The RavenFlight Witches

Chapter Nine

 After Sam had picked her up they had driven to an arcade in town. It was a common place for young people to hang out in the summer, and Ella usually had a good time. Chloe was usually there, too, and they would laugh and whisper as the boys showed off on some stupid video game or another. But tonight, Ella wasn't feeling it.

When she and Sam had arrived, Chloe had squealed with delight, running up to Ella and hugging her. "Alex is here!" she'd whispered excitedly. Alex Tomlin was a boy Chloe had a crush on. He would be a senior this fall, along with Sam.

While Ella could admit that Alex was cute with his light blonde hair and brown eyes, she personally thought he was a bit of a jerk. But she loved Chloe, so she smiled. "Great, Chloe! Have you talked to him yet?"

"Yes!" Chloe said. "I think he's interested!"

Ella just shook her head, smiling. Chloe had always been boy crazy. And with her long, curly chestnut hair and hazel eyes, the boys had been pretty crazy for her, too. Not that Ella was jealous. She wasn't a conceited person, but she knew she was pretty. Her own long and wavy ebony hair, bright blue eyes and mature figure had not been overlooked by many of the local boys. But Sam was the only boy she was interested in.

"Come on," Chloe tugged on both Sam's and Ella's hands. "Alex's cousin, Adrian, is staying with him this summer, and he doesn't really know anyone around here yet."

Ella and Sam followed Chloe. Sam took Ella's hand. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Ella smiled up at him. She had known him most of her life, and they had been friends for years, up until they'd started dating at the beginning of the last school year. She thought he knew her better than anyone, maybe even Chloe, and he always seemed to sense her moods. She squeezed his hand. "I'm okay. Just family stuff."

Sam looked surprised. "But you never have family problems."

Ella shrugged. "First time for everything," she said, all too aware of just how true that statement was.

"Okay," Chloe was saying, "So this is Sam and Ella. Sam, Ella, this is Alex's cousin, Adrian."

Sam stepped up and shook the boy's hand but Ella was distracted by a scuffle over in the corner, two younger boys having a disagreement over a game. She watched, amused, as one of the attendants tried to break it up and get the boys out of the arcade.

When she turned around, her breath caught for just a second. She was face to face with a boy whom she thought was maybe a year or two older. He was tall, athletic and well-muscled with hair almost as dark as her own. The thing that had made her breath catch were his eyes, the deepest, darkest green eyes she'd ever seen, framed by long, thick lashes. Those eyes and the thought Oh my dear god, he is so fucking hot!! had her voice lodged in her throat.

"Ella?" he said, reaching his hand out to her. "Nice to meet you."

"Yeah," Ella stammered, "um, nice to meet you too." She extended her own hand and just barely kept herself from gasping as he grasped it firmly, sending a shock wave through her entire body.

Ella dropped his hand as soon as she felt it polite, maybe a little sooner. What the hell? She wondered. Yeah, he's cute but...she felt confused and out of sorts. She'd never responded like that to anyone before.

He was just looking at her with a small smile and a slightly amused expression. Ella thought he seemed a bit arrogant. She instinctively moved closer to Sam, feeling more grounded when his arm encircled her waist. No one else seemed to have taken notice of the exchange or Ella's discomfort.