A World Apart The Jake Thomas Trilogy - By Steven A. Tolle Page 0,3

and things just seemed to happen. If not for the intervention of the group, banging on the door and shouting suggestions, Jake was not sure where it would have stopped. Despite trying to make a joke out of it since, it was pretty obvious that Tina would like to have a second go.

The problem for Jake was that he liked Tina. She was smart and attractive, with short, dark hair and brown eyes, her petite body slender and fit from running cross-country and track. Jake really liked that she had a sunny disposition, always smiling and joking. But Jake's only real love interest for the last year was Sabrina.

"You think he is going to keep at you?" Sean asked, sounding worried, referring to Donald. "Let me give you ride home after school."

Sean always had a protective streak in him, even when they were kids. Of course, Jake thought, having trained in martial arts since he was about seven, Sean could actually protect someone. Jake had gone to a couple of Sean's classes and found out that he was a bit of a badass, fast and strong. Not many people knew that about him; it was not something that Sean talked much about.

"That may not be a bad idea." Jake replied, thinking that, given the day's events, maybe erring on the side of caution would be the prudent course. Jake's car was still in the shop with electrical problems, so his mom had been dropping him off in the morning and Jake would walk the couple of miles to his home, located just outside of town, after school. It was not so bad, as the weather was nice.

"Dudes, the lunch period is a wasting. Let get back to the table and eat." Matt said. They went over to the table where Matt and Sean had been sitting. At Matt's prompting, Jake recounted his call with Sabrina.

That brought the conversation back around to what Jake should do about Donald. Sean wanted Jake to avoid Donald and never go anywhere without him, despite the impracticality of that. Matt's suggestions, of course, were not serious and soon became more and more outrageous. Before they knew it, they were laughing about it and Jake started to feel better.

When the bell rang to signal the end of lunch, the three friends headed towards the classrooms together. Sean had English for fifth period while Jake and Matt had chemistry together. Sean walked with Jake and Matt to their classroom. "You want me to meet you at your class after sixth period?" He asked.

"No, I'll meet you at your car." Jake replied. He saw a look of doubt on Sean's face. "Don't worry. I'm sure I'll make it there before Donald can find me." Sean nodded and headed off to his class.

Jake and Matt entered the classroom and headed for their seats in the lab. Jake tried to ignore some of the speculative looks and whispers his classmates exchanged at the sight of him. Jake mentioned it quietly to Matt. Matt patted his cell phone and made a joke about the curse of modern technology. Their seats were in the back of the lab with Matt sitting at the lab table next to Jake's. As they approached, they saw that Tina was already at her and Jake's table, dressed in shorts and a loose blouse.

"Hello, Jake. Matt." Tina said sweetly in greeting as they got to the tables. She gave Jake coy smile and patted his chair next to her. Jake felt his cheeks getting a bit hot at that, but Matt laughed out loud.

"Hey, Tina." Matt said, a broad smile on his face. "Jake and I were just talking about the party. You know, I think my dad still has some vodka left over and I'm sure I can find an empty bottle. Care to come over and spin the bottle again?"

"You wish." Tina said, her face going slightly pink at the memories. She looked over at Jake with a smile and gave him a wink. "You know that Jake is the only one for me." Matt laughed again.

As Jake was sitting down, facing the classroom door, Sabrina walked into the room, her short sundress emphasizing her form and highlighting her legs. Jake paused, captivated as always by Sabrina. She was looking at her phone as she came in, a frown on her face. To Jake, even that was attractive.

She was tall, just a little shorter than Jake, and slender, with those long tan legs and just