Entice by Amber Garza

wonder if I’d imagined the whole exchange a minute ago. Was I going crazy?
    While Mom sipped on her coffee and Drake nibbled on the cheese from Mom’s fancy snack tray, I slipped into my room to call Isaac. Once inside, I closed the door tightly behind me and reached into my jeans pocket for my phone. Only it wasn’t there. I looked in my other pocket but it was empty too. After scouring my room, panic set in. Oh no. What if I left it at Thatcher’s? I may never get it back. Someone could have found it and reprogrammed it by now. Desperately, I tried to remember if I’d ever installed that tracking app. I kept meaning to, but I wasn’t sure if I ever had.
    There was a rapping on the front door. Mom yelled down the hallway, “Kenzie, it’s that boy. The one that’s just a friend.”
    I cringed and prayed he hadn’t heard her. Quickly, I emerged from my room and raced down the hallway. I was grateful that the front door was still closed. Of course, our walls were pretty thin so he still might have heard what she said. I opened the door and greeted Tanner warmly. From the happy expression on his face, it seemed he hadn’t heard Mom.
    “Thought you might need this.” He held up my phone.
    I snatched it from his fingers and squealed. “Thank you!” Without thinking, I threw my arms around his neck. He tensed under my touch, his expression serious. I could hear his heart pounding beneath mine. Swallowing hard, I let my arms drop and stepped away from him.
    Tanner glanced inside the family room. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you had company. Just wanted to drop off your phone. I’ll get going now.”
    “Nonsense.” Mom waved him inside. “Come on in. The more the merrier.”
    Tanner looked at me. I shrugged.
    “Alright.” He stepped inside with a smile on his face. It vanished the instant he saw Drake. I watched as his face paled.
    “Tanner.” Drake stood up from the couch. “So good to see you again.”
    Tanner set his jaw, took a step back. He reminded me of a dog, ready to attack. I stayed close to his side.
    “I hear you’ve made some changes, turned over a new leaf,” Drake said.
    “Yeah.” Tanner’s voice came out strained. He still hadn’t moved.
    “Even so, I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around.” Drake grinned mischievously.
    Tanner’s face reddened, he balled his fists.
    “How do you two know each other?” I asked.
    Tanner shook his head, but didn’t speak.
    “We go way back. Don’t we, Tanner?”
    I narrowed my eyes. “What does that mean?”
    Drake opened his mouth to answer, but Tanner cut him off. “Nothing. I have to go. I’ll see you later, Kenzie.”
    “Yeah.” Confused, I watched him walk out the door. “Thanks for my phone,” I called after him as he fled.
    “That was rude,” Mom muttered under her breath.
    I glared at Drake. In the entire time I’d been hanging out with Tanner I had never seen him act like that. ‘Rude’ was the last word anyone would use to describe him. Clearly, Drake had done something to upset him.
    I intended to find out what it was.
     

Chapter Fifteen
     
    I stood in front of the bathroom sink, holding my hands under the running water. The soap in the school restrooms smelled like throw-up. I wrinkled my nose as the suds swirled toward the drain, emitting their disgusting aroma.
    “I really thought you’d gotten better taste after last year.”
    Scarlett’s reflection appeared behind me. Her strawberry blonde hair cascaded down her thin frame. Her green eyes glared at me, her painted ruby lips hardened into a determined line.
    “What do you mean?” I pulled a paper towel from the dispenser.
    “Tanner. I know you two are together.”
    I dried my hands. “No, we’re not.”
    “Oh, please. It’s totally obvious.” She came to stand beside me, and turned on the adjacent faucet. “I’m just surprised. You would think after what Caleb did to you, you’d want nothing to do with guys like them.”
    Heat crept up my collar bone.