Ephemeral (The Countenance) (24 page)

“No, stupid.” She shakes her wheat colored tresses. “In life. You’ve cheated your future husband out of the privilege of having you.”

“Oh, that.” I frown. “Jen.” I hiss her name a little more aggressively than I mean to. “Nobody on the planet says the words
reproductive partner
. Unless you work in a fertility clinic, I highly discourage you from pairing those words in a sentence ever again.” It takes everything in me not to fill her in on the fact that Blaine is stuck in full on reproductive mode with other viable females.  

Carter walks in wearing Casper’s suede coat. The fur on her collar flies back as she breezes through the room, and she gives an ecstatic wave. I nod back, incapable of sharing her enthusiasm. That coat reminds me of Casper which, in turn, reminds me of the Spectators who tried to eat me alive last night. I just want to forget all about creatures who can’t figure out how to die and yet seem to have the art of decomposing down to a science. Nor would I like to entertain any thoughts of scarlet letters or Jen’s horrifically overinflated reaction to the misuse of my girl parts.

Carter points hard at the jacket and gives an animated thumbs-up.

Also, a dead girl’s wardrobe choices and those that choose to parade them around are not high on the cerebral agenda this morning.

I just want to tangle up in a ball with Wes, write him a poem on the back of a leaf, and have him recite it to me the way he used to while I listen to the baritone of his voice, feel it vibrate through his chest as I lean up against him.

“You’re just not taking any of this seriously, are you?” Jen lands her palms down on the table to enunciate the significance. “And what if you marry Wes? How do you think he’s going to feel about this?”

“I will marry Wes, and he’ll get over it,” I’m quick to assure. “And, by the way, he slept with Kresley.” Just forming those words on my lips felt like a human rights violation.

She ticks her head back, befuddled.

Slapping her silly may have achieved the same effect and saved me from spewing out the horrible truth.  

“Look, this is a great conversation.” I toss my napkin back onto the table. “I’m really starting to feel that sisterly bond cementing us together. We should get together later and swap lipstick or sort tampons—whatever the heck you people do. But right now I gotta go.” I bolt up and snatch an apple off Fallon’s trey on my way out the door.

I’m going to find Wes or Cooper.

But I know for a fact it won’t be Casper.

Yet.

23

Love You

A silver dollar eucalyptus baptizes the earth in a shower of pale, sage leaves, silent and stunning as a ticker tape parade.

I meet up with Wes just as he comes around the bend from Henderson Hall, wrapped in a coat of early morning fog. It sprays him down with its fairylike glitter, and he shines for me the way he used to in the fresh summer haze.

“Hey, beautiful.” His dimples push in and my insides do a quick revolution. Wes is amazing. It’s a miracle that I only have to fight one girl off for his affection.

“Jen says you’re with me because I’m easy.” I give a playful push while swallowing down a laugh.

“I guess she figured me out,” he says it deep and sultry like turning poetry into music.

“Are you disappointed that I slept with Tucker?” I don’t mean to ground us into a carnal reality, but I need to hear him tell me it’s okay, that he forgives me even if I’m not sure I’ve forgiven myself.

Wes pulls me in, intoxicating me with the thick scent of his musky cologne. He drops a feather soft kiss on my temple, leans back and smiles with his eyes.

“I could never be disappointed in you, Laken.” It comes out sad, like maybe deep inside he is. “Besides, I’m not entirely convinced it happened.”

“Nice.” I twist into him.

Then it hits me—Wes and I are holding each other right here on campus like a real couple. “I guess technically it may not have happened, right? I’ll refrain from monogramming my wardrobe with the first letter of the alphabet anytime soon. Jen’s a real piece of work—you know that? I take it she doesn’t give your brother much attention.” I dip my gaze below his waist. “Thus the detour to Jax racks.”

“These are horrible rumors you espouse.” His chest rumbles with laughter as we start along the cobbled path. “And knowing my brother—all very true.” He presses into me with a silent plea. “I’m not like that,” he whispers. “I’m not interested in anyone else, and I promise you don’t need to offer up your body to keep me in place.”

I click my tongue in amazement at him. “I knew I liked you.” I wanted to say
love,
but I’m afraid that’s the magic word with the ability to chase him away.

I draw a quick breath at the sight of our conjoined hands.

“Come here.” He pulls me over to a patch of evergreens standing guard over the field like a row of secret agents.

Wesley’s cheeks light up like a Christmas tree as he stares past my shoulder. I follow his gaze to Asterion, the menacing bronze marvel that has the capability to both terrify and digest small children in their entirety. Lacey would have nightmares for weeks if she laid eyes on that thing.

“You know I care about you,” he whispers. “That I’ve always had an affection for you.”

I can feel it coming. Something monumental is about to weave from his lips, and I hold my breath for the revelation.

“I guess what I’m trying to say—” His lips curl into a half-smile, and he sports that smart-alec look on his face like he suspects I already know. I miss that look. I miss our never-ending banter that would keep us entertained for hours, a schoolgirl’s foreplay worth its weight in gold. He sinks down, lands a soft kiss on my lips. “I love you. I swear to you when I said that a few days ago, I meant it with everything in me.” His eyes latch onto mine sternly as though he were demanding that I understand the gravity of his declaration. “I have always loved you, Laken.”

There it is. If I ever needed conformation, it was just offered up on a heart-shaped platter. That was no accidental proclamation, no profession of familial adoration, or a spastic sentiment to get into my pants. He meant it, still does.

My mouth falls open.

“I don’t want you to say it back.” He swallows hard. “I don’t want you to say it until you’re ready. Besides, I don’t need to hear it.” He tightens his grip on my hands. “I can feel it.”

But I do love you, Wes.

I give his hand a squeeze.

You have to know that I’ve always loved you.

I lean in and indulge in the hot of his mouth. Let him know through a series of powerhouse kisses how much I love him—how much I’ve always loved him.

Kissing Wes on campus in front of the entire student body, Kresley in particular, feels like I’ve just declared open season on our love.

Our hearts tremble in rhythm, and our hips move in time. These kisses are worth a thousand bright red targets on my back. Ours is a love that can outwit death, catch a bullet in its teeth if it had to.

It’s going to be Wes and me forever. 

Cooper is already sitting in Mr. Edinger’s class when I arrive. The student body is bustling with conversation, the noise level like that of a beehive. I swoop in and he spins to greet me.

“You’re phenomenal.” His flaxen hair is combed back wet, looks the exact shade as mine in this bright light. I wonder if I’m really going to find out that Coop is my brother, and my stomach ignites in protest at the thought. “My dad confirmed it.”

“Your dad is a very wise man.” I pull out my notebook before leaning in. “Spill.”

“He’s never seen blood like yours before. He says the odds of being pure anything are slim.” He dances over me with his pewter eyes. “You’re the only pure Count he knows of.”

“That means both my parents…”

“Had enough in them to create a work of perfection.”

“And my sisters and Fletch? God—we’re like the royalty of angels.” I find this unnaturally exciting for reasons beyond my comprehension.

“I wouldn’t go that far. The Counts are a treacherous band of mobsters.”

“Gee, thanks. A second ago I was aristocracy, and now I’m reduced to mafia princess.” Either way, there’s a slight uptick of glee at the thought.

“Some might prefer the latter.” He gives a wry smile.

“So, we need to test Jen and Fletch. If it’s true then they’ll be pure too.”

“Not necessarily. It’s works similar to a blood type. Just because you’re blood type P, doesn’t mean they can’t be sporting other letters of the alphabet.”

P for pure I get it. I like Cooper’s quick wit, his constant stream of humor even in the most harrowing circumstances. I need that. I need him and his ability to believe everything that flies from my lips. 

“I guess it’s not important since I’m more than positive I’m related to Fletch. The real people we need to evaluate would be my fake parents. At least then I’d have the ammunition to prove my entire existence here is a lie.” An idea comes to me. “I’m going to see them this weekend.”

“You want a drive by genetic analysis?” He leans in and says the words as if he were trying to lure me back into his bed with them.

“Does it exist?” I clutch at his wrist in excitement.

He gives a simple nod. “You’ll need saliva, but that’s difficult to keep, a blood sample, or hair. All three if you can get it.”

“I don’t know how, but I’ll do it.” A bloody scene with me chasing them around with a hatchet erupts in my mind. “Consider it done.”

“I’ll need the samples as soon as you can get them. The fresher the better.”

“I’ll be trapped out there until Sunday.”

He considers this. “Call me, and I’ll drive out and pick it up.”

“You’d do that for me?”

“Yes.” Cooper settles in his seat, pierces me with those unknowable eyes. It sends a scalding ray of heat right through my abdomen.

“You okay?” He pulls back the curtain of hair that’s fallen over my face and hitches it behind my ear with careful affection.

“I’m fine.” I give a quick blink, trying to dismantle the unrequited bite of lust consuming my insides. “I don’t know directions, or even where they live.”

“I do. Anderson estate is pretty hard to miss. Meet me outside the main gate. There’s a patch of holly bushes to the left. I’ll be in the clearing behind them.”

“The bushes? Maybe you should just drop by and say hi.”  

He shakes his head and gives a slow blink in the process. “I saw the look on Wesley’s face when he found you planted on my bed. Trust me, outside of tutoring you or you seeing my father, he doesn’t want me hanging around.”

“Then I guess I’ll meet you in the bushes.” Something tells me Wes would be less than impressed if he found us exchanging niceties while covertly embedded in shrubbery. None of this would even be necessary if he would believe me in the first place.

I can’t recall one instance of Wes ever being jealous back home. Then again, Cooper didn’t exist, and it’s probably a good thing.

“I would hope I existed in every one of your worlds,” he says it with mock playfulness, and my cheeks flush with heat upon the realization the bastard just read my mind.  

“You touched
me
.” He glances down at my hand over his wrist. “I try not to listen in uninvited”—he pauses, holding back a grin—“rarely.”

I pluck my hand back as if he were a piping hot stove. “You said you were Noster. I’m confused. Who reads minds again?” I’m going to need a roadmap to understand these things.

“I did say I was Noster.” He exhales deeply. “I am.” He looks resigned to the fact.

“You said the ‘Celestrons’ were the only ones with telepathy. Unless, of course…” the words fumble from my lips. “You’ve been pumping up your superpowers just like Wes.”

“I don’t have to infuse myself. My mother was
Celestra
, and my father’s part, too.” He looks around before leaning in. “Consider this our dirty little secret,” he says it mournful as if his life were on the line. “If you don’t mind, I would appreciate it if you didn’t share that bit of info with your boyfriend.” I note the measured sarcasm he inflicts when he says, boyfriend.