Deception (4 page)

I felt a pattern forming.

Ian leaned in so I took the cue and leaned in thinking  he was reminding me that once again I was being rescued.  Nope!

“What kind of chemistry do you want to make?” he breathed on my cheek.  His long eyelashes were so close they brushed against my skin.

If I keep doing the gasping thing I’m going to stop my heart and then I’ll never solve this wonderful, amazing mystery. Sometimes I think I’m going crazy.  Crunk, as Caylie would call it!  Between crazy and drunk!

I fought to swallow, to breathe.  I couldn’t bring myself to turn my head because I knew his mouth and eyes and lips and breath and skin would be right there.  So…I leaned back up, shivered as lightly as I could, and tried to focus on the teacher giving the lab directions.

Mission failed.  A tempting glance in his direction after leaning back even further to be sure his face was on the teacher too found intense brooding eyes staring straight into mine.  I trembled.  This was so unlike him.  He held my eyes so singly with his own that I could almost feel a bubble being formed around us closing out the rest.  His leg popped that bubble the second it brushed against mine.

Peace
!  Defined by me, means at what state the mind is in given situation that includes a calming factor.  With Ian’s thigh that close to mine, peace was being redefined.  And he wouldn’t let the bubble go.  He stole as many glances in my direction during the day’s lesson as I did.

  Ian and I were chemistry partners for the entire first semester this year.   Somehow, on the first week of class, we both drew each other’s name from the “magic” bag.   I seemed to get easily agitated when it came to blowing stuff up.  His ability to placate me into a quick calm never ceased so being his partner was a good thing.

The teacher asked the class to share the group’s findings on the makeup of baking soda and vinegar and their conflicting attributes.  One of the Kin roadies sat in the back cracking jokes lacking any intelligence about what was happening anyway.  Mike, Caylie’s boyfriend kept injecting my name into his jokes.  I ignored him wondering how could Caylie go out with him.  I can hear her now, “
He’s so hot who cares about anything else?
”  I used to protest when she dated Kyle, the star football player, but she didn’t want to hear it.  I’d accepted long ago that she was just that shallow and I was too much of a romantic dreamer.

I explained my experiment to the class after raising my hand.  The jerks behind me called me their ever so sweet thoughtless names describing my supposed intelligence in small whispers.  They just couldn’t follow any type of expansive vocabulary and it was easier to make fun.  Perhaps I even did it on purpose at times.  

Logophile!
 
Yes, I knew it well. A lover of words!  More like obsession!   Yet another way I was labeled a freak. I read the dictionary for fun, but never seem to find a way to use most that I find in conversation that doesn't make a person look odd.

Dendrophilous!  Fondness for trees. 

Philonoist!  Proud to be one who seeks knowledge!  

Mostly, I kept them to myself. I didn’t let this trait leak out to many nor did I trust them to treasure words the way I did. But verily, it hurt to be ridiculed for being intelligent. Book smart. As Caylie once stated, not street smart.

Today was my meeting at the Recreation Center for what I called, “Hug a Tree.”  I’d started the club three years ago when the local sawmill took out half of my neighbor’s land.  Some of my favorite walking trails were destroyed. I couldn’t bear to think of what animals had lost their homes. I set out to find a way to stop them, but only proved to be shot down by every local and even state politician who,
no doubt
, sided with the latest “project” created for the greater good of the people.  Yadda!  Yadda!  Yadda!  I was not a diplomatic kind of a person.  So I decided to make myself become one.

Shifting gears, I gathered some friends and convinced the mayor to let me lobby for saving some of the endangered trees, fruit and nut bearing trees, and my beloved sugar maple tree.  They were just so beautiful.  Ian hadn’t backed me much when I first started out with what he called my “earth quest”, but he stepped in to bodyguard me when Kin decided he was in the club.  I wasn’t dumb.  I knew that was the only reason Ian was there. Or Kin!

The ride home was equally as revealing.  I usually headed straight to the center, but Ian asked me to go home first.  I didn’t know why he didn’t ride home with me if it was raining.  He seemed really keyed up about Kin lately and mentioned he was keeping an eye out.   I was the one calming him lately once Kin turned off in his direction of home. I felt guilty for being late to school and forcing him to drive his Shadow as he called it, the Honda Shadow motorcycle that he considered his baby.  He even let me name her.  He’d argued that it wasn’t purple, but that’s because he was probably color blind and wouldn’t admit it.  My mom termed it man-pride.

The bike was in fact an  intense blue hue the dealership called radar blue, but I like to tease him.  So I named it
Lav
. Short for lavender.  Just to torture him.  But he still called it Shadow.

Kin was on a Harley, a machine in it’s own right, just ahead as he’d followed like he had for the last two weeks. And everyday Kin brought the bike to a standstill at his stop and turned to Ian to yell, “Freak!” Some of his cronies would laugh behind them if they were with him that day.  There weren’t many days that Kin didn’t torment Ian and me in some way.  I could never understand why he targeted us.  It didn’t seem to bother Ian much except when it bothered me. But today, it did.

Ian veered off and followed Kin waving at me.  Two minutes later, he was caught back up and beside me. If I questioned it, he’d only deny it.  There was a reason we hung together early in life. 

I’d reminded him twice while he got in my car that he could have been late with me to school.  When I mentioned Kin his tone cooled to silence.   I wanted to ask why he was so put out today with him if he was leaving me alone, but knew I’d get nothing out of him.  I just chalked it up to annoyance with the archenemy and changed the subject.   Reminding him that it is Friday night changed his demeanor. 

Friday night at the Starmen residence with a bag of chips and a night with the stars!  Nothing could take me away from missing that.  Not even Kin’s taunting attitude.

We headed to the Rec Center located near the school.  He insisted he drive the bike again to dry if off even though he’d made me drive all the way home.  Whatever!  It wasn’t raining now so we stopped at Mighty Joe’s Quick Stop to grab sodas and gummy bears.  My favorite!

The meeting had fewer members than usual.  As winter came closer, people were busier.  Several of the students from school were there, two local elderly ladies who’d lost their plum trees due to new and improved power lines, and the local sugar maple distributers who wanted something done pretty much all the time. 

At least Ben wasn’t here tonight.  He seemed to show up almost as much as Kin.

I wasn’t sure why I noticed, but Ian pulled his fingers nervously through his hair every time Ben showed.   It was like he knew.  Maybe I’d befriend the boy again to get Ian to notice me.

I needed this month’s meeting to approve who would go check all the preserved trees we’d mapped out for the last two years to ensure their continued safety.  It was quick and painless tonight.  Most had already left when I started to clean up.  My mind was elsewhere anyway so I watched Ian as he leaned on the nearby bookshelf.  He was watching me, and I was watching him. 

Ian’s head twitched. He stood up to attention before he could have seen who was coming in the front door.  My hands started to burn like always when Kin was near.  Alert system...on.

Walking in at the end of the meeting, again, stalker boy strutted up and asked what he missed.

I scooted back more. The girls my age were as afraid of Kin as I was.  The older ladies huffed behind me.  The gutsy short little mouse of a lady walked over and put a boundary between us.  Ian just folded his arms and chuckled under his breath.  Unusual for him.

I rolled my eyes at Kin and told him to buzz off. 

The little blue haired lady who resembled a small caged bird next to Kin, looked up at him, pointed her crooked finger towards his chest and told him, “She said buzz off, young man.  Wait for the young lady to give you her blessing.  She doesn’t seem to find you very attractive so go find someone else to harass.”

Kin scoffed and backed up, almost like he was fearful of the elderly lady, but I knew how he worked.

“Thank you Gladys.”   I turned back to Kin, “The meeting is over Kin.  I will see you Monday.”  Turning my back to him to grab my bag was a mistake.  His humongous hand grabbed my arm.  I jerked back only to fall unwillingly into Kin.  Ian was there before I could blink the horror away.  Too fast to be human.  They say adrenaline gives you strength.

He had his arms around me from behind curled across the front surfacing thoughts I shouldn’t be thinking during the current situation but we're  quickly diminished when Kin’s fist aimed at Ian. 

“You can do without this ruffian,” Kin grunted at Ian making it look like he was about to make contact with Ian’s face. His words were always chosen so carefully in regards to Ian, giving notice to his above intelligence façade and yet still appearing the "ruffian" he was.

I don’t know what got into me.  I was blindsided by an emotion I’d not ever voiced and sick of Kin always attacking.  I felt the urge to claim Ian to me, but knew that would be a slap in my face.  So I did the next best thing, I made a fool of myself anyway.  “He’s mine.  Leave him alone.”  When I looked at Ian to be forgiven that kind of satisfied male pride look came over him.
 
Shock, I guess.

“One day, Grace.  One day you’ll see my way!” Kin said gruffly moving because Ian had wedged himself between him and me so quickly. Kin still had my arm in a lock and the way he was looking at me, something glacial and calculating, made something icy run down my back.

I wrenched it away to lessen the pain but he pulled harder. With a hard look into Kin’s eyes, I screamed a less than tame curse in my head and told him without a single ounce of the skittish kitten Ian like to say I own too often when a situation is uncomfortable, “Never!” 

Kin grabbed his head as if in pain.  It was totally bizarre, but cool nonetheless
.
  He let go and I jolted back into Ian who still held me. 

Damsel in distress here!  I wanted to shout for him to save me from the dragon and ride me out of the Rec Center on his white horse.
Ian sideways glanced at me with a scolding look but couldn't figure the reason.  A silent smile failed to hide my embarrassment.  I very reluctantly turned my thoughts back to Kin.  He’s beautiful.  He really is.  But, “I have no faith in human perfectability” and especially not in him.  Poe said that, not me!  Still, it’s true of Kin!  He doesn’t ever improve.  This was Kin’s norm!

“Why do you irritate me intentionally?  And please stop following me halfway down the interstate if you hate me!”

Kin's wicked smile, almost wolfish in appearance, spread across his face like he was so glad I asked, but there was a moment of doubt as he took a quick look at Ian and the smallest twitch of his mouth indicated less than surety.  He darted eyes to Ian now standing in the standard male-versus-male stance.  "Your boyfriend here could tell you a few things if he’d talk.  Having trouble with that still, tree boy?”  He gestured to Ian.

Tears spring up out of my eyes.  My throat closed up.  “His name is IAN!  Say it.  Not too hard for your pea brain!”

“No pea-sized anything coming from here, babe!”  He flexed his hugeness in front of me assuming I would be impressed with the whole package.  “You will be mine, Grace.  One way or another.”

Contradicting idiot!

I hated the reference to Ian and the word boyfriend in one sentence, but was accustomed to it since everyone saw us together all the time.  I wondered sometimes if that’s the real reason Caylie had distanced herself from the two of us.  I wasn’t dumb.  Ignoring the “boyfriend” comment I told him the same words from earlier through gritted teeth very slowly, “Buzz off!”

He huffed and stomped out the revolving Rec Center doors with a finger to his temple aimed my direction.  “You have two days tree boy.  After that, she’s mine.”

He mumbled loud enough for me to hear, “Parting is such sweet sorrow.  Soon!”  He turned and said cruelly, “Very soon, Queen of the
Damned
.”

“Corrosively rude!” I shouted.   If you swallow evil words left unsaid, one only harms his stomach.  Sir Winston Churchill. I tried to practice this regularly, but Kin was such pure evil.  And I never said aloud my profound wisdom-like advice.  Who’d liste?  Not those who need it..  Add this to my five-alarm fire list of the ten worst days of my life.

Behind me the thin, not much bigger than a matchstick lady, Gladys was showing a flashy curved O with her dentures half hanging out.  I recomposed myself enough to tell the ladies I would make sure Ian got me home safe and they could go.  They all hugged and left with arms waving to and fro in a hissy with the night’s events.  I caught the tail end of Gladys saying, “…when I get my hands on him, I’ll…” and she disappeared halfway out the door.  Her friend Helga nodded and responded to Gladys, “She should hook up with the cute one who comes with her.  He’s a dreamboat.”