Part 18 (1/2)

So where is she now?

Probably in the bathroom putting on more lipstick.

Probably?

Fine. BRB I latch onto Taylor's vibration and follow it to ...

Holy c.r.a.p! The windows of Jason Trent's white Jeep are open on this warm day, and the sounds coming from it are obscenely graphic. I bolt back to Rei's phone and punch in white jeep now.

The instant Rei reads these words, he abandons his stuff and sprints for the door. I beat him to the white Jeep, but not by a very wide margin. Rei reaches into the open window and unsnaps the convertible roof, then moves quickly to the other side and does the same. He yanks the canvas roof back in one fluid motion.

”Get off her now!” His voice is fierce.

Taylor and Jason both look up at him in astonishment. Jason pushes himself up on his hands so he can gawk at Rei from a better angle, and now ...

Uh ... you know ... I would feel a whole lot better about this entire situation if that halter top was still tied around my neck and not all tangled up around my waist. Rei doesn't even seem to notice.

”I said NOW!” He punctuates this with a fist slam against the hood of the Jeep, and the resounding thunk makes Taylor flinch. Jason is still stuck in neutral, so Rei reaches in and grabs him by the front of his neck.

”Son of a...” But Jason's air is cut off and his eyes bulge nearly out of his head as Rei applies more pressure.

Taylor grabs the straps of her halter and struggles to untangle them and sit up at the same time.

”If you're smart, you will get out of there on your own,” Rei tells him in a deadly calm voice before he lets go of his neck with a little shove.

Jason rubs his neck as he climbs out of the backseat. ”What's your problem, Ellis? She says she doesn't go out with you.” He hacks and spits something chunky on the ground.

”She has a concussion, Jason. It affects her memory. And you will respect that and leave her alone. Do you understand?”

Rei doesn't take his eyes off Jason, but he nods curtly toward Taylor. ”Fix your s.h.i.+rt and let's go,” he says in a brittle voice.

Okay. So he noticed. I wonder if this cancels out the shower invasion.

It looks like Jason is getting his second wind. I imagine he understood exactly what Rei said to him; I just don't think he cares. He seems to be calculating his height and weight advantage. When his right hand b.a.l.l.s into a fist by his side and he draws his elbow back, I yell out to warn Rei, but he can't hear me, of course.

It doesn't matter. Rei turns just in time to catch Jason's fist squarely in his right hand. He yanks him off balance and squeezes, twisting in rapid succession Jason's hand, arm, and shoulder until Jason lies crumpled faceup in a heap on the ground.

Rei looks down at him contemptuously. ”Now do you understand?”

He turns to Taylor, who is still stunned but at least she's fully dressed now. ”Put your shoes on,” he orders. As soon as she fumbles her feet into the high heels, he puts his hands around her waist, lifts her out of the Jeep, and deposits her on the pavement. ”Let's go.”

Wow! I've never seen this bada.s.s side of Rei before.

He marches her back to the courtyard a step ahead of him the entire way, his fingers gripping the top of her arm, right over the tattoo. He doesn't say a word until he sits her firmly down on a bench.

His face is a block of ice. ”What the h.e.l.l was that about?” he demands in a low voice.

Taylor finally seems to be coming out of her stupor. ”What the ... what the h.e.l.l was that about! How dare you!”

”Oh, come on! Jason Trent? You can't have hit your head that hard.”

”Well, at least he doesn't treat me like a little sister!” she shoots back.

”That was pretty obvious.”

Taylor flushes and stands up. ”Yeah, and it was pretty obvious you weren't interested, Rei. What did you expect?”

”Not Jason Trent.” Rei sighs, and his voice softens. ”You were going to come over today.”

”What?”

”Yesterday, when I talked to you on the phone, you wanted to come over and I said I had homework. I said for you to come over tomorrow instead. And ... it's tomorrow.”

Taylor plants her hands on her hips. ”I don't get you, Rei. The last time I came to your house, you couldn't wait to get rid of me.”

”I know. And I'm sorry.” He smiles hesitantly, and then he reaches over and slowly slides his hand underneath her hair to that spot on the back of her neck and gives her his signature squeeze. I close my eyes and replay the sensation from memory.

He sighs and lets his hand slide down to her shoulder. ”And it's not that I'm not interested. I just thought it might be a little weird.” He brushes the back of his fingers against the side of her neck, and she looks every bit as fl.u.s.tered by that simple gesture as I feel. ”I miss you, Anna. I'll be home all afternoon if you want to come over.”

He squeezes her shoulder gently and walks away.

CHAPTER 27.

”I was wrong back there,” Rei confesses when he gets home from school. He drops his backpack by the side of his desk and steps on the power strip b.u.t.ton to turn the computer on. ”I told Taylor this might be a little weird. It actually will be very weird.”

I agree: it will be weird, and sandwiched in with all that weirdness is my knowledge that even though Rei has a great poker face, he's a terrible actor. How much of that performance was the art of deception and how much was fueled by real emotion? When he looks at Taylor, does he see me at all? When I look at Taylor, I barely recognize myself.

”So I know this was your idea, but are you sure you're okay with this?” he asks as the computer finishes powering up. ”The good news is I guarantee you we won't be using those condoms.”

Are YOU okay with this?

He shrugs and nods indifferently.

I roll my eyes at him. Remember when we were about eight and Seth dared us to touch tongues?

Rei smirks. ”Yeah, and then you got mad because you dared Seth and me to touch tongues, too, and we wouldn't.”

No, I got mad because you and Seth have double standards, but that's not my point. You thought I had cooties and you couldn't get upstairs to brush your teeth fast enough. What if she wants you to kiss her? Are you sure you want to do this?

Rei considers this. ”If I have to kiss her, I'll just pretend it's you. I can handle your cooties,” he jokes.

Rei has a hard time handling his own cooties.