He squared his shoulders and prepared to approach the girl.
CHAPTER 2
Mary Ann Gray spotted her friend and neighbor, Penny Parks, and raced toward the outdoor café. Im here, Im here, she said, pulling the plugs from her ears, Evanescence fading. She stuffed her iPod in her purse, gave her Sidekick a quick checkonly one e-mail from her dad asking what she wanted for dinner. Replying could wait.
Penny tsked under her tongue as she handed Mary Ann a capped mocha. Just in time. You missed the raging power outage. I was inside and all the lights flicked off. No one could get cell reception, and I heard a lady say that all the cars on the road died.
There was an outage that caused cars to die? Weird. Then again, it had been a day for weirdness. Like that boy shed seen in the cemetery on her way here, whod somehow caused her to fallwithout touching her!
Are you listening to me? Penny asked. Your face totally blanked. Anyway, like I was saying. The outage happened about fifteen minutes ago.
The exact time shed been at the cemetery, iPod momentarily silent, unexpected wind blowing. Huh.
So what took you so long? Penny asked. I had to order on my own, and you know thats not good for my codependency.
They plopped into the chairs Penny had been saving for them, the sun shining brightly on their table. Mary Ann inhaled deeply, the scents of coffee, whipped cream and vanilla flooding her. God, she loved Holy Grounds. People might approach the stand frowning, but they always emerged with a grin.
As if to prove her point, an older couple walked away from the register, smiling at each other over the rims of their cups. Mary Ann had to look away. Once, her parents had been like that, happy just to be with each other. Then her mother had died.
Drink, drink, Penny said. And while youre savoring, tell me what held you up.
Mouth watering, she sipped at her grande white chocolate mocha. Ah, de-freaking-licious. Like I said, Im sorry Im late. I really am. But sadly, my tardiness isnt the worst of it.
Oh, no. Expression pinched, Penny fell back in her chair. Whats going on? Dont break it to me gently. Just rip the Band-Aid.
Okay. Here goes. Deep breath. Im not actually done for the day. This is only a thirty-minute break. I have to return to work. She cringed, waiting for the shouted
What!
And there it was. A small infraction, really, but Penny would see it as a grave offense. She always did. She was a high-maintenance friend who expected their time together to be uninterrupted. Mary Ann didnt mind. Really. She actually admired the trait. Penny knew what she wanted from the people in her life and expected it to be given to her. And it usually was. Without complaint. Today, however, couldnt be helped.
The Watering Pot is providing the floral arrangements for the Tolbert-Floyd wedding tomorrow and all of the employees have to work overtime.
Ugh. Penny shook her head in disappointment. Or was that disapproval? When are you going to quit your loser job at that flower shop? Its Saturday, and youre young. You should be shopping with me as planned rather than slaving over thorns and potting soil.
Mary Ann studied her friend over the rim of her cup. Penny was a year older than her, with platinum hair, bright blue eyes and pale freckled skin. She liked to pair lacy baby-doll dresses with flip-flops no matter the weather. She was carefree, experienced, had no thoughts for the future, dated who she wanted, when she wanted, and skipped school as often as she attended.
Mary Ann, on the other hand, would vomit blood if she even considered breaking a rule.
She knew why she was the way she was, but that just made her determination to be the good girl worse. She and her dad only had each other, and she hated to disappoint him. Which made her friendship with Penny all the stranger, since her dad (silently) objected. But she and Penny had been neighbors for years, had even attended the same preschool when theyd lived miles away from each other. Despite their differences, they had never stopped hanging out. Never would.
Penny was addicting. You didnt walk away from her without wishing you were still with her. Something about her smile, maybe. When she flashed it, you felt as if all the stars had aligned and nothing bad could happen to you. Well, girls felt that way. Boys caught a glimpse of it and had to wipe away their drool.
Could you please, please, please call in sick? Penny begged. A little dose of Mary isnt going to be enough.
When she flashed that smile this time, Mary Ann steeled herself against it. You know Im saving for college. I have to work. Only on the weekends, though. Thats all her dad would allow. Weekdays were devoted to homework.
Penny traced a perfectly manicured fingertip over the rim of her espresso. Your dad should pay for your education. He can afford it.
But that wouldnt teach me responsibility or the value of a hard-earned dollar.
God, youre quoting him now. A shudder rocked Pennys petite frame as she grimaced. Way to ruin my mood.
A laugh escaped Mary Ann. If he paid my way, hed be screwing with my fifteen-year plan. And no one screws with my fifteen-year plan and lives to tell about it. Not even my dad.
Oh, yeah. The fifteen-year plan I cant get you to rethink no matter what temptation I throw your way. Penny anchored a strand of hair behind her ear, revealing three silver hoops. Graduate high school, two years. Bachelors, four. Masters and Ph.D., seven. Intern, one. Open your own practice, one. I dont know what Im doing tonight, much less in fifteen years.
I can guess what youll be doing tonight. Or rather, who. Grant Harrison. The pair had been on and off for six months. Currently they were off, but that didnt stop them from hooking up. Besides, theres nothing wrong with a little preparation.
Little. Ha! I suspect you have your life mapped out to the second. You probably even know what underwear youll be wearing in three years, five hours, two minutes and eight seconds.
A black lace thong, Mary Ann responded without hesitation.
That gave Penny a moment of pause. Then she chuckled. Almost had me, but the thong gave you away. Youre cotton briefs, baby, all the way.
And all that coverage was a bad thing? Honestly, I dont have everything planned. Not even Im that anal.
You said anal. Penny snickered. Look, Ive known you most of your life, and asking people about their feelings wasnt always what Mary Contrary wanted to do when she grew up. She wanted to dance a ballet to a packed house, kiss whichever celebrity she was crushing on and tattoo her entire body with flowers so shed look like a garden. You didnt decide to become a shrink until after your mom Realizing shed taken a wrong turn at Foot In Mouth Lane, she finished with, You just didnt!
Slowly Mary Anns smile faded. Deep down, she wasnt sure she could refute her friends claim. She had been a rambunctious girl at one time, giving her parents fits, talking and laughing too loudly, always desperate to be the center of attention and throwing tantrums when she didnt get her way. Then her mom had died in a car accident. A car accident Mary Ann had been part of, as well. Shed spent three weeks recovering in the hospital. Her body had healed, yes, but not her soul.
Upon her release, the Gray household had fallen into a spiral of sadness, Mary Ann and her father whirling further and further away from the loving if combative family theyd once been. Over time, that sadness had bonded her and her dad. Hed become her best friend, making him proud her biggest goal.
When shed told him she thought she might like to be a clinical psychologist like him, hed smiled as if hed just won the lottery. Hed hugged her. Spun her around, and laughed for the first time in months. No way she couldve chosen a different path after that. No matter how much she hated studying. Still. Now she couldnt imagine herself being anything other than a doctor of the mind. And for Penny to give her grief about it, well
Lets talk about something else, she said stiffly.
Great. Ive pissed you off, havent I?
No. Yes. Maybe. Usually, they stayed away from the topic of her mother. Though several years had passed, the memories were sometimes too fresh, too raw. Id just prefer it if you looked out for your future, not mine.
Penny sighed loud and long. I shouldnt have gone there, and Im sorry. Its just, all work and no play makes Mary a dull girl, and I want my sparkly girl back. When Mary Ann offered no reply, Penny reached out and squeezed her hand. Come on, Mary Contrary. I can still see the hurt. Forgive me. Please. Weve only got, what? Fifteen minutes left, and I dont want to spend it fighting with you. I love you more than anything or anyone and you know Id cut off my leg and kick my own ass if I could. Maybe even cut out my tongue and nail it to your bedroom wall. And then Id
Okay, okay. She laughed, the silly images her friends words evoked soothing her. Youre forgiven.
Thank God. But seriously, girl. You really made me work for that one, and you know how I hate to work for anything. Grinning that irresistible grin of hers, Penny dug a pack of ultrathins and a lighter from her beaded purse. She lit up, inhaling deeply. Soon a thick haze of smoke surrounded them and Penny was reclining in her chair, legs extended. So what do you want to talk about? Girls we hate? Boys we love?
Mary Ann cradled her mocha against her chest, leaning back as far as she could go. Why dont we discuss the fact that smoking kills?
No need. Im indestructible.
You wish, she said with a grin. But her amusement faded as a short but forceful gust of wind nailed her in the chest. She rubbed the spot just above her heart and gazed around.
That stray wind hadnt seemed to affect anyone else.
Only one other time had she ever felt such a strong kick. Her stomach began to churn.
If you wont put the cigarette out for you, then put it out for me, she said. I dont want to return to work smelling like an ashtray.
I have a feeling your roses will love you, anyway, her friend said dryly and took another drag. Take pity on me. Ive been stressed and I need this. As she spoke, she flicked the ashes on the pavement, attention wandering.
What have you been stres
Oh, oh, oh. Boy. Three oclock. He just sat down at the table across from ours. Dark hair, movie-star face and muscles. Dear God, the muscles. Best part, hes totally scoping you. Best part for you, that is. Why isnt he scoping me, too?
Mary Anns heart immediately soared into hyperspeed. First that strange wind, and then a dark-haired boy nearby? Please be a coincidence. Leaning forward, shielding her mouth with her hand, she whispered, Is he dirty?
You mean, perverted? I dont know, but Im willing to find out. Hes hawt!
No. I mean dirty, as in mud and some kind of black gunk all over him? Like motor oil? Are his clothes ripped?
His face is dirty, yes. Well, kind of. Its smeared, like he tried to clean up. But his shirt is clean and oh, so perfect. God, his hair is dyed black but the roots are blond. I wonder if he has a tattoo? Thats sexy. How old do you think he is? Eighteen? Hes tall enough to be legal. And oh, my God, he just looked at me! I think Im going to faint.
Besides the shirt, the description fit. Maybe hed changed.
An emotion she couldnt name skittered through her. That he might be here
Shed meant to stop by her mothers grave before meeting Penny. It was along the way, after all. But shed taken one look at the boy, experienced that strange gust of wind, and had only wanted to escape.
I saw him earlier, she said. I thinkdo you think he followed me?
Eyes widening, Penny shifted in her seat and unabashedly peered over at him. Probably. A stalker, do you think? God, thats even sexier!
Dont stare! she gasped, slapping her friends arm.
Unhurried and unrepentant, Penny faced her. Well, I dont care if hes the Tri City Butcher and keeps human hearts in his locker. The more I look at him, the more I like him. Very she shivered bad-boy chic. I might offer him my heart.
Bad boy. Yes, that fit, too. Mary Ann didnt have to turn to remind herself of what he looked like. His image was burned into her mind. As Penny had said, he had black hair with inch-long blond roots. What she hadnt mentioned was that his face was as perfect as the Grecian statues shed seen in her world history book, even with the grime. For the briefest of moments, when a beam of sunlight had hit him, Mary Ann would have sworn his eyes were striped with green, brown, blue and gold. But then the ray had disappeared beyond a fluff of clouds and the colors had melted into each other, leaving only an intense black.
The color didnt matter, though. Those eyes were feral, wild, and shed felt that undeniable shock of windbizarre wind that had ended as quickly as it had begun. For a moment, shed felt hooked to a generator, the eye contact jolting her, unnerving her. Even hurting her. Thats when the nausea had begun.
Why had she experienced all that again just now, albeit in a muted way? Before shed seen him even? Why had she felt any of it at all? This made no sense. Who was he?
Lets pick him up, Penny said, excited.
Lets not, she replied. I have a boyfriend.
No, you have a horny jock who sticks around because hes desperate to get in your pants even though you keep saying no. Which, by the way, is a guarantee hes knocking it with someone else every time your back is turned.
There was something in her toneMary Ann pushed the boy from the graveyard out of her mindbest that wayand frowned over at her friend. Wait. Have you heard something?
Heavy pause. Another drag. Then a nervous laugh. No. No, of course not. Penny waved a dismissive hand through the air. And anyway, I dont want to talk about Tucker. I want to talk about the fact that you and this Mystery Guy should totally hook up. You like him, I can tell. Your cheeks are flushed and your hands are shaking.
Im probably coming down with a cold. Was it bad that she hoped her words were true? When a girl couldnt get a boy out of her mind, she, well, couldnt get him out of her mind. Schoolwork was forgotten. Goals were abandoned. The brain became mush. Shed seen it happen, time and time again. She wouldnt let it happen to her.