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Now that he was closer, and I could actually see, I realized he was younger than I’d expected. His shadowy eyes glittered in the gloom.
“A jerk,” I attempted.
He shook his head. “That’s not it.”
I folded my arms over my chest and angled my chin up in the best pretense of confidence I could muster. “I called you a parasitoid, so what?”
“And what would a parasitoid be?” He took a step closer to me.
All imaginings of bravery fled my head. I mirrored his movement in the opposite direction.
“Look it up.”
“I’d rather you told me.” This guy was infuriating.
I could see an adult, like my dad, getting pissed and demanding answers from some cheeky student, but a guy my age? Absolutely not.
“I don’t have to tell you anything. How about you apologize for knocking me on my ass and I’ll tell you?” My eyes blazed a challenge up at his shadowy face.
He stared at me. I couldn’t see his expression well enough to read it. He tilted his head, a movement that seemed expressive as hell. He didn’t know what to make of me. Well, that was fine. I didn’t know what to make of him, either.
“No, I don’t think so,” he said slowly and moved closer to me.
I stepped back again, this time grabbing my keys from my pocket.
His satisfied grin made it clear he was aware of rattling me. “I think you’re going to tell me. Right. Fucking. Now.”
“Cade! We’ve got to go!” A shout reached us, piercing the building tension.
Cade?
The menacing stranger twisted to look over his shoulder, and I took the chance to unlock my mother’s car and jump inside.
I slammed the door and locked it as my shadow in the hoodie looked back at me. He studied me, unmoving. I turned the key in the ignition, jumping when the windshield wipers scraped furiously against the glass. The rain had gotten heavier, and I shivered. My jeans were wet, and my head felt just as drenched, thanks to standing outside for the intense showdown. My wet bag slouched on the passenger seat next to me. In a testament to how intimidating the guy outside had been, I'd completely forgotten to worry about my notebook.
I pulled out of the lot.
The stranger in the hoodie stood as still as stone, watching me go.
* * *
I drove across Hade Harbor toward Eve’s place. My dad didn’t like me driving to Eve’s house. It was on the so-called bad side of town. I wondered what Coach Williams would think about meeting the most intimidating guy right in the good part. He had a whole list of things he was overprotective about, starting with my friends and ending with scaring away any potential boyfriends who might have been out there.
Sure, I didn’t flatter myself that guys would be lining up to ask me out, even if it wasn’t for my dad, but being the only child of the school ice hockey coach had to be off-putting.
Yep, that’s right. I was Lillian Williams, and Coach Williams was practically a celebrity in our little Maine town. Ice hockey was big here, and my father had big dreams. As a teen player at Hade Harbor High, he’d been heading toward the NHL, already a state champion, but that had all changed when I’d come along. My mom had had a difficult pregnancy, and my dad had missed out on the offers he’d been given from colleges while looking after her. The timing hadn’t been right, they’d told me. Now, at HHH, since my father had taken over the team a few years ago, they’d been steadily improving. This year, he had his heart set on becoming champions again, but how they were going to get there was still a mystery.
I pulled up outside Eve’s small house, sitting on a slightly run-down street. I hadn’t had a chance to turn off the engine before her door opened and she scooted out. She practically ran to the passenger side of my car and jumped in.
“Let’s get out of here!” She sounded breathless as she tugged her seat belt on and grinned at me.
“What’s the hurry?”
“No hurry, Asher’s getting ready to go to the party, too, and I don’t want him to see me. He’s such a buzzkill.”
“And you don’t think he’ll see us at the party? Let’s stop to get dinner. I’m starving.”
“Sure. And no, I don’t think Asher will see us, because if he does, I’ll have to come home.” Eve slid down in the seat and frowned out at the rainy street. “He’s so controlling.”
