Deceptive Cadence (22 page)

I tried to pull his hands off me. “Seriously, stop it.”

He smirked, and lifted his hands onto my waist. “I can see why I couldn’t resist you last year. You scrub up really nice.”

I giggled. “I wish I could say the same about you that night, but it wasn’t exactly . . . you know.”

“Uh huh. You’re so superficial.”

I giggled as he kissed me.

“Ugh.” Melanie dashed back into her room.

I remembered what Michael said and dashed in after her.

“Get out!”

“Why don’t you join us tonight?” I asked.

“Ew, no.”

“Melanie, come on. You’d be pretty if you wanted to be. You just don’t seem to want to try. Surely there’s some guy you’ve got a thing for. We can scrub you up and catch his eye.”

She glared at me. “I don’t want a makeover. I’m not desperate like my brother.”

I pulled her hair out of her messy ponytail. “Brush it.”

“Get lost.”

“Just brush it or I’ll do it for you.”

She scowled, but lifted a hairbrush to it. Her hair looked quite healthy and had a beautiful chestnut color, just like James’, but the ends were ratty and split.

“James?”

He popped his head in.

“Are there hairdresser scissors around somewhere?”

Melanie swung to me with alarm. “You’re not cutting my hair!”

“It won’t be much. Just to here.” I did a cutting motion on her shoulder.

“No!”

James appeared at my side holding out a pair of scissors. “Do as she says, Mel. She’s trying to be nice.”

“She’s trying to turn me into a clone!”

While they argued, I snipped off her ratty ends and evened it out. “Done.”

“What?” She sprinted down the hall to the bathroom. She gasped. In her absence, I dropped her hair in the trash.

James poked his head out the door. “I don’t know if she’s freaking out or not.”

“I’d say she is,” I answered calmly.

Finally, she plodded back into the room and James whistled his approval. Her hair had completely transformed into a healthy glow around her face. The ends curled neatly under, but she kept her eyes down as she returned to the chair by her desk. I stepped up behind her and ran her brush through it one last time to tidy the ends. Then I turned to her wardrobe and flung it open.

“Hey!” She leaped to her feet.

“Geez, are these all hand-me-downs from James?”

“Get out!” She rushed at me, but James caught her and held her back.

I pushed through and found a pair of cargos that could be considered fashionable, and a smaller white T-shirt. “Put these on.”

“No!”

I tossed them on the bed. “I could make you wear this if you want?” I tugged at my pink and red tank top.

She glared at me. “Fine. Get out so I can change.”

When she opened the door, she growled. “This shirt is too tight.”

But it wasn’t. “You’re just used to baggy shirts. It looks completely normal. In fact, I can see your waist, and it’s so tiny!”

She flushed and slammed the door shut. James threw it open again. “Melanie, you actually look like a girl! You’re staying as you are.”

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of the room. I grinned as I hurried to finish getting ready.

As we climbed out of the car together, the reaction to Melanie’s transformation was immediate. Guys stared at the girl who’d been hidden under oversized clothing and ratty hair. She wasn’t comfortable with it, and ducked behind James.

She tried to disappear into a corner, but James caught her and forced her to join our group.

Geri’s jaw dropped when she saw her, and she rushed over to me. “What did you do to Melanie? She looks like a
girl
! And a pretty one at that!”

I glanced over as Brian leaned in and said something to her. She blushed, which made him grin.

“Wow, that was quick,” I said.

James looked over and laughed. “Nice!”

Later that night, while James and I sat outside having a drink, Melanie and Brian slipped around a corner. James shot to his feet and yanked me after him. We peeked around to see them kissing.

James pushed me back with a huge grin. “Finally! She’s totally liked that guy for ages!”

“Brian? Seriously?”

“Yeah.”

“Maybe that’s why she didn’t like me, ’cause he’s liked me for ages.”

He clasped my face. “Who cares? She’ll get off our case now!” He smacked a kiss on my lips. “Let’s party.”

Later, as we stood around waiting for our parents, Melanie hung back with Brian to say goodbye. Geri came up beside me, nudging me. She nodded toward them just as they kissed. “Wow, didn’t see that coming.”

“I know. It’s great, huh?” James grinned. “I have the best girlfriend ever.”

Brian’s ride arrived and once he’d gone, Melanie came over and stood beside James with a giddy grin across her face. She glanced across at me. Her grin fell slightly, but she didn’t say anything. But, by the look in her eyes, things would be different between us from then onward. The next day, she wore the girls’ uniform to school.

EIGHTEEN

The rest of the year seemed to soar by. Before I knew it, September arrived and so had Harper’s graduation. She ended up getting very good grades—much better than the first time around—and even applied for several arts degrees. All she needed was to sit the exams to know if she’d get in or not.

The night after her graduation, she called the whole family to come to her room. She stood outside, holding the door shut with a nervous smile. “I wanna show you guys something, and Dad, in case you flip out, it was Cadence’s idea.”

She opened the door and led us in. We glanced around, wondering what was new. She gestured to the ceiling. Mum looked up first and gasped, causing us all to look up. Above her bed was a painting of us. Mum and Dad gazed into each other’s eyes, while Dusty and I sat laughing with our arms around each other, our matching sandy blond hair blending together where our heads touched.

“Harper!” Mum said breathlessly as a tear ran down her face.

Harper shrugged. “It’s what I wanted to wake up and see every day.”

Mum threw her arms around her as she sobbed. Harper looked at me with alarm and I mouthed,
They’re happy tears
. She smiled and clung tighter to Mum.

Curious to see their reactions, I turned to Dusty and Dad. Dusty stared up at himself, tilting his head back and forth, unsure whether he liked it, while Dad fought back a scowl. I stepped over and wrapped my arm around him. “Dad, it’s a really nice gesture.”

“I know, which is why I can’t be mad.” He rested his hand around my shoulder. “But the ceiling? We buy her enough canvases and art books.”

“You can just paint over it when she’s gone.”

“That’s the thing. I like it, so I don’t want to.”

I squeezed his waist and rested my head on his chest. “You’re the best, Dad.”

He rubbed my back, kissing my head.

James stressed out about his end of year exams, so I spent almost every afternoon at his house working through his notes. He grew short-tempered with me when I knew things I shouldn’t. One day, as we studied his PE notes for his exam the next day, he lost it.

“How do you know all of this? Are you taking extra classes I don’t know about?”

“James, I’ve been studying with you all year!”

“That doesn’t explain how you know all this new stuff!” He tossed his book across the room. “Geez, Cadence, you’re such a little know-it-all! Why don’t you just sit the exam for me? At least then I know I’ll pass.”

“James!”

“I’m tired of it. You’re such a brainiac and I’m so stupid!”

“You’re not stupid!”

“Compared to you I am!”

I jumped to my feet. “This is stupid. I don’t wanna argue about this.”

“See? You just said I’m stupid.”

“No, I didn’t! Argh!” I marched out of his room to find Melanie.

“Get back here, Cadence!”

“Not until you’re done being a jerk!”

I found Melanie in her room, studying with Brian for our exams. I stood with my arms folded as we listened to James rant on about being too stupid to pass, until he finally fell silent. I waited a few moments before I returned to his room.

He lay on his bed with his earphones in. He saw me come in and rolled onto his side, facing away from me. I hesitated. Biting my lip, I quietly shut the door.

I sat on the bed beside him and touched his shoulder. He pulled away. I sighed and lay beside him, wrapping my arm around him. It felt right. I’d done it to Austin when he was upset, so my instincts told me it would make James feel better too.

James’ breath became shallow as he felt me curl up beside him, and it only took a moment for me to feel his hand on mine. I shut my eyes and snuggled up to him. He turned off his music and set his earphones on the bedside table. He rolled over to face me and gazed into my eyes. He stroked my face, making me smile.

“Cadence?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry I yelled at you.”

“I know, and I’m sorry I irritated you.”

His arm wrapped around me and he pulled me in for a kiss. The kiss was long and passionate, sending my whole body into quivering excitement.

When he pulled away, he pressed his forehead against mine. “We fight a whole lot.”

I giggled. “Yeah, but making up is nice.”

He softly kissed me. “Yeah.”

The weekend before our School Certificate exams, Geri, Melanie, and I decided we needed a break from studying. They came to my house and we sat in my room playing cards.

Melanie was kicking our butts when Dusty walked in and sat on the bed beside me. He leaned against my shoulder and watched us play in silence.

“Dusty, why are you here?” Geri asked. “Why don’t you go play a video game or something?”

“Because I wanna hang out with Cadence,” he answered.

“You’re so weird, kid. What thirteen-year-old wants to hang out with his sister?”

Dusty sat up straight and looked her firmly in the eyes. “Me. I like Cadence.”

“I like hanging out with my brother,” Melanie said nonchalantly.

“Yeah, but James isn’t a little dweeb.” Geri scowled. “James is a hottie and he’s cool.”

“Ew. He’s my brother.”

Geri turned to face her. “Oh, so you
don’t
have Tasmanian-style feelings for him?”

She stared at Geri, confused, then she scowled. “Are you implying I have a crush on my brother? Geri, seriously, you have some messed up ideas.”

I giggled at the playful banter they tossed between them. Melanie remained surly and sarcastic, but she’d really opened up to Geri and me. Although the Gordon kids had been closed off and rebellious in the other timeline, they held big hearts inside them that they wanted to give away.

“Brian, Brian, Brian, Brian . . .”

“Shut up, Geri! You’re such a weirdo.”

I returned to reality and intervened. “So, James is getting his Ps today, right?”

Their heads snapped around to look at me.

“Yeah,” Melanie said. “If he passes the driving test, he’s gonna pick me up.”

“I can’t believe he’s seventeen!” Geri exclaimed, leaping to her feet. “That means that right now, he’s two years older than you, Cay! Two years!”

I laughed. “That’s not how it works.”

She ignored me. “Soon you’ll be dating a twelfth grader! Holy cow!” She pulled at one of her curls and stared off with a dreamy look in her eyes. “That’s so old!”

“Geri! We’re going to be eleventh graders soon, and I’m sixteen in a week. You’re totally blowing this out of proportion.”

“No, I’m not. Just think about it. We were in the ninth grade when you started dating him and now he’s almost in year twelve!”

“But he was a tenth grader.”

“Don’t use that logic on me, missy.”

Melanie threw a card at Geri’s face. She grinned as Geri glowered at her.

“So, talking about James,” Melanie said without looking away from Geri, “he’s got a huge thing planned out for your one year anniversary. Hopefully he’ll get his license or it will all be ruined.”

Geri scrambled back onto the bed, getting right in her face. “What’s he doing?”

Melanie smiled, but didn’t say a word. Geri squealed with delight and danced around the room. “It’s so romantic!”

She hurried over and turned up the music on my computer to dance. She pulled me to my feet so I’d dance with her. We laughed and spun around my room before she fell into my arms in a giggling fit.

“You guys are weird,” Dusty said.

Someone knocked on the front door. Geri gasped, her whole face lighting up as she gave me a mischievous grin. But Melanie reacted the fastest. She shot out of my room, while Geri screamed and hurried after her. They tussled all the way to the door before Geri answered it. “Hey, James!”

“Hey, Geri, Mel.”

I hurried down the hall with Dusty at my side as James came through the door. Dusty rushed at him and rambled about being the only guy in the house filled with crazy girls, but James only had eyes for me. His whole face lit up when he saw me and my heart skipped a beat. My cheeks warmed, making his smile widen. He pushed through the three of them to meet me.

“Hey, beautiful.”

It amazed me that after so long, those two words could still make my heart flutter.

He dug into his pocket and pulled out his license. “I got it.”

I grinned and wrapped my arms around him, kissing his cheek. He sighed and held onto me.

“That’s still gross,” Melanie said.

“No, it isn’t!” Geri shoved her. “It’s so cute.”

“No, I agree, it’s gross,” Dusty said.

The three of them argued as James and I smiled at each other. He bent down and softly kissed me.

Exams came to an end. The day of my birthday, I arrived at school feeling giddy with anticipation. James had something big planned that everyone kept whispering about. As the bus pulled up, my stomach filled with butterflies when I saw James waiting for me, his hands in his pockets.

He rushed at me as I stepped off the bus, scooping me up and spinning me around. He kissed me over and over before he set me down. “Today, it’s just you and me.”

He dragged me over to his bag and pulled out a pair of my jeans and a pale pink polo shirt. “Hurry up and get changed so we can get out of here.”

My heart pounded. I’d skipped school in the first timeline, but only one class at a time, and never the whole day. But as I looked at him, his eyes bright with excitement, I couldn’t refuse. I snatched my clothes and hurried to his car.

I changed in his backseat as he stood outside with his back pressed against the window. When I finished, we both climbed in the front. He grinned and kissed my hand. “Are you ready?”

I nodded, my stomach doing somersaults.

He started the engine, and as we pulled out, he pumped up the music. As we drove, I had to yell over the music to talk to him. He found it highly amusing, and turned it louder when I started to talk, yelling, “What?”

After half an hour driving, I grew curious and turned off the stereo. “Where are we going?”

He grinned, but didn’t answer.