2 Deja Blue Read online

  Anya nodded. Brennan answered, “Yeah. August 17th.”

  Jeremy started excitedly jumping around, clapping his hands. “Ohhhh! That’s the day before your birthday, Ruby!”

  A feeling of dread and nausea came over me. My stomach churned, and I had a funny taste in my mouth, “Ucchhh, just what I need…Some major swimming Challenge causing me stress, premature wrinkles and gray hair the day before I turn 18.”

  Anya rubbed my shoulder, “Well, technically, it’s the night before you turn 18.”

  “The Challenge is at night?” Jeremy asked.

  Anya nodded, “Yes. It always has been. It has to do with the Merpeople’s beliefs of the stars and such,” she kind of shook her head and waved her hands around, “You know, their magic is more powerful at night. Water Court beings swim faster at night, the water is cooler, all of that.”

  With an unsure look, I kind of raised my eyebrows at her, “Uh. Not really, but I’ll take your word for it.”

  Brennan spoke up, “Well, of course they swim faster at night!”

  “Of course!” I sarcastically replied, rolling my eyes. “Why wouldn’t I know that? Oh yeah. I remember now… ‘cause none of you ever tell me anything!” I practically shouted.

  Jeremy intervened, “Hey now! Hey now, children…can’t we all play nice? Okay, does Ruby have to prepare or practice or anything for this big Gramma douche bag thing?” Anya giggled, and even I cracked a smile at that one. Leave it to Jeremy to throw in the word “douche bag” in the most inappropriate way.

  “It’s Graw-muh-Khree Doosh-lahn,” Brennan corrected.

  “Whatev,” Jeremy kind of shrugged his shoulders and continued, “Well, does she? …Have to practice or anything?” he looked at Anya and Brennan questionably.

  I was curious to know the answer to this one too.

  Brennan nodded, “Definitely. We’ll have you run some drills this week, Kansas.”

  “Drills?” I questioned.

  “Swim laps, practice what the course might be, that kind of thing,” Anya answered.

  “Oh,” I replied, feeling defeated. Not much else I could say I suppose. I felt the knot in my stomach clench, and my mouth went dry. I must have had a sick look on my face, because Jeremy came over and gave me a hug.

  “Hey, hey, heyyyyy! You’ll be fine Ruby! It’s not like it’s life or death or anything! It’s not the end of the world! You’ll be great!”

  Brennan and Anya just looked at the sand, shuffling their feet around, not saying anything.

  “Uh. It kind of is, Jeremy. Remember, if I lose, then Celestine can’t marry Bexin. They’ll have to break up. And, if they do stay together, they’ll be exiled from Fey and their families forever! Being cut off from Fey forever might just kill them!”

  “Ohhhhh…might, might, if, if…There’s so many ‘maybes’ Ruby. You can’t worry about what might happen if you lose. Just do your best. You’ll be great! And, you’ll have your debt repaid to the Mermaid.” Jeremy soothed.

  Yeah, easy for him to say. He wasn’t the one with two other people’s fate in his hands.

  Chapter 18

  The next few days went by in a whirlwind of activity. Anya and Brennan wanted to work with me right away, and often. They wanted me to learn to use my “gift” to the best of my ability. They told me that in order to swim faster, I had to increase my propulsion, increase my tempo, and learn to decrease my resistance in the water. Ugh. Whatever! What am I, a fish? With my dragon-like swimming skills, was I supposed to be part amphibian now? They also had me working on surface diving, in case I had to retrieve stuff as part of the Challenge…Everything from head-first dives, pike-position dives, strokes and kicking patterns. I never knew how many different kinds of kicks there were in swimming…Slide kicks, dolphin kicks, flutter kicks, butterfly kicks, reverse fly kicks, switch kicks…my head was spinning. I usually just kicked my feet back and forth and I was done. Now, all of sudden, I’m doing all of this crazy stuff. I felt like I was training for the Olympics!

  Between swimming lessons, work, plus my chores at home, I barely had time to see Nick. I was really missing him. I had to turn him down twice, making up different excuses as to why I couldn’t get together with him. But, when the phone rang today, I just couldn’t do it again.

  “I really miss you Rubes,” he said with a pleading voice. Hearing him say that made my heart melt, “Are you sure you can’t get out of whatever your mom’s got you doing now?” he pressed.

  I could get used to this…the idea of Mr. Hotness missing me and begging to see me. That was it. I couldn’t say no to him again. Besides, it had been four days since I tasted those yummy lips of his, and I just couldn’t wait another four days. And, I also couldn’t face another day of all those kicks and drills and dives. I needed a break. I wanted to see my boyfriend.

  “I miss you too, Nick. You know, I think I can maybe weasel my way out of my mom’s project. What are we gonna do, and what time should I be ready?” I answered.

  “Excellent!” I could hear the smile in Nick’s voice, “How about we go catch a movie, and then we’ll get dessert or something after? I’ll pick you up around seven?”

  “ ‘Kay. I’ll be ready! See you then!” I was already getting excited at the thought of seeing him, and it was only ten in the morning. I still had to work my shift at the Craft and Hobby store, and figure out how I was going to ditch Anya and Brennan tonight. They were not going to be happy with me. But, at the moment, I didn’t really care. I was going out with my boyfriend tonight and, as far as I was concerned, they could just deal with it.

  My shift at the store seemed to be the longest of my life. I fixed the coloring book display for the fourth time that day and walked up to the register to finish out my shift before I left for the night.

  I sat on the wooden stool behind the counter where my elbow was propped up, resting my head on my hand while I mindlessly doodled circles on the notepad in front of me. I daydreamed about seeing Nick. I forgot to ask him what movie he had in mind. As long as I was sitting next to him, sharing popcorn, I didn’t really care what was showing up on the screen. A few minutes later, I heard the bells jingling at the front door of the store, alerting me to yet another customer entering. I glanced up lazily from my doodles to see who had come into the store. Uh-oh.

  Brennan came bounding up to me, full of energy as usual, hair sticking up every which way and smiling. “Hey Kansas! Ready for some more swimming tonight? You get off in, like, fifteen minutes or so, right?”

  Crap. I guess it was time to tell him that I wasn’t going to be training for the Challenge tonight.

  “Uhh. Actually, I can’t tonight.” I said slowly, afraid of how he was going to react.

  Brennan looked puzzled. “What do you mean? Are you working late tonight? We can just do it afterwards.” I started shaking my head, getting more nervous to tell him that I was ditching them to see my boyfriend.

  “No. Not exactly. I’m not free tonight. I’m going out with Nick.” Whew. I said it. I sat there, trying to keep a look of calm confidence plastered on my face, even though I was secretly scared of how Brennan would react.

  Brennan leaned over the counter, and when he was about six inches from my face, he spoke in a hushed, but fierce tone, “What the hell, Kansas? You need to do this. This is important. You can see your pretty boy little Nicky as much as you want after the Challenge.”

  Okay. The “little Nicky” comment pissed me off. Now he was using Leo’s stupid nick-name for my boyfriend. And, how dare he come in here and tell me what I could and couldn’t do! He wasn’t the boss of me! I stood up from my stool and leaned over the counter, shoving my face right in front of him, closing the distance so that our noses were almost touching. “Listen here Prince Not-So-Charming, you are not the boss of me. If I wanna see my boyfriend, I will. It’s been four days, and I’ve been doing all of your stupid, little swimming drills. I need a break. And where the hell are your shoes?! This is a store, you moron. No shoes, no service
!” I snapped back, and stood up straight, daring him to defy me.

  Brennan leaned back, just slightly, and glanced down at his bare feet. His chest was still heaving with annoyance. “Whatever, Ruby,” he said throwing his hands in the air, “You’re the one who’s going to feel guilty if you lose. Do whatever you want,” he said in an icy tone as he walked away from the counter. He pulled the door open and turned to look back at me, his face full of disgust, “Oh, and have a good time with little Nicky tonight. Hope he’s worth it.” Then he stomped out of the store, with the door silently swinging shut behind him. If he could have slammed it, I’m sure he would have.

  Now I felt guilty. Maybe I should cancel my date with Nick. But it’s been forever since I saw him. I really missed him. One night off from swimming wasn’t going to kill me, was it? I tried to focus my thoughts on Nick’s gorgeous smile and got butterflies just thinking about holding his hand again. As I rode my bike home, I got more and more excited at the thought of seeing Nick. Brennan can go suck it. I’m not going to let him ruin my evening with my boyfriend. I changed out of my grubby clothes and slipped on a little sundress, even though I usually never wear them. I wanted to look extra nice for Nick tonight.

  The movie was so-so, but I didn’t really care. Nick held my hand the entire time. I had to use my other hand and reach across myself to get popcorn out of the bucket he held in his lap. There was no way I was letting go of Mr. Hotness’s hand. It felt too good. We strolled out of the theater and walked to Nick’s car. He opened the door for me, and I smiled and sighed. He was perfect. This was definitely better than swimming around the lake with Anya and Brennan tonight.

  We drove to Dairy Queen for dessert, and I ordered the Triple Chocoholic Blizzard. Nick ordered a strawberry one. We sat outside at one of the picnic tables and laughed and talked and ate ice cream. It was just what I needed. Screw Brennan, I thought. He doesn’t know how I feel or what I need. And why am I still even thinking about Brennan right now? I am sitting right across from Mr. Hotness, himself, enjoying my most favorite food in the world…ice cream. I shouldn’t even be worrying about stupid, barefoot Brennan. But, I had this nagging little feeling tugging at my insides. I knew what it was.

  My mom calls it a guilty conscience.

  Ugh. I sighed while I ate my ice cream and then plastered a fake smile on my face. Fake it ‘til you make it. That’s what my mom always says. I will not let thoughts of Brennan ruin my night. It’s been too perfect.

  My night with Nick ended with us steaming up the front windows of his car. Sitting in my driveway, sprawled out in the front seat with Nick’s beautiful, strong hands all over me and mine all over him, I lost every single bit of that nagging feeling. All I felt was how attracted I was to this guy, and how much I wanted to keep kissing him all night long. Things were heating up fast, and I couldn’t breathe. Nick ran his hand up my thigh, under my sundress and I shuddered. His kiss deepened, and I grabbed his shoulders tighter. He had his hand wrapped around my hip, his skin on my skin, and I felt him tuck his thumb into the top of my panties and start to inch them down. I was so startled, I jerked my knee up in surprise.

  “Owww!” Nick lurched back grabbing his crotch with one hand. I started inappropriately giggling as I covered my mouth and put my other hand out to touch his leg, “Ohmygoshhhhh! I am soooo sorry! I didn’t mean to do that!” Nick started chuckling, “It’s okay,” he shook his head, “You get me carried away Rubes.” He smiled flirtatiously at me. I coyly smiled in return and leaned towards him again. “I didn’t mean for you to stop. I just…I just was surprised, that’s all,” and I began kissing him again.

  Between kisses, he said, “ ‘S’okay. Front seat of my car probably isn’t the most comfortable place anyway.” His hands roamed my back and he gripped onto a handful of my sundress. Every inch of tension melted from my body. He finally pulled away. “It’s late. Your parents are inside, probably watching out the window with my luck. You should probably go.” His emerald green eyes burned into mine with such intensity, I didn’t want to look away. But I knew he was right. It was late. And I had another long day of work and swimming tomorrow. I gave a big sigh, “You’re right. I should go. Just one more kiss?”

  Nick smiled, “How about two? And I’ll walk you to the door.”

  Chapter 19

  The next evening I walked to the lake to meet Anya and Brennan for my “swimming drills” as they liked to call them. After talking to Nick on the phone in the morning and making plans to see him on my birthday, I had worked all day and had to help with dinner. I was feeling pretty wiped out, especially after my late night with Nick. I wasn’t really feeling too energized to work out this evening. I hoped they would go easy on me tonight. I walked up to our driftwood meeting spot on the beach and saw Anya sitting on the log, patiently waiting for me.

  “Where’s Brennan?” I asked as I dropped my towel.

  “He’s not coming tonight,” she answered simply.

  “Why not? I thought he was the one all for these drills.” He practically had a coronary when I ditched them last night, I thought to myself.

  Anya shrugged, “He said he didn’t want to come tonight. I think he was going to catch a movie or something with Leo.”

  Huh. That wasn’t like Brennan. Especially after the big deal he made out of me not practicing last night. Oh well. I shook my head. I was never going to figure him out. He’s just too irritating to me sometimes.

  “Come on,” Anya said pulling me out of my revelry. “Let’s get to work.” She grabbed my hand and tugged me towards the lake. Just as we neared the water, Anya’s cell phone went off. She pulled it out of her pocket and shook her head as she read the message. She let out a big sigh, “It’s for you,” she said as she held out the phone to me. Puzzled, I took the phone out of her hand and smiled as soon as I read the message:

  “anya i know ur w rube.

  on hotdate w michael.

  pss it on so in luv grrrl!”

  Well, at least someone was having a good time tonight. I quickly texted him back,

  “gr8! smooches! hve fun ttyl, r.”

  I handed the phone back to Anya. “Thanks,” I said. “You know how Jeremy is. He’s just so giddy right now. He’s never had a boyfriend before.”

  Anya smiled and nodded, “Yeah. I know. But we’ve got to get to work.” She tucked the phone into her pocket and sent me out into the water to put me through my swimming drills. I swam laps, practiced diving off the docks and swam underwater. As I came up for a breather and sat next to Anya on the docks, her phone rang again. She looked at the message, rolled her eyes and handed it over to me, “It’s Jeremy again. Some sort of crisis.”

  I looked at his text.

  “OMG!OMG!OMG! red slushee all ovr my whitepanz! M @ icecream counter stll. freekNout!”

  I giggled and quickly texted him back,

  “use cold water bthrm now! & y the hell r u wearing white?!”

  Before I could even hand the phone back to Anya, another text came through from Jeremy,

  “how do I get my panz under the faucet???!!! Strip?!?!”

  I couldn’t help it, I giggled when I read it and quickly texted back, with Anya peeking over to see what I was typing.

  “LOL! dont take ur panz off! use papertowl dumass!”

  I handed the phone back to Anya’s warning glare. “What?” I innocently said, “Come on! It’s Jeremy! It’s not like I can control when he needs me.”

  “Yes, but Ruby, you need to be focused on what we’re doing here. These interruptions are just distracting you,” she scolded me. Here I was working my butt off, and then Brennan blows me off, and now Anya’s getting cranky with me? No way was I going to let this slide.

  “Oh Anya, you gotta gimme a break on this one. You know I’ve been doing everything you’ve asked me to do. Besides, you and Brennan have that whole Fairy telepathy thing going on…Jeremy and I need to stay connected too. It’s your job, as my friend, to help out with that. You know I don’t have
a cell. And come on…It’s Jeremy!” I said with a sly smile, wiggling my eyebrows at her. Anya’s face softened a little. She let out a big sigh. “Ohhhh. Alright. But we still have a lot to do tonight. So, if he keeps texting, just be warned that you’re going to have to stay that much later.”

  “No problem,” I agreed, “But I can’t leave a man down…especially a man with his pants down!” I joked and Anya giggled.

  Anya started throwing brightly colored stones out into the water and told me I had to go fetch them. She was going to keep track of how quickly I could retrieve them. What am I, a dog? She kept telling me to work on my body alignment and improve my gliding. She was shouting stupid things like, “No, no! Place your arms out in front like a swordfish’s sword!” I’ve never even seen a sword fish, other than in pictures. Besides, I was kind of picturing myself as a dog. Now I’m supposed to be a swordfish?

  Her advice droned on and on. “Swim more on your side, you’ll stay more streamlined, create less resistance, and move even faster through the water. Think of yourself as a fish. Fish don’t swim straight and flat,” Oh my gosh! If I heard that one more time, I was going to scream! I. Hate. Fish!

  After a few stone gathering swims, I was now headed back to the docks for a short rest, and thankfully, I was saved by the bell. Literally. I heard Anya’s cell ringing again and saw her waving the phone frantically. I hoisted myself onto the dock to see what was up now. She handed me the phone, and I looked at Jeremy’s text,

  “strtn nu trend w white. ddnt wrk 2 well. soooo pissed! m tote flirting w sum dude whn i got bck frm rstrm. gonna kill the loser! grrrr!”

  I shook my head and blew out a sigh. That Jeremy. He is sooo overreacting. Michael’s probably just making conversation with somebody, and Jeremy’s going all psycho “Fatal Attraction.” Anya looked over my shoulder at Jeremy’s text.

  “Here. I got this one,” she said. Ahhh. Leave it to Anya, the “mother” of our group, to settle down the situation. Anya quickly grabbed the phone out of my hand and texted with lightning speed as I watched,