On the weekends after work, we hung out with Beatriz. Her easy acceptance of him gave me a sliver of hope that, if things went wrong, maybe he could endure with her friendship.
At school, she constantly hounded me about the details of our relationship. When I finally admitted to kissing him, she demanded a play-by-play recollection of it. My briefly vague details didn’t inspire her imagination much.
I smirked at Morik, who remained unaware of my scrutiny, recalling Beatriz’s demand to know if I’d ‘nibbled on his incredibly yummy bottom lip’ yet. If my seventeenth birthday saw me to the grave, I wished Beatriz’s stubborn persistence luck in winning over Morik.
The memory of her words drew my gaze to his bottom lip. It did need a nibble. Was I bold enough? I paused surprised at the thought. What did I have to lose? My time was limited. Why did I hesitate to do the things I wanted to do? Sure, I worried about other’s opinion of me. I didn’t want to disappoint my mom or push Morik into aspects of a relationship he hadn’t considered.
“You’re very serious this morning,” he commented without opening his eyes.
“Thought you were sleeping.” I burrowed in closer to his warmth. Most mornings I woke on my side with my head pillowed on his shoulder, the perfect spot.
“I was until you woke.” He opened his swirling silver eyes and kissed the top of my head. The kiss that usually signaled our time in bed was over.
It suited me fine. I had a lot to think about and didn’t want him studying my face while I did.
“Are you serious?” Beatriz squealed when I admitted to spending the night at Morik’s.
We stood in the hallway at school, me digging books from my locker, and she, leaning against my neighbor’s locker, grinning at me stupidly.
I rolled my eyes at her. “Yes, but it’s not what you’re thinking. Mom just gave me a break from wedding plans. By the way, we’re going dress shopping this weekend,” I said to distract her. “Mom wanted to know if you could come with. More opinions.”
“Of course, I’ll go!”
With the book I needed in my arms, I bumped my locker closed with a hip, and walked with Beatriz to our first class talking dresses.
Thanks to Beatriz’s friendship and the reduced use of my gift, many of our fellow classmates nodded or said hello as we passed. The sea of faces usually blended and washed over me as I smiled and nodded in return.
A very focused set of eyes attracted my notice enough that I did a double take. On the second look, the girl winked at me. As I watched, she slumped slightly. Morik? I sure hoped so, even though I’d need to scold him for using people again.
“Are you going to look for a winter formal too?” Beatriz whispered to me while we passed our papers forward at the end of the class.
The drain of the surprise quiz robbed me of where we’d ended our last conversation and I stared at her blankly for a moment.
“Don’t tell me you’re not going! It’s the weekend before valentine’s …”
She abruptly stopped talking as Mr. Wammner, our first hour teacher, swung his disproving gaze in her direction. She smiled innocently in return and I hid my amused smile. The bell rang and we both scooted from the room before he decided to talk to Beatriz.
“It’s a cool dance. They really do it up here. The student council has the gym cleaned before they start decorating so it doesn’t smell like feet. They even bring in a punch fountain and snack table. Come on. We’re running out of dances before school’s out.”
She brought up a good point. A junior, I hadn’t gone to a single dance in my life. Maybe that’s why mom gushed over her wedding plans. She often recalled her only senior dance, after she chose dad, as a magical night. If I actually considered choosing a human boy, I could count on next year’s dances.
“I don’t know,” I stalled seeing her wind up for a long-winded list of persuasive reasons I should go.
The girl from the hallway earlier this morning approached. “Beatriz, one of the office women asked that I fetch you to them.”
I’d forgotten how creepy the double voices sounded. Beatriz groaned and rushed away. Once she moved out of range, I scolded, “You know how I feel about using other people.”
“I apologize. I missed you.”
Yes, I melted a little. “Would you like to go to the dance?” he asked me, with the girl’s smooth voice melding with his own deep voice.
Damn, if the kid from the cafeteria didn’t walk by just then. The lesbian rumor would flare again for sure.
“It’s after dark. I don’t think it’s safe.”
“Consider a deal for your safety.”
I remembered my thoughts this morning about going for what I wanted. We hadn’t heard from Ahgred much in the last few weeks. Morik assured me he waited nearby at night, listening and watching when he could through the un-shuttered windows of Morik’s home.
“What did you have in mind?”