Breathless: A Firelight Novella (HarperTeen Impulse) by Sophie Jordan Page A

on a hook near the door. “Shouldn’t you be taking it easy? Isn’t that what the doctor said? Shouldn’t be having friends over—”
    “This is the girl that pulled me out of the water. Tate brought her.”
    I notice a paper bag in his arms, the vague shape of a six-pack within. He grunts a response before moving deeper into the house, apparently satisfied with her explanation.
    An awkward silence hangs in the room.
    Tate stares down at his lap.
    Anna sighs. “Yeah. That’s our dad. A real champ.”
    “Sorry,” Tate mumbles, running a hand through his hair and inhaling deeply. “I thought he was working late.”
    “It’s okay,” I assure him, not wanting him to feel ashamed or awkward. It’s not as though I could bring him around my parents. They want me to be comfortable mingling with humans, but only on a superficial level. They’d be arctic if I showed up with him.
    For once he doesn’t seem capable of looking at me. Without thinking, I reach out and close my hand over his. My flesh contracts at the contact, coming awake. He quickly lifts his gaze to mine, and I’m pinned by those warm, brown eyes again. My breath traps in my throat. A slow, sexy smile curves his lips and my stomach dips.
    “Want some popcorn? I just made it.” Anna extends a bowl to me, watching us with interest. “You guys going to pity me and hang out for a while? Watch some TV?”
    Tate raises an eyebrow at me in question.
    I smile, forgetting his surly father even with the distant drone of a second television in the back of the house. “Sure.”

8
    F or the next half hour we watch a teen vampire show that I’ve never seen. Anna fills me in on everything I’ve missed in the last two seasons.
    My fingers are slick with butter as I point at the screen and ask, “Okay, so the warlock has a thing for the half-werewolf, half-mermaid girl?”
    “No,” Tate volunteers. “He’s just using her to get closer to her best friend, the vampire with the special amulet who can walk around in the day.”
    Anna and I both look at him.
    “What?” He shrugs defensively.
    “I thought you never watched this show.” Anna eyes him speculatively.
    “Yeah, well, I’ve picked up a little with you having it on all the time.”
    “Admit it,” she teases. “You’re going to watch it even when I go away in the fall.”
    He rolls his eyes and reaches for another handful of popcorn. “You know it.”
    “Where are you going?” I ask.
    Anna smiles and I can feel her excitement. “Stanford. In September.”
    “Oh.” I glance at Tate.
    “Hotshot college girl now.” His face is a mixture of approval and sadness. “My big sister got all the brains.” I can tell he’s trying not to look sad, but it’s there … in his forced smile.
    “Yeah, well, you got all the athleticism.”
    I slide a glance back down the hall where Tate’s father disappeared. When Anna leaves, it will just be Tate and his dad. That won’t be fun.
    “I’ll be back for Thanksgiving. And Christmas,” she’s quick to say. “And don’t forget you’ll be close next year. Not far from me.”
    “Is that where you’re going? California?”
    “Probably. Hopefully Berkeley. They’ve got a great swim program.”
    “They’re dying to have him,” his sister volunteers, her voice full of pride.
    I moisten my lips. “I’ve always wanted to go to California. I’ve never even seen the ocean.”
    With any luck, I will next summer. But I don’t say this. It’s too complicated to explain why I’ll be there if not to attend college.
    “You should go to school out there with us. We can learn to surf together. Or you should at least come out and visit us.” Anna tosses another bit of popcorn into her mouth.
    “Yeah. You should,” Tate agrees and his eyes hold mine until my cheeks grow hot beneath his gaze. Am I actually discussing a way to see them again? A way to see Tate? That can never happen. I might have allowed myself this adventure, but there’s no