Forbidden Fruit by Anna Lee Page B

“Oh, um…I guess it was around 5:00 or so this morning.” He didn’t sound very sure of himself.
    A thought occurred to me then, if he was there that long, then he had to have been in the house when the crazy shadow monsters and grim reaper were there. Maybe he saw something. I opened my mouth to ask and then promptly closed it. What was I thinking? I would sound like a lunatic if I asked him that. It was one thing to ask Ginger or Bailey. I knew them, and they wouldn’t laugh at me, or spread malicious rumors. As for Jason, I had no idea where he stood with me. If I told him about what happened, it was likely that the whole school would know I was a hallucinating freak.
    At some point during my mental tirade, Jason reached his hand to my face and caressed my cheekbone, “Are you okay? You seem a little wired.”
    I opened my mouth to deny it when I felt a sudden jolt of energy. I glanced in the direction of the source and caught Michael’s glare. Well, glare was an understatement. He was looking at Jason with the same fury I saw yesterday. It appeared he was trying to tear him limb from limb with his eyes.
    My initial reaction was shock. Without a doubt, I was frightened of that look, yet I also harbored a curiosity that was eating at my very soul. I wondered what made him hate Jason, and how they knew each other? And I needed to know where I fit into their game. A theory formulated in my mind, and as any curious teenager would do, I tested it. I was tired of no answers.
    I closed my mouth and tried to quickly come up with a new direction to take with Jason. Instead of swearing nothing was wrong, I played the damsel in distress. I pouted a little and sighed, “I just didn’t sleep well last night.” It was no academy award performance, but he took the bait.
    “ Oh, I’m sorry,” he put on a matching puppy dog face, “I was up all last night too. I couldn’t stop thinking about you,” he teased. “Please tell me it wasn’t me who kept you awake?” he asked with a hopeful grin.
    Instead of admitting that monsters were the real reason I was tired, I plastered on a mischievous, flirtatious smile, “Wouldn’t you like to know.”
    “ Lily, you are driving me crazy,” he swore as he grabbed my hands and wound them through his. “You know all you have to say is the word and I’m all yours,” he winked. He was a wickedly talented flirt who I was sure won over many a girl’s heart but it wasn’t him I was looking for a reaction from.
    I laughed aloud and chided him, “You are so full of yourself!” swatting at his chest.
    He cupped my face between his hands and asked desperately, “Can I kiss you again?”
    I was taken aback by his sudden intensity. “Now?” I asked stupidly.
    “ No time like the present,” he said as he inched closer.
    He moved very slowly, presumably waiting for me to protest. Right before he reached my lips, I glanced over his shoulder to Michael. The look on his face was of pure malicious intent, and it was targeted directly at the back of Jason’s head. Then, he shifted his eyes to mine. There wasn’t the same spear of fury as he looked at me, but it certainly wasn’t all roses. Those dark eyes threw daggers at Jason, yet they seemed to send accusing and warning threats toward me. What have I done, I thought, a fleeting panic dragging its nails across my spine?
    I gasped and pulled away from Jason before his lips found mine. He followed my gaze and gave a little laugh, “I see we’ve pissed off your boyfriend.”
    “ He’s not my boyfriend!” I protested, still feeling antsy. “And I want to know what’s going on.” I could tell he tried to look confused, but there was a little guilt in his expression, possibly even humor. That just pissed me off.
    “ I don’t follow.”
    “ How do you know him?” I demanded.
    “ I don’t know him,” he said with complete innocence.
    I glanced back at Michael who was still visibly seething. I suddenly got the urge to get as