Kissing Jayden: a romantic teen thriller Read online

  Just because I was shy little Molly Adams didn’t mean that I had to fall all over Mike Jensen. Actually, the opposite. In fact, if he didn’t scare me so bad, I’d go right up to him and tell him off.

  When I got a text from Mom saying she was coming home the next day, I decided I was going to make another batch of brownies to celebrate. This was the best news ever! I missed her like crazy, and I also wanted to go home and sleep in my own bed — and feel safe again.

  Chapter 8: Worst Week Ever!

  At the beginning of lunch, I finally built up enough nerve to go to my locker. But when I got there, I stopped and stared. Jayden was standing in front of my locker holding a note in his hand. I ducked out of view, my pulse fluttering and my mind racing. Why was Jayden holding a note in front of my locker?

  When I peeked around the corner, he was crushing the note in his fist. Then he punched the locker, jammed the piece of paper into his pocket, and stalked off in the other direction without noticing me. Unnerved, I turned around and went straight to Mr. Kaplan’s room and pulled out my Trig book. At least I could get my math homework done before the end of the day.

  As soon as I finished most of the problems, I went into my backpack and brought out my lunch. I also took out the picture of Jayden and the poem. I couldn’t help myself. But staring down at the poem, I had to wonder again: how obvious had it been? Had people — specifically Mike Jensen — totally known that I had written it about Jayden? I swallowed hard. That would be super embarrassing, everyone knowing that I was totally crushing on Jayden Stone. Hearing the door to the classroom thump closed, I jumped and shoved the picture into my history book.

  “Hi, Mr. Kaplan!” I called brightly before taking a bite of my apple.

  I liked Mr. Kaplan. He always said that if he had thirty students who were like me — he meant quiet bookworms who actually did the reading — in every class, then his job would be easy. When he didn’t say anything back, I turned around and my heart nearly jumped out of my chest when I saw Mike Jensen standing right behind my seat.

  I dropped my apple onto the desk as he stared down at me with this crazy look while holding a bat in one of his big, meaty hands. Without thinking, I jumped out of the chair and lunged away from him, ready to scream or run for the door. The problem was he was blocking my path. I started looking around desperately for the best way to escape when he picked up my history book and took out the picture — of Jayden — that was peeking out! I gasped before I could stop myself.

  “Is this what all you good little girls want?” he sneered. “The Golden Boy?”

  Yeah, it is! I thought in my head. Because Jayden’s not a psycho like you!

  I stepped closer to the door, but I didn’t turn my back on him, thinking of what my mom always used to tell me about mean dogs: don’t turn your back on them and never run, because they’ll chase you.

  “Look at the bookworm squirm,” Mike chanted quietly.

  “Mr. Kaplan is going to get back any second!” I warned anxiously.

  Mike just laughed in this horrible way, like he knew something I didn’t.

  “Mr. Kaplan doesn’t have class next period, and I saw him leave at the beginning of lunch,” he sneered as my eyes darted between him and the door.

  My breath kind of whooshed out of me. Then I heard my cell buzz, but it was sitting on the desk with the rest of my stuff. There was no way I could grab it without getting closer to Mike. Then I watched in horror as Mike picked up my phone from the top of my backpack. When I tried to make a break for it, Mike held out the bat. He didn’t even look up from my phone. He just held out the bat, like he was telling me he knew all about my plan. I swallowed and tried to keep from crying.

  “Just let me go,” I whispered.

  “No, I don’t think so. This is too much fun. Hmm. Unless …”

  My breath hitched, and I waited for him to release me.

  “… unless you kiss me.” His eyes narrowed. “Like you kissed the Golden Boy.”

  I gasped again, sickened by the thought of kissing Mike Jensen. Actually, the thought of getting anywhere in the vicinity of Mike Jensen’s lips was nauseating. Suddenly the door swung open, and I looked over sort of praying in the back of my head that it was going to be Jayden. Instead, it was Tyler! I cringed. This couldn’t get any worse.

  “Tyler! Get out of here!” I cried.

  He kind of looked back and forth between Mike Jensen and me — and then he took off. When the door slammed behind Tyler, Mike laughed.

  “Protecting your little boyfriend?”

  I was relieved and freaked out at the same time. I didn’t want Tyler to get his face pounded again, but I needed help! A minute later, when the door swung open again, I was in tears. I held my breath as Jayden walked in. His jaw was tight, and he looked ready to kill Mike. Finally he glanced over at me.

  “Molly, are you all right?”

  I nodded really quick, afraid to say anything.

  “Good. Get out of here.”

  I winced as Mike swung the bat up and rested it on his shoulders, like he was totally relaxed.

  “Don’t worry, Stone. I didn’t do anything to your sweet little good girl. But she was just about to give me a real sweet kiss.”

  I stood frozen, staring at Mike, wondering just how crazy he was.

  “Molly! Leave. Now!” Jayden commanded.

  Snapping out of it, I bolted toward the door, leaving my stuff behind. I didn’t know whether to scream, run and get a teacher, cry — or what. I was shaking and about to throw up. I rushed toward the quad and saw Stace and Kelly with Tyler and Kyle, which meant that Stace must have gotten back together with Kyle like two seconds ago. Mark Milroy was probably off somewhere sulking. I had always liked Kyle, even if I had resented him sucking my best friend’s face every day during lunch. Tyler pointed as I ran toward them, and Stace and Kelly turned, rushing toward me.

  “Molly!” Stace squeaked. “Are you okay?”

  She wrapped an arm around my shoulder, and I swallowed.

  “Yeah, but Jayden!” I cried. “I think Mike was about to hurt him. He had a bat. We need to get help!”

  I looked around frantically for the vice principal, Mr. Fitzpatrick, who was always patrolling the quad during lunch. There was no sign of him. I was about to run to the offices when Tyler grabbed my arm and pointed toward Mr. Kaplan’s classroom. Jayden was walking onto the quad, his beautiful face still intact. I exhaled and kind of dropped into the grass, watching as Jayden walked back to his normal spot on the quad. He glanced once in my direction, his blue eyes serious. It was nothing like the teasing looks he had given me that day in Mr. Kaplan’s classroom when he had tried to teach me how to dance.

  Right now the only thing I wanted to do was run up to him and press my face into his chest. But that wasn’t going to happen, and I knew it. My eyes started to burn. When Mike Jensen appeared and started stalking off toward the parking lot, I shuddered. I was trying to figure out what Jayden might have said to him when Tyler sank down next to me, looking at me with serious big, brown puppy-dog eyes, his blond hair flopping into his face.

  “You really like him — Stone, I mean — don’t you?” he muttered.

  I swallowed and nodded, afraid I was going to cry if I said anything out loud. I realized that the thought of anything happening to Jayden made me feel crazy, scared, and desperate. I didn’t want anything happening to poor, sweet Tyler, either, but that was more because I liked him as a friend and would feel insanely guilty if anything happened to him because of me. When Tyler got up and went over to talk to Kyle and Ethan, Kelly’s sort-of boyfriend, Stace and Kelly dropped down next to me.

  “What happened?!” they screamed in unison.

  I wrapped my arms around my knees and went through the entire story. How I had been hiding out in Mr. Kaplan’s classroom, which Stace knew about. She interrupted and told me she had told Tyler where to find me. Then I told them about Mike Jensen showing up all scary and wild-eyed, holding a bat. I didn’t
go into the whole weird “Golden Boy” thing, or how Mike had offered to let me go if I kissed him like I had kissed Jayden. Just the thought of him saying that made my stomach twist.

  That was the strangest part, though. I thought about the girls that Mike Jensen — and Jayden Stone — usually went for. Girls who had gone out with a million guys and had tons of experience. Unlike me. When it came to kissing or making out, I didn’t even know what I was doing! Kissing Tyler had been, well, kind of boring and safe — at least until he crashed his teeth into mine. Kissing Jayden had been out of this world amazing, but I had a feeling it was because Jayden really knew what he was doing — and I was head over heels in love with him. Suddenly I frowned.

  Was I in love with him?

  But the scary part was: why did Mike Jensen think that my feelings for Jayden would in any way apply to him? Like I could just transfer all the pent up feelings I had for Jayden and use them to kiss somebody I didn’t even like — somebody I was afraid of, even. Eww.

  I was kind of exhausted and restless at the same time. I wanted to go home, listen to some depressing music, and read a book to get my mind off things. Stace was getting a ride with Kyle, which kind of made me hope that Mark Milroy, who she just dumped to get back together with Kyle, wasn’t going to turn into a crazy stalker, too. Right now, I could only take so much drama, and Stace and Kelly had already caused enough with their drunken house party stunt.

  When school ended, I ran over to Mr. Kaplan’s classroom to find my abandoned stuff, but my backpack wasn’t there, making my stomach twist into even more knots. Then I went by the office before it closed to see if my stuff was in the lost and found, but no luck. At least I had kept the keys to Mom’s car in my pocket. But when I got out to the parking lot, my heart sank and I kind of lost it.

  One of the back tires was completely flat and the brake light on the driver’s side was smashed!

  As much as I didn’t want to go head-to-head with Mike Jensen, I was really tempted to march into the vice principal’s office tomorrow and tell them what a psycho he really was. Still, I didn’t want to think about what Mike would do next if I ratted on him. Would he come after me? Tyler? Jayden? Even Stace or Kelly? I couldn’t risk it.

  I sat on the curb. How was I going to pay for this, though? There was a savings account at Mom’s bank, mostly from checks from Grams and from the little bit of baby-sitting I did when I borrowed the car on weekends. But I needed Mom to co-sign any withdrawals since I wasn’t eighteen.

  The other problem was that if I didn’t get the car fixed, I’d have to tell Mom all about Mike Jensen — and then things would get even messier. Well, I could try lying to her and say that some random criminal had messed up her car. Mike was a criminal, but he definitely wasn’t random. Besides, I wouldn’t just lie to my mom, and either way, I still needed the car fixed.

  This was turning into the worst week ever!

  Chapter 9: Kissing in Cars

  I was sitting there, kind of in a panicked daze and feeling bad for myself, when Jayden’s black Mustang pulled up behind Mom’s car. His window came down, and I smiled weakly, trying not to feel sick.

  “Molly, get in.”

  I shrugged and stood up, figuring it was better to get a ride home from Jayden now and figure out later how to get Mom’s car fixed. What else could I do? Sit here and wait for Mike Jensen to come roaring back in his enormous pickup and mow me down? I got in and closed the door after me, willing myself not to cry or fall apart.

  “Give me the keys,” he said gently.

  I handed them over without asking and then watched in awe as a tow truck pulled up. Jayden got out and had a conversation with the driver before getting back behind the wheel. When he started pulling out of the parking lot, I gave him a questioning look.

  “My dad knows a guy who owns a shop downtown,” he said calmly. “I’m having your car taken there.”

  I bit my lip and winced, wishing he had told me that in the first place.

  “It’s my mom’s car, and I don’t have any money with me. I mean, I’ll pay you back. I just can’t pay right now.”

  I didn’t mention the part where it might take me the rest of high school and most of college.

  “Molly, you’re not going to pay for anything.”

  I shook my head, totally confused.

  “Huh?”

  “This is my fault, and you’re not paying for anything. Simple as that.”

  “How is it your fault that your friend’s a … ?”

  I stopped before I could say “jerk” or “psycho.”

  Jayden’s hands tightened on the wheel, and he frowned when he looked over at me.

  “It just is, Molly. Let it go.”

  “No!” I said, surprising myself. “I’m not gonna let it go. Mike is really scaring me … and I don’t even know why the two of you are even bothering with me. I mean, what did I ever do to either of you?”

  Jayden shook his head. I couldn’t tell whether he was exasperated with me or something else.

  “Molly, you didn’t do anything. This is between Mike and me.”

  I sat lower in my seat and looked out the window.

  “Sure doesn’t feel like it,” I grumbled.

  When Jayden took the onramp onto the freeway, I yelped.

  “Where are you going?!”

  “You need your mom’s car back, right?”

  I thought about her getting home tomorrow and finding her car missing. Yeah, that would go over well. I nodded at Jayden.

  “But I’m supposed to go over to Stace’s. She’ll freak if I don’t show up!”

  “You could tell her you’re on a date with me,” Jayden said.

  At first I thought he was being mean. Then I thought he was completely nuts.

  “Yeah, ’cause she’d believe that!” I mumbled.

  “Why not?”

  “You have seen the girls you go out with, right? Do I seem anything like those girls?”

  “No, you don’t.”

  That stung. I looked out the window and tried not to cry — again. When he turned on the radio, I was surprised that we listened to the same station. I didn’t say anything, though, feeling like stuck-up, prissy Molly Adams. Jayden crossed the bridge. I hadn’t realized he meant the other side of town! That was just great. A few minutes later, we were in a super industrial-looking area when he turned into a parking lot with a sign that said Jim’s Auto Repair. He parked and shut off the engine.

  “Molly, look at me.”

  I turned toward him, hoping that my eyes weren’t red and puffy.

  “You aren’t like the girls I go out with, but that’s a good thing. You’re nice, you study hard and—”

  “Yeah, I’m such a good girl.”

  The type of girl Jayden wouldn’t even notice if it weren’t for some stupid bet.

  “You’re also pretty, with long strawberry-blonde hair and beautiful green eyes. And you’re sweet.”

  I didn’t really have a comeback for that. One, because I wasn’t expecting him to say anything close to that. And, two, Jayden saying I was sweet just brought back this rush of memories of his lips on mine and him whispering my name. The car was warm, but I shivered when he reached behind me and gently tugged my hair out of its ponytail. He didn’t move his hand from the back of my neck, though. Instead he brought his other hand up and brushed my cheek, causing me to blush.

  When he leaned forward slowly and touched his lips to mine, I tried not to react. I tried not to lose my heart. He nipped at my lower lip and then reached around my waist, bringing me closer as his hand tangled in my hair. Suddenly our kiss turned from sweet and slow to urgent and passionate, and I moaned. By the time Jayden pulled back a little and brought his lips to my ear, I was lightheaded.

  “Sweet little Molly,” he groaned before touching his lips to mine again, making me crave more.

  A sharp tap on the driver’s side window caused me to pull away with a little whimper. I looked through the glass and saw an olde
r man staring sternly back at me. But when Jayden turned and faced him, the guy laughed and backed up, raising his hands in the air like he was surrendering. Jayden turned back to me.

  “Next time, I don’t want to get interrupted,” he said softly, reaching out to touch my bottom lip, which was still sensitive.

  I shivered as he got out of the car. I was floating, tingling all over — and aching to feel Jayden’s lips on mine again. He had said next time … like there was going to be a next time. What was I going to do? He was way out of my league. And what would happen when Jayden got bored of good, little Molly?

  I would get my heart broken, and I knew it.

  Besides, I couldn’t keep pretending that this was all I wanted. Stolen kisses in his car, in dark movie theaters — and in front of the whole school as part of a terrible bet. My eyes watered as I thought of the reasons why Jayden had asked me to the dance and kissed me in the first place. And, yeah, maybe he kind of liked me now. But I couldn’t be one of those girls who just hooked up with him whenever and then forgot about it. How could I forget about his kisses and not crave them?

  The answer was simple: I couldn’t.

  Then I realized something. It wasn’t like Jayden was asking me out or anything like that. And it wasn’t like I had to have some big conversation with him. After today, I just had to avoid him, which would be pretty easy — as long as I could avoid Mike Jensen, too. Otherwise, Jayden would feel responsible, like he had to keep saving me from his psycho buddy.

  So that was it. I made a pact with myself. I would pay Jayden back for the car — not that I was sure how I was going to do that — and then I would stay away from him. But I would not get back together with Tyler, either. And I wouldn’t go anywhere alone. Then Mike wouldn’t get the chance to torture me again. No more guys. Period. As soon as Jayden got back to the car, I looked over at him anxiously.