by Tawny Stokes
“Oh man, are you okay?”
I reached around her and touched her head. Her hat came off, and I had my hand in the soft silky fall of her hair. This close I could see the tiny freckles sprinkled across the bridge of her nose, and just above her top lip. I wondered what she’d do if I tried to kiss one of those freckles.
“Are you okay now?”
“I don’t know,” she said quietly. “I think he did that on purpose.”
I could’ve moved, I probably should have, but I didn’t want to. She had this light flowery smell about her. It was probably her soap, and she likely didn’t realize I could smell it. She wasn’t the type of girl who drowned herself in perfume. She probably didn’t even think about it, especially as she was only going out for a jog. She just had this scent that belonged to her. I bet if I pressed my nose to the swell of her neck just below her ear, she would smell like jasmine and violets and every pretty flower I loved in nature.
I moved my hand down from the back of her head to the side of her face. I cupped her cheek, running my thumb over her chin, then up to the plump swell of her pink bottom lip. Her lips parted slightly, and I could hear her heart thumping hard against her breastbone. She sighed just a little, but it was a sweet sound, and made my body ache.
“Cai?” Her voice was breathy and low, the vibration of it caressing my face.
“Yes?” I realized I was just as winded, my heart beating as fast and as hard. And I hadn’t even touched the rest of her yet. Just her beautiful face.
“Are you finally going to kiss me?”
“Yes. I’ve been wanting to for months now.”
“Me, too,” she murmured breathlessly, which made my gut clench in anticipation.
I was shaking as I leaned into her, parting my lips and pressing them gently against hers. Her sudden gasp made me bolder, and I moved my mouth over hers, touching, tasting, teasing. I wanted to take more from her, but I didn’t want to scare her with the ferocity of my desire. Then I was pulling back, my eyes opening, and staring into her raw, dovelike gaze.
I leaned in to kiss her again, when Ozzy bumped into the back of my legs, sending me forward. Dani and I bumped heads, and it broke the spell weaving around us.
She rubbed at her forehead and started to laugh.
I did, too. “Thanks, Ozzy.” I turned to give the big goofball a rough rub on his head. He chuffed again, and this time it sounded like laughter.
Which made Dani laugh harder. “He did that on purpose.”
“He certainly did. He’s a jealous baby sometimes.”
But Ozzy wasn’t listening, and he bounded away from us to jump onto Loki, who had been dozing nearby on his favorite sunning rock. While the two cats started a wrestling match, I glanced sheepishly at Dani. She licked her lips, then her gaze dropped to the ground, but there was a shy smile on her face.
“I’ll walk you back to the dorms.”
She nodded shyly. “That would be nice.”
“Just let me put these feeding buckets away.” I grabbed one, but before I could get the other, Dani picked it up.
“I’ll help.”
We walked over to the main caretaker’s center that was attached to the enclosure and went inside. Frank was sitting at his desk with his feet up, looking at something on his computer screen, but I suspected he witnessed the whole event. He tried not to look smug when we put the empty buckets on the counter to be washed.
“This is Dani,” I said to Frank as way of an introduction.
He nodded to her. “Pleased to meet you, Dani.”
“You too, Mr. Coppersmith.”
“You call me Frank. Everyone does.”
She smiled.
“Okay, we’re out of here. The boys are all fed and groomed.”
“Yup, saw that.” He gave me a nod.
“See you later.”
Dani and I left the caretaker’s center and got on the path back to the main school campus. We walked side by side in silence. It wasn’t necessarily an uncomfortable one, maybe just a little tense. But the good kind. The anticipatory kind. The one that asked, How soon can we share another exceptional kiss?
“Are you looking forward to winter break?” I asked, even though the one question I should’ve been asking myself was, how pissed is Marvel going to be? Here was another question: Did I care? No, not really.
She nodded. “Yeah. I miss my dad. And my cat.”
I smiled. “I knew you had a cat. What’s its name?”
“Gypsy. She’s a seal point Siamese.” She took out her phone and thumbed through her pictures until she showed me one of a pretty cat sitting on a scratching pole. “Do you have a pet?”
I laughed. “Yeah, his name is Ozzy.”
“No, I mean at home.” She chuckled.
“This is home.”
She stopped walking and gaped at me. “Hold on. You’re telling me you live here at the school?” She grabbed my arm.
“You know I told you Frank adopted me? Well, this is where we live all the time. For the first few years, we traveled around, basically until Frank got the gig here to train people how to properly work with animal artists.”
Now she really did gape, like a fish out of water, gulping in air. “I’m sorry. What?! That’s insane!”
This was why I didn’t warm up to too many people, why I kept to myself, and kept my life private. I didn’t really like this reaction. It made me seem like some type of freak, and I had spent a better part of my childhood believing that about myself. It took Frank a couple of years to make me realize I wasn’t a freak at all, just different from everyone else. Except for Leander.
My disappointment must’ve registered on my face. “I’m sorry, Cai, I didn’t mean to say that. It’s just…wow, that’s kind of incredible and amazing.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I guess it is.”
She laughed. “It’s astounding. Makes you all the more…I don’t know…”
“Weird, creepy, ‘special’?” I said with air quotes.
“I was going to say unique and extraordinary.”
“Now you’re just flattering me.”
She punched me lightly on the shoulder. “Maybe.”
“I kinda like it.” I grabbed her hand. “I kinda like you.”
“I kinda like you, too.”
“I usually don’t share personal stuff. The only people who know about my life are Frank, of course, the dean, and Leander. And that’s pretty much it.”
“Not even Maggie.” Off my silence, she said, “I heard that you dated for a while. Although I have no idea what you would have seen in her.”
“No, not even her. And we’ve been done since before school, just so you know.”
“Okay. I believe you.”
“Good.”
A cool wind blew over us, and Dani shivered. “It’s getting cold. It’s probably going to snow soon.”
I looked up into the gray sky. “Not yet. But you’re right, it’ll be soon.” I yanked her to me and threw my arm around her shoulders. “Do you want to get some hot chocolate from the caf?”
“Is that even a question?” A huge grin spread across her flushed face. “Race you.” And she was off like a shot.
I went running after her. Not caring if she won or not. I just liked the chase. It was the apex predator in me.
Chapter Nineteen
Dani
The wire wobbled a little as I gripped it tight and pressed into a handstand. It probably wasn’t the wire that was wriggling but my arms. All eyes were on me, and I could feel the pressure all around. It pushed into my head and chest, nearly crushing my lungs. But I breathed through it. I had to, if I was going to pull this off. I couldn’t fail. Not now. Not when Miss Gisele had told me how well I was doing, and how impressed she was with me. The spot in the show I felt was mine to lose. And by God, I wasn’t going to lose it, not for anything.
I held my handstand, my arms quivering, and then spread my legs down into a straddle split.
“Well done, Dan
i,” Miss Gisele said from nearby. “Magnifique.”
I smiled despite the fact that I should’ve been concentrating on keeping the pose seamless and steady.
But that wasn’t the only thing I heard nearby. I could hear Maggie whispering. “She’s so awkward-looking. She even looks fat from this angle.”
I tried to keep steady, but my right arm was quivering too much. I had to get out of the pose before I fell. After bringing my legs back together, I lowered my right leg to the wire, then slowly unfolded myself and pushed off into a stand. But I made the mistake of glancing down at the others and saw Maggie’s petty, scowling mug, and my legs gave out. I slipped off the wire and landed on the spongy mat, which was thankfully only five feet below.
Miss Gisele offered a hand to lift me out. “You did well. Just work on your concentration. You mustn’t let anything distract you.”
“Thanks.”
She waved at the small line of girls waiting to take their turn. “All right. Next.”
I walked past Maggie, to get back in line. I was going to do it again and again until it was perfect. She sniffed as I went by and said under her breath, “Nice fall.”
I clenched my hands at my sides when what I really wanted to do was to stop and tell off Maggie in all kinds of ways. But I knew Miss Gisele wouldn’t look kindly at that, and she was who I needed to impress and not Maggie, who I suspected had amped up her bullying because she’d seen Cai and me together outside of class.
Since our day in the tiger enclosure, we’d gone for a couple of morning jogs around campus together and eaten two lunches in our private spot near the stream. Unfortunately there hadn’t been any more kissing, as that kiss we shared in the tiger enclosure was A-MAZING, but I was hopeful that that would change this evening, as it was our first official date. We were going into town, granted with some other people, to see a movie. But we were driving on our own. He was borrowing a truck from Frank.
I was so excited and scared and freaked out about it, the least of my worries had anything to do with some mean girl with a severe jealous streak. Despite the fact that she scared me a little, I wasn’t going to let that dampen the evening with Cai. It was just too monumental on my teenage bucket list. Okay, it had top spot. Who was I kidding?
1. Go out with hot guy
2. Wear a G-string bikini on the beach
3. Perfect the art of eyebrows
4. Eat an entire pizza by myself while glomming Gilmore Girls
Maggie was the next one up on the wire. She was definitely my biggest competition, and she knew it. She started across the rope confidently, her chin up, looking polished and regal, then she bent over, placing her hands on the wire and pressing easily into a handstand. Unfortunately I couldn’t see any wobble in her arms or in the rope.
She held the handstand longer than I had, then easily went into a straddle. She came back up, then did right splits then the left. Damn it! She was completely on point right now. I watched Miss Gisele’s face, and it bloomed as Maggie worked.
“Wonderful, Maggie,” she said. “Flawless.”
Maggie came out of the pose and walked across the rest of the wire to the landing post. She climbed down the little ladder. Miss Gisele grabbed her arm and smiled. “Lovely. Well done.”
“Thank you, Miss Gisele.”
Maggie glanced at me and blew me a kiss.
Oh, I had to fight the urge to flash her the middle finger. Instead, I blew her a kiss back, and her smile faltered a little. Good. Maybe I was more threatening to her than I thought. Or it was just wishful thinking. Wouldn’t have been the first time.
The next three girls walked the wire, but they didn’t do as well as Maggie or I had. Two of the girls fell trying to push into their handstands, and the other girl couldn’t get into the handstand, she basically just floundered her legs. At the end of class, Miss Gisele had us gather together.
“Well done, everyone. You all have been working very hard over the past month. I have been pushing you, and you have been rising to the task. Bravo.” She clapped, and we all joined in with her. “Next week I want to see a routine on the wire from each of you. Something you have choreographed yourself. It needs to be fun, whimsical, and no more than five minutes. The committee will be here to watch you.” She looked at each of us and smiled. “I look forward to seeing what you all come up with. I encourage you to schedule time on the wire. The sign-up is on the wall near the exit.” She gestured to the door, and we all rushed over there to get the best spots.
Maggie managed to get there first—I was surprised she didn’t trip anyone in the attempt. I was third in line. After we all picked out times, the class was over. I snagged two great times, both at night, which I loved. I was not a morning person, so I had the most energy and creativity in the late afternoon and evening. I scrambled for every advantage I could muster, as I was going to need it to beat Maggie. I couldn’t lose this. Not only would the scholarship be amazing, since my dad had struggled to get me here in the first place, the show would be the pinnacle piece for my resume. It would catapult me into an industry that was nearly impossible to be successful in.
After school, I went to my dorm room to chill before getting ready to go out. Anna was there waiting for me, all beaming smiles and fluttering hands. She’d been like that since I told her about my kiss with Cai in the tiger enclosure. She couldn’t stop grinning at me, or buzzing around like a bee on pheromones. She was completely in love with Cai and me being a couple.
The second I walked into the room, she pounced on me. “What are you going to wear? Do you want me to do your makeup? What if he wants to, you know, touch your boobs? Are you ready for that? Because it’s totally okay if you aren’t, and he better be all right with that decision.”
“Anna.” I grabbed her hands. “Breathe. It’s going to be fine.”
“I’m sorry, I’m just so excited for you.”
I knew she was, but I also knew it was a little forced because she was disappointed that Leander hadn’t asked her out or made a play for her, despite all the flirting they did. It actually made me a bit angry when he behaved that way, especially since I knew how much Anna liked him. I was sure he liked her, too, but for some reason he didn’t have the guts to do anything about it. And I really hoped beyond hope it wasn’t because he was worried what others would say if he did.
It wasn’t that Anna wasn’t popular, she was. It was impossible for her not to be, since she was so friendly and funny and nice to everyone. It was just she wasn’t one of the IT girls, like Maggie, Nia, Shelby, and a few others. I suspected that if it hadn’t been for her roommate…that would be me…she might’ve made IT girl status.
I pulled her onto my bed with me. “Okay, let’s address those questions one at a time.”
“All right. Go.”
“Clothes. I’m thinking simple jeans, my blue blouse—”
“The one with the billowy sleeves?”
I nodded.
“Okay, good. Continue.”
“Yes, you can do my makeup.” She clapped happily. “And I am totally okay with Cai touching my boobs.”
She squealed and kicked her legs and nearly fell off my bed. When she recovered, she grabbed my hand. “Okay, but please don’t have sex. Not yet. ’Kay? Promise me.”
I smiled at her. “I promise.”
“Good. You’re too young.” She hugged me, and I patted her back. I loved having Anna as a friend. She was the most honest, caring person I’d ever met. And I was blessed to have her as a roommate and in my life.
At six o’clock I was standing outside Dorm C waiting for Cai. My hair was out of its normal ponytail, and it flowed around my face. Anna had sprayed her special oil on it to give it a healthy sheen. She had done her makeup magic on me, and I felt pretty and primped and poised. When Cai showed up a few minutes later, I knew all the work had been worth it.
He gave me a once-over from head to toe, and grinned. “You look amazing.”
“Thanks. Anna did it.”
“Well, remind me to thank Anna later.” He offered his hand and led me to where Frank’s old beat-up truck sat in the staff parking lot. He opened the door for me, and I jumped in. Some girls might have been appalled at riding in such an outdated and run-down vehicle, but I loved it. I also could tell that Cai had cleaned it out and even added a vanilla scented air freshener. It was the cutest thing ever.
Once he was behind the wheel, he looked at me all serious-like. “Okay, now comes the big test. How do you feel about this?” He turned on the stereo, and Johnny’s Cash’s deep booming voice rumbled out of the speakers.
I laughed. “I love Johnny Cash. My mom listened to him all the time.”
“Excellent. Now we can go on our date.” He put the truck in gear and drove out of the school grounds, and my heart revved right along with it.
“What would’ve happened if I didn’t like Johnny Cash?”
“Nothing. I would’ve put something else on.” He smiled. “Like Rihanna.”
“Rihanna?”
“Yeah, what’s wrong with Rihanna?”
“Nothing.” I laughed. “I just wouldn’t have pegged you for a fan.” But I sure as heck could picture him dancing to her rhythms. I’d seen his body move. The thought made me very warm inside.
“What kind of music do you like?”
“Katy Perry, Adele, Miley Cyrus,” I lowered my voice and mumbled, “some Justin Beiber.”
“Okay, I may need to turn around.”
“What?” I laughed. “Why?”
“Miley Cyrus is one thing. I can let that go. But Beiber?”
“He has a couple decent songs.”
“Maybe.” Then Cai burst into a boisterous rendition of “Despercito” complete with dance moves. Hearing Spanish spoken with his Russian accent sent me into a fit of giggles. My heart swelled so big in my chest, it was overwhelming.
When Cai was done singing, he gifted me with a huge grin that lit him up like a golden sunrise. “What’s your favorite movie?” he asked. “And don’t you dare say The Notebook.”
“No, it’s Moulin Rouge actually.”