Shadowed Strength: Shadowed Series Book One Page 13

  “No, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” replied Jeremy. “There’s no reason to involve him. He’d just get paranoid. We’ll figure this out.” He took Melanie’s hand. “I know we will.”

  “Okay. Well kiddos, I’m off. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” she said with a wink and walked out the door.

  “Why does she have to say that every freaking day?” Melanie asked with her eyes closed and her face pointed up to the ceiling.

  “Because,” Jeremy said as he pulled her in for a tight hug, “she knows what I want to do to you.” He kissed her softly.

  “Mm, that’s nice.”

  “Hey,” Jeremy said as he pulled back so he could see her face. “Let’s do something tomorrow. Just you and me.”

  “Sounds…perfect. What did you have in mind Mr. Stevens?”

  “Well, Miss Johnson, I thought we could go down to the lake for a picnic. The water is still too cold to swim, but the weather should be nice. I want to take you on a real date.”

  “Then it’s a date!”

  *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  The next morning, Melanie was on pins and needles waiting for Jeremy to pick her up at noon like they had decided. She had spent over an hour trying on every outfit in her closet. She finally decided on a knee length baby blue sundress with a lightweight white sweater that she wore unbuttoned.

  “This is ridiculous,” she groaned to herself as she strapped on a pair of white sandals. “Jeremy sees me every day in jeans and t-shirts.”

  She went into the bathroom to put on some mascara and lip gloss. She stared at herself in the mirror and said “You are beautiful,” but it was different this time. She really looked at herself. The blue of her dress made her eyes look vibrant and her excitement made them shine. She was smiling and her happiness made her skin glow.

  “You are beautiful,” she said and flipped off the light and went downstairs to wait.

  “Wow, look at you,” her mom said from her place on the couch when she walked into the living room. “You look great!”

  “Thanks, mom.”

  “Where is he taking you again?”

  “To the lake for a picnic.”

  “Melanie, be careful, okay? I know you like this boy, but I don’t want you getting yourself in over your head. You’re still so young…”

  “Mom! I’m sixteen! And Jeremy and I have been friends for a long time. I trust him.”

  “Well, sixteen you may be, but you’re still my little girl and if he so much as…”

  Melanie was saved by a knock on the door. “Mom, please stop. He’s here.”

  “I’ll get it,” her mom said as she hopped off the couch and walked to the door. She opened it and stepped aside to let Jeremy enter.

  Melanie sucked in a deep breath when she got a look at him. He looked amazing. He had on a tight, black t-shirt and a pair of low-slung jeans with black flip flops. His dark brown hair looked artfully messy, but with enough gel to keep that curl from flopping onto his forehead.

  “Hi, Mrs. Johnson. It’s nice to see you again.”

  “You too, Jeremy, and it’s Ms., not Mrs.”

  “Oh, sorry, Ms. Johnson.” He looked at Melanie. “You look beautiful.”

  Melanie felt her face heat up. “Thanks, so do you. I mean, er, you look great. Are you ready? Can we go?”

  Jeremy gave her a smile as she grabbed his hand and tried to tug him out the door. “Bye mom, I’ll be home by midnight!”

  “Be careful!” her mom shouted as Melanie pulled Jeremy through the door and slammed it shut behind him.

  Jeremy held her hand all the way to Lake Sinclair, not letting go even to shift gears. They didn’t speak the entire twenty minutes it took to drive there, but it was a comfortable silence, not awkward in the least. They just enjoyed being together.

  When they arrived at the state park entrance, Jeremy paid the parking fee and pulled the truck into a spot in the shade. It was warm out, the April air showing signs of the summer to come. Melanie wanted to take off her sweater and leave it in the truck, but she left it on instead of showing off her bare arms. Even though Jeremy had told her time and again that he liked the way she looked, loved it even, she was still self-conscious. Years of harassment and bullying by girls like Sissy Woods had made sure of it.

  Melanie shook her head to clear it. No, not today. I am not going to think of that hussy while I‘m with Jeremy.

  “What’s the matter?” Of course he noticed. He seemed so in tune with her feelings, he noticed everything.

  Melanie just smiled and shook her head slowly. “Not a thing. This is perfect,” she said as she helped him spread a blanket on the grass under a huge oak by the bank of the lake.

  Jeremy smiled widely. “It’s close to perfect, but not quite.”

  “What do you mean? What’s missing?”

  “It’s not what’s missing, it’s that there are too many people out here.”

  Melanie looked around. There was a mom with two small boys splashing through the ankle-deep water by the shore and another couple on a blanket about thirty yards from them. “There are five other people here, Jeremy. This place is usually packed.”

  “Like I said, too many people,” he said with an arched eyebrow and a cocky grin on his face.

  Melanie laughed as they sat down on the blanket and Jeremy started pulling sandwiches and chips out of the backpack he’d brought with him. While he was busy rummaging through the pack, she, trying not to let him notice, worked on getting into a comfortable position on the ground without flashing him her crotch.

  She wanted to sit criss-cross-apple-sauce, but that would never work in her short dress. She tried bending her knees and tucking them to one side, but not only was that uncomfortable, it made her belly pooch out.

  Without saying a word, Jeremy grabbed her hand and pulled her toward him. She walked on her knees until she reached where he was by the trunk of the tree. He spread his legs wide and turned her around and pulled her down in front of him, with her back to his chest, his back to the tree. He wrapped his arms around her waist and gave her a squeeze before reaching for the food and handing her a sandwich.

  Melanie relaxed and leaned into him as she ate her sandwich. “Peanut butter and jelly?” she asked with a snicker.

  “What’s wrong with PB&J?”

  “Nothing. I just thought you’d be more of a roast beef kind of guy.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. I guess I just thought people who work out eat a lot of protein and no sugar.”

  “What makes you think I work out?” He flexed his bicep in her face. “Oh, is it the size of my guns?”

  Melanie laughed and swatted his arm away. “I wasn’t trying to stroke your ego. You just look like you spend some time at the gym.” She paused briefly, then continued, “Don’t you?”

  “Actually, no. I’ve never been much into working out. I like to run, but that’s about it.”

  “Then how are you so…so…muscly?”

  Jeremy barked out a short laugh. “I wasn’t, until my last birthday. Don’t you remember what I looked like when I moved here? When we first met?”

  “Um, yeah, I do. You look the same to me.”

  Utterly gorgeous, she added to herself.

  “Well, under my clothes I was different. Aww, you’re blushing again.”

  “Shut up!” she said playfully.

  “Seriously though, I was skinny with no muscle definition, because, like I said, I don’t like to work out. But in November, shortly before my seventeenth birthday, things started to change. My muscles started getting stronger and my body toned in preparation for the change.”

  “The change?”

  “You know, my first shift.”

  “Oh right. I forgot.”

  “You forgot?” he asked incredulously. Then he laughed and squeezed her again. “Of course you did.”

  She craned her head around to look at his face. “What does that mean? Of course I did?”r />
  “Melanie, if I told anyone else, and I mean anyone, that I turn into a dog whenever I want, that’s all they’d ever see when they look at me- a dog. You are so special and so wonderful that, when you’re with me, all you see is me. You forget about the dog. You just see the man. I love that.” He pulled her closer to him and whispered in her ear “I love you,” before kissing her neck.

  Melanie cleared her throat and shoved some chips into her mouth. She did not want to get swept away by his kisses in public. He made her lose her mind, and she might do something stupid like turn around and straddle him in her dress, showing off her thighs and butt to everyone at the lake. All five of them.

  “Tell me something nobody else knows,” Jeremy said breaking her out of her salacious thoughts.

  “Hmm, that’s a tough one,” she replied. “I think Tara knows everything about me.”

  “There has to be something. It’s only fair. You know a secret about me.” He tickled her side and she squealed and squirmed until he stopped.

  She grew quiet and Jeremy waited without interruption for her to speak again. There was one thing she never discussed, even with Tara. It hurt too much so she never, ever talked about it, or rather, him.

  “It’s okay, you can tell me,” Jeremy said quietly, sensing her tension. “You can tell me anything.”

  “I don’t know who my dad is,” she blurted out before she lost her nerve. “My mom refuses to talk about him. I brought it up once and she yelled at me to forget it, that I’m better off not knowing, and to never mention him to her again.”

  Jeremy hugged her tight, but didn’t say anything. He just waited for her to continue.

  “Then one day, I went into her room to borrow a pair of socks and I found a picture in her drawer. It was of a man in his late twenties, with dark wavy hair and blue eyes. He looked like me. Exactly like me. I stole the picture and hid it in my room. My mom either didn’t notice or decided not to ask me about it.”

  “Why do you think she refuses to talk about him?”

  “I have no idea. She got so upset when I brought it up, I’m scared to ask again.”

  They sat in silence for several minutes before Jeremy said, “Thank you for telling me, Mel.”

  “Anyway,” she said, changing the subject. “Let’s get back to you. How many girlfriends have you had?”

  She grimaced. Oh God, why did I ask him that?

  “Why would you ask me that?”

  “I, uh, never mind. Forget I asked.”

  Jeremy released her waist and started running his fingers gently through her hair. Melanie shivered as chills ran down her spine.

  “No, you obviously want to know, whether you knew it or not. I’ve had three. The first two were from before I moved to Amblin.”

  Melanie squeezed her eyes shut. It was like looking at the scene of an accident. She shouldn’t look, but had to.

  “What were they like?”

  “Well, the first one was love at first sight.” Melanie inhaled sharply and Jeremy tugged on her hair. “We were seven and she had just crossed the monkey bars, something I wasn’t able to do yet. We were together a wonderful and amazing three days until Tommy Matheson hit a baseball for a grand slam at a little league game. I’m afraid she forgot all about me after that. I was devastated.”

  Melanie elbowed him in the ribs and he grunted. “You deserved that. What about number two?”

  “I was a freshman. She was a junior. We were together for six months. I thought I knew who she was, but I was wrong.”

  “What happened?”

  “I was blissfully unaware that she had a dark side. I was stupid and only saw what she wanted me to see. She was pretty and sweet, all rainbows and sunshine when she was around me. She was very popular and hung around with the ‘it’ crowd. I never sensed any unkindness in her.

  “Then one day, I was feeling sick and didn’t go to school. I felt better later in the morning and decided to go in, right at lunchtime. When I entered the cafeteria, I saw her standing next to table of freshman girls.” He took a deep breath. “The ugly things I heard her say, right before she picked up the nearest milk and dumped it on one girl’s head…I couldn’t believe it, Mel. She was horrible.”

  “Were you in love with her?”

  “No, I wasn’t, thank God. But I liked her and to be associated with someone who could act like that, it really pissed me off. Bad. I said a few choice things to her and broke up with her on the spot. That’s part of the reason I got so angry when Sissy said those things to you at that stupid party. To think that I was such a bad judge of character, seeing good in people that just wasn’t there…I lost it.”

  Melanie smiled. “Yeah, I heard.”

  “Tara told you?” She nodded. “Of course she did.”

  “What about number three?”

  “Number three?”

  “Yeah, you said you’ve had three girlfriends. Tell me about number three.”

  “Well,” he said, taking his hands from her hair and slipping back around her waist. “Number three should have been number one. She is funny, smart, and beautiful. We were friends first, so I know who she is, and I love everything about her. I know there aren’t any nasty surprises waiting for me. And, I happen to know she doesn’t really like sports and won’t be leaving me for any baseball players, either.” He paused for a moment, then squeezed her tight. “Right?”

  “Right!” Melanie laughed and tried to wriggle out of his embrace. She flipped over onto her hands and knees and kissed him quickly before standing up and pulling her sweater off. Jiggly arms be damned, she was hot.

  “I was wondering when you were going to take that thing off. It’s too hot out for a sweater. Why’d you wear it anyway?”

  Melanie wrapped her hands around her upper arms and shrugged. “I just thought it looked better.”

  Jeremy got up onto his knees and scooted closer to her. He turned her around so that her back was to the tree and he wrapped his hands around the backs of her knees, then slid them up slightly, just under the hem of her dress. He looked up into her eyes until she released her arms and put her hands on his shoulders.

  “You look beautiful, Melanie. You’d look good in a garbage bag. Please stop trying to hide from me. I told you, I love everything about you. That includes every inch of your amazing body.

  “No, don’t pull away,” he said as she tried to back up. She stopped. “I don’t know why you have such a low opinion of your body. Well, I can guess. Sissy and her minions, right? Listen to me, Mel. Those plastic Barbie Doll girls have nothing on you. I love that you have curves.” He ran his hands up the backs of her bare thighs to her butt and squeezed. “One day, I’m going to kiss every inch of every one of those curves. I’ll worship them, and you’ll believe me when I tell you that you’re beautiful.”

  Melanie ran her fingers into his hair and pulled up on it. He loosened his grasp on her and stood, only to wrap his arms around her waist and yank her forward into a deep and tender kiss.

  *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

  His grip on the steering wheel tightened as he saw Jeremy run his hands underneath her dress. He could feel the anger rising within him. He’d been watching them all afternoon. Watching them talk, and laugh, and cuddle together on the blanket. He held it together, knowing his time was coming.

  But this, this was too much to bear. Jeremy was touching her places that belonged to him! He wanted to jump out of his rental car and drag Jeremy into the water and drown him. Then they kissed, and he couldn’t take it anymore. He needed to leave before he exposed himself and his identity.

  “No,” he said aloud to himself with a grin. “That would ruin the surprise. I don’t want to give away the end of the story.”

  He put the car in reverse and backed out of the spot, then pulled onto the highway to head back to town.

  “Soon. Yes, soon, our story will end, Melanie Johnson.”

  Chapter 20

  “Melanie, what are your thoughts?”

  The que
stion from Mr. Hughes brought Melanie out of her daydream like a slap. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled. “Can you please repeat the question?”

  “Please see me after class.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Great. Just great.

  Melanie tried to concentrate and pay attention to the rest of the lecture, but it was a struggle. Jeremy had texted her before school and told her he was skipping today. His parents flew into town for a quick visit and they wanted to go for a “run.” Once a month they like to go up to the mountains and shift, so they can run free in the wild without being seen. She had been tempted to make a dogcatcher joke, but refrained. She snickered at the thought.

  She surreptitiously pulled out her phone and held it in her lap, out of sight. She pulled up Jeremy’s last text and smiled.

  “I’ll call U 2nite. ILY”

  “Miss Johnson!”

  Melanie jerked her head up and was trapped by Mr. Hughes’ narrowed gaze. His face was pinched and his lips were pressed tightly together. Melanie couldn’t remember him ever looking so angry at a student before. That it was directed at her made her squirm in her seat.

  “Please bring me your phone. Now.”

  Melanie rose and slowly shuffled down the aisle toward the front. When she passed by Sissy, the other girl smirked and tossed her hair.

  “Poor, pudgy Piglet.” Her gaggle of friends started tittering and Mr. Hughes slammed his hand down on his desk.

  “Enough!” he yelled. “Melanie, if you please.”

  He held out his hand expectantly as she neared him. She gently placed the phone in his hand and he looked down at the screen with a frown. She had forgotten to exit her texting app and lock her screen, so Jeremy’s last text was still visible. He placed the phone in his top drawer and waved Melanie back to her seat.

  She spent the rest of class staring at her book, but not really seeing anything. She was embarrassed and confused. Mr. Hughes had always been her favorite teacher. He was young, cool, and, quite frankly, easy on the eyes.

  Up until a few weeks ago, he’d never lost his temper in class, especially never with her. She couldn’t understand the change in him. His anger made her jumpy. Sissy calling her Piglet in front of the whole class was just the icing on the cake.