"Your friends wouldn't be able to catch me," she retorted.
"Hey!" one of them protested.
Isabelle glanced at his friend before turning her attention back to Aiden. His eyes darkened with worry as he stared at her. All their special abilities were called off for their games because The Stooges, and her father, were stronger than her brothers and her. Even without them though, Isabelle was the fastest. She didn't have the physical strength of the others, but if she broke away, none of them could catch her. Her team loved her for it, while David's team hated it. They usually flipped a coin to decide who would have to cover her. Aiden lost.
Mike called hike, and they all broke. Isabelle darted to the right, laughing as Aiden scrambled to keep up with her. She caught the ball, tucked it against her chest, and dashed down the field. She crossed the spray-painted line on the ground and turned to hold the ball laughingly out as Aiden panted to a halt beside her.
He shot her a disgruntled look as he took the ball from her hands. "Slowpoke," she teased.
"Hmm," he grunted.
The game went by quickly in a blur of laughter and lighthearted banter. After a half hour of play, Isabelle began to relax. She was nowhere near Stefan, and he seemed content to stay away from her. In truth, it somewhat aggravated her, but it was what she wanted after all, wasn't it?
She shook the thought and confusion away as they called halftime. She gratefully trotted over to the cold water on the sidelines, drinking it eagerly to ease the dryness in her throat. She stood between Ethan and Ian, feeling secure between their tall, solid bodies. She poked her head around them, her eyes instantly landing on Stefan as he talked with David. Seeming to sense her gaze, he turned toward her.
His eyes sparkled mischievously as a smile curved his full mouth. Her cheeks burned when she realized she’d been caught staring. She was never shy, and rarely got embarrassed, but one look from him caused heat to suffuse her body and her throat to close up. She felt like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
She turned her gaze to less threatening things. Her mother and Kathleen still sat on the sidelines; her father was now by her mother's side. Isabelle rolled her eyes as she looked away from them. She wasn't going to be like them; she wasn't going to let that happen to her. She refused to.
She turned her gaze toward Jess and Delia. She was startled by the hostility radiating from them as they met her gaze. An uneasy feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. She’d never been hated by anyone before, but she was certain they both hated her.
"I'll be right back," she said around the lump in her throat.
Ethan glanced at her. "Where are you going?"
"Inside for a minute."
"Hurry up, the game's going to restart soon," he replied impatiently.
Isabelle jogged away from them and up the steps of the porch. She just needed some time to get her thoughts together and to shake off the remaining dread from Jess and Delia's look. They hated her. The thought brought a knot to her stomach and the hot sting of tears to her eyes. She batted them angrily back as she slipped into the comfort of the kitchen.
This was his fault too, she decided. Jess wasn't stupid; she surely noticed something odd happening between them.
Isabelle locked herself in the bathroom and leaned against the door as she tried to steady her nerves. She walked over, turned on the cold water, and liberally doused her face with it.
What did she care what Jess thought of her when Isabelle didn't even like her? Stefan was her boyfriend, and if she chose to be mad at Isabelle because he was a horny bastard that was her fault, not Isabelle's.
She turned the water off, determined not to let Jess bother her anymore. Stefan was an entirely different matter. No matter what she did, he bothered her. She avoided him physically; he invaded her dreams. She tried not to think about him, but he was constantly on her mind.
One look at him caused her to tremble with heat. She didn't know what to do about him, but she knew she couldn't stay hidden in the bathroom forever. Ethan and Aiden would come in and drag her out by her hair if she didn't get back to the game soon.
She cast a quick glance at her reflection and froze. She looked like crap. Her face was flushed from the game, her hair in tumultuous disarray, and there were smudges under her eyes from not sleeping. She didn't want to think about the reason why she wanted to look better, she knew why; she just didn't want to admit it. Hurriedly, she pulled her hair into a neater ponytail. It didn't do much for the overall effect, but at least it was a little improvement.
Feeling a little better, and more in control, she straightened her shoulders and flung the door open. Stefan was standing before her with a raised eyebrow and a gleam in his eyes as he surveyed her. Isabelle's heart leapt into her throat as all her newfound composure vanished and fire flashed through her body.
His eyes came back to hers, and they darkened with a ravenous hunger. Her breath froze in her lungs, and the world around her vanished as his gaze burned into her soul. With heart-stopping certainty, she knew he was ready to devour her, and she found herself welcoming it.
"I was sent to get you." His voice was deep and husky with desire.
Isabelle forced herself not to shiver. "Okay," she managed to say. She took a step forward, but he put an arm out, blocking her exit. She looked back at him, determined not to let her distress, or longing for him, show. "I thought you were sent to get me?"
A
