members of the Sea Guard. It might be his secret, but he likes humans more than he’ll ever admit. “There was someone, once.”
“He? She?” The guys press.
“She.” He picks up the empty beer can and plays with the tab until it breaks. “She was more than—she was everything. Then we were separated.”
Truth, I’m a little jealous Kurt tells my friends this. Where was all of this when we were on Arion’s ship together, duking it out? For the first time, I wonder if Kurt sees me as a friend at all.
“I guess it happens when you move around so much,” Bertie says.
“You don’t know shit,” Angelo says. “Don’t worry, Bertie, we’ll find you a girlfriend. Tristan’s cousins are still in town. That Sarabell was giving me the eye the other day.”
“She’s—don’t go there, dude. I’m so serious. She’s bad news.” And I’ve got her denture marks to prove it.
“Like juvie bad news?” Jerry’s eyes peel back. “Like she’ll steal my wallet or something?”
Kurt and I exchange smirks. “Let’s just say you wouldn’t be able to bring her home to mom and dad.”
“Ohhh,” Angelo nods. “You mean she’s not a Catholic. Yeah, my mom would be pissed. Still—I’m an open-minded guy.”
I’m not feeding my friend to Sarabell for dessert. “So, Kurt is always alone? Let’s talk about that.”
“Was she hot?” Jerry asks. “I bet she was hot.”
Jerry has had one kiss in his entire life, and that’s because we paid a freshman to do it. He was pretty mad when he found out, but then he got over it when he realized it was better than having no kiss at all.
A flush creeps across Kurt’s face. “Her hair was long, like rich copper running down her back. Skin white, soft. She made me feel as if I was the only person in the world for her, like I was important. Special.” Then he sits up straight. His wall of reserve is starting to come back and the spell of the day is dissipating. Fat gray clouds are covering the afternoon sun. “Then I had to go. I had to leave her.”
“Why don’t you go back for her?” Bertie asks.
“I don’t know where she is,” Kurt says.
“That sucks,” all of the guys admit.
Kurt tries to put on his best smile, and that’s when I realize Layla’s been in the bathroom for a long time.
“I’ll be right back,” I say.
I run down the stairs to the basement. It’s deserted except for a few stragglers petting each other in the dark corners of the stairwell. The closest bathroom is in the girls’ locker room. I can smell the pine-scented floor cleaner, the stale residue from the dirty gray mops. Beneath that I pick up Layla’s scent, all frazzled energy, burning sugar. It coats my tongue and I swallow against that pull I feel in the pit of my stomach.
When I push the door open, she’s standing at the sinks, staring at herself in the mirror. She jumps, hand flying to her chest. “You scared me.”
“What’s going on?” I stand behind her. Place my hands on either side of the sink to stop her from running away. I lower my face into her hair and inhale deeply.
She closes her eyes and I can feel her heart hammering right against my chest. Her hair is soft against my skin. I can feel the tension leaving her body. She lets herself fall into me.
“This is so screwed up,” she sighs.
I bring my lips right over her ear, kissing the tender skin of her lobe. “What is?”
She turns around, slowly, so I feel every inch of her graze against me.
She grabs my face.
I don’t have time to catch my breath before her mouth finds mine and I lose my balance, falling backward and backward until I hit the lockers. The doors rattle, louder than the surprised gasps that come from both of us.
She bites on my bottom lip lightly, then pulls back and keeps kissing me harder and harder. She’s overpowering me, stronger than me somehow, and I let her. I’ve forgotten what to do with my hands because all I can think is how much I need her, all of her. I kiss her neck, the length of her collarbone to the dip of her clavicles and down. Warm fingers trace up and down my chest. She undoes my top button and my knees go weak. I press my hands on the hard metal of the locker for support.