Introductions, Page 8

I teetered on the edge of the counter, my arms flailing. I only had a split second to move and I was ready to twist my body so I landed on my hands and knees rather than my back.

  Hands grabbed me by the hips, stopping me, then picked me up into the air and put me down on the floor. I staggered at the suddenness, but arms went around me to hold me steady.

  I blinked rapidly. The sun was now coming in through the revealed window. It beamed into my eyes. His face was in shadow, but I could see he had dark hair. The light left him in a halo glow. He was tall, not as tall as Silas, but almost. He had wide shoulders. I could see a gold circle earring in his left lobe.

  “Are you hurt?” he asked. The tone was still sharp, bold, and deep.

  I shook my head rapidly. I was too paralyzed by fear to feel if anything did hurt.

  He started to let go of me and moved until we were both standing beside each other, the sun light shining over our faces. His eyes were dark, his brows thick, and his jaw broad. His skin was tan. His face had coarse hair from a day or two of not shaving.

  Whatever I had thought about Silas being the person I wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley at night, this person was exactly that, only he could scare me in broad daylight.

  “Who are you?” he asked. His booming voice radiated the same power as his intense brown eyes on me.

  “I’m...” My voice box squeaked. “I’m Sang.”

  His face softened but it looked like he wasn’t sure if he wanted to believe me yet. “How did you get in here?”

  “Luke let me in.”

  His lips pursed. Was he mad at me? Maybe I should have gone with Luke for the breaker box.

  The overhead lights above us turned on. They were dim, but revealed the large expanse of black and white tile on the floor. Most of the tiles were cracked and there were a few missing completely. There was a collection of old mops and brooms covered in cobwebs in the corner. The yellow Formica counter tops went around the entire room, leaving a large space in the middle. There was a normal-sized fridge sitting open and empty, a single stove, and a double sided sink in the middle. There was plenty of counter space, but I knew no one could run a diner with just one fridge and one oven.

  I turned back to the guy, who was looking me over. His eyes went from my hips up to my eyes again. “Sorry I scared you. I’m North.” He was wearing black jeans and boots with a plain black t-shirt. There was a cord around his neck, dangling from it was something in Japanese that I didn’t understand.

  “Luke’s brother?” I didn’t mean to sound like I hadn’t heard of him, only he didn’t look anything like his brother.

  “We’re step brothers,” he said. “We’re still family.”

  I nodded. “No, I get it. I just...” I felt like I was fumbling. His eyes were so intense, it made my knees shake. “He told me about the diner. I think it’ll be great.”

  “My brother has unrealistic ideas,” he said, turning around and walking toward the stove. He bent over, opening the door to it and checked the inside.

  I stepped up behind him, looking in from behind his shoulder. The oven had a layer of ashes at the bottom. “It could be fixed up,” I said.

  “It’ll take a lot of work.”

  “But once it’s done...”

  He let go of the oven door and it closed with a bang. I leapt back, holding a hand to my chest.

  He turned to look at me. “It might not work. Most restaurants fail within a year.”

  I wasn’t sure how to respond. His face was so serious. His eyes held mine. Did he want me to agree with him? To say that there was no hope?

  “A good one can stay open for a long time,” I said softly, my fingers lightly touching the base of my neck. “I suppose it depends on how good the food is.”

  He blinked at me. “My uncle’s the best.”

  “Then what are you worried about? People will taste how good it is and they’ll love it. I mean, if you work hard and put your heart into it, who wouldn’t love it?”

  His head tilted back sharply and he squished his lips together.

  “Hey! You found her,” Luke’s voice drifted in behind me. I turned to see him coming in, the smile still on his face. How different he was from his brother amazed me. “What happened to the curtain?”

  “She broke it,” North said.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to.”

  North blinked at me again, looking perplexed as to how to accept my apology. “It’s no big deal,” he said in a quieter tone. “Just be more careful next time.”

  “I like it like that,” Luke said. “I wouldn’t want anything blocking the natural light.”

  Having Luke back in the room eased the tension. I felt my heart calming down a little, but I still felt my skin tingling as North continued to shoot glances in my direction.

  The phone in my pocket vibrated to life. I had forgotten all about it. I pulled it from my pocket and looked at it.

  “Who is it?” Luke asked.

  I wondered how much the two of them knew about me and my situation. “It’s Kota. He’s wondering if I can come over.”

  “We should go talk to him,” Luke said to North. “There’s not much else to do here. We’ll have to start with cleaning it up.”

  “We need to take a few walls down,” North said. “We probably should gut the place before we spend too much time sweeping the floor.”

  “Yeah,” Luke said, sounding excited. He pumped a fist in the air. “Let’s break some walls.” He started out of the kitchen.

  North rolled his eyes and followed.

  I poked at the phone to let Kota know North and Luke were with me and we’d be there in a second.

  ♥♥♥

  We found our way out of the building. There was a motorcycle parked near the jungle gym. It looked like the bike had been a custom job. I didn’t see a logo.

  “Is that yours?” I asked North.

  A dark eyebrow lifted. “Uh huh.”

  “Take her for a ride,” Luke said. “I’ll walk.”

  “What?” I blushed. “You mean, you’d let me?”

  North looked uncomfortable. His hand lifted to the back of his neck, rubbing. “If you want...”

  I smiled, nodding. I’d never been on a motorcycle before.

  The corner of North’s mouth went up a little. It was so slight but it softened his scary face. Just a twinge. When he did it, he was actually really handsome.

  Luke smoothed a lock of blond hair from his face and shoved it behind his ear. “I’ll turn the lights out and lock up.” He turned back to the church, disappearing behind the door.

  North headed toward his bike. I followed behind him. He stopped short and turned to me. “You’ll have to hang on to me,” he said.

  “Is that bad?” I asked, not understanding.

  His lips twisted and he shook his head. “I was just warning you.”

  “Why?”

  Again he seemed confused by my response. I felt like an idiot. I had no idea how to talk to people. He said nothing, but moved to the bike and then got on it, kicking back the stand and balancing the bike between his legs. “Come on,” he said, holding his hand out.

  He instructed me on how to get on the bike. I dropped my hand into his. Compared to my hand, his was massive, but also warm and, in a way, I felt safe that it was him driving. I slid onto the seat behind him. It felt awkward because I was wearing the skirt, but the material became tight against my butt as I sat, and it wasn’t going to fan out.

  “Wrap your arms around my waist.”

  I blushed, but felt with my hands around his stomach. My palms pressed up to his abdomen. I could feel his smooth, strong body through the material of his t-shirt. When I leaned in to press my stomach and chest to his back, I could smell a light, musk scent. It tingled my nose when I inhaled, warming me. My stomach flipped and my nerves jumped. Touching was difficult.

  “Hang on,” he said, and he started the bike, the engine roaring to life.

  The vibration ra
ttled right to my bones. My fingers dug a little into his stomach, but I tried not to claw him with my fingernails. He felt so big in front of me. My face pressed below his shoulder blades.

  He turned the bike in the lot. I hung on with my legs and he took off.

  Unable to see around him, I could only see to the left or right as we passed by the homes. The strands of hair near my ears flew out behind me.

  When he neared the bend in the road, my grip on his stomach slipped as he angled his body. I wasn’t prepared for it.

  He moved one hand away from the handle of the bike, grabbing my hand. He pulled it in front of him until he had my palm pressed to his chest. He kept his hand covering mine for a second and then let go to make the turn into Kota’s driveway.

  My heart was pounding as he shut off the bike and it leaned as he stepped to hold it up.

  “Swing your leg around to get off.”

  I did, probably revealing way too much leg from my skirt to do so. I used his arm to hang on to until I was standing, and then let go.

  He got off the bike, putting the stand into place. He turned to me. “You okay?”

  “My legs are tingly.”

  He smirked. The sight of his lips like that made my heart stop. “Mine, too.”

  ♥♥♥

  I sat on Kota’s bed with my ankles crossed, the only place I thought I could really sit, with the skirt I was wearing. North sat next to me, so close, I could feel the warmth of his side on my arm. He leaned back a little. I couldn’t see as I was too nervous to look, but it felt like his arm had crossed behind me and part of it was very close to nearly supporting my back.

  Kota and Luke sat on the floor. Luke was sitting near my feet, almost on top of my right foot. Luke just finished filling Kota in on what they were planning with the diner.

  Kota seemed particularly interested in this, asking a lot of questions about capital and marketing plans. “It sounds like your uncle has it figured out,” he said, sliding his glasses up his nose. “I suppose you’ll ask the rest of us to fill in shifts.”

  Luke beamed. “So you think it will work?”

  The question surprised me. Were they seeking his approval?

  “You know it means working during the school year. Are you going to keep up with classes?”

  Luke nodded fervently. “No problem.”

  Kota looked at North. “What about you?”

  North shrugged. I felt his arm push gently at my back as he did. “It's the usual.”

  Kota’s mouth dipped in the corner. “I mean it. I don’t care if you think you know more than the teacher. This isn’t like...” Kota glanced at me and then back to North. “Don’t go falling asleep during class, even if you know all the answers.”

  “I’ll keep up,” North said.

  Kota seemed pleased with this. It was as if the whole thing was settled. I admired the way they looked up to Kota and everything, but this was beyond what I had expected. He was giving them instructions. He was a natural leader, even if he wasn’t the biggest or the most aggressive. However, it had me wondering about this group of guys. I just couldn’t put my finger on it.

  “Well,” Kota said. “I’ll call Victor and the others to let them in on it.”

  “Where are they?” I asked.

  “Victor and Gabriel are over at the school. It’s open today for touring. They’re checking it out before registration and the general open house tomorrow. They’ll be bringing us a couple of maps.”

  “It seems like you guys have this down,” I said. “It’s like you’ve done this a lot.”

  “We’ve been in the same grade since forever,” Luke said.

  “Since kindergarten,” North corrected. “You guys have. I got in late.”

  “And Silas,” Luke said. “I think when he moved here, he got held back a grade. Not his fault. It was just the age difference.”

  I moved my ankles, switching them around. The action caused me to lean back a little. My back pressed into North’s arm. I blushed, sitting up more and mouthed the words, “Oh, sorry.”

  “Relax,” he said. “You can lean against me.”

  I wasn’t sure if I should, but the look on his face left my insides quivering. If I didn’t, would it seem like I wasn’t comfortable with him? If I did... well it felt strange to me. I relaxed a little, lightly sitting back, feeling his arm steady behind me. When the conversation turned again to schedules, classes and the school, my mind was whirling, totally focused on North’s arm. Did that mean he liked me? I wondered what Luke thought. Were we friends already?

  At one point, Luke grabbed at his stomach. “Is it breakfast time yet? I’m hungry.”

  “We can make breakfast,” Kota said. “My mom’s gone to work. What do we want? Pancakes?”

  “Do you have chocolate chips?” Luke asked, looking at me with a grin.

  North caught the look. “My god, not you, too.”

  “Huh?” I asked.

  “Luke’s favorite breakfast is chocolate chip pancakes.”

  My eyes went wide and I turned again to Luke. “Really?”

  He grinned, nodding enthusiastically.

  North leaned away from me, falling onto his back on the bed. His hands went up to his face, rubbing, his elbows arching in the air. “You two are terrible. You can’t have chocolate for breakfast.” The edge of his black shirt drifted up slightly on his body, revealing his belly button. There was a line of coarse hair starting from his jeans, making a thin line up to almost where his belly button was. I know I stared for way too long, but I couldn’t help it. The sight made my breath catch.

  Luke jumped up from the floor. “You can have anything for breakfast,” he said. He held out a hand to me. “Let’s go cook.”

  I smiled, reaching out to him. He held my hand as I stood up and then part of the way across the room until we were near the stairs. He let go then, so we weren’t tripping over each other on the stairs. Kota came with us, right on my heels. I spotted North getting up from the bed, looking right at me before I moved down the stairs too low for him to see me anymore.

  I could have sworn I saw a smile.

  ♥♥♥

  Downstairs, I stood with Luke in the kitchen. I wasn’t sure what to do. It wasn’t my kitchen.

  Kota came up behind us and opened up the pantry. He pulled out a container marked as pancake mix. “Sang, there’s butter, milk and eggs in the fridge.”

  I opened the fridge, peering in. It felt so strange to be looking inside, like I was peeking inside their drawers. I found the milk and other things, collecting them in my arms and bringing them to the counter. Luke found the frying pan and a spatula.

  North came downstairs and leaned against the counter with his arms crossed over his chest, observing. “You need protein,” he said. “Make some bacon.”

  “He’s right,” Kota said. “Sang? Can you grab it?”

  I went back to the fridge, checked the drawers, and found the bacon. Luke pulled out another frying pan and flicked on the stove to warm it up.

  I pulled bacon apart, waiting for the pan to heat up. Kota found a fork for me and then moved away to start mixing pancake batter. I got left in charge of bacon.

  “We’ll have to make chocolate chip pancakes part of the diner menu,” Luke said. “Like a special.” He stood next to me, watching as I released bacon into the heated pan and it started to sizzle.

  “We’re not serving chocolate chip pancakes,” North said.

  “Other diners do it,” Luke said. “And Sang likes it.”

  North chuffed.

  “You could serve it with fruit,” I suggested. “Bananas? Strawberries? That would make it healthy.”

  “I think we have to build the place first,” North said, “before we start planning a menu. Besides, Uncle will make whatever he wants. It’ll be his place.”

  “You’re going to work with us, right Sang?” Luke asked, smiling as he lit his burner and slapped butter into the pan so it could melt.

  “Um,” I
started. How could I promise to work when I wasn’t sure when I could get out of the house? I looked behind me at Kota, who caught my glance.

  “We’ll have to see how things work out,” Kota said for me. “I’m sure we can all pitch in when it gets busy.”

  “I’d like to help,” I said, poking at the bacon and then using the fork to flip it over. It was easy to picture working near Luke. He seemed nice. North wasn't so bad, either, I thought. If he cared about Luke, and he clearly did, he wasn't all bad and gruff.

  I was about to flip over the last piece when some of the hot grease popped and it caught the underside of my forearm. I sucked through my teeth, mostly out of surprise and pulled the fork away, shaking my arm a little to bring cool air to my skin.

  “Easy, Sang,” Luke said. “Don’t hurt yourself.”

  I felt a hand on my arm and turned to see North holding me, reaching for the fork. He took it from my grasp. He moved forward, nudging me out of the way, taking over the bacon.

  “It’s okay,” I said. “I can do it.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” North said. “Go help Kota.”

  I blushed, feeling like I got reprimanded. Or maybe not? It wasn’t like that. He took over because he didn’t want me to get popped again. He was concerned about me. North’s face was unreadable, but I was touched.

  Kota stirred the pancake mix. When I stepped up beside him, he smiled. “We just need the chips. They’re in the pantry,” he said to me and nodded to the door at the other end of the kitchen.

  I moved to it, finding the chips bag and pulling it off the shelf. Kota was already pouring the batter in the hot pan.

  I opened the bag of chips, collecting a handful. When Kota moved out of the way, I sprinkled chocolate chips on top of the batter.

  “Yeah,” Luke said. “Get a lot in there.”

  “Don’t go crazy,” North warned.

  Luke shared a conspiratorial grin with me. He leaned in and whispered. “Put extra chocolate chips in his.”

  “I’ll make his a smile face,” I said.

  Luke’s eyes popped open. “Oh! Yeah. Do that.”

  “I can hear you two,” North said. He started plating bacon and putting more into the pan to cook.

  Kota and I stood by while bacon was made and pancakes were flipped. Kota stood so close to me that I felt his warmth from his arm.

  He nudged at me. “How’s the phone working?”

  “Fine.” I pulled the pink phone from my front pocket. “I’ve never...” my voice cracked and I swallowed, patting my throat. “It took getting used to,” I whispered.

  “You should rest your throat,” he said. “You really shouldn’t be talking. Do you need some water?”

  “What’s wrong with her throat?” North asked, his dark eyes fixing on me. “Are you sick?”

  I glanced at Kota. His eyes darkened. “Might as well tell them,” he said. “They would have found out.”

  I sighed. Kota put a hand on my back, rubbing softly as I said it as loud as I was able. “My mother made me drink a glass of lemon juice and vinegar.” It was easier to say than I thought. It was like Kota’s hand on me made me feel brave.

  Luke dropped the spatula into the pancakes. He cursed under his breath and then fished it back out.

  North appeared stunned. “She forced you?”

  I nodded, blushing.

  “And it made your throat...” he started to ask but never finished. He fixed his eyes on the bacon. “Shit.”

  Kota moved away from me and found a glass and grabbed a pitcher of water from the fridge. “Her parents are pretty strict. So that’s why we need to text only. No calling her house directly or showing up unexpectedly.”

  “Why did they make you drink that nasty stuff?” Luke asked softly, plating pancakes. He started spooning more batter into the pan.

  I re-opened the bag of chocolate chips and sprinkled smile faces into all of them. “Silas called me on the house phone.”

  North looked back at me over Luke’s head. “That’s it? You weren’t talking sex or something?”

  I blushed, shaking my head and waving my hand in the air. “No, of course not.” Why would he ask that? Who did he think I was? “He barely said hello.”

  “Is your voice going to be okay?” Luke asked carefully.

  “She’ll be fine,” Kota said, holding the glass of water out for me. “It burned her throat but it should heal fully in a few days.”

  I sipped the water, feeling the coolness relaxing my throat. “It’s not so bad right now,” I said, using a soft voice so it wouldn’t crack and they wouldn’t worry. I should have been uncomfortable. After yesterday when they hadn’t kicked me out, I was feeling a little unreal around them. What reason did they have to be so supportive and nice to me?

  “Is that why she’s here?” North asked. He looked directly at Kota. There were looks exchanged between them that I simply couldn’t get. The silent communication worked with all seven of them. I studied their expressions, trying to catch on.

  “She’s here because she’s welcome,” Kota said bluntly. “She’s my friend.”

  North looked confused. “But she’s...”

  “I like her,” Luke said. He flipped out some more pancakes. “She’s got good taste.”

  I blushed. Were they trying to decide if I should stay or not?

  “I’m not questioning your damn choice,” North said in a louder voice. “I’m asking if it is safe for her to be here if she’s going to get her throat burned out at home. I mean if that happens when someone calls, what happens when they find out she’s here alone with us?”

  “It’s fine,” I said. “My mom hardly ever leaves her room. She thinks I spend all day in my bedroom. If I never went downstairs, I wouldn’t see them for a week or more.” There were times when I went up to my room with apples and crackers and wouldn’t leave just to see what happened. The only person that would ever notice was Marie, and she simply didn’t care.

  North seemed dissatisfied with this. He frowned, twisting his lips as he finished up the bacon. He twisted his neck and I could hear his bones cracking a little as he flexed.

  We set the table and sat down to eat. Luke filled my plate with pancakes and North insisted I drink milk instead of orange juice to spare my throat.

  Seven guys. Seven friends. It still amazed me how they accepted me so quickly into the group. It was like once Kota said he was my friend, the others were on the same level. When you befriended one, you befriended them all.

  After breakfast, I felt my phone buzzing in my pocket.

  Nathan: “Are you awake?”

  I smiled.

  “Who is it?” North asked. He stood next to me as I was leaning against the kitchen counter.

  “It’s Nathan,” I said. “He wants to know if I’m awake.”

  “Tell him to get his ass over here,” North said.

  I typed in the message.

  Nathan: “I’ve got training. I can’t. I wanted to check in. Have fun. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “What training?” I asked North, who was looking over my shoulder at the message. “Is it for the um... Jujitsu?”

  North shrugged. “Probably.” His eyes flicked to Kota, who gave the slightest shake of his head.

  What did that mean? These secret glances were making me nervous. Was there something they didn’t want to tell me? It felt like Nathan was doing something else. He didn’t want to tell me about it? I was tempted to text and ask but couldn’t imagine the right question. I was a friend, but I wasn’t privy to some information yet.

  I needed to keep being nice, I told myself. I was just new to the group. Maybe everyone had secrets like me. It was still disappointing. I was sharing a lot of my own secrets with them. Did they not trust me with theirs?

  ♥♥♥

  Silas showed up, as promised, that afternoon. Victor and Gabriel called to update us that they finished the school tour and they were going home to take care of stuff, so they wouldn’t be around
today. There was no word from Nathan, but they didn’t seem to be concerned. I thought about sending him a text to say hello and to ask how he was doing at training but the guys kept me so busy, I didn’t have a chance.

  I was sitting on the couch downstairs. Luke was on my left. Silas was on my right, his arm behind me against the back of the couch. North and Kota were on the floor in front of us. We were watching the roadrunner and the coyote battling it out. I had taken my sandals off and put them by the door. I felt North’s hand on my foot. He traced the edge of my small toe. At least I think he was. He was stone still otherwise; I wasn’t sure what to do. As it was, Silas’s arm warmed my shoulders. I couldn’t calm myself down enough to focus on cartoons.

  Would I ever feel normal around them and as comfortable as they seemed to be around me?

  It made me nervous having Silas there. He didn’t say anything about me talking so softly, and I tried my best to be quiet and not give him a reason to ask about my voice. Mostly I didn’t want Kota or anyone to tell him what happened. The last thing I wanted was for him to feel bad. If I could save him from that, I would be forever grateful.

  We walked Max together. We played a board game. We talked about school. Before I knew it, the time was slipping by and Kota was telling us his mom would be home soon.

  “Not that you all can’t stay,” he said.

  “Nuh uh,” Luke said, stretching his arms over his head. “Your mom works hard. She deserves to get home and relax. If we’re still here, she’d insist on making us dinner.”

  “That’s not a bad thing,” Silas said. “I like her cooking.”

  “So do I,” Luke replied. “But I’m thinking that she probably doesn’t want four extra people here.”

  Kota tried to suggest that it was okay, but the decision was made by North this time and Kota didn’t push the issue. We all needed to get ready for registration tomorrow anyway.

  North and Luke left first on North’s motorcycle. Luke promised to text me later. Kota and Silas walked with me outside. We stood together, just inside of the garage, looking out at the street.

  “Will we be able to approach you at registration?” Kota asked. “What would your dad think if we were talking?”

  I flicked my eyes at Silas. Did he already know about this part, too? Would he be surprised to hear my mom was so strict? “He’d ask questions. He’s not as bad as my mom, but he’d tell her about it. I think it’ll be fine since we’re in a public place. I mean, I have to go to school. She can’t do anything about that.”

  “You should leave your phone at home,” Kota suggested. “We’ll be there pretty early. We’ll keep someone by the door to watch out for you.”

  My eyes widened and I looked at Silas. He was leaning against the frame of the garage door, his arms folded, looking serious.

  “Why?” I asked. “I mean, not that it isn’t nice of you. But you make it sound like I need to be babysat.”

  Kota smiled. “Have you heard of this school we’re going to?”

  I shook my head. “It’s just a public school, right?”

  Kota pushed his glasses up on his nose, his finger remained on the bridge as he talked. “There’s over two thousand kids that will be attending this year. Over half are from poor neighborhoods. They've got so many kids, they built trailers in the back for additional classroom space. There’s not enough lockers to go around. There’s usually only enough for the seniors.” He frowned. “The hallways have been known to be pretty unsafe. Fighting breaks out a lot. We were planning on sticking by each other throughout the year. With you here now, we’ll have to coordinate carefully. Someone like Silas could handle himself, but I wouldn’t want to leave you alone. At least not between classes.”

  I felt my mouth form an ‘o’ shape. “That’s horrible.” I thought for a moment. “Is that why Gabriel was talking about the private school?”

  Both of their heads jerked around so fast to look at me that it surprised me. I felt my eyebrows going up.

  “What did Gabriel say?” Kota asked.

  I shrugged. “He just mentioned something about a private school he was thinking about maybe attending next year or something like that. He didn’t say the name or anything. I wasn’t sure if he was serious.”

  Kota shot a glance at Silas. Silas’s face was blank.

  “Well he’s definitely going to the public school this year,” Kota said.

  Before I could ask anything else, a car pulled up in the drive. Silas and I walked out of the garage to get out of the way. Kota followed us. Erica pulled her car into the garage. She smiled at us as she got out and waved.

  “Are you two leaving? I could make dinner,” she offered. Her smile was warm but her face did look tired. She wore a nurse’s uniform. Her name tag was still pinned to her chest.

  “We can’t stay,” I said quickly. “We’ve got registration tomorrow. We should get home and be ready for it.”

  “Good kids,” she said. “Come over sometime this weekend. I’ll make cookies. You too, Silas.”

  Silas nodded to her. “I’ll always come over for cookies.”

  We said goodbye to her and Kota. Kota collected a bag for his mom and disappeared inside with her. Silas and I walked together down the driveway. A dark blue Ford sedan was parked along the street in front of the house. We walked over and stood next to it. I was alone with Silas. My heart was pounding again. I stuffed my hands into the front pocket of my hoodie to hide my rattling fingers. We’re friends, I told myself. Friends hang out. I’d been with him all day. Why was I feeling so nervous?

  “I like those clothes on you,” Silas offered. “It looks sporty. It suits you.”

  I smiled at the compliment. “Thank you.” I wanted to say something in return but nothing sounded cool enough. He was wearing another pair of jeans and a baseball t-shirt. “What’s your favorite team?” I managed to get out.

  He looked at me. “For what sport?”

  “Baseball.”

  “Red Sox, mostly. Depends on who’s on the team.”

  “What was up with their pitcher last year? The one from Japan? He played for two games and then they traded him.”

  His broad mouth turned up at the corner. “You were watching?”

  “Not all the time but I catch it every now and again. I’ll watch the World Series,” I said. “My grandfather used to watch every game.”

  “Have you ever been to one? A pro game?” Silas asked.

  I leaned with my back against the car and fumbled with the phone in my pocket. “Nope.”

  He smiled. “We should go sometime. Though I think the closest professional team is in Atlanta. Maybe North Carolina.”

  I felt my lips parting and I was looking at him. Again, I wasn’t sure if he was asking me on a date or as friends, or if he was just talking in general. I cursed to myself for being so out of touch with people that I couldn’t tell the difference.

  “I’d like that,” I said. It was all I could think to say.

  Silas moved to stand in front of me, the toes of his tennis shoes matched up with mine in my sandals. “Sang?”

  I lifted an eyebrow. “Yeah?”

  “You’re not mad at me, are you?”

  My mouth popped open in surprise and I pulled my hand from my pocket to lightly touch the base of my throat. “What for? Why would I be mad at you?”

  He shifted on his feet, looking away. The breeze picked up some of the strands of his black hair, and it drifted into his eyes. “I left you alone at the mall. Those guys... If Kota hadn’t found you... And then your mom and the vinegar.” He huffed and turned away, his hands digging into his pockets. “I’m sorry.”

  “Silas,” I said softly. He knew. Did Kota tell him? They were best friends since forever, I remembered. Someone told him. I should have realized it would happen. They were honest with each other. Reluctantly, I touched his arm. This is what friends do, right? The move was so awkward for me, I wasn’t sure how long I should be doing it. “I’m not mad at you. I’m f
ine. Really. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about the vinegar. I was worried about you.”

  He turned his face back to me. He didn’t seem surprised by my touch, but he was blushing. “You worried about me?”

  I nodded. “After all the trouble I caused at the mall, I was worried you wouldn’t like me. I was happy you called. My mother... I can’t help what she does and it wasn’t your fault. But I’m fine. My voice is fine.”

  A soft shimmer washed over his eyes. “You thought I wouldn’t like you because of that stupid kid?”

  I tried to warm my smile up for him although I was shaking from being nervous. “You were nice to me,” I said. “Next time I go with you to the mall, I’ll stick close by. We shouldn’t have left you two alone. I was worried then, too. I thought maybe you’d gotten hurt. We should have stayed and helped you.”

  He laughed, reaching for my hand that was still touching his arm and gave it a light squeeze. “What would you do in a fight?”

  I smirked and tugged my hand but he held strong to me. I tried to playfully punch at him with my other hand to get him to let go. He snatched up my other wrist. He twisted me until my back was pressed up against his chest. With my arms crossed, I was pinned against him. I felt his breath on the back of my head, and his lips moving against my hair.

  “Would you know what to do?” he asked me, his deep voice dropping an octave. “If I was someone you didn’t know, would you be able to get away?”

  I didn’t want to get away, I thought. I felt the heat of his body pressed up against me. I was barely tall enough to rest my head against his chest. I did squirm. I pretended to want to be released. While it was warm outside, it didn’t matter to me. In my heart, this felt so good, like a warm blanket on a cold day. No, it was much better than a blanket. It left my whole body tingling and feeling alive. My heart was in my ears and thumping loudly. “I’d have to stomp on your feet,” I replied.

  He chuckled. “Try it.”

  “No!”

  “Why not?”

  “I don’t want to hurt you, Silas.”

  His body tensed behind me. I stopped wriggling. We stood together like that for what seemed like an eon in the moment. Slowly he let go of me. I turned to face him. His large brown eyes fixed on mine. His fingers flexed and he reached out toward my face for a moment but stopped short. His arms dropped to his side. He smiled down at me.

  “You’re not like other girls, Sang.”

  I frowned softly. How could he say that about me? Did I do something wrong? “I am a girl, though. I know my family is a little weird but I’m normal enough.” I was lying through my teeth. I didn’t feel normal at all. I just desperately wanted to be like everyone else. I didn’t want parents who were agoraphobic. I was doing my best to be as average as everyone else so I could be accepted. Was I failing?

  “You’re far from normal,” he said quietly.

  My eyes went wide. “You think I’m strange?”

  “Yeah,” he said, blinking at me. “I mean, different.”

  I scoffed.

  “It’s not a bad thing.”

  I shrugged, stuffing my hands into my pocket again. I didn’t know what to say to him. He just called me weird. Weird like my family. Weird was what unwanted people were. Weird stopped me from having friends for such a long time.

  His brows creased and he blew out a perplexed breath of air. “I have to get going.”

  “Okay.” I was still a little hurt but I was sorry to see him go.

  He fished his keys out of his pocket and opened his car door. “I’ll see you tomorrow at registration,” he said. He got in, started his car and drove off.

  I walked home alone.

  ♥♥♥

  That night, the house was fairly quiet. My parents were in bed. Marie’s light was off. No one had noticed I was gone all day. I was grateful for it.

  I took out what I was going to wear for registration the next day, a light blue skirt and a nicer white blouse that buttoned up in the front and had a soft collar. It was thanks to Gabriel’s suggestions and the pictures I sent to him of what was in my closet. He had an opinion about every piece I owned. I had a list, thanks to Kota, of the classes I wanted to take. When there was nothing else to do, I sprawled out on the floor. It was after eleven at night and I still wasn’t sleepy. I crawled to the corner of my room near the window, looking through the apps on the phone just to see what was available for free. I didn’t want to download anything that would lead to more expenses for the guys.

  The phone vibrated in my hand.

  Nathan: “Are you awake?”

  Sang: “Yes.”

  Nathan: “Are you in your room?”

  The question got me to sit up.

  Sang: “Yup.”

  Nathan: “Your window is the second one from the left?”

  Where was this going? And how did he know?

  Sang: “If you’re facing the house from the street, yes. Above the porch.”

  I waited for an answer. When nothing came back after a while I sent another text.

  Sang: “Why did you want to know?”

  Silence again.

  Sang: “Nathan?”

  I was just about to give up on him when I heard a gentle tap at my window. It startled me so badly that I jumped sideways, dropping my phone, my head twisting toward the window.

  With my light on, I couldn’t see if anyone was there. I got up off the floor, approaching it slowly, my hand still on my heart, until I was close enough to where I was blocking the light from the window. At first all I saw was the silhouette. Nathan was kneeling on the roof, looking inside.

  I hurried to unlock the window and lifted it. He helped open it from the other side.

  I stuck my head out. “What are you doing up here?” I whispered. “How did you get up here?”

  “I’m glad to see you, too.” He grinned at me, his blue eyes lighting up. “I brought you something.”

  “It couldn’t wait until tomorrow?”

  He passed me something soft. I took it from him. He sat on the flat part of the roof while I unraveled it. It was the dark t-shirt with foreign writing on it I had borrowed to wear the day I went swimming.

  “I thought you wanted it,” he said.

  I smiled, touched that he risked breaking his neck to bring it to me. “I didn’t win the races. Any of them,” I said.

  “Consider it a consolation prize. As many times as I won, you’ll be sitting next to me in every class all the way through med school.”

  I held a couple of fingers to my lips to help suppress my giggling. “Until I beat you at another race.”

  “That’s not gonna happen, peanut.”

  The shirt smelled clean. I smoothed my palm over the foreign lettering. “What’s this shirt say, anyway?”

  “It says girls are stupid. Throw rocks at them.”

  I reached out to punch at what I thought was his arm but he dodged a little and I hit his chest.

  “Hey,” he said, feigning being hurt when I only barely brushed his chest. “I’m sitting out on a roof, you know.”

  The house creaked and we both froze. I held my breath, listening. When nothing else happened, I looked at him. His eyes focused on my face.

  “I’ll go,” he whispered. “I just wanted to say hi. I hadn’t seen you all day.”

  “Where were you?”

  “I had training.”

  “Jujitsu?”

  His smile was gentle on his face, a contrast to the harshness of his masculine jawline. “Yeah. Jujitsu.”

  The way he answered me, it felt like it wasn’t the whole truth. “All day long?”

  “I’m tired,” he said. “You should get some sleep. We’ve got registration tomorrow.”

  It was late and I didn’t want to press him. I bit back my questions. Who was I to pry into his life when I just met him? “I guess I’ll see you then.”

  He nodded and then moved away from the window. He crawled on his hands and feet to the edge. He swung his leg
s down first and held the roof with his hands. He dropped down out of my view. With my heart in my throat and holding my breath, I waited by the window until I spotted him dashing across the front lawn and out into the street.

  Nathan the ninja.

  Dr. Green