Lizzie blew on her wet nails so her breath hit him in the face. “Go ahead. I don’t give a—”
Cort snagged her wrist. “I’m not kidding.”
“Neither am I now let go.” She tugged but he didn’t release her. “You’re going to wreck my nails.”
He let go, stood, and smiled. “Fine.” Then he bel owed,
“Mom!”
Lizzie scrambled to her feet. “Okay, okay. Whatever.
What? And you’ve never been a desperate teenager?”
“I’ve never been a stupid teenager just asking for it.”
“And what if I was asking on purpose?” she shot. He stared at her, his face drawing tight.
“You can ask, Lizzie, I’m not going to say that’s not normal—yes I am. You’re way too young to be thinking about—”
“Hypocrite, how old were you when you first—”
“I’m stil —I haven’t—I stil —” He couldn’t believe he was admitting his virginity to his little sister. But he had to, for her sake. “I’ve never done it.”
She stood utterly stil . He expected her to laugh, to tease—something. Her mouth opened without words and in her eyes he thought he saw admiration.
“Real y?”
He nodded.
“I would have thought you, wel , you know.”
“None of my friends have.”
“Seriously? Whoa. Even Ben?”
“Even Ben.”
She let out a little chuckle. “That’s cool, real y.” The admiration in her eyes was clear. “How come?”
“I don’t know. There’s never been anybody I’ve wanted to—sex is serious stuff, Lizzie.” And scary, even though he wouldn’t admit that. “I don’t want you getting used.”
She smiled. “It was just a date to prom, Cort.”
“Not with Hudson.”
She studied him for a moment. “You real y think?”
“Yeah.”
Lizzie sighed. “But he’s so hot.”
“He’s a creep. A loser. Lizzie, they can line the bathroom stal s with names of the girls he’s used.”
“Sick.”
He reached out and slugged her shoulder lightly. “So, sleepover?”
“I guess,” she sighed again. “Of course that wil make my friends happy. They al think you’re hot. They’l want to sneak in your room and open your drawers. Me, I’l have to be content watching Orlando Bloom movies.”
Cort’s cheeks heated. “Okay then. Don’t give Mom anymore grief.”
At the door, he turned and looked at her. He’d never felt such relief. Like his bones could rest. Above anything else, she was his little sister. He’d never see her as a girl. He knew then it would be hard to accept that someday she’d be a woman.
Al of that could wait.
“Later.”
Lizzie grunted.
Miss Chachi’s was empty, the ‘closed’ sign hung in the door. Cort pressed his forehead to the glass and peered in. It looked just like they left it, tidy and ready for another day of business. He wondered what would happen to al of the stuff. A knot formed in his throat. Misu, Tiaki, Jasmine and Abby’s faces flashed in his mind. Where were they? What would they do now?
He supposed most of the city had read about the demise of the salon in the Pleasant View Review. The story made the front page for the quiet, cozy city of Pleasant View.
Cort strol ed down to Minerva’s; a lot quieter now with Miss Chachi’s closed. The bel tinkled when he opened the door.
From behind the counter, Minerva smiled at him. “Cort, how you doing?”
The rich scent of chocolate and coffee fil ed his lungs on a deep, intoxicating breath. “Smel s great in here.”
She patted the counter. “Come have something.” She turned, reached for a white mug on the shelf behind her. “To stay?”
He nodded, pul ed out a stool. “Not going anywhere, unfortunately.”
“Coffee or hot chocolate?”
“Chocolate.”
She poured thick, dark, creamy liquid into the white mug. “I was shocked when I found out what happened.” She slid the mug to him.
“Yeah.”
“Did you ever suspect anything?”
He shook his head, brought the mug to his lips. “I can’t believe it.”
“She seemed like the nicest lady.”
A tyrant, Cort thought, but a nice tyrant. He’d not had that much job experience to tel him anything more.
“So you were working and weren’t licensed.”
“Stupid, huh?”
“Not if you didn’t know any better. What’d she do, train you herself?”
He nodded, too embarrassed to look her in the eye, he stared into the mug of chocolate. “I’m usual y not that clueless.”
Dragging a white cloth over the counter, Minerva chuckled. “You’re a male, working in a female world. How could you know?”
His face and ears flashed hot. He sipped again.
“Truth is,” she scrubbed a stubborn spot, “we’re gonna miss the business your maleness brought down here. Hey, you’re not looking for another job by any chance?”
He set the mug down. “Yeah, I am.”
“How about you come to work for me? I could use an extra hand.”
“Yeah?”
“There’s some stocking, minor lifting, stuff like that. If you can learn how to do nails, you can learn how to brew coffee and make hot chocolate.” Her smile warmed him with hope.
“Sure, I can do that.”
“Super. When can you start?”
“Whenever.” He saw prom in bril iant colors again.
Cort left Minerva’s with a schedule in his hand for the rest of the month. Not as many hours as he’d had at Miss Chachi’s and there’d be smal er tips, if any, but the place was above board and had been in business for ten years.
It didn’t take long for word to spread at school about what had happened. Everybody wanted to know. The school paper interviewed him and that was cool, taking his picture in front of the now-vacant spot where Miss Chachi’s had once been. The police interview was nerve-wracking but he told them everything he knew and left the precinct with his mind completely clear and ready to move on.
Because it was a Federal investigation, the local police didn’t know where the girls ended up. That bugged Cort. In his heart, he couldn’t believe any of them had known what Miss Chachi was up to. But then he wouldn’t have believed the woman was a fugitive, either.
When prom day final y arrived, Cort was ready for the diversion. He’d saved a nice chunk from his employment at Miss Chachi’s and had a week’s pay from Minerva’s.
He chipped in with Rachel’s friends, Todd, Sam, Chris and Pete for the Hummer limousine scheduled to pick them al up at Todd’s house for the beginning of the day date.
Todd’s house sat in a neighborhood near the high school, behind a sprawl of apple orchards. The house was a one-story brick place with blue shutters and no trees or shrubs anywhere. The half-dozen cars parked out front signaled to Cort he was the last of the guys to arrive. The Hummer was parked and waiting.
He parked his car and Todd dropped out of the door of the Hummer, and waved at him. “We’re in here.”
Cort jogged over. Todd looked him up and down.
“You’re late.”
“I thought you said one o’clock.”
Todd looked at his watch. “It’s one-oh-five. Get in.”
He wasn’t going to get any slack from Rachel’s friends, Cort knew that. He climbed in, smiled at the guys al dressed in casual clothes for an afternoon of play at Sundance ski resort.
The reception inside the Hummer was chil y, with the exception of Kevin Mackrel. Cort sat at one end of the limo while Rachel’s guy pals sat at the other. Kevin sent him a wave but kept himself neutral y in the middle.
“Put on some tunes,” Sam said. Todd dug through his CD case.
“Matchbox?”
“Good Charlotte.”
“Blink 182
.”
“Weezer”
“Keane.”
“Heck if I know,” Todd said after a while. None of them looked at Cort, or asked his opinion. They final y stuck in Jimmy Eat World, and the inside of the Hummer rocked.
“So we’re going to Sundance and then eating in the Gril room?” Cort refused to be intimidated into silence just because he was out numbered by Rachel’s friends.
They stared at him. Todd nodded. “That’s the plan.”
“Cool,” Cort nodded, pressed his fingertips together.
“Thanks for letting us come along.”
“Anything for Rache,” Sam said.
“Yeah, anything,” Chris added.
“There’l be tons of deer up there,” Kevin began. “Hey, I just got a brain flash. I bet they know how to deal with deer. Yeah, Rob Redford’s gotta know something about deer control.”
Todd and Sam gave him a tweaked look.
“You stil on that, bro?” Cort asked.
Kevin sighed. “Went through bushels of hair and corn cobs dude—didn’t do a freaking thing.”
When Sam, Todd, and the other guys started talking among themselves, even pul ing Kevin into the conversation, Cort regretted not joining Ben and Bree and his buddies for the group date instead—even if it meant watching Ben get eaten alive by Bree. With his friends, at least he wouldn’t feel like a cat cornered by a pack of dogs.
“It’s cool that you guys watch out for Rachel like you do.”
Cort decided he’d try to be friends and hope the guys did the same.
They stared at him.
The song blasted al around him, something about it only being in his head that he felt left out and looked down on.
Rachel’s friends talked until the first stop at Ticia’s house.
Kevin grinned, flipped on an interior light and checked out his reflection in the darkened glass window.
“So,” Cort started, “you asked Ticia. Cool.”
Was Kevin brownie or sunshine?
Kevin wet his fingers, smoothed back a hair. “I’m a lucky man. She’s so hot.” With that he was out the car and jogged up to Ticia’s front door. From the look on Ticia’s face, she was ecstatic being with Kevin.
Maria de Silva’s house was next. Todd hopped out and went to her door, and came back with a glowing Maria.
Cort had one friend on his side now. “Hey, Maria.”
“Cort. Hi.” She sat near him, forcing Todd to. “Can’t believe what happened at Miss Chachi’s,” she said as the car rol ed on to its next destination.
“Yeah.”
“You stil going to do nails?” She held out her hands.
“Nobody does them as good as you.”
The guys stared at him with bul ets in their eyes. Cort started to sweat. “Uh, I can’t. Turns out you have to be licensed to do nails.”
“Oh, too bad,” Maria said. “That was about the coolest thing—a guy doing nails.”
Todd rol ed his eyes and let out a snort.
“Thanks, Maria.” Cort thought a subject change was in fast order. “So, you look great.” Wrong. The glare Todd aimed at him, warned he was digging a deeper hole for himself.
“Yeah,” Todd added, sitting closer to Maria. “You look awesome.”
Maria looked from Cort to Todd with a glittering smile.
“Thanks.”
Cort kept his mouth shut the rest of the drive. As each of the guys’ dates was picked up, he merely nodded a hel o, watched and listened.
He wasn’t in friendly territory.
When they final y pul ed up in front of Rachel’s house, he was glad to get out. Even more pleased when he saw her, dressed in a black velour sweat suit. She left her hair down under a black and white knit beanie.
He leaned close. “You look great,” he whispered.
She smiled and looked over his shoulder at the Hummer idling in her driveway. “Am I the last one?”
He nodded, stil in awe. “Saved the best for last.”
After, they lunched in front of a roaring fire in the Gril room, talked about senior year and what life held beyond high school. Stil excluded in most of the conversations, Cort contentedly sat back and admired Rachel in action. She was the center of her friends’ world, that was obvious. He didn’t mind. Even the girls seemed to focus their attention on her.
He liked the way she led talk through diverse subjects. It was more than what his friends and their dates would be doing, that was for sure.
After the day date wound down he walked her to her front door. He leaned in the jamb. “So, I’l be back in a few hours.” He couldn’t wait to see what she wore to the dance.
She nodded, leaned up. He froze when her lips brushed his cheek. An electric jolt rammed through him and he steadied himself in the door.
“Can’t wait,” she whispered.
He strol ed back to the Hummer with a smile on his face.
The guys were silent when he crawled back to his seat. One look out the darkened windows and Cort knew they’d seen the kiss. He tried not to look anyone in the eye as the car started off. It was just him and her friends now, the girls had al been dropped off, and the air thickened around him again.
“Maybe I should take Rachel in my car,” he suggested with enough bite in his tone to warn that he’d had enough of what they dished out.
Like a window had suddenly opened, the intensity dissolved. Sam shifted. “No, that’s okay.”
“Yeah, seriously,” Chris added.
Cort looked at Todd, stil staring at him. “If you’re cool with it,” Cort put in, “then we’l keep things the way they are.
If not, we ride alone.”
A smile broke on Todd’s face. “We ride alone? Dude, you sound like John Wayne or something.”
Cort laughed with the guys. The night was going to be awesome.
TWENTY
Rachel chose a white dress that sparkled from bust to ful hem. A large black bow wrapped under the breast of the dress and tied in front. She wore her hair up in large loops, with glittering sequins sprinkled throughout. She dusted enough sparkling fragrance on her neck and shoulders to glisten like the moon. Then she waited by the front door, trying not to bite the lovely nails Cort had done for her.
She heard the rumble of the long, boxy Hummer and peered out the front room window. Her heart skipped when he emerged from the car, dressed in dramatic black from head to toe. His periwinkle shirt blazed underneath, electrifying his espresso eyes and dark hair.
She couldn’t wait to open the door and did, right after one knock.
“Wow.” His throat went dry. “You look amazing.”
“Thanks.” She slipped her arm around his. The gesture had him tugging her close as they walked to the Hummer.
Before he opened the door, he stopped. “I have some place I want to take you before the dance if that’s okay.”
Silver blue moonlight shimmered against his dark hair and black suit. Total y hot, she decided. Irresistible. And he was her date. She’d go anywhere with him. “Sure.”
Inside the limo pulsed with energy. Music pounded, laughter rocked. Though the guys took a moment to admire Rachel when she crawled in, the admiration ended there. Cort was relieved that they al paid close attention to their own dates, which meant he was free to lose himself in his.
He put his arm around her shoulders. “This okay?”
“You don’t have to ask permission.”
Cort noticed the fiery earrings that dropped from her ears. Like royalty, enough to remind him who she was.
“So you gonna tel me my name tonight?” he whispered in her ear.
“No way. You’l have to earn that.”
“What have I been doing?” he laughed.
“Proving you’re not a jock.”
“So this is something else? We’re starting over?”
She nodded, her smile teasing.
“No fair whispering,” Todd cal ed to them over the noise.
Rachel made a face at
him.
Cort decided he liked her friends. Where the guys had tested him earlier, that was over now and he felt easy camaraderie. There was one last thing he had to do before the night official y began.
The driver pul ed up in front of Countryside Manor.
“Where the heck?” Sam pressed his nose against the dark window. “The geriatric place?”
“We’l only be a second,” Cort told them, opening the door. He stood with his hand out for Rachel.
Like a princess emerging from a carriage she eased out of the Hummer, smiling. “They’l love this,” she said. The two of them walked arm in arm up to the door.
“Yeah, I knew they would.”
They found their friends in the gathering room. Mannie, Lily and Martin sat around a game table as Mannie dealt a hand of Gin Rummy.
Lily gasped, her hands covered her heart. “Oh, look!”
Even Priscil a, standing alone at the window, looked over.
“Lovey!” Mannie steadied to her feet.
“Don’t get up.” Her hand stil in Cort’s, Rachel rushed over. She kissed Mannie’s cheek and gave her a hug.
“Don’t you two look wonderful.” Mannie stood back and admired her. “Like a princess.”
“Certainly yes,” Martin agreed. With effort, he rose and shook Cort’s hand.
“How splendid you look,” Lily gushed. “Picture perfect. I wish I had a camera.”
Rachel took Cort’s hand again and tugged him close.
“Thank you.”
“So you’re off to prom?” Lily asked. “Where you’l dance the night away?”
Rachel nodded. Priscil a made her way over, was frowning as she neared.
“Hi, Priscil a.” Cort sent her a wave. Her black eyes scanned him from head to toe before shifting to Rachel. She let out a sigh everyone heard.
“Proms,” she muttered. “I guess they’re something to do.”
“They’re more than something to do,” Mannie scolded.
“In my day we cal ed them bal s.”
Priscil a’s frown deepened. “Dancing. Who cares? It never did anything for me.”
Martin let out a loud huff and craned around to glare at her. “You probably never got asked.”
“I got asked plenty,” Priscil a snapped.