Rainbow Briefs

by Kira Harp

  ****

  I picked Danielle up at her house at six. We were gonna eat and then catch the movie. I'd washed the car, and even cleaned all the crap out of the backseat. Girls care about that kind of thing. Well, Landon had cared too – he's kind of a picky bastard – but after we split, I'd taken to tossing all sorts of stuff back there, just because I could, maybe. For Danielle, I'd made it all nice again.

  She looked great, in a cream-colored sweater that showed off some of her assets, and a short denim skirt that bared others. Yeah, maybe I should be singing praises to her eyes or something, but the first thing I thought when I saw her was that she was smokin' hot. And I was gonna say so to her, because I'd figured out Landon used to love that kind of thing, when he got me worked up enough that I'd actually tell him that stuff out loud.

  I started with, “Holy sh...crap!” Her mom was only a few feet away, and she followed Danielle out onto the porch. I rephrased to, “You look great.”

  “Thanks.” Danielle gave me a wicked smile that her mom couldn't see.

  Her mom said, “Now you remember you have a midnight curfew.”

  Danielle sighed. “Yes, Mom.”

  “And if you need a ride home or anything, you just call, and I'll always come get you.”

  She said, “Mo–ther...” all drawn out like that.

  But I'd heard the truth in that, where her mom really would come get her, anytime. It made me miss my mom a little, so I said, “Not to worry, Mrs. Davidson. I don't drink or smoke or nothing. Danielle'll be safe with me.”

  Danielle stepped on my foot, and she was wearing these killer heels, so it hurt like hell, but her mom looked pleased. She said, “Your name's Jerrod, right?”

  “Yes, ma'am. Jerrod Lane.”

  “It's good to meet you, Jerrod.” And damn me if there wasn't truth in that too. She told Danielle, “See you later,” and stepped inside and closed the door.

  Danielle said, “Sorry. She gets like that. I had one boyfriend who was kind of a jerk. I'm over it, but Mom still worries.”

  Lie, and truth. Danielle wasn't over that guy as much as she said. I had a sudden urge to smash someone's face in, but since I had no clue who he was, all I could do was not be that guy.

  “So, is Donna's Diner okay to eat?” I asked, as I held the car door for her. She smiled and nodded as she got into my car. I figured she'd like that. Girls like to be taken care of. That was part of what broke me and Landon up, too. I thought I was taking care of him, and he said I was smothering him. We had different ideas about it. I had a moment's uneasiness, thinking about him being out at the Keystone tonight, with just Chris, and a bunch of rednecks somewhere that he'd maybe been giving a hard time. Chris was almost as much of a flamer as Landon, and neither of them was a big or tough guy. But I had to let it go. He didn't want to be taken care of, and so he'd have to figure out his own problems.

  I smiled at the girl who was letting me take care of her. “Did you pick out a movie?”

  Donna's was a nice place for a first date. It had decent food that wasn't too expensive, so you could go Dutch and not break anyone's budget. There was all this memorabilia crap all over the walls too. A bunch of old time pictures, and antique kitchen gadgets, and football pads from, like, the nineteen fifties, and a canoe, and a stuffed possum, and a birdcage with a stuffed crow in it. You could talk for a long time about that stuff - what it was supposed to be and where in the hell Donna found some of it. It broke the ice real well.

  Landon and I hadn't had a real first date. We'd hung out and then gone back to his place, and played his X-box for like three hours, and then... I pulled my attention back to Danielle. It did no good to compare them, and she was well worth paying attention to.

  “So are you sure you wouldn't rather go see Oblivion rather than Jurassic Park 3-D?” she asked when we were done eating. “I'm good with watching Tom Cruise. I know you've seen JP. I wouldn't mind.”

  “I'd rather you watched me than Tom Cruise,” I said, because I could hear that she would mind. “Let's go be eaten by dinosaurs.”

  The movie was better than I expected. I'd seen the original a bunch of times, but the 3-D was pretty cool. The best part was the way Danielle jumped and screamed and hung onto my arm, though. Worth the price of admission just for that. She even hid her face on my shoulder during one of the scary bits, and I put my cheek on her hair and smelled the vanilla scent of her shampoo. I hugged her, and when the bit with the Velociraptors was done, she cuddled up against me for the rest of the movie.

  We came out of the theater into the soft darkness of the evening. I was about to head for the car, when Danielle said, “I need to use the bathroom, actually. Wait here for me?”

  “Sure.” I didn't mind waiting outside. It was a perfect night.

  Danielle stood on tiptoe and pulled my head down. And kissed me. Wow. It was sweet and hot, but different from the first time I kissed Landon. Quieter, less knowing, more kind. I couldn't explain it really. Two lips are two lips. But even blindfolded and wrapped in duct tape to the chin, I'd have been able to tell whose first kiss that was. “Back soon,” she whispered, and headed back inside.

  I watched her go. It was a fine sight, and if she was putting an extra little swing in her hips, knowing I was watching, there was nothing wrong with that. As she disappeared through the door, I realized someone else was watching me. In the shadows over by the wall, the red tip of a cigarette glowed and then dropped to the ground and was crushed out. I turned that way, and just waited. When you weigh over two hundred pounds and play defense on the varsity hockey team, one lone guy is more of a curiosity than a threat.

  When he saw me turn, the guy pushed off the wall and came out under the light of the street lamp. I recognized him. Me and Landon, and this guy Matt and his boyfriend Tommy had hung out together sometimes. I said, “Hey, Matt. Is Tommy around? I thought he hated scary movies.”

  “He does. I told him this was more lame than scary but he still made me come alone.” He gave me a look I couldn't quite decipher. “You're here with Danielle, huh?”

  “Yeah. First date.”

  “Does she know about Landon?”

  “Know what? We broke up a month ago.”

  “Does she know you used to fuck him?”

  It was really none of Matt's business, but I liked him and his tone had this odd intensity, so I said, “She should. Given the way he liked to suck face with me in front of the lockers, I figured the whole school knew.” I added, to throw him a bit, “Anyway, he used to fuck me, mostly.”

  He blinked rapidly and said, “Then what are you doing dating her? Did beg her to save you from being gay?”

  “What? Hell, no. We're just dating. I like her.”

  “So you're going back in the closet?”

  “There is no closet. I've figured out I'm bi.” That was for damned sure now. I'd sprung as many boners for Danielle tonight as I'd sprung for Landon, although I had a feeling I was a bit less likely to get to do anything about it on this first date.

  “That's a cop-out! Bi is just a gay guy who doesn't have the guts to really be gay.”

  “Bullshit. There's a reason there's a B in LGBTQ. And I'm it.”

  Matt shook his head hard. “I don't believe it. Seriously, it just kills me to see you going back to girls. You, of all people. You're like the walking proof that gay doesn't mean all swishy and can't fight and wears pink. You're the most regular guy of regular guys, and when you're out and gay you blow the stereotypes out of the water. Now people will say, 'See? It wasn't really true. It was that flamer Landon that made him gay and now he's seen the light.' Dammit, you can't do this.”

  “So... what? I should only date guys, not girls, because you need a poster child for butch and queer?”

  “You should date guys because girls are a cop-out.”

  “I like girls. They're soft and curvy and smell good. They don't fart and laugh about it, and they let me hold doors and say thank you.”

  “I bet she won't go
down on you tonight.” Matt moved closer and put a hand on my hip. “I bet she won't do what Landon did for you, every night and twice on Sundays.” He moved his hand lower.

  I took his fingers off my crotch. “Landon's out probably blowing three other guys. Danielle's here with me. I like her.”

  “You liked that from me.” He pointed to the tent in my jeans.

  “Well, you'd get a stiffy if I grabbed your crotch too.”

  “Go ahead.” He moved closer, looking up at me. “Show me what you've got.”

  “Go back to Tommy,” I said. “Leave me alone.”

  Danielle came across the sidewalk towards us, and I went over to her. “Ready to go?”

  “Yes.” She smiled at me, and then gave Matt a glance. “Hi, are you going in or coming out? It was awesome.”

  “And how was gay-boy there?” He pointed at me. “Any good?”

  “I'm bi, and I'm also awesome,” I said. “Although Danielle hasn't had the chance to find out just how much yet. G'night, Matt. Say hi to Tommy for me.” I looped my arm around Danielle's shoulders and headed her toward the car.

  “Were you and Matt fighting?”

  “Discussing.” Although that wasn't quite honest. “Arguing maybe. I'm bi, you know that right? I like girls and guys.”

  “Yeah. You were with Landon.” Danielle glanced at me as I opened her door again. “I can't really imagine it but... you were, um, careful, right?”

  “Yeah, we were.” I got in but didn't start the car. “Matt thinks you have to be one or the other, gay or straight. He thinks I'm faking it with you. But I swear I'm not.”

  Danielle fiddled with her purse, then suddenly turned and kissed me. I was surprised, but went along willingly. Happily. Enthusiastically. When we finally separated, Danielle said, “Matt is full of crap.”

  “Yeah, that's what I said.” I sat back in my seat. “Whoo. You're good at that.”

  She dimpled a smile. “Thanks. You're not bad yourself.”

  “So now what?” I turned the key. “Do I drive you home and practice that some more in your driveway? Or go somewhere else? We've got over an hour 'till your curfew.”

  Danielle said tentatively, “Would it be okay... I'd kind of like you to meet someone.”

  “Now? Tonight?'

  “Yeah. She keeps late hours. We don't have to, though.”

  I could tell this was important. “Who is it?”

  “My grandmother. She's, well, she's got these great instincts about people. She told me my first boyfriend was a douche who would cheat on me, and she told me my last one was worse. She made me promise that before I got serious about anyone else I'd bring them by to see her.”

  “And you want to do that tonight?” I wasn't sure whether to be flattered or scared.

  “Yeah, I really do.” Danielle must have heard how odd that sounded, because she said in a rush, “I know this is our first date. I'm not trying to rush things. But I like you, and before I get in any deeper I want to do what Gran said, and let you meet her, and just feel safe about this.”

  “Your last guy really was bad news, wasn't he?” I said slowly.

  “Yeah. He was.”

  “He hurt you? Physically?”

  She shrugged and said, “Not really.” I concentrated my Truth Sense and could hear the lie screaming out of that, but I didn't call her on it. She added, “It's not far, and once Gran has checked you out I'll be a lot more relaxed.” She tried to purr that last word in a sexy way but it was a lot more house-cat than tiger. “You don't have to though.”

  I couldn't see a reason not to let her have her way, if it would please her. “Sure. Why not.”

  Her grandmother lived in a small neat house on a quiet circle, with a big garden full of knick-knacks. It looked like a Grandma kind of place, although when I got close enough I saw that the garden gnomes were actually more like gargoyles, odd-shaped with twisted creepy faces. My curiosity rose a bit. Danielle jumped out before I could come get her door, and I followed her up the walk. She seemed tense, so I said, “Your Gran has an interesting taste in statues. It's cool.”

  “She's a sculptor.” Danielle flashed me a smile and relaxed a bit. I could tell this was important to her, and resolved to be on my best behavior. Old ladies mostly liked me.

  The woman who answered the door wouldn't have come up in my personal dictionary under “grandmother,” any more than her statues would have under “garden gnome”. She was tall and very thin, with a smooth cap of iron grey hair and a narrow face that was almost unlined. She looked like a fashion model for some high-end older-folks catalog. She smiled warmly at Danielle, and then looked over her shoulder at me. Something flashed in her eyes, and I tried to give her my best harmless expression. I'm tall, and sometimes that startles people.

  “Well, Dani, you have picked a big one this time,” she said. “Come on in.”

  She let us into the entry hall and then pointed. “Go sit, and I'll make us some tea.”

  I was going to say I didn't need any tea, but she was already striding off so I just followed Danielle.

  Danielle hesitated in the living room, so I said, “Couch? Chair? Where do you want me?”

  “Couch, I think.” She sat beside me, but not touching. “You have to understand about my Gran. She's... different. A bit old-school.”

  “I'll be good,” I offered.

  Danielle shook her head, but before she could tell me what was wrong with that, her grandmother came back carrying a tray with a teapot and three cups. I jumped up to take it from her, but she gave me a cool look and set it down on the coffee table herself. “Sit, young man. Tell me your name.”

  “Jerrod Lane.” Because sometimes I'm mistaken for being older, I added, “I'm seventeen. Danielle's in a couple of my classes.”

  She nodded, and then reached out to cup my chin in her long, cool fingers. That was a bit unwelcome, but I went with it, and looked back. I'd nothing to be embarrassed about, after all. She nodded once, let go, and then flat-out rocked me by saying, “You're Wanderer. Part, anyway. How many grandparents?”

  “Ma'am?” For a moment I was going to pretend not to know what the hell she was talking about, but then I caught the flash of pure, clear gold in her own eyes. Of their own accord, my knees hit the carpet and my hands locked behind my back. “One, my lady.”

  Danielle looked back and forth between us. She said, “Gran? What are you doing,” in a very small voice.

  Her grandmother broke her gaze from mine. “Don't worry, dear. I'm just finding out you've chosen well indeed. One of Jerrod's grandparents was one of my people.”

  “Really?” Danielle looked at me avidly. “You too? I didn't know there were any others around here.”

  “Neither did I.” Her grandmother's voice was cooler. “All this time we lived here, and I never knew. Oh, don't kneel there, boy. Sit back down for a while and stop alarming my granddaughter.”

  I got back on the couch, my head spinning a bit. There were still a few original Wanderers in our community. My grandfather was one of them. But mostly we were halves now, and quarters like me. And other than on festival days, I could go weeks without seeing another of my people outside my family. And now Danielle... I turned to stare at her, but I couldn't see a trace of the gold in her.

  I wanted to say a bunch of stuff, to ask Danielle what Traits she had, to ask her grandmother if I could tell grandfather about her. But I knew better than to push a full-blood with dumb chatter. I folded my hands in my lap, kept my back straight and eyes down, and waited.

  Slowly, Danielle's Gran reached out and poured tea into each of the cups. She handed one cup to me and another to Danielle. “Drink slowly. Don't talk.” She eyed me steadily over the rim of hers.

  I made myself relax, one muscle at a time. I reminded myself that the intensity in her voice was probably because she was worried about her granddaughter. It wasn't me screwing something up. It wasn't her fault that this felt like one of those “Where is your life going, young man?”
conversations with Grandfather. The ones where my grades weren't quite up to his standard, and I was dating the wrong boy. I touched the rim of the cup to my lip, smelling something herbal in the steam, and glanced at Danielle's Gran again.

  She nodded firmly at my cup. “Drink your tea.”

  So I did. It was interesting stuff, a bit minty and thin, but with a bite at the end of each mouthful. As I got to the bottom, the leaves were grit on my tongue. Danielle screwed up her nose at the first taste, but finished hers without complaint and put the cup back on its saucer. I set mine beside hers.

  Gran touched Danielle's cup with her long, graceful fingers, and then traced the rim of mine. Then she said, “Come here. Kneel now.” She pointed at the rug by her feet.

  Danielle said, “Gran? Seriously?” She looked at me with a flush of pink on her cheekbones. “She's not usually this, um,...”

  “Don't worry,” I told Danielle. I slid off the couch and knelt where Gran had pointed. “I'm familiar with the drill.”

  Gran's lip twitched, and she told Danielle, “This boy's one of us. I don't have to hide what I'm doing.” She pinched my chin and tipped my face up again, and this time I kept still, knowing she was Reading me in some way. Her eyes held mine, and I could almost feel the echo of her gaze in my bones. Time slowed to a syrupy flow, the passing of breath after breath, as a lady who I could break in two with my hands, held me captive with her eyes, and three fingers. Eventually she said to Danielle, “Don't worry. This boy's not the type to ever lay a hand on you to give you pain.”

  “He won't hurt me?”

  “Did I say that? There's hurt and hurt. He might break your heart, but he'll never mean to. You're as safe with him as you can be with anyone.” She let go of me, and gestured me back to the couch. When I sat down, Danielle gave me a little smile, and brushed my knee with her hand.

  Jesus God, that sent unexpected heat through me. Which I did my damnedest to ignore, because here I was sitting not just in front of her grandmother, but in front of a Wanderer herself. The last thing I wanted was to spring a boner right then. I shifted in my seat, and thought of ice cubes and the cat puking in my shoe, and kept it under control.

  Gran gave me a look that held a touch of humor, and added, “By the way, boy, I don't know if you'll ever become a family with my granddaughter, and raise quarter-blood children.” And crap, that was embarrassing! I could feel how red my face must be, because there I was, first date, and her Gran was telling this girl I was thinking about forever and kids. I hadn't been. Not that way. Just randomly, thinking that Danielle was great and she was Wanderer, and really, how much more perfect could it be? I hadn't minded being gay with Landon, except for the idea of giving up having kids of my own. I'd had dreams about being a dad someday. But I had no idea Gran would pick up on all that when she read me. It was way, way too soon and I didn't want to scare Danielle away.

  I said, “Danielle, I wasn't really planning our wedding or nothing...”

  Gran laughed. “I'm teasing him, Dani. And don't worry, Jarrod. I won't tell her what else you were thinking.”

  “Just stick my head in a bucket, “ I muttered, putting my hands over my face.

  Danielle said, “Gran!” and her exasperated tone told me she was all easy and familiar with her full-blood grandmother to an impressive degree. I would not have used that tone with Grandfather.

  Gran actually ruffled my hair. People didn't do that much, since I hit my full size, but she did. “You're a good boy and Danielle's safe with you. Which means I'll sleep easier. What's your Trait, dear?”

  “Truth Reading. And a hint of Sensing.”

  Danielle said, “Sensing is when you know stuff without being told, right?”

  “Yeah. For me, I can tell when someone in my family is in trouble. It's come in handy a couple of times.” I smiled, to lighten the mood. “Like the time my little sister climbed a tree and got stuck up there. 'Course, I was ten at the time, on a sleepover at a friend's house across town. I knew you were s'posed to call the fire department to rescue cats out of trees, so that's what I did. Next thing Mom knew, she had a hook and ladder in the front yard.”

  Gran said, “I'm sure she was grateful your sister was all right.”

  “She'd rather I'd just called her, but yeah, I guess.” Mika's panic had made me scared and stupid, but Mom hadn't been mad at me. “So Danielle, what's your Trait?”

  Danielle blushed and looked at the floor. Gran said, “She's a Fire-starter. Kept us all hopping when she was a baby.”

  “Um. That's exciting.” I wasn't that fond of fire, but it wasn't likely to come up a lot. At her age, her control would be good.

  “So, he's a Truth Reader, Danielle-love. That's a little trickier, in a relationship.” Gran looked at me. “Have you had other girlfriends? How did that go, knowing when they were lying to you?”

  I took a breath. “I had a boyfriend, ma'am. For over a year, so I guess it went okay. We split up, but not because I knew about him telling lies.” Landon hadn't really bothered to lie to me. He thought so highly of himself, he didn't feel the need to hide the shit he did. He'd figured I'd either go along, or it'd be my loss, I guess. It had felt like a bad loss for a while, but it didn't hurt so much now.

  Danielle shifted uncomfortably when I mentioned Landon, but I wasn't going to hide who I was. Especially not from someone who could probably spot a lie as well as I could. Gran made a little sound, but she seemed more thoughtful than disgusted or surprised. “Well, I guess that's for you and Dani to figure out now.” She stood and I held out my hand. We shook, and Gran held onto me for an instant longer than I expected. A few expressions chased each other through her eyes, but I couldn't tell what they were. After a moment she let go, and gave me an odd look, intense and steady. “Remember, it's okay to be a hero, but watch out for the bystanders.”

  “Huh?”

  She just smiled. “I'm heading to bed. Jerrod, tell your parents to come by sometime. I'd like to meet them. I've been alone a long time.”

  “Yes, ma'am. I'll tell my dad. And Grandfather.”

  “Now get going. If I know my daughter Lori, she's hovering by the window waiting for Danielle to get home.”

  I glanced at my watch. We still had half an hour, but it was probably better not to cut it too fine. “Yes, ma'am.”

  Danielle stood, and stretched on tiptoe to kiss her grandmother's cheek. “Thanks, Gran.”

  “I'm glad you brought him by.” A sudden, predatory look came into the old lady's eyes. “I'd pay money to be around the first time the two of you meet up with Bill. If he so much as looks at you wrong again, Jerrod will take that little bloodsucker apart. And you will let him, won't you?”

  Danielle blushed and looked down unhappily. I made a note of the name. Bill. For some reason, Danielle's grandmother hadn't dealt with this guy herself. Maybe Danielle had asked her not to. But she was right. I would be way more than happy to handle the creep, if he showed up.

  The streets were getting quieter as midnight approached. I drove on auto pilot, with a lot of stuff going through my mind. After a while, I had to pay more attention as the traffic picked up, and I only realized why when Danielle said, “This isn't the way to my house.”

  I stared, suddenly seeing that I'd brought us most of the way downtown. “Shit. Sorry.” I was going to blame it on being distracted, when I realized it was nothing of the sort. “Shit!” That was far more heart-felt. Because when I paid attention, I could feel Landon's panic, beating in on me. And I guess although I'd broken up with him, somehow he'd stayed like family. Because I could tell he was in a load of trouble. I pulled over in front of an all-night convenience store, even though my foot wanted to stomp on the gas and go.

  “Danielle, listen.” It occurred to me, I could tell her exactly what was going on. No fumbling or hiding it. Wow, that was really nice. “You know about the Sensing. So, right now, I can Sense that Landon's really scared.”

  “Landon? Your ex-boyfriend?”

 
; “Yes.” I saw her bite her lip hard, and hurried to add, “And he is ex. I swear. But I still know he's about to get his ass beat on. So...” What was my duty here? “I can get you home on time and let it happen. Painful for him, but for all I know, he deserves it and it's not likely to be fatal. Or I can let you get out here with money for a cab. You'd make it home on time that way too. Or you can come with me, while I go rescue Landon.”

  Danielle glanced at me briefly, and then said, “Drive, you big moron.” Her laugh was a bit hesitant, but she added, “He's too pretty to let someone break him.”

  “Thanks.” I hit the speed limit and busted through it, taking a back road for a better approach. The Keystone was five minutes away.

  As we got close, I became sure that Landon was out back. That made things easier than going into a busy bar. Especially with Danielle, because it was a gay bar, and while the bouncer might look the other way on fake ID for young guys, he wasn't going to let a seventeen-year-old girl in. I pulled around to the laundromat on the corner, parked and glanced at Danielle. “You should be pretty safe here, if you keep the car closed and don't get out for anything, okay? I'll be right back.”

  “I'm coming with you.” She got out, and I had no choice but to do the same. My sense of urgency was beating at my brain. I grabbed her hand, and ran down the alley behind the lot. It was only half a block to the Keystone. And sure enough, there were four guys standing in back there, in two pairs. One pair was Landon and Chris, the other pair were bigger, older, and holding a couple of pieces of scrap rebar from the half-demolished building across the way. The bigger of the two smacked the steel bar slowly against the side of his boot in a slow, ominous rhythm that I could see but not hear over the pounding music from the bar.

  I panted up to them, acting a lot more flustered than I felt. “Hey guys, Chris, whassup?”

  They all turned to Danielle and me, and Landon straightened from his protective hunch. The bigger of the goons said, “Nothing for you and your girl to worry about. You can just head out, right?” He smacked his boot again, lightly.

  I reached out fast and grabbed that rebar out of his hand, before he guessed what was coming, and threw it off into the darkness. “You could hurt someone with that thing,” I said. “That would be a bad idea.”

  His partner in crime stared at me. I wanted to confuse stuff, keep them off balance. Didn't want to fight, especially with Danielle there. So I kind of pushed Danielle at Chris and stepped in front of Landon. “Seriously, guys, bad idea. Why not call it a night?”

  “Huh?” The smaller guy peered at me. “What the fuck do you care?” He poked at me with the end of his rebar, like a bored kid in a zoo teasing a lion, so I took that one away too and tossed it. I felt much better, and I kind of liked the squawk he made when I ripped the rough metal through his grip.

  “Me and my friends are calling it a night, too,” I said. “C'mon Chris, I'll give you guys a ride.”

  “Are you hanging out with these faggots?” the other guy asked. “What does your girl think of that?” He sneered at Danielle. “Didn't know the man-mountain likes fags, did you?”

  Over her saying, “Oh, I knew that,” I said, “You know, you might watch your mouth.”

  “Huh?”

  “Some of us don't like to be called fags.” I wanted to put myself clearly on the side of the gay guys. I leaned toward Landon a bit, but I saw the sparkle in his eyes. He was enjoying having me come to his rescue a bit too much, now that he was safe. So I turned and kissed Chris instead. Just a peck on the lips, to make a point, and because Chris was no idiot and Danielle was right there, he didn't take liberties like Landon might have. I turned back to the men. “Any comments?”

  If they'd had their weapons, that might have been a risky move. But with bare hands, well, the taller one was still five inches shorter than me. And I had the momentum going. They snarled a bit but eventually moved off down the alleyway. I blew out a breath.

  Landon said, “Wow. You're hot when you get really protective.”

  “You haven't seen me really protective. I'm told that's gonna happen when I meet up with some guy named Bill. Anyway, you said you didn't want to be smothered by me.”

  “I'm rethinking that.”

  I gave him a hard look. “I'm not.” I glanced at Chris. “You guys got transportation?”

  “Yes. I drove. Jerrod, thanks for showing up.”

  “No problem.”

  Landon frowned at me. “How did you know to show up anyway? Are you following me?”

  “You wish.” I curled my lip and half-lied. “Someone wondered if I wanted to see my ex get beat down. I decided I wasn't that mad at you.” If he assumed I got the info on my cell phone, that wasn't my problem.

  “Oh.” He seemed downcast. Maybe he'd wanted me to follow him.

  “So, we're gonna head out,” I said, looping my arm around Danielle. “Keep an eye open, but I think those guys were just looking for trouble in general, not you in particular. Unless you've been ragging on them?” Landon dropped his eyes, so maybe he had, but my Sense was quiet now, like the danger was over. “Drive careful and Chris, next time maybe one of you could have the sense not to hang out in a dark alley behind a bar? Especially with this guy?”

  “Fuck you,” Landon said.

  “Never again,” I told him.

  He hesitated, then added defensively, “It's never been a problem making out back here before. Usually no one comes by.”

  “Well, they did tonight. You might want to warn the other guys, when you go back in.”

  “We'll do that,” Chris said, grabbing Landon's arm. “See you in school.”

  I waited until they'd let themselves safely back through the service entrance and sighed. God, Landon and his quest for adventure was gonna get him killed one day. Hopefully I wouldn't be around for that. I glanced at Danielle. “Sorry. We're gonna be late getting you home. Will your mom be really mad?”

  “Not if I call her right now,” Danielle said. She slid her arm around me too, and it felt warm and perfect, in the cool dark night. “And I'll tell her I'm bringing home a guy with Traits, just like us. She'll be thrilled. She hasn't had contact with other Wanderers since she married Dad and she and Gran moved here with him. I'll tell her Gran likes you. It'll be fine.” She fumbled for her phone with her free hand.

  “Tell her I'm real sorry,” I said. “Tell her my own grandfather will tan my hide for not keeping my word to a lady.”

  Danielle faltered. “Will he?”

  “Nah. He might make me clean out her garage for her though.”

  Danielle giggled. “I'll tell her that.”

  When she was done chatting with her mom she put the phone away. We reached the car and got in. As I started it, she said, “Those guys were pretty scary.”

  “I guess. I could handle them.” I glanced at her. “And I will handle Bill, anytime you say so.”

  She shook her head. “Let it go. It's over.”

  “Well, if he comes around you and you change your mind, I'll be there.” A thought occurred to me. “A Fire Starter should be able to take care of things too, in a pinch.”

  She turned away. “I wish. I can't... I'm crappy at it. I had a couple of mistakes as a kid, and I guess I scared myself, and now, well, it takes me ten minutes to get focused enough to do anything. Plus I can't use it to hurt someone. I just can't.”

  I patted her knee. “Well, that's not a bad thing, right? Means you'll never start a fire by accident, just 'cause you're mad or something.”

  “I guess.”

  “It's not a super useful Trait anymore. But hey, I love camping. You and me could go up to the hills this summer, maybe. And if you wanted to start a campfire or two for me, that would be cool.”

  Danielle laughed, soft and warm. “I never thought I'd date a guy I could say this to, but yeah, it might be fun to set things on fire for you.”

  I reached over to squeeze her knee. And then, daring a lot that I wouldn't have if I'd never dated
a guy, I took her hand and put it on my crotch. “You already set things on fire for me.”

  For a second I worried I'd gone too far. Landon would have loved that, but maybe it was too raunchy for a girl. Then Danielle laughed again, and patted me with her small, hot hand. “Save that thought for our next date. I'm late for curfew.”

  I drove through the darkness, squirming a bit and trying hard to concentrate on the road, because she kept her hand right there. My breath was a little fast, but my heart felt happy. I could see that dating a girl, this girl, might be just a whole different version of a very good thing.

  ####

  Making Connections

  ~Picture prompt: Two teen boys stand locked in a tight hug. The shorter boy has his face pressed tightly to the other guy's neck and his arms hang limply. His whole body slumps. The taller guy has wrapped his arms tightly around the boy's shoulders, and just holds him close. Behind them, a hundred candle flames flicker in the dim evening air.