Not Never (Sample of Published Book)

Chapter 2 - Part 1

The next day at school, Ashley stayed in her car and scanned the crowd for Maddox, but there was no sign of him. Jasper and Ross, his usual group, were standing nearby the entrance to the school. Jasper laughed and shoved Ross, who stepped back before straightening up while shaking his head. They were messing around, waiting for Maddox to arrive.

Jasper was the taller out of the two of them, but Ross was heavier built. Jasper's dark brown hair was past his ears, and he tugged a hand through it. The muscles of Ross' arms flexed. He kept his dirty blond hair cut short, sometimes even in a buzz cut. It made her wonder if he had a military influence in his life.

They were intimidating. Everyone knew you were asking for trouble if you messed with any of them. And if you got on the bad side of one of them, it was guaranteed the rest of them would have a problem with you.

She shook her head, annoyed with herself. Why was she spending so much time on guys she had no intention of getting to know better? Like Maddox, they weren't a part of her life and the sooner she returned his jacket the sooner she could put their encounter behind her.

She surveyed the parking lot in front of the school, but she didn't see his car. He hadn't arrived yet. His jacket was in the trunk of her car. She had to find the right moment to give it back to him without anyone seeing it. She didn't want to have to answer uncomfortable questions that might rock her new relationship with Logan, which was still in its fledgling stage.

Logan would question why she had Maddox's jacket and it would entail revealing how they had bumped into each other. She didn't want to have to explain her actions to him. Besides, he probably wouldn't understand it as she didn't completely understand it herself.

She hated that Maddox had intruded on a private moment the day before and now it required her to return his jacket. She couldn't remain in her car watching any longer, so she opened her door and got out. Looking around, she hitched her school bag over her shoulder before she closed the car door and made her way to the front entrance.

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught movement.

"Hey, babe," Logan said when he seemed to appear out of nowhere, throwing an arm around her shoulders.

Taken by surprise, she managed a breathless smile as he kissed her briefly. She suppressed her dislike for the endearment he used. It was such a generic nickname, there was nothing personal about it. That's what most of the guys in school called their girlfriends.

"Hi."

His smile widened. "I missed you." A lock of his caramel brown hair fell across his forehead and his eyes sparkled as they held her.

She had the urge to roll her eyes. How could he miss her? She had seen him yesterday at school. She tried to suppress her irritation at his clingy behavior.

What was wrong with her? On paper she should feel lucky to be his girlfriend, but the truth was she didn't. It felt like more of a burden to be managed rather than enjoyed. The way her friends went on about their boyfriends, she knew there was something missing. It pointed to her. There had to be something wrong with her.

Then she remembered how her breath had caught when her heart had stuttered at the sight of a smile from Maddox. It meant she was capable of feeling that way, just not with the boy she was currently dating.

"I tried to call you last night." He studied her with a slight frown marring his features. The sparkle in his ocean blue eyes dulled.

The truth was she had ignored his call. At times his attention was suffocating and, after her run-in with Maddox, she hadn't had the energy to deal with it.

"Sorry, I had it on silent," she mumbled, hating she had to lie but she couldn't exactly tell him the truth.

Besides, her parents had been fighting again. The yelling and shouting had filled the house. She had lain on her bed with her pillow covering her head to try and block it out. Eventually she had been forced to listen to loud music to drown out their voices. They would be better off apart, even she knew that. The constant fighting kept her on edge all the time.

In her view, she was doing everything right, but happiness still eclipsed her. She was the envy of most of the girls in school, but it wasn't enough. The nothingness in her gaped open like a hole in the middle of her chest.

An image of Maddox had appeared in her mind with a teasing smile. Since her encounter with him the day before, he had kept creeping into her thoughts—much to her own disgust.

As if on cue, the sound of a loud engine pulled her attention back to the parking lot in time to see Maddox park his car. He unfolded his tall frame from the driver's side, and she couldn't move her eyes from him. Logan's arm tightened around her slightly.

Maddox was dressed in his usual jeans and shirt. The only thing different was that he was missing his jacket. His eyes scanned the students as he walked toward his friends, until his eyes caught hers. It was like a current had zipped through her. The side of his mouth tipped upward in a half smile, and she found herself holding her breath, suddenly forgetting to exhale.

Logan cleared his throat beside her, which reminded her that her boyfriend was still standing beside her with an arm around her shoulders and a slight frown on his face, watching her exchange with the school rebel.

Any hope Maddox would ignore her went up in smoke when he changed direction and strode purposefully toward her. She wanted the ground to open up and swallow her up whole. Logan's grip around her shoulders tightened and she had to stop herself from shrugging off his hold.

"Ash."

And it got worse. She could feel the heat of Logan's gaze on her, waiting for her reaction. He was probably wondering why Maddox was talking to her like he knew her.

"Maddox," she said, ensuring her tone wasn't encouraging as she remembered to exhale.

"I forgot my jacket yesterday." Why didn't he just blurt out everything? Her annoyance skyrocketed, knowing she would be forced to do some damage control.

"It's in my trunk." She broke away from Logan, making sure not to look directly at him to see his expression.

Her mind was already racing ahead to come up with a plausible explanation that would leave out what had really happened.

"I'll just be a minute," she mumbled to Logan as she hurried to her car.

Maddox followed. As soon as she got to her car, she got his jacket out of the trunk and shoved it in his direction.

"Temper temper," Maddox whispered as he took the jacket. Their hands briefly touched and she felt the unexpected tingle of his fingers brush against her skin. He shrugged his jacket on.

"You could've waited until I was alone to approach me." She bit back closing the trunk harder than she had meant to. He riled her up so much, she didn't know how to keep her composure when he pushed every one of her buttons.

"And why would I do that?" he said with a smirk, like he was enjoying every moment of her discomfort and irritation directed at him.

She glared at him before attempting to storm past him, but he stopped her with his hand that wrapped around her wrist. A tremor from his touch vibrated through her. She looked back to where his long, slim fingers wrapped around her.

"Why does it matter, Ash?" He seemed determined to get an answer.

"He'll ask questions I don't want to answer." Her eyes were fixed to the place where his hand was still holding her.

"Let go, Maddox." She tugged her hand free.