“Really?” Her eyes widened.
“I heard about them and I’ve been curious. Just never had the opportunity. We don’t have them on Xenith. I saw a small music shop in town the other day. I think I’ll stop by there to pick one up—maybe a couple of music books as well. Try my hand at it.”
“Literally.” She lifted onto her toes and pressed her lips against his, feeling the zings all the way down her spine at the contact. Forcing herself to pull back, she put a few feet of distance between them, and turned toward the hall herself. “Enough of that, or Mariana will kill us.”
“You forget already?” he joked. “You’re pretty hard to kill.”
*
DELANEY WAITED AS Mariana licked the last drip of ice cream from the side of her hand before tossing the bottom bit of cone into the trash. Above, the sun was just beginning to set, the warm glow still lighting up the busy streets. They’d decided to leave now so that they could make it home by dark and have dinner with Ruckus.
“You sure about this?” Mariana asked her as they began walking once more. They’d parked a few blocks away because the beach lot had been so crowded. Even now it was still pretty packed. “We could always grab something quick and not tell him.”
Ruckus had called about an hour ago to tell them he’d decided to cook dinner. He was good at many things; unfortunately, so far, cooking wasn’t one of them. He still had a hard time figuring out what all the different ingredients were. Last week he’d made cookies but had mistaken the salt for sugar.
“No.” She sighed. “Let’s just give him another shot.”
“Fine.” Mariana adjusted the straps of her ruby-red bikini. “But you’re trying it first.”
“Deal.”
They were both wearing jean shorts and their string bikini tops. Their shirts were stuffed into the tote bags on their arms, along with their towels. After a day of lounging in the sand—Mariana shamelessly checking out guys—they were both relaxed and at ease.
“I really needed this,” Mariana said, bumping shoulders with her lightly. “Time with my girl.”
“I’m sorry I’ve been spending so much time with Ruckus.” With him sharing her room, it was kind of hard not to.
“That’s not what I meant,” she assured her. “I just missed you, that’s all. And, well, normal.”
“Trust me,” Delaney said, and laughed. “I know what missing normal is like. I’m glad we did this, and that you like Ruckus, wet towels and all.”
She’d initially tried to slap him after hearing he was the one who’d taken Delaney in the first place, but she’d eventually calmed down and given him a chance. Friends like her were next to impossible to find, the kind who stood by you no matter what, who understood crazy things happened, accepted that, and chose to ride the crazy with you.
“I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Well,” Mariana said, “I know what I’d do without you, having experienced it recently, and that’s totally freak out. So,” she said, and sobered some then, “don’t disappear on me again, okay?”
“Okay.” Delaney linked their arms together.
They were only a block away from the car now, the beach-going crowd having thinned slightly, only to be replaced with the nighttime partiers. Most of the shops were still open, so it wasn’t a big surprise, and Delaney absently scanned the people as they passed. Neither of them was in much of a hurry to get back for Ruckus’s cooking, sadly. And it was nice enjoying the weather.
They turned the corner and had just started down the block when a man across the street caught her attention. He wasn’t looking at her, and was dressed casually in a pair of blue jeans and a black T-shirt; nothing about him really stood out. Except for the fact that he was at least six-three and had blond hair.
Shaking her head, Delaney mentally scolded herself. She was about to let Mariana in on her crazy new irrational distrust of blond men when another man stepped out of a shop only twenty or so feet from them.
This time her breath caught in her throat, and her stomach twisted painfully. It took all her strength not to stop dead in her tracks. In the middle of the crowded walkway, that would draw way too much attention, not to mention her friend wasn’t known for being quiet. Mariana had the kind of voice that carried.
For a split second she tried to convince herself that she was hallucinating, that her paranoia was getting to her and making her see things that weren’t there. There was no denying it though; he was very real.
Trystan was here. And they were headed straight for him.
Completely unaware, Mariana continued to lead them down the street, intent on getting to the car. She was people watching as well, and when her gaze landed on Trystan, she stared a little too long before a girl’s sharp laughter to the right caught her attention and thankfully held it.
Delaney wasn’t sure what she’d do if her friend tried to flirt with him. She thought about reaching out to Ruckus telepathically, but that would only freak him out as well, and he was too far away to do anything anyway. Besides, it wasn’t like the Zane was here looking for her.
And even if he was, he had no idea what she looked like, anyway. With a slightly relieved breath, she realized that was true. He’d never seen her real face, and now that the effects of the device had been removed, he certainly wouldn’t mistake her for Olena. She was in the clear; all she had to do was walk past him like he was merely another stranger on the street.
She could do that. Hell, she’d pretended to be an alien princess for weeks and he’d bought that. Mostly.
He was dressed just as casually as the first guy she’d seen, blending right in. The only difference was he’d chosen a navy T-shirt, a dead giveaway for someone who knew Kint colors. It was strange seeing him in casual clothing from her world, especially when the way he wore them made them seem just as dignified as the traditional uniform he usually wore.
She counted the steps it took to reach him, keeping her gaze straight ahead when he suddenly turned and began striding in their direction. From the corner of her eye, it didn’t appear as if he was looking at her, and when they finally reached each other, he walked by without a single glance in her direction.
The breath she’d been holding slowly slipped past her lips, and she resisted the urge to check over her shoulder just to be sure. Instead she kept walking, keeping her pace even and her body relaxed.
Still, she couldn’t help but panic over why he was here. On her planet. In her state.
When the car finally came into view, it was all she could do not to run toward it, throw herself inside, and lock the doors. Because that wouldn’t be suspicious at all. Tugging the keys out of her bag, she clenched them tightly in her hand, the jagged metal biting into the flesh of her palm almost unnoticeably.