House of Korba: The Ghost Bird Series: #7 (The Academy) by C. L. Stone

it. I’m not missing out. I appreciate being voted in for it but it’s not what I really want to do with my time.”
    I fell quiet, watching the scenery pass by. Every once in a while, I stole glances at his face as he drove. His broad lips and nose and Greek features were incredibly handsome. He was starting to be popular at school, especially with the football team. The other Academy guys were friendly, but Silas was the one making an effort to fit in. Wouldn’t being homecoming king help?
    . Maybe he was right and didn’t want to, so I shook off the idea. It oddly made me feel better about it.

The Life of a Korba
    ––––––––
    S ilas took an exit, pulling into a sprawling apartment complex I remembered from the first time I ever met him. The lawns were freshly manicured and the front office building had new paint. There was a large pool behind the office. The top of the pool was covered in a tarp, as it was too late in October for swimming now. A larger building stood behind the pool with wide windows, but the glare from the sun made it impossible to see what was inside.
    “What’s that?” I asked, pointing to the building. “What’s in there?”
    Silas ducked his head to check out the window. “Meeting room and business center, fitness center...I think there’s a hot tub and couple of saunas in there somewhere.”
    “A hot tub in a fitness center?”
    Silas laughed. “Looks like I’m going to have to teach you about hot tubs. Did you bring your bathing suit?”
    “No,” I said. “I left it at Nathan’s house.”
    “We’ll figure it out,” he said, making turns around the apartment buildings.
    He pulled into a parking spot near the stairs of the last building. I hopped out quickly, my skin tingling in the crisp air, the adventure of getting out of the house, and being with Silas. I was finally somewhere else, and didn’t have to worry about my parents, about the school, or even the Academy.
    Silas collected my bag, hitting the button on his keys to lock the car doors. He marched over to the sidewalk and waited, holding a hand out for me. “Coming?”
    I smiled, dropping my hand into his. His strong fingers enclosed mine and he held on to me as we moved together toward the stairs. He didn’t let go until we were on the top floor in front of the last door to the right and he had to fish out his keys.
    This was it. Silas territory. I was bouncing on my toes, from one foot to the other; excited, intimidated, curious.
    Silas glanced back at me as the door swung open, catching me out as I was moving. I stopped short, falling back on my heels, blushing. He grinned, nodding toward the open door. “ Kalo̱sórisma .”
    “What does that mean?” I asked, stepping into a short entryway, a beige carpet meeting my feet. My eyes needed a moment to adjust to the dark rooms after being in the sunlight. Was no one else home?
    Silas stepped in behind me, hitting a switch that turned on a light further in. “Welcome,” he said.
    There were two hallways leading left and right. My fingers found my lip and I pushed it to my teeth, unsure which direction to go. I stepped to the side, near the wall, looking back at Silas.
    He shut the door behind us, dropping his keys back into his pocket, and reached for the hand at my face, pulling me toward the right hallway.
    The hallway opened up to an expansive living room, until I realized that the furniture was spread out, utilizing the space meant for a dining area. There was an L-shaped sectional couch against the far corner with a big wide-screen TV hanging on the wall opposite of it. A big brown coffee table sat on top of a busy multi-colored rug that covered the majority of the dark wood floor. There was a kitchen off to the left, cut off from the living room by a half wall with a light brown marble countertop and stools tucked under it. The kitchen tiles reminded me of sand.
    The air was thick with scents I didn’t know, of additional colognes that mixed