When the Moon is Full

Cara slammed her locker shut and hurried down the hall to English. Just as she dashed into the classroom, the bell rang. Sighing in relief, she quickly sat in her assigned seat and got out her books. She’d already been late several times and Mrs. Mason had threatened her with detention if she was late again.

Across the room, her best friend Chloe signaled her.

Have you seen the new hottie? Chloe mouthed.

What hottie? Cara mouthed back.

Chloe fanned herself and grinned, which told Cara very little. Chloe had a new crush on an almost daily basis. She fell in and out of love at the drop of a hat, which was the total opposite of Cara who’d only ever had one boyfriend. She’d dated Will Montgomery for all of six months, until she’d found out he was cheating on her with nearly every girl in school. Once she’d found out, she’d dropped him like a bad habit. She’d had very little trust in guys before dating Will, and now she just didn’t trust them at all. For that matter, she had a hard time trusting anyone.

A disturbance at the front of the room drew her attention and she felt her jaw drop. If the guy standing with Mrs. Mason was the new hottie Chloe had mentioned, then her friend was absolutely right – the guy was gorgeous! As he handed his admittance slip to the teacher, Cara took time to study him, her eyes taking in his thick, wavy brown hair, compelling hazel eyes, and high cheekbones. A long, straight nose led to full lips. A strong jaw with a cleft made him even sexier. As her gaze travelled the length of his body, it didn’t escape her attention that he worked out, or that he was taller than most guys in their school. All in all, he made one mouth-watering package.

When he turned to face the class, his gaze met hers. It felt like all of the air in the room had been sucked out, leaving her gasping for breath. She’d never felt so aware of anyone before in her life.
Without breaking eye contact, the hottie moved down the aisle toward her. With a flutter of butterflies in her stomach, she realized he was heading for the empty desk beside her. Dropping his bag on the floor, he leapt over the desk and into the chair, making every female in the class sigh in appreciation.

“Class, this is Hunter Adams,” Mrs. Mason announced. “He’s joining us from Santa Monica, California. I hope you’ll all make him feel welcome.”

Well, that explained the golden tan, Cara thought. No one in Kwone’she, Montana had a tan like that, especially not in October.
She fought the temptation to look his way, but felt pulled to him like a moth to a flame. Glancing his way, she realized he was watching her. A lazy grin formed on his sensual lips and Cara swung back around to face the front of the room, a blush staining her pale cheeks.

She didn’t understand his fascination with her. It wasn’t that she was ugly per se, but she was plump. Thick, curly hair the color of the midnight sky framed a plump face. Her eyes were a clear, pale gray and were fringed in long, dark lashes. Her nose was ordinary, but her lips were full and pouty. A pale, clear complexion made her eyes and hair stand out even more. She’d heard more than one vampire joke in her lifetime.

If she could lose twenty pounds, she knew she would be more popular. Instead, she’d always been the fat girl in school. The kids had teased her mercilessly since she’d first started gaining weight in third grade, but this year was better so far, for which she was eternally grateful. She had dreaded spending her senior year being the butt of every joke. While she wasn’t popular, at least a few people other than Chloe were speaking to her for once.

Cara made a valiant effort to ignore the gorgeous guy sitting next to her for the remainder of class. More than once, she’d caught herself turning to look at him, but had managed to stop herself just in time. She felt his gaze on her and it made her fidget. She wasn’t used to this kind of attention and it was making her nervous.