Espion | Book One

Twenty Five.

She felt odd. Was it nervousness? She knew the symptoms. Sweaty palms, jittery nerves, pounding heart. It happened every time Jessi touched her, which was more often than not. And every time his eyes landed on her appreciatively and he sent her one of his cocky grins, those symptoms sky rocketed. It had to be because she was tense.

The only question now was why? Anna never felt anything like that before. The feeling was foreign to her and god, did she hate it. Every touch, every look, she became a puddle of nerves and she didn't like it. Mina was making it no better.

Maybe it was because Mina was ignoring her since they greeted the boys. Dan and Mina had been off in their own little world since the moment the doors opened and it left Anna to deal with Jessi by herself. He took her hand too, which was making her insides twist about. Maybe she wasn't nervous. Maybe she was just coming down with something. For as long as Anna could remember, she was never sick before. But there was a first for everything, wasn't there?

They were taking Jessi's car. Dan and Mina immediately slid into the back, leaving Anna to sit up front with the guy causing her to rethink everything. As soon as the doors closed, it was electric. It was smoldering, consuming her, and one look behind her made her know Dan and Mina didn't notice. They were too busy making out.

The electricity was flowing between her and Jessi. She knew so because, before the car took off, Jessi placed his hand on her thigh and it was as if she was in the death chair. She tried giving him a smile, tried putting on the mask she had worn since she arrived, tried acting like the princess they thought she was but it all failed. What resulted was an odd grimace but Jessi's grin never diminished.

They didn't speak. While Dan and Mina was off in wonderland, no conversation flowed between Jessi and Anna. Every now and again, she found herself looking at him. He was reclined casually in his chair, his strong legs out before him and only one hand gripping the steering wheel. His scent wafted over to her each time she stared at him, as if it was waiting for her to make contact again. He looked, for a lack of a better word, extremely hot. And it made her hot.

She was burning up in a car filled with AC. "You're awfully quiet over there, Anna," Jessi broke the silence.

Anna jolted at the sound of his voice, cursed herself instantly for acting so out of character. Calm down! Get back to normal. But her hands were rubbing over themselves and she stared out the window. "Just wondering where we're going, that's all."

"Don't worry about it. Wherever it is, I assure you'll have a good time."

"I'd better," she murmured. It was a shot in the dark, an attempt to make herself feel more in control. It failed.

Jessi chuckled. "Well, it's no fancy princess ball or anything."

A tiny surprised chuckle escaped her lips. "There's no such thing as a princess ball, you idiot."

"Hey, cool it with the harsh words, amour. I came out to have a good time, don't attack me."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Anna apologized with humour. They both laughed. "So, are you going to tell me?"

"Tell you what?"

"Where we're going."

"Where's your spirit of surprise, Anna?"

"I think I left it back in the dorm room."

Jessi laughed at that. "You're really tense, you know that?"

"So I've been told."

"Stop worrying." He reached over and laced his fingers with hers. Anna froze, staring at their interlocked hands. Her heartbeat tripled, her breathing hitched. She wanted to pull her hand away, to get herself back under control and into safe territory, but she couldn't manage it. All she could think was how strong and warm his hand was, and how perfectly they fit together. Almost as if they were made for each other.