Soulsearch (Teen Paranormal Romance Series) (The Soulmate Series: Teen Paranormal Romance Book 2) (15 page)

“Yay!” Paige exclaimed.
 
“It’ll be fun, I promise.
 
And it will make Cody happy, which is important.
 
Cody, does Zach know how to roller skate or is he afraid he might fall?”

Cody chuckled at Paige’s wry sense of humor.
 
He was pretty stoked about the outcome of this whole relationship.
 
Meeting Paige was the best thing that had ever happened to Zach, not to mention him.
 
Paige was goofy and spontaneous and fun to be with, besides being nice to look at.
 
Both boys wished they could see her right then, but their imaginations were pretty accurate.
 
In their minds she was glowing with happiness, eyes sparkling with joy, mouth open with laughter.
 
Cody visualized her voluptuous chest heaving with each laugh and Zach groaned at the image, his center tightening as he imagined her pressed up against him.
 
“We’ll just have to hold on tight to each other so neither one of us falls,” Zach responded, his voice thick with desire.

Paige gulped as she imagined his strong arms wrapped around her, keeping her from falling.
 
The bell interrupted her fantasy and she hurried to gather her things as she said her goodbyes.
 
Zach and Cody were disappointed when the conversation had to end but anxious to see her in person in a few hours.
 
In the meantime, they definitely had something they could talk to each other about.

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When school let out, it was all Paige could do to walk calmly to the bus instead of prancing and skipping like a hyper little kid on the way to the toy store.
 
On the inside, she was squealing and yelping in anticipation, but on the outside the only evidence was the ginormous cheesy grin on her face.
 
She took a seat at the front of the bus so she could be the first one off at her stop and she spent the entire ride trying to keep her knees from bouncing up and down.
 
Mrs. Caruthers, the bus driver, noticed Paige’s barely-contained excitement and kept eyeing her curiously through the rearview mirror, but Paige thought it would be a little weird to explain to the bus driver about how she was stoked because she was going roller-skating with the boy who was recently suspended for beating up the school bullies, so she kept her mouth shut and tried valiantly to maintain her composure.
 
When the bus reached her neighborhood, she popped up out of her seat like a jack-in-the-box and hustled down the road to her house, her empty backpack flapping behind her as she half-ran/half-walked the remaining two blocks.

“Mom, Zach and I are going to the roller rink tonight, okay?” Paige asked as she practically collided with her mother in the foyer, suddenly aware that her mother had the ability to squash her plans in an instant.
 
She crossed her fingers behind her back in an elementary school attempt at good luck.

“Oh that sounds like fun, honey!” Cathy exclaimed.
 
“That Zach seems like such a nice boy.
 
Just be home by ten; it is a school night!”

“No problem, Mom,” Paige smiled and hustled up to her room to get ready, thrilled her parents weren’t giving her any grief about dating Zach.

As she rifled through her closet trying to decide what to wear, she marveled at the sharp turns her life had made in the last few months, even the last week.
 
She was devastated when she learned Rachel was moving away, and that one event had altered the course of their lives forever.
 
But she never could’ve imagined how something so seemingly terrible could change everything for the better.

When Zach arrived, Paige was putting the finishing touches on her roller-skating ensemble.
 
She had channeled her inner roller derby girl and wore a tight black tee shirt with a sequin skull on the front, a short pleated skirt in black and pink plaid, and black knee socks with white stripes.
 
She divided her hair into two low pony tails and tied a black and white bandana around her neck like a 1950’s throwback.
 
She was coating her lips in hot pink lipstick when Zach poked his head around her door.

“Whoa,” Zach replied, shaking his head to clear his vision as he took in Paige’s punk persona.
 
“Who are you and what have you done with my sweet little Paige?” he teased, eyeing her outfit appreciatively.
 
His vintage hair band tee and dark wash jeans seemed tame by comparison.

“Too much?” Paige asked, suddenly self-conscious.

“Nope, just right,” Zach assured her, taking her in his arms and planting a kiss on her bubble gum lips.
 
Fortunately, her super-stay lip color did not rub off on his sexy smirk.
 
He took her hand and led her down the stairs where they were forced to endure an excruciating three minutes of small talk with her mother before she finally freed them to enjoy their evening.

“How’s Cody tonight?” Paige asked as she climbed into Zach’s car.
 
A little thrill pulsed through Cody at her mention of his name.

“He’s doing great,” Zach responded, glad it was the truth.
 
“He’s been yammering on about this all afternoon.
 
I’ve never heard him talk so much before in my life.
 
You’d think he was the one with the hot date tonight instead of me!”

“Well, it’s kind of with both of you, isn’t it?”
 
Paige replied with a wink that sent a thrill through Cody.
 
“You’re lucky.
 
When Rachel first started dating Jason, Rider was anything BUT excited.”

“He was jealous?”

“Yeah, well, Jason wasn’t exactly the best guy, either, but I think even if he had been Mr. Wonderful, Rider would still have been kinda upset.”

“ I wonder what it would’ve been like if Cody was a girl?” Zach imagined, picturing life with a girl in his head.
 
Maybe it would’ve helped his game in the ladies’ department.
 

“You probably would’ve been inspired to spend a lot more time at the mall,” Paige teased.

“Sudden urges to curl my hair and buy nail polish and such?” Zach replied.

“Maybe that’s what’s up with all these transgender people!” Paige laughed, tossing her head back and exposing her long, pale neck.
 
Zach couldn’t resist leaning over to trail kisses down its length.
 
Paige blushed and tilted her chin to allow his lips an even better reach.
 
She was seriously debating whether or not to suggest they find a place to make out instead of going skating, and she wondered if Zach was thinking the same thing.

The traffic demanded Zach’s attention, though, and he reluctantly pulled away from Paige’s soft skin.
 
When they arrived at the roller rink, Paige reached for Zach’s hand to help her out of the car and she only let go when she needed both hands to hold her roller skates.

Zach gulped nervously as they looked around the roller rink for a spot to change into their skates.
 
Three disco balls flashed diamonds of brightly colored light that twinkled on the glossy wooden rink but quickly disappeared when they touched the confetti-patterned carpeting.
 
Children in neon clothing and light-up skates whizzed by, their high-pitched squeals a constant cacophony.
 
Bouquets of shiny, helium birthday balloons decorated most of the tables and the air smelled of popcorn, cake, and stinky shoes.
 
The onslaught of color, light, and pattern made Zach a little nauseous.
 
Or maybe it was just his fear of falling.

“It’s been a really long time since I’ve been skating,” Zach admitted. “I might fall a lot.”

“Same here,” Paige replied with a twinkle in her eyes.
 
“I guess we better hold onto each other then.”

Zach nodded happily and wrapped his arm around her as the two shuffled awkwardly over to the rink.
 
It took a few minutes before they found their cadence, their legs bumping into each other as they struggled to set the pace, but soon their feet were gliding in unison as they made their first lap around the rink.
 
Walk the Moon’s “Shut up + Dance” was playing and the two took the anthem to heart, focusing on the rhythm instead of the conversation.
 
When they both had relaxed enough to think about something besides the wheels on their feet, Paige decided to break the silence.

“So Zach, tell me about these grand plans you have to go to school to be a scientist,” Paige asked, daring to rotate her body enough to look into his eyes.

“Oh, well, I guess I’ve always wanted to study the human brain to figure out what was wrong with me,” Zach explained sheepishly.
 
“That was my main motivation.”

“That’s an amazing idea, Zach,” Paige replied seriously.
 
“I mean, I’m not sure science can explain it, but….maybe you can teach the world about it instead.”

“Do you think there are others out there, Paige?
 
I never imagined I would meet someone else like me, but now that I have, it opens up a whole other realm of possibilities.
 
Clearly, Cody is not just a figment of my imagination or some psychological disturbance that needs to be treated.
 
If Rider is a real person, or spirit or whatever, who can enter other bodies, then Cody must be too.
 
But what are they?
 
Are they human?
 
Or something….else?” Zach wondered, his voice growing ominous.
 
Cody resented the implication that he was something to be feared and he wished he could defend himself, but he didn’t understand what he was any better than they did.

“I don’t know, Zach, but I don’t think they’re anything bad.
 
Rider is probably the nicest guy I’ve ever met, and Cody, well, I would probably be pretty unhappy too if I had been isolated for as long as he has, but I don’t think he’s a bad person,” Paige suggested, trying to take the edge off Zach’s cynicism and hoping she wasn’t offending him in the process.
 
Cody’s heart lifted at Paige’s response.
 
“What does Cody have to say about it?” she asked.

Zach thought about what Paige had said and decided she was probably right.
 
He had been so close to Cody as a child; the relationship had only soured once he decided to try to expunge Cody from his life.
 
Since then, Cody had sat passively by, letting Zach negate his existence even though he had to be desperate for a relationship.
 
It was only when Cody’s feelings for Paige and his sense of injustice took over that he acted so violently.
 
Zach still secretly wondered if his life would be better without Cody in it, though.
 
Cody felt the same way, but he didn’t share that with Zach.

“Tell her I’m a better guy than you are,” Cody retorted.

“Cody has an inflated sense of self-regard,” Zach smirked and replied instead.

“Well, if nothing else, it’s because of him that I met you, so I’m grateful for that,” Paige offered and a smile replaced Zach’s thoughtful frown.

Paige smiled in return and her grin widened as the DJ turned on her current favorite song.
 
A devilish gleam lit up her eyes and she quickly increased their pace as Bruno Mars sang hallelujah.
 
Soon they were dashing around the rink full throttle, Paige’s hair streaming behind her and her skirt threatening to share all her secrets as the pleats flapped with each pump of her legs.
 
Round and round the two raced, their skates swooshing loudly beneath them as they pushed them to the limit, then dared to let go of each other long enough to attempt a twirl that resulted in the inevitable tumble.

Zach was the first to lose his balance, but his wild spin knocked Paige off her feet and the two landed in a pile of rubbery limbs and spinning wheels, their faces flush with exertion and a little embarrassment.
 
They lay jumbled together in the middle of the rink, panting and chuckling, and probably would’ve stayed there for a while, recovering, if the DJ hadn’t chosen that moment to announce the obligatory round of “Hokey Pokey.”

“Oh, get up, Zach, we have to get in the ‘Hokey Pokey’ circle!” Paige squealed, pulling herself to her feet by clinging to Zach’s crumpled form then reaching out to help him to his.

“Oh no, you are not talking me into doing the ‘Hokey Pokey,’ ” Zach resisted, struggling to regain his footing and his pride.

“We have to; it’s a tradition!” Paige demanded, her pushiness camouflaged by the sweet syrup of her hopeful voice.

“No way.
 
I haven’t done the ‘Hokey Pokey’ since I was a little kid.
 
I don’t even remember how to do it!” Zach declared, dusting off his pants to distract himself from Paige’s pleading gaze.

“It’s easy, silly!
 
You put your right foot in, you put your right foot out, you put your right foot in and you shake it all about!” Paige giggled.

“And that’s what it’s all about, huh?” Zach retorted, shaking his head.
 
He couldn’t believe he was going to let this little pipsqueak talk him into humiliating himself like that.