The Bone House - Brian Freeman [6]
'Why not?'
She shook her head. 'I don't know what to do.'
Mark started to press her for details, but he realized he was letting himself get sucked into this girl's life and problems. That had always been his weakness. He was a fixer.
'I'll take you back to the hotel,' he murmured. He took her elbow and helped her to her feet. Her legs were rubbery, and she grabbed him for balance, clinging to his neck so tightly that her nails dug into his skin. He guided her into the dry sand with an arm around her waist, but she yanked free and skipped unsteadily back into the water. Trails of sand clung to her knees and thighs. She held her arms out to him.
'Let's swim,' she said.
'I don't think so.'
'One quick swim, then we'll go.'
'No.'
'Oh, come on.' She was a coquette again. Her moods changed like clouds passing over the moon. 'I won't bite. Unless you're into that.'
'Get out of the water,' he told her sternly. 'You're drunk. You could hurt yourself.'
'I think you're afraid of me,' she said. 'You want me.'
'Stop playing games, Glory.'
'You think I'm too young, but I'm not.'
'What are you, sixteen?'
'So what? All the parts work.'
Mark didn't feel vulnerable to her, but he remembered what Hilary had told him about teaching teenage girls. You think they're kids. They're not. He wanted this encounter to be over. He wished he had never got out of bed and never taken a walk on the beach. Nothing good could come from being here with Glory.
'It's OK to play with fire,' the girl said.
'I'm leaving.'
Glory scrambled out of the water. She sprinted up to him and stood, dripping, in front of him. Her voice was young now. 'Don't go.'
'We're both going inside.'
'Why don't you want to have sex with me?' she asked. 'Is it Tresa? I won't tell her.'
'Oh, for God's sake, Glory,' he muttered in exasperation.
'I'm not a virgin,' she went on. 'Troy wasn't even the first. You know what the boys call me at school? My nickname? It's Glory Glory Hallelujah.'
'You shouldn't brag about that,' he said, before he could stop himself. He didn't want to lecture her or be drawn into a discussion of her sexuality. He just wanted to turn around and go. Things were getting out of control.
He saw her eyes focused on the palm trees over his shoulder, and he flinched. He turned, expecting to see someone watching the two of them together. He knew it would be the same as last year if they were discovered. Suspicions. Accusations. You're a predator, they would say. Instinctively, he thought of ways to explain his behavior, to defend himself, even when he'd done nothing wrong.
Instead, he saw no one. They were alone. Weren't they?
'I'm leaving, Glory,' he insisted.
'If you go, I'll just tell everybody we had sex anyway,' she said. 'Who do you think they'll believe? If you stay, it can be our secret.'
Glory reached behind her back. He didn't realize what she was doing, but when her hands came forward, they held the strings to her bikini top, which dangled at her hips. She tugged the ties at her neck, undoing the knot, and shrugged her torso, letting the red top peel away and fall to her feet. Her eyes were serious and confident as she cupped her naked breasts.
'No one will ever know,' she whispered.
* * *
Chapter Two
'You're quiet this morning,' Hilary Bradley said to her husband.
They sat at an outdoor table by the pool with plates filled from the hotel's breakfast buffet. It was early morning, just after seven o'clock, and the patio cafe was sparsely populated. Both of them were early risers. Hilary sipped her orange juice and watched her husband, whose blank eyes were focused on the wide stretch of beach and the placid GuIf water.
'Anyone in there?' she asked when he didn't answer her.
Mark's head snapped toward her. 'Oh, sorry. I'm not quite awake yet.'
'Drink your coffee.'
He sipped from a ceramic mug, not saying anything more.
'You OK?' she asked.
'Sure. Fine.'
Hilary didn't push him to talk. She tried the jalapeno-laced scrambled eggs, which were spicy and delicious, and she picked up a piece of crispy