After Eden (21 page)

“Eden,” Ryan said softly.

I turned to him.

His fingertips lightly traced the outline of my face. “You are so beautiful,” he said.

I held his gaze, drinking in the sight of his gorgeous eyes, even as I felt my own face begin to redden. He’d said he wouldn’t kiss me because that would make it harder to leave, but I didn’t want it to be easy for him to leave. And I didn’t want to face a future of regretting not doing the one thing I wanted more than anything else in the world. A mixture of desire and desperation rushing through my veins, I leaned in and gently pressed my lips to his. At first he just received the kiss, his lips hard and unyielding. I pulled away, but before I had the chance to feel embarrassed or hurt or any of the other emotions beginning to emerge from deep within me, he slipped his arms around my neck, pulling me closer to him, and then he kissed me. His lips were warm and gentle and sweet. I ran one hand through his soft, brown hair and he kissed me harder, more urgently, as though we had a couple of minutes to cram in a lifetime’s worth of kisses.

When we came up for air, we just gazed at each other.

“I don’t want this day to end,” I said.

Ryan pulled me against him tightly. “If I had the power
to stop time, I would stop it now and spend the rest of eternity with you here.”

“That’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard,” I said with a nervous laugh.

And then he kissed me again.

I shivered. Despite being a clear evening, the wind was cold. Ryan put his arm around me and we walked slowly back to the hall.

Mr. Chinn checked his watch as we approached the entrance. “Just in time,” he said. “I was about to send out a search party.”

“We’re quite revitalized, thank you, sir,” said Ryan.

I checked my watch: nine fifteen. “Seven minutes till sunset,” I said.

“The sky is still quite light. Twilight lasts for about sixty minutes at this latitude. I don’t think we have to worry too much for the next hour at least.”

Connor and Megan were slow dancing. Megan caught my eye and waved.

“Connor’s dancing,” I said.

“Is that dancing? It looks to me like Megan is trying to keep him upright.”

“This is a breakthrough for Connor. I have never seen him dance, ever.”

“Shall we?” asked Ryan.

I let him lead me out to the dance floor. He wrapped his arms around my waist and I slid mine around his neck and we danced. For a few minutes I just closed my eyes and
moved to the music, enjoying the feel of Ryan’s body pushed up against me, remembering the feel of his lips on mine.

“Connor’s headed our way,” Ryan whispered into my ear. “Remember your promise. No falling out.”

“What if he tries to grope me?”

“Just smile sweetly and tell him to keep his hands to himself. Anyway, from the way he’s been gazing at Megan all evening, I don’t think you’re the person he’d like to grope.”

“Dance with me, Eden?” Connor asked.

I laughed. “Now I know you’re an impostor. There’s no way the real Connor would dance with one girl, let alone two.”

“You don’t want to miss this opportunity. This may never happen again. Tonight the stars are aligned just so and I have enough vodka in my blood and enough sentimentality in my heart to break with tradition and …”

“Fine, yes,” I said. “Just stop talking.”

I didn’t know what to do with my hands. His waist seemed too intimate, his neck too romantic. In the end I settled for his shoulders while he rested his hands on my waist.

“Are you having a good time?” he yelled in my ear.

“Great!” I yelled back.

“Where did you and Ryan disappear to?”

“We just went to catch some fresh air.”

“Is that what it’s called these days?”

I felt myself stiffen. Surely he wasn’t going to make an issue out of me and Ryan disappearing for five minutes.

“So where did you stash your liquid refreshments?” he asked. “Are you holding out on us?”

“I don’t have any.”

“You mean you really were just getting some air?”

“Honestly. It was getting hot in here.”

I spotted Megan and Ryan dancing on the other side of the room.

“Amy still has a full bottle under her dress if you want some,” he said.

“Maybe later,” I said.

I didn’t want anything to drink. I didn’t want anything to interfere with my ability to remember this evening in every little detail.

“I’ve been meaning to say thank you,” said Connor. “For turning me down when I asked you to the ball.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond. Every time Connor spoke to me, I worried that it would turn into an argument.

“Why is that?”

“I never would have asked Megan if you’d said yes.”

“Are you going out together?”

“Not officially. But she’s my date tonight.”

“Are you going to ask her out again?”

“I want to. Do you think she likes me?”

“I know she does.”

When the song ended, I danced with Matt and then I was back with Ryan again. The band finished and the DJ started and we all kept on dancing. It must have been ten thirty when we stopped to get drinks.

“This is turning out easier than I expected,” Ryan whispered in my ear as we lined up for fruit punch. “Let’s see if we can keep him dancing until eleven.”

I took a plastic cup of the red punch and gulped it down.

Ryan took his cell out of his jacket pocket and tapped in a number.

“If you’d like a little punch to your punch, follow us,” Matt murmured with a sly wink.

“I’m just going to step outside to phone Cass and tell her to leave my car by the harbor beach,” Ryan whispered in my ear. “There’s no reception in here. Stay with him. In fact, encourage him to drink. Then he won’t be able to focus.”

Connor, Megan, and I followed Matt and Amy down the corridor and behind a bank of lockers by the dance studio. The high slit in Amy’s dress was a practical as well as stylish choice: she opened the slit to reveal the garter and bottle of vodka. Hurriedly, she unscrewed the cap and poured a large splash in everyone’s cups, except mine.

“Still recovering from Thursday?” asked Matt.

I shrugged.

Amy pushed the half-empty bottle back in its hiding place. “Right, back to the dance.”

“Actually,” said Connor. “Megan and I will come with you in a few minutes. We’re just going to get some air.”

“I could do with some air myself,” I said. “I’ll join you.”

Connor shook his head. “Why don’t you go and get some air with Ryan?”

“He’s making a phone call,” I said. “I’ll just tag along with you guys.”

Connor slipped his arm around Megan’s waist. “I don’t want you to tag along with us.”

“Connor, don’t be mean,” said Megan, looking embarrassed.

Connor continued to glare at me. I remembered what Ryan had said about not falling into an argument with Connor. I was going to have to follow him, out of sight.

“Oh, I get it,” I said. “I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

I stood and watched as Megan and Connor walked along the corridor, away from the auditorium. As soon as they turned the corner, I followed them. I started to run, but my shoes made a loud clip-clop on the tiled flooring and they would have heard me a mile away. I pulled off my shoes and ran along the corridor, reaching the corner just as they got to the end of the next corridor and began to go up the stairs. I waited a few seconds and then ran along the next corridor to the stairwell. Above me I could hear Megan’s high-pitched giggle. Connor said something in a low voice and then she giggled again. Although the classrooms and corridors away from the drama studio were in darkness, the stairwell was brightly lit. Probably some health and safety thing. Keeping close to the wall, I crept up the stairs behind them, praying that they wouldn’t look down and see me creeping up after them like some perverted stalker.

There were four floors to the building. The ground floor held the auditorium and the dance studio. The second floor held the math classrooms, and the two floors above them held the science labs. Why on earth would Connor want to take Megan to one of the classrooms? Unless he really did like her and bringing her to the ball had nothing
to do with making me jealous or making do. Ryan had convinced me of my importance in Connor’s life to the extent that I had begun to believe that he’d never be able to get over me and move on. Yet here he was, at the ball, dancing with Megan, stealing off to a classroom for some alone-time with her. Her giggle echoed down to me. I cringed. I really didn’t want to spy on Connor and Megan making out in one of the classrooms.

They reached the top of the stairwell and began walking along the fourth-floor corridor. I crept along behind them, working out where I could hide if either of them turned around. There was nothing much to hide behind, but the corridor was dark and shadowy and I could duck into a doorway if I needed to. Far below us I could hear the bass of some song throbbing up through the building.

When they reached the lab at the end, Connor took a key out of his jacket pocket and unlocked the door. I waited until they had both gone inside and then padded along the corridor in my bare feet as quickly as I could. They had closed the door behind them, but every door in the school had a narrow glass panel running down the middle of it. I crouched down in front of the door and lifted my eyes high enough to peer through the panel. At first I could see nothing. And then the overhead fluorescent light flickered on. There were rows of high desks with stools tucked under them. A table of microscopes. Bunsen burners. A life-size human skeleton.

And a telescope.

How had we overlooked the possibility of Connor
coming up to the science lab? Of course, the classrooms were always locked outside of lessons. But somehow he had obtained a key. I wished I had brought my phone so I could call Ryan, but it had been too bulky to fit inside my tiny clutch bag. I glanced at my watch: ten forty-five. The ball wouldn’t end for another fifteen minutes. Eden was still visible.

Connor unlocked the glass door that led from the classroom to the flat roof outside. It was where the school astronomy club held its viewing nights. My heart pounding, I crossed my fingers and hoped that Connor had brought Megan up to the roof because he wanted to kiss her away from the rest of us. The presence of a key made it look like he had planned this. I watched through the glass panel as he took Megan by the hand and switched off the light. The room plunged back into darkness.

I waited a few seconds and pushed open the door to the lab. It swung shut behind me with a bang. I crouched behind one of the lab tables, holding my breath. Connor and Megan didn’t come back inside. Either they hadn’t heard or they didn’t care. I stood up and tiptoed toward the glass door. They were standing on the edge of the roof terrace, gazing down at the garden below. Connor was standing very close to Megan, their shoulders brushed, but he hadn’t touched her. He said something and she threw her head back with laughter. Above them, all around them, a million stars were twinkling. But the telescope was still inside.

I fixed my eyes on the sky, trying to locate a familiar
constellation. I quickly found the
w
-shape of Cassiopeia. From there, I located Perseus, just as Ryan had taught me a few weeks earlier. Looking back down, my eyes reached Connor just as he spun around, facing the classroom. I pulled back from the window, but the shock in his expression told me that he’d seen me.

I stayed where I was, flat against the wall, my heart thudding in my chest. Perhaps he couldn’t tell that it was me. He might think it was a teacher. After all, the lab was in darkness. I didn’t move.

The glass door slid open and Connor stepped inside.

“Eden,” he said, his voice grim. “What are you doing here?”

Megan joined him in the doorway.

“I came up here to get some air,” I said.

“You followed us.”

“I had no idea you were here. I just needed some air and thought I would head up to the roof terrace.”

“What an odd coincidence,” said Connor. “You must have known the classroom and the door to the roof terrace would be locked, but you decided to come here anyway.”

I shrugged helplessly.

“I don’t get you, Eden. You don’t want me. But you don’t want Megan to be with me either?”

“That’s not true.”

“This is weird, Eden,” said Megan.

“Were you spying on us?” asked Connor, his voice rising in irritation.

“No.”

The door banged open and the overhead lights flickered on. I blinked and rubbed my eyes. Mr. Chinn.

“Okay, kids, hand over your booze and don’t make a fuss.”

“We don’t have any booze,” said Connor.

“Connor? Is that you? What are you doing up here? Dare I ask?”

“I was just showing my friend Megan the view of the night sky from up here,” said Connor.

Mr. Chinn walked out onto the roof terrace and gazed up at the sky. “It is a beautiful night. How about it, Connor? One last look?”

“We should head back down and find our friends,” I said. “The ball is nearly over.”

“You go down and find our friends,” said Connor. “We’ll be down in a minute. I want to show Megan my favorite star in the universe.”

Mr. Chinn was already carrying the telescope out onto the roof terrace. I ran to the door and looked down the corridor. Surely Ryan would have finished his phone call with Cassie by now. He would have realized we were missing. He would be looking for us. “I would love to see the Pleiades through a telescope,” I said, running back into the classroom.

“Good luck,” said Connor. “It’s the wrong time of the year for the Pleiades.”

“And I’d love to see a galaxy,” I said. “Could you show me a galaxy, Mr. Chinn?”

“Certainly we can take a look,” said Mr. Chinn. “There are several galaxies we could take a look at tonight.”

I got the impression that he had completely forgotten about the ball downstairs.

“Eden!” said Connor, his voice heavy with disgust.

“Oh, come on, Connor,” I said cheerily. “You get to look through the telescope all the time. It’s my turn tonight.”

“Because you’ve always held such an interest in astronomy, haven’t you?” said Connor, his voice rising.