spoke again. “Okay, what’s up?”

Sophie sighed, dropping down on her bed. “I think I’m in trouble.”

“Holy crapcicles! You’re pregnant!” Lauren’s screech had her arm jerking away, wielding the phone a safe, non-lethal distance from her ear. “Who? Who did it? I’ll kill him!”

“Oh my God, Lauren!” She had to scream over her friend’s irate ranting to be heard. “I’m not pregnant!”

Lauren paused, but only for a split of a second. “Are you sure, because I got my ass kicking boots on right now and we can flatten him.”

As touched as she was by her friend’s thoughtfulness, Sophie couldn’t help prodding at the dull throb chiseling into her temple. “Lauren, I promise. It’s nothing like that.”

“What then?”

She sighed, using the tips of her fingers to rub her brow, wishing she could rub out the headache just as simply. In ten minutes flat, she told Lauren everything. From the moment she’d met Spencer, to him giving her his jacket and telling her to come over for pizza. Lauren never interrupted. She listened, making appropriate noises when necessary. She gasped when Sophie got to the kiss at the restaurant, but continued to not interrupt until Sophie finished.

“So now I have no idea what he’s doing or what I’m doing,” Sophie moaned.

“Girl, that is all some seriously juicy details you’ve been keeping from your bestie! Not. Cool.”

Sophie groaned. “It wasn’t deliberate or anything! I just don’t know what to do or how to even make sense of this.”

“Well, it’s pretty straightforward isn’t it?”

Sophie frowned. “How do you figure?”

Lauren huffed, exasperated. “It’s obvious how he feels about you! The guy is on his head, totally and completely gone over you, but he’s been hurt and doesn’t want that again.”

“But I would never hurt him!”

Lauren sighed again. Sophie could practically hear her rolling her eyes. “Sophie,” she said sternly. “You read more than anyone I know. How many times have you read where the heroine has been hurt by someone and doesn’t want anyone near her?”

At least thirty different books popped into mind, but she didn’t say so. Something told her this was a rhetorical question.

Lauren continued. “Okay, so what happened in every single one of those books?”

Sophie didn’t have to think about it. “She meets a boy
who helps her see that not everyone is the same.”

“Exactly!
Now take all those stories and reverse them. The guy is hurt. This chick seriously messed him up. You just need to prove to him that you’re not like her.”

“Lauren, you do know those books are all fiction, right? As in not real.”

Lauren pfft’d. “Girl, please! You already have the guy crazy about you. You just need to convince his head that his heart isn’t wrong. But don’t let him talk you into anything you don’t want to do. Be strong and remember, just because he doesn’t want to be in a relationship, doesn’t mean he doesn’t want a piece of your pie. So, wear something nice and go over there. Then tell me about it tomorrow at church.”

The line went dead before Sophie could say anything else, before she could even ask how things had gone at the cabin. She stared at the phone, replaying her conversation with Lauren
in her mind.

As crazy as Lauren was, her logic made sense. It was the part
about convincing Spencer to take the chance that had her pressing a hand to her queasy abdomen.

A soft knock interrupted her one-person dive into hysteria. Her mom poked her head inside.

“Going somewhere with the girls? I heard you talking to Lauren,” she added when Sophie eyed her with surprise.

For the second time in minutes, Sophie stared down at the phone still in her hand. “Uh, no. Not with
… ” she trailed off, licking her lips. “I’m going to Spencer’s.” She lifted her gaze to catch her mother’s reaction. It was as she expected, surprised, wary. She plunged on quickly. “I have to return his jacket and he asked me over to watch movies. His mom will be there and he did help with the garage!” she added, knowing her mother’s need to be a good neighbor would overrule all other thoughts inside her head, although the part about Jackie being there was a mere guess on Sophie’s part.

Her mother frowned. “I want you back before midnight.” She left before Sophie could respond, closing the door behind her.

Sophie exhaled.

She gathered her things, mainly Spencer’s jacket, her phone and keys. She grabbed a jacket for herself even though it was much more tempting to wear his again. Her mother was in the living room when she hurried downstairs. She was flipping aimlessly through the channels, muttering about season finales and how stupid they were.

“I’ll see you later, mom!” she called, practically running to the door before she could be stopped.

“Don’t be late!” Her mother’s words were snipped in half with the closing of the door behind Sophie.

Sophie ducked her head and ran through the rain towards the house next door, completely missing the figure sitting in the parked car across the street.

The door to Spencer’s house flew open before her feet even touched the front steps. Spencer stood in the doorway, bathed in the soft, yellow light of the hallway. He held the door open for her, closing it behind her once she was engulfed in the warmth of the house.

“It’s horrible out there!” she gasped, shaking the rain from her hair and jacket. “I swear if it doesn’t stop raining soon, we’ll all float away.”

Spencer snorted a chuckle, taking his jacket from her, then her jacket when she shrugged out of it. He took both to the closet and hung them up.

Further down the hall, a soft buzzing drew her attention. She glanced towards the living room to find Jackie leaning forward on the sofa, face blotchy with tears as she stared wide-eyed at the TV. Next to her, looking bored was Suzy. The girl had her arms folded over her chest and she slouched so far down that she looked like she was sliding off.

“Is she all right?”
Sophie asked, gesturing to his mother.

Spencer followed her gaze and nodded. “She’s watching
Little House on the Prairie
reruns. She’ll be at it for the rest of the night.”

“Oh
.” She tried and failed to conceal her disappointment. “So the movie idea is a no go?”

Spencer shook his head. “We can watch TV upstairs.” But he led her into the kitchen. “Mom wouldn’t let me order pizza. She said I needed real food.” She giggled when he rolled his eyes. “You don’t mind, do you?”

Sophie stared at the pots neatly lined on the stove and shook her head. “No, I don’t mind. What is it?” Because there was no smell coming from them. Didn’t food normally give off a smell?

Spencer winced. “Mom can’t cook.” He leaned in close, startling her into freezing like a deer in headlights as his scent washed over her. “I’ll make us something else. But shh. Don’t tell.”