Soulsearch (Teen Paranormal Romance Series) (The Soulmate Series: Teen Paranormal Romance Book 2) by Kellie McAllen Page B

specialty flavors in house and was always concocting new and exciting combinations, some that became favorites and others that were never seen again.   Rachel had her favorites and rarely tried anything new, but Paige never ordered the same thing twice.   Living with Rachel, Rider had always wanted her to branch out and try some of the more exotic combinations, so he was looking forward to making his own choices this time.   They kept an eye on Zach, sweeping at the other end of the counter, and Paige was mentally rehearsing possible lines as they waited to be served.
    “What’llyahave?” Mr. Pasquetti asked jovially, wiping his sticky hands on his apron.   A hands-on type of guy, he always preferred scooping the ice cream over managing the books.
    “A single scoop of Chocolate Peanut Butter in a waffle cone for me, please,” Rachel answered.
    “Two scoops of Raspberry Lemon with sprinkles in a sugar cone,”   said Paige.
    “Can I have a sample of Sriracha Swirl?” Rider asked, suddenly questioning his own desire to be adventurous.
    “Oh, that’s a great one, young man,” Mr. Pasquetti declared emphatically.   “One of my very favorite creations.   Hot and spicy and cool and creamy all at the same time. It’s a masterpiece if I do say so myself!”
    Rider took the tiny spoonful of ice cream and touched it gingerly to his tongue.   His eyes bulged out as the hot pepper flavor hit his tastebuds, but the creamy aftertaste soothed the sting.   “Wow, that is….amazing, Mr. Pasquetti.   I think I’ll have a scoop of that in a cup, with a scoop of Key Lime, too.”
    “You got it, kid!”
    Meanwhile, the cashier was totaling their order and Rachel was digging in her wallet while Paige was ogling the boy with the broom.   When Zach looked up and caught Paige staring at him, she offered a hesitant wave.
    “Hey, you’re Zach, right?   I’m Paige.   We go to school together, don’t we?” Paige asked nervously.   She wasn’t in the habit of approaching cute boys and she wasn’t confident that he had ever noticed her, despite how many times she had noticed him.
    “Uh, yeah, I suppose so,” he replied, staring at her oddly.
    That was stupid, Paige thought, cringing inwardly.   There was only one high school in Allendale.   Of course they went to the same school.   “Aren’t you on the wrestling team?” Paige asked — a slightly less obvious question.
    “Yeah.”
    Knowing absolutely nothing about wrestling, Paige didn’t really know where else to go with the conversation.   “You look like you’d be good at it,” she offered, hoping a bid to his self-esteem would help move things along.
    A slight smile broke Zach’s stoic gaze.   “Yeah, I am pretty good at it.”
    “So when’s your next competition?   Maybe I should come watch it,” Paige suggested, unconsciously inching closer.
    “Season just ended.   You’ll have to wait till the fall.”
    “Bummer, I’d really like to see what you can do sometime,” Paige lamented, boldly reaching out to touch his biceps.   Meanwhile, Rachel and Rider sat at a nearby table bug-eyed, watching Paige flirt.   “So what do you like about wrestling, Zach?   Isn’t it…painful?”
    Zach chuckled.   “Not if you know what you’re doing. You have to know how to take control over your opponent from the beginning.   Then you just have to be strong enough to keep him down.”
    “So you like the feeling of control, then?” Paige asked, surprising him with her directness.
    “Yeah, I guess so,” Zach smiled, revealing a menacing line of shiny white teeth.   He had never thought about it that way before, but it made sense.   He was always struggling for control in real life, so maybe he liked wrestling because it let him have it.   He stared curiously at this little firecracker of a girl who had figured him out in less time than it took her to eat her ice cream.   He wouldn’t have given her a second look if she hadn’t approached