The Girls of 310 [COMPLETED]

Chapter Fourteen: I'm Not Saying I Love You

I stalked up the driveway, steam spewing from my ears.

"What the hell?"

The brown haired boy's head turned so fast that I was sure he had gotten whiplash. When his calm eyes met mine, I stopped walking. The January wind spun wildly around us, as we took each other in.

"Oh, hey Mal," Reece greeted cooly.

I was glaring hard, my eyes squinting to the point where I wasn't sure of what I was seeing before me. When I didn't reply, Marianna whispered something and scurried into the house. Whether she was excusing herself, saying hello, or telling me to calm down, I wouldn't know. Her voice was pushed away by my anger and carried away with the wind. We were left in silence.

Soft white snowflakes dropped and settled on his hair and his black sweater. I slowly took a few steps closer to him, resisting the urge to dust them off.

"Where have you been?" I asked, my voice coming out softer than I had hoped. Could you blame me? I hadn't had time to prepare for this before I left the house.

Believe me, I had spent countless hours over the past month thinking of what I would say when I finally saw him again, but I couldn't recall any of it now. He didn't answer immediately, which caused anger to once again swell in my chest, replacing the hurt that I felt.

He avoided my gaze as he continued to put the blue recycling bin into the garage. I stood there dumbfounded, my mouth repeatedly opening and shutting. When he finished, he stood before me and smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Let's go inside," He reached for my hand, causing me to flinch away.

I ignored the flash of hurt and confusion on his face and followed him up the stairs and into the brown brick townhouse. When I stepped inside, two heads simultaneously turned towards me.

"Hey gorgeous," Travis greeted, earning him a glare from Mari.

Smiling back, I slipped out of my shoes and continued to follow Reece to his room. At the top of the stairs, I paused, remembering the last time that I was here. That night was perfect.

We reached his room and I forced myself to stop thinking about what happened that night. I stood silently by the door as he took off his jacket and sweater. His back muscles visibly flexed with every movement under his tight fitting black long sleeve. Running a tan hand through his locks, he made his way to his bed and began clearing it off.

My heart rate picked up from witnessing that simple action. For lack of better words, he was beautiful. I could see a hint of stubble across his sharp jaw; something that I had never seen before. He looked tired, to say the least.

As I nervously shifted my weight between my legs, I silently cursed myself for the way my body was reacting. How long had he been back? Did he plan on telling me any time soon? What was this feeling building up inside of me? Whatever this was, I hated it. I would rather be furious then have to deal with it.

"How have you been?" he asked, pulling me from my thoughts. Now standing before me, he pulled at one of my curls. "Your hair has gotten longer."

My fists clenched at my sides and I resisted the urge to punch him square in the face. "I didn't come up here for small talk."

He raised his hands in a surrendering motion and stepped back, taking a seat on his bed. I took a second to calm down and take off my jacket. The instant it was off, I remembered that I hadn't put my bra back on before I left the house. When I looked up, I found Reece's eyes trailing up and down my body.

I found myself squirming under his gaze. Why did I feel so awkward? Usually I carried myself with confidence, even cocky to a point. Placing my jacket down, I looked around the room, my eyes darting everywhere but the boy on the bed.