Crave (Harlequin Teen)

side of my neck.
    Whoa, too much. I leaned back and tried to ease out of his arms. “Uh, okay, down, boy.” I forced a laugh.
    He stared at me with intense eyes, his breaths coming out fast and harsh. “I love you, Savannah. When you look at me like that, you make me feel things I’ve never felt before.”
    “Uh…” Realizing I was making direct eye contact with him again, I jerked my gaze away. Too much of a good thing there apparently. I’d have to limit his exposure to my gaze again. Thankfully today was a Saturday. He’d recover overnight like those algebra boys had, and be back to normal by Monday. Maybe I should try smaller doses of the direct gaze on him in the future, let him build up a tolerance to it.
    “See you Monday.” I pasted on a smile as I slipped out of his arms.
    But he held on to my hand, stopping me from escaping into the house. “Hey, let’s go out tomorrow.”
    “On a Sunday?” Sundays were strictly for church and family at his house.
    But he didn’t even hesitate. “Sure. We could go on a picnic.”
    No way would the gaze-daze effect wear off if he saw me again tomorrow. He needed space and time away from me so he could recover. “Um, I’m sorry, Greg, but I’ve got stuff to do with my grandma tomorrow.” I’d find something to do with Nanna so it wouldn’t be a lie. “But I’ll see you on Monday, okay?”
    “Okay. See you then, Savannah.” He stood there staring at me.
    Okaaay. I went inside the house with a sigh. Apparently it still wasn’t a great idea to make eye contact with a male. Even a really nice one.

CHAPTER 9
    Savannah
    Unfortunately, Greg was anything but back to normal by lunchtime on Monday when I joined him and his friends at their table.
    “You ready to go grab some lunch?” Greg said, already getting up from his chair, not a smile in sight on his face.
    Feeling nauseous, I shook my head. I was anything but hungry today.
    He frowned, his eyes growing even darker and more intense. “You really need to eat, Savannah. I’ll get you something.” He took off at a jog for the food line.
    “Hey, guys, does Greg seem different today?” I asked his friends.
    “Now that you mention it, yeah,” Mark said before taking a large bite of his nachos. “I think it’s cuz he’s in l-o-v-e. ”
    “Dude,” Peter punched his arm. “You’re not supposed to reveal a dude’s secrets like that, man.”
    I gave a half smile. “It’s okay, he already said the big three words at the homecoming dance this weekend.”
    Peter looked relieved. “Figures. The guy’s been talking about you nonstop ever since.”
    “Is that…normal for him?”
    “No. Not that he hasn’t talked about you before. But this is something else. The dude woke me up at two in the morning after the dance, calling me to rave on and on about your eyes.”
    My eyes. Cringing, I stared down at my hands in my lap. What have I done?
    “Ah, don’t worry about it, Sav,” Mark said. “He’ll come to his senses. All us guys do.”
    “Here you go.” Greg returned and set an overloaded tray in front of me. “I didn’t know what you’d want, so I got one of everything.”
    He wasn’t kidding. He’d bought enough food to create a mini mountain on the table. A short laugh of disbelief burst out of me. This could not be happening. “Uh, thanks, Greg. But I’m really not hungry.”
    “Are the Charmers teaching you not to eat or something?” He held up a piece of pizza and shoved it against my lips. “Here, just eat a little. You’re too skinny anyways.”
    A glance around the table showed two male reflections of what I was feeling.
    “Greg, I’m not hungry,” I insisted, leaning away from the pizza. “Drop it please, or I’ll have to go sit with the girls today.”
    “Yeah, man, lay off her already,” Peter said.
    “Back off,” Greg growled at his best friend. “I know how to look out for my own girlfriend.”
    Judging from Peter’s stunned expression, Greg had never spoken to either of his friends like that. He had to be acting this way because of me. I had to do something before this situation got any worse.
    I stood up. “Sorry, guys. But this is getting out of hand.”
    “See ya, Sav,” Mark said. Peter just looked embarrassed.
    “Don’t call her that,” Greg muttered. “Only her friends and I call her Sav.”
    I gasped. “Greg, I can’t believe you’re being so rude. Peter and Mark are my friends, too, now. I don’t know what your problem is with them