Falling for the Ghost of You by Nicole Christie

think of walking that sh ort distance to his room, and—I don't know what I'd do.  Kiss him.  Run my arms up and down his back...
    He thinks I'm beautiful and funny!
    Yeah, right, Viol et.  Then why is he going out—p robably with yet another gorgeous wom an?  He must have felt sorry for you.
    Ugh, the voice of reason in my head is right.  I need to stop thinking like that.  Zane is my future step brother, and the most we can be is friends.  I can ignore that spine tingling electricity, that feeling of falling, whenever I'm around him.  I just won't allow it.
    Yeah.  T he next night I walk in on Zane just coming out of the shower.  He's wearing nothing but a towel knotted low around his waist.  Beads of water slide down his tanned muscles, from his chest down to the fascinating ridges along his hips...
    Don't worry, I handle it well.  I scream, "Ewww!" and run from the room.
    No , I really did.  I walked into that room and saw the hottest sexiest guy I've ever seen--wet and half naked.  And I said, " Ewww ."
    I know.  How am I still single, right?
     
     
    ******
     
     
    Chapter 11
     
    "Look at this pic ," I say to Lauren, showing her my phone.  "My mom sent it this morning from Paris."
    Lauren takes it and squints at the screen.  "What is that she's holding?"
    "That would be a phallic-shaped French pastry that my mother is holding up to her open mouth.  I don't thi nk she realizes, however—o r she wouldn't be posing like that."
    She laughs and hands my phone back to me.  “She looks really good, V.  Happy.”
    “Yeah,” I agree with a sigh.  I poke u nenthusiastically at my taco .
    We're at Taco Bill's right now, having lunch off campus for a change.  We aren't really allowed to, but usually the school doesn't enforce this rule.   So we’re seizing the day.  I order tacos instead of my usual enchiladas, just to be different.
    "What did you get on that Chem quiz?"  Lauren asks me.
    "Ninety-six." I say.  "What about you?"
    She smiles.  "Ninety-eight."
    I make a face at her.  "Show off."
    "Right, I studied my butt off.  You rarely crack a book open.  Are you going to work on your essay tonight?"
    "No."  I busy myself with running my fingers through my hair.  "I think I'm hanging out with Zane tonight."
    Lauren raises an eyebrow.  "Again?"
    "Yeah," I mumble nonchalantly.  "It's no big deal.  He asked if I wanted pizza for dinner.  We might watch a movie after."
    Lauren doesn't say anything, but her brown eyes seem judgmental.
    "What?" I say, a tad defensively.  "We're just friends.  In fact, why don't you come over?  You can finally meet him."
    "Not today.  I'm tutoring after school."
    "Ugh.  Is Mr. Tanner back yet, or do we still have Mr. Jensen?"
    Lauren takes a long sip from her soda before answering.  "Jensen. Mr. Tanner is still out sick.  I think he's actually having some kind of surgery."
    "Oh.  Poor guy."  I tsk sympathetically.  "I like Jensen, though.  They should just make him be our permanent teacher.  He's been there more than Tanner has."
    "Yeah, I'm sure all the girls would love that."  Lauren rolls her eyes.  "Did I tell you about yesterday, after school?  Kari Geddes was all leaning up against him when I came in."
    "Really?"  My eyes widen. "And what was he doing?"
    "Leaning away from her."  She laughs.  "You should've seen the look on his face."
    "Well, yeah," I say, squirting hot sauce on my taco.  "If he ever got caught with a student, he'd be in so much trouble.  Remember Mrs. Alvarez?"
    "Yeah, but I still wonder if Casey was making it all up.  Mrs. Alvarez was sixty, with rheumatoid arthritis."
    "True," I agree, licking the hot sauce off my fingers.  "So, do you wanna come over after tutoring?"
    "No, thanks," she declines.  She takes a small bite of her burrito, then suddenly bursts out laughing.  Covering her mouth, she mumbles, "I still can't believe you said ' eww !'"
    Even now, I flush with embarrassment.  "I was flustered.  You know