Free The Heartbreakers by Pamela Wells Page B

Suddenly she felt light-headed and clammy all over. This kind of thing never happened to her. Usually she was all confident and casual around guys. What was it about Horace?
    She hesitated at the front of the room, searching for another empty seat even though she knew there wasn’t one. Why did this room have so few desks? Her last-hour English class had five empty seats, giving people the option to choose.
    â€œIf you’ll sit down,” Mr. Banner said, “we’ll get started.”
    Raven muttered, “Sorry,” again, and hurried down an aisle of desks to slide in the empty one. The chair squeaked. She crossed one leg over the other and tried to regain her bearings.
    â€œThe spots you’re all in now,” Mr. Banner said, his voice loud and commanding, “will be your seating arrangements until further notice.”
    Several girls near the windows smiled and turned to their friends sitting next to them. Raven slid a glance to her left and looked at Horace. He smiled that sheepish grin of his and ran a hand through his messy reddish-blond hair.
    His lip was still swollen and cracked from Caleb’s punch, but it looked like it was healing. A knot of guilt settled in Raven’s stomach and she quickly looked away.
    She was used to being the center of attention, especially where guys were concerned. But she’d never seen someoneget punched because of her. She used to like flirting with guys just to see what they’d do, but Horace…somehow that had gone all wrong.
    She’d lost control of the situation somewhere, probably when they’d kissed on the bus. She still couldn’t figure out what had gotten into her. Now she had to defuse the situation before it blew up in her face.
    Alexia loved books, which meant she loved the library. It was her favorite place to be. The high school library, the public library, it didn’t really matter which library. They were all great.
    So, when she got her schedule that morning and saw that finally she’d gotten the library assistant position as her fourth-hour elective, she was ecstatic. One whole hour of school spent in the library? Going through books, checking out books, reading back-cover copy? Could school get any better than that?
    No, it couldn’t.
    Except, when she pulled back one of the double doors of the library and went around the front counter to announce her arrival to the librarian, she ran into Ben Daniels.
    On first glance, she thought it was Will. They were identical twins, both with chestnut-brown hair, moss-green eyes, and a strong chin, but it only took a second glance to see all the other differences.
    Will always combed his hair down, nice and neat. He wore button-up shirts and polos and jeans and khakis. Ben, on the other hand, wore cargo pants most of the time. Even now, in the dead of winter. His hair was uncut and unkempt, curling around his ears and down the back of his neck.
    Ben was Will on a bad day.
    â€œHey,” he said, his voice slightly hoarse. “Alexia, right?”
    The bell rang and Alexia dropped her bag on a chair. “Yes.”
    He leaned an arm on the counter and crossed his legs at the ankles. “Do people call you Al?”
    Sometimes her friends shortened her name, but it wasn’t like it was a nickname or anything.
    â€œNo.”
    â€œLexy?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œAlex?”
    Sighing, she sat down. “Just Alexia, thanks.” Where was the librarian? And why was Ben here? He wasn’t an assistant, too, was he?
    Though she had no opinion of Ben—since she’d never really talked to him before—carrying on a conversation with him seemed traitorous. His twin brother just dumped her best friend four days ago. Wasn’t Ben kind of guilty by association?
    â€œAlexia, then,” he said, and sat in the chair next to her. He slouched a bit, his long legs spread out in front of him. “I’m Benjamin, but people call me