by Julie Cross
Holly bounded over to us, stopping in front of the guy next to Adam. That’s when I realized who it was. David Newman. Holly’s future boyfriend.
He smiled and handed her the brown paper sack he was holding. “That’ll be seven dollars. And I should add that I had to wait twenty minutes for them to make a fresh batch of guacamole.”
She placed a few bills in his hand. “I love you, David.”
“She never says that to me,” Toby said.
Holly leaned closer to Toby. “That’s because you don’t want me to. Admit it. Those three words frighten you.”
I can totally relate.
He laughed and moved his face even closer to hers. She backed up immediately. “Maybe, but makin’ love doesn’t frighten me.”
David laughed and Holly shoved him out of her way, then walked off with Jana, muttering, “Juveniles.”
“Real smooth, Toby,” David said.
“Don’t tell me you’ve never made a game out of shaking her hard exterior,” Toby said to David.
“I refuse to respond to that,” David said, but he was laughing.
“But you’ve thought about kissing her?”
I shot a glance at Adam, who, like me, was listening in silence.
“Not really,” David answered.
“Well, I have,” Toby said, unashamed. “Mostly when I’ve wanted to shut her up.”
They all laughed loud enough for Holly and Jana to dart their eyes in our direction.
I went back to mopping while the game started at the table they’d set up on the gymnastics floor. When it was obvious I didn’t have any more work to do, Toby called me over.
“Aren’t you going to play?” he asked.
“Sure, I could use a little extra cash.” I sat down next to Adam and across from Holly.
I really wanted to talk to him. But right now I needed to be cool. Get into character and be the mysterious new guy.
David dealt out the cards. “Jackson, where did you go before you dropped out? Was it in Jersey?”
I nodded and said the name of another high school.
“That’s why we’ve never seen you,” Jana said.
“You’re all juniors?” I asked.
“Yup.”
“So, why did you quit school?” Toby asked.
Jana elbowed him in the side, but I waved her off.
“I just got sick of it. My dad wanted me to work.”
“I can’t wait to be done,” Holly said, throwing two cards in the discard pile and picking up new ones. “AP English bites. I knew it would be tough, but a new novel every other week and a five-page paper every other day is a bit much.”
“What are you reading?” I asked Holly.
“We just finished A Tale of Two Cities.”
Aha, a door just swung open.
Toby and Adam both groaned.
“Couldn’t stand Dickens,” Adam said.
David threw his cards into the pile. “Really? Mr. Perfect GPA? I’m surprised.”
“Literature is very different from math and science,” Adam said.
“So, you didn’t like it either?” I asked Holly.
“I did, but I’m not having any luck writing the paper. I started, then I got stuck.”
“All you need to say is, ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,’ the end,” Toby said with a very bad British accent. “Who’s in this round?”
“I got nothing,” Jana said, throwing down her cards.
David did the same.
“Toby, I’m starting to see why you have so much trouble with women,” Holly teased. “Obviously you can’t see the romance in a story like that. Unrequited love and personal sacrifice with nothing in return.”
He turned his eyes on her. “You’re incredibly sexy when you speak ze language of literature.”
Holly shook her head and looked at me. “See what I mean? He has no clue.”
I threw another chip onto the pile. “Enlighten us, then, since you’re such a wise woman. Save some other poor girls from our unromantic ways.”
She fumbled the cards in her hands and nearly dropped one. “Um … I’m probably not the best person to ask. Jana, what do you think?”
Jana perked up in her chair. “Okay, I’ll take a stab. Well, Toby’s not sharing common interests. Maybe that’s the problem. Holly loves to read, so her future man should, too. Personally, I’m into punk and ska music, so I’m going to look for someone who shares my love of bands nobody’s heard of.”
“All right, you haven’t tripped me up so far. That can’t be everything,” I said.
“I couldn’t date a guy who didn’t at least appreciate sports. Gymnastics takes up more than half my life, so that’s a given.”
“Well, what about Toby? He’s a gymnast.”
Jana raised her eyebrows at me. “He’s also my cousin.”
How did I not know that? “Okay, that won’t work.”
“Ya think?” Toby said, shaking his head. “Come on, Holly, give us a little peek inside your head.”
Yes, please do. The truth was … I didn’t know seventeen-year-old Holly very well at all.
“I don’t know what I want. Maybe I’ll figure it out someday, but for now I’ll settle for school, work, and saving money for college,” Holly said.
“Borrrrr-ing,” Jana sang.
Holly threw a handful of popcorn across the table at her. “Fine, Jana, I want a guy who has read beyond the first few words of a Charles Dickens novel and can quote beautiful lines of prose while ballroom dancing to … hmm…”
Jana rested her chin on her hands and sighed. “What about ‘Come Away with Me’ by Norah Jones? It would have to be a waltz.”
“This is a dude, right?” David asked.
Toby snorted back laughter. “You’ve got to be kidding, Flynn. You are the last girl who I’d guess would fall for that shit.”
“It’s not shit if it’s genuine,” Jana said.
“Exactly,” Holly answered. Then she tossed her cards down on the table. “Full house.”
“Damn,” Adam muttered.
Everyone folded and I turned my eyes on Jana. “Do you think she’s bluffing?”
Jana looked bewildered. “Bluffing? She’s already shown her cards.”
“No, I mean about the perfect guy. Mr. Shakespeare-quoting, tango-dancing lover.”
Holly leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. “Waltz, not tango, and I’m not bluffing. But he has to be straight.”
“Yeah, have fun finding that guy,” David said.
“Maybe he’s sitting right across from you,” I said.
A flicker of nerves crossed her face, but she replaced it quickly with a confident smirk. “No way.”
I grabbed the deck and started shuffling. “Yeah, you’re probably right. Besides, it’s not like I want such a high-maintenance girl.”
“I am not high-maintenance.”
David grabbed a soda from the pile of cans on the floor. “Holly, you’ve got some fantasy guy waltzing around in tights, whispering Romeo and Juliet in your ear. That’s as high-maintenance as it gets. For guys our age, you’re lucky if you can get us to stop spitting and scratching our balls when you’re around.”
Holly smiled and pinched his cheek. “You’re such a charmer, David. And I never said anything about tights.”
Toby groaned. “Well, the rest is bad enough. Who’s filling your heads with this shit? That’s why we can’t get a date.”
“It’s women writing romance novels starring men that would never exist. It sets unrealistic expectations,” Adam said.
Holly nodded. “Nicely put, Adam. That could be true, but we can’t help what we want.”
Jana nudged me in the shoulder. “I believe Jackson was going to give it a try, weren’t you?”
“Yeah, right,” Holly muttered, reaching across the table and taking the deck from my hands. “Are we playing poker or not?”
Toby’s eyes darted between the two of us, then he point
ed a finger at Holly. “You’re scared he might charm you. Just admit it.”
“This I’ve got to see,” David said.
Holly put on her competitive poker face. “Fine, do your thing, Jackson.”
I shook my head. “No, that’s all right, I’m not really in the mood for dancing. Besides, you’ve already got this whole all-men-are-created-equal mentality. It’s obvious you don’t have a very open mind.”
I kept reminding myself to keep it light, annoy her if I had to. Fawning never works with any halfway intelligent girl.
The flicker of anger hit her eyes and I fought back the urge to smile. “Okay, if you’re right and you have the qualities of my imaginary perfect guy, I’ll agree to go out with you.”
I scoffed at her. “What makes you think I want to go out with you? I’m not seeing what I get out of this.”
Her cheeks turned pink and she dropped her eyes to the table, but raised them quickly. “Sorry, that’s not what I meant. I’ll buy you dinner tomorrow night and I’ll clean the bathrooms after I get done working. But you have to agree to something if I’m right.”
“Jackson, I’d take her up on that bathroom deal. After three birthday parties and classes all morning, it’s gonna be bad,” Toby admitted.
“And if I’m right, you have to come in early and help me with those three birthday parties of screaming kids and cake and wrapping paper up to your elbows,” Holly added.
“Deal,” I said.
“This is so much more entertaining than getting drunk,” David said.
“We can do that later,” Toby added.
“I’ll pick the music,” Adam said, pulling an iPod out of his pocket.
“No, let’s see what Holly has,” I said to her with a smile.
She forked over her iPod and I flipped through her playlist quickly, hoping I could find the perfect song. I did. After choosing “You Don’t Know Me” by Jann Arden, I handed it back to Holly, who passed it to Jana.
I stood up from the table while Jana turned the music on by plugging the iPod into the stereo. I held my hand out to Holly.
She rolled her eyes. “A kid from Jersey who cleans bathrooms knows how to waltz?”
I nodded. “The question is, do you?”
I wasn’t lying to her. I’d learned from attending way too many fancy parties and from choosing folk and ballroom dancing in my first semester of college because it was the easiest course that filled my applied arts requirement.
“A little. Just from gym class,” she said.
As soon as I placed my arm around her waist, I knew this was going to be difficult, but I wanted an excuse to touch her, even if it was just for a few minutes. She placed a hand in mine and I could feel the nerves flowing through her. Her body was stiff and rigid, waiting for me to make a move.
“Relax,” I whispered.
Her shoulders loosened just a little as I drew her closer to me. I stepped back and she followed along. Her steps moved with mine and I let my nose touch her hair.
We stopped dancing at the far side of the floor as the song ended and she looked up at me, waiting for something.
Instinctively, I leaned my mouth closer to hers, then remembered what she was waiting for. It wasn’t a kiss. I quickly moved my lips next to her ear and delivered a quote from the Dickens novel that was well past the first page. “When you see your own bright beauty springing up anew at your feet, think now and then that there is a man who would give his life, to keep a life you love beside you.”
As I lifted my head, she turned hers toward mine so her mouth just barely brushed along my cheek. I froze when her lips were an inch from mine.
Don’t kiss her. It was too soon. She’d probably freak. Her eyes closed and I immediately dropped my arm and stepped back, plastering on a confident smirk.
“You were going to kiss him,” Toby accused.
“No, I wasn’t,” Holly said.
“Looks like someone’s going to be cleaning the bathrooms,” Toby sang. “Jackson, I had no idea you were such a player. Do you have a manual on this stuff?”
I grinned at him and then looked back at Holly. Her face was bright red and she turned quickly, walking away from me. “You win, I’ll clean the bathrooms.”
“Holly, I don’t really want you to—”
She put her hand up. “Hey, you played to win. I’d do the same if the tables were turned.”
“You wouldn’t have to do anything,” I blurted out without thinking.
She let out a breath. “You can stop the playboy moves. I get it, you won.”
It was obvious she was angry, and no one knew what to say, including me. I rubbed my temples with my fingers.
“I have to get home. My mom’s going to freak if I’m late.” She grabbed her bag and headed toward the door.
David glanced at me, then jogged after her. “You want me to come over for a while?”
“No, I’m tired and I have to work all day tomorrow.”
“You okay?” he asked.
“I’m perfect, David. Why shouldn’t I be? I’ve been charmed by the perfect guy.” She was trying to make a joke of it, but the sarcasm and hurt seeped into her tone.
I sank into a chair and leaned my head against my hands. “Damn.”
“Man, what did you do?” Toby asked.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Jana said.
All of us stared at her, waiting. We were clueless.
“She practically asked you out and now she thinks she got played. It’s not like it was genuine, you just met the girl last week.”
“Nice, Jana,” Toby said, sarcastically.
“I didn’t mean that he is a player, I’m saying that’s probably how Holly sees it.”
I lifted my head and gave her a tight smile. “Great.”
“I don’t think asking guys out is something Holly does often,” Adam added.
“No, it isn’t,” David said, returning to the table.
“I’m such an idiot,” I mumbled.
“Actually, I think you’re a genius. What did you tell her anyway?” Toby asked.
“It doesn’t matter. Are you guys ready to go?”
“I guess so, if you are,” Jana said.
“Yeah, I am.”
The night had been a complete failure. In fact, I might have done more damage than good. I left the gym and headed for the train. I knew as soon as I sat down that I would make another attempt to get back to 2009. Being a part of this Holly’s life was just too hard. And I really sucked at it.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2007, 12:05 A.M.
Just seconds before I attempted another jump back to 2009, someone plopped down in the seat beside me.
“Hi, Jackson.”
I turned and looked right into my reflection in Adam’s glasses. “You followed me?”
He crossed his arms, glaring at me. “What are you doing on a train to New York after midnight?”
“My dad works nights in the city, I usually help out.”
“Where?”
“Loyola Academy. He’s a janitor.”
“Like father, like son.”
“That’s right.”
“Bullshit. How did you know my name? Before anyone told you.”
“I’m from the future and we’re friends in 2009.”
He ignored what he took to be a joke. “You know what I think?”
I leaned my head against the window and closed my eyes. “What’s your theory, Adam?”
“Government agent.”
No, but I might be the son of one. “I see. So, I’m not a time traveler, I’m an agent studying your science project because the government wants to steal your theories and use them to make weapons.”
“Well … not weapons.”
I laughed and sat up again to look at him. “I don’t work for the government. I promise. And I have no desire to steal your project or bust you for hacking.”
His face tightened. “I didn’t say anything about hacking.”
>
“Oh … right.”
“So, you do work for the government?”
“Adam, I want to tell you the truth, but you probably won’t believe me.”
He relaxed back in his seat. “Try me.”
I took a deep breath, ready to attempt a very drastic and risky identity switch. “We’ll take this slow. I don’t want you to have a heart attack. First of all, I live in Manhattan.”
“Okay.”
“Do you want to come to my place? I’ll tell you the rest there.”
He nodded, slowly. “Just so you know … I’ve got friends who know exactly where I am, in case I don’t show up later.”
I rolled my eyes. “Sure you do.”
* * *
Adam looked up at the building with wide eyes. “You live here?”
“Yup.”
We took the elevator up. During our ascent, Adam was twisting his hands and darting his eyes around like the Hacker Police were going to jump out at him any second.
“Who’s your friend?” Dad asked when we walked past him in the front room.
“This is Adam Silverman. Adam, this is my dad.”
Adam shook his hand. “Nice to meet you, sir.”
“Jackson, I’m going out of town for a couple days.”
“For what?”
“Business in South Korea. I left you a message earlier, but you didn’t return my call. Someone’s picking me up in five minutes. Will you be okay?”
“Since when do you have business in South Korea?”
His eyebrows lifted as if to say he wasn’t going to talk about this with a stranger present.
“See you in a few days.” I walked down the hall with Adam trailing behind me. I led him to my room and shut the door before pointing to the couch on the far side of the room. He walked over and sat down, watching closely as I pulled a silver lockbox from my desk drawer. After sifting through a stack of pictures, I handed him a few. I had just made prints from my 2009 memory card yesterday, thinking they might seem more real like this.
“Is this—”
“Holly,” I finished.
He flipped it over and looked at the back, then a huge grin spread across his face. “Nice. This is really elaborate. And it’s kinda genius how you tie in my science project. Most people know about the theory of relativity part, but actually taking the next step and throwing time travel at me … very creative.”