Bennett pats the surface of the rock in front of him, and I scoot over and settle in, rest my elbows on his knees, and let my head fall forward. A groan escapes my mouth as he squeezes my shoulders. My muscles are ridiculously sore.
“So, how did you get into rock climbing?” I have a million questions for him, but this one is the easiest to ask.
He presses his thumbs into the base of my neck, and I breathe into the pressure until I feel the muscles release. “There’s a little coastal town in Southern Thailand called Krabi.” I can’t see his face, but I can hear the smile in his voice. “Railay Beach is known for its rock formations, but I didn’t know that until I ran into some backpackers who told me about it. They took me on my first climb, and I’ve been hooked ever since.”
His hands move with a slow, coordinated rhythm up my back until they reach my shoulders again. I open my eyes just in time to see him reach forward, grab a piece of my hair, and twist it around his finger. Then he unrolls it, gives it a gentle pull, and lets go, and I feel the curls spring back into place. “How does your hair do this?”
“What? Look like a mess of miniature Slinkys?” He’s so close I can feel his breath on the back of my neck, and I grimace at the thought that my hair must smell more like sweat than vanilla-scented shampoo.
“I’ve been sitting behind you in Spanish for the last month, wishing I could to do this.” He pulls down on another bunch of curls and laughs when they bounce right back where they belong. “How about you? How you did start running?”
I turn my head so I can see his face, and he lets the curls fall from his grasp. “Oh, no, you don’t.”
“What?”
“I thought I’d get to ask all the questions today. You told me to keep them coming.” I lean back into his chest and rest my head on his shoulder. My head rises and falls with the gentle rhythm of his breath, and when he softly brushes my hair off my forehead, I let out a sigh and sink further into him. “Besides, you’re far more interesting than I am.”
“That’s not true.” I feel him start to play with my hair again.
“Fine,” I say, “we’ll take turns. One for one. But ten bucks says you’re going to run out of questions first.” I lift my hand in his direction and he shakes it.
“Deal,” he says.
“And I’m going first.” I smile up at him. “What do you miss most about home?”
He doesn’t skip a beat. “My cell phone.”
“Come on, I’m serious.” I wait for him to laugh, but he doesn’t. “Seriously? You miss a phone?”
“What did you think I would say?”
“I don’t know. I guess I was expecting you to say your family.”
“Families seem pretty much the same. You haven’t seen a twenty-first-century cell phone.”
“What’s so special about your phone?”
“Lots of things. But I can’t tell you about them.”
“Well, that’s no fun,” I say as I let out a little laugh. “What good are you if you can’t tell me about the future?”
“I’m good for lots of things,” he says as his fingers leave my hair, settle behind my ear for a moment, and then slide their way down to my collarbone. I close my eyes and try to match my breathing to his as he traces. “Besides, I’ve got to leave you some surprises. You do like surprises, don’t you?”
“I’d better. You’re certainly full of them.” I inhale deeply and try to concentrate on my questions. “So what are you saying, I’ll never see the future? Never see where you really live?”
He softly makes the sound of a game-show buzzer. “That’s another question. It’s my turn.”
“Come on.…”
“Hey, you’re the one who made the deal. One for one,” he says. I let out an exasperated sigh. “Where were you when you heard about Kurt Cobain’s suicide?”
“Hmmm. Wow.” It’s been a while, but I remember the day well. “That was almost exactly a year ago. I went to Emma’s after school, and we were up in her room listening to the radio, and the DJ announced that he shot himself. So we pulled out every Nirvana CD she had and listened to them back to back.”
His fingers linger on my shoulder for a moment, then slide down my arm.
“That week was weird,” I continue. “People were crying, like…really crying, like they knew him or something. I didn’t get that so much. Anyway, the whole thing was really sad.” He’s running his thumb back and forth against the back of my hand and when I look down I realize that I’m doing the same thing to his. “Where were you?”
I feel him shrug. “That was in 1994,” he says, and for a moment, I don’t get it. But then I do.
“Wow.” I stop rubbing his hand. “Okay, that’s kind of creepy.”
“Sorry.”
“And I can’t believe I wasted a question.”
He brushes my hair to one side and kisses the back of my neck. “I’ll tell you what; I’ll give you that one,” he says with a whispery breath near the back of my ear. I squirm a little.
“Stop it. You’re making me forget my questions.”
“Good. I want that ten-spot,” he kisses my neck again and I lose my train of thought entirely. “You wanted to know if I’d take you into your own future.”
“Mmmhmmm.”
“I can’t. Well, technically, I guess I could, but I’ve never done anything like that before and I have no idea what would happen if I did.”
“Why? Are you afraid I don’t exist in 2012 or something?”
“No, that’s definitely not what I’m worried about. But I can only travel back and forth within the time I’ve already lived, and you just haven’t lived beyond this moment yet. I’ll take you anywhere in the world you want to go, but never before or after this exact date.”
“Really?”
He rests his chin in the crook of my neck and nods. I guess I can live with that. I’ve never needed to leave this date or time, only this place.
“Besides you can’t know what happens in your future. That would take all the fun out of it.” He kisses my shoulder. “So, tell me about Emma.”
“Emma?”
“Yeah. Tell me about her. How did you two become friends?”
I feel the corners of my mouth turn up at the memory. “I met her my first day at Westlake.” I look at Bennett and he raises an eyebrow, asking for more.
I let out a little laugh. “Mom wanted me to make a good impression, so she made me wear the jumper.” I grimace and shudder as I picture the uniform. “We used to have this ugly plaid dress that was one of the approved options but no one ever wore. And she made me put on tights and wear this lace ribbon as a headband. It was, like a hundred and six degrees outside, and all day long, all I wanted to do was change into shorts and a T-shirt. I was hot and itchy and my hair was out to here.” I hold my hands up to the side of my head, and he laughs. “But then this girl bounced right up to me after sixth period—all cheekbones and braces—and asked if I wanted to hang out with her after school. And even though I really wanted to go home and change, I said yes. And that was just kind of it. Emma has been my best friend ever since.”
When I look back at Bennett I can’t help picturing the place I’ll be tomorrow, sitting in the coffeehouse and telling Emma every single thing about this day. I’m definitely winning for best date.
“Tell me about your family,” I say, officially changing the subject back to him.
He lets out a heavy sigh. “There’s not much to tell. My mom’s a little…difficult to talk to. If I ask her about something that happened in the news, the conversation eventually leads to doctors. If I ask her about the weather, the conversation eventually leads to doctors. I don’t ever ask her about scientific advancements, because that immediately leads to doctors. She thinks I’m broken. She just wants a normal kid.”
I pull his arms tight around my waist and start tracing his palm with my fingertip. His hands are dry after climbing, and the lines are filled with dirty chalk dust.
“Now Da
d thinks I’m some kind of magical creature. After he discovered what I could do, he wouldn’t leave me alone. He spent the first year researching all the catastrophes that took place between 1995 and the present day, and created this massive document that listed each event—and every smaller event leading up to it—so I could go back and prevent it.”
“Did you?”
“No. I mean, I don’t think I should change things that happen just because I can. You’ve heard of the butterfly effect, right? One small change can have a massive impact on something else. I don’t even think I could manage that massive a do-over.” He’s quiet for a while, and I lean into his chest and listen to the silence. “Eventually, he found a way to use my gift for another kind of good. His good.”
I keep tracing the lines in his palm, because that seems to keep him talking.
“We didn’t have much money when Brooke and I were little. I mean, we had a decent apartment and everything, but my mom was a bit spoiled, I guess, growing up here in Maggie’s monstrosity of a house. And Dad hated his job—he worked in a bank downtown; I don’t even know what he did—but he was always in a bad mood, and the two of them always fought.
“Then Dad had his big idea. He went back to his research, this time focusing on companies and the positive trajectory of their stock.”
“What?” I stop tracing and turn to look at him. “You didn’t.”
“I did. I’d travel back to each date he listed, a week or so before a major company event, and when I arrived I’d send my dad a letter with a stock tip. He’d buy. The stock would skyrocket. I’d go back and send him another message to tell him when to sell. And Dad had a new job.”
“Isn’t that illegal?”
“Not technically. Insider trading laws say you can’t buy or sell based on nonpublic information. The information we used was always public.”
I give him an incredulous look.
“Okay, it’s definitely sketchy. But hey, it’s kept them off my back…until recently, at least. Brooke and I got to travel and see all the live music we wanted. Mom got the fancy life she expected, and Dad got to feel like he gave it to her. Everyone’s happy, no one’s getting hurt.”
“I take it your dad made some good money.”
“Well, the economy has had its ups and lots of downs, but if you know exactly where to invest—”
“You could make a lot?” I guess.
“Sure. Millions, even.”
“Millions?”
“Well, we didn’t mean to.”
“Oh, sure,” I say with a laugh. “As long as you didn’t mean to.” He’s an accidental time traveler and an accidental millionaire. “So, how do you have access to this money?”
“That’s another question.”
“I know.”
He shakes his head but smiles as he gives in to me. “Cash. For this particular trip, lots of it, minted pre-1995, and hidden in my room at Maggie’s.”
“And Brooke?
“Backpack. Loaded with cash.” He pulls his hand out of mine and grabs my chin so I have to face him. Then he kisses my nose. “That’s it, I’m cutting you off now. My turn.”
As much as I’ve loved reclining against him, I’m tired of twisting my neck to see his face. I sit cross-legged and spin around in place, scoot in closer, and rest my knees on his legs.
“Hi.”
“Hi.” He smiles, but as I watch him, his expression goes from playful to serious. “You know, I meant what I said the other day. The fact that I’m here…” His voice trails off, and he gets quiet for a minute. “It impacts you more than it does me.”
I don’t like this turn toward the heavy, so I copy his game-show-buzzer sound. “Please phrase your statement in the form of a question.”
“Do you understand what all of this means for you?”
“No.” And I know I’m supposed to care, but I don’t, not right now. I don’t want to think about what he can do and where he can go and when he might leave, because at this moment we’re both in the exact same place at the exact same time. Right now I just want to kiss him.
He brings his hands to my waist. “It’s like my dad’s list of world events. I could go back and change a bunch of little things that would likely change the outcome, and my life wouldn’t be any different as a result. But other people’s lives would be. And maybe they’d be better. But maybe they’d be worse. My being here with you right now is a change. Not for me—for you. You exist in 2012, just like I do, in a future that doesn’t include me. Just knowing me here in 1995, where I don’t belong—”
“Will be fun,” I interrupt.
“Will change your whole life.”
“Maybe for the better.”
“Maybe. Maybe not.”
“Well, I already know you, Bennett. What choice do I have?”
“Remember what I said at your house that first day—that I would tell you everything, but I’d let you choose.”
I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him. “Yes. Let’s hear my choices.”
He inhales sharply. “First choice: I can go back to being the strange new kid at school, keeping my distance from everyone until Brooke returns and I can go home again. You and I can say hi in the halls, and maybe we’ll exchange little glances now and then, like people who share a secret do. But that’s it. Your life from this point on won’t be any different.”
“No way.” I kiss him again. “What’s the other choice?”
He smiles. “Second choice: I spend the time I have here with you, and we’ll hang out like normal people and travel the world like abnormal ones. When Brooke returns, I’ll go back home, but then I’ll come back here. And I guess I’ll keep coming back until you decide you’re sick of me.” He pulls back to get a better look at my expression.
It seemed pretty easy up until this point, but now that he’s forcing me to really think about it, I can see how enormous this decision is. Two futures: the safe but mundane life I know so well, or one filled with adventure but constant uncertainty. He’ll take me around the world, but he’ll leave. There will be times when we’re together, and times when we’re separated—not just by miles, but also by almost two decades. Every rational part of my being tells me to take the safe route, as unappealing as it sounds. But then I look into his eyes and I’m somehow confident in my decision. Still, there’s one more thing I need to understand.
“I don’t get it. Why would you uproot your life just to be with me?”
“Because you—” He stops. Takes a breath. Starts over. “I liked your sense of adventure. I thought it would be fun to take you somewhere you’d never go otherwise. But now it’s more than that. Now I just want to know you.” His words have my heart racing again, and I close my eyes and take a deep breath. When I open them, he’s still looking at me.
“Didn’t you once say something about this being a really bad idea?”
He laughs under his breath. “Yeah. I think I did.”
“You were right, you know.”
“Told you.”
“Still, I’m choosing option two.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
His face breaks into a huge grin and he pulls me tighter and kisses me, warm and sweet and long and slow and never-ending, and I know this is what I want.
And I know I need to invite him over for dinner, because there’s no question. This is serious.
We continue trading questions the entire way home, and as we pull in to the driveway, I feel like I’ve achieved the impossible: I actually know Bennett Cooper. As he puts the Jeep in park, I look up at my house and feel my chest constrict. I’ve been with him for nearly eleven hours, and I’m still not ready for him to leave.
He turns the car off and leans over to kiss me, but I reach up and put my finger to his lips. “Wait. I have another question.” He stops midway and waits for me to continue. “Why were you watching me at the Northwestern track the day you started at Westlake?”
“That again?” He settles b
ack into his seat.
“Well, yeah. You haven’t answered me yet.”
“I have. I didn’t know what you were talking about the day Emma assaulted me in the lunchroom, and I still have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“It really wasn’t you?”
“Look, you know everything there is to know about me. And I’m telling you, I wasn’t there that day. I still haven’t been to Northwestern. Certainly not at six thirty a.m. in sub-thirty-degree weather. That’s your twisted thing, not mine.” He laughs lightly, and I want to believe him. Everything about his words and the look on his face says that I should. After all, he’s right—there’s no reason for him to lie to me now that I know everything.
“Since I’ve answered that one before—multiple times, in fact—you get one more question.”
I’m ready to go back to our comfortable question-and-answer session, so I smile and think of another: “Where is your favorite place in the world?”
He smiles from ear to ear and his eyes shine as he starts to speak. “Easy. Vernazza. It’s a small fishing village on the northwestern coast of Italy, in the Cinque Terre, and you have to arrive by train—well, at least most people do. It’s the most amazing little village. Narrow, cobblestoned streets. Colorful boats lining the harbor. Row after row of tiny, brightly painted houses built straight into the hillside. It’s spectacular.” His eyes fall on my lips and he leans forward and this time I close my eyes and wait for him. “You’ll love it there,” he says, and as we kiss, the little village comes to life with the two of us in it.
“I’m home!” I yell in the general direction of the living room, and I start heading up the stairs in an exhausted little daze. My forearms are sore, and my hips hurt, and I have blisters from my new little elf shoes. I can’t wait to get into the shower and then into bed and drift off to sleep with nothing but thoughts of Bennett to keep me company.
“Annie, can you come here?” Dad calls, and I turn around and drag myself toward the sound of his voice. Just as I turn the corner and enter the kitchen, I see Mom and Dad push their chairs away from the table and start walking toward me.