Beyond - Volume 1 (YA Paranormal Romance) (10 page)

“Oh, I didn’t know that. I haven’t had time to look around yet,” I say.

“Well, if you need a guide to show you around town, I’m available.” He smiles, but when I smile at him, he blushes.

After
we’re done working, I walk out of Cheng’s with Simon, and I get a phone call.

“Hey Raven!” a voice blares through my cell phone. It’s Emma Harper. “Want to come
to the fountain?”

“The fountain?”

“The park. There’s a fountain there. It’s the place we hang out. We go there every week to swim in the pond or play soccer.”

“Who else is coming?”

“Lillian, Joey, his brother and me. So, you want to come?”

“S
ure. I’ll be there in a few minutes.” I could use some distraction. Besides, I should think about something other than Damian for a while.

“It’s close to the
town center. You just have to go a few blocks from Cheng’s and you’re there. It’s hard to miss. Call me if you can’t find it though, okay?”

I gl
ance at Simon, who’s listening to my conversation.

“Oh, and don’t forget to wear a bathing suit. See you!
” she says. I can’t even answer because the phone’s already bleeping. So we’re going to swim.

“Who was that?” Simon asks.

“Emma. She invited me to come to the fountain at the park.” I put my key in the lock of my bike.

A grin appears on Simon’s face. “Go
od, because I’m coming too.”

I’m
flattered that he likes that I’m going, and it makes me smile. Simon always makes me smile. He just makes me happy.

“But I have to
put my bikini on first,” I say.

“
Sure. I’ll wait for you here, ‘kay? Then we can go together.”

I nod and bike home.

***

Simon and I
talk while we stroll to the park. We’re on the same page when it comes to humor, even though I don’t know what to say to him most of the time. His presence makes me cheerful, and I giggle a lot when I’m around him. I know I’m not supposed to feel that way, because Emma likes him, but I just can’t help it.

I lean
my mountain bike against the fence and gaze around the park. Lillian, Emma, Joey and another guy I don’t know are already standing near the fountain.

The trees around us cast shadows on the ground and protect us from the shining sun. It’s hot today
, and I can’t wait to put my arms in the fountain and immerse myself in the cool water.

“Hi Raven! Good to see you,
” Lillian says as we walk closer.

From the corner of my eye
I see Emma watching us. Her eyes are narrow, and she’s frowning. She probably wasn’t expecting me to come with Simon. It’s a bit awkward, and I don’t want to come between them, so I turn away from Simon and greet the rest of the guys.

Joey Mason comes closer to me
, and for a while I think he’s trying to flirt, but then he whispers something in my ear. “That’s my little brother, Christian.” He points at the guy standing next to Lillian, showing her the different flowers he found in the grass.

“He’s only here
because he likes Lillian.” Joey smiles at me. “He’s a little pathetic,” he says and then saunters off. I chuckle, because it’s kind of ironic for him to say that. If I know Lillian well enough, she’ll push Christian’s head into the water if he tries to flirt with her.

“Want some?” Lillian says when she sees me looking at her. She talks
with her mouth full of chips as she points at the bag. I have to make an effort not to laugh, because she’s ignoring Christian’s advances completely.

“No thanks.”  I
sit down sideways on the edge of the fountain and slide my hand through the water. It’s refreshing in this hot weather, but I still can’t get my mind off the blue ghost. Even now when I’m here with a bunch of people and I’m trying to have a good time, I can only think about Damian and how likely it is that he’s the blue ghost.

Joey walks away from the group,
toward the exit of the park. No one else but me notices. They’re all busy blabbering and eating so they have no regard for Joey. I’m the only one who’s watching him, and I realize where he’s going. In front of the gate is a grumbling motorcycle. On it is a guy in a black leather suit. Damian Hayes.

My eyes focus
on him, and my heart skips a beat. He’s back. I haven’t seen him for a couple of days, and now he’s here. At the exact same place as me. My heart beats faster and faster.

I squint and watch the
guys have a conversation, but I can’t hear any of it. Every now and then they glance at me.
Are they talking about me? Are they talking about the clash between me and Damian?
The aggressive look in Damian’s eyes doesn’t predict anything good.

Then Joey turns around and comes back to us. The motorcycle makes some noise a couple of times before Damian accelerates. He’s coming right at us.

I grab the fountain and pull my legs up, fearing Damian wants to drive into us. I don’t know what he’s capable of. He’s so unpredictable and dangerous.
Where’s that guy I had such a great time with?

The motorcycle storms
close by. Lillian and Emma glare at Damian, spouting swearwords. The gravel bounces off the fountain, and there’s a cloud of dust floating in the air.

He’s ruining our fun and trying to scare us
, or to put it straight, scare me. At least, I think he’s doing it because of me. I don’t understand why he’s so bitter toward me. He seemed so interested in me on our date, and yet since that kiss he’s been so cold.

Why is it bothering me so much?

I don’t want him to be mad at me. I know I don’t deserve it, even though I still have the feeling I need to fix it. I want everything to go back to the way things were. His chilling behavior makes me feel bad, and I don’t want that anymore.

He drives across
the gravel in the direction of a path cloaked with trees. Then he disappears from my sight.

The sound of
the roaring engine ebbs away.

“What was that all about?” I growl at
Joey. The words slip out before I realize it sounds too harsh.

“Nothing. We
just had a talk.” Joey walks right past me and doesn’t look at me, even though I’m sure they were talking about me. He’s lying. I didn’t expect Joey to be the type to hide things, but he seems so aloof right now that it’s the only explanation. He’s hiding something, just like Damian.

I ball up my fist. I want to know why and what it is I’m not supposed to know. I
fold my arms together and stare ahead. Then Simon sits down next to me. His presence pulls me out of my thoughts.

“Are you okay
?” he asks, and he puts his hand on my shoulder. He feels warm and sticky. I’m not sure which one of us is sweating right now, but it feels uncomfortable.

I swing my feet
back and forth. “I’m fine … ” That didn’t sound the least bit convincing. I don’t feel fine at all, but I’m not going to tell him what’s really bothering me.

Simon forms a cup with his hands,
puts them into the fountain and throws the water over his hair. The drops of water roll down his curls and leave wet spots on his white polo shirt. Sleek skin becomes visible through the thin cotton he’s wearing. I swallow. It’s too hard sometimes to keep the distance between us. He’s quite handsome.

Then he dips his hands in the water again, but instead of pouring it over himself, he throws it in my face.

I snigger while I splash the water over the edge of the fountain so I can get him soaked. We roar with laughter while the rest of the group gets spattered on too. Simon stands up and we start throwing water at the group.

When I look at Simon and what he’s doing,
my nose twitches like it always does when I’m annoyed. Emma’s running after Simon and tries to decorate him with the flowers she picked, because all the wet clothes make them stick. While he’s running away his face looks all contorted and his eyes are big.

“Let’s have a s
wimming contest!” Lillian yells. “Guys against the girls. Let’s see who can swim to the edge of the pond and come back fastest.” She puts the wet bag of chips in her backpack and grabs a rubber band to tie her black hair. “Let’s put these swimsuits to good use.”

“Sure,” Simon answers while he shakes Emma
off him. She was hanging around his neck. He doesn’t seem to want a connection with her, but he’s not the only one. She annoys me sometimes.

Joey doesn’t respond
to Lillian’s request and runs his fingers through his hair.

“Okay
. These are the rules. You have to fetch a flower from the other side of the pond. They only grow in that area. Then we know you’ve reached the end point and that you’re not cheating,’ Lillian says. “We pick one girl.” Lillian pulls me and Emma close.

“Let me do it,” Emma says while glancing at Simon, beaming.

“No, you’ll get distracted,” Lillian says and she rolls her eyes, which makes Emma poke her.

“You’ll win for us.” Lil
lian points at me. My eyes widen and I point at myself too. “Yes, you,” she says. “You still have to make up for what you did at the party.” She folds her arms together.

“No
, wait. I can’t swim that well,” I stammer.

“Of course you can.
You seem to be the fittest of us three.” She grins.

I bite my
lip.
What a load of nonsense.
Though I know I can’t get away with skipping, so I’ll just have to do it. It’s not like it’s going to hurt me. It’s just water, and it’s refreshing. But I’m kind of bummed, because I know that when I participate in contests I desperately want to win, and it makes me angry when I lose.

“Alright, alright, I’ll do it,” I reply. The girls
giggle and jump up and down.

When I turn my head, Simon
’s already standing at the pond. He’s pulling up his polo shirt. The naked, slender torso underneath stuns me.

Emma puts her hand o
ver her mouth, but the smile beneath it is still visible. She squeals while we walk closer to him.

“Well, go on,” Lillian says to me.

Joey stands next to me and pretends like nothing’s going on.

Simon’s
also pulling off his shoes and pants. The only thing he’s wearing now are his swimming trunks, ready to start the race. His pale, half naked body makes it hard to keep my eyes to the ground. He’s quite muscular, especially near the shoulders.

I swallow.

Get over it; get over it already.

I gra
sp my shirt with both hands. Joey whistles when I pull off my shirt and my bikini becomes visible. I won’t let myself be carried away by his taunts. I won’t let Joey have that pleasure. I’m more worried about what Simon might think.

I unbutton my trousers and pull them down. Joey is jubilating when he sees the rest of my bikini. I’d like to punch him in the face, but I know it won’t matter much right now.
Besides, I’m not the type to just start hitting people.

“Go for it!” Lillian yells at me
. She’s already got her hands in the bags of chips again. Emma’s standing on our opposite side, her eyes are big, her forehead creased and she’s pursing her lips. Maybe it’s because she’s seeing Simon partially naked, but also because she knows I’ll be the one to swim with him. I suppress a grin.

I focus on the pond.
From the corner of my eye I see Simon glancing at my body. I’m having a hard time not trying to cover my body with my arms, but I don’t want him to think I’m insecure.

“Are you ready to swim?” he asks
, blushing.

I nod.

“Ready? Set? Go!” Lillian yells, and Emma starts shouting at us. Joey and his brother watch us, and while I take one last big breath, Simon’s already rushing toward the creek.

I follow him immediately. We sprint into the water and
rush until it comes up to our knees. The pebbles on the bottom hurt my feet, but I’m not going to swim while we’re still in shallow waters. I get goose bumps all over my body, because the temperature drop is too sudden. The pond’s much colder than I expected.

Simon tries to block my way, but I push him aside. He’s not that strong. Not as strong as Damian, who could jam me against the wall.

When Simon and I can’t walk any farther we drop into the water and start swimming. Behind us the yells and screams of Lillian and Emma are loud. Water sometimes enters my nose, which makes me snivel. Simon’s already ahead. I try to move my arms faster and put more strength behind my movement.
I won’t just give up.

This pond has the shape of a half moon
, and the farthest point of it isn’t visible from the starting point, because there’s a patch of reed in between.

Simon’s
already swimming way ahead of me, and when I look back, I can’t see the girls anymore. The patch of reed around us is high, and I can barely see through it. The intense swimming is making me tired, and I end up farther and farther behind. I can’t keep up with Simon. He’s using a technique that’s unfamiliar to me. Can I even win this? I hesitate, but I continue swimming anyway. I won’t give up that easily.