Head Above Water

28. Showtime

“It’s here, it’s here, it’s here!” I chanted excitedly as I hopped up and down in front of Rick while we walked to our last class of the day. Only an hour of theater left and then we’d be getting ready to put on the show!

He flashed me a big, genuine smile—the first I’d seen in weeks now—and chuckled. “Someone’s excited.”

“Aren’t you?” I asked. “It’s an awesome musical and we’ve been practicing our butts off!”

“Remember, theater’s more Malcolm’s thing,” he reminded me.

I nodded. “True. You don’t enjoy it at all?” I asked curiously.

“No. In fact, once I finish the change I’m taking theater and dance off my schedule. I’ll look like an idiot. It’s been hard enough to struggle through some of the classes when Malcolm hasn’t felt up to taking control.”

“Is it hard for him? As you get nearer to the end?”

“Hard?” he seemed to consider for a moment. “No, I don’t think it’s hard for him, more tiring I’d say. Like when you’ve had a long day on your feet or something. Usually around this time the maker backs off anyway. Physical and mental abilities develop quickly toward the end and we need the time to get used to them.”

“Have you gotten any new abilities yet?” I asked, stopping just outside of the classroom. I knew he had the super speed thing down a while back, but I’d never seen him do anything else vampy.

“Yeah actually,” he said with a sly grin. “Let me show you.”

Suddenly he swooped down to capture my lips, placing his hands on either side of my face so I wouldn’t escape. Not that I could anyway; I was too stunned to move.

His firm lips, which I had come to realize were always on the cool side, pressed to mine firmly. Still shocked by his uncharacteristic boldness, I stood there like an idiot, not returning the kiss. Displeased with my lack of response, Rick coaxed my lips apart and drew my lower lip into his mouth, sucking on it lightly. That snapped me out of it.

An invigorating chill spread through my body, shocking all of my nerve endings to attention.

My eyes flew open as he grabbed the tops of my arms and pushed me up against the classroom door, then pressed into me so I was pinned against it. I saw his yellow eyes flash brightly before he dropped his gaze to trail a path of bracing kisses along the side of my jaw and down my neck. I felt his hands slip beneath my top, gliding across the skin of my lower back and I shivered.

Too much! The jolt was enough to reinstate some of my thinking power and I pulled away from him quickly. My mind and body were both having trouble processing its desires—hot/cold, yes/no. It was all a tangled up mess of hormones and emotions. I closed my eyes to clear my head a little.

“Sorry, I don’t know—” I trailed off when I opened my eyes and Rick was gone. The area in front of me was empty, but I also realized I wasn’t standing up against the classroom door either. Somehow I was stood several feet away from it, where I’d originally stopped. I frowned in confusion.

“Seems real, doesn’t it?” Rick commented, his voice coming from behind me.

I spun around to find him leaning casually against the brick wall. “What was…did you just put a vision into my head?”

He nodded with a small smile.

My eyes widened and I opened my mouth to respond, but I really had no idea what to say. I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about what had just happened. Heck, I wasn’t sure how I’d felt in the vision, so now I was really thrown.