“She must be very important to you.”
Okiku opens her eyes, her attention suddenly focused on a small errant firefly clumsily weaving its way through the air above us, mistaking the glare of a streetlight for a potential mate. She reaches an arm up, but the glowing orb escapes her outstretched fingers. It bobs higher, into the trees overhead, and she smiles at its antics. It’s an odd expression to see on her pale, withered face. I smile too, despite myself.
“Yeah. She’s the most important person in my life right now,” I say. “I almost think I would kill for her if I had to. I mean, hypothetically speaking,” I add, realizing how much I’m giving away.
Kendele doesn’t seem to notice. Her own smile looks a little sad. “Do you love her?”
“Of course. I already said she was important to me.”
“That’s not what I meant. Are you in love with her?”
“What?” That throws me off guard. I take my eyes away from Okiku to gape at Kendele. I’d never really thought of it like that, and I don’t know what to say. Sure, I care for Okiku, and she could be ridiculously pretty when she wants to be. But there’s also the matter of her being a three-hundred-year-old ghost, and that’s not a quality one usually looks for in the ideal girlfriend. “It’s…I don’t know. It’s a lot more complicated than just that.”
Kendele shakes her head. “You either love her or you don’t, Halloway. How hard is it to figure out? And people think women are difficult to understand.” But my answer seems to improve her mood, and she attacks her pho with newfound gusto. My eyes search the crowd again, but Okiku’s disappeared.
Kendele expertly steers the subject to lighter matters, and by the time we finish our meal, it’s nearly midnight.
She slides back into the passenger seat of my car with a small sigh of satisfaction. “That was nice. You know, I’ve wanted to ride in this car since the first time I saw it.”
“Was that why you volunteered to be my lab partner?” I edge the Bimmer out into the street.
“No, I volunteered because I wanted to see if you kissed as good as you look.”
I keep my eyes on the road, but I’m sure the tips of my ears are burning bright enough to create my own headlights. I sense movement behind me and glance in my mirror to see Okiku sitting calmly in the backseat of the car, watching Kendele with peculiar detachment.
Crap. My earlier worries resurface. I’ve never driven a girl home before—never had another girl ride in my car even—and I’m not sure how Okiku’s going to react.
“Trish was all for me just walking up and planting one on you before you could get away, but I wasn’t sure you’d appreciate that.”
Between Okiku and the current topic of conversation, I’m not sure how I’m going to get home without transforming into a riot of nerves. “Thanks for being considerate,” I mumble.
“I am going to talk to Trish about this though. About what you told me. On one hand, I’m mad that she didn’t trust me enough to tell me, and on the other, I feel like I’m a bad friend for not figuring it out sooner.”
“I probably shouldn’t have told you. It wasn’t my place to.”
“No, I’m glad you did. I’m glad we left the party early. I’m not glad McNeil punched you, obviously. But I might never have known that Trish needed help, and you might still be oblivious.” She giggles when I turn red. “We were doing nicely until the power went out. Wasn’t that weird by the way? I’ve been over there several times, and that’s never happened before.”
I couldn’t resist. “With Trish or with someone else?”
She smiles at me. “You’re so cute when you’re trying not to be jealous. Yes, with Trish. I’m not the type to hook up with random guys at parties—or anywhere else. If you must know, you’re the first guy I’ve thrown myself at, but that’s because you’re so dense.”
“Thanks. I think.”
“I’ll tell people you made the first move if you want. I’ve got a reputation to maintain.”
“Why do you hang around with those jerks anyway?” I can’t keep from asking.
Kendele makes a face. “I guess it’s mainly because of Trish—and also because I hang out with the other cheerleaders, and they tend to hang out with the jocks. They’re harmless enough from what I’ve seen of them.”
“You know, not many other people would have believed what I said about McNeil. You’re a lot more understanding than I thought you would be. Thanks for that.”
“I never had you pegged as a liar, Tark. It’s one of the things I like about you.”