Free Common Ground (The Common Ground Trilogy Book 1) by Barry Chaison Page A

entrance to the kitchen.
    “I need air,” I said to Hope. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
    “I’ll come with you,” Hope said hopefully.
    “No, just give me a minute. I’m feeling really trapped right now. I’ll be back soon, I promise,” I reassured her with a smile. She just stared at me sadly like a child that was just told there was no Santa Claus.
    The fresh, seemingly cool air struck me like an open freezer. Even though I knew the temperature was still close to triple digits, it felt much cooler than when we first entered the house. After a few deep breaths, I noticed a set of steps that led towards the extremely disheveled backyard of the frat house, and took a seat. Weeds, brown grass and a couple of toppled garbage cans were scattered all across the yard. The noise and glaring music resonated through the thick house walls as I slowly caught my breath on the step. It was nice to be isolated for a few moments and not have to yell above the music or be forced to drink something disgusting. To make things even better, Liam was nowhere to be found. I leaned back on the steps, closed my eyes and continued to breathe deeply, as a small smile cracked my face. At that moment, a deep, gruff cough emanated from behind me. My elbows slipped from underneath me in surprise, as I couldn’t remember hearing a door close or the sound of footsteps.
    “Careful,” he chuckled. “Don’t hurt yourself!”
    My worst fears came to fruition as I looked up. There stood Liam, toga and all, with a cup similar to what was scattered around the kitchen. His olive tanned skin was covered with an ivory white toga that blended perfectly into the darkness. I could see the moonlight gleam off of his flawlessly toned torso as he looked at me with an all-knowing grin on his face. Part of me wanted to smack the smirk right off of his face, which was an unfamiliar and scary thought.
    “Whatever,” I said curtly.
    “Now, don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone with paler skin than you,” he said jokingly as he approached and finally took a seat right next to me. I shuffled as far away as I could and kept my gaze off of him, and on the ugly backyard.
    “Yep, I’m a modern medical wonder,” I sighed.
    “So, too good for the party, huh?”
    “What?” I responded sharply. “No, just needed to cool down.”
    “Hmm, come outside to cool off… in Las Vegas? Interesting logic…” he laughed. My insides curled sharply as I realized his logic actually made sense. No matter what I said, I was going to come across as an idiot.
    “You got me there,” I mocked softly. “Besides, it’s your party. Shouldn’t you be inside with the other gorillas?”
    “Ah, another one of those…” he sighed, shaking his head.
    “What do you mean, one of those?”
    “Oh, nothing. Just another girl who sees a fraternity guy and automatically assumes he’s just a stupid jock who loves nothing more than drinking beer and hooking up with as many girls as possible…” he said, rolling his eyes.
    “Funny, but that was exactly my first impression after seeing the show you put on when we got here!” I argued, still not looking at him.
    “So, what does that make you then, for showing up here?” he said, not changing his amused tone. He seemed to be engaged in a fun game of cat and mouse, with me being the defenseless, helpless mouse.
    “I knew it was a mistake coming here tonight,” I mumbled.
    “So why’d you come?” he inquired suspiciously. It was the first change of tone I’d heard from him. His normally joking and laid back demeanor had been replaced almost instantly.
    “I came for Annie, to support her,” I said almost inaudibly, finally looking up at him. At that moment, our eyes locked onto each other again, and the familiar feeling from our first day suddenly raced through my body. His attitude and egotism were distant memories, as all I could think about was the mystery that lied behind his