Don't Kiss the Messenger (Edgelake High School, #1)(14)

Jaymay.

Gray or Blue.

I pressed send just as Prentice slammed a muscular arm against the counter, beckoning Bryn with a handful of darts. He lopped his dark eyebrows up and down in what would appear to be his smoldering look. Bryn took the bait. In less than a second she was out of her seat, following him to the dartboards. Tuba stood up and joined them.

I mentally ran through a library of songs. I looked over and watched Bryn and Tuba start a game of darts. Bryn laughed, tossing her hair back at something Prentice was saying. He poured her a soda from the pitcher and offered it to her, ogling her while she took a sip. People talked around me, and music filtered through the overhead speakers, but it all faded away into white noise.

Me: Wanna Be On Your Mind.

Valerie June.

I hit send and tapped my fingers on the bar.

Me: Twist yourself around me…I need human heat.

The Twist.

Frightened Rabbits.

I continued to fire out lyrics that reminded me of him. He responded in lyrics. It was one of the best conversations I had ever had. Time and people, schedules and homework, all seeped away through a tiny, insignificant window that I could easily close.

Emmett: This is hungry work.

Take Me to Church.

Hozier.

My smile widened. I knew this song very well. It was one of the sexiest songs I had ever heard.

Me: That’s very carnal.

I hit send. He responded within seconds.

Emmett: Am I disturbing you?

I shook my head. My body was heating up and my fingers moved involuntarily.

Me: Trap me in your cage of words.

I hit send. In an instant, he replied.

Emmett: Great line. Song?

I shook my head and typed.

That one was me, I wrote.

I hit send and Bryn suddenly pulled the phone out of my hands. I blinked up at her, a little disoriented as if I had been immersed in the growing climax of a book. I wasn’t ready to leave the fantasy world.

“You’re still texting him?” she asked.

I glanced at the clock above a TV screen. We had been texting for almost two hours. I couldn’t believe that much time had passed. It felt like minutes. Bryn was reading over our texts.

“You guys have been sharing lyrics this entire time?”

She looked at me with surprise.

“You told me to,” I reminded her. “I was just doing a thorough job.” I wanted to ask for her phone back so I could write down the song list he sent me, but I knew they weren’t meant for me. I fidgeted with the thumb holes on my fleece while Bryn critiqued our messages.

She shook her head at the screen. “Your music is as bizarro as his. Don’t you ever listen to Lady Gaga? Rihanna? You know, normal people?”

She turned and headed back to the table of rowers. I stood up, a little light-headed. Tuba walked over and handed me a basket of waffle fries; she saved half the order for me.

“They’re cold. But I didn’t want to interrupt you. You looked pretty distracted over here.”

“Thanks,” I mumbled, ignoring her look as I took the basket out of her hands. I sat back down, my mind swimming with guilt, but more than anything I was annoyed that Bryn had interrupted our conversation. As if she was the one out of line.

“It was nice of you to help her out,” Tuba said. I refused to meet her gaze. I knew what she was really thinking.

I took a bite of the fries. I hadn’t helped out Bryn. I just started an even bigger mess.

…

EMMETT

I lay on my bed and reread Bryn’s messages. It was a relief to know that I had been right about Bryn. This girl was strange and mysterious. She was clever. She had secrets. It ended too soon and left me craving more. She was gorgeous, anyone could see that, but there was so much more under the surface.

My dad had always told me I was too picky. Maybe he was right. I wanted more than a girl that turned my eyes. I wanted a girl that turned my thoughts—that got in my head and stayed there. That sent my heart and my mind spinning.

I rolled off my bed and sat at my desk, suddenly starved for inspiration. I searched online for the list of songs she had sent me. I downloaded each one.

I added the songs to a single playlist and downloaded it onto my phone. I pulled on my headphones and opened the door, heading downstairs. I escaped into the cool night air and walked, breathing deep, soaking in the wind carrying the cool scent of fall. My senses were charged.

I felt awake for the first time in over a year. Something inside of me had been stirred, something stagnant was moving again. I could feel my heart beating through my ribs.

I stared up at the stars, blazing through the black night.

I turned on the playlist that I had titled MUSE and escaped into Bryn’s head. It was even more alluring than looking in her eyes.

...

I turned the ignition and my dad’s old truck wheezed to life. The windshield wipers snapped on, scattering the pouring rain for a half second before the world turned blurry again. I was about to shift the car into reverse when I noticed CeCe running out of the stadium entrance, using The Cardinal Gazette as a rain cover. The paper was quickly disintegrating in the downpour. I leaned over and unrolled the passenger side window.

“You want a ride?” I shouted through the rain as she passed the window.

She looked over, at first surprised by an ominous stranger offering her a lift. Then she recognized me in the window and studied my truck, unbelieving.