Free Midnight Surrender: A Paranormal Romance Anthology by Alyssa Rose Ivy, Airicka Phoenix, Shannon Dermott, Charlotte Abel, Kelly D. Cooper, Laura A. H. Elliott, Amy M. Jones, Kris Kendall Page B

Yet, she was looking at me.
    Jogging, I made the decision to keep her attention on me. Breathing slightly harder than normal, I said, “Hey.”
    How lame was that? “Hi,” she said with a shy smile on her face.
    “ Eme,” Maggie called her from the other side of the car. “Doug wants to go get ice cream or coffee. Want to go?”
    Mercy’s body was half turned in the other girl’s direction, giving me a profile view of her entire body. “Yeah, okay. Give me a minute.” Moving to face me, she said, “Sorry about that. Did you want something?”
    Doug and his friend had beaten me to the punch. Asking her out now might not be the best idea. Maybe she liked that guy. “I was hoping you could help me with our math project.”
    Was that surprise I saw with the flicker of movement in her eye? Was she hoping I would have asked her out instead? “Sure, tomorrow?” she asked.
    “ Okay, after practice we could go to the library and then I could take you home.”
    Nodding, she said, “That’s cool. See you tomorrow then.”
    Stepping back, I held out the door for her as she slipped into the car. Doug and his friend were gone. I guess they were getting in their own ride. Closing the door, I gave her a salute. Giggling, she waved. Did I really just do that? A salute. What the hell was wrong with me? This girl had me so confused.
    ****
    Getting up early, I spent longer than usual in the bathroom getting ready. I already got a knowing look from my mom. Fiddling with my hair in the mirror, I looked at the clothes I decided on. Tilting my head back, I wondered what the heck I was thinking. It was just a girl. I didn’t even know if she was into me for certain. Shaking my head in disgust, I headed out the door. But first, I took a second look.
    Grabbing my favorite baseball cap, I headed downstairs.
    “ Who’s the lucky girl?” my mother asked.
    “ There’s no girl, mom,” I said.
    “ Look at you. You spent extra time this morning getting ready. There’s a girl. I should tell your father.”
    Groaning I rolled my eyes. “Dad’s busy with work. Don’t bother him about something that’s nothing.”
    “ I hear more about your sister’s life than I do about yours and she’s off in college,” my mother complained.
    “ Mom, there is nothing to tell,” I protested. Then I took a bite into a huge cinnamon roll. My mom was a good cook. “You really shouldn’t cook like this. You’ll be the death of us all,” I teased her, trying in vain to change the subject.
    Mom looked up. “Your sister never complains. In fact, she was telling me the other day how the cafeteria food just wasn’t like home.” She continued to talk and, unintentionally, I tuned her out. My sister and my mom could do without my mom’s cooking. But I would never tell either one of them that.
    “ I gotta go. I’m going to be late,” I said with the other half of my cinnamon roll in my hand.
    During school, I wasn’t allowed to wear my hat. With my lucky hat on the passenger seat, I sat in my car and finger combed through my hair before I made an appearance. My only class with Mercy didn’t come until after lunch. So again, I wondered what the hell I was doing.
    Getting out of my parent’s old beat up car, I knew another thing that was a must. A job. My dad said that he would match whatever I put down for a new car. After baseball season was over, that was tops on my list. What girl would want to ride around in this monster?
    Finally, after the day dragged on to high heaven, lunch came. Not that I was excited about what the cafeteria was serving. Not with a mother who made everything she fixed taste good. Grabbing a burger, I made my way out of the line and outside to the quad. The sun was out and almost everyone was taking advantage. Mercy was sitting by herself and not wanting to miss another opportunity, I headed her way. She glanced up from a book she was reading with one hand and held half of a sandwich in the other.
    “ Mind if I join