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“Why now?”
I stood poised with the hose shooting cold water into the sink, curiosity getting the better of me. Why had things changed now? Was it the college thing? Or was it something else?
Gabriel looked at me, the muscles in his jaw working. He raked a hand through his messy hair and grimaced. “Let’s just say, there’s a solid reason we decided not to be partners for the gaming tournament.”
Now I was really curious. I’d wondered why Battlescar13 wasn’t playing with his brother. Gabriel hadn’t really answered the question, but it did give me a little insight into their relationship. Was there trouble in twin paradise?
“I’m really sorry you didn’t get to play, by the way.” Gabriel tilted his head toward me. There was something sincere in his expression. A hopeful curve of his full lips. It was kind of hard to look away. “If I’d known you wouldn’t find a partner, maybe I could’ve helped you out...” He turned his head, his voice trailing off.
A sudden burst of nervous energy hit me hard. I shut off the water and carried my quarter-filled tank back to its home at the back of the classroom. There was no way I could look Gabriel in the eyes. Not right now. He would see right through me. My guilt was heavier than this twenty-gallon fish tank. Keeping my back toward Gabriel, I clung to the tank and forced my diaphragm to pump air in and out of my lungs.
I’d been way too tempted to come clean at that moment. To confess that he already was helping me out. But that wasn’t part of the plan. And trusting one of the Corrigans had never gotten me anywhere, even if Gabriel had looked totally sincere in that moment.
He’d said it himself: he had years of going along with whatever Michael wanted. And the one thing Michael wanted to do was ban me from anything that had to do with gaming. What was going to stop Gabriel from turning around tomorrow and deciding that siding with Michael was the easier thing to do? He couldn’t be trusted.
No, there was no way I was going to let a handsome face make me think otherwise.
Even if it was really nice to look at.
By the time I’d gotten the piranha back into his freshly cleaned tank, Gabriel was finishing up with the cichlids. We looked around, admiring our job. We’d done everything Mr. Hart had asked. He couldn’t possibly make us stay any longer.
“Do you think...?” Gabriel looked up at the clock. I knew what he was thinking. Half hour until showtime. We were both itching to get out of here. “Do you think Coach would mind if we just left?”
I took an unsure step toward Mr. Hart’s desk. My cell phone was in one of those drawers, calling out to me. This was the longest I’d gone without checking my messages. What if the sword deal hadn’t gone through? What if the time for the big match had changed? Surely, I could get it now. We’d done the time for the crime. Now, it was time to dominate.
But we didn’t have long to wait for our warden to make a reappearance.
“Ah, there’s my troublesome duo,” Mr. Hart said as he strolled through the door a second later. I automatically took a step backwards, my cheeks burning as if I’d been caught rifling through his desk. He went to inspect the fish tanks, running his finger over the glass. “Very nice, very nice. I think we’re almost through here.”
“Almost?” I glanced hopefully at Gabriel and our eyes met. We were probably both thinking the same thing. “Are we free to leave?”
“Sure.” Mr. Hart leaned down to admire his cichlids and tapped gently on the glass. “Just as soon as you clean out Hank and Tank’s home.”
I suppressed a groan as I turned to look at the small blue kiddie pool in the front that had been fashioned into a habitat for two painted turtles the size of my hands. We’d completely forgotten about them. If we didn’t hurry, neither of us were going to make it home in time for the battle.
And everything we’d worked for would be over.
“Come on,” Gabriel said firmly, striding forward and handing me a bucket. “You corral the turtles, I’ll start bailing out the pool.”
Usually, I wasn’t a fan of a man jumping forward to take charge of me, but in this case, I wasn’t going to complain. We had to work together if we were going to get out of here in time. So as Mr. Hart went to sit behind his desk, we hurried to complete our tasks.
After the turtles were out, I hurried to help Gabriel as he emptied the pool. We scrubbed, rinsed, and carried it back to its place. If Mr. Hart noticed our rush, he didn’t say anything. The clock was ticking down and our time was almost out. Gabriel and I each loaded two huge buckets of water into the pool before putting the turtles back. And as we watched Hank and Tank scuttle back onto their limestone rocks, I sagged a little against the kiddie pool, letting myself breathe for just a second.
“Thanks for helping. I know you didn’t have to rush for me.” Gabriel grabbed the edge of the pool, just centimeters from where my hand was. It was strange, but I almost felt like a current went through the blue plastic between us, shooting up my arm. He looked over at me, his hooded eyes blinking slowly as he wet his lips with the tip of his tongue. “And for the record, I do wish you could’ve been in the tournament. It would’ve been cool to see you win and beat my brother.”
Did he really mean that, or was this another line? My mind desperately searched for a snarky or witty comeback, anything to push off this weird sensation that I got when Gabriel looked at me, but I couldn’t find the words. Instead, I felt myself trapped by his stare, and returned it with a soft smile.
“I guess...I guess you should get going.”
The seconds were ticking away, and yet I couldn’t make myself look away. He still stared at me, a whole series of unnamed emotions flitting in his eyes. His gaze flicked back and forth between my eyes, and then down to my mouth for the briefest of moments. It gave me the strangest tickling sensation in my stomach that felt both pleasant and unn
erving at once.
“The first round,” I blurted out. “Of the game. It’s starting soon.”
He lifted his chin just an inch, blinking in shock. “Right. The first round. I should get going.” And suddenly, whatever was happening between us, was gone in an instant. Gabriel hopped up to his feet, made a motion to turn away, but then paused before extending his hand to me. “Here, let me help you up.”
I could’ve brushed him off. I couldn’t laughed in his face and then proved to him that I didn’t need anyone’s help to get off the floor. But I didn’t. I put my hand in his and allowed him to pull me up. It was so strange, having my hand in his. Normally, I felt like such a giant around guys. I wasn’t petite, like my friends. Tiny hands and feet didn’t come standard with this nearly six-foot tall package. But Gabriel’s large hand dwarfed even my own. And the heat coming off of his skin went right up my arm and straight to my cheeks.
