Cricket (Cricket Kendall Book 1), page 26
No, no, no. I have to stop thinking about this. They have mate marks and I don’t, and Hawthorne said Theo could only be friends with me. I bring my magic up and let a ripple of air thread through my fingers to distract myself.
Theo grabs my hand to get my attention. When our eyes meet, he gives me a mischievous grin.
“Oh god, what?”
Cas and Theo laugh, and Theo says, “You don’t need to sound so terrified.”
I narrow my eyes. “I just have a feeling I’m not going to like whatever you’re about to say or ask.”
“Actually, I think you’ll like it a lot.” Theo wiggles his eyebrows. “You should surprise Hollis with a kiss. See how long it takes for the alpha order to kick in.”
“He’ll totally freeze up. He wouldn’t know what to do with her if he was really given the chance.” Cas scoffs.
I turn to glare at Cas, and he widens his eyes at me in alarm. “I just meant he’s never been with a girl as hot as you are.”
“You want me to kiss Hollis in front of you guys? I’m not doing that.”
“It’s okay if you’re too scared, little witch.” Theo mocks, smirking sideways at me.
Why did he have to say that? Because I know I’m going to do it now. And he knows it too. I can tell by the mischievous glimmer in his eyes. It reminds me so much of my brothers. I’m still glaring at him when he pulls into Hollis’s driveway. When he parks, he stares at me challengingly. I want to wipe that smirk off his face so fucking badly. I give him one last glare before whipping my seatbelt off and opening the passenger door. I hear him laughing as I walk up to the front door.
This will be easy. I want to kiss Hollis. I hope he doesn’t mind. I lift my hand to knock on the door, willing my nerves to settle. Before I knock, Hollis opens the door. We stare at each other in surprise before he grins. My stomach flips, and I smile back.
“Good morning, Cricket.” He looks fucking sexy, and I silently watch him as he closes the door behind him. When he turns his gaze back on me, he still looks so happy. I feel myself totally melting.
I slide my hands up his chest and stand on my tiptoes as I look into his gorgeous sapphire eyes. “I missed you. Yesterday, I was so…I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.”
Theo’s stupid dare has been momentarily forgotten. Hollis is such a sweetheart, and I really hope he wasn’t beating himself up for telling me about the mate thing.
His eyes soften, and he grabs one of my hands. He brings his other hand up to cup the back of my head. “I missed you too.” His eyes wander over me slowly and he gives me this crazy heartwarming smile. “You look beautiful today.”
“You look really good too.” I give him a flirty smirk. “You always look really freaking good. I’ve been dying to see you with your shirt off.”
Hollis goes still and laughs. He gives me a flirty grin and lifts his shirt up. And holy fucking hallelujah. I was so right. He has the yummiest fucking abs I’ve ever seen. I hear myself make some weird purring noise, and my eyes glaze over with lust. I’m not in control of my hands anymore as I reach out to run my fingers over his ripped body. I feel him shiver under my touch, and I bring my eyes back up to meet his.
His eyes are heated, and his nostrils are flaring like crazy. I lay my palms flat against his stomach muscles and murmur, “I think you should kiss me.”
Hollis growls and picks me up so fast I don’t realize what’s happened until my back is pressed against his front door and my legs are wrapped around his waist. One of his hands is on my ass, and he’s using the other to brush my hair off of my shoulder. He kisses my neck, still making these wonderful growling noises. I squeeze my legs around him tightly and moan as I run my fingers through his short hair. He pulls away from my neck and crashes his lips against mine. I completely lose myself in him.
Hollis abruptly pulls away from me, and hisses like he’s in pain. He’s still holding me up, but his expression is a mix of horror and bewilderment. My brain hasn’t caught up yet, so I stare at him in shock. He slowly sets me back on the ground. He looks like he has no idea what just happened.
“Wow, that was the hottest fucking thing that’s ever happened to me.” I grin at him and grab his hand to thread our fingers together.
Hollis laughs in surprise, but he glances at the jeep nervously. He’s blushing, and I can’t even blame him. I’ve somehow forgotten that Cas and Theo are watching us.
I clear my throat and bounce awkwardly on my toes. “Okay, you’re probably going to be really mad. Let me start by saying, I meant everything I just said and I’ve totally been dying to kiss you since the first time you walked into Flora & Feathers.”
He gives me a nervous smile. “Okay.”
He doesn’t look mad, but what do I know? I can’t stop myself from rambling anxiously. “I kissed Cas last night. And Theo kissed me this morning. But because of the weird alpha thing Hawthorne and Theo did, they couldn’t kiss me for more than a few seconds. And on the way here, they were teasing me and talking crap about how I was too scared to kiss you in front of them, and how you wouldn’t know what to do with me, anyway.”
Hollis widens his eyes and bursts out laughing. He pulls me into a hug and gives me a teasing grin once his laughter settles down. “Trust me, it was definitely a welcome surprise. Especially if those guys were being dicks.”
I lean against him and smile in relief. He walks down the driveway with me, and I see him smirk at Theo and Cas. When we’re close enough that I can see Theo’s stupid grin through the window, I flip him off with two hands and give him a cheeky smile. Hollis opens the passenger door for me. Theo’s laughing so hard, he’s completely bent over the steering wheel.
“Holy fuck, Cricket.” He gasps for breath and wipes tears of laughter from his eyes. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen somebody take the expression ‘go big or go home’ so fucking seriously before.”
Hollis laughs, and I turn around to look in the back seat. He looks really fucking proud of himself, but Cas has his arms crossed while he scowls at Hollis. My heart drops, thinking I’ve finally fucked up. He looks so angry.
But then he turns to me and pouts. “You still think he’s the hunky one, don’t you?”
“What!? What the fuck are you talking about?” Theo screeches in laughter.
Cas keeps pouting, but it looks like he’s trying really hard not to laugh too. “When I caught Cricket on Xbox with her brothers last night, she told them she had to get off because I was there. They asked if I was the pretty one or the hunky one. Apparently, I’m the fucking pretty one. And Cricket said she wouldn’t consider changing our titles until she’d seen all of our fucking abs.”
Theo is bright fucking red from laughing so hard, and Hollis is holding his sides from laughing so much. When they finally calm down, Theo snorts at me. “Goddamn it, Cricket. You’re really fucking smooth. I didn’t even question it when you asked to see me with my shirt off earlier. And what’s my nickname, huh?”
Hollis barks out another laugh. “I didn’t question it either when she asked.”
“Whatever. You guys are all constantly checking me out. I’m not even embarrassed, and I found all of your abs very impressive.” I giggle. “And I think it’s fucking hilarious that you’re so hung up on this, Cas. I’m not even the one that started calling you guys hunky and pretty. That was Emerson. Theo’s the hot one since Em saw a picture of him first.”
The guys laugh, and Theo says, “Fuck me, we’re going to be late.”
“I’m sure it’ll be fine. It’s only the first week.” Hollis shrugs.
“It doesn’t fucking feel like it. It feels like Cricket’s been with us forever. I still can’t believe it’s only been a few days,” Cas says.
I smile at them. My best friends and my pack. “Neither can I.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
We’re not late for school, but we still have to rush to first period. While Cas grabs my bag from the back, Hollis pulls me aside for a hug. Theo ruffles my hair and puts his arm around my shoulders. Cas walks on my other side with his fingers threaded through mine. I’m only half listening to them as they talk over my head to one another. I notice people in the hallways giving us double takes. It gives me an uneasy flutter in my stomach. I know what they’re probably saying about me.
Theo squeezes my shoulder lightly. “Cricket, you should see the game room at Cas’s house. It’s fucking insane. If I knew you played video games, I would have suggested it before.”
“You fucking liar. You would have just taken her to your house to play instead.” Cas laughs and squeezes my hand.
“Okay, maybe.” Theo shrugs.
“Why haven’t you taken me over to your house before, anyway?” I’ve known Theo longer than Cas and Hollis. I’ve already had dinner with Hollis’s parents, and Cas’s mom invited me over.
“I’m an only child. My parents are usually busy, which is fine. But I’m always at someone else’s house, whether it’s one of the guys’ or Hawthorne’s,” Theo says.
When we reach the staircase, Cas looks at his watch. “We have one fucking minute before the bell.”
“Mrs. Quinn is a hardass. She won’t care it’s the first week.” Theo groans.
I yelp in surprise as Theo picks me up and sprints up the stairs two at a time. He keeps running once we reach the top, and Cas laughs as he barrels past us to the classroom at the end of the hall.
Everyone else is already seated when we walk in. The seats we sat in last time are empty, and Cas pauses beside one of them. “You want to sit behind her or next to her?”
Still carrying me, Theo ignores the crazy stares we’re getting from the teacher and the rest of the class. He grins at Cas and sets me down just as the bell rings. “Behind her, so I can play with her hair.”
Cas sits down without another word, unzips my backpack, and pulls out everything I need for this class. He neatly sets everything on my desk and gives me a sweet smile as he slumps back in his seat.
I grin back and forth between him and Theo, who’s already tugging lightly on my hair. I have the crazy urge to blurt ‘I love you.’ Instead, I say, “You guys are idiots.”
While Mrs. Quinn speaks, the guy sitting in front of Cas swivels around in his seat and leers at me. He’s not cute. Cas tenses up, and Theo’s hands still in my hair, so I know they’ve definitely noticed.
I raise an eyebrow at the dude, and he smirks. “You must be fucking amazing in bed. You free later?”
Wow. I’m not surprised by the question, but I am definitely surprised this guy has the balls to ask in front of Cas and Theo.
“What the fuck did you just say to her?” Cas snarls and gets halfway out of his seat until he’s practically in the guy’s face.
I don’t turn around to look at Theo, but his voice is cold and terrifying. “Later, Cas.”
Cas sits back down, but he doesn’t take his eyes off the guy in front of him. To his credit, the leering guy looks like he’s about to shit his pants. Cas is positively fuming. I see his nostrils flaring, and his hands are trembling slightly. Mrs. Quinn is oblivious to everything that just happened, but it’s obvious everyone else is paying attention to us.
I slide my foot over and lightly kick Cas’s foot to get his attention. When he looks up at me, I smile and make a heart with my hands. I know it’s totally cheesy, but it works. His eyes soften, and he smiles back. Luckily, the rest of class is mostly uneventful. Theo continues winding his hand through my hair and tickles the back of my neck. When I turn to look at him, he’s wearing the strangest expression. I have no idea what he’s thinking, but I smile at him too.
Hollis
After first period, I take a detour so I can meet Cricket outside of her chemistry class. I know it will only take a minute for her and Theo to get here from their first class, but I’m just so fucking eager to see her. I keep replaying the moment I kissed her over and over in my head, and I keep hearing those sweet, breathy moans she made when I kissed her neck. God, I want to kiss her again. It only lasted thirty seconds because of the alpha order. I should have known it would happen, but I completely lost control as soon as she asked me to kiss her.
I lean against the lockers across the hall from Cricket’s classroom. I see Paisley making her way toward me from the corner of my eye, but I ignore her. I’m really not in the mood to deal with her. In the past, whenever girls had crushes on me, I felt bad for turning them down. However, Paisley’s getting on my last nerve. Last year, she left notes in my locker nearly every fucking day, yet she rarely ever talked to me in person. The guys and I stopped using our lockers, so I guess that’s why she’s being so weirdly persistent.
“Hi, Hollis!” She stops in front of me, and I pretend I don’t hear her. I keep looking toward the end of the hall.
When she touches my arm, I’m forced to acknowledge her. I’m suddenly envious of the expression Cas gets on his face when he’s telling someone to fuck off.
“Oh, hi. I didn’t see you.” I smile tightly.
She smiles up at me. I used to think she was cute. She always seemed so quiet and shy. Now, I find every single thing about her annoying. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to think of any other girl as even slightly attractive now that I have Cricket. Not that I have her. But a guy can dream, right?
Paisley asks me a question, but I’m not paying enough attention to catch it. I give her a blank look, and she frowns. “I asked if you’ve finished reading Great Expectations yet. Are you okay?”
I glance down the hallway again. Still no sign of them.
“Yeah.” I blink at her in frustration. “Sorry, I’m just waiting for Cricket.”
Paisley’s face drops, and her eyes blaze. “What do you even like about her?”
Wow, this girl is fucking crazy. I feel my wolf tremble in anger at the slight against Cricket, and I’m desperately trying not to lash out. I catch Cricket’s scent and whip my head in her direction. She walks into the hallway with Theo’s arm around her shoulders. He’s grinning at her, making her laugh. I’m envious. Her laugh is adorable. Other people are watching them, and I don’t blame them. Theo and Cricket look good together. A couple of days ago, it would have hurt to admit. After Theo’s revelation that Cricket is most likely our mate, it feels okay to acknowledge that.
I’ve been thinking about it so much. The way she balances Theo and Cas. Their personalities are so different, but she somehow fits with both of them perfectly. I’d love to think the same for myself, and I wish I knew how she and I looked to other people. I like her so much. I’m pretty sure she likes me too, and not just because of our bond.
I’m still watching her and Theo walk down the hallway. Cricket tilts her head up slightly, and as soon as she sees me, her eyes light up. My heart fucking flips, and I smile broadly. I don’t look away from her when I finally answer Paisley’s question.
“Everything. I like everything about her.”
Paisley says something else, but I’m not listening. I walk toward Cricket. She pulls away from Theo and wraps her arms around me in a hug. I think again about how it felt to pick her up and press her against my front door with her legs wrapped around me.
“Just couldn’t wait til lunch to see me, huh?” She has the sexiest smirk on her face.
I laugh and shake my head at her. She’s right.
Theo smiles softly at her. He leans in closer to me and whispers, “We need to talk.”
I keep the smile on my face for Cricket’s sake, but I can tell Theo is freaking out. He reaches out and ruffles her hair. “We’ll meet you after class, little witch. You’re sitting with me at lunch today.”
He hands her backpack to her, and she smiles at us before walking into her classroom. As soon as she’s out of view, I flare my nostrils and narrow my eyes at Theo. “What’s wrong?”
Theo looks around the hallway wildly for a half second before his eyes land on somebody. I follow him down the hallway until he stops near a kid pulling books out of a locker. I think he’s a junior.
“Hey, Thomas.” Theo says, leaning against the lockers beside the kid.
The kid looks up and stares at Theo in shock. He glances at me, and I try to appear more open and friendly. He darts his gaze back to Theo. “Uh, yeah. What’s up?”
“You’re working as an office assistant this period?” When the kid nods, Theo grins triumphantly. “Awesome. Can you do us a huge favor, bro? I need you to call me and my boy here out of class. Can you do something like that?”
Thomas widens his eyes, “I—I think so. But—”
“We’ll pay you back. What do you want?”
Thomas looks at me. I know he’s going to give in. This isn’t the first time Theo’s done something like this. He’s so fucking charismatic, and he has this insane memory where he can remember the name and face of every single person he meets, along with all kinds of crazy minor details.
“Well, there is this girl, but I don’t think she even knows I exist,” Thomas says.
“Done.” Theo laughs. “Unless you’re talking about Cricket.”
“No, it’s not her. I promise.” Thomas shakes his head.
“Alright cool.” Theo gives him a fist bump. “We’re in room one-forty with Mr. Barnes. Get us out of class, and then find me at lunch later. We’ll talk then.”
Any other time, I’d be rolling my eyes. But I have a feeling this is about Cricket, so I don’t say anything as I follow him to environmental science. Theo greets a few people as we sit down together, but I’m too keyed up. I barely pay attention when our teacher calls attendance and asks for our homework to be passed up front. Ten minutes later, my and Theo’s names are called to the office. Thank fucking god.
