Senseless Attraction (4 page)

      Kane laughed until I looked at him seriously. “She wouldn't really?” he asked.

      It was my turn to laugh. “Oh, you better believe it.”    

      Momma put the last plate on the table and smiled at us both. I watched Kane look from one plate to another, realizing there were only two sets, but three of us in the house.

      “Momma would have already eaten,” I explained and sat down.

      “That’s right; now I must be off. Be a good girl for once, Skylar, or I'll tan your behind.”

      I smiled and shook my head at Kane, who still seemed confused.

      “Momma works the night shift.”

      “You’re here all alone?”

      “Well, duh.”

      “And that does not mean you will share this information with any of your young men friends. I do not want any of them turning up here taking advantage of my Skylar,” Momma said sternly.

      “No, Mrs James. I would never.”

      “I knew I liked you. Such manners.” To my embarrassment again, she gave us both a kiss on the forehead and went back to her room to grab her coat, only to appear again saying as she walked to the front door, “Don't stay up too late; you both have school tomorrow. Nice meeting you, Kane.”

      “You too, thank you again for dinner.”

      “My pleasure. Night all.”

      “Night, Momma.”

      “Goodbye, Mrs James.”

      I didn't wait for the door to close before I started digging into one of my favourite stews Momma cooked.

      After a few seconds, Kane joined in and moaned on his first mouthful. “This is good.”

      “Yeah, Momma can do wonders with road kill.”

      His fork paused halfway to his mouth; his eyes were wide in horror. I laughed so hard I had to hold my stomach.

      “I'm jesting, Kane. Oh, God, you should have seen your face.”

      “Funny-ha-ha. I really don't know what’s going to come out of your mouth sometimes.”

      “All the better to surprise you with, my dear,” I said in an old lady’s voice. He looked at me strangely. “Oh, come on; you know,
Little Red Riding Hood
, when she says to the wolf who's in disguise as her grandmother, ‘Oh, granny, what big ears you have,’ and the wolf replies with, ‘All the better to hear you with, my dear.’ You know, right?”

      “Uh, no.”

      “Seriously? I love that story. I used to act out the wolf part. I always wished he'd eaten her. I mean, how stupid can you get, thinking the wolf could be her grandmother?”

      Kane was smiling at me. “Trust you to like the wolf. I’ll have a look at it one day.”

      “I'm surprised you haven't heard of it; didn't your parents used to read to you when you were young?”

     He looked down at his food, his expression turning sombre. “No, they’re always too busy, which is probably why Dommy watches so much television. I guess it's just lucky Mary is there to help with her homework, cooking, and other things.”

      Oh, boy, maybe things weren't always that great where money was concerned.

      I couldn't stop my stupid hand. I placed it on his arm, and he looked down at it, then up at me. “Don't worry about it. I'll open the storytelling world to Dommy, and if you want to listen, I won't stop you.”

      He laughed. “I don't know whether to be grateful or scared.”

      “Probably both.” I nodded.

      We stayed on small talk throughout dinner, and when we’d finished, we still sat at the table talking about anything we'd think of. I had to admit, I was enjoying myself, but I knew once tomorrow came and I got on the bus, we'd go back to not knowing each other. Could you imagine what Donna would say if I walked to the back where they sat and finished the conversation about who's a better band: Nickelback, which was my favourite, or Linkin Park, who Kane liked, but I couldn't stand. All right, some of their songs were okay, but it wasn’t like I would say that to him.      

      Donna would definitely freak, and really, I kinda think Kane would as well. Didn't matter to me; at least, I knew he wasn't as bad as I’d thought. Still, it wasn’t like we'd hang with each other when all this finished. We'd go back to the way things were before this even started.

I
t was Saturday morning and I was nervous. And because I felt nervous, I was annoyed with myself. I headed my way—by bus, of course—to Kane's place for more work on our assignment. I was right in thinking that nothing would change after having him at my house on Monday night; because it hadn’t. I got on the bus the next day as normal, wearing my make-up, long black skirt, and a long sleeved, black-and-white striped top. He didn't say anything to me, and didn't even wave as I thought he might have. Truth be told, I didn't even glance to the back of the bus in his direction to see if he had done anything to acknowledge my presence.

      Though, Wednesday I was standing at my locker with Javis, who was looming over me with one hand next to my head. We were talking about plans for the weekend, when out the corner of my eye, I spotted Kane and some of his mates walking down the hallway in my direction. I could have stabbed my heart when it picked up speed. I was trying my best to concentrate on Javis as Kane grew closer and closer.

      “Hi, Sky.” I heard. I looked over Javis's shoulder and gave a small wave.

      Javis started laughing. “Now I know why you aren't listening to a thing I say, and why you just agreed to be my lover.”

      I looked up to him. “No way would I say that. No offense, Javis, you’re...”

      I stopped when I heard one of Kane's friends say, “Why would you talk to something like that? She's feral.”

      “Excuse me?” Javis growled. He turned to face Dale Quiall, the one who had said it.

      “Javis, don't.” I grabbed his arm quickly.

      “You got something you want to say to me?” Dale hissed and glared back at Javis.

      “Dale, just leave it. Come on or we'll be late for practice,” Kane said, and then walked off. Dale soon followed.

      Javis sighed, turned back to me, and said, “Now that’s why it's best to steer clear of their kind. Jerks, that’s all they are and ever will be.”

      “Yeah, I know.” It wasn’t as though I wanted to hang with them or anything…and Kane was the one who said hi to me. So that made Kane not as bad as the others, right?

       Thursday, I had History again, only when I got in there and sat down next to Kane, an announcement over the PA called him away to an important football meeting. He apologized and said he'd see me Saturday, leaving a piece of paper on the desk with his address, home phone number, and mobile. I folded it back up and placed it in my backpack.

      So there I was, at 11 Derves Drive, standing in front of a mansion.

      “You have got to be kidding me,” I muttered.

      And he came to my house. Should I apologize for that? Probably, from the looks of what stood in front of me. I would have walked up the long driveway to the, I think, three-story, brick, elegant monstrosity, but the iron gates stopped that. I looked to my left; they had one of those intercomy-thingies. I really hated those; I hated speaking into them or answering machines, and I hated people hearing my voice on the other end. Still, I didn't have a choice—another thing I hated.

      I walked over to it and pressed the bottom, then stood waiting for an answer.

      “Si?” A lady’s voice rang out from the tiny box.

      I bent and pressed the button to talk back, “Yeah, hi. I'm here to see Kane, we—ah, have to study,” I said. I heard some kind of movement, and then noticed a camera sitting on top of the fence moving to stare down at me.
Great
, I sighed,
now, they definitely wouldn't let me in
. Maybe I should have gone with a more normal look instead of wearing my usual make-up, tight, black vinyl pants, and a long white shirt with a black vest over the top.

      You could say I was surprised when the gate buzzed and started to open. I quickly moved through the small gap before they could change their minds. I was sure my heart beat faster the closer I got. I was worried I'd start to sweat as well. Then I would smell and totally look like a freak if my make-up ran. I had considered not applying it, mainly because of Kane's little sister. I didn't want to scare her, but then I thought if she watched Ruby Gloom, she couldn't be that bad. And really, if I was going to be around here a few times, she had to get used to me the way I was. That went for his mom and dad as well.

      The double front doors opened before I could knock, and a little, middle-aged, plump lady stepped around it.

      “Hola, soy, Rosita,” she said, touching her chest.

      “Hola, soy, Skylar.” I smiled.

      “Par favor, ven en Kane no pasara' mucho tiempo.” She gestured for me to enter, so I did.

      “Gracias, Rosita.” I stood just inside the door, taking in everything I saw. In front of me stood a grand staircase that spiralled up to the next level. I glanced up and saw that there was another level above the second one. I looked to my left, but all I saw was the same as the right side. Beyond the staircase were closed wooden doors. So I turned back to Rosita, who was taking the opportunity to check me out. From the look on her face, she didn't like me one bit.

      She stood to the side of me, arms crossed, and over her shoulder, her look was scolding. “Cuidar a un fantasma de beber?” she asked in Spanish.

      I couldn’t help but laugh. I was lucky enough to know Spanish; I loved the language. She had asked, 'Care for a drink, ghost one?' I smiled at her and said back in her own language, “I am no ghost, Rosita, just silly make-up. You do not need to worry. I will be on my best behaviour, just like my momma taught me.”

      Her eyes widened and then she laughed.

      “I didn't know you could speak Spanish,” Kane said as he descended the stairs.

      “There are a lot of things you don't know, Kane,” I said.

      “I like this one, Kane,” Rosita said in English, with a very heavy Spanish accent still present.

      “I guess I passed the test?” I asked, smiling. She returned it with one of her own.

      “Si, with flying colours. I must go and find Dominique. Despedida, Skylar.”

      “Si, despedida. Encantado de conocerte, Rosita.” I had said, ‘Yes, farewell. Nice meeting you, Rosita.’ She gave me a warm smile and left to climb the stairs.

      “You almost need an elevator in here,” I commented.

      “Almost,” Kane said. He’d been quiet since arriving, so I looked over my shoulder to him; he seemed confused about something.

      “Okay, so where are we doing this?” I asked, gesturing to the backpack I had full of heavy books on my back.

      “Right, uh, let’s go in here,” Kane said, pointing to the room to the left. “I left most of the stuff I was going over in here last night.” He opened the door and moved out of the way so I could walk in first. I couldn't stop the gasp. I was in awe. The room was a library, and it was beautiful and huge. The walls were stacked from top-to-toe with books; one of those sliding ladders stood against the far right wall. On the left, at the front of the house, was a ginormous bay window. I walked over to it and looked out to the large front yard—you could almost say paddock. The sun was shining. It was a nice warm day out there, but having the windows so big, it nearly felt like you weren't missing out. Honestly, I felt like something out of
Beauty and the Beast
, only I'd be the beast.

      Kane cleared his throat behind me. I turned to find him sitting at one of the tables in the middle of the room.

      “Sorry. It's just...like nothing I've ever seen before.” I shook my head, walked over to the table, and sat opposite him. “Let’s start then,” I said, getting my things out of my bag that I had dumped on the floor when I walked in, but Kane must have brought it to the table.

      “It's all right, I can understand if I was seeing it for the first time too.” He smiled. I didn't bother saying anything, only nodding. “Sky, I—uh, I wanted to say sorry for the other day, you know, with Dale—”