Tianna And Derek Quotes

“I really like hanging out with you, Tianna."
"What?" She wiped her eyes. "After tonight I thought you'd never want to see me again."
"Are you kidding?" He seemed as surprised as she felt. "I've never had such an exciting night."
"Are you making fun of me?"
He shook his head. "From the first moment I met you, I knew you were the kind of girl who went running off the high dive into the deep end of the pool before you even knew how to swim."
She laughed.
He pulled her closer to him. "I like that rush of adrenaline I felt tonight.”
― Lynne Ewing, The Lost One

“This is heaven- sunshine, coffee, and muffin."
"You're so different from everyone else," he teased.
"How so?" she asked, and took another eager bite.
"Other girls are so worried about the way they look."
"What?" She sprayed out part of the muffin and coffee. "What's wrong with the way I look?"
"Nothing," he answered, but there was amusement in his eyes. "You look great."
She handed back the muffin and the coffee, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "Then why did you say I don't worry about the way I look?"
"I just mean other girls spend hours in front of the mirror and you obviously don't. You seem like the right kind of person to go on adventures with," he answered in a dreamy kind of way. "That's what I want to do. Go on a dig, maybe. Wouldn't you like to uncover mummies or discover an unknown temple in the jungles of Cambodia?"
"Why?" she asked with a rising sense of uneasiness. "When you're safe and at home, adventures might seem like fun, but when you're living them, they're not."
"I thought you'd enjoy roughing it," he explained. "You don't seem to care about appearances.”
― Lynne Ewing, The Lost One

“She looked at the guy. Anger seethed inside her. "Give me that dumb ball. This has not been a good day, and I really can't take any more."
"Come get it, then." He smirked and ran away from her, kicking the ball lightly with the inside of his feet. He didn't look down, and he never lost control over it.
Tianna sighed and shook her head.
"Come on." He taunted her, and picked up speed. "You afraid you can't get it back from me?"
Something exploded inside her. She felt it like a hot fire flashing up to her face. She dashed after him and caught him in seconds. He seemed surprised by her speed but also delighted.
When she reached him, he darted away, changing direction, but it seemed as if her body had anticipated where he was going to go and she ran parallel with him, her feet tipping in and trying to steal the ball.
He laughed and shifted his weight in one direction, then took off running in the other, using the inside of his foot to roll the ball.
"Wrong thing to do," she shouted angrily. This time her feet went on automatic. She ran alongside him, then swung her leg in front of him and struck the near side of the ball. It popped away from him.
Her foot shot out again. He tripped and fell flat on his back.
She picked up the ball and sauntered back to him, then held out her hand to help him up.
"You don't have to smile so big," he said with a matching grin. He took her hand. His felt warm and strong.
She couldn't help but smile. No wonder they put her on the team so quickly. Her feet had talent. She was a master.”
― Lynne Ewing, The Lost One

“Derek!" she shouted, and realized suddenly that she only had the sheet covering her.
"You were out here running like crazy," he explained, and released his hold. "You didn't hear me when I called your name. I figured something was wrong, so I caught you. What were you running from?"
She felt grateful and embarrassed at the same time. He had pulled her back and saved her from the shadow. She tightened her hold on the sheet, and Derek didn't bother to take his eyes away.
"I thought I heard a woman scream that someone had taken her purse," she lied. "So I came outside to help."
"Like that?" He smirked.
"I sleep in the nude." It was the first thing that came to mind and it was also the worst thing to say. She rolled her eyes at his silly grin. "Look, in an emergency you don't have time to put on clothes.”
― Lynne Ewing, The Lost One

“Do you have a driver's license?"
"Of course," she said, not knowing if it was true or not. She was already sitting behind the steering wheel.
He tossed her the keys and she turned the ignition as he climbed into the car.
She pressed hard on the gas pedal and the car shrieked away from the curb. The back end fishtailed. She needed to get to school quickly and find some answers. She had a feeling that Catty wasn't going to last long in that place.
The light turned yellow ahead of her.
"Slow down!" Derek shouted as the car in front of them stopped for the light.
She didn't let up.
"You're going to rear-end it!" Derek cried, and his foot pressed the floor as if he were trying to work an invisible brake.
She jerked the steering wheel, swerved smoothly around the car, and blasted through the intersection, ignoring the flurry of horns and screeching tires.
Derek snapped his seat belt in place. "Why are you in such a hurry to get to school?"
"Geometry test," she answered, and buzzed around two more cars.
At the next junction she needed to make a left-hand turn, but the line of traffic waiting for the green arrow would delay her too long. She continued in her lane, and when she reached the intersection, she turned in front of the car with the right-of-way. Angry honks followed her as she blasted onto the next street.
"We've got time, Tianna!" Derek yelled. "School doesn't start for another fifteen minutes."
Would fifteen minutes give her enough time to get the answers she needed? She didn't think so.
She pressed her foot harder on the accelerator. The school was at least a mile away, but if she ignored the next light and the next, then maybe she could get there with enough time to question Corrine. She didn't think her powers were strong enough to change the lights and she didn't want to chance endangering other drivers, but she was sure she could at least slow down the cross traffic.
She concentrated on the cars zooming east and west on Beverly Boulevard in front of her without slowing her speed.
"Tianna!" Derek yelled. "You've got a red light!"
She squinted and stalled a Jaguar in the crosswalk. Cars honked impatiently behind the car, and when a Toyota tried to speed around it, she stopped it, too. She could feel the pressure building inside her as she made a Range Rover and a pick-up slide to a halt. She shot through the busy intersection against the light.
Derek turned back. "You've got to be the luckiest person in the world.”
― Lynne Ewing, The Lost One

“She stood and tripped over something in the dark, then stumbled and fell on Derek.
"Ouch," he moaned.
"Are you all right?" she whispered, and realized she was lying on top of him. She liked the way his body felt so familiar and comfortable beneath hers. She rested her head against his chest and closed her eyes, suddenly regretting all the mean things she had said to him.
"Aren't you going to get up?" he asked.
"Sure," she answered, and let her hands smooth down his chest and then his arms. She was surprised by the feel of his rock-hard muscles.
"I work out," he murmured unexpectedly.
"What?"
He snickered. "The way you're feeling my chest and arms-"
"I am not." She jumped up, indignant, then knelt beside him. "I was searching for your ropes."
"Liar," he whispered.
She felt a blush rise to her cheeks and was glad it was dark so he couldn't see.
"The ropes are tied around my ankles and wrists," he said, but there was still laughter in his voice.”
― Lynne Ewing, The Lost One

“She lifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck. She had liked him from the moment she had met him Monday at school. No wonder he thought she had been acting weird on Wednesday when she couldn't even remember his name.
But other memories came to her now. Ones that filled her with sadness. She saw her mother, father, and sister. Tears burned into her eyes. Having her memories suddenly restored made it feel as if they had died all over again.
"You're crying." Derek pressed her against him and rubbed her back soothingly.
She remembered the way she had struggled through the woodlot that first night and finally found shelter in the trashed boxes behind a liquor store. She had fallen into a deep sleep and was awakened the next morning by the woman who owned the store.
That began her first foster placement. More than anything she had wanted a home. She had lived in so many different houses and towns. West Covina. Ontario. Long Beach. Wilmington. She had kept a key from each one. That's why there were so many on her key chain. She felt suddenly sorry for herself, sorry that she had lived like a stray.”
― Lynne Ewing, The Lost One

“I don't have a home to go to. I guess I can go to a shelter or the nearest police station."
He thought about it. "My older sister is away at college. I bet my mom would let you spend the night in her room."
Jimena was suddenly beside her. "You can stay with me. My abuelita would love to have someone living with her who hasn't heard all her stories."
"Or you could live with me," Vanessa offered quickly. "We'll clear out the bedroom where my mom stores all her clothes. She could use another daughter as a model for her dress designs."
"We have room, too," Catty put in. "My mom will say yes to anything once she sees that I'm okay."
"See?" Vanessa said. "You have plenty of homes."
Tianna took a deep breath. "Thanks.”
― Lynne Ewing

“Let's go home," Vanessa said.
Tianna sighed. More than anything she wanted to go home, but she didn't have a place to go. She walked slower and fell behind the others.
Derek took her arm. "What's wrong?"
She couldn't look at him.
"After what we've been through tonight, I can't believe you have a secret you're not going to tell me." He put a comforting arm around her.
She looked up. “I don't have a home to go to. I guess I can go to a shelter or the nearest police station."
He thought about it. "My older sister is away at college. I bet my mom would let you spend the night in her room."
Jimena was suddenly beside her. "You can stay with me. My abuelita would love to have someone living with her who hasn't heard all her stories."
"Or you could live with me," Vanessa offered quickly. "We'll clear out the bedroom where my mom stores all her clothes. She could use another daughter as a model for her dress designs."
"We have room, too," Catty put in. "My mom will say yes to anything once she sees that I'm okay."
"See?" Vanessa said. "You have plenty of homes."
Tianna took a deep breath. "Thanks.”
― Lynne Ewing, The Lost One