Chapter Seven
“She’s such a bitch,” Devon muttered, grabbing my arm and helping me to my feet.
I nodded in agreement, not only because, well, Jamieson was a bitch, but also because I couldn’t speak. The instant we collided, I recognized her piercing eyes glowering down at me. I’d known the words that were going to come out of her mouth. And this time I knew why.
My dreams. I had dreamt the literal run-in with Jamieson. That was also why seeing Kaydon in the stands gave me the feeling of déjà vu. The dream about Jamieson had started with me seeing him in that same hoodie watching the game from the bleachers. Nausea swept over me and I swallowed the urge to be sick.
As Devon dragged me towards our teammates, I glanced over my shoulder. Please don’t be on the track, I prayed. But he was. Kaydon, with his blue hood pulled over his hair, was heading for the stadium exit. He took two more steps before turning. The distance between us made it impossible to make out the green of his irises or the strong line of his jaw, but there was no doubt it was Kaydon.
“I’ll see you soon,” I muttered under my breath and imagined Kaydon saying the words in my head. I knew they were true. I would see him again soon.
My mind was a jumble of disjunctive thoughts and feelings. Relief warred with anxiety. Elation battled dread. Certainty mingled with indecision. I finally knew where the visions were coming from, but that knowledge was hard to swallow. The object of my unhealthy infatuation had turned up at my game, bringing with him a sense of impending doom. We, Kaydon and I, were destined to meet again; whether that was good or bad, I couldn’t decide.
“Nice goal, Andrews,” Coach Peters said, clapping me on the back as Devon and I joined the huddle. “Alright, let’s finish strong. We have two minutes - let’s get one more!” Coach hollered.
I didn’t care about scoring or winning or lacrosse in general. My whole life I had been taught that there is a logical explanation for everything in the world. My mother didn’t believe in the supernatural or ghosts or anything that science could not explain. Dad was the whimsical one. He believed in the afterlife, alien life forms, and all things paranormal. As a professor of history, he argued there were too many inexplicable events throughout time for us to truly believe we humans were the only ones inhabiting the earth, or the galaxy for that matter.
Prior to the last week, I’d sort of sided with my mother. I liked things uncomplicated, black and white. Now I wasn’t so sure. Whatever was happening to me, science could not explain it.
The last two minutes of the game flew by. We didn’t score again, but neither did St. Mary’s. When the final whistle blew, I led my team in the requisite cheer for our opponents and then stood just behind Coach Peters in the handshaking line. After all the “good games” were exchanged, I gave the captain for Mt. St. Mary’s directions to Elizabeth’s house for the after-party.
On the way home from the game, I checked my cell and noticed three messages, all from my mother. The first was an apology for having to work late, again. The second was an order to call her the minute I got the message. And the third was a reiteration of the second. I punched one on my speed dial and waited for her to answer.
“Evelyn Andrews.”
“Hey, Mom,” I said.
“How was school?”
I shrugged even though she couldn’t see me. “Fine.”
“That’s nice,” Mom said, clearly distracted. She made no mention of the game. “What are you girls doing now?”
“Heading home to change and then going to Elizabeth’s.” I crossed my fingers, hoping she wouldn’t tell me that I had to go home instead.
“That is fine. I will be home late, so call me at the office periodically.”
I wanted to remind her that I was eighteen and all these rules and regulations were getting old. I didn’t, though. Despite everything, I knew my mother loved me and cared about me and just wanted to protect me. The checking-in wasn’t so bad, and she rarely said no to any request I made so long as she knew where I’d be and with whom.
“Will do,” I told her before saying goodbye.
“She working late?” Devon asked after I’d hung up.
“Yeah. Want to pick up First Wok and get ready at my house?” I didn’t want to be alone tonight. The visions were bothering me more than I wanted to admit. Left to my own devices, I would concoct a list of crazy theories and ridiculous possibilities for what was wrong with me. With Devon around, I could gossip and try on a million different outfits and pretend like everything was normal. Just another Friday night in Westwood.
“I’m so ready for tonight,” Devon declared an hour later, licking duck sauce off her index finger. We were sitting on my bed, gorging ourselves on shrimp fried rice and wonton soup.
“Me too,” I agreed, patting the food baby protruding from my normally flat stomach. “I’m going to need to wear something loose,” I added, when I realized the size of my stuffed belly made it look as if I were having twins.
Devon laughed. “No way. There are going to be a ton of hot St. Paul’s boys there. You are dressing to impress.”
St. Paul’s was Mt. St. Mary’s brother school. They always crashed our annual party. While most of the boys that attended the elite private school were as snobby and stuck-up as their female counterparts, they were a welcome change of scenery from my male classmates.
“Shower so we can go. I promised Elizabeth we’d be there early,” Devon said, throwing a pillow at my head. “And thanks to your inability to say no to anyone, we still have to drive to Timbuktu and pick up Mandy.”
“Uggg, fine.” I rolled my body over the side of the bed since sitting up seemed like an uncomfortable option. There was no reason to respond to her dig on Mandy. Devon wasn’t a fan and I knew that. But she had finally reached a point where she tolerated the other girl, which was probably the best it was going to get.
“I’m going to use the guest bathroom,” Devon called as I retreated into the one adjoining my bedroom.
“I hope so,” I called over my shoulder. “You smell.”
Despite my argument to the contrary, Devon insisted I wear a barely-covering-my-butt royal blue dress from BCBG. At least it was loose on my tummy. But the hemline only skimmed the halfway point between my hip and my knee, and the neckline plunged into dangerously low territory. To complete the look, Devon draped a gold necklace with an enormous glass bead surrounded by a spider web of gold, holding it in place over my head.
“Since we never got a chance to look for your other one,” she said.
This dream catcher, like the one I’d lost at the lake, had been a present from my father. The bauble that matched my dress nestled itself in the point of the neckline’s V, drawing even more attention to my most notable attribute.
My friends all coveted my natural endowment. I didn’t understand their jealousy. Whenever I showed off the girls, I felt trampy, and over the years more than one of my friends’ fathers had stared a little too long and a little too hard at my chest.
Devon wore black leather leggings with a skintight tube top. As usual, she looked gorgeous; and I hoped that maybe she’d meet a nice boy from St. Paul’s who would have her saying, “Rick who?”
“You look hot,” Devon assured me, when I kept pulling down the visor on the passenger side of the Chevy to check my reflection.
I rolled my eyes. “You’re my best friend. I think that makes you contractually obligated to tell me I look good no matter what,” I pointed out.
“No,” she replied, tearing her focus from the darkened road, “boyfriends are contractually obligated to lie to you. Best friends are required to tell you the truth, even if it’s painful.”
She had a point. Devon was brutally honest when the occasion called for it, and even when it didn’t.
Devon turned on her right blinker when we approached Mandy’s driveway, although there really wasn’t much of a point. Mandy’s was the only house on the country road. Gravel crunched beneath the Cavalier’s tires as we made the mile trek to Mandy’s front door. Once the house materialized in the darkness, Devon laid on her horn; the blast sounded unnaturally loud in the silent country setting.
Mandy emerged from the farmhouse seconds later. Tonight she was wearing too-tight faded jeans and a whimsical top in various shades of green. The shirt would have been cute on somebody like Devon, but it hugged Mandy in all the wrong places. I thought maybe a shopping trip was in order.
Devon gave me a pointed look when she noticed Mandy’s ensemble. She had been against making the trip to the boonies to get Mandy in the first place, but I had insisted. Without us she would have no ride. When I voiced the concern to Devon, she’d been unsympathetic to Mandy’s plight. She’d finally relented in exchange for an all-expenses-paid breakfast the following morning.
“Maybe we should’ve suggested she get ready at my house,” I said.
“Yeah, that, or we could have not invited her,” Devon grumbled just as Mandy grabbed the door handle.
“Hey, guys!” Mandy greeted us as she clamored ungracefully into the back seat.
“Hey, Mandy.” I twisted in my seat to give her a welcoming smile.
Devon responded with a very unladylike grunt. I pinched the arm of hers that was closest to me and shot her a “be nice” look.
“So, Dev, are Rick and Kevin coming?” Mandy asked as Devon sped down the gravel drive.
“Um, Rick is.”
“Oh…but not Kevin?” Mandy asked again, disappointed.
“No clue. I’m not Kevin’s keeper,” Devon shot back.
“Devon,” I groaned, pitching my voice in the hope Mandy wouldn’t hear.
“I gave him my number, but he hasn’t called,” Mandy confided.
“And he’s not going to,” Devon muttered under her breath.
I silently urged her with my eyes to be civil, but doubted she noticed in the absence of streetlights. Devon was right, though; Kevin wouldn’t call. He hadn’t even bragged about his conquest at school, a clear indication he wasn’t proud of hooking up with Mandy.
“I’m sure he’ll be there,” I assured Mandy.
Actually, I knew he would be; he’d made a point to tell me so in the hallway between third and fourth periods.
“Oh, good!” Mandy squealed, now digging in her purse to search for a compact.
The excitement over a boy who had no interest in her tugged at my heartstrings. Maybe Devon’s brand of honesty was better in this situation. At least it would save Mandy from public humiliation when Kevin ignored her.
When we pulled through Elizabeth’s front gates twenty minutes later, the yard was already littered with cars.
“Great. We’re late,” Devon mumbled, unbuckling her seat belt.
“The alcohol isn’t going anywhere,” I replied.
Late was an exaggeration, but the party was in full swing when we walked in. The Mt. St. Mary’s girls, in varying states of inebriation, milled through Elizabeth’s hallways. Many of our teammates were already there as well and taking full advantage of the chance to mingle with the St. Paul’s boys.
“Drinks?” Devon asked. Without waiting for my reply, she grabbed my hand and began dragging me through a gaggle of baseball players toward the back deck.
I hastily reached for Mandy, seizing a fistful of her shirt and tugging her along for the ride.
The moment we stepped onto the deck, I caught sight of Elizabeth by the tiki bar. She was in full-on prowl mode, tossing her blonde locks over one shoulder and giggling loudly at whatever her current companion was saying. Her hand rested possessively on his bicep when she inclined her head closer to hear his story better. Whatever he said must have been hilarious because she threw her head and roared with laughter, giving him a nice view of her Victoria’s Secret enhanced cleavage.
The current object of Elizabeth’s affection was tall, a full head taller than she was, and the lean muscles of his back and shoulders were evident through his green-and-white striped oxford. The sleeves of his shirt were pushed up to expose defined forearms that flexed when he moved. Light from the tiki torches danced across his face, magnifying the natural highlights in his messy chestnut hair. Large green eyes reflected two mirror images of the flames.
And so we meet again, I thought. As per usual, the sight of Kaydon invoked a juxtaposition of sensations. The excitement of laying eyes on the boy I couldn’t vanquish from my thoughts matched the tightly wound coil of apprehension in my gut.
“Eel!” Elizabeth exclaimed when she saw our trio. “Look who I found!” She gently pushed Kaydon forward.
Devon still had a firm grip on my hand. I stopped dead in my tracks as if the deck had turned to quicksand, causing Devon to come to an abrupt halt.
“Kaydon, you remember―” Elizabeth started to say.
“Endora Lee,” he cut her off. The way he said my name, lingering on each syllable as if savoring the taste of it on his tongue, gave me goosebumps. “Or is it Eel?” he asked, his lips quirking into a lopsided smirk.
“Endora, actually,” I said stiffly and marveled at my ability to string words together. “Only my friends call me Eel,” I added for good measure.
“Understood.”
“And this is Devon.” Elizabeth pointed to my best friend whose expression remained flat.
In my haste to follow Devon and my shock at seeing Kaydon with Elizabeth, I lost my hold on Mandy. I looked around for her ― anything to avoid Kaydon’s amused gaze ― but she’d been swallowed by the crowd.
“Hey, again,” Kaydon said to Devon.
Devon nodded her hello, still assessing the boy. She gave him a once-over, and I could practically hear the gears grinding in her head. “Lucky you were there the other night,” she said finally. “Otherwise, who knows what would have happened to Eel.” Her tone was all innocence and false gratitude.
She didn’t trust him, I realized. Did Devon get the same uneasy feeling that I did around him? Clearly Elizabeth didn’t - she was staring up at him with big doe eyes and hanging on his every word.
Kaydon’s entire face flushed to match the flames of the nearby torch. “I’m glad I was.” His sentiments sounded genuine. “The lake is dangerous at night.”
That spine-tingling sensation came over me as Kaydon’s mood went from amused to somber. Maybe I was reading too much into his words, but they felt ominous.
“Aren’t you going to thank him, Eel?” Elizabeth purred.
“She already did,” Kaydon said quickly. “And really, it wasn’t a big deal. I saw her jump, and when she didn’t come up, I figured I should go check on her. I barely did anything, though. Endora would have made it to the surface without my help.”
I narrowed my gaze. Why was he lying? We both knew I would have drowned had he not been there. If the lake creature hadn’t succeeded in strangling me, then the blow to my head would have done it. I caught myself. There I went again, giving credence to something that had been nothing more than my imagination.
“Don’t be so modest,” Elizabeth cooed. “You saved her life.”
“What were you doing out at the lake alone anyhow?” Devon asked. To anyone who didn’t know her, the question sounded conversational. I, however, knew her well. And her inquiry was more of an accusation than a question.
“I thought we were getting drinks,” I said, before Kaydon had the chance to respond to Devon’s interrogation. He shot me a grateful smile, which prompted me to scowl in reply.
“I’ll get you guys drinks,” Kaydon offered quickly. “Requests?”
“Vodka and tonic,” Devon replied, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. “I’ll be watching you, so don’t put anything in it.”
Kaydon winced but otherwise brushed off her comment. “Endora?” he asked.
“Something strong,” I said through clenched teeth. For the first time in my life, I longed to get drunk. I wanted to forget all the strange things that had happened to me since my eighteenth birthday. Most of all, I wanted to drown my feelings for this boy who had me cycling through a range of emotions I’d never before experienced in such rapid succession.
“Coming right up.” His entire face lit up when he grinned at me.
Once he was gone, Devon pried my fingers from her own, rubbing the purple appendages to restore circulation. I’d been so preoccupied with Kaydon that I’d failed to notice how tightly I was gripping her hand.
“He is so hot,” Elizabeth declared, still oblivious to my mounting discomfort. “You saw him first, Eel, so tell me now if you want dibs; otherwise, I’m calling it,” she added, ogling Kaydon’s backside from across the deck.
“I don’t trust him,” Devon said before I could answer. “Seriously, what was he doing at the lake all by himself?”
“I doubt he was there alone,” I said. “And why the change of heart? You were all interested in him last weekend.”
“Last weekend he was a good Samaritan who happened to be in the right place at the right time,” Devon replied, not bothering to keep her voice down. Knowing Devon, she probably wanted him to hear her. “Now he is starting to enter stalker territory. How did he get your cell phone number anyway? Why was he at our game? And why is here?”
“He goes to St. Paul’s,” Elizabeth rolled her eyes, “that’s why he’s here. Besides, isn’t the whole thing so romantic? Fate intervenes to bring them together. He spends every waking moment thinking about her. And at night he dreams about her.”
While Elizabeth sounded like a drunken voiceover for a bad movie trailer, her words made my heart skip a beat.
“Did he say that?” I blurted before I could stop myself. “Did he say he’d dreamt about me?”
Both of my friends stared at me wide-eyed. Devon’s gaze was suspicious. Elizabeth’s was amused.
Kaydon appeared at my side, saving me the humiliation of receiving an answer to my question. He handed Devon a red plastic cup. “Vodka and tonic.” Then he held the other drink out to me, careful not to let our fingers touch.
“Thanks,” I mumbled.
“Can I talk to you for a minute, alone?” Kaydon asked me without preamble.
Devon stepped between us, using her body like a physical shield. “First tell us why you were at Caswell Lake.”
My face was suddenly on fire. Devon was loyal and protective to a fault, but I didn’t need her fighting my battles for me. I wasn’t weak. I could take care of myself. Besides, I wanted to talk to Kaydon. And since we were both here, it was as good a time as any.
I gently pushed her aside. “It’s fine, Dev. Yes, we can talk,” I told Kaydon.
Devon tried to protest, but Elizabeth intervened. “I think she’s calling dibs,” Elizabeth drunkenly giggled as she led Devon away.
I covered the awkward silence their departure left by sipping my drink. The liquor burned as though I’d taken a swallow from the tiki torch instead of my cup.
“Oh, that’s gross,” I choked and spit the concoction back into the Solo cup. Instantly every inch of my skin scorched, embarrassed by my crude gesture. I raised you better than that, Mom’s voice chastised me in my head.
Kaydon just laughed.
“You said you wanted something strong,” he pointed out, taking the cup from my hand and placing it on the bar behind him.
“Strong, not lethal,” I replied, wiping the lingering drops of alcohol from my lips with the back of my hand.
“Don’t drink much, huh?”
“No, I drink. I mean I’m not like a drunk or anything, but I usually drink at these parties - you know, let loose, have fun.” Smooth, Endora.
Kaydon studied the lifelines on his palm, engrossed by whatever story they told. I peered around the deck at the other partygoers, and thought about clicking my heels and chanting, “There is no place like home. There is no place like home.”
“You were awesome today,” he said, abruptly looking up from his hand and changing the subject to cover the awkward moment.
“Thanks. It felt good to beat them,” I said hesitantly. “Elizabeth said you go to St. Paul’s?” Making small talk was safe. It allowed me time to scrounge up the courage to ask him the questions that truly mattered: Did you see a creature in the lake? Do you have dreams that come true?
Would I really feel validated if he told me that he’d dreamed about our meeting before it had happened? Or that he too saw a mermaid flipping her tail in Caswell Lake?
“Yeah. I’m a senior. Transferred there at the start of the year. I hear you used to go to St. Mary’s.”
“You seem to know a lot about me,” I said evenly.
Kaydon shrugged sheepishly. “Yours is the first life I’ve saved. I was curious about you.”
“Even before then,” I said. “You called me by my name when you pulled me from the water.”
Kaydon ran one hand through his hair, his eyes darting nervously around the partygoers surrounding us. “That is sort of what I wanted to talk to you about.”
I sucked in a breath. My concept of reality hinged on whatever he said next. I was sickened by the part of me that actually hoped he was a stalker so I wouldn’t have to face the alternative.
“Last Friday wasn’t the first time we’ve met. Well, at least it isn’t the first time I’ve met you.”
I started to back away slowly. Kaydon reached for my hand; his fingers brushed mine, and a small jolt of electricity passed between us. He pulled his hand back.
“Hear me out, Endora,” he said in a deep, low voice.
I didn’t respond, but I didn’t pull away either. I wanted to hear what he had to say. I needed to hear what he had to say.
Kaydon stepped closer. “How old are you?” he asked.
His question caught me by surprise. I’d expected him to say something about us meeting in his dreams, literally. Asking my age was as random as him asking for the time.
“Eighteen,” I muttered. “My birthday was last Friday.”
Kaydon exhaled deeply and nodded his head like he’d just figured out the last clue in the New York Times Sunday crossword. Well, that made one of us.
“Have the dreams started?” he asked, pitching his voice so no one close by would hear.
Equal parts of relief and panic coursed through me. He knew. He understood what I was experiencing. For some reason that knowledge didn’t make me as comfortable as I’d anticipated it would. I didn’t feel validated.
“That’s how you knew my name, isn’t it? The dreams. You dreamed about me jumping off the cliff, right? Is that why you were out at the lake? Did you go there just to…save me?” I felt stupid saying the words out loud.
“We met in one of my dreams,” he said carefully. “But I was at the lake by chance.”
Chance? Caswell Lake was a good forty-minute drive from St. Paul’s. And since he went to St. Paul’s, he probably lived by St. Paul’s. No way had he been taking a leisurely Friday night drive and ended up in Westwood. Let alone at the lake.
I blinked up at him, not sure what to say. Wasn’t it every girl’s fantasy to have a gorgeous boy tell her she played a starring role in his dreams? Then why did it feel so creepy?
“When did you recognize me?” I asked.
“Not until I pulled you from the water,” he admitted. The tone of his voice gave me pause. I thought I sensed regret. Did he regret saving my life?
“Stevens!” a male voiced boomed behind me. “We’re heading over to a party in Lincoln. You coming?”
“Two minutes,” Kaydon called back, his eyes never leaving my face. “What are you doing tomorrow?” he asked me in a tone so low I had to strain to hear the words.
“Homework,” I replied automatically.
“Can I see you?”
“Sure,” I answered without hesitation. This conversation was far from over, yet I still wasn’t sure I wanted to be there for the conclusion.
“Stevens, ride’s leaving,” the same voice bellowed.
“You have my phone number, right? Call me if something comes up. Otherwise, let’s meet in the parking lot closest to the stadium at your school. Four o’clock.”
The stadium parking lot? Really? Odd choice. “Okay, sure,” I said.
“Tomorrow,” Kaydon confirmed, sounding relieved that I’d agreed.
He reached the back of his index finger toward my cheek. A current of electricity trickled between us. It was weak, but still made my skin tingle. Part of me registered the possibility that his finger would burn my face again, but my hormones didn’t care. He let his hand fall at the last second, and instead of my cheek, his fingertips skimmed the material holding my dress securely around my neck. Even though his flesh never made contact with mine, I could feel the heat through the thin fabric when he lifted the gold chain of my necklace and said, “Interesting.”
It took me a full minute to regain control of my breathing after being so close to Kaydon. When I did, I whirled around to catch one last glimpse of him. I was immediately sorry about the decision. Kaydon was now standing next to the sliding glass doors that led to the back of Elizabeth’s house ― and he wasn’t alone.
Kaydon stood face-to-face with Jamieson Wentworth, his hands raised, palms towards her in the universal gesture for “calm down.” Her arms were crossed defensively under her chest, pushing her cleavage up so high that it nearly knocked her chin with each huffy breath she exhaled.
I couldn’t hear the words he murmured, but whatever he was saying was doing little to placate her. Jamieson jerked her head full of glossy black waves in my direction. Then she turned, piercing me with cold eyes. An all-too-familiar sensation of dread that had nothing to do with Kaydon filled my stomach. I knew that look well. It was the same one she’d shot me when we were ten and I’d been made captain of our travel lacrosse team. The same one she’d shot me when we were twelve and I’d been selected for the international youth field hockey team and she had not. And the same one she’d shot me when we were thirteen and I told her my mother and I were moving to Westwood. The last time was the one she’d never forgiven me for.
The half-digested shrimp fried rice threatened to reappear. Normally I’d let Jamieson’s jealousy roll right off of me. If the tables were turned, I’d have felt the same way. Even as friends, we’d been rivals. Only, I wasn’t used to losing to Jamieson. Not when it really counted anyway. But seeing her with Kaydon felt like payback for every battle I’d won in our lifelong war. Uncomfortably, I realized that Jamieson wasn’t the only sore loser in the equation.
Earlier, when Elizabeth called dibs on Kaydon, I had been annoyed. Now seeing him with Jamieson and knowing they were friends, I was downright envious, even though in a game of kiss-or-kill I might have elected to push Kaydon off the cliff. The jury was still out.
One moment, I thought him the embodiment of my nightmares, and the next ― my living dreams. I hadn’t been so confused about something since chemistry in the ninth grade. The only thing I was positive about: I hated seeing Kaydon with her.
After a long, withering glare, Jamieson raised one delicate hand and waved me over. I debated not going, but we both knew I’d seen her. And if I didn’t go, I would have only made the situation more awkward than it already was. The fifteen yards that separated us might as well have been a football field for the amount of time it took me to close the distance.
“Hey, Eel,” she said, using the nickname reserved only for my closest friends.
Jamieson uncrossed her arms and slipped one possessively around Kaydon’s waist. I cringed at the familiarity between them. Kaydon let his hands drop to hang at his sides as he turned to face me. He inched away from Jamieson but didn’t break contact entirely.
“Hey, Jamie,” I replied, emphasizing her own nickname, which I knew she hated. Her eyes frosted over, turning such a pale blue that it was hard to tell where the iris ended.
“I see you have met Kaydon.” Her smile was all sugar, a sharp contrast to the sourness in her glare.
“Um, yeah….kinda,” I said, looking at Kaydon instead of Jamieson.
“Kaydon’s going to be my prom date, and probably my king too,” Jamieson trilled, scooting closer as he tried to wiggle away.
“Great,” I said flatly, careful not to let Jamieson see how much that prospect bothered me. I wouldn’t give her that kind of satisfaction.
“Jesus, Stevens, we need to go!” the deep male voice from earlier cut into our conversation.
Finally tearing my eyes from Kaydon’s, I caught my first glimpse of the owner. A tall, broad-shouldered boy, who could have passed for twenty-one just as easily as seventeen, moved through the crowd to join us. Terrence Wilky.
“Hey, Endora,” he said when he noticed me, his frustration lessening slightly. “If I’d realized that you were the reason Kaydon was reluctant to leave, I would’ve come to say hi.” Terrence bent down and kissed me softly on the cheek, giving my back a friendly pat in the process.
Kaydon’s eyes blazed and he stepped further from Jamieson.
“Hi, Terrence.” I smiled up at him, relieved by his interruption. “How have you been?”
“Good.” He nodded, grinning stupidly as he tried not to look down my dress. “No need to ask how you are; you look great.”
“Thanks, Terrence. Well, I don’t want to keep you guys from your party…,” I let my comment trail off and turned to make my escape.
“Hey, why don’t you come?” Terrence asked, putting a hand on my bare shoulder to stop my departure. “You’ll know everyone there.”
“Oh, wow…um thanks, but…well, this is kinda my party, so I should really stay.” I shrugged apologetically.
Confusion shone in his dark eyes. “I thought this was that girl Ellen’s house?”
“Elizabeth,” I corrected. “And yes, it is. But I’m the team captain and all, so it would look bad if I left.”
I felt as if I were bragging with the whole captain comment. Maybe I was. Jamieson wasn’t her team’s captain, and judging by her recent Facebook statuses, she was more than a little bitter about it.
“Just as well - there’s no room in the car,” Jamieson declared, drawing the focus of the conversation back to her.
“I drive an Escalade.” Terrence rolled his eyes.
“Really, I’m just going to stay here.” I glanced at Kaydon, who hadn’t spoken since we were alone. His eyes were glazed over, pupils fully dilated. He didn’t appear to be hearing what we were saying anymore.
“Glad that’s settled. Let’s go.” Jamieson reached for Kaydon’s hand. When her fingers brushed the back of his hand, he blinked rapidly. Then he smoothly stepped away from her at the last moment, hooking his thumbs in his front pockets. Jamieson spun on one spiked heel and stormed into the house. Terrence waved goodbye to me and shot Kaydon a sympathetic smile before trailing after her.
“Bye, Endora. Dream well,” Kaydon said softly. Then he followed his friends through the sliding doors.