Lingering Echoes (8 page)

“Yeah, like you didn’t see that one co
ming,” I accused.

“Hey, anything to see you smile
again,” he countered with a grin. “So, my first question: Who is the fool that supplied your supersized wardrobe?”

He tugged at my shirt, holding up a loose sleeve with distaste. “Or were you once a member of Jenny Craig? Because no offense, you look like a thug.
”

“
Well, it’s all he had, so I sported it the best I could,” I said. “Not too shabby in my opinion.”

Aaron’s face was serious.
“Yeah. Now that we’re on the subject, who is that guy anyway?”

I sensed th
e mild criticism in his tone. “His name’s Damien. He took me to his place to get a change of clothes and warm up. I sort of got drenched sitting in the rain.”

“You went to his place
? Do you even know this guy?” His alarmed tone caught my attention. “Allie, you shouldn’t just take off with random guys. It’s not safe.” He shook his head at me again. “It’s obvious you didn’t grow up with a big brother. If you were my sister, you can bet I’d be keeping a closer eye on you.”

“
Well, I’m not your sister so you can just back off, ok? I’ve met him before. It’s not like we’re complete strangers.” I didn’t know why I felt so protective but I didn’t apologize. I didn’t need someone else trying to play the missing dad or older brother role in my life.

“Look, a
ll I’m saying is you can’t blame me for worrying. I saw him talking to Brooke while we were out looking for you. Let’s be honest—he doesn’t exactly look like your average boy scout. You need to be careful who you trust these days. It would make
me
feel better, anyway,” Aaron concluded.

His words rang familiarly
in my mind. That was twice in one day that the Russian woman’s words were brought to my remembrance. I tried to shake her memory away.

“Let’s just play, ok
? How about a little game of one-on-one?”

With
a disapproving sigh, he agreed. “You’re on.”

At
8:30 the next morning, my alarm sounded. I rolled over and turned off my phone. With limited service throughout Hidden Pines, it wasn’t good for much else, though we did get some reception in parts of our cabin. My body moaned in response to the sudden movement. With a long stretch, I pulled back my curtain, squinting out towards the lake. The sun shone, no longer shielded behind a mass of clouds. It sprinkled its light across the water, even making the lake seem somewhat appealing to me again.

A blond head popped behind the glass of my window. I jumped back with a muffled yelp, dropping the curtain in my surprise.

“Allie! Allie, open the window!” a soprano voice called, followed by rapid tapping against the glass.

I threw the curtains open
, revealing Brooke leaning against the windowsill. Releasing the latch, I slid the window to the side, allowing in a fresh breeze of air.

“Thanks for scaring me half to death,”
I chided. “How are you?”

“Well, I was going to ask you the same thing. After yesterday’s ordeal, I thou
ght I’d give you a little space—space meaning less than twenty-four hours, of course. But Aaron did fill me in with some details. I’m glad you know I’m not a spy for your dad or anything. That would just be weird! Besides, I don’t think I could keep a secret for that long. Oh, unless
you
wanted me to keep a secret. Then I totally would.”

She paused to catch a breath. “So,” she continued, with failing nonchalance, “Anything new lately?”

I watched her struggle to keep the casual expression of disinterest on her face. Unable to maintain a straight face myself, I sputtered a laugh. She broke down.

“Oh, ok fine. You know I’m dying to know the details! Move over!” I stepped to the side as she clambered into my room, jumping to wedge her small
form through the window. I offered her a hand so she wouldn’t fall on her face, and then I gave her a rundown of yesterday afternoon’s events: Damien rescuing me from beside the river, driving to his cabin, wearing his clothes...

“Then
I saw him changing in his room,” I told her. When Brooke’s eyes widened, I was quick to clarify, “No, not like that! He had sweats on but no shirt. I think he has some kind of scar on his back. It was a darker color and the texture felt different. I think he’s—”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Hold on. I think you flew over a significant portion of your story.
Felt different?
You had your hands on his naked back??”

Brooke’s mouth opened with disbelief, followed by a mischievous smile. “He kissed you, didn’t he?”

My blushing cheeks took me by surprise. “Well, no. He—”

“But you
want him to,” Brooke concluded, nodding her head in satisfaction.

“Brooke!”

“Ok, ok. Sorry. It’s just exciting, that’s all.”

“Nothing e
ven happened,” I protested.

Nothing, excep
t that I shared intimate details about my life
—
details that I refused to share with anyone else.

But I wasn’
t about to tell Brooke that. It was hard enough yesterday. I waved a hand at her. “So don’t get your hopes up for a juicy story. I don’t even know if I’ll see him again.”

Brooke looked confused. “Why wouldn’t you?”

I opened my palms with a shrug. “I don’t know. The better question would be why
would
I see him again? I don’t have any reason to; although, I’m sure he wants his clothes back.”

Brooke made a derisive noise
. “He made an effort to find you yesterday. I think that means
something
.”

“Yeah, or he was just being n
ice,” I argued. “It was a one-time thing, which is all the better because what am I supposed to do with a, uh...” I faltered with my words.

Brooke chimed right in. “A summer f
ling?” Her smile teased me. “Why
not
enjoy a summer fling?”

My mou
th opened and closed with indecision. “Because—it’s just—there’s no point in them! Why waste time and emotion on something that’s not going to last? People are so ridiculous about those kinds of things.”

Brooke’s jaw dropped.
“So you think I’m ridiculous?”

“What? I didn’t say that.”

“Yes, that’s exactly what you’re saying! Because
I’m
not opposed to such things. I think it’s all part of the fun and learning experience of dating. You’ll never know what can happen if you don’t give it a try.”

I shook my head at her in disbelief. “Yeah, I know
what happens: you love, laugh, break up, cry, and in the end, realize once again that it’s not worth it.”

Brooke looked out the window in disgu
st, while I folded my arms with resolution.

“Huh.
” Brooke leaned closer to the window as she peered through it. Satisfied, she continued, “Well, I guess you better explain your theory to yesterday’s hero.” She smirked at me.

“Uh, w
hat are you talking ab—” My jaw dropped. Not twenty-five feet away was a familiar looking dirt bike. Straddling it, Damien leaned into his handlebars as he watched Brooke and me.

I gasped,
yanking the curtains closed. I ran a startled hand through my unkempt hair, widening my eyes at Brooke. The corners of her mouth twitched with hidden laughter.

“Looks like he wants his clothes back sooner than you thought.”

Through a gap in the curtains, I eyed Damien with uncertainty. He lifted his hand in greeting with an even expression. I jumped back again, out of his view.

“There, you see? He just waved at you. Now go out there and talk
to him. I, on the other hand, am going to go back home—through the front door this time—and think about how jealous I am of you right now.” She smacked my behind. “Go get ‘em, tiger.”

Brooke pranced out of the room while I rubbed my lips together
. After a moment, I braved another peek out the window. Damien ambled towards me, wearing jeans and some kind of snug, motorbike jersey, which outlined his body. I cast a self-conscious glance behind me at my mirror, wishing I was a little more put together, but there was nothing I could do about my appearance. Resigned, I pulled the curtains open all the way.

Tugging down on my cotton shorts, I
wrapped my arms around my baggy athletic shirt. I shifted back and forth on my feet, waiting for Damien to finish his stroll to my window.

Damien folded his arms
across the windowsill. Recalling my bold encounter with him yesterday, a ripple of shyness swept over me. A trace of a smile developed on his lips.

“Hi.”
His warm voice tickled my stomach, and I resisted squirming.

“Um, hi.
” I looked over my shoulder at a plastic bag at the foot of my bed, hurrying over to pick it up. Walking back over to Damien, I handed him the bag. “Here. Thanks again for your clothes.”

I dan
gled it in front him. He didn’t take the bag.

“That’s
not what I came for.”

“Oh.” I put the bag on the bedside table. Baffled, I asked, “Well, what do you want?”

“Come with me. I want to take you somewhere.”

Suspicious,
I crossed my arms across my chest again, letting my natural defenses override my timidity. “Is it routine for you to show up at girl’s windows and make demands? What makes you think I want to go with you?”

Damien
leaned further into my window, drumming his fingers against the desk. He stopped and stared back at me with confidence. “Because—you’ll regret it if you don’t.”

“
Hmm. Well, I’m not ready to go anywhere right now.”

“You don’t need much. Throw on some pants and a
T-shirt and you’re all set. I’ll wait for you in the parking lot.” He turned his back and took his time walking back to his bike.

I stared aft
er him. When he didn’t turn around, I slid my window shut and pulled the curtains closed again, wavering.

I
could refuse to go... and sit in the cabin wondering all day where he wanted to take me. Or, I could go and see for myself, eliminating any and all questions that my curiosity would otherwise torture me about.

I chewed on the inside of
my cheek—a bad habit I was trying to break. Coming to a decision, I brushed my teeth, changed my clothes, ran a brush through my hair, and added just a touch of eye makeup. I blew out a nervous breath of air as I looked at myself in the mirror. With a light shrug, I walked out my bedroom door.

“Hey, nice to see you up, Allie,”
Dad greeted from where he sat on the couch. He was flipping through a magazine with a bowl of cereal on his lap. “You uh...feeling ok?”

By that, I knew he wondered if I was still mad at him about yesterday. I sort of
was. I still hated the idea that he had planned on forcing a therapist on me and had his own plans for how to “cure me.”

But with other things on my mind, I responded with, “Yeah, better anyway.”
Dad looked relieved.

Clara smiled at me.
“Where you off to today?”

I rummaged through the kitchen cupboard for a granola bar. “Me? Oh, nowhere.
Maybe just for a walk or something.”

“If you get up just an hour earlier, you could come walking with me in the mornings,” Clara offered
, as she had already suggested a couple times this week. “I’d still love the company.”

I nodded my head, noting the
hint of hope in her voice. “Ok. Yeah, maybe I’ll do that another day.” I tore my granola package open and choked it down, followed by a small glass of milk.

“You seem like you’re in a hurry,”
Dad commented, lifting up his reading glasses. “You sure you’re ok?”

“Mm-hmm.”
I dumped out my remaining milk. “Yup. Just trying to get a start on the day.” I moved to the couch to put on my running shoes.

“Well, you’re doing better than the boys. They’re still sleeping, as far as I know. I thi
nk they stayed up late playing video games. Oh, don’t forget to check in with your mom later today. She’ll be expecting a phone call now and then.”

Shoes tied, I
nodded my head. Mom wasn’t crazy about me spending a chunk of summer away from her, with me leaving for Fresno State at the end of August. Dad had to work hard to convince her that I needed time with Clara and Nick—that, and time for his lame intervention idea. (No one bothered to weigh in
my
opinion on the matter.) I gave a brief wave. “Ok. I’ll see you guys later.” With that, I stepped out the door and into the fresh summer air.

I threw a tentative look towards the parking lot.
A high-pitched motor revved to life. Damien drove the bike in a circle before he came barreling towards me. A tiny glimpse of the first time I saw him played in my mind.

Breaking abruptly, he stopped
a couple feet from where I stood. Damien removed the thick, black helmet from his lap.

“
Here. Put this on.”

I took the helmet from his outreache
d hand, holding it in my own. “Do you always wear this?”

“No.
But
you
have to. Go ahead and put it on.”

I plopped the helmet over my head, almost drowning ins
ide.

“It’s a little big,” Damien said. “But it’ll do.”
His gloved hand grabbed mine and pulled me towards the bike. “I believe you’ve ridden this once before.”

Blushing
, I swung my leg over the seat, locking myself behind Damien. He revved the engine once more, waiting for me to get situated. Unsure what to do with my hands I let my fingertips pinch the sides of Damien’s shirt.

Damien placed
his hands on mine and pulled them around his waist. “What’d I tell you about holding on?”

The engine
roared, and the bike lurched forward. I gasped in surprise, squeezing my torso against him. I thought I felt Damien chuckle through his abs.