P. Hoover - Solstice

He pauses and shifts under the lights of the council chambers. Can he feel it? Can no one else but me see it?

I tap on the tube, thinking it’s a problem with the reception, but the color remains.

“How many missiles is the city equipped with?”

Rendon is about to answer when he presses a hand to his ear to listen to a private message. Then the greenish-black color oozes off him, sinking into the ground, and he returns to normal. Rendon smiles out at the crowd. “I’ve just been updated with a new count. The city of Austin has produced five fully loaded missiles. And as we speak, three more are under construction. We will use missiles as needed to keep the threat of the heat bubbles away. And I can guarantee you when other cities around the world see the success we’re having, they’ll be begging for our technology.”

Once the press conference is over, the tube cuts back to the global experts who rebut the use of the missiles, claiming the chemicals create instability and will cause a global disaster. It seems to me we’re already in a global disaster in every way possible. Shortages of crops are causing starvation on colossal scales, and most coastal cities are now underwater. Half of the population of Africa now lives in subterranean cities, growing food in massive underground hydroponics bays. But the experts claim the missiles will bring the end faster, if in fact the end is coming, and destroy all life on Earth, not just in Austin. I make a mental note to talk to my mom about it when she gets home.

The bell on the door rings, signaling someone’s come into the warehouse, and I snap my eyes away from the tube. I didn’t lock the door behind my mom, and she didn’t lock it either, which reminds me of how distracted she must have been. Still, I’m not expecting any customers. We do most of our business through mail order and corporate accounts. Except for the rare customer like Melina, who brought me the box yesterday. But at the door now is most definitely not Melina. A blast of heat pushes through the door when it opens, and the fans cut on to spread the heat evenly across the plants.

My heart gives a few extra beats when I see the guy there. I know even before he reaches the counter who he has to be. He’s just like Chloe described. No, even better. His blond hair is rolled into tight curls which fall around his sculpture-worthy face, and from the way he’s staring at me, I’m guessing he’s not here to ask about any plants.

He smiles when he reaches the counter, sets his elbows down, and leans toward me, swiping some dead leaves out of the way. “Hey, Piper.”

I’ve never seen him before, but when Chloe talked about him nonstop during our tattoo sessions, she swore he’d been here all year. I decide to pretend I’ve known him all along because I don’t want him to think I’m crazy. “Reese, right?”

He nods, and his arm muscles flex as he pushes against the counter. “I saw you and your friend talking in the library.”

I hold my hands at my side and attempt to remain composed. “Chloe was talking about you earlier today.” And Chloe had been the one going on and on about how awesome he was. But I don’t think he’s here to talk about Chloe either.

“Yeah, we have some class together.” His response totally matches his attitude.

“Physics,” I suggest.

Reese nods. “Physics.”

I dare myself to meet his eyes, and when I do, I find I can’t read anything about him. His irises are like ice; all I see in them is myself reflected back.

I inhale, and even above the fragrance of the entire Botanical Haven surrounding us, I can smell Reese. It reminds me of the thick, red wine I drink with my mom, dry with just a hint of sweetness, and it’s so strong I can just about taste it.

“Is your mom here?” Reese doesn’t bother looking around.

I shake my head, but at the same time realize maybe I shouldn’t admit to being alone. Reese looks like he could devour me. “She’ll be back any time.”

He seems to let his guard down. With his fresh smile, his scent fades until the plants in the Botanical Haven take over again. “She’s pretty controlling, isn’t she?”

“Maybe a little.” I manage a nervous laugh. When I hear it come out, I realize I’m kind of shaking, so I sit down in the chair behind the counter and try to get ahold of myself.

“My mom used to be like that,” Reese says. He pulls a stool up to the counter and sits on it, facing me.

Everyone always tells me this, but no one really understands. “I doubt it.”

Reese crosses his arms over his chest. “Seriously. There was this one time I was out with some friends, and when I got home, she grounded me for like ten years.”

His voice is helping settle my nerves, even if he is exaggerating. But I can’t get over the fact that we’re actually having a conversation. That for the second time in one day, a gorgeous guy has shown interest in me. A gorgeous guy that everyone else seems to know except me.

“Ten years?” I give him the obligatory eye roll which makes him laugh.

“Fine. Not quite ten years. But she flew off the deep end. Told me never to see those friends again. She threatened to have them impaled if they ever showed back up.”

It’s like he’s telling me the male version of my own life, and, for a second, I think he might actually be able to relate. “So what’d you do?” I ask.

Reese uncrosses his arms and sets his hands down on the counter, and he leans closer which makes my nerves start up again. “I ignored her. Snuck out behind her back.”

“I’ve never been quite that brave,” I admit, though the word quite doesn’t seem adequate.

“You should try it sometime.”

I shake my head. “You don’t understand—”

“With me.”

My breath catches at his words. With him . He’s suggesting sneaking out with him. And I’m the worst friend in the world because even though Chloe told me she likes him, a horrible part of me deep inside wants to do it.

Reese hops off the stool and walks around the counter so he’s right next to me. The rest of the Botanical Haven seems to vanish around us until there’s only me and him and an intense silence, which increases with each passing moment. Yet I don’t pull away, even when his arm brushes up against mine and I feel the slick sweat on his skin. I don’t want to move.

“I’m not sure,” I say. There are a million automatic excuses running through my mind.

“We’re perfect for each other. I knew it the day we met.” He points at me. “You and me…we’re the same. Misunderstood. We’re like soulmates.”

Soulmates . The word hangs there in the hot air between us. I laugh at the thought, and Reese smiles in response. But I wonder if somewhere out there I do have a soulmate. Is it really Reese? Or could it be Shayne? Will I ever be able to find out with my mom controlling my every move?

“What do you have to lose?”

“My mom—” I start.

Reese makes a dismissive gesture with his hands. “Sneak out. Come on.” And when he says it, his eyes fill with an excitement that makes me think it might actually be possible. Like I could have a shred of adventure. With Reese.

I open my mouth, but I’m not sure what to say. Reese is still right next to me with our arms pressed together. I guess my body tenses up, because the next thing I know, he backs up and walks to the other side of the counter. I can almost see the gears turning in his mind.

“I never let being grounded get in the way,” he says.

I let out a breath now that the distance between us has grown. I think about Chloe—how she suggested double dating—her with Reese and me with Shayne. I try to bring Shayne to my mind, but it’s futile. All that my mind seems to be willing to focus on is Reese and the thought of disobeying my mom. It’s a kind of freedom that tempts me every time I hear about other kids going to parties and hooking up and staying out all night. “My mom doesn’t let me date.”