Kami Garcia - Dangerous Dream

But she’s not anything like any other girl I’ve ever met.

Link watched her from across the swimming pool. They had started the day at Ravenwood, but then he had Ripped them all to a new location after Ridley’s hissy fit this morning, when she had decided it was too hot not to swim.

When Rid got these ideas in her head, she was too stubborn to let them go. Then it was up to Link or Lena to bail her out, every time.

Lena had called the community center and found out that the pool was closed on account of a wayward diaper incident, so Ridley had insisted they find another place to swim.

“What’s wrong with hanging out by the lake?” he’d asked.

“The lake isn’t Saint-Tropez,” Ridley had said.

“I’m a country boy,” Link had said.

“Saint-Tropez is in a country,” Ridley had countered. “And that country happens to be France.”

“Well, you can Santa Toupee yourself somewhere else, ’cause I don’t like it.” After that Ridley had pouted, and Link had given in. Of course he had. That’s all he ever did lately. He was your basic slave to love—but the girl he loved wouldn’t even admit she loved him back. Guys had written songs about less.

Link turned over in his lounge chair, pulling his towel halfway over his face. An Incubus working on his tan. This whole thing is ridiculous.

Link didn’t like it—except for how the girls’ bathing suits were smaller, when they were there at all. The guys were in Speedos, which revealed too much to make anyone comfortable, as far as he was concerned.

If I had my own country, guys would swim in long pants. Girls would just, you know… swim. Link grinned at the thought.

“Hey, Shrinky Dink.”

He opened one eye. Ethan and Lena were splashing in the shallow end while John and Liv shared a towel. Ridley was “fanning herself,” which meant that two pool boys were fanning her as she sipped what looked like lemonade out of a tall glass.

“ Citron pressé ,” she called over to him, holding up her drink. “Want one? I have a whole pitcher.”

“No thanks. I’ll stick with lemonade.”

“That’s what this is, Hot Rod.”

Lena pulled herself out of the pool and grabbed a towel. Ethan only let go of her hand long enough to grab his own.

Like I said, whipped. They’d probably even pee holding hands underneath the stalls if you let them. Maybe you can do that in France.

“What are we going to do tonight, kids?” Ridley looked at her cousin. “And don’t try to tell me book club is a real thing again.”

Lena rolled her eyes. “I didn’t make that up. Google it or something.”

“ Google? Yeah, right. Stupid word. You probably made that up, too.” Ridley sniffed. She liked to pretend she was above Mortal technology.

Ethan laughed. “Let’s get out of here. I have to start my job at the library tomorrow.”

“Job?” Ridley sounded annoyed.

Lena smiled. “Ethan’s helping Liv and Marian in the stacks. Just until we leave in September. I told him I’d go hang out with him tomorrow.”

“I’m sorry,” Ridley said.

“Thank you?” Ethan looked amused.

“What about John Boy? Can’t he help read things ?” Ridley never said anything positive about John Breed. She never said anything positive about anyone, come to think of it.

Why is that? Link thought, looking at her. It’s not like she needed any more self-esteem. The girl was an esteem factory.

“John’s busy with Uncle Macon.” Lena didn’t elaborate. “And he’s also gone after this summer, you know. John and Liv.”

Ridley looked doubly irritated.

“That leaves you and me, Sugarplum.” Link looked at her. “Wanna go see a movie in Summerville or somethin’? The monster truck rally’s up in Columbia. Road trip?”

“Just let me get my dip.” Ridley shot him a withering look. “I thought summer was supposed to be fun. Three days in and I’m already bored to death.”

“Aww, it’s not that bad.” Link sat up and looked at her, pulling the towel from his head.

“Are you talking about your hair? Because it is that bad.” She raised an eyebrow.

Link grinned. He knew how his hair was sticking up, and he didn’t care. If you love me, you love my hair.

The question was, did she love him?

“There’s a new club I want to hit. Suffer. It’s like Exile, only hotter.” Ridley had made up her mind. When she looked around the sticky plastic booth at the Dar-ee Keen, though, nobody else was biting.

Here we go , thought Link, already tired. “Everything’s hotter, Babe. It’s almost July.”

She wasn’t giving up. She pushed away her double-cherry-chocolate shake. “Come on, guys. Just this once. Let’s get out of this boring town and light it up, Caster-style.”

“Because our little trip to the South of France didn’t do it for you?” Ethan shoved the rest of his fries on top of his burger and into his mouth.

He still ate as though he was making up for lost time, Link thought sadly. Or because his best friend can’t eat anymore. It was the only thing Link missed about being a hundred percent Mortal.

That, and sleeping in. Or sleeping at all.

“France? That was today. This is tonight.” Ridley tried to make her logic sound reasonable, but Link wasn’t buying it any more than the rest of their friends.

Ethan shook his head. “I guess I don’t need to remind you how many times Link and I have nearly gotten our butts kicked at Exile. Caster-style.”

Ridley shrugged. “Two hybrid Incubuses, a Siren, and a Natural. You and the Trapper Keeper will be safe as babies in butt bags.”

Liv looked annoyed. “It’s Keeper .”

“And they’re called diapers.” Lena shook her head.

“Whatever.” Ridley fluttered her pink nails dismissively.

“I’ll go,” Link said with a sigh. “I’d go anywhere with you, Sugarplum. You know that. If I’d go to Saint No Way today, I’ll go to Suffer tonight. At least the name’s settin’ my expectations where they probably belong.”

“Aw, thanks, Shrinky Dink.” She kissed his cheek and he pulled her close, bringing his mouth to hers. They kissed across the booth table.

Ethan and Lena and Liv and John collectively groaned, like they always did. But Ridley and Link ignored them, like they always did. Then they just kept kissing, like it was a hundred degrees inside and out.

Like they would die as soon as this kiss was over, and neither one of them cared.

Like it was the end of time, and there was nobody else left in the whole world to keep them apart.

Third Degree Burns , Link thought. That’s what this is. Finally.

By the time Link came up for air, Ridley’s arms were wrapped around his neck, and her bright pink lipstick was wrapped around his face.

“That was seriously the most disgusting display of PDA anyone’s ever witnessed in the history of Gatlin County,” Ethan said, pushing his burger away.

“Possibly throughout all of history,” added Liv.

“Yeah. Gross,” John said. “Can I have those onion rings?”

Lena kept her eyes on the table.

But Link ignored them. He kept his forehead pressed against Ridley’s, whispering something into her face.

A secret. Something private.

Something he should have told her a long time ago.

“You what?” She yanked away from him as if he’d lit her pink streak on fire.

Link felt like she’d thrown a bucket of water in his face. “I love you, Rid. You gotta know that by now.”

“Here we go,” Ethan said, pushing his way out of the booth.