A Goddess Wears Orange

Chapter 2

Yumi stared at the dark head floating off the edge of her bed. Well, not floating exactly. The head was perched atop a neck like a normal head was supposed to be, although she couldn’t see much of the neck; black hair that brushed the collar of his T-shirt concealed most of it. She knew that neck was tanned from hours spent playing basketball outdoors, though. Just like the rest of him. 

His neck in turn curved upward from a pair of shoulders that were much broader than she remembered. Her eyes traced the line of one shoulder down to a lean upper arm, then to what little she could see of his left wrist. His arms had also grown longer and more muscled. And talk about growing, he’d shot up, too. She was still getting used to the way he towered over her now, when it used to be the other way around. Even when he was sitting on the floor and she on her bed, he still managed to take up a great deal more space than she did. How could this boy, whom she’d once considered her best friend in the world, have changed so much in just three years? She, on the other hand, was still waiting to “grow into her own skin,” as her mom kindly put it. It just wasn’t fair. 

She turned her attention to the curves of his shoulder blades. They still looked a little bony to her, which was comforting. Maybe some parts of him weren’t all that different from the boy she used to know. She wondered if he was still ticklish in his sides and the back of his neck. Then she wished she could just reach across the bed and find out for herself. Three years ago, she would have tackled him to the floor and tickled him until he begged for mercy without a second thought. But it’s not the same anymore, a voice whispered sadly inside her head. Instead, she went back to contemplating the black strands at his nape. When did he start growing his hair out? She had to admit, it looked really good on him. And his hair looked so soft and glossy beneath the light, too— 

“Stop staring at me. It’s creeping me out,” Ren said without turning his head. 

She started and lowered her gaze to the math workbook on her lap, then realized he couldn’t even see her. “I wasn’t staring at you. Why would I do that? Pretty vain of you to think so. Besides, how can you even tell when I’m sitting right behind you?” 

He looked at her over his shoulder and grinned. “Maybe you’re not the only one with weird psychic powers, Curly-Top.” She flinched a little before she could stop herself, and his grin vanished. “Sorry. I didn’t mean—” he trailed off, then scowled and turned away, his body tensing as if he was about to get up and walk right out of there. 

“No! Don’t leave,” she blurted, then blushed. Good grief, she’d sounded so desperate. “I—I still need some help with our geometry homework.” 

“I wasn’t leaving,” he muttered, his own face going red. Their gazes met, held, then fell away at the same time, awkwardness stretching between them like taffy. Finally, he cleared his throat. “So, uh, geometry. What part are you having trouble with?” 

“I can’t seem to get past the second problem.” Eager to dispel the odd tension between them, she showed him her workbook, tapping her pencil on the page to indicate the problem. 

“Oh, that one. You need to use the remote exterior angle theorem on that.” 

“Can you show me?” 

“Sure. Come closer.” 

She scooted forward on the bed and passed him her workbook, careful not to let any part of her come into contact with him. When she craned her neck over the edge of the bed to see what he was scribbling on the page, he stopped and gave her a dry look. “You’re going to fall off the bed that way. Just sit down beside me.” 

Slowly, she slid off the bed and sat on the floor a good two feet away from him, with her knees drawn up to her chin. Then she craned her neck to peer at her workbook in his lap.