Page 19 of Autumn Secrets

“Yes, see you later…”

As soon as Julian left the classroom I tried to get back to my work, but I found it hard to focus on the screen in front of me. I leaned back in my chair and ran my hands through my hair. I thought about Adrian. At the end of the day he had Evangeline and that was the end of it. There was nothing I could do about it; there was nothing Iwantedto do about it. I was sure that he had left my place last night to go and seeherand that had really made my mind up, once and for all.

Julian was extremely good-looking, had no girlfriend as far as I could tell, and seemed to really want me to come to his party. I smiled to myself. I’d been scared that this little sleepy town would be too small for me, but this was far more than what I’d hoped for. I would even go as far as saying that Angel Falls was an exciting little town.

I didn’t have a chance to talk to Lexi, Mia and Jasmine until lunch.

“Are you guys going to the party on Saturday?”

“Of course we are. I was going to tell you about it, but I didn’t have the chance this morning,” Lexi said.

“Don’t worry, I got a personal invitation from the host.” I smiled.

“Julian invited you? Interesting! What did he say? Oh my God. I bet he’s interested in you!” Jasmine shouted excitedly.

“Ssshh, keep your voice down.” Mia chuckled and rolled her eyes.

I couldn’t help but laugh with her. I looked around to make sure no one had heard our conversation, when I found myself once again caught in the gaze of Adrian Hunter. I felt a surge of heat rush through my body. He arched an eyebrow and grinned towards me. I stopped paying attention to the conversation around our table. My surroundings faded into the background; all I could see and feel was Adrian.

“Here we go again.” Lexi chuckled somewhere in the distance. “Aurora, helloooo?”

I felt myself slowly being pulled away from my private little bubble and back to the table. I shook my head, annoyed that I had found myself hypnotised by him again.

“Sorry, where were we?”

“God, you’re so lucky. You’ve got them both wrapped around your finger.” Jasmine sighed.

“Both?” I asked, confused.

“Yes, Adrian andnow a personal invite from Julian this morning. You can’t deny they are both exceptionally good-looking guys,” Jasmine continued with a dreamy look.

“Jasmine has had a crush on both guys forever,” Mia teased.

“Seriously?” I asked.

“I thinkeveryonein this school has had a crush on Julian or Adrian, or the other two, at some point. Both boys and girls, I might add.” Lexi laughed. “But no one has had any luck so far.”

“What does that mean?” I asked. I hated my own curiosity, but I still couldn’t stop myself from asking these questions.

“Neither of them seems to be dating. They have never been spotted with a girlfriend. That’s what it means,” Jasmine replied.

I immediately thought of Evangeline. Adrian definitely had a girlfriend, and it really confused me that no one seemed to know her. She wasn’t an ordinary girl; she was pure perfection. She was impossible to miss with her angelic beauty. I decided it was time to find out, once and for all.

“Well, I’ve actually seen Adrian with his girlfriend. I tried to tell you guys about it…” I murmured, not sure if anyone actually heard me. I looked up and saw three pair of eyes staring at me.

“What?! When did you see Adrian with a girlfriend?” Lexi asked.

“Yesterday – she was here at our school. She came into one of the classrooms, and then Adrian came in too. They kissed each other.” I felt the same overwhelmingly sick feeling as I had when it happened.

“What did she look like?” Mia asked. I gave them my best description of her.

“I have no idea who this Evangeline is. She can’t be from Angel Falls,” Lexi said.

“Maybe they met online, or on a holiday or something?” Mia said.

“Yeah, maybe. Anyway, girlfriend or not, I honestly think he’s interested inyou,” Lexi said and pointed to me with her fork, while she ticked her head discreetly his way.

I let my gaze run over the cafeteria, before looking his way again. I found myself locked in his stare and he shot me another one of his heart-stopping smiles. I needed to get over that smile and those eyes, very soon.