Secrets and Lies

Chapter 4

Hey Readers,

Here's chapter 4.

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I slowly turned in my seat to be greeted by a familiar pair of piercing hazel eyes. The memory I held of those eyes didn't do them nearly enough justice, not to mention the feeling I got when they looked at me. I quickly dropped my gaze, feeling the heat rise in my cheeks.

"Josh, you remember Mina?" Courtney asked while placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Of course," he stated as though the idea of forgetting me was ridiculous. He took the only empty seat left at the table, which just happened to be right next to me. Something told me that was no coincidence.

If my cheeks were warm already, they were on fire now. I hoped that my tan, from my many beach-going days, hid it from the others. Being this close to Josh reminded me of the other night: the feeling of being in his arms and the tingling sensation that went through my entire body.

I took a subtle deep breath to calm the roller coaster of emotions that were moving through my body and mind.

I looked in Josh's direction, but quickly regretted it as the heat returned and my brain became mush again. Thankfully my thoughts came back moments later and I remembered what I wanted to say to him, "thank you, by the way, for helping me out the other night."

I snuck a glance to other side of the table where Jordan was deep in conversation with Luke and not really paying attention to us. I felt a shiver crawl up my back at the memory of the other night, though I quickly hid it with a small stretch.

"You don't have to thank me. You seemed to of had things under control," he smiled. I brought my gaze back to Josh's as he added, "Don't worry about Jordan. He's all bark and no bite. I don't think he really would've hurt you. If he had..."

At that moment, for a fleeting second, his hazel eyes seemed to turn a darker color, what looked like almost black. But just as soon as they did, I blinked and they were back to normal. I had to say, it freaked me out for a second. I quickly dismissed it though as nothing more than the trick of the light. I hated when my eyes and mind played tricks on me.

"I'm glad you were able to handle yourself," Josh continued, pulling me from my slight daze.

"Yes, but you're the one that put an end to it," I assured, wanting him to know how much he helped me and that I appreciated it. "So, thank you."

"You're welcome," he said genuinely. He smiled at me, which caused my cheeks to flush instantly. Again I hoped my tan made it unnoticeable.

Needing a distraction I quickly looked down at my tray of forgotten food. There was a comforting silence for a moment and I used that time to start eating my lunch, which had started to grow cold already.

I had just shoved a big bite of pizza into my mouth when I heard Josh's voice, "how's your first day going so far?"

I quickly chewed my food and swallowed before giving an answer, remembering that my mom had always told me it was unattractive to talk with food in my mouth. "It's going good. Courtney's been helping me find my way around, and telling me which teachers she thinks are cute."

Josh looked at his sister with a raised eyebrow, his handsome face portraying an emotion I couldn't quite place.

"I told her about one teacher I thought was cute, and it's true. He is," she defended with a dismissive tone. From Josh's next expression I could tell he was truly uninterested in the topic of who his sister found attractive.

An unfamiliar, high pitched voice sounded from across the table. "Are you talking about Mr. Owens, the Physical Science teacher? He is so hot."

The voice belonged to Kira. I was surprised to hear her talk to us, since she, along with everyone else, seemed to ignore me when I sat down. They had all started up their own conversations with one another