Intrinsical - Lani Woodland [98]
“Interesting.”
My neighbor in the room beside mine turned on her radio so loud it shook the wall. Brent plugged his ears at her off-key vocal accompaniment of the emo lyrics floating into the room. “It’s even worse without your body.”
“Why is he trying to romance me?” I asked over the music, trying to get back on topic.
“Besides the fact that you’re beautiful?”
My head snapped toward him. “What?”
Brent had the look of an escaping prisoner caught in the searchlight. “Nothing. He’s just trying to keep an eye on you, making sure you don’t remember anything.”
My heart bounced merrily in my chest and I leaned toward Brent. In turn he bent toward me, elbows on his knees. “It’s weird to see you wearing something besides that formal dress.”
“Is it?”
Brent nodded. “Yeah. I’m beyond jealous that you just took off your shoes.”
I stretched out my socked feet and wiggled my toes. “It does feel good. Those heels were killer.”
Brent’s eyes lingered on my toes with envy, then traveled slowly up my body to my face. “You were right from the start. Things could be fixed.”
“We haven’t fixed everything yet, though,” I said, my voice tinged with disappointment. “How are we going to get your body back?”
Brent shrugged. “It doesn’t matter.”
I grabbed his hand or would have if it didn’t slide right through mine. I projected again so I could hold his hand. “It does matter. It matters a lot.”
He didn’t answer right away and I held my breath looking up at my popcorn ceiling. Brent’s emotions started to leak out in a chilly gust of wind that twirled around us, sending my curls flying around my face.
“Keeping you safe from Thomas is more important than getting my body back.” He paused for a second tucking a few of the loose strands of my hair behind my ears, letting his hand trail softly down my neck to my shoulder. My body hummed like a well-played cello where he touched me. He leaned in closer and I found myself lost in the fire of his dark eyes. I felt the small gap of air separating us blistering with things unsaid, of chances missed. I couldn’t breathe as he closed the space separating us, my heartbeat a frantic rhythm. The moment was perfect, as if scripted for a movie, and I strained to hear a smooth jazz swirl around us, the romantic music that informed the audience that the girl and the handsome boy were about to kiss. My eyes fluttered closed.
I waited hopefully, expectantly but was caught off guard by the friendly kiss planted on my cheek. The jazz screeched to a halt on a sour note and my eyes snapped open as I abruptly pulled back. The electrically-charged atmosphere effectively sputtered and died as if a bucketful of ice water had been thrown over it.
“Probably not the best idea,” he said, his eyes still smoldering as he retreated to the window ledge. Did he mean the near kiss or getting his body back? Confused, I let my hair fall in front of my beet-red face to veil it from him, while hunching my shoulders.
“Me coming back to life is only the opening act,” I said, trying desperately not to seem flustered. “The grand finale will be getting your body back, defeating Thomas, and freeing the others. We just need a good plan.”
Brent’s eyes sparkled with a devilish glint. “I have a few ideas.”
Chapter 16
“That isn’t a plan!” I yelled at Brent as I followed him into the tree line. He had dropped the bomb that he planned to just leave things the way they were, and then retreated out the window. Still being cautious, I had slid back into my body before storming after him. He had been waiting for me, but when I got close enough for him to hear my angry comments, he started walking again.
“Yes, it is,” he answered over his shoulder vanishing behind a row of trees.
“Letting him get away with it?” I tried to say but the words tangled in my throat.
“It’s the safest—”
“I don’t care about tha—”
“I know you’ve got a lot of passion and courage, but you’re not using your head.”
I stopped dead in my tracks. “Really? Calling me stupid is your way to get me to agree with you?”
“No, I’m just hoping