While still looking straight ahead, he tilted his head my way. “Sucker,” he said with a grin.
“Because you snuck up on me?”
“Ha. No.”
What then? Oh, probably agreeing to play Yahtzee with Nick. “Hey, what was I supposed to do? I didn’t want to hurt his feelings,” I said, keeping the volume down even though the kid was up ahead with Clio.
“Just about anything else,” Sam said, the breeze lifting sections of his wavy hair. Sunglasses hid his hazel eyes, but his lips quirked. “You could’ve said you were going to take a nap or that you had to ask your grandparents or that the captain needed your advice about the running of the ship.”
I laughed. “Right. Because that’s completely believable.”
“It could be. You just have to know how to sell it.”
I shook my head. “I’ve never been very good at making stuff up.”
“Today is your lucky day, then. I’m an expert at it. I’ll teach you.” He pulled a plastic baggy with three orange slices out of his pocket. “Want some orange?” He chuckled at the dumbfounded look on my face. “What?”
I squinted in the bright sunshine, realizing I hadn’t put on my sunglasses yet. I slowly lowered them over my eyes. Was he flirting? I tried to keep my voice normal. “I think I might be safer not taking lessons from you.”
“Burn.” Sam pressed his fist against his chest and then popped an orange slice into his mouth. We caught up with the others, who were taking turns getting on the tour bus. He leaned close to my ear. “But I’m not the one who has to play Yahtzee,” he whispered.
His citrusy breath drifted down my neck, and I suppressed a shiver. Okay, definitely flirting. Good thing he’d already turned his attention to stepping onto the bus. I let out a long exhale even as my heart pounded. What would Lindsey do? What would Lindsey do?
Ha. Knowing her, she’d probably go into full flirt mode and move in really close behind him. Could I be that bold? I studied his V-shaped back, his red T-shirt clinging to his body. It was useless. Absolutely not. This guy was way out of my league. And I didn’t need any new way to embarrass myself. Besides—another reality check—why should I? I’d just met him last night. I didn’t want to make a habit of throwing myself at guys. I shook my head at myself. Right, Rose, that’s really an issue.
Sam leaped onto the bus. Too late now anyway. I climbed up after him and made my way down the aisle. Way in the back, Marie sat next to Alexis, Jacques beside Sophie, and Clio and Nick were on separate rows. Good. Maybe Sam and I could sit together, and I could actually learn something about him.
He glanced back as if confirming I was still there. Or maybe as an invitation? Too hard to tell since he was already moving forward again. But just as he neared the group, Nick called out, “Sam! Come on!” He gestured toward the chair beside him. “I saved you a seat!”
Sam hesitated and looked back at me, but then Nick hauled him into the row. Boy, that kid was strong. “Chill, man,” Sam said before dropping into the seat.
It was all I could do not to laugh like a hyena—not a pretty picture. Instead, I fixed a pleasant smile on my face as I approached. Sam widened his eyes in a “help me” expression, but I raised my eyebrows and slid into the seat right behind him and beside Clio. She looked up, gave me a brief smile, and then went back to studying the papers in her lap.
The front of the bus was filling up with older people from the cruise ship. But even through the chatting voices, Nick’s words rang out. “So, who’s your favorite Avenger?” he asked Sam.
Ha! Served Sam right for teasing me. I couldn’t make out his mumbled response, but I turned to Clio and spoke loud and clear, “How long of a ride is it to Porec?” I tried to pronounce it with the correct “ch” sound at the end, but at the last second, it came out like Po-wreck.
“About forty-five minutes,” she replied. “Sometimes an hour, depending on traffic.”
I smiled to myself. Hope Sam liked the Avengers. “An hour? Great. That’s not too bad.”
Clio went back to her papers. Sam’s head tilted back as if he was staring at the ceiling. He had to have heard me. Only time would tell.
I reclined my seat the small amount it would go, crossed my arms, and shut my eyes. It felt like a perfect day already.
Four
Sam
After forty-five minutes of Nick dissecting the plots of the last two Avengers movies, during which I vowed never to see another movie in my life, we were finally off the bus in Porec and walking past outdoor restaurants on the waterfront. The bigwig tour guide waited up ahead with her arm in the air. Apparently, Clio didn’t have to do anything right now but wander along.
And all I had to do was wonder how much crap Rose was going to give me over having to sit next to Nick—because that was a given. Especially after the smirk she threw me as she walked by with Alexis. Oh, well. Guess I deserved it.
I had to admit, though, I was looking forward to getting into it with Rose. I just had to find the right moment. I didn’t want to joke around with her in front of Alexis and Sophie if I could help it. If they thought I was interested in her, they’d be weird about it all week. So I followed along, keeping my distance while I took in this cool-looking town.
In the bright morning sunshine, yachts and smaller boats bobbed on the deep blue harbor that fronted a curving spit of land filled with buildings of different sizes, almost all of them topped by clay tile roofs. Locals strolled along, some breaking off to queue up at one of the dozens of gelato stands. Cyclists expertly wove their way around groups of people.
Three sidewalk cafes later, we met up with the tour guide and followed her away from the bay. She finally stopped in front of some buildings and gave us a quick rundown of the various empires that had ruled in Porec—the Romans, the Byzantines, the Venetians, the French, the Communists. Okay, I knew the Communists didn’t have an empire, but I was only half listening to the history lesson. Probably because I was plotting a move to get Rose away from my cousins. It shouldn’t be too tricky. All I had to do was wait until the group moved again. Then I could slide over and wedge myself between her and Alexis. Once that was done, I could slowly create distance until we were walking by ourselves. Kind of like corralling a horse. Um, yeah. Better not say that out loud.
“What’s so funny?” Rose asked.
I looked up to see that most of the group had strolled on. But Rose studied me from a few feet away, one hand resting on a tiny purse at her hip. So much for corralling. “What do you mean?”
“You’re smiling.”
I walked up beside her. “Am I?”
“You were.” She raised one eyebrow above the top of her sunglasses—nice trick. I’d always wanted to be able to do that. “Trying to decide which Avengers movie is your favorite?” she asked.
I rubbed my chin. “And there it is. Wondered how long it would take you to say something.”
She looked amused. “You can’t really blame me, can you?” Before I could answer, she moved after the group along the cobblestone walkway, her sandals making a scraping sound.
I fell into step beside her. “No, guess not.”
“It just all sounded so interesting.”
I tried to elbow her, but she slid away. “You can stop now,” I said, trying to sound menacing.
She laughed, or maybe it was a giggle. It should’ve been annoying, but something in that laugh grabbed me and made me want to laugh too. I held it in, though. I still wanted her to think her teasing bugged me. “All right, all right. You’re hilarious.”
She lifted her chin. “I like to think so.”
I let out a huge sigh. “Just wait till it’s your turn. Yahtzee should be a blast.”
“Compared to what happened to you? I’m so down with Yahtzee.”
A laugh burst out of me. “Right. Just keep thinking that.”
She strode ahead. “Hurry up,” she said. “Everyone’s going to beat us to the basilica.”
I caught up. “And that’s bad because?”
“You don’t like ancient historical sites?”
Not really. “I didn’t say that. Why should we worry about being last?”
“Because we might miss what the tour guide has to say. Her information will make the whole thing more interesting. Or at least …”
“Not as boring as other old churches?”
“Shh,” she said, waving a hand about waist level.
I looked ahead. Our tour group had stopped. The guide pointed to the large stones we’d been walking on and said something about Roman drainage systems. Off to the right of the group, my uncle listened attentively, that blond woman my cousins called the Flirty Lady at his side. Crap. They’d met up at the deck bar last night, and I was already sick of her. She was even around at breakfast this morning.
I snuck a peek at Alexis to see if she’d noticed. She must have. Her lips were pressed together so hard they practically disappeared into her face. I knew just how she felt. This was supposed to be a family trip, and already some divorced, middle-aged woman was putting the moves on Uncle David. Though he didn’t seem to mind. When people moved along after the tour guide, he let his hand rest on the woman’s lower back. Great, just great.
Did my whole family have to run around pairing up with strangers? And wasn’t I doing the exact same thing? I looked over at Rose, who was shielding her eyes from the sun as she gazed up at the two-story building nearby. Maybe I should cool it with her. But I really didn’t want to. She was fun. And it couldn’t hurt to have a fun girl around this week. That’s all it would be anyway. Just a week. We lived in different towns. We’d never see each other again.
And that was the big difference. Adults could see each other again. If Uncle David started a real relationship with Flirty Lady, things would change. And change sucked.
“Ready?” Rose asked.
I refocused. Right. Cute girl. Old church. Stop thinking about your stupid uncle. I didn’t know what my face looked like, but Rose started backing up.
“Um, sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean you had to come with me or anything. You can stay— I’ll just head on …” Grabbing the thin purse strap across her body like it was a lifeline, she twisted around.
What the heck? Did I look so pissed she couldn’t wait to get away from me? I lifted a hand, even though she was facing the other direction. “Wait. Sorry. I was just a little distracted. I’m good. We can go.”
She looked back, her expression losing some of its tension, though a red tint spread across her cheeks. “You sure? ’Cause really, it’s okay. I can walk by myself.” Her smile looked forced.
“Hey.” In three strides, I’d reached her. I started to touch her arm but made myself stop. “It’s cool. Anybody who waits for me deserves to be walked with.” Her expression said she didn’t believe me. I tried for humor. “Come on. Everybody’s escaping.”
She huffed out a laugh but walked silently toward the others. Had I killed off the easy vibe between us? I hoped not. Up ahead, our tour group fanned out as the walkway widened in front of a high-walled entrance to what must be the church. Above the gate, a gold mosaic of Christ gleamed in the sunshine.
“Wow,” Rose whispered. “Hard to believe this place was renovated in the sixth century.”
“How do you know that?”
She lifted her sunglasses to the top of her head and eyed me. “You’ve been here the whole time, right? No out-of-body experiences?”
“I’m right next to you, aren’t I?”
“Then you heard about this?” She gestured toward the church. “The Euphrasian Basilica?”
“Um …”
“Byzantine architecture?”
“I …”
She cocked her head. “Still distracted?”
People filed through the gate into the basilica grounds. I had to force myself not to glance in my uncle’s direction. “Yeah, you know. Roman drainage systems. Need I say more?”
“Apparently not,” Rose said. “Who wouldn’t be fascinated by Roman sewers when there’s a shiny, gold Jesus above their heads?”
“There’s a lot to be said for a well-drained sewer.”
Rose chuckled.
What was I even talking about? I didn’t know anymore. All I wanted was to walk away with Rose and talk about random stuff, so I didn’t have to keep watching the Flirty Lady touch my uncle’s arm. Instead, Rose and I strolled through the entrance into a courtyard and ended up about five feet behind them.
The tour guide was talking again. This time about the three different churches built on the same site and how inside we could see an underlying floor mosaic from the fifth century. Whatever. A quiet laugh came from Uncle David and the Flirty Lady. I had to get away from there.
I leaned down toward Rose’s ear. “Let’s go over by my cousins,” I whispered.
She nodded and followed me through the outer edges of the group until we reached Alexis, Sophie, and Jacques. In front of them were Clio, Nick, and Marie. Okay. This was way better. I’d just focus on our “young people’s group” and forget about what Uncle David was doing.
Alexis drew close to me. “Blow it off,” she whispered. “It’s nothing.”
She sure knew me well—what bugged me, what didn’t. I’d always known it deep down, but it became even clearer as I stood there listening to the tour guide drone on and on. Alexis and I were a lot alike. We both had no patience for people who should know better. I looked up at the clear blue sky, and then back at my cousin. “Right,” I whispered.
I took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Vacation. I was on vacation. I didn’t have to keep people from doing stupid things or dwell on weird-ass behavior from the adults in my family. Not from my uncle. And especially not from my parents.
Five
Rose
After the tour of the basilica, I said good-bye to my grandparents, who were continuing with the bus tour, and headed off with my group for lunch. We wandered along narrow pedestrian-only streets full of shops in tallish buildings, Nick dashing from one store to another while Clio shook her head. The whole place reminded me of Venice, except we weren’t crossing bridges over canals.
The area finally opened up to a plaza with a modern-looking stone church—well, compared to the basilica—at its center. Tourists and locals strolled by, some stopping to sit in the shade on the church steps. I stayed by Alexis at the rear of our group. Sam seemed unhappy about something, but I couldn’t guess what it might be. He’d shut down and wasn’t talking to anyone. He walked to one side of us, like he was trying to be alone, his hands shoved into the pockets of his khaki shorts.
I wished I could do something to help, but I couldn’t think of anything. I sure wasn’t going to force him into a conversation to find out what was wrong. If he wanted to tell me, he would. Besides, his cousins were giving him space, so I decided to do the same.
We followed Clio to a sidewalk café shaded by large red umbrellas boasting the words Adriatic Cafe in white. She immediately snagged two round wooden tables and began dragging chairs around. A waiter hurried over to help her. Once the tables had been smashed next to each other, people chose seats. Before I could even try to figure out how to sit near Sam, Marie plopped down on one side of him and Nick on the other. That’s what I got for not asserting myself.
At least I was right across from him—it wouldn’t be obvious that I was staring every time I looked up.
After we ordered and the waiter brought us two tall bottles of spring water to share, Clio got down to business. She brushed her long auburn bangs to the side of her forehead and cleared her throat. “So what did everyone think of the basilica?”
“I loved all the mosaics,” Sophie said, her soft voice louder than usual. “I mean, all those apostles, the angels, the artwork is stunning. They were all gorgeous.”
Clio smiled. “I’ve always loved them too.”
Jacques poured water int
o Sophie’s glass and stared at her profile before saying, “Zere were many beautiful things in the basilica.”
Did he mean Sophie? Wow. Jacques had game. I’d say that much for him.
Sam coughed—a little too loudly—and reached for his water glass. But for some reason, Marie stuck her hand out toward the same glass, making their fingers touch. “Zorry,” she said, giggling.
Sam smiled. “No problem.”
I straightened the napkin in my lap. Had Marie done that on purpose? If she was planning to flirt with Sam for the rest of the trip, all bets were off for me. There was no way I could complete with her blondness—my hair dulled in comparison—or her sophistication. I mean, she was French!
A quiet sigh drained out of me, and Alexis looked over with a question in her eyes. Thank goodness I didn’t have to answer it, because Clio piped up, “Anyone else?”
“It was cool,” Nick said, “but aren’t we going swimming today?”
“No,” Clio said. “That is tomorrow. On the ship.”
Nick frowned. “In that tiny pool? There’s no room for all eight of us.”
“Of course not,” she said, scowling at him. “Off the back of the ship. When the water sports deck is open.” Her lips were pursed as though he should already know that. Maybe she’d told him once already.
Nick looked like he was about to say something, but Alexis broke in. “I liked looking down at the different layers of mosaic flooring from previous churches.”
Clio nodded but didn’t say anything else, so the silence stretched until I became hyperaware of laughter and voices from neighboring tables. What was going on? The awkwardness made me edgy, so I blurted out, “I liked that too.”
Nobody responded. To my relief, the waiter arrived seconds later carrying a tray of drinks. Once they were distributed, I sipped my diet soda and waited for Clio to take charge again. She didn’t. Instead, she pulled papers out of her bag and pretended to study them. At least that’s what it looked like to me—an activity that would keep her from having to talk.
Life in the Danger Zone Page 3
