Ann Aguirre - Mortal Danger

“What’s so funny?” she demanded, after she hung up.

“You are.” Still laughing, I explained why.

She hurled a pillow at me, a habit I’d miss. “You’re not wrong, though. It’s pretty cool that I’m not freaked anymore. Guys are just people, you know? Some will like me, some won’t. That’s life.”

“You’re wise beyond your years, young Padawan.”

“Whatever. I’m going to brush my teeth. And you should call Ryu.”

Once Vi gathered her basket of bath supplies, I headed for the phone, which rang as I reached for it. Apparently, Seth had been telling Ryu the exact same thing.

“Hey, you,” he said.

“Hey, yourself.”

A knot formed in my throat. I liked talking with Ryu, laughing with him, his arm around my shoulders on a summer night, while we made notes on astrological phenomena.

“Did Vi lecture you?”

I laughed softly. “Yeah. They don’t get that our circumstances are different. Long distance will be hard, but doable, for them.”

“But it doesn’t make sense for us,” he replied.

“I knew that shirt was a good move.” Idly I wondered why Kian had bought the thing.

“Are you going to wear it again?” Though he tried to hide it, I could tell he didn’t want me to.

If I put the shirt on again, it would become a fetish-thing, like I was obsessed with Japanese guys, and I didn’t plan to cheapen what we’d had.

“Nah,” I said. “It did the trick. But I’ve gotta be honest. That shirt was a gift. I had no idea what it said. I just didn’t want you to think I was an idiot.”

He laughed. “I know. You covered, but I could tell. For the first thirty seconds, you were very W-T-F? ” Ryu went on, “And of course you’re not an idiot. You blew us all out of the water in physics. You’re the total package.”

I hadn’t been, until Kian got his hands on me. My pulse fluttered, thinking about seeing him again. Bad hormones. Cut that out. Likely it was just a combination of factors that made me feel this way. He’d saved me, changed my life. How could I not feel something toward him? I’d get over it.

“I’ll e-mail,” I said softly. “With the time difference, it’ll be tough to Skype.”

“Cool. And who knows where we’ll go to college.”

“Are you considering the US?”

“Yep. My mom’s family lives in Sacramento.”

I’d known his dad was Japanese, his mother American, transferred overseas by her company; she met his dad, loved it there, and stayed. Since I hadn’t expected to be alive, I’d made no college plans. A spark of remorse popped like a live wire; I had lied through my teeth when my parents checked with me, and because they trusted me, they didn’t demand to see my scores. Why would they? I didn’t deceive them, so far as they knew, and I never got in trouble. I was smart; I had their genes, and I always brought home straight As. So when I made up some results and accepted the accolades, they ordered pizza.

Fortunately, there was still time to salvage the wreck of the SS University . “I need to take the SATs again,” I murmured.

Lie. I’d never taken them. I told my parents I’d signed up, but instead I went to the movies and ate popcorn all day. Busy with research, grad students, and grant proposals, they let me manage academic milestones because it taught self-reliance. This way, I wouldn’t go off to college and end up dying in a pile of my own vomit because I’d never been in charge of my own life. From listening to Vi talk about her parents, I’d come to understand my folks weren’t uncaring; they just didn’t realize how their hands-off approach felt to me. What they meant as a show of faith registered as indifference, though teenagers with helicopter parents would prize the freedom I’d taken for granted. It was amazing how much I’d learned—and changed—in five short weeks.

He glanced at me, brows raised. “That surprises me.”

“It was a bad day.”

“I’m sure you’ll rock them next time,” Ryu said.

“Anyway, yeah, I’ll let you know what schools I’m considering.”

He sounded more cheerful already. “And vice versa. Even if we never date again, it would be fun to hang out.”

I smiled. “You, too. Have a safe flight home, Ryu.”

“Bye, Edie.”

Before he could say anything else, if he would, I put down the phone, and it didn’t ring again. I was glad he knew when to let go. A few minutes later, Vi came in, cheeks pink.

I raised a brow at how obviously kissed she looked. “Did you sneak up to see Seth? I hope Barbie RA didn’t catch you.”

“Nope. I’m a ninja.” She couldn’t say this with a straight face, or maybe making out with Seth had left her with that can’t-stop-smiling expression.

“Don’t leave your throwing stars where I can step on them in the morning.”

“You’re leaving early, too? I got my parents to change my flight. I’m going to Chicago with Seth, then I’ll catch a connection, and he’ll take the bus.”

“Sweet. I’ll try not to wake you when I head out.”

“Then I’d better do this while I can.” Vi ran over and hugged me. “I told all my friends about you, by the way. They hope you’ll come visit so they can meet you.”

“I’ll try.” I had no doubt Vi’s friends were cool and nice.

I could use more of that in my life.

Before bed, I packed and got everything ready to go. I fell asleep thinking about Kian, wondering if he’d look the same, if it would be weird after the kiss. The alarm on my phone went off at seven, and Vi didn’t stir. Taking my clothes, I snuck out with my bath supplies. After I showered, I dried off and dressed in the dorm bathroom, and then went back to the room to grab my bags. A quick check verified that I’d left nothing behind, so I slipped out for the last time.

My cell said it was 7:46, early, but no time for breakfast; that didn’t matter since I’d be home in ten seconds. I found the spot where he’d dropped me off and pushed into the quiet, leafy cathedral. At least that was how it felt to me with the sun shining through the leaves, all green-cast. It was silent and sacred, divorced from the other side of the hedge.

At precisely 8:00 a.m., Kian appeared. I’d convinced myself he couldn’t be everything I’d remembered.

He was.

His dark hair fell over one eye. In the half-lighted forest, the copper streaks were muted. But his face retained the haunting beauty that made my chest hurt, like it was too much to look directly at him. I wondered if he ever tired of that; if he’d made the wish young and now he wished to be a little more ordinary. Otherwise, how could he be sure it wasn’t always his face people wanted and not who he was inside? Or maybe he didn’t care. What did I know about him, after all?

Kian made no allusion to the kiss, the smoking-hot, life-changing , why-doesn’t-he-do-it-again-right-now kiss. “Did you enjoy the SSP?”

“It rocked. I learned a lot. Made some new friends.”

“And got used to the new you?” That had been the point.

“I think so. It feels a bit more natural now.” I still wasn’t used to the way guys watched me, or how they tried to help me with things I was capable of doing myself.

“Then let’s get you home.”

My heart dropped a little in disappointment. “I have a couple of questions.”

You do? Really? My brain was surprised to hear that. But I couldn’t just let him dump me off. I hadn’t seen him in weeks; I wouldn’t see him until I was ready to ask for my next favor, and I had no idea when that would be.

“About the deal?” he asked in neutral tones.