The Accidental Kiss (The Kiss Book 1) (12 page)

Lucy added a flourish of bronzer and nodded her approval. “This is how you’re supposed to look.”

She stepped aside so I could take a gander at her handy work. The girl who stared back at me in the mirror was stunning. My green eyes sparkled against my alabaster skin. Cheekbones I didn’t know I had were contoured and highlighted. Lucy even made my freckles dusted over my nose look cute.

“How…” I sputtered lost for words.

Lucy smiled at me in the mirror. “It was always there, Sky. You just needed a little more than Chap Stick and mascara to bring it out.”

I gripped the edge of the sink and leaned in for a closer look. It was absolutely mind blowing what makeup could do. “You have to teach me how you did this.”

“Of course, but let’s get you out of those jeans.”

It than dawned on me I was missing history class for the second day in a row and so was Lucy.

“What about class?” I asked.

She shrugged. “We are already almost thirty minutes late. Why walk in now?”

Lucy had a point but guilt gnawed at my conscience. My mom would kill me if she found out I was skipping class. Then again, she would also kill me if she found out about the series of events that had happened the past two days. Out of everything, missing a lecture about World War II was the least of my problems. Nonetheless, I promised myself I would attend tomorrow, come high or hell water. Education was important.

“Alright, lead the way,” I said to Lucy.

She threw her makeup case back in her backpack and shifted the strap over her shoulder. “If anyone asks you why you are not in class, say you have study period.”

It sounded as if Lucy had done this before. I gave her a thumbs-up. “You got it.”

She pushed open the door and we walked out into the hallway. My shoes squeaked against the linoleum.

“You sound like a duck,” Lucy whispered.

“I feel like a duck.”

Stifling our laughter, we arrived in front of the office. The grouchy old receptionist was reading a book behind the counter. Her white hair was swept into an elaborate up do that must have taken three cans of hairspray to hold. It was seriously impressive.

Lucy greeted her. “Hey Mrs. Anna Beth.”

Anna Beth didn’t remove her nose from her book.

“We’re gonna take a peek in the lost and found box.” Lucy was met with silence.

Either Anna Beth was ignoring us or her hearing aid was off. Probably the latter. Lucy grabbed my hand and hauled me into a small room lined wall to wall with miscellaneous items.

“Holy shit,” I whispered in awe.

The door clicked shut and we were left alone to pursue without distractions. When Lucy said lost and found box, I thought she meant exactly that. A box. This though was a whole other level.

Lucy removed a wicker basket titled ‘pants’ from a shelf. “I know it’s pretty amazing. Don’t tell anyone but I get most of my clothes from here. What size are you?”

With her camo pants, black slouchy off the shoulder band t-shirt, and converse shoes, she was the definition of vintage chic.

“I’m a size two. On bad days, a size four,” I answered.

She shot me the stink eye. “Shut up, a size four is a good day in my book.”

“You’re five inches taller than me. On my small frame, two pounds looks like twenty.”

As Lucy dug through the basket, she compiled a small pile of jeans next to her. They weren’t my style but it wasn’t like I had any to begin with. I preferred classic shapes and colors like black and white, cardigans and button down shirts. Basically I was an eighty-year-old trapped in a seventeen-year-old’s body. No wonder Daemon had rejected me.

Lucy shoved a pair of jeans into my hands. “Ok, try these on.”

“Here?”

“No, out in the hallway,” she responded sarcastically. “Yes here. It’s not like you have anything I haven’t seen before.”

I dropped the pile on the floor and thanked the heavens I was wearing my nice underwear today. Still, my hands wavered on my top button.

Lucy sighed and turned her back to me. “Do you not wear panties, is that it?”

“Very funny.” I took off my soggy denim jeans and tried on the first pair. They were tight in the thighs that flared into bell-bottoms. “What do you think?” I asked.

Lucy spun around to assess. She stuck her hand on her hip, lips pursed. “Cute, but not drool worthy. Next.”

This was how it went for the next five minutes. I kicked off the pair Lucy dubbed grandma chic with a frustrated growl. “Why don’t we just go to the mall instead? Obviously nothing in here is working.”

Lucy whipped out her cell phone. Typing out a quick text, her fingers flew over the keyboard. “Emily will help us. Three heads are better than two.” A second later, the device rung out with a response. “She’ll be here in a jiffy,” Lucy said.

I tugged on my old jeans and explored the racks of forgotten objects while we waited for Emily. The shelves reached the ceilings with wicker basket after wicker basket, neatly organized and labeled.

“How is it a school so small has so many missing objects?” I asked Lucy.

“This room houses the lost stuff from the elementary school next door as well.”

That would explain the basket titled toys. I reached up on my tippy toes and peeked inside. There was a teddy bear missing one eye and a leg. My heart squeezed in my chest as I removed the stuffed animal from its prison. Poor guy reminded me of how I once was. Broken and discarded. Emily busted into the room out of breath. Her back pressed against the wooden door, she rested her hands on her knees.

Lucy asked what I was thinking. “What the hell happened to you?”

“You said…” She panted. “You said it was an emergency.”

“Yeah, but a fashion emergency, not an actual emergency.”

Emily eyes slanted into two angry slits. She shoved her cell phone into Lucy’s face. “You typed in 311 which is code for life or death.”

“No, 113 means life or death. 311 means fashion emergency.”

Amused, I held back my laughter. Their friendship was like Melissa’s and mine. You could fight, needle each other, and be a general pain in the ass but you knew at the end of the day, your best friend would always be there for you.

Emily threw her hands in the air. “Whatever, I give up.”

“Maybe you guys should come up with a new code that is dyslexia error free.” I chimed in.

As if she just realized I was in the room, Emily swung her gaze over to me. “Oh hey, Sky, don’t mind us. We’re just an old married couple.” Her eyes narrowed in on the teddy bear. “Why are you holding that thing?”

An embarrassed flush heated my cheeks as I shoved the teddy bear into my backpack with the promise to patch it up later. “It looked sad so I saved it.”

“That’s…cute.”

Lucy kicked the basket over to Emily, directing her attention elsewhere. She glanced down at it with contempt. “Don’t tell me you have turned Sky over to the dark side.”

“Emily believes free clothes are the devil.” Lucy clarified.

I was taken aback to hear about this little tidbit. Emily dressed similar to Lucy in the sense they both looked like angels that had gotten lost in hell. A little rock and roll with a sweet edge. When I took a closer look at Emily’s clothes though, I saw they were less worn. The hems weren’t as frayed, the material was higher end and there wasn’t a story hidden in the seams.

Emily pointed at Lucy. “That is not true. It just grosses me out. People have worn these clothes and then you put them on your body.” A shudder ran down her spine. “Disgusting.” Emily eyes slid over to me. “Besides, what happened to the mall? I thought you wanted a pretzel.”

I shrugged. “I still want a pretzel but I kind of had an incident so Lucy brought me here?”

Emily’s ears perked to attention at the word incident. “What kind of incident?”

What happened between Daemon and I would go to my grave. I shrugged again. “I jumped off a boat,” I said, vaguely.

“You jumped off a boat? Lucy and Emily said at the same time.

“Yes. It’s a long story I would rather not discuss right now. Can we just find me some jeans so I get out of these sopping wet ones I am currently wearing?” Turning a blind eye to their curious stares, I grabbed a pair of camo pants off the floor and held them up to my waist. “How ‘bout these?”

Emily and Lucy continued staring at me. It was a weak attempt to distract them but I didn’t know what else to do. Telling them wasn’t going to happen.

Emily broke the tension mounting in the room. “You’re a mysterious one, Sky. Maybe someday you’ll trust us enough to tear down the walls you’ve built around yourself.”

Trust wasn’t the issue, my own humility was. “I….”

Emily waved me off with a flick of her hand. “Doesn’t matter. Let’s get out of this room. You won’t find anything in this closet worth a damn. If you’re still up for it, we can meet after school and go to the mall.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Sure, that sounds great.”

Lucy and I shoved the clothes back in the storage basket. Since she was taller, Lucy placed it on the designated shelf. Emily opened the door and we followed after her. Mrs. Anna Beth was still absorbed in her book. It made me wonder how or if she got any work done. Once we hit the hallway, we each went our separate ways. Emily returned to class, Lucy left to go grab her notes, and I….was at a loss at what to do. There were fifteen minutes left until I had to dissect a frog in science. I went with my fail proof time sucker. The library. Daemon shoved a lot of knowledge in my head about my unique dilemma. I might as well research the history of voodoo and see if there was anything on Santeria that could provide useful. Fingers crossed the Priest of Santeria had a weak spot. My blood might be special but murder wasn’t in it.

The dusty rows of books greeted me like an old friend. McCord Library had the grandeur and charm of a southern estate. Marbled beams, high ceilings and arched windows overlooked the grassy common area. Wide leather seats invited you to curl up and get lost in a novel. However, based on the couple I saw mid-nookie the other day, I had a suspicion the students didn’t use the library for its intended purposes.

I approached the help desk. “Excuse me, can you point me in the direction of the religion section?” The woman scowled as if I had asked where the porn was. “I need to research for a project.” I explained. The scowl grew wider as she pointed mutely to the back. “Thanks,” I said without meaning it.

Brother, that woman needed a drink or two. Walking in the vague direction she had pointed in, I weaved between the large bookshelves until I found myself in the far corner of the library. My eyes scanned the place cards. Ancient religion obviously wasn’t a popular subject because it was on the bottom shelf. Getting on my knees, I removed the only three publications available. They were thick and heavy like
The Darkness
, another book on my to read list. I carried the stack to a nearby table with my alarm on my cell phone set for fifteen minutes. Time escaped me when I was nose deep in literature. The one closest to me, titled
Voodoo Handbook
, sounded promising. Cracking open the spine, it was quickly obvious it wasn’t a handbook as much as a 365-page novel about the horrors of voodoo. I was already scared straight, I didn’t need to feed my paranoia. The
Voodoo Handbook
went back on the shelf. The next two were about the same; people spouting on about how black magic will ruin the community and turn kids into devil worshippers. This town seemed to be severely against hocus pocus, the opposite of New Orleans where voodoo shops were as popular as Starbucks in Seattle. I bolted upright in my seat, scattering the books onto the floor. They landed loudly amongst the silence. A kid to my left turned around and glared at me.