* * *
Ronnie woke up the next morning with Gavin’s name on her lips. She could still feel him with her. In fact, he was shaking her awake.
“Gavin, stop,” she mumbled as she pushed his hand away.
“Um, no,” Andi spoke up. Ronnie’s eyes flew open. She stared up at Andi in horror, making her best friend laugh.
“Though I am going to want to know what he was doing you wanted him to stop,” Andi added with a smirk. Ronnie pushed her hair out of her face and sat up when she saw how late it was. No wonder Andi was here; it was almost six-thirty. How had she missed her alarm? She reached for her cell phone and saw the alarm screen flashing.
“What—How—Oh my god,” Ronnie sputtered as she threw the blankets aside.
“Okay, chill out. Obviously, there’s no time for a shower. Go wash your face and I’ll put an outfit together,” Andi instructed. Ronnie nodded as she scrambled out of bed and ran out of the room. She locked the bathroom door and stared hard at herself in the mirror. What had she dreamed about Gavin last night? And why was she still thinking about him this morning? She grimaced as she turned on the cold water and splashed her face a couple times. Just because he was nice to her last night and saved her from, well, whatever it was that happened, that was no reason for him to suddenly invade her dreams. She thought of Gavin teasing her about liking him and shook her head. She didn’t like him—and she would prove it today.
She washed her face and returned to her room to put on the outfit Andi chose for her: a pair of black capris, a white short-sleeved kimono top, and black ballet flats; cool, cute and chic. She whipped her hair into a braid down her back, swiped on some mascara and was ready to go. After grabbing her book bag and purse, she followed Andi out of the house, thankful her parents were already gone today because she didn’t know how visible her tattoo was.
“So, you have a lot of explaining to do,” Andi began once they were in her car and on their way to school. Ronnie blushed, wondering where she should begin; escaping to the bookstore and running into Rick, Gavin walking her home; or the weird dream. She sighed and decided to wait for Andi’s first question.
“Where were you yesterday?” Andi asked. “Your mom called freaking out because you weren’t home yet.”
“I went to The Reading Corner. Gavin drove me crazy yesterday and I needed to escape,” Ronnie admitted.
“That’s another thing; if the guy drove you crazy, why were you dreaming about him?”
Ronnie’s cheeks burned as she thought about the dream and the impression of him being with her in her room. She knew she couldn’t tell Andi about any of that because Andi would accuse her of liking Gavin.
“I don’t know; I guess he just annoyed me so much that he got into my dreams,” Ronnie finally said.
“Yeah, right; that’s why you were all ‘Gavin, stop’ this morning.” Andi pretended to swoon. Ronnie glared at her as her best friend giggled.
“Shut up,” she hissed. Andi beamed at her.
“All I can say is it’s going to be interesting once we see him at school.”
Interesting was not the word Ronnie would have used for it; nerve wracking was more like it. They got to school with just enough time to go to their lockers to get their books before running off to their first classes. Ronnie said goodbye to Andi and headed for her locker. She fought with it until she remembered Gavin’s “secret” and banged on the door. It popped open and she smiled as she pulled out the books she needed until lunch. She was about to close her locker when hands suddenly covered her eyes.
“Guess who,” a deep voice said and for one wild moment, Ronnie thought it was Gavin. She almost said his name and then realized the voice was different, not the right timbre. She silently scolded herself for thinking it was Gavin when she knew who it was; it was the boy she used to think of first.
“Shawn,” she said as she turned around. He grinned at her as she closed her locker.
“How did you know?” he asked.
“Who else would it be?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. So, what happened this morning? Did you just get here?”
Ronnie nodded. “Yeah, I overslept. Andi had to get me up, actually.”
His smile softened into something more intimate. Ronnie’s heart pounded, unable to believe Shawn was flirting with her. Yesterday, he acted like Friday night was no big deal; now, maybe he thought it was a date.
“Maybe I should’ve come to your house; I could’ve woken you up this morning,” he added. Ronnie blushed, her eyes locked on his intense gaze. She thought about waking up with Gavin’s name on her lips and looked away; that would not have been good. It would have been awkward and she didn’t even have a good explanation for it.
“No, I doubt my mom would’ve let you,” she replied quietly. The warning bell rang and she looked up.
“Guess that’s my cue to go. Where are you headed?” he asked.
“English, room 216.”
“Damn, I’ve got Biology. Guess I’ll see you in Homeroom.”
“Yeah, I’ll see you then.”
She watched him trot down the hallway, confused by what just happened. He had flirted with her and acted genuinely interested in her. Her confusion turned to excitement and she grinned when he looked back and caught her staring at him. He waved and then disappeared around the corner. She started down the hall when she heard a locker open behind her. Her shoulders tensed and her stomach clenched. She knew who it was without turning around.
“Hey, Princess, wait up a minute,” Gavin called to her. She bit her lower lip as she stopped. A moment later, his locker closed and then he was next to her.
“Where did you get the tattoo?” he asked, flipping her braid over her left shoulder so he could get a good look at it. She flipped her braid back as she turned her back away from him.
“Why?” she replied as she faced him. He wore another pair of black cargo pants and a burgundy t-shirt that fit as well as yesterday’s black one. She hated that she noticed that.
“Because I have one, too, and I just wanted to know.” He pushed up the right sleeve of his shirt and Ronnie gasped when she saw a matching tattoo on his shoulder. Images from the dream the night she got her tattoo flashed in her mind. All those creatures had the same mark. Gavin grinned as though he knew her thoughts, though his eyes were guarded.
“I got it at Oak Street Ink on Saturday,” she told him. “Where did you get yours?”
“At home.”
She frowned at him. “That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the only one you’re getting.”
The bell rang and Ronnie groaned. Now they were late for class and they were going to walk in together. The only saving grace was that this was one of the few classes she had without Shawn or Andi; neither of them could ask what was going on. Gavin seemed to understand her internal dilemma and grinned as he draped an arm over her shoulders.
“Come on, Princess, I’ll walk you to class,” he said. She rolled her eyes as they started down the hall.