by Wendi Wilson
“Sorry,” Ana says quietly, bringing my attention back to her. We bend low over the table once more, bringing our heads together. “Sorry, Chica. You just surprised me.” She pauses for a moment before her teeth flash in a wide smile. “How was it?”
“It was…perfect. At least, until I started to freak out.”
“Why did you freak out? What did he do?” she asks in a rush, her protective streak emerging.
“Nothing,” I say quickly. “Calm down, mama bear.” I shoot her a grin to let her know I appreciate her concern. “He said he wanted to kiss me so bad,” I say, my voice taking on a dream-like quality. “I wanted it too, but I didn’t know what to say or do. He must have understood, because he just…did it. He pulled me into his arms and kissed me. Ana, it was amazing.”
“So what made you freak out?”
“Things got a little, uh, heated, and I wasn’t sure what I wanted or what to do. You know this was my first kiss.” I wait for her to nod before continuing. “Well, he…I mean, we got a little carried away. Or, at least, it seemed like it to me. He backed me up against the bookshelf, and his hands started to wander down my back…” I raise my eyebrows and nod suggestively, hoping she’ll get my point.
She gestures with her hand in a circle motion. “Yeah, I get it. Go on.”
“Well, I must have tensed up or something,” I say, feigning ignorance, “because he jumped away from me so fast I didn’t even know what was happening. One second he was kissing me and the next? Poof. Three feet away, eyes squeezed shut and looking like he’s in pain.”
Ana barks out a short laugh. “He probably was.”
I roll my eyes at her but can’t control my smile. “Shut up, perv.” I take a quick peek around to make sure we’re still being ignored. No one seems to be paying any attention. “Anyway,” I say pointedly, “I thought I had done it wrong or something. Don’t you dare laugh!” She wipes the grin off her face and nods at me with mock earnestness. I shake my head with a grunt. “Do you want me to finish the story or not?”
“Yes. Please finish,” she says, her sincerity real this time.
“Okay, so I thought I did something wrong but he said he felt me tense up. He didn’t want to do anything to upset me, or push me to go farther than I wanted.”
“Well, that’s refreshing. Most boys would keep pushing until you give in.”
I raise an eyebrow at her and sit up straight. “And how would you know?”
“Oh. I, uh, read it in a book somewhere,” she says, giving me the most innocent look she can muster.
“Uh, huh. To be revisited,” I say, making a checkmark in the air with my finger. “I still haven’t told you the worst part.”
“What is it?”
“You know Mrs. Ellis? The librarian at the reference desk?” Ana nods. “Well, she almost caught us.”
“What did you do?” Her voice is filled with anxiety.
“She turned around at the last minute and went back downstairs,” I say, trying to keep my voice neutral. “We jetted out of there as soon as it was clear.”
“That was close. Doesn’t she know your mom?”
I nod. “Yeah, and I’m sure she would have mentioned seeing me with a boy in the encyclopedia section next time she saw her. I’d be so dead.”
“Yeah, me too.”
I smile. “Thanks for covering for me, Ana.”
She waves my words away. “Of course. You’d do the same if the roles were reversed.”
“Of course.”
I chance another glance at Bryce. He’s laughing at something one of the jocks said, and, as if he can feel my eyes on him, he turns toward me with a smile. I smile back, and he winks at me before turning back to his tablemates. When I look back at Ana, she’s peering over her shoulder in his direction. She turns back to me, shaking her head.
“You two are so cute, it’s disgusting,” she says, her lips turned down as she dry heaves dramatically.
“Don’t be jealous,” I say, laughing, before someone else catches my eye.
Lanie Thompson, who’s sitting two tables over, is staring at me, hard, with a frown marring her face. As soon as I notice, she turns to look at Bryce. I look too, but he’s looking down at his food. My eyes flash back to Lanie, who slowly turns back to me, eyes narrowed and shaking her head in slow-motion.
I hold my breath as she grabs her tray and stands, then walks away, her back rigid. My eyes follow her to the trash bin where she dumps her lunch. She takes one last look at Bryce before stalking through the doorway that leads to the rest of the school. I look over at Ana. She turns to me with a worried look on her face. She saw Lanie too.
“She knows something is going on between me and Bryce,” I say quietly.
“Yeah,” Ana says, nodding slightly, “and that’s not good.”
“No, it’s not.”
“Hey, you.”
With those words, Bryce straightens from the tree he was leaning against as I emerge from the woods into the clearing of our spot. My chest fills with joy at the sight of him. It’s been two days since we were last alone. Two days since our first kiss. Heat sears through me with the thought.
“Hey,” is all I can manage to stutter out.
He strides forward and catches me around the waist before swinging me around in a circle. My feet barely touch the ground before he seals his lips to mine. I grab his shoulders for support as my knees buckle. He chuckles and pulls his head back. His blue eyes sparkle with mischief, and I love it.
“Did I just make you weak in the knees?”
“Shut up,” I say, trying to keep the smile from my face and failing miserably.
He laughs again and pulls me in for a quick hug before releasing me and taking a step back. I pull one arm from the straps of my backpack, then the other and let it drop to the ground. I shrug my shoulders to ease the tension the heavy weight caused.
“You know,” Bryce says as he walks around me and begins kneading the stiff muscles of my shoulders, “if I could walk you home, I’d carry that thing for you.”
“Mmm,” I say. My eyes drift shut with pleasure while I move my hair to the side to give him better access. “You would?”
I feel his breath on the back of my neck just before his lips touch the sensitive spot. A shiver runs down my spine. “Yes,” he whispers, “of course.”
His hands stop their ministrations, and he turns me around to face him. The spell is broken as reality crashes back in. He can’t walk me home. We can’t be seen together at all. I don’t know how long either of us can go on like this.
“I’m sorry it has to be this way.”
“I’m sorry too, but Kai, listen to me.” He puts his hands on my cheeks and brings his face close to mine. “There’s something…special between us. Something I can’t explain. I told you I have never felt anyone’s emotions as strongly as I feel yours. Today, in the cafeteria, with all those people, I could still feel you, like I feel you right now, just the two of us in this spot. We have a connection. Do you feel it, too?”
My eyes burn with his words but I fight back the tears. Nodding, I choke out, “Yes.”
“I want to fight for this. I’ve never felt this strongly about anyone before. I don’t care if we have to hide. I don’t care how hard it is. You are worth it. We are worth it.”
His lips capture mine again but this kiss feels different. Instead of the urgency I felt before, now there’s nothing but sweet tenderness. He’s sealing his vow with a kiss. Though the thought seems silly to me, I can’t deny the truth of it. Bryce Howell really does care about me.
He pulls away and tugs my hand, pulling me toward the tree he was leaning against when I got here. We normally sit at the base of it, playing twenty questions or thumb wrestling or just talking. The ground is wet and muddy from the rain earlier but before I can protest, he pulls a folding lounge chair from behind the tree.
“Where did that come from?” I ask as he unfolds and sets it up where we usually sit.
“I
stashed it here yesterday,” he says with a wink. “I was tired of sitting on the ground.”
He takes a seat, leaning against the backrest and straddling the seat. He motions for me to sit between his legs. Unsure, I sit at the end, my legs hanging off one side. Bryce groans and shakes his head at me.
“What?” I ask.
In response, he grabs my arm and gently tugs it. Pulling me forward, he turns me so I’m cradled between his legs with my back resting against his chest. He wraps his arms around my waist and sighs contentedly.
“There. That’s better, isn’t it?”
“Sure,” I mumble.
“Why are you so tense? You don’t want to sit with me?”
I force myself to relax against him. “Sorry Bryce. Of course, I do. It’s just…weird, I guess. I’ve never been this close to someone before.”
“You’re afraid I’m going to try to have my wicked way with you, aren’t you?” he asks, tickling my sides.
I swat his hands away, laughing. “I know you’re going to try,” I joke, nudging him with my elbow before letting my head fall back to his shoulder.
We sit in silence for several minutes, Bryce’s fingers splayed across my stomach. I lift my arm and glance at my watch. I’ve only got about five more minutes before I have to leave. If I’m not home by four o’clock, Mom will worry.
“Tell me about this,” Bryce says, reaching up to tap the face. “Why do you wear a man’s watch?”
“It was my dad’s,” I say, my voice subdued.
“Was?”
“Yeah. He left when I was a baby. I don’t know why, and my mom refuses to talk about it. This is all I have of him.”
I sit up and swing my legs over the side of the chair. “I have to go.”
Bryce groans as I stand up. “Already?”
I just smile and run my fingers through my hair, trying to tame the mess it became while lying with Bryce. He rises from the chair and swats my hands away, taking over. I sigh with pleasure at the feel of his hands running through my hair.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen anyone with this color of red hair before. It’s so beautiful.” he says.
“Thanks,” I say, my face burning. “It’s the same as my mom’s.”
He smiles. “Have I told you I love it when you blush?”
“I think so,” I say, wrinkling my nose at him.
I turn and walk away, heading for my backpack. I’m jerked back as Bryce’s arms snake around my waist and pull me against his chest. I can’t suppress my laughter when he nuzzles my cheek, pecking quick kisses along my jaw to my neck. I twist in his grip to face him, wrapping my arms around his neck.
Finding courage I didn’t know I had, I raise up onto my toes and press my lips against his. His arms tighten around me as he takes over, deepening the kiss before I can pull away. The kiss goes on for thirty seconds, or maybe thirty minutes, I’m not sure which, before he ends it with several gentle nibbles on my bottom lip.
He sets me away from him, taking a deep breath and shaking his head like he’s trying to clear cobwebs. “Go,” he growls, “now, before I change my mind and keep you here all night.”
I grab my backpack from the ground and swing it over one shoulder. Shooting him a crooked grin, I waggle my fingers at him. “See you tomorrow?”
He nods. “Definitely.”
I walk back to the road, turn left and head for home. I just hope I can get this stupid grin off my face before I get there, or Mom and Ms. Coraline will know, for sure, that I’ve been up to something.
Yep. That did it. Thinking of the old hag wipes the happiness right off my face. It always does.
Chapter Twelve
“How was your day, Honey?”
I rapidly chew the forkful of lasagna I just shoveled into my mouth and swallow hard. I clear my throat loudly before saying, “Sorry. It was good. A normal day. How was yours?”
Mom shrugs. “The usual.”
I bite my tongue, then take another bite of my dinner before I blurt out something nasty about her slaving all day for Ms. Coraline. Mom gives me a pointed look, telling me my efforts are for nothing. It’s no secret, how I feel about our situation. I shrug and try to smile.
“Anyway,” Mom says, pretending like our silent conversation never happened, “I’m going to finish cleaning up here, then I’m headed to bed. Do you need anything else?”
I shake my head and glance at my watch. It’s only half past six. “Are you feeling okay, mom?”
“Of course, Sweetie. I’m just tired. I thought I’d lay in bed and read for a few hours.”
“Won’t Ms. Coraline need you for something?” I ask, not quite able to keep the bitterness out of my voice.
My mom ignores it this time. “Ms. Coraline is out for the evening.”
“She is? Where’d she go?”
“Kailani.”
“Okay, fine. It’s none of my business. Do you care if I go for a swim?”
“It’s getting dark. You know I don’t like it when you’re out this late.”
“I’ll be careful, Mom, I promise. And I won’t stay out too long. Please?”
Mom walks over and ruffles my hair. “Fine. Just be safe, okay?”
“I will. Thanks, mom.”
Mom takes my plate and shoos me from the kitchen when I offer to wash it. Taking the steps two at a time, I relish stomping as hard as I want and not having to worry about the old hag. I rush into my room and quickly change into my suit.
As soon as my feet hit the sand, my adrenaline starts pumping, and I run as fast as I can toward the surf. I slosh through the waves, barely getting to knee-depth before plunging headfirst under a breaker. I swim out, making sure I head slightly to the left as I go. When I resurface, I turn toward shore and smile. I’m right in front of Bryce’s house.
I wonder if he can feel my happiness from inside. I concentrate on him, trying to send some kind of mental signal. Laughing at my own silliness, I flip over onto my back and float. The moon is full tonight, hanging huge and round over me.
A large splash breaks the silence, and I flip upright. Treading water, I can’t believe my eyes. A dark head breaks the surface several yards away, and I see Bryce’s face as he takes a deep breath and heads back under. I don’t know whether to be happy or scared as hell that he’s swimming out to me right now.
Before I can decide, he surfaces right in front of me. We stare at each other for a full minute before I break the spell. “Is the water warmer?”
He laughs. “Yeah, I cast an enchantment to make the water around me warm enough to survive. Seriously, I don’t know how you stand it.”
I smile at him for a second before sobering. “What are you doing here, Bryce? What if your parents see us?”
“Hey,” he says, coming closer, “I would never take that risk. You’re too important to me. They are out for the night. I’m home alone. I was just doing some homework when I felt it.”
“Felt what?”
“I don’t know how to explain it. I felt this pull, like there was a string tugging me to the window. When I looked out, I immediately saw you out here. I could feel your joy, like you were projecting it to me, or something. It was really weird.”
I can’t stop my lips from stretching into a smile. “I was.”
“What do you mean?”
He huffs the question out between labored breaths. Treading water after the long swim out here is taking its toll on him. I feel invigorated but I do this almost every day.
“Do you want to head in?”
He smiles at me and nods. “Yes, please.”
“Race you!” I shout before diving under and propelling myself forward.
When my hands scrape the bottom, I stop and stand up. I turn to look for Bryce. He’s still about twenty yards out, but coming in fast. I can’t help but admire his strength. He was visibly winded out there, but he’s swimming just as fast as he did on his way out.
“You cheated,” he growls as soon as he gets his feet u
nderneath him.
I shriek with laughter and run toward the shore but running is not my strong suit, and he quickly gains on me. Before I realize what’s happening, he sweeps me up into his arms and twirls me around. A shrill scream escapes my lips before I cut it off. Bryce senses my mood change and releases my legs, setting me back on my feet in the soft sand.
“What is it?”
I look over at my house and release a pent-up breath. We’re far enough away that the tree line blocks the view of us, even from the upper floors. Bryce follows my line of sight and sighs.
“I’m sorry, Kai. I wasn’t thinking. Do you think she saw us?”
I shake my head. “The old hag isn’t home but my mom is. She was going to bed when I came out but her window faces the front of the house. I don’t think she could see us here, even if she was on the back porch.”
He takes my hand and pulls me forward. “Let’s go sit on my deck. I have some dry towels, and I can get us a drink.”
When we reach the deck, he leads me to a low chair and drapes a large, fluffy towel over my shoulders. “I’ll be right back,” he says before heading in through a sliding glass door.
I look around as I wait. I have a clear view of the ocean but a low wall on each side of the deck blocks the view from the neighbors. Unless I’m standing, no one from my house would be able to see me. I relax back into the chair and watch the light of the moon play on the water.
“Here you go,” Bryce says when he gets back, handing me a tall glass of iced water. Taking a seat in the chair beside me, he takes a sip of his own water before speaking. “What did you mean out there, that you did project your happiness to me?”
“I don’t know, really. I was wondering if you could sense me from inside the house. I was just playing around. I focused on you, trying to send a mental signal. I realized I was being silly and stopped and then…there you were, swimming right for me.”
“Huh.”
