Dissolve by Andrea Heltsley Page B

eagerly. I reveled in the taste of my own vanilla latte and we were soon moving back onto the road, just a short jump to our destination.
     
    All of us were wondering what Shane’s ability would be, yet none of us dared say it. We had run the gamete on special abilities so there was no telling what his would be. Maybe it would be something cool like telekinesis or flying. So far, he was showing no signs of any special ability and that was so different from our immediate triggers.
     
    We finally reached Sarasota and I could see the relief on everyone’s faces. Noah was the first to speak up. “How about we hit the thrift shop up and go to the laundry mat as well. Nessa and Shane can go to the thrift store and Cora can go to the laundry mat with me. We can meet back at the public beach entrance later for a day in the sun.”
     
    “That’s a great idea,” Nessa said. “Is that okay with you, Shane?”
     
    “Sure; anything to get some clothes for this trip or whatever you call this,” Shane replied.
     
    “We will get a cab to the beach if you drop us off at the thrift store,” Nessa added.
     
    “Perfect, now we just need to find one,” I said.
     
    We spent fifteen minutes trying to find a shop since we all did away with our phones some time ago. Finally though, we managed to come across a store called the Rag Tag and dropped Shane and Nessa off.
     
    As soon as they exited the car, Noah hopped into the front seat from the back and threw the car in drive. “Now we just have to find a laundry mat and an auto shop. Then we can do what I came here to do.”
     
    “Look, there is a laundry mat on the left a few blocks up. I can see the tall broken sign from here.”
     
    We found the laundry mat and pulled up just next to the front door. It was early and there weren’t very many patrons, thank our lucky stars. We tossed in our measly two loads of laundry into the wash then got change from the machine. Noah bought some soap and I started the washers.
     
    Soon we were sitting on top of our machines, side by side. I could feel the tension my body felt whenever Noah was near. No matter how wrong it was, I wanted to reach out and hold his hand. I craved that skin to skin contact to sooth the crackling energy between us.
     
    “This is going to take forever. I have never been too patient,” I told him.
     
    “Me neither, I hate sitting still for any period of time.”
     
    “So what do you think of Shane?” I asked, trying to get my mind out of the gutter.
     
    “Hmm, I am not sure yet. I wish we could figure him out so we could show ourselves without tiptoeing around him.”
     
    “I think it is too soon to tell. He clearly has all the hallmarks of developing some sort of ability, yet shows no signs yet. It is kind of strange.”
     
    “It could be a different kind of ability that isn’t so apparent like flying or healing, although I can’t begin to imagine how surreal it would be to see someone fly. It is hard to guess when we can’t tell him,” Noah said, his muddy brown eyes meeting my blue ones.
     
    “True. This is all really strange and absolutely crazy to begin with. I still can’t believe everything that has happened in the span of less than a week. It is a lot to take in.”
     
    “Let’s grab a paper and read it together for a little while,” Noah suggested.
     
    “Only if I can have the entertainment section, I miss my media.” I said with an exaggerated pout.
     
    “It’s a deal,” he said pulling a paper out of the stand.
     
    He headed over to the row of bright orange plastic chairs that lined the wall for people waiting. He very carefully pulled out the entertainment section and I grinned at him in delight. I quickly peeled back the pages trying to absorb as much as possible. I read every movie review and book review I could before something caught Noah’s attention and he nudged me.
     
    “Look at this, Cora.”
     
    I pulled the paper to me and read the headline, “Whole