Chapter 2
1000 Words
Hannah POV
I unlocked my rusted out Honda Civic in the school parking lot and threw my bookbag in the backseat. I turned the key, and the engine sputtered, "Ah come on baby, you've got a few more good days in you," I murmured to the car. The car attempted to turn over and sputtered off. "Dang it," I groaned. While I did live close enough to walk home, I hated walking in the fall. The humidity in Iowa was wretched. Most parts of the northern hemisphere think of the fall as cooling off weather. I have found we have extremes. Either we will see record heat, or we will get blizzards. This part of the US is a hot mess.
I grabbed my bag and a few other items from my car that I would need immediately and began the 2-mile walk home. "Hey, Hannah, wait up!" I stopped when Chad called for me. He jogged up to me. "What's going on with your car?"
I shrugged, "I guess Betty doesn't want to run this afternoon."
Chad chuckled, "You named your car?"
"Well yeah," I responded in mock indignation, "How else will she know that she is in trouble if I can't yell out her name? Besides, everyone knows sweet talking a car will always get you where you want to be."
"Says who?" Chad asked, playfully nudging me with his shoulder.
"Says everyone. Don't you read those smut novels? The guys have to sweet talk the girls to get where they want to be." I winked at the naughty reference. Chad threw his head back and laughed.
"Let me give you a ride home," he offered. "I wanted to apologize for Mike's behavior."
I sent him a small smile, "No, thank you, I don't want you to go out of your way."
Chad scoffed, "Hannah, this town maybe has 10,000 people in it. We are all crammed into approximately 10 square miles. Literally you could ask me to drive you to the next town and I wouldn't consider it out of the way."
I rolled my eyes but allowed him to lead me to his truck. He opened the passenger side of his fully loaded Ford F250 that he had raised quite some ways off the ground. Many people who lift trucks like to go "mudding" or drive down muddy low-grade roads that are never maintained. This sends the mud flying. Sometimes, people get stuck. I honestly never understood the appeal, but I hazard a guess that Chad is one who enjoys mudding.
I threw my bag on the seat and hoisted myself up, silently cursing the redneck mentality when it came to high-leveled vehicles and the random things people do to make short people like me have a hard time getting into the vehicle. Chad slammed the door behind me shut once I settled down and strode around. He gracefully entered his truck through some cute boy magic and grinned after buckling his seat belt.
"You still live in the little house by the park?" Chad asked.
"Oh, actually, I have been staying with my mom at her new boyfriend's house. It's close to the old house, though." Chad's look of surprise made me realize how much had happened over the summer break. "Yeah, sorry. After Dad died, mom's friend helped us a lot, and I guess he and she got together recently. His family is cool, so I like to hang around also."
"Mrs. Parker got game," Chad mumbled. I rolled my eyes at the comment regarding my mom moving on with her life. Honestly, she would never have moved on had the mate bond not tied her to Xander and John. How do you explain that to a human who has no clue that they are not the only species? I gave Chad directions, and we pulled up in front of Xander's house.
Marcus walked out the front door and watched us park. He leaned his big frame against the front door and folded his arms in front of his chest. His dark hair curled around his ears, and his black eyes watched us carefully. Carlie had told me he was from some pack in Mexico, and his skin color was never short of a beautiful tanned color. "Uh, thanks for the lift." I said awkwardly.
"That the future stepdad?" Chad asked.
I chuckled, "No, that is his sister's husband, Marcus. He's cool." Silently I added," He's Xander's beta,” but I knew I was not going to out the supernatural community.
"I see," Chad turned to me, "So I was wondering, are you really busy this weekend?" He brushed his hand against the back of his neck as if nervous.
"Um, not that I am aware of. Why?"
Chad's radiant smile flashed, "Would you like to go to the party with me?"
"Not really my cup of tea," I responded honestly.
Chad smirked. "OK then, may I text you about a future outing?"
I thought for a moment, "Maybe, depends on the outing." I smirked. He grinned in response and jumped out of the truck. Opening the passenger side door, he held his arm out, and I slid into his arms. He slowly slid my body down his as close as he could, so I was feeling all the hard planes of his body. As my feet hit the ground, his hands rested on my hips, and he leaned in. I felt my face flush, "Thanks for the ride. I am sure Betty will be running again tomorrow."
Chad whispered in my ear seductively, "Text me if you want a ride in the morning. I wouldn't mind seeing you first thing." Good lord, what was this sudden flirting?
"Sure," was all I could squeak out. Why was my voice all breathy? Chad's smirk was his response, and he trotted back to the driver's side of his truck before hopping in. He slowly left the drive before hitting the gas to fly down the road.
- Writer
