See Me (See Me #1)(31)

“Oh.” Based on that heavy explanation, I decided to take it easy. I would choose one gift for tomorrow night and hope he would accept it. Bringing the whole bin of gifts would probably freak him out. Like I was handing over the pink slip to my soul or something.

“Okay, well, where should we go?” I asked.

He thought about it. “There’s a place I go to be alone.” Again he spoke to me in the bashful tone that reminded me he wasn’t accustomed to sharing anything about himself. It made me feel all mushy in a special way. I tried to concentrate on his directions. “If ye follow the edge of the east forest ye’ll come to a hill with a single tree—” He scratched his chin. “I suppose ‘tis better if we walk there together so’s ye don’t get lost.”

“We could meet at the edge of the forest,” I suggested.

“Aye. That’ll do. After supper when night falls and most everyone’s off to bunk. The moon should be light enough.”

“Sounds perfect. It’s a date.”

“A date,” he repeated. He emphasized the “t” sound and I giggled, which made him smile and shift self-consciously. I touched his hand on the ground beside me and his finger lifted to catch my pinky. He held it for a moment and gave me a warm look. My knees felt shaky when we both stood and began walking downstream toward the others.

Cassidy was on Rock’s back as he swam. The others were throwing each other around and playing rough. I had no idea where they got their energy. When one of the little guys came up out of the water he had dripping cloth in his hand, which he threw ashore. The others laughed and followed suit.

“Is that…?” I began.

McKale nodded. “The britches are comin’ off.”

That was my cue to leave. “All right, Cass. Let’s go. It’s getting dark.” And the Clour are getting naked.

She gave the whine like a little kid, trudging out of the water toward us.

“Bye everyone,” I said, waving. “It was nice to meet you guys.”

A pair of wet pants splatted at my feet and they all roared with amusement.

“Can we get a hug?” Blackie shouted, starting to stand.

I held a palm out to block the sight of him and keep him at bay. “Maybe next time. Y’all just stay where you are. We’ll see you later.” I smiled and waved good-bye as the boys blew kisses and other nonsense.

“Til the morrow, Cassie-lassie,” Rock said from the water. He threw his soaked pants at Cass, but she dodged them with a squeal and waved sweetly.

“Til then!” She spun and took my hand, whispering under her breath, “Oh my gosh, the Clour are so cute. We need to, like, bring all our friends here!”

I grinned at the thought, and we followed McKale into the darkened path of trees, happy.

THERE WAS NOTHING QUITE like sitting in a little tub with a single, thin stream of water to use for a shower. It took about a million years to wash my hair.

“Are you coming to dinner?” Cassidy called through the cloth drape.

“I don’t think so,” I hollered. “I’m going on a date with McKale tonight and I have to get ready. Will you tell Mom and Dad for me?”

“Ooh-la-la, a date. Wowee. Are you going to eat anything? Besides McKale’s luscious little Leprechaun lips?”

I laughed through a nervous shiver. “I don’t think I’ll have time to eat.” Plus, I was sort of running on adrenaline.

“All right. Well, I want every detail when you get in tonight. And don’t use up all the water.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

I pushed the little valve to shut off the stream and squeezed out my hair. Then I maneuvered myself to the edge of the tub so I could shave using the water that was already in there. Man, that was some nasty looking water. How’d I get so dirty? It was mostly my feet. I was once again thankful not to be the person in charge of waste management.

It felt good to be clean and to dry off with a towel from my suitcase. There wasn’t much I could do to my hair other than brush it and scrunch it with some light gel. I didn’t bother with make-up, except a swipe of color high across my cheekbones and some sparkly lip-gloss. I put on my khaki skirt and a purple tank top with pink lace around the edges. I felt like being feminine tonight.

After slipping on my flip-flops I opened the door to peek out. The sun began to set in soft colors, and people were already filtering away from the eating area. Closing the door, I pulled out McKale’s bin from the corner of the room and opened it, taking out the black and white soccer ball.

A little one-on-one match with him sounded fun. I smiled, pacing the room with the ball on my hip. This was boring. I couldn’t wait any longer. I wanted to get there first anyway.

I walked a large arc around the clearing so nobody would see me, passing through the field of grass the Clour had come through. It was also the home of the Fae portal, which gave me the creeps, even though it was invisible. Jogging the rest of the way, I made quick time to the east edge of the forest without anyone noticing me. I walked into the woods, sitting against a tree far enough so I could see out, but nobody would see me in the darkness.

My legs stung like they were on fire. First from the marks that Cassidy had given me during the game, and second from the slap of sharp blades of grass as I’d run though the field. I blew on the front of my calves, feeling tingly. The tingle increased, moving to my chest, and I became still. Someone was using magic. I scanned the field and all around me, but didn’t see anything. Maybe one of the Clourichaun were playing around in the near vicinity, changing size or something. I shook off the chill.