by KB Benson
“Well, should we get started?”
“That would be great. Thanks for helping me, Jace.”
We spend the next hour or so going over Iris’ presentation. To be honest, it rocks. She doesn’t need any help at all. She gives me her presentation and it’s flawless. She understands our myth like she’s known it all her life. A few times she asks me questions, but we both know she already knows the answers. Regardless, I give her the best advice I can and she takes it; but she definitely doesn’t need it.
“Well, you are definitely going to rock your presentation, Iris. There’s no way Mr. Demonas can’t give you full credit even with it being late.”
“Thanks.” Her gaze drifts to her hands nestled in her lap. “I guess practice really does make perfect.”
“For sure.”
We’re silent for a moment before Iris’ attention is sidetracked. “Do you play the guitar?”
I glance over my shoulder at what’s caught her attention; and sure enough, my guitar sits in the corner behind the couch. “Yeah, I do. Do you play?”
Iris shakes her head. “No, but I love music.”
I reach behind the couch and pull it over. “I could teach you, if you wanted.”
“Yeah? I’ve always wanted to know how to play one.”
“Well, not to brag or anything, but I’ve been told I’m a master of the guitar.”
Iris laughs. “Oh really? I think I might have to hear for myself.”
“Do you play any other instrument or sing or anything?”
Iris nods slightly. “I sing.”
My eyes widen as a plan formulates in my head. I can play the guitar, but I’m not much of a singer. Maybe Iris and I could do a talent together for the talent show.
“Seriously? That’s cool. Can I hear?”
The blood rushes to Iris’ face, tinting her skin with a little extra glow. She looks into her lap and shakes her head. “You should play for me.”
“Well, I’ve got to have a good voice to go along with any of my songs.” I start to pluck away at one of my favorite songs—Little Talks by Monsters and Men.
Iris’ gaze locks onto mine. I start slowly, playing the chords one at a time. Iris’ attention doesn’t waver. The notes weave together and I play a little faster until the chords form the melody. Within minutes, the full song spreads out before us. I sing along because you have to sing to Monsters and Men, and it doesn’t look like Iris is going to jump in. By the time I reach the second verse, Iris closes her eyes, her body swaying to the music. Within a few more measures I’m lost in the music, too. Since moving here, I haven’t had the chance to just sit and play. All too soon, the song is over and the notes fade into the walls.
“That was beautiful,” Iris whispers.
“Thanks. I’m actually going to perform at the school talent show, if I could just figure out a song to play.”
“Why don’t you play the one you just did? It was amazing.”
“You think so? It’s just overdone. I mean, I want to write my own song, express myself when I play rather than memorizing notes.”
“Well, that’s definitely more talented than what most people at the school do.”
“Oh, yeah? What lame acts have people done in the past?” I smirk.
Iris’ dark eyes stare into mine, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips. “They aren’t lame, just ‘overdone’.”
“Alright, alright. Touché.”
Iris’ gaze flits to the clock. It’s a quarter after nine. “I better get going. It’s getting late.”
“Oh, yeah, sure. Did you drive?”
Iris shakes her head. “No car, besides I prefer to walk.”
“Really? Well, can I walk you home then? It’s not safe to be out on the streets in the dark without a bodyguard, you know?”
Smiling, Iris shakes her head again. “And you’d be my fearless bodyguard, would you?”
“Well, they say I’m the strongest looking guy around these parts.”
A laugh escapes Iris, filling the room like a thousand tiny bells. I take a deep breath to calm myself.
“How could I say no to that?”
I shrug. “You can’t.”
I grab Iris’ jacket and wrap it around her shoulders. Opening the door, she steps onto the porch; and I follow, my hand brushing her mid-back.
“So which way?” By the end of tonight, I’m going to solve the mystery of where Iris lives.
She scans my street a few times as though she’s nervous someone we’ll see us. “This way.” she nods down the street toward the center of the city.
“Are you hiding from someone?” I ask, a teasing lift to my voice.
“Just making sure no one’s following us. Not very many people know where I live; I kind of pride myself on that fact.” Iris peeks over her shoulder and winks.
I laugh. “Well, I’ll help keep a look out for you then.”
Iris leads us onto a cobblestone road, and we walk in silence for a few moments.
“Hey, Iris. Since you’re really into music, do you think you could help me out a bit with this jam I’m in? Like let me bounce ideas off you and stuff for the soon-to-be masterpiece I’m going to create?”
Iris smiles. “Only if it really is going to be a masterpiece. I wouldn’t want my name associated with anything less than perfect.”
“Oh, believe me, it will be—especially with your help.”
“Of course. After tonight, I owe you.”
“That’s right you do. You know, I could really use a female voice, too.”
Iris laughs. “You don’t even know what song you’re going to play yet. How do you know what type of voice you’ll need?”
“It’ll be fun. I can teach you the guitar while we practice,” I say ignoring her point.
“We’ll see,” she says pushing my shoulder.
The lights lining the streets of the city are dim but keep it bright enough for us to find our way. We weave in and out of streets, Iris occasionally stopping and turning down an alley or sneaking through a gated yard. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think she was trying to get us lost. We walk for about forty minutes when she stops abruptly and faces me head on.
“Whoa.” I try to stop my momentum but stumble on my own feet, almost falling down.
“Sorry,” she says.
“What’s up?”
“This is it.” She shrugs her shoulders, referring to no specific building.
“Ahhh… which one?” I ask.
Iris looks behind her, down the street. “Umm, this one.” She points across the small street. “Yep, this is my home.” She meanders across the yard and up the steps, resting her hand on the cherry wood door. I follow her.
“Well, thanks again for being willing to help me with my music,” I say, casually plugging our deal back into the conversation.
“Of course. And thanks for helping me prepare for the presentation.”
“No problem.” We stand there for a moment, neither of us saying anything. “Well, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
She nods and just watches me. I take a step down from the porch to show her I’m going to walk away. She keeps watching, her dark eyes bearing into mine.
“Are you going to go inside? I want to wait to make sure you get in safely.”
“Oh.” She glances at the door. “No, I think I’m going to stay out here for a little bit. It’s such a nice evening, I hate to waste it. You better get home, though; prep your brain for creating a masterpiece of music tomorrow.”
I narrow my eyes at her; she’s up to something. “Alright,” I hesitate, “I’ll see you tomorrow. Have a good night.”
“Night, Jace.”
I walk backward off her porch and down the driveway, waving to her at the end. She waves back happily, in no hurry to get inside. I slow my pace on her street, hoping she’ll get bored and go in. Glancing over my shoulder again, Iris sits in the same position and just watches me. I face forward and force myself to wait until I reach the end
of the street before checking on her for the third time. When I turn around, the porch is empty. I scan the front yard just to make sure Iris is safe and inside and let out a breath.
“Wow.”
Chapter 13
JACE
Over the next week, Iris and I get together almost every night to work on my song. She really is a huge inspiration. She never actually sings for me, but her ideas are genius. By the end of the week, I have a full-on love song I’m going to ‘win the hearts of Santa Cruz High School’ with—at least that’s how Iris describes it.
I can’t help it either; the more I hang out with Iris, the more I realize how deep I’m falling.
“So, what’s the plan tonight?” Iris tucks her feet underneath her as she sits next to me on the couch.
“Well,” I hesitate, choosing my words carefully, “I was thinking we could work on the piece for a little bit, then we could go grab a bite to eat at the Pizzeria or something.” I shrug like it’s no big deal, like I haven’t been thinking about how to ask her out all week.
She smiles, and my pulse quickens. “Are you asking me on a date, Jace?”
My gaze flits everywhere around the room except at her. “I guess I am.”
“I would love to.”
An uncontrollable smile spreads across my face. Lifting my guitar onto my lap, renewed energy surges through me. Iris just said yes.
As I tune the guitar strings, my mind flips through the past few days: Iris sitting on my bed, laughing at my lame jokes; her hand lingering for a second longer than anyone would consider just friendly; her dark hair framing her pale face like a...
“You ready for this?” My own words cut off my train of thought. “I added in a new verse for you.” Blood rushes to my face with my confession. Truth is, I’ve been working on this verse since the first night we hung out. Each time I sing this song, I imagine it’s to her.
“For me?” Iris’ face lights up.
I nod and take a deep breath. “Here we go.”
The notes dance through the room as I play the intro. Before I open my mouth to sing, a thundering crash echoes in the kitchen like an explosion. I toss my guitar to the side and race to see what happened.
“Are you kidding me?” I hear my stepdad yell before I even step into the doorway. I peek around the corner. My mom stands in front of the sink surrounded by shattered glass, holding a receipt to her nose.
“Was that necessary?” She calmly gestures to the glass on the floor. “Look how much money is in our account, Peter. I really don’t think we can afford…”
“It’s always “can’t” with you, isn’t it? I work all day for this family. I work overtime every week for this family. I think it’s fair for me to splurge just once in a while without you biting my head off.”
Mom looks at Peter with hurt eyes. “You know that’s not what I do.”
Peter pinches the top of his nose and takes a deep breath. “Well it sure feels like it sometimes.”
I step into the kitchen, pretending I’d seen nothing. “Hey, guys. I was just coming to get a cup of—whoa. What happened?”
“Oh, silly me.” My mom bends down with a dish cloth to brush up the glass. “I just dropped a plate. I’ll have it cleaned up in no time.”
Peter paces toward the pantry.
“Let me get it, Mom.” I crouch next to her and take the cloth from her hand. “Why don’t you go take a break? You’ve been running around all day and could probably use one.”
Peter eyes me from behind, hopefully learning something about how I expect him to treat my mom. Mom shakes her head, her short curls bobbing. “Are you sure, sweetie?”
Relief fills her eyes. The relief to escape.
“Definitely.”
“You are an angel.” My mom touches her lips to my cheek before brushing past Peter and heading upstairs.
I shake the cloth out in the trash bin before grabbing the broom from the closet to sweep up the glass.
“Jace.” Peter steps forward. I glare at him, waiting; but he’s at a loss for words.
“Just treat her better than that.” I know he’s already sorry. The tired lines surrounding his eyes aren’t easy to miss.
He nods. “I’m going to go talk with her.”
“That’s a good idea.”
“Thanks for cleaning this up, Son.”
I nod. I don’t call Peter ‘Dad’, but that hasn’t stopped him from calling me ‘Son’. He doesn’t have any kids of his own, so we’re all he’s got.
After I finish sweeping, I give the floor a once over with the mop. As I pull the handle back and forth, Iris pops her head into the kitchen.
“Is everything okay?” Her brows pull up in worry.
“Oh, yeah, it’s fine. Sorry for leaving you out there all alone.”
“Don’t even worry about it. I can entertain myself.” She gives me a teasing smile and holds up a baby photo she’d grabbed from a shelf in the front room.
“Oh, geez.”
“You were such a cute little baby. Look at your little toes,” she coos.
Iris stares at the photo, letting her fingers lightly trace my toes. She’s far more interested in it than I would’ve thought any girl would be about a baby photo.
“I can’t believe how little they are! I’ve never seen anything so small,” she gushes.
“Well, they’re smaller because they’re in a photo.”
“Ha. Ha.”
Propping the mop back up in the closet, I grab Iris’ hand without waiting for her consent. “Let’s get out of here. I have somewhere I want to show you.”
We head back to the front room. Slinging my guitar over my shoulder, I shut the front door behind us.
“This way.” Without releasing Iris’ hand, I lead her to the place I often go when my parents have a blow up. Unfortunately, I’ve seen a lot worse between the two of them.
Once we’re out of earshot of my house, I face Iris. Her palm presses against mine, but she doesn’t pull away. Heat burns in my chest.
“Sorry again about that,” I say. “Peter just—he just has a hard time compartmentalizing his stresses at work and home. I think my mom knows that, too…”
“Don’t worry, Jace.” Iris squeezes my hand. Subtle. Almost imperceptible. “Everyone fights, my parents fought. There’s not much you can do to fix it; they have to figure out on their own.”
“So, you don’t think my family is a totally messed up bunch of crazy?”
“Please, they had one little fight. Besides,” she pauses for a minute, “it’s you I like, not them.”
Heat floods my cheeks. Did I just imagine that? Did Iris just admit she likes me? A smile creeps across my lips. “What did you say?”
“They only had one little fight; that’s not bad,” she says, avoiding the question she knows I’m really asking.
“No, no,” I try again, “the last part.”
“Oh,” she smiles. “It’s you I like, not your parents.”
This time my smile spreads from ear to ear. “For real?”
She nods, smiling—her eyes lighting up like never before.
“I really like you, too.”
For a moment, my mind goes blank. All I can think about is Iris’ hand locked in mind, her eyes staring at me, her words that just changed my life. A subtle chill creeps across my bare arms as the sun lowers.
“Here,” I say, finding my voice, “let’s keep going before it gets dark.” I reposition my hand, our fingers interlacing with each other. Her hand is cool and smooth against my callused skin. I casually stroke the back of her hand with my thumb as we walk.
It only takes about fifteen minutes to reach Derby Park.
“This is one of my favorite places to come when I just need to get away from it all.” I spread my arms wide in introduction.
“It’s beautiful,” Iris says.
“Really?” I ask. “They’re planning on building over a chunk of it soon. This is probably one of the most antique skate parks in the st
ate, but that’s why I like it. It’s never crowded so it’s the perfect place to get away to.”
“That’s what makes it beautiful. It’s your place, your little slice of heaven. And it’s beautiful.”
I nod, looking at the rundown skate park through Iris’ eyes. “Here, let’s sit down and I’ll play you the final song?”
“Yeah.” Iris smiles. I take her over to one of the many grassy patches in the skate park. I start at the beginning, the music freely spilling out of the guitar and changing the scenery around us. I don’t even see the skate park anymore, only Iris sitting in front of me with her eyes glowing in excitement. Halfway through the song I reach the new verse, her verse:
“I see you standing there, your heart so unaware.
Your beauty is in everything you do: your heart, your eyes, your you.
So stand there tall, your beauty living in your all.
Your life, your light, your mere design has captured my heart for all time,
And one day I know—I’ll make you mine.”
When I dare look up, Iris’ cheeks flush and she tries to hold back her smile. I continue into the chorus and finish out the song.
“What do you think?” I ask.
“It’s amazing, Jace. See, you don’t need me to help you; you’re pro on your own.”
“Whatever, I came up with that because you helped me. You inspire me.”
She smiles again and looks down into her lap. “Well, I think every girl at Santa Cruz High School is going to be swept away when you sing that song to them.” We both laugh, falling into silence, our hands tangled together again. I stare at her hands. Her smooth skin is perfect—not a freckle, not a scar, only perfection. She tips her head toward mine; her breath on my skin intoxicating. I lean in and close the minute gap.
My lips gently touch Iris’ cheek as she turns her head away from me, a small smile matching her blushed cheeks.
“Sorry,” I whisper. Did I misread everything? I pull back to give Iris space, but she doesn’t let go of my hand.
“How about that pizza you promised me?” Iris asks.
“Let’s go.”
The Pizzeria is pretty much an arcade with a whole lot of food. We eat pizza and play arcade games all night and, of course, add a few games of laser tag.