MikasBlackCougar Page 4

  Trent made that very soft growling sound again. If Silvia heard it, she didn’t act as if she had. She continued to smile.

  “Now, Silvia, why would I go and sit with you when Mika wouldn’t bore me to death with stupid girl talk like you would. I think I’d be lowering my standards to sit at your table since you only have half the brain Mika does.”

  At hearing Trent’s words I choked back a laugh, which made Silvia glare at me with anger flashing in her eyes.

  “What are you laughing at, loser? You think that’s funny, do you? At least I can make friends, unlike you. And I don’t dress as if I got my clothes at a second-hand store.” With that, Silvia flounced back to her table.

  No longer hungry, I stuffed my half-eaten sandwich back into my lunch bag. I avoided looking at Trent. Today I hadn’t taken as much care as I had the day before when I picked my clothes. I’d thought I would at least be able to stay under Silvia’s radar if I dressed as I normally did. I guessed wrong. I couldn’t win for losing. As I shoved my lunch bag inside my backpack and zipped it up I sensed Silvia watching me. I couldn’t stay in the cafeteria any longer.

  I went to get up but stopped short when I saw Trent standing next to my chair with his hand held out. Either I’d been too busy feeling sorry for myself to have heard him get out of his chair, or Trent had been able to move without making a sound. I gazed up and put my hand in his. He pulled me onto my feet and laced his fingers through mine.

  “Let’s get out of here, Mika.” He turned to give Silvia a nasty look before he led me out of the cafeteria.

  Trent didn’t say anything more as we walked hand in hand down the hall and then outside. The glare from the bright sunshine blinded me for a couple of seconds before my eyes adjusted. Trent led me to one of the school’s big trees, which he sat under in the shade. He pulled me down to sit next to him and kept my hand in his. His thumb gently stroked the back of my hand.

  He sighed. “I’m sorry, Mika.”

  I turned my head to look at him. “What are you sorry for? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “I should never have looked over at Silvia. I only asked for trouble when I did.”

  I shook my head. “It wasn’t your fault. I had a feeling I wouldn’t escape unscathed today. Rachel already had a few nasty things to say to me in English. I should have expected Silvia to do something.”

  Trent turned to look me in the face. “What did Rachel say?”

  I waved his question away with a flick of my hand. “Don’t worry about it.”

  He pulled me closer to his side and rested our clasped hands on his thigh. “Would you stop being the martyr? I know you don’t want to stand up to Silvia and her friends. That’s fine, but I won’t let them be nasty to you and not get something nasty back in return. I know what it’s like to be picked on just because you aren’t like them.”

  “As if you’ve ever been picked on,” I said in a droll voice.

  Trent didn’t give me his crooked smile as I expected. His face stayed stern. “As a matter of fact, I have.”

  I had a hard time believing that. “When? I know for sure no one would dare pick on you now.” Given Trent’s height and muscle mass, the other boys in school tended to keep their distance from him.

  “Back when my family used to live on the reservation, when I was younger.”

  “Oh.” I sometimes forgot Trent hadn’t always lived off the reservation. It hadn’t been until he had started grade eight that Trent and his family had moved. That bit of information had come from Cathy. She’d dug it up when I’d first showed interest in Trent two years before.

  “Silvia’s basically a bully. Knock her down a few times and she’ll back off. So what did Rachel say?”

  I turned to look up at the clear blue sky. “She asked me how I managed to land you as my boyfriend. I ignored her, of course, which just pissed her off. She managed to get one last jab in, though. She told me I wouldn’t have you for long, and that Silvia would take you away from me soon.”

  Trent snorted. “As if that would happen. I can’t stand Silvia.” He reached over and turned my face in his direction. “I’m not going anywhere, Mika. So don’t let them get to you. Okay?”

  I smiled. “Okay. I still say you’re my knight in shining armor.”

  Trent rolled his eyes at that. “I better watch myself or pretty soon you’ll be comparing me to one of the heroes in those romance novels you read.”

  I cocked a brow at him. “And just how exactly would you know what a hero in a romance novel would be like?”

  Trent actually blushed. “My mom’s hooked on those things. I got curious a couple years ago. So I swiped one of her books and read one.”

  I bit back a smile. “Which one did you read?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t remember. It wasn’t as if I finished the book. I read about half of it then gave up. Romance novels aren’t what I’d call my favorite thing to read.”

  I burst out laughing at the disgusted look Trent wore on his face. “Well, they are written for women, you know. Personally, I think a guy should read at least one romance novel in his lifetime.”

  “Why would you think that?”

  “For one thing, maybe they would learn something from it about what women really want when it comes to romance.”

  “Really now?” Trent released my hand, turned toward me and roughly pulled me up against his chest. “So if I were to hold you like this and look deeply into your eyes as I slowly lowered my lips to yours, you would like it?”

  My heart thumped so hard against my ribs I had to wonder if Trent felt it against his chest. I lost the ability to speak as I looked up into his brown eyes. The crooked grin that had been on his face slowly slipped away as he continued to look down at me. All of a sudden he grew stiff. For a split second, I thought his eyes appeared to lighten to gold, but it happened so fast I didn’t know if it was just my mind playing tricks on me.

  Trent’s nostrils flared as he drew in a deep breath, then slowly let go. He moved a little away so our bodies didn’t touch. “I’m going to take that as a ‘yes.’”

  I nodded, still unable to speak.

  He cleared his throat. “I guess we’d better get back inside. The bell’s going to ring soon. I need to go to my locker before the next period, but I’ll walk you to yours just in case you run into Silvia again.”

  I nodded again. Picking up my backpack, I stood and brushed the grass off the back of my jeans. Trent walked beside me, but this time he didn’t try to take my hand. I figured with Silvia and her crew not around to see he didn’t think it necessary.

  We didn’t pass too many other kids as we walked to my locker. Once there I turned to face Trent. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow in math.”

  Trent nodded. “And I’ll save us a table at lunch again.”

  I studied his face. There seemed to be a strained look to it. “Are you sure?”

  His brows drew together. “Why wouldn’t I want to?”

  “I don’t know. Right now I’m getting the impression you really don’t want to be around me. I’ll totally understand if you don’t.”

  In a blink of an eye, Trent had me backed against my closed locker as he put his hands on either side of my head, effectively caging me in. He shook his head. “That is about the furthest thing from the truth, Mika. If anything, I want to be around you more than would be good for you. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He gently caressed my cheek with the tips of his fingers before he walked away.

  I watched him until he disappeared down the hall. My heart raced. Trent had just about turned my brain to mush with just a simple touch to my cheek. What’ll happen if he actually kisses me one day?

  Chapter Six

  I rushed home and up to my bedroom after school. I didn’t even bother to stop and say hello to Mom before I went upstairs. I just yelled that I was home as I took the stairs two at a time.

  I spent the next two hours chatting with Cathy on instant messenger as we talked about my tim
e spent with Trent. Cathy took it all as a good sign that he’d eventually ask me out. A part of me hoped he would, but I tried not to get my hopes up too much. Cathy on the other hand, believed a hundred percent it would only be a matter of time before he did.

  During dinner I spent more time replaying the episode that had taken place under the tree at school than I did the food on my plate. Mom gave me a knowing smile every time she caught my eye. Luckily for me, neither Dad nor Jared seemed to notice. I knew if Jared ever found out about Trent he’d never let me live it down. Little brothers can be pains in the butt that way.

  With dinner over, I sat in my room as I worked on my homework. I didn’t bother to look up from my books where I sat on my bed when a knock came on my bedroom door. “If you aren’t Jared, you can come in.”

  Dad pushed open the door. He stepped into my room and closed it softly behind him. I sat up straighter on my bed and waited for him to speak. He leaned back against the closed door and silently stared. From past experience, I knew he was thinking through what he wanted to say. He only did this when he wanted to discuss something he considered demanded more of his attention than other things. His blue eyes, so much like my own, searched my face. I silently waited for him to collect his thoughts.

  A few seconds later, he cleared his throat. “Your mother told me you’re interested in a boy.”

  I groaned. “Do we have to get into this, Dad?”

  “I think so. Your mother seems to think you have gotten closer to this boy. She said you were pretty distracted over dinner, and she figured it had to do with him. She’s always more observant about these things than I am.”

  That was true. Dad’s an IT specialist. If something didn’t have to do with computers or the Internet, he tended to miss what was going on around him. “Stop calling him ‘this boy.’ His name’s Trent.”

  “Trent what?”

  “Trent Hunter. And you don’t have anything to worry about, Dad. We’re just friends.”

  “That doesn’t mean it’ll stay that way. Your mother and I started out just as friends too.”

  Mom and Dad had been high school sweethearts. To this day, I sometimes catch them making goo-goo eyes at each other. “So what’s this all about?”

  He pushed away from the door and came to sit on the edge of my bed. “Well, I just thought that if Trent decided to ask you out on a date I’d like to meet him first.”

  I groaned again. “Dad! Do you have to be so much the father when it comes to the subject of me dating?”

  He smiled. “It is my job, don’t you know? And you are my only daughter. It’s kind of hard for me to accept that you want to go out on dates.”

  “I suggest you get over it. It’ll happen someday. I can’t believe we’re having this conversation when I haven’t even been asked out on a date—ever.”

  “I just thought to discuss this with you now so you know where I stand about the whole dating thing.”

  “Fine. If Trent ever asks me out, and I’m not sure that he will, I’ll have him come over here first so you can check him out. Is that okay with you?”

  Dad smiled. “That’s fine with me.” He got up and walked to my door. Before he opened it, he turned back to face me. “How are things at school? Is that girl still giving you problems?”

  I shrugged. “A little, but nothing I can’t handle.”

  “Do you want me to call the school and discuss it with your vice principal?”

  “Please, god, no. That’ll just make things worse. Besides, Trent has been helping me with that.”

  “I guess he can’t be all that bad then. I’ll leave you to finish your homework. Just remember, if that girl starts to get out of hand I’m more than willing to go to the school about it. You don’t have to feel as if you have to take her abuse, Mika.”

  “I know.”

  Once Dad left I shook my head. It would seem Mom was way more observant than I thought. And of course she would’ve told Dad about her suspicions. Mom would never keep anything from him. To be honest, when the time came, I hoped I could be just as close to my husband as my parents were to each other.

  I turned my attention back to my homework. I’d been working on my math before Dad had come in to talk. It was slow going. It made me wish Trent was there to help me. It also gave me an idea. Maybe I could ask Trent to come to my house to help me with this subject. The only problem would be whether or not I could get over my shyness enough to ask him. I felt more comfortable around him now, but asking him over to my place seemed like a big step for me to take. If he said yes, it would appease my father, but if he said no, I would kick myself for even daring to ask. I’d have to wait and see how Trent acted tomorrow. And whether or not I could screw up enough courage to ask him.

  * * * *

  Much to my pleasure, Trent met me at my locker the next morning. He seemed to be back to his old self. He flashed his crooked smile as soon as he saw me. The stiffness and uneasiness he’d shown the day before seemed to have disappeared. He even held my hand as we walked to our homeroom together. I at first thought maybe Trent did like me in that way. But when I saw we’d have to walk by Silvia and her crew, I let that thought disappear.

  Through most of the class I debated with myself about asking Trent to come and help me with my math. I didn’t want to ask him and have him outright turn me down, but if I didn’t at least try I knew I’d kick myself later for being such a coward. Decisions, decisions. In the end I decided to just go for it.

  Since we were supposed to be quietly working on our assigned work, I leaned over to the very edge of my desk toward Trent, who sat in the desk beside mine. “Pssst.”

  Trent’s head came up as he turned and look in my direction. He whispered, “What?”

  I kept my voice to a hush. “I was wondering…if you don’t have anything to do this weekend…would you mind coming to my place to help me with my math.” I felt my face turn beet red as I talked. By the time I’d forced the last words out of my mouth, I knew my whole face had to be flushed.

  “You want me to help you with your math?”

  I nodded. I didn’t think I could force another word out until he said “yes” or “no.”

  Trent slowly nodded and whispered back, “Yeah. I could do that. I don’t have anything really planned for this weekend. Would tomorrow afternoon be okay with you?”

  I let go of the breath I’d been holding. “That would be fine. I’ll be home all day so come by whenever you want.”

  “Sounds good.”

  The bell rang and I collected up my books. Trent waited for me to put them in my backpack. Once out in the hall, I told him I’d see him at lunch. He nodded, then left to go to his next class.

  I just barely managed to hold back the shout of joy threatening to break free. I’d conquered my shyness and done what I thought I wouldn’t be able to. It had turned out to be less painful than I’d thought. Would I have been able to ask another boy to my house? I doubted it. Only with Trent did I feel less shy.

  When lunch period finally arrived, I hurried to meet Trent in the cafeteria. He sat at our table, waiting. As he’d said yesterday, he’d held off eating so he could with me. I pulled my lunch bag out of my backpack as I looked over at what Trent took out of his. He had two thick sandwiches, a baggie of cookies, a baggie of crackers, an apple and a juice box.

  I looked up at Trent and asked, “Are you sure you can eat all that food?”

  He grabbed one of the sandwiches and opened the baggie. “Of course. This should tie me over until I can get home after school.”

  My eyes widened. “If I ate like that I’d be the size of a house.”

  Trent chuckled. “I have a fast metabolism, I guess. I always eat this way. My mom’s always complaining I’m eating up the food as fast as she can get it into the house.”

  “Not fair. I guess if I started lifting weights like you I’d be able to get away with eating more.”

  “That does help. Maybe that’s something we could do on Sunday.
You could come over to my house and I could teach you how to lift weights.”

  I sucked in a breath of surprise at Trent’s offer. “Really? You’d do that for me?”

  “Sure. You’ll be surprised by how fast you can build up your muscles. Maybe you’ll get enough that if Silvia becomes too much of a pain you could pop her one.”

  I giggled. “Now that would be incentive enough for me to want to start weight training. Sure, why not? Who knows, if I get big enough muscles Silvia’ll become too scared to cross me.”

  Even though I really hadn’t had much ambition to ever get into weight training, the prospect of having Trent as my trainer put it in a whole new light. There was no way I’d turn that offer down, especially since it meant I could spend more time with him.

  “Then it’s a deal.” Trent held his hand out for me to shake.

  I put mine in his and we shook. He held my hand a second longer than was necessary before he released it and picked up his sandwich again. This day only seemed to get better and better.

  I watched Trent consume every bit of food he’d brought. When I couldn’t finish the last of my cookies, I handed them over to him, and he quickly ate them. I had a feeling he probably still had room in his stomach for more if I had it to give. Trent was an eating machine. I hoped my brother didn’t start eating like Trent when he reached his age. I’d be lucky to get any food if he did.

  We spent the rest of the lunch period in the cafeteria. Silvia didn’t come to bug us, which was a plus. I caught her watching us from time to time, but she mostly seemed to be doing her best to ignore Trent and me. I didn’t mind. If only she could be that well behaved every day.

  Trent walked me to my locker a few minutes before the bell rang. I then remembered I hadn’t given him my address. I stopped him before he could walk away. “Wait, Trent. You don’t know where I live. Let me write it down for you.”