What about you?"
Preston shrugged as wel . "I'm pretty good with a sword, but I kind of suck when it comes to some of the other weapons. And I absolutely despise archery. My aim is just never any good."
I flashed back to the arrow thunking into the bookcase a foot away from my head in the Library of Antiquities. "I don't like archery much either."
We just started talking after that, about the two academies and the differences between them, about our classes and professors, about music and movies and sports and books. I liked Preston. He was smart, funny, and charming-and so total y gorgeous.
Part of me stil couldn't believe that he didn't have a girlfriend-and that he was hanging out with me instead of going into the coffee shop and finding someone cuter to flirt with.
Someone like Morgan, who would have probably already asked him to go back to her room. But I wasn't about to complain. For once, I was having a good time, and I was going to enjoy it as long as it lasted.
We'd been sitting on the bench talking for about half an hour when the snow started to pick up, coming down in a thick shower of fat, fluffy flakes. For some reason, the snow made me think of Nike. It was cold, beautiful, and dangerous al at the same time, just like the goddess of victory.
A shiver swept through my body, and I realized that my nose and cheeks had gone numb from sitting outside.
Preston noticed my shiver. He scooted closer, wrapped his arm around me, and stared into my eyes. For a second, I thought he might lean forward and kiss me. My heart thumped up into my throat in anticipation. Part of me wanted him to-and part of me stil wished it was Logan out here with me instead.
"You want to get out of here?" Preston asked in a soft voice.
"Maybe go somewhere warmer and ... talk?" I didn't know if he real y meant talk, make out, or something else completely, but I'd be happy with any one of them. I smiled at him. "Let's go."
Chapter 11
Preston got to his feet and held out his hand. I slipped my bare fingers into his palm, enjoying the smooth feel of his glove on my skin. A second later, my pscyhometry kicked in and showed me an image of Preston sitting in a dark car and pul ing on the black gloves.
No big whoop. It was exactly the kind of thing I'd expected to see, exactly the kind of thing I had seen hundreds of times before when touching someone's clothes. Usual y, I barely noticed those sorts of flashes, although this time, I felt like there was more to the memory, something hovering right at the edge of my mind.
Something important ...
Before I could focus on it, Preston pul ed me to the right.
Instead of going toward the hotel, he was heading around the side of the building and the shadows there. My heart thumped even faster in my chest. If he took me back there and tried to kiss me, I was so going to let him-
The door to the coffee shop jangled opened, and Logan stepped outside.
Logan's sudden appearance startled me so much that I let go of Preston's hand. The beginning of the glove memory, whatever it had been, vanished as soon as I broke contact. And of course, I slipped on that stupid patch of black ice again. This time, I managed to catch myself before I fel on my ass.
Logan reached out a hand to help me, but I waved him off.
One, because I'd embarrassed myself enough already.
And two, because he wasn't wearing gloves. If I touched Logan's bare skin, I didn't know what kind of flash I'd get off him. I certainly didn't want to see him kissing Savannah or something else like that. I'd already witnessed that enough times in real life. Besides, I might discover how he felt about the Amazon, and if my magic told me that he real y cared about her, wel , that would only hurt me even more.
Logan saw my wary look at his outstretched fingers. His hand curled into a tight fist, and he dropped it to his side.
Not too long ago, the Spartan had tried to kiss me, but just before our lips had touched, I'd realized I'd flash on him when he did-and that maybe I wouldn't like what I'd see.
I hadn't known Logan al that wel back then, and I'd been afraid that I'd sense that he was laughing at me or just kissing me because he felt sorry for me, because he thought I was a total loser freak or would be an easy lay. He did have a reputation as a man-whore, after al , and those weren't exactly the sort of things you wanted to feel when you were making out with the cute guy you liked. I had some experience with that, since I'd once flashed on Drew Squires, my first and only boyfriend, and had realized that he was thinking about another girl while he was kissing me.
I'd dumped Drew right then and there, but that stil hadn't taken away my pain.
So I'd pul ed back that night from Logan at the very last second-and I'd hurt his feelings because of it. He'd thought I hadn't wanted to kiss him because he was a Spartan, because they had a reputation for being so vicious and violent. I'd tried to explain about my psychometry magic, but he hadn't understood.
From the dark expression on his face, it looked like he didn't understand right now either.
"Gypsy girl," Logan said, staring at Preston instead of me.
"Who's your friend?"
"This is Preston. Preston, Logan. Logan goes to the North Carolina academy with me," I said.
Preston held out his hand, which Logan reluctantly took and shook. I'd thought this would be the end of things and that Logan would head back inside to the party and Savannah, but instead the Spartan crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the side of the building. Like he expected Preston and me to stay put and talk to him or something. Weird. Very weird.
"Spartan?" Preston asked, eyeing Logan's relaxed stance.
Logan nodded. He didn't ask what Preston was, which I thought was kind of rude. I might not know al the ins and outs of Mythos Academy, but sharing what kind of warrior you were was one of the main conversation starters between the kids at the different branches. I'd heard tons of them ask each other that question up on the ski slopes today, and I'd chatted with a few of the New York students myself. At least until they'd al started staring at me and asking me what kind of warrior a Gypsy real y was and what kind of power I had.
It wasn't exactly a hush-hush secret that Gypsies were people gifted with magic by the gods, but it wasn't common knowledge either. Most of the kids and even some of the professors at Mythos thought I was just a different kind of warrior, which technical y, I guess I was. I didn't real y understand why so few people had heard of Gypsies before. It was something I kept meaning to ask Grandma Frost or Professor Metis about.
"Wel , Logan," I said in a bright voice. "I'm sure you want to go back inside where it's warm. Preston and I were just leaving."