Free Overtaken by Mark H. Kruger Page B

confident, megawatt smile. Some things never changed.
    Fortunately, a steady stream of friends and wannabes swarmed around to welcome the prince back to his kingdom, so I took off while he was distracted.
    It was nothing short of amazing how quickly Chase had recuperated from his close call with the hereafter. My dad and the team of doctors at the hospital gave him a clean bill of health and discharged him only two days after he had emerged from his coma. And here he was back at school as if nothing awful had happened.
    Last time when Chase had attempted to kiss me, he was still dating Maya. For me, that cemented his status as a “never going to happen” once and for all. Besides, he was also Richard Cochran’s son and Oliver’s half brother, which made him extra toxic. Even worse, I had overheard him betraying Maya to his father. Even if I was interested in Chase Cochran, which I was definitely not, I knew for sure that I could never trust him.
    I barely made it a few steps inside the school lobby when Dana spotted me and insisted we grab a preclass latte from the cafeteria. Despite my deep mistrust of Dana, I knew it was a golden opportunity for me to get closer and bond with her. You can catch more bees with honey, my grandmother used to say. Not to mention, I was also feeling awfully draggy from sleep deprivation after my previous night’s heart-to-heart with Dad, so I took Dana up on her offer.
    â€œPlease tell me you were just playing hard to get,” Dana remarked as she and I grabbed our large to-go cups frothy with steamy foam.
    My furrowed brow and puzzled expression made one side of Dana’s mouth turn up into a half smile.
    â€œI saw Chase making eyes at yours truly,” she explained with an encouraging wink.
    â€œMore like keeping the lion at bay with my bullwhip.” My diaphragm forced up a fake laugh as cover. “I don’t think so. Not really interested in joining the horde of hormonal girls vying for his divine attention.”
    â€œJust don’t write him off, okay?” Dana pleaded. “I’ve known Chase since second grade. He might’ve been the jerk chugging milk for the attention of the whole cafeteria, but he’s the same one who stopped ‘Dana Pox’ from catching on in middle school.”
    â€œNo way.” It slipped out before I could shut the gates. It was hard enough to imagine Dana on a bad hair day, let alone being made fun of by pimply adolescents.
    â€œI was a disaster,” she confided. “Probably could’ve sold my before and after to Proactiv. No lie. Chase is a much cooler guy than he lets on.”
    Dana’s honesty was unexpectedly refreshing, giving me a new perspective. Sure, Chase had his moments. Rarely. Occasionally. And he was sort of, maybe, a little bit—fine, absolutely—drop-dead good-looking. But Chase Cochran and me together? Not when Jackson was still deep in my heart. It would be bizarre on all fronts. Hypothetically speaking, of course. As if I’d let anything really happen.
    Strolling down the hallway sipping my latte, I listened politely while Dana rattled off Chase’s many stellar qualities (loyalty, generosity, hunky body, to mention a few) when I spotted Mr. Bluni in one of the Biology labs behind closed doors. Through the door’s narrow vertical window I could see that he was locked in a heated discussion—argument, actually—with none other than Richard Cochran. I was so flustered to see them alone together that I stumbled and nearly tripped over my own feet, recovering my balance at the last second before making a fool of myself.
    â€œNice save,” Dana said approvingly. Flashing a suggestive look, she added: “What was that about?”
    Though Dana was insinuating that my head-in-the-clouds wobble had something to do with Chase, I was mulling the same question about an entirely different matter.
    What secret business was Bluni and Cochran