“You too, Ruby.”
“I don’t try to be a tease. I learned it to survive. How do I unlearn it?”
“I don’t know. Be more aware of when you do it?” He sighs. “I don’t mean to be a brute either. I hate that you see me that way.”
“You helped me get rid of Stiles,” I admit. “And I never really told you what that meant to me.”
“No, you went off with Armonk.”
“You didn’t give me a chance because you stormed off so fast,” I tell him.
“Do you like that guy with the arrows?” This would be funny if it were someone else unable to say Armonk’s name. With Blane it makes me sad because he knows I like the both of them.
I raise my head to Blane’s solid neck, to the honey-brown stubble on his chin and up to his eyes—locking gaze-to-gaze, fire-to-fire. “I do like Armonk, as a friend.” Why am I admitting all of this? Why?
I feel Blane’s heart beating out of his suit. Or is it my heart that’s beating out of my chest? He steps closer. His warm sea apple breath drifts onto my cheeks. I breathe him in. This is dangerous madness. He reaches for me, hungrily, desperately. Our masks bump awkwardly against each other as we kiss. The taste of his tongue is as delicious as the sun pouring down. Wrapping my arms around his head, I run my fingers through his soft, cropped hair. Oh. My. God, what is happening to me?
“Ruby,” he moans. “Ruby.”
In a panic, I pull away and run. As I look toward The Greening I see Vesper, staring out the window at me. What have Blane and I done? Armonk will know, everyone will know and I’m not ready for that.
Not at all.
Lessons drip by like hardening glue. Irina’s math equations are confounding, especially with my mind reeling and Blane sitting two seats away. His presence is heating me up. His low sexy voice, answering Irina’s question about a logic problem, cuts under my skin. We avoid looking at each other, and pretend nothing’s different. But Vesper, who thankfully hasn’t run her mouth off yet, could spill any minute.
After math, Nevada takes over and gives us a history lesson. We learn more about the earthquakes that rattled through the land before the border wars. We learn about the museums that got sacked and the skyscrapers that fell. We also learn about how farmers down here are farming underground. How crops are beginning to thrive. How devastated enclaves are growing into brave little towns. How the air is slowly, slowly improving with more density of oxygen per cubic feet. But what’s mostly on my mind is that if Blane and I win spots as finalists, I’ll be riding in a hovercraft next to him.
I look over at Armonk and he grins at me. He’s so handsome with his black hair spilling over his shoulders and his white teeth gleaming. Why can’t I fall for this nice guy who takes adventure rides and talks with me in our cockeyed desert hideaway? Armonk doesn’t scare me. He doesn’t make me ache or fill me with longing.
I turn away from Armonk and Blane and toward Bea. We draw cartoons of Nevada—as a tall, warty desert lizard in fringed boots and as a fairy with green wings and green-tipped braids. Bea giggles behind her hand. She’s so much fun. Why can’t I be content just with my friends like I used to be with Petal and Freeblossom? When Blane brushes up against me on the way out of class and my heart sparks again, I know it can’t ever again be that simple.
Chapter 21
The Stream blast wakes me even before Bea does.
Huzzah! Huzzah, Fireseeders! Today’s the day for the finalist picks. Put on your game face and display your best projects for Axiom Coastal. Ready? Set, Go!
Brought to you by Solar Flares, where the fireworks aren’t just for holidays.
“Where are my good shoes? Where’s my lip-gloss?” Bea wails. “Oh, frying hell, one of the Fireseed dresses creased overnight.” Clad only in her bra and lizard print boy panties Bea dashes over. “Ruby! Get up. George Axiom and crew will be here any minute.” I watch her as she heads toward her rolling garment rack of project clothes and irons the dress in question for the third time.
Scrambling out of bed, I check the elixirs on my desk. They’re in pretty labeled bottles I scavenged from that strange cockeyed house Armonk and I found. We went back and dug up three antique glass bottles, and an old-fashioned toaster too. We even found Thorn a pair of sneakers.