by Judy Corry
The lady gestured to a chair for me to sit in. It had the perfect view of the shop I was watching, so I thanked her and sat down. She then asked me to place my hand on the kiosk, so I did, not thinking anything of it.
Before I knew it, the lady was holding my fingers and running some sort of sandpapery stick along my fingernails. I yanked my hand away. “What are you doing?”
“Buffing your nails.” She peered more closely at my fingers. “You bite your nails, no?”
“Sometimes . . .”
She shook her head and made a tsking sound. “Here, I show you what to do.”
“O-okay,” I said, not wanting to insult her. I was the one who’d been dumb enough to look like I was interested in beauty supplies in the first place.
The lady resumed buffing my fingernails. My knee bounced as I glanced toward Emma. She and Kathryn were at the checkout counter. If I didn’t get away from this lady soon, they’d catch me getting my nails done and wonder what kind of guy I was. I mean, I hadn’t made many friends since moving to Maplebridge, and I hadn’t gone out on a date with any of the high school girls besides the date with Rachel. If they caught me they’d never let me live it down.
The kiosk lady was sweeping clear nail polish on my fingernails.
I nearly fell off my chair.
I looked around again, and to my horror, Kathryn and Emma were now out of the shop and a few feet away from me. It was too late to make a run for it, so I pulled my hood over my head and ducked down.
“Is that Arie?” Emma asked Kathryn as they walked past me.
I turned my head slightly in her direction to see whether she was looking at me.
She was.
I smiled weakly at them as they walked off giggling. Crap! I needed to get away from this lady before anyone else saw me.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
EMMA
AFTER OUR AFTERNOON REHEARSAL, Kathryn and I hurried back to our hotel room to freshen up before the evening’s activities. Even if tonight was more about researching Arie and who he really might be, I still wanted to look my best. I wore a dark-purple blouse and white jeans with my favorite glittery heels. They weren’t the most sensible shoes for walking around downtown Salt Lake, but they looked awesome. Also, since Arie was so tall I felt I could get away with wearing them. Those seemed like good enough reasons to wear the shoes in my book. Fashion over function.
There was a knock on our door. Kathryn went to answer it. It was Conner.
“Hey, Conner,” I called from around the corner as I inspected myself once more in the large mirror.
“Hey,” he said as Kathryn grabbed her jacket.
“What are your big plans for tonight?” I asked him. A section of my hair refused to curl the right way, so I worked with it until it finally obeyed.
“We’re going to dinner and hoping to find a movie that ends before that dumb nine-o’clock curfew Mrs. Jolley set.”
I laughed. “Good luck with that.”
“How about you? Looks like you’re all dressed up for something special.”
I gazed at my reflection again and straightened my shirt where it rested over my hips, hoping it wasn’t too much. I wanted to look good, but not like I was trying too hard. I didn’t want Arie thinking I’d assumed this was a date, though I kinda hoped it might be. “Um, nothing special. Just hanging out with Arie.”
“Oh, so you’re the girl he’s going out with tonight.” He smiled like he knew something I didn’t.
“What do you mean by that?” I turned away from the mirror to face him.
“It’s just that we’re staying in the same room, and I’ve never seen a guy take so long on his hair.”
What? Warmth radiated through me. Had he done that for me?
Kathryn stood next to Conner. “Ready to go?” She looked excited to get on with their evening.
“Yep.” He gave her a once-over and smiled. “You look great, by the way.”
“Thanks.” She blushed. Turning to me, she said, “Bye, Emma. Have fun tonight.”
“Thanks, you too.”
I walked down to the hotel lobby at six thirty to meet Arie. He was already waiting, looking out the window at the busy street with his hands in his pockets. His hair was no longer smashed to the side of his head as it had been this morning. I couldn’t tell whether he’d taken forever on it, like Conner suggested, but it looked good. He wore a gray jacket that accentuated his broad shoulders and muscular physique.
He turned toward me when he heard my heels clicking on the tile floor. A smile crept up on his face. “Look at you!”
Maybe I had overdone it with the heels. I tried not to blush. Then I remembered what Conner had said. “Nice hair.”
He shrugged. “Thanks. Thought I’d try and look more presentable than I did this morning.”
“But isn’t bedhead the latest fashion?”
“Oh, it is. I just don’t think the people of Salt Lake know it yet. I didn’t want someone to see me and try to steal my look.”
“I bet.” I reached out and lifted his hand to study his fingernails. “I love what you’ve done with your nails, by the way.”
He pulled his hand away, and hid his nails in a fist. “It’s not what you think.”
“I’m sure.”
Maybe the text I received Tuesday night was referencing the fact that he secretly liked to keep in touch with his feminine side. I didn’t have a problem with a guy who had good hygiene, but if he got manicures more often than me, it might be a little overboard.
“No really,” he said, still trying to convince me. “Let’s just say I was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
After grabbing a quick bite to eat at a sandwich shop, we walked around the town, trying to find something to do that we couldn’t do back home. The street was busy tonight with cars and trains hurrying on to their destinations as darkness crept over the city. I wasn’t used to so much noise and felt more jumpy than usual. When we passed a group of shady-looking guys, I was thankful Arie was as well built as he was. Walking next to him made me feel much safer.
“How do you feel about ice-skating?” I asked when I spotted an ice-skating rink across the street.
“It sounds fun. Back in the day I was dang good at ice hockey.”
“Really?” I tilted my head to the side. “I’ve never been skating before, and I’ll probably be horrible. But I’d love to try.”
“You deprived girl! We have to go.” He tugged on my arm and pulled me in the direction of the rink.
Arie paid for me when we got in, which I tried not to read too much into. We rented our skates and put them on. I made my way onto the ice, holding onto the wall for balance. Arie, on the other hand, glided on the ice like a pro.
The rink wasn’t too crowded—just a few families and a handful of people our age. I watched in awe as a girl who looked about nine or ten years old zoomed past me before jumping and spinning in the air. I definitely felt out of my element as my legs wobbled on the slippery ice.
Not wanting to be shown up completely, I tried to move forward a little and lifted my hand off the padded wall for a second, only to immediately grab it again for support. Maybe this wasn’t such a brilliant idea after all. I didn’t want to look like a fool in front of Arie and fall flat on my face. How did the ice-skaters on TV make it look so easy?
Arie skated over to me, skidding to a stop at my side. “You know, most people like to skate when they come here, not stand against the wall.”
“I know. I’m getting used to the feel of these things.” I gestured at my feet.
He looked thoughtful, and then he offered me his hands. “Come on. Let me help you.”
“Okay.” I tentatively placed my hands in his and let him guide me away from the safety of the wall. His palms were warm and calloused, and just this little touch caused an electric current to rush through me.
Arie continued to drift backward for a while, pulling me along the edge of the rink. I didn’t dare move my feet, for
fear I’d crash, so I stood there with my hands outstretched and my butt sticking out for balance. Yeah, super attractive.
“See, it’s not so bad, is it?”
“Sure. Just don’t let go,” I said.
“Don’t worry, I won’t.” He squeezed my hands. “You’re doing well, it just takes a while to get used to the ice. We’ll move like this for a bit, but then we’re going to try something more difficult.”
“I think this is pretty good. No need to change what we’re doing,” I hurried to say. Being towed around the rink seemed much safer.
“You can’t improve if you don’t push yourself.” He looked at me gently. We finished the first loop around the rink. The ten-year-old girl went whipping by again. “I’m going to let go of one hand and move to your side.” Arie released my right hand and did as he’d said. I wobbled and squeezed his hand tighter for support. He chuckled. “Don’t worry, I have you.”
“I can’t believe I always thought skating would be so much easier,” I said, daring to push off with my feet to move faster. “They always make it look so effortless on TV. I can’t imagine doing what the pairs skaters do. How in the world does a guy keep his balance on the ice as he lifts a girl over his head?”
“Lots and lots of practice.” Arie started to move faster, bringing me along with him.
“Did you play hockey a lot when you were younger?”
“I was on a hockey team for a couple of years when I was ten and eleven. It was fun, but when I discovered how much I liked basketball, I focused on that during the winter instead.”
“You didn’t get all violent like the pro hockey players do, did you?”
“No, not too violent anyway.” He looked sideways at me and smiled. “I only got thrown in the penalty box a few times.”
I was so caught up in the conversation—and a little distracted by Arie’s smile—that I didn’t realized how fast we were moving. I tried to slow down by using my toe pick—and immediately lost my balance. I yanked my hand away from Arie’s to brace myself on the ice as I fell. Right before I hit the ground, Arie wrapped his arms around my waist, lifting me on my feet again.
“Uh, thanks,” I breathed, caught off guard and somewhat overwhelmed by his sudden closeness.
“No problem.” He let go of me, looking as surprised as I was to be standing so close. “That ice isn’t the softest place to land.”
After my almost crash, I eventually let go of Arie’s hand and was able to skate around on my own. I even tried to do a few slow turns. Ice-skating wasn’t all that different from in-line skating, after all. I wasn’t about to try a triple Lutz or anything like that, but I felt competent for it being my first time.
“Do you think Kathryn and Conner are back from their date yet?” Arie asked as we came to stand in front of the door to my room after we’d made it back to the hotel. “Conner seemed pretty excited about it earlier.”
I leaned against the wall and tilted my head back to see his face better. “Kathryn was looking forward to it, too. I imagine they’re already back, unless . . .” I stopped myself before saying my thoughts out loud.
“Unless what?” Arie asked, leaning his shoulder against the wall.
“Umm . . .” I blinked, having a hard time keeping my thoughts from scrambling. Standing so close to Arie, with his attention focused solely on me, was overwhelming.
“You weren’t about to say, ‘Unless they found a couple of sticks on their way back and decided to pretend to be wizards,’ were you?”
I giggled, though I knew he was teasing me. “Umm, no that’s not what I was thinking, but I can see how that might be a possibility.” I fiddled with the charm on my necklace.
“Then how about this? ‘Unless they fell into the sewers and got caught in a fight with a few giant rats.’”
I laughed again. “Nope, not that, either.”
“Then tell me, because I’m stumped.”
He wasn’t going to give it up. I blushed as I told him what I almost said before. “I was going to say, ‘Unless they found some secluded place to make out or something.’” I looked down, unable to meet his eyes.
“Oh,” he said in a knowing voice. “Now why would you think that?”
“Because that’s what people like to do when they’re dating.”
“If only we had a reason to find a secluded place, too.” He winked.
My mouth went dry, and my stomach jumped to my throat. “W-what do you mean by that?”
He leaned closer. “I think you know.”
Did he just glance at my lips? A thrill went through me, but I tried to push it away, knowing he had to be messing around.
“Well, I have this rule.” I pushed his chest gently, and slid out from where he was leaning toward me. “You see, I don’t kiss boys outside hotel rooms.”
“We can go inside if you’d prefer.” He smiled mischievously, eyeing the door.
Yeah, he was totally playing with me, probably loving the way he was making me squirm.
“You know that’s not what I meant.” I arched my eyebrow, because that’s what someone who was completely calm and collected would do at that moment. Fake it till you make it.
Arie laughed. “Too bad.”
I was about to call his bluff when something flashed across his face, as though he remembered something suddenly.
“I better let you get some sleep.” He straightened and stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Thanks for hanging out with me tonight. It was fun.”
“I had a great time as well.” I pulled my room key out of my back pocket and unlocked the door. “See you tomorrow.”
He left for his room down the hall. I watched him for a moment, only then realizing I was trembling. What had just happened? And why did I feel sad I hadn’t taken him up on his offer?
Friday was so jam-packed with choir practices and other group activities I didn’t get another chance to be alone with Arie to find out whether he’d been simply flirting with me outside my hotel room or had been serious.
That night, I received a late-night text from Maya about Emmy, a girl from our school, who was almost kidnapped at the football game that evening. Maya had no details to give me since she’d heard about it secondhand, but that hadn’t kept Kathryn and me from staying up all night talking about how crazy it was for something like that to happen in Maplebridge.
The next day when we talked to Arie about it, he seemed really concerned. He asked me whether I knew Emmy well, what she looked like, and other random things—which apparently helped him make sense of why someone would want to kidnap her. Who knows, maybe kidnappers were looking for tall brunettes. When I tried to make a joke about me being next on the kidnapping gang’s hit list based on those characteristics, he didn’t find it very funny.
The performance went well on Saturday. It was a long concert—what with the band, orchestra, and choir all performing—but it was wonderful. The most talented young musicians from all over Utah were together, and the outcome was remarkable. It was also a great honor to perform in the Conference Center. Many famous operas, choirs, and orchestras from around the world had performed there.
By the time the concert was over Saturday night, I could barely keep my eyes open in the bus. I tried to find a comfortable position, but I was sitting with Arie again and I didn’t want to invade his space—especially because I wasn’t sure what was going on between us, not after the flirting outside my hotel room. I hoped there were some real feelings developing between us, but I didn’t want to scare him off if he was on the fence. So to be safe, I ended up hunching forward, resting my elbows on my knees, my chin on my hands, my head against the seat in front of me. Not the most comfortable position, but it’d have to do.
Arie was next to the window, so he was able to lean against the side of the bus to rest.
“You look comfortable,” he said after a minute, his tone playful. He was looking at me with half-shut eyes, but there was a smirk on his lips.
“I’m tired enough tha
t I’m sure I’ll be asleep in a little while, no matter what position I’m in.”
“Maybe,” he said.
After a minute, I shifted around again. I moved my hands to my neck, so my jaw rested on the side of my hands. I tried slouching down in my seat, but since I was still in my choir dress, it was hard to breathe that way. I sat up again, and eyed the floor, but it was filthy and I didn’t want to ruin my dress.
I peeked at Arie to see whether he was sleeping yet.
He wasn’t. He was looking at me with a crooked grin. Had he been watching me that whole time?
“Come on, Emma, just lean against me.” He reached over and tugged on my arm. “I may not be soft, but I’m sure we’ll both sleep better than with you fidgeting around like that.”
“Okay . . .” My heart raced as I scooted closer to him. Was he serious about this?
He tugged on my arm again, so I moved to lean against him. Right before my head touched his chest, I stopped. “What if my makeup gets on your shirt?” I didn’t usually wear a ton of makeup, but when I performed with the choir, I always added extra so I wouldn’t look washed out on stage. Once after a concert last year, I’d forgotten about it and accidentally gotten some on Nick’s favorite shirt as we cuddled. He’d been furious, even though I’d apologized and offered to wash it myself. I would hate to do the same thing to Arie’s nice white tuxedo shirt.
“It will wash off,” he said. “I’m really not worried about it.”
My anxiety lessened somewhat. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
I leaned my head the rest of the way down.
He was right about not being soft. His torso was all hard, lean muscle, but it was much more comfortable than the positions I had tried earlier . . . and much more enjoyable.
He rested his arms around me, pulling me in closer. “Is that better?” he asked, speaking into my hair.
I smiled and nodded, breathing in his cologne. He smelled amazing. “Much better.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
ARIE
“HEY, ARIE.” Jason looked up from his newspaper as I dragged myself into the kitchen Sunday morning. He was sitting at the table, eating breakfast before he and Sophie would relieve Bruce from the late-night shift of watching Emma’s house.