“And you took it just like that?” Mark asked.
“Well, no. I didn’t want to, but he was really cute, and I was really vulnerable. You remember me telling you about the vulnerable part?”
Mark nodded.
“So I did. And I won’t lie. It felt amazing. I felt like I could do anything, like I was the tallest person on the planet stretching up to heaven. I felt like an angel, like I could fly around and save people and leap from buildings and discover the secrets to the universe.”
Mark scowled.
“I’m just being honest,” I said.
“I know. It’s just hard for me to understand. I don’t see the appeal.”
“You don’t see the appeal of feeling invincible?” I asked.
“But you weren’t really invincible. You just felt that way,” Mark said.
I thought for a moment. He was right, and there was nothing I could say to it, so I just moved on. “And then I made out with Dean.”
“Oh, Jesus,” Mark groaned.
“What?! You asked!” I said.
“That’s worse than snorting cocaine.”
I laughed.
“It really was. I don’t know why I thought he was all that. He made fun of my breasts—”
“I don’t wanna hear any more of this part, Cadence,” Mark interrupted.
“All right, all right,” I said. “So some other people came into the bathroom. I didn’t know who they were, but that didn’t matter. I remember becoming best friends with all of them, and that’s when we hatched our brilliant plan to go rob that convenience store out on Old County Line Road.”
“God help us.”
“That’s what I said in court!”
Mark narrowed his eyes at me while I cracked a smile.
“You’re getting frustrated with this story.”
“I’m not,” Mark said. “I’ve never robbed a convenience store, but I’ve done some crazy shit in my past.”
I perked up. “Oh yeah? Like what?”
“Nice try. We’re not done with you yet.”
I shrugged. “Well, we walked from the house to the convenience store. That’s how close it was. And Dean had the bright idea of holding up the store owner with a tranquilizer gun.”
“Smart one,” Mark said, rolling his eyes.
“I was in charge of watching the door. I don’t really know what went on inside, but I remember feeling like we could get away with it. I guess that’s what cocaine makes you feel. Like you can get away with anything. But we didn’t. We were stupid and wasted, and the store owner called the cops.”
Mark grunted.
“Long story short, we were arrested. I went to court. The judge gave me a lecture and ten months hard time—”
“Hard time, huh?”
“That’s what I said. Hard time. And then I got out and realized I’d gone home to nothing. No friends. No freedom. No car. Nothing. I pretty much lost everything, as you know.”
“You were the saddest girl in the world those first few weeks of school,” Mark said. He was teasing me just a bit.
“Be nice. It was hard.”
“I know, Cadence. And that’s why I really tried to make it better for you,” Mark said.
“Hmm. You ended up making it worse because you were so confusing,” I admitted.
“I’m sorry.”
“No you aren’t” I countered. “You’re not sorry at all.”
Mark grinned. “You know what I’m excited about?”
“What’s that?”
“The fact that I have you all day. And all night again.”
I blushed. “We can’t exactly go anywhere. Sorry you have to hole yourself up in your apartment with me.”
“I don’t wanna go anywhere. I have big plans for us that include board games and movies and cooking.”
“I thought I wasn’t allowed to help you cook,” I said.
“I was just teasing you earlier, Cadence,” Mark replied.
“But I really don’t know how to cook.”
“That’s okay. I’ll just dress you up in an apron and let you fetch me things.”
I looked at him flatly.
“Oh, and you’ll be naked under the apron. Just so you know.”
“Ha. Ha.”
“Are you excited for today?”
I blushed again and nodded.
“Good.”
“I had this song on a continuous loop in my head the first time I saw you.” Mark sat on the couch and watched me finger his records.
We were listening to DJ Premier’s “Gettin’ Closer to God,” and I stopped rifling through the albums.
“You did?”
Mark smiled. “I thought you were an angel. The sun was to your back. It lit up your hair. Your face. Remember that light I was telling you about?”
I nodded. I still didn’t understand.
“You were the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. And when you came into my classroom that first day of school, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven.”
“Heaven for you, maybe. It was hell for me,” I said. I tried to make it sound casual, like I really didn’t care.
“I know that day was rough for you, Cadence.”
“You didn’t help by yelling at me,” I reminded him.
“You’re right. I had no business yelling at an angel,” Mark said. He stood up and turned off the record. I watched him scan his CD collection and pull a case from the shelf. “You made my heart feel like this the first time you winked at me.”
He played a new song—a bright explosion of beats—cheerful and funky and fun.
“When I winked at you?”
“That Saturday we volunteered to clean up those houses,” Mark said.
Oh, yes. I remembered now.
“What’s the name of this song?” I asked.
“‘Boom’.”
“The name of the song is ‘Boom’?”
Mark nodded.
“Of course it is,” I said, smiling. “Did I really make your heart explode?”
“Yes, you did. You still do.”
He sat on the floor beside me and crossed his legs Indian style.
“So what do you wanna be when you grow up?” he asked.
“I haven’t really thought about it,” I said. “I guess I should though, huh? I don’t wanna wander aimlessly through the first years of college.”
“Smart girl.”
“I really love flowers,” I said. “One of my favorite times during the day—apart from seeing you, of course—is working at Millie’s.”
“Then maybe you should consider a career as a florist. Own your own shop,” he suggested.
I smiled. “Yeah, I think I’d like that.”