that will help.” Clint got up and went to the kitchen.
I rubbed my head again. Think Norah, think! There had to be an explanation somewhere in my mind fog. “I remember...I remember...candy...and...oh fuck!” I looked at Josh, whose eyes bulged as he looked back at me. He knew I had just remembered kissing him. My mouth opened to speak, but Josh held up his hand and shook his head, as if secretly saying, “Don’t say it.” I just nodded back at him. The skin on my body pricked up with goose bumps as the image of my tongue down Josh’s throat was now all I could see in my head. Shit, this was bad! Very very bad!
Clint entered the room again. “Candy? That is weird. Anything else?” He handed me the glass and sat down next to me again. He sat closer this time, and my heart began racing. Sitting between these two boys felt very awkward, especially given the events of the past few days. I finished drinking my water and handed Clint the empty glass as I leant back on the couch and searched my head for anything else. A face, a name, anything. Hmmm. Light. There was a stream of effervescent light. A familiar person was there. It made me feel warm. There was sunlight, and it was on my mouth as well. Oh...crap. It was SAMUEL. I kissed Samuel too!
Don’t say anything Norah - just smile and pretend that you didn’t make out with two guys in one night that were not your boyfriend. That’s right Norah - just smile.
I sat up and forced an uncomfortable smile hoping it would hide the guilt I was sure was visible on my face. Both guys were still looking at me, waiting for me to speak. What do I do? What do I do? I’ve got to say more. Something. Samuel’s face was still in my head trying to talk to me. He was saying something about Clint, something to do with another name. It was...it was...
“Devon Lockley.”
Suddenly Clint dropped the glass. It didn’t break but the sound of the thud was enough to bring the room to an eerie standstill.
“What? Do you know that name?”
Clint yelled, “NO!”
His reaction was enough to show he was lying.
Lies. More fucking lies. Arrgghh!
I rolled my eyes at both of them, making it very obvious I wasn’t a fool. Clearly the meaning of the name was going to be kept a big fat secret. He was probably a member of the Lappell or linked to it in some way. Whatever the connection might be, Clint looked like he could not discuss it any further or was forbidden to do so. There must be something to the name, given Samuel was trying to tell me something about it. I looked at Clint suspiciously.
“Yeah OK. Whatever you say. Look, I’m going to take a shower and try and clear my head some more. Alright?” I went to stand, and Josh’s hands shot out to help me up. Clint eyed him and Josh sat back down, withdrawing his hands.
“I’ve got it from here Hollows,” Clint announced, as he assisted in pulling me up. I glared at Clint, pulling out of his grip. Suddenly I didn’t feel so comfortable with him being possessive. The parts about our fight beforehand were not lost or forgotten in my head, and I still hadn’t decided how I felt about the things that we said to each other.
“I’ll show Josh out then,” I said, feeling defiant. Clint only watched as Josh and I headed for the front door while he took a seat in the lounge.
As we neared the door, and Josh stepped into the hallway, he turned to give me a hug before leaving, but my palm went up before he could pull me into his embrace. I inched towards him, speaking very quietly. “I remember seeing Samuel last night too. Did you see him and talk to him?”
Josh leaned in to me, keeping his voice very low. “Only for a second before he took off. He was trying to tell you something, but when he saw me, he bolted.”
I sighed, and lifted my eyes to meet Josh’s. I had another question on my mind. “Josh...Did we?” I asked, in a voice low enough so only Josh could hear. He knew I needed confirmation about our kiss. Josh grinned, the beautiful charming grin I knew him best for. He gave me a quick hug and whispered in my ear, “I