The Hidden (The Hidden Trilogy) (15 page)

A tall blond woman exited, her face and hair similarly mussed up as she smoothed out her black pencil skirt and buttoned up her white blouse. I immediately recognized her as a TA at our school. She had a reputation for being kinda slutty. Clearly, though, that was inaccurate.

She sauntered past our table, her nude stilettos clicking on the tiled floor, and gave Gabriel a knowing smile. He looked at her briefly, clearly not as enamored with her as she was with him.

He leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table. “So…what’s new with you?” he asked, like everything was perfectly normal, like I
didn’t
just catch him having sex in the bathroom of a coffee house.

I stared at him for several seconds in disbelief. When I could find my voice, I said, “You
didn’t
.”

“What,
that
?” he said, hitching his thumb back towards the bathroom. “That was nothing.”

“So you didn’t just have sex with that woman in the bathroom,” I clarified, not buying a word of it.

“Oh no, I did. I just meant that it didn’t mean anything to me. It was just a quickie.” He shrugged, like it was no big deal.

“Do you even
know
her?” My voice raised an octave as I stared at him incredulously.

“I knew her for about fifteen minutes in that bathroom. Didn’t catch her name, though.”

“You hooked up with a total stranger
in a bathroom
,” I clarified again.

He shrugged. “Bathroom was the best option at the time.”

Damn. I knew Gabriel must’ve had casual sex on occasion, but this was
way
out of my league. Who knows, maybe if I’d had more experience in that department I’d be sexually adventurous too… Although I doubted any amount of experience I’d gather could live up to his sexploits.

I cleared my throat. “That’s pretty…”

He smirked. “Gross?”

“Actually, I was going to say ballsy. I’d never have the guts to do something like that in such a public place, or with a total stranger.” I shrugged. “I’d be too worried I’d catch something.”

His eyes glinted mischievously. “What if you didn’t have to worry about diseases? Would you do it then?”

I took a sip of my iced mocha. “Maybe… He’d have to be really hot, though.
Scorching
, in fact.”

“Sorry to burst your bubble, Em, but every other guy pales in comparison to me.” Gabriel gave me his best movie-star smile, and I had to admit, if I were the type to do one-night stands, he’d be at the top of my list.

I grinned. “Sorry to burst
your
bubble, Gabriel, but I can think of someone who’d give you a run for your money.”

His brows lifted. “Is that so?”

I nodded. “He’s
very
easy on the eyes, although he’s not exactly Mister Congeniality–at least he
wasn’t
…” I frowned and fiddled with my straw, knowing I’d said too much. It hadn’t been my intention to come here and talk about Thomas. If anything, I’d wanted to come here and get distracted from him.

I glanced up, seeing Gabriel’s face was serious. “Tell me about him,” he said.

I sighed and leaned back. “He’s just this stupid guy. He was kind of a dick to me at first, but now he’s being really nice… I just don’t get him.”

“He probably likes you. Guys tend to have a shitty way of showing it.”

I snorted. “ ‘Shitty’ doesn’t even begin to cover it.” I shook my head and bit the inside of my cheek. “Honestly, I think he’s just looking for a challenge.”

“Let me explain how boys work, Em. Ninety percent of the time, if a guy’s being nice to you, that means he wants something. And that
something
is almost always located in your panties.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “
You’re
being nice to me. What do
you
want?”

His jaw twitched. “I’m the remaining ten percent.
I
just like your company.”

My eyes narrowed on him. “That’s funny, you don’t seem like the type of guy who likes women for their company.”

I figured he’d make some stupid joke, but he didn’t. He was totally serious as he said, “I’m not. There are
no
women I associate with on a regular basis outside of...” His eyes darted to the handicapped bathroom before meeting mine briefly. “Aside from you, that is.”

I softened a little and smiled. “And why is that?”

Gabriel laughed and scratched the back of his head. “For the same reason that I’m even having this conversation with you.” He shrugged. “I can be myself around you. I don’t have to be...”

“Gabriel, God of Backseat Lovin’?”

His brow arched. “Huh?”

I smiled, knowing exactly what he was trying to say, even if he didn’t. “Nothing.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Wednesday, September 2
nd

EMILY

I lay in bed, unable to sleep, just like the night before. It was almost three o’clock in the morning, and I had to be up for school in a little more than five hours.

I sighed and turned onto my side, looking out my open window to the dark, shadowy woods surrounding the college. It was cooler that night and the breeze blew through my window, into my room, ruffling papers on my desk.

My eyes closed. Images of Thomas flashed through my mind. His lips, his eyes, his smile, his stomach and that little trail of hair leading down to–

My eyes quickly reopened.

This was ridiculous. I couldn’t escape him, even when I wasn’t around him. I tried switching classes, but couldn’t. I tried switching seats, but he followed me. He even had a way of showing up outside of school.

Thoughts of him kept taking over my brain, making it impossible to concentrate on anything else. I hated that I couldn’t stop thinking about him.

I also couldn’t stop thinking about what Gabriel said yesterday, about all guys being nice for a reason. If all Thomas really wanted was to sleep with me, then why would he have sabotaged his chances by being such an asshole early on? It didn’t make sense, and I was starting to think that wasn’t the case anymore. In fact, I was leaning more towards the idea that Thomas might
actually
want to be my friend.
Why
he’d want that, I still wasn’t sure.

But I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

*          *          *

It was 10:59 and Thomas was not in Professor Rosso’s sociology class. He’d always shown up by now. An awful sinking feeling settled into my stomach as I looked back down to my book. I refused to admit it was disappointment.

I also refused to admit he wasn’t here because of me.

Just when I’d given up hope, he walked through the door, right as Professor Rosso started his lecture. Thomas kept his eyes down as he sat by the door, several rows back from me and the seat I’d saved for him.

Well, it appeared that he’d finally given up. I should’ve been happy, but I wasn’t. I didn’t want him to give up on me, not when I’d finally given in.

I picked up my bag and his hoodie, which I still had from Monday, and quietly walked over to him, sitting in the empty seat next to him. “Hi,” I whispered.

He set his books beneath his seat. “Hey.” His greeting was totally indifferent. He didn’t even bother to
look
at me.

I was surprised at how much it stung. “Here’s your jacket,” I said, handing it to him.

“Thanks.” He took it from me and set it on the floor, on top of his books, then turned to a blank page in his notebook. “
Shit
,” he muttered as he looked around on the floor.

“What’s wrong?”

He looked at me for the first time, but it was only for a brief second. His eyes were not their usual pale blue, but a dark and cold navy. He looked back towards the front of class. “I forgot my pen.”

I pulled my bag to me and dug around for another one. “Here,” I said, holding it out.

He looked down at the pen, then up at me. “Thanks.” His eyes were a few shades lighter.

My heart skipped a beat and I had to remind myself to breathe. “No problem… That’s what friends are for, right?”

The corners of his lips turned up, his eyes back to their impossible shade of light blue. “Right.”

He started copying notes, and I stared at him, waiting for the inevitable question. When it didn’t come, I said, “Aren’t you gonna ask me?”

He looked over at me and frowned. “Ask you what?”

“Why I changed my mind.”

“Oh.” He shrugged and smiled. “It doesn’t matter. I’m just glad you did.”

It was stupid how euphoric I was the rest of my morning. All from, what, maybe an hour in Thomas’s presence? How could someone have that kind of effect on me?

My last class of the day was over by one o’clock, so I made my way from the science hall to the courtyard, where Beth and her friends were having lunch. As I walked under the shade of the tree-lined sidewalk, I got the strange sensation of someone watching me. It didn’t make me uneasy, though. I felt…not calm, but also not uncomfortable.

My stomach fluttered as I grew warm.
Too
warm. My heart picked up speed as adrenaline rushed through me. I knew who it was without even having to look. I turned around anyway, seeing Thomas approaching.

Why
did being around him do this to me? It’s like every time he was near, I turned into this total spaz.

He waved. “Hey.”

My irritation quickly faded as my mouth broke into a smile. It was just a reflex to the sight of him–one I was beginning to realize I didn’t mind so much after all.

“You heading to class?” he asked.

I shook my head. “I’m done for the day. I’m actually on my way to lunch. What about you?”

“Same. You, uh…want to grab a bite to eat?”

“Yeah, sure.” I fought the urge to chew on my lower lip and instead pressed my books against my chest, thinking for sure he heard my pounding heart. It seemed to be the only thing
I
heard. “Where do you want to go?”

We started walking and he ran his fingers through his hair. It almost seemed to happen in slow motion, like a shampoo commercial. The only thing missing was the waterfall…and his shirt was still on.

I had to look away in order to keep my thoughts coherent. I focused on two squirrels frolicking on a tree. They took turns chasing each other around the trunk, up into the branches.

“There’s a diner in town that has pretty good burgers,” he said. “Does that sound okay?”

I exhaled, not realizing I’d been holding my breath. “Yeah, that’s fine.” I dug my phone out of my pocket to text Beth that I wasn’t coming. I told her I was at the library instead. There was
no way
I was telling her the truth. She’d have a field day with it.

We started down the walkway, towards the student parking lot. “All right,” he said. “I’ll drive.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Fifteen minutes later, Thomas pulled into the parking lot of a long, rectangular, brown-bricked building. The diner had huge windows on the front and sides, taking up the majority of its walls. Almost the entire restaurant was visible through the windows.

When we got inside, Thomas pulled a menu from the empty hostess podium and led me to a booth. We sat in the corner, as far away from the other customers as possible.

I only had a brief second to look over the menu before our waitress came over. She smiled at Thomas and barely acknowledged me with just a glance.

“Hey, Thomas.” Her voice came out breathy–clearly her attempt to be sexy.

She was pretty young–in her early twenties–and her long (obviously bottle) blond hair was tied up in a ponytail. She was skinny, with blue eyes and heavy eye makeup. The top buttons of her white shirt were undone, causing her cleavage to peek out. Her name tag read “Amber.” 

I hated her immediately, with every ounce of my being.

“Hi,” Thomas said. He gave her a quick, polite smile and returned his attention to the menu.

“I haven’t seen you around lately,” she said. “How come?” She glanced at me as she said it, trying (but ultimately failing) to keep the look of disdain off her face.

He didn’t even look up from his menu. “Been busy.”

Amber’s face twitched. “So are you guys ready to order?”

Thomas set his menu down to look at me. “After you.”

I glanced at Amber, handing her my menu. “I’ll have a plain bacon cheeseburger, with fries and a water.”

She reluctantly took it, as if touching my menu would give her cooties. “What about you, sweetie?” She returned her attention to Thomas, attempting to turn on the charm again.

He handed Amber his menu. “I’ll have a triple cheeseburger, a side of cheese fries, and a chocolate shake.”

My eyes widened.
Jesus
, how much food did he need? Thomas was a big guy and all, but damn…

“I’ll have that out to you in just a few minutes,” she said, specifically to Thomas.

“Thank you,” he replied.

I kept my mouth shut until we were alone. “So…”

I wanted to ask him–I was
dying
to, in fact–but I tried my best not to. I didn’t think I
really
wanted to know, it was just my morbid sense of curiosity. Besides, it was really none of my business. None at all. Nope, I definitely didn’t want to know.

Eh, what the hell. “Is she a friend?” I tried to make it sound casual as I twirled a lock of hair around my finger, like I couldn’t have cared less.

Thomas smiled, as if he’d anticipated my question. “I wouldn’t exactly say that.”

My fingertip started to go numb as my hair tightened around my finger. My stomach felt like it dropped to my knees.

Right. Of course she wasn’t a friend. She was just someone he occasionally had sex with. He probably had about ten more girls he “wouldn’t exactly” call a friend.

My jaw clenched at the thought, but it didn’t matter.
None
of that mattered. We were just friends, and friends didn’t get jealous over the stupid, blond, skanky Ambers of the world.

He sighed. “Well, it appears I have a lot of catching up to do.”

I refocused my attention on him. “Huh?”