Hidden in the Night

Chapter 11 - Trainwreck of Me

"What the fuck is wrong with your face?"

The vulgarity and intenseness of his question took me by surprise, causing my face to flush in embarrassment. I quickly reminded myself of the excuse I had thought of on the bus ride here, spewing it out of my mouth much too quickly to avoid suspicion.

"I dropped my book on my face," I lied, refusing to allow myself to think about the events that had actually unfolded. I didn't want to go there, I couldn't, not right now.

"A book?," he questioned uncertainty, his tone harsh and his stance tense.

"Y-yeah one of my textbooks," I explained, trying to convince him I was telling the truth.

"You sure about that?" he questioned, leaning closer towards me as he looked at my bruise. I just then realized that he was covered in sweat... and that he was missing a shirt. Dear lord, I think my face turned even more red if that was possible. Not wanting to hold his gaze I dropped my eyes to his bare torso, where his very ample muscles sat covered in tattoos. On second thought, maybe looking at his eyes would be better.

Looking back up I saw him staring at me intently, and I nodded a yes in response to his question. We both stood there for a moment, the thick tension swirling around in the air. Bits of his black hair were falling onto his face slightly, covering some of his forehead. He had to be the most beautiful person I had ever seen, the type of guy a girl would fantasize about. Definitely not the type of guy who got with a girl like me.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw his hand begin to move, and it looked as though it was moving towards me. I held my breath, not sure what was happening right now, but knowing that I didn't really want it to end.

What the heck was I thinking?

"Paisley, just walk in!" Daniel yelled as he ran towards the door, obviously thinking that I was still outside. Daniel stopped in his tracks abruptly, taking in the scene in front of him. Dax suddenly pinned his arm to his side, not allowing his hand to move in the direction it had been going only moments ago. Embarrassment took over me as Daniel started smirking, then gasped.

"Oh my god what's wrong with your face?" he asked, rushing towards me as Dax stepped away.

"I-uh dropped a textbook on it," I laughed uneasily, hoping to make it sound more real.

"I did the same fucking thing a few weeks ago," he exclaimed, laughing with me and I felt as if a weight had been taken off my shoulders. I looked up to find Dax was gone, off to wherever he was headed before our... encounter.

"This way, Mia's over here," he said, leading me downstairs to what I assumed to be a workout room. There was enough gym equipment inside for it to be an actual gym. Lounging on a couch in the corner was Mia and Spencer, the former giving me a huge smile and the latter nodding his head at my entrance. I couldn't help but smile back.

"H-how are you doing?" I asked shyly, nearly smacking myself in the face due to my awkwardness.

"I'm dying, these idiots are killing me with their lack of brain cells," she proclaimed, throwing her hands up in mock distress.

"Well we can't all be college educated geniuses," Spencer teased, smirking as he dodged the pillow Mia was throwing at his face.

"Screw you," she said, hopping off the couch to skip towards Daniel and I.

"I'll hold you to that," he said with a wink, leaving the room the same way that Daniel and I entered. My face turned red at the innuendo, and I could have sworn Mia's did as well.