I set my own suitcase on my bed and unzipped it. “Yeah? Like who?”
She rattled off a half dozen A-listers, including the lead singer of my favorite band.
“Cool! You’re sure it was him?”
“I’m sure.” She nodded. “Later on, I astrally projected to his hotel room.”
My eyes widened with surprise. “You didn’t!”
“He has a new tattoo,” she said coyly. “Right here.” She indicated a spot just below her left shoulder.
“Wow,” I murmured, suitably impressed. “Do you do that often? Spy on celebrities, I mean?” I’d never really thought about it, but since she could go to anyone, anytime.
“Maybe,” she said with a wicked smile. “Anyway, we really missed you and Kate.”
“Sure you did,” I teased. “How was the weather?”
Cece scooped up her clothes and walked to the closet, dumping them there in a heap. “It was perfect!” she called out. “Warm, but not too hot.
Poor Sophie got a pretty bad sunburn.”
“What?” I let out my breath in a huff. “I called her and warned her!” Because I’d seen it, the very first day of break — a quick vision of Sophie in pain, her skin red and blistered. I’d been trying to coax a vision about Blackwell, but somehow I’d gotten Sophie instead. “Why didn’t she wear sunscreen like I told her to?”
Cece winced. “I think she forgot to reapply. Anyway, she’s fine now. How was Atlanta?”
“It was great,” I said, which was entirely true. It had been nice to spend some quiet time with Gran. We’d had lunch at the club, lounged by the pool. My seventeenth birthday had come and gone, celebrated quietly with Gran and Lupe, who’d made me my favorite cake — red velvet with buttercream frosting. I’d hoped to see Whitney while I was there, but our breaks coincided and she’d gone to the beach with her family. Still, all in all, it had been a nice trip. Relaxing, even.
“Well, it looks like you got a bit of a tan yourself. I swear, you were so pale you were starting to look like a vampire.”
My heart skipped a beat. But then I realized she was just kidding; the word “vampire” was just a figure of speech to her.
“Anyway,” Cece continued, “next time you have to go to Saint Bart’s with us. Promise?”
“I promise,” I agreed, just because it seemed like the right thing to say.
Cece sighed, collapsing back on her bed. “It’s good to be back here at the ’Haven, though, isn’t it? I mean, it just feels so much safer here.”
My skin prickled all over. “What do you mean, safer?”
“I don’t know. Just that here we’re free to be ourselves. I mean, what happens when we all go off to college?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. I just wish I’d come here sooner.”
“Yeah, I wish you had too,” Cece answered. “Hey, you want to go to the café for a little while? I’m starved, and dinner’s not for another hour.”
“Sure.” I was mostly unpacked, and hungry — all I’d gotten on the plane was a tiny bag of pretzels. “Want to call and see if everyone else wants to meet us there?” Kate and Sophie and Marissa — the whole gang. I’d missed them, I realized.
A half hour later, we were all tucked into a booth in the back, laughing and chatting. We decided to skip dinner altogether and had sandwiches there instead, followed by coffee and thick slices of cheesecake drizzled with strawberry sauce and whipped cream. I took a sip of cappuccino and watched my friends over the rim of the mug, warmth spreading through my veins.
Yeah, Winterhaven was probably the best thing that had ever happened to me. In less than a year’s time, I felt like I’d finally found myself, found the friends I’d have for life.
And Aidan. well, I’d had plenty of time to think about him over the break. I wanted him back, wanted our relationship the way it was before I flipped out about the whole Isabel thing. The only question was, did he want me? I had to know, had to try.
“Hey, earth to Violet,” Sophie said, waving a hand in front of my eyes. “You’ve got that dreamy look on your face again. A penny for your thoughts?”
“I’m not sure they’re worth that,” I said, laughing. “I was just thinking how glad I am to be back, that’s all.” Which was partly true. I had been thinking that, before Aidan crept into my thoughts.
“I’m glad to be back too,” Kate said. “It took me two full days to remember that I had to actually get up and walk across the room to pick up my purse or my keys or whatever.”
“My God, you are so lazy,” Marissa said with a snort of laughter.
“Yeah, well, it becomes habit,” Kate protested. “It’s difficult having a gift that’s so hard to hide.”
“Hey,” Sophie said, “not to change the subject, but are any of you taking the SAT prep course that starts this week?”
I’d almost forgotten about the upcoming SATs. Patsy had sent in the money for the prep course just before spring break. “I am. Do you know who’s teaching it?”
“No idea.” Sophie shook her head, leaning forward in her seat. “Don’t look now, but Dr. Hottie just walked in.”
“Dr. Hottie?” I asked, resisting the urge to turn around and look at the door.
“He teaches senior-level science classes,” Cece whispered beside me, “and he can’t be more than twenty-six. Fresh out of grad school.”
“What’s his real name?” I whispered back in confusion.
“Dr. Byrne,” Sophie said. “As in, Byrne-ing hot. Get it?”
“C’mon, I gotta turn around,” I pleaded.
Cece nudged me. “Oh, go on. Just be casual.”
Totally casual, I thought, twisting my torso in my seat. The so-called Dr. Hottie stood just inside the door, chatting with a couple of students. I’d seen him around before, and they weren’t kidding. He was definitely hot.
“Hey, you’re blushing!” Cece said, and I quickly turned back around, feeling the heat in my cheeks.
“He only teaches really advanced classes,” Kate said with a sigh. “So I have no chance of getting him next year.”
“Oh, you better believe I’ll be taking his class. I’ll fill you in,” Sophie offered with a naughty smile.
Kate nudged Marissa in the ribs. “Hey, you’ve gotten awfully quiet. Don’t tell me you don’t appreciate the finer points of Dr. Hottie?”
Marissa looked suddenly uncomfortable. “Yeah, I’m just. I don’t know, something feels weird all of a sudden. Sort of off. I can’t explain it.”
I studied her face, my heart accelerating when I saw something that looked like fear in her eyes. “What’s wrong?”
She closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again. “I don’t know that anything’s wrong,” she said at last. “But something’s definitely not right. I think I want to go back to my room.”