Luna of Mine (38 page)

Gently he began to push on my chest,
counting to thirty. Like the dolphin’s pulse, his touch went right
through me. Once I could move again, I didn’t want to. Blake went
forward with his plan, adjusting my throat carefully before
touching his mouth on mine. At that moment, my attraction shifted
from neutral to positive.

A magnetic reversal had reset my
internal compass on a molecular level and I needed to kiss him for
my very existence to make sense. I felt his shock, and then his
interest as he shifted gears from rescue to romance, kissing me
back until we heard Mica’s panicked yell and froze in
place.

“
Mica, stop, I’m fine.
It’s a scratch,” I said, struggling to sit up on the rocks. I
showed him the roughened skin on my shoulder that was nothing worse
than a surfing thrash. Looking into his identical silver eyes, I
clicked to convince him I wasn’t the one who needed
help.

The dolphin wriggled on the rocks next
to me, chirping, clicking and whistling in a very stressed-sounding
tone. The dolphins who answered her calls followed her out of the
water and on to the beach. Everyone who had completed the swim, as
well as those waiting on land for the party, worked furiously to
get them off the black lava sand that tended to scratch
skin.

Getting each dolphin back in the water
meant lifting at least four hundred pounds of struggling muscle,
turning them around and carrying them until the bay was deep enough
for them to swim. It was noisy and terrifying, but the other
dolphins were getting the help they needed, so I gave all of my
attention to the one beside me.

“
Guys, help me with her,
please!” I said to Blake and Mica, putting my arms around her in
order to prevent her from hurting herself more. Though her skin
felt like the sturdy rubber of a wet suit, I saw from the scrapes
already on her that it was as sensitive as mine.

“
On three,” Mica said. He
and Blake had moved on either side of the dolphin and had wedged
their arms underneath her body to protect her from the scraggy
surface as we pushed her back into the sea.

We carried her until we were waist
deep, releasing her as soon as it was possible. Then, we all
collapsed in the water, reeling from the stress of so many dolphins
beaching on the sand at once. She took a second to nuzzle us,
showing gratitude. But we couldn’t stay in the happy moment for
long. We needed to help the other dolphins, whose clicks and
whistles had gone from playful to stressed; the ones safe in the
water, as well as those stuck on the sand.

Now that I was practically on top of
her, I realized she was a rare albino dolphin, not just a
light-skinned one. The albino swam away from the rocks, calling the
other dolphins towards her and out to sea. The ones who could turn,
did so and followed, leaving twenty or so gray animals struggling
in the shallows. Moving as quickly as possible, I ignored my own
pain and ran to the others with Blake and Mica. We worked with
everyone on the beach to turn the rest of the dolphins and get them
back in to the ocean; happy when they finally moved to a deeper,
safer part of the sea.

Before swimming from sight, the albino
turned, eyeing me just like Mica had done, as if to check that I
was okay. Seemingly satisfied, she turned and went to the open
ocean with her pod. I trudged onto the beach, elated that we had
managed to save them all, but exhausted and confused
too.

Moments later, surrounded by concerned
partygoers, I sat on a bench and bit my lip to keep from crying.
The scrape on my shoulder didn’t hurt when it had happened, but it
sure burned during a thorough cleaning with peroxide. Billy
produced a first-aid kit and used the lights on the golfie to see
the damage. When I could no longer hold back the tears, Celeste
pushed her way in and applied the liquid bandage
herself.

“
Epic First Night, huh?”
Mica joked, attempting to break the tension. He looked over at
Billy for confirmation. I didn’t noticed when I first saw Billy
that day, but Blake and Mica had both grown taller than him since
the last time Billy had been home.

“
I’d say. You have mad
dolphin calling skills, Cami,” Billy said, giving me a gentle fist
bump while Celeste continued to cover the scratches on my
back.

“
Well, yeah, as long as
the dolphins—and Cami—are fine,” said Blake, eyes flashing to mine
in the firelight.

“
Not totally fine,” I
said, flicking my red plastic cup to make the point.

“
Boys, I think Cami needs
another beer,” Celeste interrupted, “and so do I.” I giggled
nervously. I wasn’t much of a beer drinker, and neither were the
boys. But it was a bit of a tradition on first night, and after
everything that had happened with Blake, I needed the liquid
courage.

Mica and Blake fell over each other
moving towards the keg with Billy, while they talked about the
crazy speed and size of the pod that had joined us for the swim.
Celeste finished bandaging and went from serious caretaker to
giggly fangirl. “That was amazing!” she squealed, right into my
ear.

With her russet curls bouncing with
excitement, it was hard to remember Celeste was a serious research
scientist.

“
You mean embarrassing,” I
said. “How am I ever going to make The Guard if some rocks and a
foot of water almost made me drown?”

“
Cami, that was hardly a
drowning. What happened out there??”

“
I’m not sure. As soon as
I dove in, I got carried up in their wakes, or something that felt
like it,” I guessed, remembering the feeling of the albino dolphin
moving me through the waves.

“
You were in a
slipstream?” Celeste asked, giddy with impressed
surprise.

I smiled. “I think so, if that’s what
it’s called when they carry you along.”

“
Wow, that’s how moms
carry their calves in the water before they can swim fast enough to
keep up. I can’t believe so many of them came—and then beached.
And, then we got them all back in the water so fast! Why did you
swim up on the rocks, anyway?” Celeste looked at me with
concern.

I paused, furrowing my forehead,
considering her question. “I guess I got turned in the wrong
direction? I don’t remember much, except that I didn’t want to come
up for air and leave the slip stream.”

“
Maybe you passed out
under water?” she asked, looking concerned. “Either way, that
albino saved you. Isn’t that a sign of fortune, according to the
Island legends?”

I nodded. Just spotting an albino was
considered very good luck, but being rescued by one? I couldn’t
begin to imagine what the Elders would interpret that to mean. Many
of the Elders worshipped the sea, instead of one of the more
typical American religions. If they couldn’t see it, they didn’t
believe it. My grandparents were the opposite. Everything was a
sign, a feeling; open to interpretation based on many silent
factors that only they understood.

“
Definitely a good omen
for a great summer,” I said, feeling optimistic in spite of the
pain.

“
That made my summer and
it’s only solstice,” Celeste said dreamily, sounding more like a
little kid who’d spotted a unicorn than a research
scientist.

“
Seeing that dolphin?
Don’t you work with them, like all day and every day?” I
asked.

“
Yes, but that one’s an
anomaly. Some scientists can’t handle them, because they mess up
statistics, but I love the unusual ones. And that’s the first
albino I’ve ever seen. In case it’s the last, I want to enjoy it.
Have you ever seen her before?”

I shrugged, thinking back to my
childhood. “When I was little, an albino used to come up to our
docks with her pod. I don't know if it's the same one or not, but
when we were six, they passed a law to prevent people from feeding
the dolphins. They felt like we were being mean and they didn’t
understand, and they stopped coming.”

“
There was some concern
they were forgetting how to hunt and, instead, learning to beg for
food, which wasn’t good for them,” Celeste explained. “Let’s chalk
it up to a magical First Night that leads to a whole bunch of Surf
Carnival wins. And that kiss with Blake,” she said, switching
gears, “was beyond amazing!”

“
You saw that?” I said,
cringing. “He was going to give me mouth-to-mouth, and I kissed
him. I’m such an idiot.” I pulled my knees up and covered my face
in them to hide the blush on my skin.

“
That may have been his,
‘I’m Blake, I’m so responsible’ plan. Or… what if the CPR thing was
just an excuse?” Her eyes twinkled, but I felt confused.

“
He would have done the
same thing for anyone,” I said, still blushing.

“
You’re kidding, right?”
Celeste laughed, in the way older girls with boyfriends could—like
they knew something we didn’t. “Cami, haven’t you noticed the way
he stares at you?” she said, stroking my hair.

“
No, you’re wrong,” I
said, insistent. “He didn’t initiate it at all. He wouldn’t. That’s
just not what we’re like. There’s zero attraction there,” I
explained, the words sounding false even to my own ears. “He’s
always with Mica…which makes him practically my brother…like our
third twin. I doubt he even sees me as a girl. In any event, I’m
not interested in someone my family decided I should be with before
I was even a person. It’s a trap. He’s a trap. And someday I want
to leave Pinhold, see a bit of the world.”

“
A six-foot-four, blond
trap that frequently practices chivalry,” she pointed out. “Sounds
like a trap I would gladly fall in.”

“
You have Billy, and
you’re choosing to be here. As soon as I can, I’m going to choose
to leave.”

“
But wasn’t that ceremony
about you joining The Guard?” she asked cautiously, looking over
her shoulder to make sure no one heard her prying.

“
Yes, well, family
expectations are tricky things. Besides, that was mostly dedicating
myself to the ocean. And I can say yes to that without joining
anything officially. Yet.”

“
Got it. Enough,” she
whispered. And I heard the boys coming back. I wondered if my
speech had convinced her because I hadn’t convinced myself. About
Blake or The Guard. The Guard I could still take or leave, but
there was nothing neutral about how I felt when I looked at
Blake.

I flirted, laughed, danced, and drank
until the beer didn’t taste terrible anymore. This was a night to
forget about training and celebrate. I’d have the whole rest of the
summer to make up for it. Even the Elders stayed and had a beer or
two, but they’d left after a half hour or so. Everyone left was
closer to my age, and they were in no hurry to leave. Blown away by
the evening’s events, I needed to let the energy out
too.

Since I’d never made it past a sip or
two before, I’d been buzzed since the first cup of beer. After the
second, I got dizzy, giggling and dancing around, passing out
sticks and marshmallows. Blake watched me move around the circle. I
saved him for last, because I felt embarrassed about what I’d done
on the rocks, and I wasn’t sure what to say to him. I handed him
the last stick and nudged him over to the fire.

“
Um, Cami, isn’t this
stick a bit short? Are you trying to set me on fire?” he asked,
smiling and flashing dimples in the amber glow. My jaw dropped at
his choice of words because they had a few very different meanings,
given what just occurred.

I gave myself a mental whack in the
head and though back to what Celeste had said. Blake was flirting
with me, and I just stood there silently, frozen, and possibly
drooling. I needed to get it together.

I smiled back, glad the night hid the
blush on my cheeks from the thoughts he’d put into my head with
just that one comment.

“
Maaaybeeee,” I said,
drawing out the word because let’s face it; I was so flustered I
was lucky to come up with one. I took the stick back, pulled three
marshmallows from the bag, and pushed them down one at a
time.

I walked around to the other side of
the bonfire, where only a couple of people sat. I reached my arm
toward the flame, stumbling, and the marshmallows went directly
into the fire, the flames way too close to my hand. Blake grabbed
me immediately, and pulled me away, rescuing me again.

“
Death wish tonight,
Cami?” he asked, blowing out the charred treats. He ran his fingers
over my arm to make sure it wasn’t burned and I held my breath
until he finished. My skin was just a little warm from the brush
with fire, but it had gotten positively hot by the time his
inspection was done. I pouted and licked my lips., looking
longingly at the stick. “Fine,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Let’s
go get another.”

He turned back to the edge of the
clearing. I recovered my beer and followed him to the tree line,
still holding the short stick with the blackened marshmallows in my
other hand. He’d pulled a thin sapling from a low hanging branch,
and was stripping the leaves quickly, but not fast enough for
me.

Too impatient to wait, I took a bite
from what I had, pulling my lips away when they burned. To cool my
mouth down, I sipped from the cup in my hand, and tried not to make
a face at the comment. “Beer and burnt marshmallows? Two great
things that aren’t great together.” He laughed, taking the cup from
my hand.