A Kiss in Time (16 page)

Suddenly, Jack is beside me, rapping on the car window. Coming?

I manage to rip my gaze from his muscled arms long enough to say, I am afraid. He glances at his wristwatch. Theyll all love you.

This seems unlikely, but Jack opens the car door and grips my wrist firmly in his hand. It
is so warm, and I remember that he is my intended, my destiny. There is only the obstacle
of Amber to be gotten past.

Do you really think so? I edge closer to him than I have dared before.

Sure. He is near enough that I can feel his breath upon me, and with his free hand, he
pushes a lock of hair from my face. Youre so beautiful, Talia. How could any- one not love
you?

I hope this is true, of him. I am, indeed, used to being adored. But I was adored because
I was a princess. Will I still be adorable when I am merely Talia?

I begin to follow him toward the door. But what if I say something . . . foolish? I ask
before we go inside.

Believe me, people will be too drunk to notice.

No one answers when Jack knocks upon the door, so finally we push it open. This is
shocking to me. Is there no guard? No servant to announce us? But when we enter, I am no
longer surprised.

It is chaos. There is music louder than any that I have heard before. I realize that Jack
was correct that I need not worry about saying anything foolish. No one would even hear
it. Dozens of people talk and laugh and dance in a most improper manner, and every single
young lady at the party is dressed in a bathing costume similar to the one Jack provided.
In many cases, they are even less modest. Come on, Jack says. Ill introduce you around.

I am pleased that he does not release his grip upon my hand. It would be terrifying to be
lost here. The patio, as Jack calls it, is barely quieter than the house and even more
crowded. Here, the crowd centers upon a large artificial lakethe poolwhere people are
swimming.

My every muscle urges me to stopnay, to fleebut my mind urges me forward. These are Jacks
friends. They must like me. He must like me and not think me a misfit from another time.

A portly boy greets us. Hey, Jacko, you made it.

Stewy! Jack slaps the boys hand. This is Talia. Shes from Belgium.

Wow, you werent kidding when you said she was beautiful. He touches my shoulder with a
hand that is wet and ice-cold, and he does not remove it. Does this mean Ambers available?

Youll have to ask her boyfriend. Jack guides me toward him, which has the effect of
separating my shoulder from Stewys clammy hand. Lets get a drink.

Help yourself. My parents are paying for it. Stewy leans toward me. Im looking forward to
getting to know you better, Talia.

He leers at me. I try to think of a proper response. As a princess, I might have slapped
him or called the guards. Now, I simply turn away. So kind of you.

Soon, Jack and I have put several chairs and people between ourselves and Stewy, and I am
glad of it. Jack thrusts a cold, cylindrical object into my hand. Thank you! I say, staring at it. Its a
beer. He looks around the patio. I am familiar with beer, I say, although I have never drank one and have certainly never seen this sort of con- tainer for one. I watch as Jack
opens his own beer, then places the cylinder to his lips, his eyes still glancing about.

I do the same. It is so cold that, for a moment, my teeth begin to ache. When I have
recovered, I say, Is Stewy a good friend of yours?

I have to say it twice before he looks at me, but finally he does.

Hes okay. We go to school together, and . . . He stops. His eyes suddenly fix elsewhere. I
follow his gaze to its end. I see what he has been looking for.

It is a girl. She emerges from the pool, and she isI would like to believeno more
beautiful than myself, but she wears a bathing suit more revealing than the restso
revealing, indeed, that I wonder if some of the fabric of it may have shrunk in the water,
or if someone played a trick on her. Her auburn hair is long and curly, and although her
skin is a shade of tan that ladies of court assiduously avoided through the unrelenting
use of headdresses and powder, I suspect this is no longer the case, for every male eye on
the patio is suddenly upon her.

But her eyes seek only one person. Jack! Youre here! Jack swears under his breath. Its
Amber.

I
thought I could handle seeing Amber again, but that was before I saw her. Id forgotten how
she makes me feel like that time when I was a kid and I got my finger between a plug and a
socket. For a second, my whole body tingles, helplessly.

Jack! she purrs, managing somehow to insert her body between mine and Talias before I can
move, much less speak. Youre here.

Hey, Amber, I manage, backing away a step. Not easy. Nice . . . um . . . bathing suit. Act
cool. Dont drool.

You like it? She steps even closer.

I laugh. Looks like you found it in the Barbie section at Toys R Us. Duh.

Is that a complaint? Amber slides her hand down my arm, pausing an instant to caress the
muscles, and for a second, its pretty easy to forget that she dumped meat a party just like this one, in
front of all my friendsbecause someone with a cooler car came along.

Its nice, I say.

Beside me, Talia clears her throat, reminding me of her existence. Im glad Talias here.
Shes so beautiful that Amber will know Im not just sitting around waiting for her . . .
even though I kind of am.

Hey, Amber, this is Talia.

Amber pretend-frowns, then reaches her hand out like shes going to shake Talias hand. When
Talia puts out her own hand, Amber places an empty can in it. Would you mind getting me a
refill?

I find my voice. Amber, shes not going to just wait on I mean, if you were going to get yourself one, too.

Talia looks bewildered but drains her beer. I suppose I am a bit thirsty.

Thanks. Amber gives her a big, fake smile.

Talia heads for the cooler, and I face Amber. That wasnt nice.

Amber laughs. So Im supposed to be nice?

I glance after Talia. Talias nice. At least, shes interested in other people. I look back
at Amber. Some people are. Do you want someone nice or someone fun? Ambers nails are out, scratching my back where I didnt even know I had an itch. Theyre long and
red, and part of me wants to turn on her and scream, Go away, witch! The other part wants to roll over like a puppy, enjoying it. I cant have both? I ask. Amber moves closer.
Ill try to be nice. She scratches harder, and I can feel her leg against mine. She leans toward my ear. I missed you, Jack.

Did you? I stop looking for Talia. Its not like were on a date, after all. Shes just
staying with us. And she knew Amber would be here.

Uh-huh. You knew I would.

I didnt know that. You broke up with me. You made out with some other guy before you broke
up with me.

Are you still mad about that? Amber says. Still? It just happened. Silly! It was a whole
month ago. She leans in close,

so I can feel her breath against my neck, and scratches harder, until I wonder if I might
begin to bleed. If I bleed to death, will she even care? Look, I was wrong, okay? But you
were going away for half the summer, and I was going to be so lonely. I didnt want to get
stuck hanging around here, dateless and desperate, while you gallivanted around Europe,
making out with French chicks.

So you made out with that other guy because you were going to be lonely? I say.

You were leaving. I couldnt stand to think how much Id miss you. She leans up against me,
so warm. Hey, I called your cell the other day. That shows I was thinking about you, right?

I guess. Shes totally lying, and Im totally letting her. The other guy probably left town, and she wants me because Im here now.

I remember when I stuck my finger in that socket, my dad yelled at me for being stupid.
And thats how I feel around Amber. Stupid. The girl makes me stupid.

How about if I apologized? She stops scratching and puts both hands on my shoulders.

That would be a good I dont get to finish because her mouth interrupts me. Like, its on top of my mouth,
rendering me unable to speak.

Id forgotten how she kissed, too.

When shes finally finished, she says, Do you accept my apology?

I know what I should say. No. Absolutely not. Ive moved on. Im here with Talia, and being
here with someone means something to me, even if it doesnt mean anything to you.

Instead, I say, Uh . . .

She kisses me again, her long fingernails in my hair now, and I am fire and water, and
Talia was three hundred years ago, or a thousand. Amber is now.

I missed you, Jack, she says.

Did she really? I want to believe that. It feels good to hear her say it, anyway.

God, I missed you, too, I say.

We stand there, making out, until someone tells us to get a room. Amber says, We could go
someplace. Are your parents home tonight? Which is when I remember. Talia. What am I doing? She went to get the beer, and she never
came back. I should find Talia, I tell Amber. Dont worry about her, Amber says. Im sure
shell find her way home. Home. I laugh. You dont understand about Talia.

Shes . . . she could have gotten lost or something. What is she, stupid? No. Shes not
stupid. Shes . . . nice . . . innocent. I remember Talia surfing on the air mattress, talking to my sister, asking me about
gardening. Amber never asked me about stuff like that because, I now realize, she didnt
care. I could never talk to Amber the way I talk to Talia. Shed laugh at me.

She laughs now. Innocent? She was here ten minutes ago, and then . . . she went off with
Robert Hernandez.

With Robert? Amber rolls her eyes. She wont be innocent for long. Ten minutes ago. I
calculate. That means she showed up with the beers, saw Amber putting her tongue down my throat, and stormed away, only to
fall into the clutches of the biggest player in school. Hell probably try and take her to
a bedroom or . . . something.

I pull away from Amber. I brought her here. Shes my responsibility. I stand on my toes,
trying to see through the crowd.

Amber looks annoyed and stomps her foot. So youre going to look for her instead of being
with me? I have to.

But she went off with someone else. Face it, Jack. Theres just something about you that
makes girls want to make out with other guys.

I turn back toward Amber. What did you just say? I didnt mean it that way. I was kidding.
Funny. I laugh. You just think Im some loser, dont you? She shrugs, but then she says, Of course not, baby.

Youre just being silly. She probably went home with Robert.

Yeah, thats what Im afraid of, I say. I turn my back on her and start looking through the
crowd.

Youre not going to get another chance with me, Jack! Amber yells.

I dont want one! Its hard for me to say that. I know its not about me with her. Its about
the conquest, about winning, about proving to everyone that she can get me back anytime.
And yet part of me really wants to touch her some more, wants her to be as into me as I am
into her. Im tired of being stupid around you.

Then I hear a scream.

J
ack is not my destiny. I came to this party to make Jack happy. It dida bit too happy, if
you ask me, because I drove him straight into Ambers waiting embrace.

I returned from fetching the drinks (me, fetching drinks like a common kitchen maid!) to
find them locked in a tor- rid kiss. Jack just kisses anyone and everyone, I now see. It
was not special at all when he kissed me. His lips are everywhere.

I turned to run away.

That was when I realized I had nowhere to run. I was in a foreign land, a strange time,
alone and friendless, all because I believed Jackhorrible Jackto be my destiny.

But Jack was kissing some trollop named Amber. Malvolia was right! He is not my true love.
I should not even be awake. I should be back in the castle, awaiting a kiss from a respectable prince!

Is one of those for me? a voice says while I consider this.

I turn to find myself eye-to-eye with a handsome, dark- haired young man. I beg your
pardon?

He points to the cans I am holding. One for you, and one for me?

I laugh, for it seems preferable to bursting into tears. Why not? I hand him Ambers can.

He takes it and drains it down. Can I get you a refill?

Finally! A young man who knows how to treat prin- cesses, by fetching and carrying for
them. But I say, I have yet to finish this one.

Then finish it.

This I do, under his watchful eye. It is cold and tart and fizzy. I still have not worked
out how people of this cen- tury contrive to keep everything so delightfully cold, even on
the hottest of days, but it is lovely, almost worth living three hundred years.

Then I think of Jack. Almost, but not quite. Lovely! I say. He laughs. Thats a good girl.
He takes the can from my hand, then steps away to get another. When he comes back, he says, I saw you come in
with ONeill.

There is a question in his voice. I answer it. I am not with Mr. ONeill. He glances over at where Jack and Evil Amber are still locked together. Yeah, I can see.
Stupid guy. If Id come with you, Id never have let you get away.

I like the tone of his voice almost as much as the tone of the conversation. A young woman
clad in a scandalous costume passes by, holding a tray of jewel-colored objects which look
to be some sort of confection.

Want one? the boy says. What are they? Jell-O shots. I have no idea what a Jell-O shot is,
but many people are ingesting them. So, as not to reveal my ignorance, I say, They look lovely.

Yes, lovely! He takes two. I see other people slurping theirs out of the cup like a drink,
so I do the same. It is cold, like everything else, and sweet as strawberries.

Delectable! I say. Delectable! He laughs. Herehave mine, too. I do not argue. I have had
little to eat, and my head is spinning. I hope this Jell-O shot will calm it down. Whats your name, beautiful? he asks.
Talia . . . Talia Brooke. Well, Talia Talia Brooke, Im Robert, and I think youre definitely delectable yourself. Did you bring a bath- ing suit?