Warped (Maurissa Guibord)

wrong."

Chapter 5

This is all wrong . Tessa felt the seat-belt buckle grind into her hip as Hunter Scoville leaned into the kiss, angling his head as if he meant to swallow her whole. He shifted one arm behind her while his free hand slid under the front of her sweater. The night air felt as cool as a splash of water on her skin, but his hands were hot, almost sticky. Hunter lurched forward again with hands and tongue. Tessa's head banged against the window.
    Um. No .
    "Stop." Tessa broke away with what she meant to be a gentle push, but it turned into a two-fisted shove. Without thinking, she brought one knee up.
    Hunter drew back in surprise, then eased himself back in the driver's seat. He ran a hand through his dark, cropped hair. "Sorry. Problem?"
    "No problem." Tessa said. She winced as she unsnagged a strand of her hair from the door handle.
    In the dim light she could see his flushed face, the sheen on his forehead as if he had been running. He'd gone from zero to sweaty in about ten seconds. A sexual Porsche , she thought. Meanwhile, I'm ... what? Pedaling along, waiting for ... What was she waiting for, anyway? She wasn't sure. But it definitely wasn't Hunter.
    "What's wrong?" he asked.
    "Huh?" Tessa stumbled toward an answer. "I'm not--" She broke off. What? That kind of girl? Into you? Into having my tonsils excavated on our first kiss? Anything she said at this point would sound lame. "Nothing," she said. She realized she was still balled up in a defensive position, like a nervous hedgehog. Awkward with self-consciousness, she straightened her legs and smoothed her rucked-up sweater.
    Hunter leaned closer again. His breath was warm in her ear. "It's just, the way we met, right away I felt a connection. It was like fate brought us together or something. Do you believe in fate?" he asked softly.
    Tessa frowned. "Fate? No, I don't think so."
    They'd met when Tessa got hit in the face by one of Hunter's volleyball serves in gym. Not exactly the most romantic beginning. But Hunter had been very apologetic and really nice. And somewhere, she recalled, between getting an ice pack applied and having gauze stuffed up her bloody nose, he had asked her out. Of course she'd known who he was; he was one of the most popular guys in school. They even shared some classes. But Hunter had never seemed to notice her before.
    "It was an accident," she said.
    "A good accident," said Hunter. "Who knows, Tess?" he added. His smile was a gleam of white in the dark. "Maybe I really planned it all along."
    Tessa frowned. She knew he was joking, but the idea of it bothered her. She hated being manipulated. Almost as much as she hated being called Tess.
    When she didn't say anything, Hunter shrugged and leaned forward to change the radio station. Tessa cast a sideways look at him. He was cute. He had deep blue eyes and a slightly goofy lopsided grin that dimpled one cheek. And it was a beautiful night. Below them, the quiet waters of the cove were lit with color from Portland's city lights. The rich, salty smell of sea air drifted in from the shore. But she couldn't help feeling that something was just ... wrong. She reached out and tapped the bobble-head baseball figure stuck to the dashboard of the SUV.
    "Who's this?" she asked.
    Hunter twisted to face her. "You're kidding right? That's David Ortiz. Red Sox? You're not a Yankees fan or something, are you?" he demanded.
    Tessa smiled at the hint of actual outrage in Hunter's voice. "No. I didn't recognize him is all," she confessed. She glanced at Hunter with a half smile. "He's shorter than I expected."
    Hunter frowned. "It's a collectible."
    "Right. Sorry," Tessa murmured. "Guess I'm just not real sporty." What was she doing here? Note to self: never make social plans after blunt head trauma .
    A female singer's voice filled the silence of the car. The song was plaintive and moody. Something about losing her way in the dark. A path overgrown with broken hearts. Forever alone, forever apart. For some reason Tessa's thoughts returned to the strange tapestry. She just hadn't felt right since she'd first seen it. And the wild sensations and dreams, if that's what they were, were pretty strange.
    Hunter drew her closer and Tessa tightened up. Her cheeks felt flaming hot and her lips felt raw, even though it had only been one kiss. "I'd better go home now," she said. "I haven't been feeling too well today." She grimaced and pointed vaguely to her stomach. "I'd hate to give you