Page 84 of No Ordinary Girl
“You’re right,” My heart warmed then -- I’d been judging him all this time, but he was kind of a nice guy. So he was a rich kid, a player, a charmer, but he’d actually never done anything bad to me. What was my problem? “How about you?”
His smile faded, so suddenly that it took me by surprise. After an awkward beat, he finally said, “I have a little sister, too. Emily. She’s fourteen. Actually, she’s kind of moody these days. And my brother, Ken…” his words trailed off.
“Is he older than you?” I asked, curious. I wondered if he was here, too, at RAMS. Probably not. Most kids at RAMS did not have siblings here. Psychic ability can run in families, but often it doesn’t.
“My brother died two years ago,” he finally managed. “He was two years older than me.”
I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t even imagine what that would be like. “I’m so sorry, Ace.”
“Let’s get a move on,” he suggested and then took off.
I had to run like hell, but I caught up to him.
He turned to me. “You want to win this thing, don’t you, love?”
I did but I also wanted to know more about his brother. Ace was unlike many others for me -- I couldn’t quite read him. He was a blank tape. But I knew enough to know there was something more to that story -- I’d seen a slick black car, a quick flash. A boy and a girl, both blond.
But it was no use. He was obviously not talking about it. I thought about the girl who fell off the cliff, to her death. Ace had certainly seen a lot of tragedy in his day.
“God… I’m knackered,” he said when we finally got to the yoga studio. I wasn’t sure what’ ‘knackered’ meant, but I was pretty confident it meant exhausted. “Me too… I’m exhausted.”
“I don’t get it,” I said. There were no orange baskets. We searched everywhere, and nothing. I looked behind the bin of yoga mats, up at the ceiling, behind the pile of plastic planks used for step class.
Ace was lying down on a yoga mat in one of the dark corners. “I think I’ll have a little rest.”
I laughed. “Get up, you lazy.”
He sat up on his elbows and patted the spot next to him. “Come sit next to me.”
Was this an invitation? Suddenly the dark, Zen mood of the space was a little too romantic and cozy for my liking. And for some reason, no one else was around. Well, of course no one was around -- this was a dead end -- our first mistake.
“We should get going,” I suggested. “We messed up, and we’re probably falling behind.”
“Come and sit next to me,” he said again, and this time his eyes had a hold of me. I couldn’t tear my gaze away. I had been Ace-d. It’s a term I use for when Ace pulls you in with his gaze, and pretty much can make you do anything he wants.
“You know you want to,” he said in a playful voice.
It was as if my legs had minds of their own. My brain had completely lost control. I inched closer, slowly, lowered one leg under the other and sat close to him. My mind was screaming, “What are you doing?!” but my body wouldn’t listen.
His pretty blue eyes wouldn’t let go, not even for a second. The boy did not blink once. “Do you like me?” he asked quietly.
“Yes,” I whispered. In that moment, I did. I really did.
He smiled and traced a hand gently along my bottom lip. “I fancy you, too, Anna. Quite a lot.”
I was mesmerized. “You want to kiss me,” he whispered. He said the words, he did not ask the question.
“Yes,” I said quietly. I did. I really did.
Kiss me.
He slowly leaned in, and pressed his mouth against mine.
So this is my first kiss.
It was definitely not like I’d imagined. I had completely forgotten about Leo -- I was caught in a blurry daze. The kiss was sweet to start; tentative and soft. Then he wrapped his hand around the back of my head, and we both parted our lips and melted into each other, into a proper kiss, a French kiss, as some would call it.
As the kiss deepened, I slowly came to. It was like I’d suddenly woken from a disturbing dream, sweaty and confused. I slapped him. Right on the face. “What are you doing?”
