Steering the Stars (22 page)

        I got in the car.

       After a short drive home—just five turns—he pulled into the driveway and put the car in park and flipped off the headlights.

       “You don’t have to get out,” I said.

       Henry shrugged like it was no big deal. “I don’t mind.”

       Honestly, neither did I.

       When we got inside, Aspen immediately started making her rounds, hopping about and alternating between licking my face and putting her paws on Henry’s chest.

       “Why is she making that sound?” Henry asked.

       “What do you mean?”

       “You know…” He made a funny, whiny sound and I laughed.

       “Huskies don’t bark. They ‘talk’ but it’s not like a normal dog bark,” I said, petting her furry head. “I think she’s trying to tell me that she’s mad I’m home late.”

       “Sorry, Aspen. That was my fault.”

       “I’ll make it up to her by taking her on an extra long walk.” Holding onto Aspen, I reached for the leash that hung on a hook near the front door. When Aspen saw what was happening, she got so excited, I thought she might pull my arm out of the socket.

       “I’ll go with you,” Henry offered. “It’s late and you shouldn’t be prowling the streets alone.”

       I made a funny face. “
Prowling
? What am I—a tiger? Technically, I won’t be alone with Aspen. And anyway, I do it all the time.”

       I was never afraid to be out at night with Aspen. People typically stayed clear of us, throwing frightened glances at my wolf-dog. I let them be nervous even though in actuality my husky was the most gentle beast in the world. I didn’t think she’d be able to fend off a butterfly, let alone a killer.

       Henry hadn’t budged. “I still don’t like it.”

       “And you really want to go with me?”

       “Yes.” He smiled. “I’m wondering what it will take to run this dog into exhaustion.”

       My gaze swung between them. Aspen was practically leaping at the door. “Probably more than you have.”

       “Hey!”

       I laughed. “But, tonight I’ll save your pride. No running for me. I’m not exactly dressed for it.”

       “Then a walk?”

       “Okay,” I said grabbing my keys.

       With Aspen in the lead, we walked the length of Briar Trail and took a left on Freeling Road. A few blocks later, the sidewalk ended abruptly at Kirkwood Park. It was dark, but the playground and the surrounding area were lit up with towering domed lights.

       “Come on,” Henry said, easily stepping over a short fence.

       In no hurry for him to go home, I followed.

        The temperature had dropped drastically in the past couple of hours, but that was nothing new for Oklahoma. As soon as the sun fell below the horizon, everything cooled down and the wind picked up. With her thick double coat, Aspen was thoroughly enjoying herself.

       I, on the other hand, was beginning to shiver. It was also possible that my fingertips were turning blue.  

       Henry stopped. “Caroline, you look like you’re turning into an ice cube. We should head back to your house.”

       “I’m fine.”

       “No, you’re not. Take my jacket,” he said slipping it off his shoulders.

     
 
“No way. I already have one of your sweatshirts,” I reminded him. “And if you give me your jacket you’ll be cold.”

       He draped his jacket over my shoulders anyway. “I don’t get cold.”

       “Because you’re a manly man?”

       He chuckled. “Something like that.”

       “Well, thanks…” I pulled the sides of the jacket together. It was warm with his body heat and it did feel nice. “This is much better.”

       We stood in the quiet for a minute, just letting Aspen sniff at the ground. From somewhere to my right, I heard a deep cooing sound. Aspen picked up her head and perked her ears.

       “Was that…?”

       “It was an owl,” Henry confirmed. “This way.”

       We crunched over the mulch in the playground, our eyes scanning the trees that were outlined against the night sky.

        “I think there,” Henry said, tilting his head toward a tall elm tree.

       My eyes sifted through the dark and finally I made out the shape of a bird perched on the very tip of a bare branch.

       “That branch is like the size of a twig,” I pointed out. “Isn’t it crazy how they can just sit there like it’s nothing?”

       “When you have wings, you aren’t afraid to fall.”

       I shook my whole body and mumbled, “I wish I had wings. If that were me, I’d go splat.”

        Henry was quiet but I could feel him watching me. “Care?”

       “Don’t worry,” I told him. “I’m not suicidal or anything like that. I’m not jumping off a building anytime soon.”

       “I didn’t think you were.”

       “Then what?”

       Henry straightened. “I was just wondering if you were going to Homecoming.”

       “I wasn’t planning on it.”

       He thought about that. “So no one has asked you?”

       I let go of a humorless chuckle. “No.”

       Henry waited for second before saying, “You should go.”

       “I’m already being forced to dance in
My Fair Lady.
I really don’t think I need to subject people to more of my uncoordinated moves. Don’t you remember the summer Hannah and I were nine and she talked me into entering that hula hoop contest?”

       “We were at the cabin at Lake of the Ozarks and, yes, I remember it vividly.” He chuckled.

       “You should. It was your nose I almost broke.”

       He rubbed his nose. “I bet if you go to the dance with me, I could teach you how to dance. Or we could not dance. Whatever you want.”

       I didn’t know what to say. It sounded an awful lot like he was asking me to go to the dance with him…

       “Umm.” That was the best I could come up with on the spur of the moment.

       “So what do you say? Is it a bet? Winner gets a lifetime supply of Pumpkin Spice lattes.”

     
 
“But, they’re only here in the fall,” I said like an idiot.

       He threw his hands in the air. “Care! Just say yes!”

       “Y-yeah. I mean…
yes
. I’ll go to homecoming with you.”

       Through the dark, Henry smiled at me.

       And just like that, I was flying.

“I’m not doing well in class,” I said quietly. “I got another bad grade today and Mr. Hammond has told me twice that he wanted to see more of me in my work.”

       “Then that’s what you’ll give him,” Joel said, steering me around the corner.

       It was Thursday—a day we didn’t normally have practice, but Mr. Hammond had called an extra one and we’d begrudgingly complied.

       When practice finished, Joel had insisted on accompanying me back to the apartment and now we were walking down Bridgeman Street with our hands linked and our arms swinging between our bodies. The pavement was drying out after a mid-afternoon storm and the air was cool and wet. I could feel it seeping in through my hoodie but I didn’t mind. It felt great after the sticky heat of the gym.

       I sighed. “You make it sound so easy.”

     
 
“Nah, not easy,” he said. “Writing is hard. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but I know you and I know what you’ve got it inside of you.”

       I laughed a little. “You
know
me?”

       He nodded and smiled to himself. “Well, I’m starting to know you.”

     
 
“And?”

     
 
“And I want to know more.” His hand squeezed mine a little harder. “I want to know all of you, Hannah.”

       “Hmm… That doesn’t sound so bad.”

     
 
He picked up our linked hands and kissed the skin near my wrist. “Did I mention that I plan to take my time?”

       I laughed and put on my most girlish voice, “Ooooh, do tell me more.”

     
 
Joel and I had been a couple or hanging out or whatever you wanted to call it for less than a week and it was thrilling and terrifying all at once
.
  

     
 
I could honestly say that I’d never felt like this before. Which was crazy, right? I’d been with Owen for years. And in his own way, Owen was the best boyfriend on the planet. He was loyal. He was funny. He said that he loved me. All of that added up to something big, but not even Owen could make me feel like… this.

       With Joel, every shared look, every word spoken, every single touch—it was all scary and wonderful and momentous and I couldn’t get enough of it. Of him.

     
 
The truth of it was that if it were possible to rate people on a sort of Richter Scale, Joel Sinclair would come in at a solid ten—total and complete DEVASTATION.

       “Come here,” he whispered, pulling me into a shadowy cleft between two buildings.

       I released a surprised sound.

     
 
“To say goodbye,” he explained as he slowly backed me up against a cool brick wall.

       
 
“I’m sweaty,” I warned, placing a hand flat against his chest.

     
 
“Am I missing something?” he asked. “Is that a problem?”

     
 
I shook my head self-consciously. “I’m gross.”

       His low and husky laugh made my heart knock a little harder.

     
 
“This,” he said, softly brushing his warm lips over mine, “isn’t gross. Not at all.”

     
 
The little hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I instinctively put my hands out and squeezed my fingers into my palms, like I was trying to catch my balance.

       “And,” he continued as he ran his hands over my hips and tilted his head so that our mouths were at precisely the same level, “I’ve been dying to do this all day.”

       Joel ducked his head and pulled down the zipper of my hoodie, exposing my collarbone.

       “Oh God,” I whispered.

       I felt him smile against the skin of my neck. “Call me crazy but I think it’s the squash practice uniform. It’s so hot, Hannah.”

       “I know. I was wearing it once and I had to fight a guy off with just my racquet.”

       He laughed then he captured my mouth with his and he kissed me like it was the very first time. Then he broke free and pulled me around the corner to the sidewalk in front of the apartment.

       I didn’t want to say goodbye so I grabbed his forearm and tried to hold my ground. Joel chuckled as he easily dragged me over to the door. “Come inside?” I asked him.

        He kissed the end of my nose and ran his big hands up and down the sides of my arms. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, do you? Your sister doesn’t seem like my biggest fan.”

       “I don’t care about that,” I told him honestly. “Felicity and I are… Well, it doesn’t matter what she thinks about you. Or me for that matter. We’re barely talking as it is.”

       Joel shook his head. “Still, I don’t want to be a wedge between you two.”

     
 
I started to protest but Joel bent down and kissed me again, effectively cutting me off. By the time the kiss was finished, I was dazed and seeing stars and had forgotten what I’d been trying to say.

       He crouched a little lower and whispered into my ear, “What are you doing a week from Saturday?”

       I could barely string two words together let alone think of what my schedule was like a week from now. “Ummm…”

       “My stepdad is moving his office this weekend and I’ve been conscripted into manual labor for the duration.
But,
” he said, running his hand over my face and tucking my loose hair back, “next Saturday I want you to spend the whole day with me.”

       “The whole day?”

        “That’s right,” he said, stepping away from me.

       Frowning, I dug my keys out of my bag. It was almost dark but that streetlamps had kicked on, washing us in yellow light. The door creaked open beneath my hand. “So, are you asking me out?”

       He nodded. “I’m asking you out.”

       I leaned against the half open door. “Like on a real date?”

       “Yes,” he said simply.

       “Hyde Park?” I asked, remembering how much fun we had there last weekend. And he’d said that he liked to go there on Saturdays.

       He took another step back. “Something even better.”

       “What is it?” I demanded.

       He grinned. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”

     
 
I bit my lip. “In case you were wondering, I’m the most impatient person in the world.”

       His smile stayed in place. “You can do it, Hannah.”

       I gave a melodramatic sigh. “Okay, next Saturday it is.”

        “Good.” He started to walk away but he stopped and turned back to me. “But I’ll still see you at school tomorrow.”

       “Tomorrow,” I said meaningfully.

       He waved then and I watched him go until he was down the block and around the corner, out of my sight.

       Then I slipped into the house and closed the door behind me. I leaned my forehead against the cool wood and let go of a breath. I felt like screaming or jumping up and down and throwing confetti. Joel had that kind of effect on me.

       The hallway was empty and none of the downstairs lights were on, so I figured no one was home. I was hungry but, even after more than a month of living here, it still felt strange just going through the kitchen cabinets. Luckily, I still had that stash of American junk food Caroline had sent me.

     
 
As I headed up the stairs to my bedroom I wondered if this was Henry’s house and I was visiting him if I’d be this uncomfortable. I didn’t think so. I mean, whenever I was at Caroline’s house I didn’t even hesitate before grabbing a soda or a chocolate chip cookie. Her home felt like my home. So why did I get the feeling that I was an interloper in my own sister’s house?              

       Safe in my room, I scarfed down a handful of pretzel M&Ms and one of my precious chocolate chip granola bars. Then I hopped in the shower to wash the disgusting layer of dried-up sweat and grime off of my body. I didn’t care what Joel had claimed earlier. I was GROSS.

       Once I was clean and dried off, I found a pair of comfortable yoga pants and a sweatshirt in the bottom drawer of my dresser and I changed into them. I sat on the bed with crossed legs and started the tedious task of braiding my long wet hair into five separate braids. It looked ridiculous when I was done, but it would be worth it in the morning when I pulled the braids out and had soft, beachy waves.

       When my hair was done, I bent over and pulled my laptop from where I’d stored it in the space beneath my bed. It was time to catch up on Facebook and my emails. There was one email in particular that I’d been thinking about sending for the past couple of days. It was to my brother.

To: Henry<
[email protected]
>

From: Hannah<
[email protected]
>

Date: October 8

Subject: Cupid

Hey big brother! Want to help out your most favorite sister ever? (You know that you do and the right answer is yes, a thousand times YES!)

Sooooo…. I can’t quite believe it, but our dear, sweet Caroline is crushing hard on MILES SLOAN! This is unexpected (IMHO) but I’m happy for her, you know? She never takes the plunge when it comes to guys so she needs this.

Okay, so here’s where I need your help.

Caroline doesn’t think that Miles notices her even though he’s standing directly opposite her on stage (so how could he miss her???) Anyway, you and I both know Caroline and know that she’s probably just not reading the signs right. I’ve given her a lot of advice—flirting, making him so jealous that he can’t see straight, putting on low-cut shirts. But the truth is that she has no idea how these things are done. Could you help her? Give her some pointers? Help get his attention?

____________

       It didn’t take him long to get back to me. I just had time to lather up my arms with my favorite lotion before my laptop gave a tell-tale bing.

To: Hannah<
[email protected]
>

From: Henry<
[email protected]
>

Date: October 8

Subject: Re: Cupid

Miles Sloan? Are you sure?

____________

To: Henry<
[email protected]
>

From: Hannah<
[email protected]
>

Date: October 8

Subject: Re: Re: Cupid

Of course I’m sure! I’m the best friend!! I know it’s a little weird, but I guess the heart wants what it wants.