Chapter 3 #4
So I opened my bag and pulled out something to write with.Before I could lose my nerve, I leaned over and grabbed his hand.
The tip of the marker shook as I pressed it to his skin.
I could have asked for his phone and typed my number in, but there was always the chance he’d refuse.
Now he’d have to look at this little piece of me on his drive home.
Alec said nothing as I printed on him in blue ink, but his hand was warm against mine.
When I finished, I was surprised to find him watching me.
His eyes were breathtaking, really, and I decided that gray was my new favorite color.
“Thanks,” he mumbled. There was a small smile on his face as he inspected the tattoo I’d given him. I waited for him to move, but he didn’t.
“Well,” I said, sinking back in my seat. “I should probably head in.”
He nodded, still staring down at the digits on his hand. I gathered up my bag, but I wasn’t actually ready to leave. I wanted something else to happen—maybe for him to give me his number in return or offer to walk me to the door, but no such luck. His lips stayed clamped shut.
“Okay, thanks for the ride.”
Alec’s gaze locked onto mine. “You’re welcome.
” There was an electric look in his eyes.
His lips parted as if he was going to say more, and I leaned in to hear him better.
But then he shook his head ever so slightly, like he’d caught himself doing something he shouldn’t, and turned his attention back to his hands.
Which was a major letdown. Like reaching the top of a roller coaster and realizing there was no big drop.
It was time to get out of Alec’s car.
My fingers gripped the door handle, and then I noticed his black wolf mask sitting on the dashboard. He must have tossed it up there when we got in the car. After a moment of hesitation, I reached over and took it, swapping it with my own.
“To remember tonight,” I told him when he gave me a curious look. Not that I would forget tonight, but I wanted something more solid to hold on to than a memory. Sighing, I finally climbed out of the car.
Once I was standing on the driveway, Alec rolled down the window. “Bye, Felicity Lyon,” he said, and I blinked.
He remembers my last name? He’d seemed upset when I’d shared it with him, so I was impressed he managed to recall it.
“Bye, Alec Williams,” I said as he pulled away. And just like that he was gone, taillights disappearing down the road.
***
I let myself into the house. As I expected, it was silent and dark.
Mom wouldn’t get home until late, if she came home at all. It was always like this when Dave wasn’t working. My mom’s boyfriend was a trucker, and sometimes he’d be gone for weeks, so she spent as much time with him as possible during his days off.
I didn’t mind all that much; I liked Dave. Unlike with her past boyfriends, I could tell my mom was happy. He made her laugh, and whenever he came back from a trip, he brought her a little trinket from one of the states he’d driven through. Sometimes there was even something for me.
I flipped on the lights.
My feet felt like they’d been squeezed through a meat grinder, so I kicked off my heels and left them in a pile by the door.
A happy sigh escaped my lips as I made my way down the hall toward my room.
It had been a long day. Muscles I didn’t know I had were achy, and my whole body felt sluggish, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep.
My mind was still turning, trying to comprehend the events of tonight: Met cute boy.
Cute boy is actually Alec Williams. It was hard to believe.
Less than five minutes had passed since he dropped me off, but our time together already felt like a lucid dream.
I wanted to touch his mask again, just to be sure the experience wasn’t something I’d imagined.
At my desk, I pushed a jar of my favorite bugle beads out of the way to make room for my bag.
All sorts of jewelry-making supplies were scattered across the surface—crimp pliers, spools of gold and silver wire, clasps, you name it, along with containers and containers filled with beads of every color.
I lifted the flap on my bag. Inside was Alec’s wolf mask.
I pulled it out to examine it more closely.
There was a dusting of black jewels on the brow and a tiny row of silver swirls looping around the eyeholes.
It was stunning, and much more intricate than I’d originally thought.
Biting back a smile, I set the mask on my bookshelf with the rest of my keepsakes, between the conch shell Asha had brought back from a trip to Florida and the tiny carving of a lion my friend Boomer had made in shop class, back when he thought my last name was pronounced like the animal.
After pulling on my pajamas, I grabbed my phone and flopped into bed. I sent two quick texts to Asha.
Felicity: You’ll never guess what happened tonight!!!
Felicity: PS you’re going to die of jealousy.
Then I tossed my phone on the nightstand and waited for her response. I couldn’t contain my grin. This was the best Desertion Day I’d had in four long years.