Dark Intentions - Charlotte Byrd Page 0,42

him straight to my house, and I point it out. "It's the one with the big bushes out front."

"Looks like a nice place to live," he says, and I turn to face him.

"I live with my mom."

"You do?"

"Yeah. She has cancer. She's getting treatment."

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

"Anyway, we'll be leaving on Monday to go to Minnesota. The Danick Clinic. She's getting an experimental surgery done."

"Oh, okay.”

“So in terms of that, I'd like to go out with you, but I'm going to be in Minnesota for a while helping her with the recovery and everything else."

"Yeah, I get it. Let's exchange numbers and maybe make some plans."

"I don't think you understand. I think it's going to be like weeks, and tomorrow I have to spend all day packing, getting ready. The flight is really early in the morning."

"Are you trying to back out? If you're trying to back out, just tell me,” he asks, suddenly insulted.

"No, not at all."

He turns the engine off and turns around in the seat to face me. "Please don't feel any pressure to go on a date with me. Okay?"

"I'm not making this up."

"I'm not saying that you are, but I just want to be honest."

"I want to see you. I'm just laying out my life for the next month and the fact that I won't be here. That's it."

"And if I happen to be in the Midwest during that time?” he asks coyly.

"I'd love to see you.” I nod.

Our eyes meet again and something in his changes. He looks down at my lips and then up at me asking permission.

I move a little bit closer and he does as well, and our lips touch again.

He reaches over and brushes his fingers along my neck, touching me slightly and sending shivers down my spine.

He kisses me over and over again, and I kiss him back. Our tongues find each other’s, but it takes some time for me to pull away.

"I have to go," I say, shaking my head in the direction of my house.

"It was great to see you tonight," Dante says.

"You, too. Oh, wait, phone number," I say, slamming the door behind me but pointing my finger up in the air and leaning back over.

He opens the window and we exchange numbers.

When I wave goodbye to him, he tugs on my arm, pulling me back inside and giving me another kiss.

"I'll be in touch," he promises.

My stomach is full of butterflies the whole time I walk up to the front door.

25

Jacqueline

Our arrival in Minnesota is pretty uneventful. After a lot of packing and sorting, trying to figure out just the right amount of stuff to bring, I finally settled on a large carry-on bag.

It's going to be a hospital, and I'm just going to be doing a lot of waiting and sitting around, and comfort at a difficult time is my number one priority. I pack a lot of leggings, loose fitting tops, sweaters, and comfortable shoes.

My mom on the other hand, seems to think that she's going to some sort of celebrity birthday bash, and packs herself heels, a big bag of makeup, all of her hair tools, and everything else that's completely unnecessary.

"Listen. A woman has to look good to feel good," she said. "After I get all of this packing done, I think we should celebrate."

I love her attitude, but I don't quite agree with it. It's not that I don't pay attention to my looks. It's just that ... Well, yeah, I don't really pay that much attention to my looks.

We fly coach, sit next to each other, and Mom manages to fall asleep while I listen to music and think about Dante.

What were the chances of him being at Redemption?

What are the chances of him actually telling me the truth?

On one hand, I hate this excited thirteen-year-old girl that I've suddenly become.

But on the other hand, this is the happiest that I've felt since Michael's death, and I can't help but want to revel in it.

I thought for sure that after he dropped me off, he'd play some game, the way that guys play where he will wait a requisite amount of time to call me to not look "desperate".

But he didn’t.

He texted me that night, and again the following day. We texted quite a lot on Sunday, and I promised to be in touch after we land and get situated in Minnesota.

We arrive in Minneapolis around ten in the morning, grab some breakfast at the airport Starbucks, and take