Ned roars with laughter, and I decide I loathe him when
he’s drunk. The other men laugh too, and Fay smiles, enjoying
every ounce of their attention.
“I shouldn’t,” I say, taking a step away from Ned. “It would
be rude to leave the guests.”
“Oh nonsense. We’re just a bunch of old men talking about
drab things.”
I give him a pointed look. “I thought you said this would be
a good learning experience for me.”
Ned’s smile fades somewhat, and a glint of severity comes
into his eyes. “I’ve changed my mind.”
Fay reaches out for my hand. “Do take me, Lon. I fancy a
walk on the beach anyhow. All this cigar smoke is making me
positively ill.”
“There now,” Ned says, the sharpness still in his face. “You
take Fay out to get some fresh air.”
A tremor of panic crawls through me. How would I explain
Cassandra, waiting on the beach for me in her strange, future
clothes? And worse, how would I explain Fay to Cassandra?
Fay grabs my hand. “Oh, come on, Lawrence. Don’t be such
a chump.”
Ned’s eyes narrow ever so slightly. He has the same look on
his face that he did that night in New York. “Go on, son.”
Fay pulls me out the glass double doors and I go along. I
have enough to worry about right now, and angering Ned
seems imprudent. Besides, surely I can stall Fay before we get
to the beach.
“It’s been ever so long since we were alone together,” Fay says,
her grip tight on my hand. “One would almost think you’d
stopped caring for me.”
I sigh. “Fay…”
She stops abruptly. Spinning around to face me, she put
her finger to my lips. “Don’t speak, darling. Let’s just enjoy
the moment.”
Her arms latch around my neck. There’s something in her
eyes I haven’t seen before. Almost as if she can tell that I noticed,
the strangeness vanishes, and she gives me one of her sly smiles.
“Kiss me, you cad.”
Her lips come to mine, hot and urgent, and she presses her
body against me. Fay’s always been a forward girl, but there’s
definitely something different about her tonight. A fierceness
to her kiss. A desperation in the way she grabs me.
I grip her upper arms and peel her off me. “Stop.”
She’s breathing hard. “What is it?” I catch a steely glint in her
eyes. “We need some privacy, don’t we?”
She grabs my hand and pulls me toward the path and the
beach. Alarm flares inside my chest like a light. It would
wound Cassandra deeply to see me like this. And with the way
she’s acting tonight, Fay’s sure to make some kind of scene.
I forcefully halt, jerking Fay’s slender body toward mine with
the inertia. She falls into my arms with a giggle.
“That’s more like it.” She kisses me again. Her tongue slides
along the inside of my mouth. A flicker of raw desire heats in
me, but I put it out. I don’t love Fay.
As she grabs for my belt, I take her by the arms. “I won’t do
this, Fay.”
“Why not? Why have you been turning me away? Is there
someone else?”
“It’s not that,” I say. It would do no good to tell her about
Cassandra, even if I did leave out the little detail that she’s from
a hundred years in the future.
Fay’s eyes narrow. “I know you want me, Lawrence. You’ve
wanted me all summer. Stop playing noble.”
I pull my hand away. She laughs, but there’s no mirth in her
voice or on her face.
“You’re pathetic. You’re not man enough to take me.”
I shake my head. “I respect you too much.”
“You’re a bad liar,” she snarls.
She tries to kiss me again, but I pull her off. Then she
starts to fight, trying to kick me and punch me with all her
strength.
I struggle to make her look at me. “What’s gotten into you,
Fay? Why are you acting like this?”
“Let go!”
Her eyes flash toward the house. They’re focused on something. Her lips form words, but when she notices me following her gaze, she cries out.