Slow Dance in Purgatory(26)

“Hi.”

He smiled at her simple greeting, dimples flashing and then disappearing again.

“Hi,” he replied. “Are you alright?” His countenance darkened as he shifted his gaze back to the boys who still remained in the hallway, now completely unaware of her.

Maggie nodded. “I’m okay.”

Johnny crooked his finger, indicating she follow him. Maggie supposed that was wise. Talking to an invisible guy in the school hallway was probably not in her best interest. He led her to the 2nd floor library, where the lights were dimmed and the door locked, indicating that the librarian had gone home for the day.

The locks released with a barely audible snick, and Johnny inclined his head, “Ladies first.”

Maggie pushed the door open and walked into the library, seeking privacy among the hushed stacks and tall shelves. She liked the way books smelled, and she breathed deeply, wondering if Johnny could appreciate the scents and flavors around him or if that too was lost to him.

“Are you really okay?” His voice was low and serious behind her. “I saw those guys hassling you. I didn’t like it. They shouldn’t be grabbing you like that….I didn’t like it,” he repeated.

“I’m fine. I gave as good as I got.” Maggie laughed a little, shrugging her shoulders. “I didn’t like what they said to my friend. I lost my temper.”

“I missed that part. I’m around, you know, but I’m not aware of everything that’s going on. Frankly, high school isn’t all that interesting.” It was Johnny’s turn to shrug.

Maggie snickered. “You got that right.”

He smirked back at her briefly. “Sometimes the energy spikes high and that catches my attention – like just now.”

“That was your handiwork, wasn’t it? I’ve never seen anything like it. You’re going to start rumors of a poltergeist.”

“I’m not sure what a poltergeist is.” Johnny cocked his head in question.

“It’s a violent ghost,” Maggie supplied, her lips curving slightly.

“Hmmm. Well, I guess that’s not too far from the truth.” Johnny shifted and scanned the books above her head. “So what did those nosebleeds say to your friend that got you so hot?”

“They were giving him trouble about his mother. She’s a bit….loose, if you know what I mean.” Maggie sighed and didn’t miss the tightening in Johnny’s face and around his lips. He studied the shelf more intently, but Maggie was pretty sure he wasn’t interested in what he saw.

“My momma didn’t have a very good reputation. Some of it was deserved. Some of it wasn’t. Nobody ever gave me any trouble about it.” Johnny’s eyes shifted to hers, and then looked away again, “But Billy took some heat over it. I’ll keep an eye on the kid – Shadrach, right?”

“Yes. Shad. He’s a good kid...a little delusional and obnoxious, but very sweet. By the way, you said you would keep an eye on him when we talked last, but he seemed to have taken you by surprise.” Maggie was teasing, but she was curious about how Shad had crept up on them last Sunday night.

“I seem to be unusually unobservant when I am with you,” Johnny confessed with a self-deprecating grin. “I haven’t had too many conversations in the last fifty years. I guess I was completely absorbed.” Maggie could relate – at least with the part about being completely absorbed.

“Your glasses….are they broken again?” Johnny inclined his head toward her glasses, where one end protruded out of her pocket.

“Yes, and you just fixed them for me, too.” Her tone was apologetic, embarrassed even. Thank you, by the way.” She pulled her glasses out of her pocket and ran her finger along the crack. “I hate them…but I need them, too.”

“I can fix them again.”

Maggie slid them onto her nose, and crossed her eyes dizzily behind the damaged glass. “Don’t you think I can get away with wearing them like this?”

“Absolutely. Peepers suit you.”

Maggie blushed, giggling at the old-fashioned moniker, and uncrossed her eyes. Johnny was a faint blur in front of her. Maggie gasped and pulled the glasses off her nose. Johnny became crystal clear once more. She slid her glasses back into position. Johnny faded almost beyond sight. She reached out with both her hands, feeling for him as if she were blind. Her hands brushed his shoulders and chest and slid up his neck and along the firm line of his jaw. Her fingertips stroked up his sand paper cheeks and hesitantly traced the features of his face.

Johnny sucked in his breath sharply and locked his hands around Maggie’s wrists, halting her tentative explorations. Maggie was immediately jolted from her awed ministrations, and she blushed furiously as Johnny released her wrists. She yanked her glasses off, thoroughly embarrassed by what she had just done. The awkward silence in the library was deafening. The roaring in Maggie’s ears was even worse.

“What…was that all about?” Johnny tipped her chin up with the tips of his fingers, forcing her humiliated gaze from her shoes.

“I can’t see you when I’m wearing my glasses!” Maggie blurted out, worrying her bottom lip nervously. “I reached out to see if you were actually still there, even if I couldn’t see you…. I’m so sorry.”