Motion(Laws of Physics #1)(25)

I still had on makeup. I needed goggles from the pool shed to see underwater. And what about my hair? If I went swimming, I’d have to do it again. Makeup was one thing, but I wasn’t sure I could style my hair again on my own.

“Hmm.” I dipped my toe in the water. It felt nice. And I missed swimming. And it was hot outside. And I was hot inside. . .

“Lisa, wait!” a voice shouted.

I stiffened, looking toward the house and spotting Gabby walking quickly toward me. At first I thought she was also wearing a bathing suit, but upon closer inspection her outfit turned out to be short-shorts and a tube top.

“What are you doing?” She dropped her voice to a harsh whisper as soon as she was close enough to be heard, her eyes wide and questioning. Not waiting for me to answer, she glanced over her shoulder hastily and stepped closer. “Please tell me you’re not about to go swimming.”

Movement at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the house caught my attention and I spotted Abram coming to a stop at the end of the railing. As our gazes connected, he stood straighter. But then his attention swept down my body and he took a step back. His eyes seemed to grow rounder, his dark eyebrows inching up his forehead, his lips parting.

Not thinking too much about the instinct, I shrunk backward toward the shade, away from the pool, placing Gabby in front of me so I wouldn’t be as visible.

I wasn’t shy about my body. I was wary. About everything. There’s a difference.

For as long as I could recall, I lived with an ingrained undercurrent of discomfort in most social situations, including exposure of my fa?ade. Did I wish I were more like Gabby and my sister? That I didn’t dislike people looking at my body? Sometimes. It would be one less thing to be weird and anxious about.

But my ingrained undercurrent of discomfort in most social situations also carried over to my area of study. It made me a meticulous researcher. It meant I checked and double-checked and triple-checked. It meant I was always certain before I challenged others, which meant I was always right, which had led to my reputation of being credible, listened to, and taken seriously.

Funny how the very weaknesses that cripple us in some situations are often the foundation for our greatest achievements.

“I am about to go swimming, but first I need to get goggles,” I whispered in answer to her objection. “By the way, how did you get in?”

“I have the gate code, and I ran past Abram when he opened the door.” She waved this away like it was a minor thing. “You can’t go swimming. You can’t get your hair wet. I had to call in two favors to get you the blowout yesterday with George on such short notice. This hair has to last you for the next week.”

“Would it really be a big deal if I wore my hair in a ponytail or a braid?” I split my attention between her and the bathrobe I’d placed on the chair.

“Yes. It would be a big deal. All the pictures in the house are of Mona with her hair back and Lisa with her hair down. What-what are you doing?” She followed my line of sight to where the bathrobe lay. “No, no. Do not put it on. Lisa would not cover herself. Do not put that bathrobe on.”

Releasing a hissing breath between my teeth, I glared at my sister’s friend, feeling increasingly antsy the closer Abram came. “Me putting a bathrobe on is not going to be a red flag for Abram.”

“Yes. It will.” An odd kind of urgency entered her voice. “The only time Abram and Lisa met, she was naked, okay? You covering up now would be weird.”

What? Naked? What? I sputtered, my mouth opening and closing.

Giving me no time to recover, Gabby pasted a smile on her face, glanced over her shoulder again, laughed a fake laugh that sounded real, and turned back to me just as her expression switched to stern. “Act like a hot girl who is proud of her hotness, he’s coming!”





6





Acceleration





“What do you mean she was naked?” I whisper-hissed.

“Shut up.”

“Gabby—”

She didn’t respond, instead looping her arm through mine and turning to face an approaching Abram. I flinched automatically and moved to withdraw. Gabby countered quickly, holding my arm in a tighter grip. My only excuse for not tempering my pulling-away instinct was that I remained stunned by her latest revelation. Indeed, my mind was still running through possible scenarios which might explain why Lisa would need to be naked in front of someone she didn’t know.

Perhaps she’d stepped in an ant pile and they’d crawled under her clothes and she’d needed to rip them off? Or someone poured anthrax down the back of her shirt? Or . . . what the heck?

I was so entirely in my own head that it took me a few moments to realize that Abram and Gabby were speaking.

“I found her. You can go away Abram unless you’re planning to join us by the pool.” Gabby’s tone was light and playful.

“You’re not staying.” His voice was like granite.

Distractedly, I glanced at Abram, found him examining me with wary eyes, like he half expected me to pounce on him. He was also a good ten feet away, pointedly keeping his distance. Even so, his gaze did move over me—legs, hips, stomach, and so forth—with the scarcest visible glimmer of appreciation, giving me the impression he was irritated with himself for noticing at all.