Solstice (9 page)

Chloe blows out a breath. “Please, Piper. Do you realize how huge this is?”

I nod, realizing also how much trouble I’ll be in if my mom ever finds out.

“I’ll come over beforehand. I can help you get ready.”

I look and see Chloe’s eyes have returned to normal, happiness shining through her. Like she really is happy for me somewhere inside. And Tanni’s horrible words come back to me hard.

Chloe will die.

It can’t be right. Not now. Chloe’s only eighteen like me. She’s got her whole life ahead of her. The whole thing was a dream. Or a nightmare. And just not real.

I smile. “Are you sure? Because I don’t mind—”

Chloe puts up her hand. “Don’t say another word about it. So how about Saturday?”

Saturday. I haven’t even thought that far in advance. “How about it?”

“Let’s go somewhere. Let’s do something fun.”

“Like what?” I ask.

Chloe shrugs. “Leave that to me. So where’s she going?”

I lower my voice and spit it out. “She’s going to see my father.”

Chloe’s eyes shoot open. “Your father?”

I nod.

“You know where he is?” she asks.

“No. But apparently my mom does. And she’s not bringing me along.”

“So will you get to meet him?”

I shrug, because even though everything I know about him tells me I should stay far away, I do want to meet him. “I’m not sure.” And then I tell her about the note. Even though I’ve destroyed the piece of paper, the words are etched in my mind.

“He asked what frightened you? God, that’s creepy.”

“Yeah,” I say.

“Piper, the whole note sounds creepy.” She brings her hand to her tattoo and feels the skin underneath. The same way I’ve been doing. “He’ll be seeing you soon?”

She’s confirmed my exact thoughts, and heaviness pushes into my mind. “Why can’t I just have a normal family like yours? Why is it that, after eighteen years of running from some phantom father, he really does have to turn out to be as bad as my mom’s told me?”

Chloe grabs my hand. “You don’t need him. You’ve been fine without him this long. Let your mom go away, do whatever she needs to do. We’ll go off and have our fun, and then things can just be normal.”

I laugh. Like things have ever been normal. Still, Chloe can be pretty convincing when she wants to be.

“So she’ll be back…?”

“Monday,” I say.

Chloe clasps her hands together in front of her. “We are going to have so much fun.”

I know she’s right. My mom will take care of my father. He’ll stay out of our lives. And Chloe will not die. Tanni was a figment of my imagination. People don’t walk around with fog in their eye sockets spouting gloom and doom fortunes. It’s just not the way life is.

I
peek outside at ten o’clock on Friday night and see Reese staring up at my window. The fact that he knows exactly which window is mine is both creepy and flattering. I try to focus on the flattering part.

I open the front door and call to him. “Hey.”

His eyes shift in my direction. “Hey.”

“My mom’s gone for the weekend,” I say. Maybe it’s not the smartest thing to tell him, but my rush of freedom is controlling my mind.

A grin forms on his face like he’s just found a way to fix the lottery. “That is perfect.”

He walks up the steps to the door, and I notice he’s carrying a bundle of pink calla lilies. At first, I think he’s brought me a potted plant, but when he moves his hands forward, I see they’re clipped at the stems. I can’t help the shock that registers on my face. There are huge penalties for being caught with cut flowers. Not to mention if my mom sees these, she’ll freak.

But my mom’s not here.

“I brought you flowers.” He looks past me into the Botanical Haven like he’s making sure I’m really alone.

Chloe left fifteen minutes ago; I don’t know if I should invite him in.

“They’re illegal,” I say, which I know sounds so goody-goody, but he’s breaking the law. Once they’re cut, they don’t help the atmosphere.

“No one will see them.” He looks down at the flowers. “And they reminded me of you.”

“Dead?” I say before I can stop myself. Because that’s what cut flowers are. Dead flowers.

Reese cups one of the blooms with his hand. “Fresh. Vibrant. Exciting.” And the way he holds the flower hints at how he feels about me.

“Thank you,” I say. “I love them.” And in that moment, they become more than just cut flowers. They become a symbol of something forbidden. I move aside, and he takes this as his cue to enter.

Reese passes the flowers to me, and I catch their scent. With it, I catch his aroma. Same as before, but stronger. Red wine. Thick and dry. Powerful yet velvety smooth. Like a Merlot or a Cabernet. I close my eyes and take a deep inhale, pretending I’m smelling the flowers. But really it’s Reese I want more of. His overriding fragrance that’s making me forget everything but his wonderful presence. I take another breath and know I need to open my eyes. When I do, he’s staring at me.

I find a vase for the calla lilies and set them on the counter. When I turn, he’s behind me, close to me. So close I can hardly move.

“God, you look gorgeous.”

Chloe told me the same thing. Well, maybe not in those exact words. She helped me pick out the dress—thin spaghetti straps holding up black cotton fabric which reaches to just above my knees. Red designs swirl on the black from the waist down.

Reese takes a step back and looks at me—up and down. He takes in each part of me, and I feel like I’m being savored. One piece at a time. It makes me feel like I actually am gorgeous and exciting like he said. By the time he reaches my feet, even in the humid air, I’m shaking, and I never want him to take his eyes off me even though they’re revealing something almost feral.

He steps close and brushes my cheek with his hand. “You’re nervous.”

Nervous minimizes how I’m feeling. “Not at all,” I say.

“I like that you’re nervous.”

Before I can respond, he leans his face forward and brushes his lips against mine. Just a hint of a kiss, but it sends all sorts of crazy shivers down through me. My very first kiss.

This is life without my mom around.

It’s exhilarating.

He pulls away and increases the distance between us, and his smile reaches his eyes.

“So where are we going?” I place my hands on the counter behind me and try to calm the quivering emotions running through me. I decide I should breathe through my mouth until I can get the scent of Reese’s body out of my nostrils.

He shrugs. “Anywhere.”

“That’s a start,” I say.

“We could climb the steel struts of the dome,” he suggests.

I don’t know if he’s serious, but I don’t want to fall to my death at the age of eighteen. “I’m not sure I’m up for that.”

“Okay, then. How about we break into the city planetarium and have a picnic under the stars?”

I laugh because I know he must be kidding. “Tempting. But maybe something less…”

“Illegal?” he suggests.

“Yeah. Less illegal.”

It’s like Reese actually has to consider this. “Legal is normally boring.”

“How about dinner?” I say. “Will that be too boring?” I’ve eaten little to nothing in the last week, and I’ve never been out to dinner with anyone besides my mom or Chloe.

“Dinner,” Reese says. “I can work with that.”

Reese has a car. I’m not sure how he got the permit for it; they’re mostly reserved for CEOs, and senators, and even some of the members of the council though most of them opt out. I’ve been in cars a handful of times but haven’t set foot in one for at least five years. Reese opens the door for me and helps me get in. His car’s low to the ground, black, and kind of reminds me of a cockroach. But the leather seats inside engulf my body, and I try to relax.

“It won’t start unless the belts are done.” He reaches across me, and his arm brushes my chest as he clips the belt secure.

I try not to flinch, but shivers run up my neck, and I think of his kiss. Then he moves his arm away and shuts the door. I feel eyes on me as he walks around to the other side. Not Reese’s eyes. Someone is watching me. My mind flashes to Tanni and her soulless eyes. Her words come to me. I try to push them away, but they’re too fast.
Chloe will die.

“What?” Reese is already in the car and fastening his own belt.

I try to erase thoughts of Tanni from my mind. “What what?” I say.

“You look like you saw a ghost.”

I shake my head. I’m half-tempted to tell Reese about Tanni, but I know anything I say will sound crazy. “I guess I am a little nervous.”

Reese puts his hand on mine, and his warmth erases Tanni’s words. “And gorgeous.”

Driving on the streets of downtown Austin at night is a far different experience than taking the shuttle during the day. For starters, his car is self-powered and doesn’t have to stay on any kind of track like the shuttles. Reese turns down streets I’ve never even seen, taking us through the park and behind the theatre which is lit up like a torch despite energy restrictions. And second, it seems on Friday nights, every person who lives here is outside, walking in the streets, heading into bars. Reese swerves around pedestrians until he finally pulls onto the bridge that takes us across the river. The city thermometer reads ninety-nine, and I can understand why there are so many people outside. With as hot as the days are, relief from the sun is a gift.

Reese stops on Sixth Street in front of a valet station, which clues me in to the fact that we’re not headed to your average restaurant. We get out, and he tips someone to take the car. Given it’s such a primo opportunity, two guys argue over who gets to drive it until Reese finally points at one of them. “You.”

The argument drops. The kid Reese pointed at jumps in the driver’s seat, and the car disappears around the corner. We walk into an old hotel and take an elevator to the top floor. The air’s probably fifteen degrees cooler in here meaning they must have real A/C. Or illegal A/C. I try not to look around and stare at everything. But I notice every detail’s been precisely chosen. The black and white tiles. The golden walls. The bronze statues of Greek gods on pedestals in the middle of the walkway.

Before I know it, we’ve reached a hostess stand. The hostess tries to tell us the restaurant is full, but Reese pulls out a bill and hands it to her; she smiles at him like he’s an angel and tells us a spot just came open. The sardonic smile she gives me tells me I’m not good enough to be here with Reese. Like she should be the one on a date. But she’s not. She’s only the hostess. Still, I don’t want to blink and wake up. I want to continue to defy my mom. And even though Chloe should be here in my place, a horrible part of me loves that I’m out with Reese. That he’s chosen me.

The hostess takes us to a table in the back near a window overlooking the city where I can see the Capitol and four of the dome structures extending into the sky. I wonder how different it looked last weekend when the domes were sealed.

“Nice view,” I say. “Good thing they were able to fit us in.”

Reese sets his elbows on the table, interlacing his fingers. “Bribery works every time. Watch. They won’t even card us.”

Sure enough, a sommelier comes over with a wine menu and begins to make some suggestions, but Reese puts up his hand and orders a bottle of aged Chianti. I know the wine must cost a fortune; grapes are so rare these days. But, like everything else, this doesn’t seem to be an issue with Reese. The sommelier nods and moves away, taking the wine menu with him.

I’ve certainly had wine before with my mom. But when the sommelier comes back with the bottle, shows it to Reese, and then uncorks it, I still can’t believe we didn’t get carded. Reese samples the bottle, nods, and tips the guy. I’m starting to notice a pattern. Large tips get you treated like a god.

Reese pours a glass and pushes it my way. I pick up the tall glass by the stem and dare to sniff it. It mixes with the aroma coming from Reese, and I realize I want to relax—to quench the flurry of excitement running through me, so I take a sip and sit back.

The wine does its job. It inches its way through my body, mixing with the butterflies in my stomach until the butterflies mellow and the wine settles in. I have a hard time making eye contact with Reese or even with the waiter, but I don’t mind. Just being out and away from my mom is intoxicating by itself.

Reese keeps trying to ply me for information about my life. When I try to explain my mom’s compulsive nature, he nods. “Like my mother.”

I shake my head. “No. My mom is way worse. She never lets me do anything.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Anything?”

I smile and take a bite of my steak, licking the juice off my lips. “Nothing.” I point to the steak. “She doesn’t even eat meat.”

“So I’m your first date.”

“You’re laughing at me,” I say.

He feigns shock. “Never.” He raises his hand, calling the sommelier over, and orders another bottle of Chianti.

I ignore the stray thought that runs through my mind. That I wish I were on a date with Shayne instead. But he hadn’t asked me. Reese had. And here I am.