hard, okay?”
“Sure, Tom. I promise.”
“Good. ’Bye, Reason.”
“’Bye, Tom.” He handed the receiver to Jay-Tee, who nodded at him.
The first thing she said to the phone was, “You’re going to promise me the same thing, right, Reason?”
10
Ammonite
“You don’t have much furniture,” I said. Danny’s hair
was damp, making the curls cling even tighter to his head. He’d changed clothes, too, but my ammonite was still in his pocket.
Danny was bone-meltingly gorgeous. His brown eyes were huge and almost slanted, with the longest, blackest eyelashes. His hair was cut close to his scalp, leaving lots of tiny little curls. His skin was a gorgeous shade of brown, darker than mine or Jay-Tee’s. It glowed. Looking anywhere other than at him was an effort. So I did an inventory of his furniture: a couch, two comfy chairs, a huge television, and six stools around the kitchen island, one of which I was sitting on. In the giant room, it seemed like no furniture at all. He pulled up one of the stools and sat opposite me.
“So, Reason?” he said. I bit on my tongue to stop myself from blushing or shaking or doing anything that would make him realise that I liked him. I wanted him to realise, but only if he liked me, too, and not just as Jay-Tee’s friend.
“Uh-huh?” I said, barely opening my mouth.
“What did your grandmother have to say?”
“I didn’t get to talk to her, just Tom and Jay-Tee. She was out doing something. They didn’t know much. They said they’d get her to call me back.”
He pulled the ammonite out of his pocket, placed it on the benchtop, where its browns, greys, and blacks almost disappeared into the marble counter. “This is magic, right? How come you gave me this?”
Now I was blushing. “I . . . You know when we were at that dancing place?”
“You mean the club, Inferno?”
“I guess. The place where you introduced yourself to me? You know, when you were looking for Jay-Tee?”
He nodded.
“Well, I didn’t know if you . . . You might’ve been like Jason Blake. I know you’re not now , but I didn’t then. I gave it to you so I could follow you. Then if you kidnapped Jay-Tee or something, I could find her again.”
“You can follow it even when you can’t see it? So it is magic?”
I nodded. “I can always feel where it is. Well, not if it gets too far away, but.”
Danny and I reached for the ammonite at the same time, our fingertips touching briefly. “Sorry,” we both said.
“Take it.”
I did. It was warm. The feel of Danny from it was overwhelming.
“Good to have it back?”
I nodded. It did feel good. I slid it into my pocket but kept it in my hand, between forefinger and thumb.
“How does it work?” Danny asked. “I mean, the whole time I had it with me the stone never felt cold. Very weird.”
I tried to explain about magical objects, how magic rubs off on them. It was hard because it didn’t entirely make sense to me. I could almost hear my mother scoffing at the explanation. I tried to think of it as like the sun’s energy being absorbed by a dark stone, but longer lasting so that instead of staying warm part of the night, it stayed warm forever. I thought about Danny as his heart continued to beat between my fingers. Had part of him rubbed off onto the ammonite? Had he absorbed something of me from having it in his pocket the last few days?
The phone rang. Danny handed it to me. “Your grandmother.”
“Hi, Esmeralda,” I said, glad for once to hear her voice.
I needed to think about what Esmeralda had said. I walked to the sliding glass doors and opened them, stepping out onto the balcony. The wind was bitter, but no snow fell, and the sky was perfectly blue, with tiny pockets of stringy, feather-thin clouds. On the ground, piles of snow lingered. I could see a large body of water, but I couldn’t smell much salt in the air so I figured it must be a lake or a river, not the sea. Close to the shore were sixty-two rotten wooden posts sticking
“Sure, Tom. I promise.”
“Good. ’Bye, Reason.”
“’Bye, Tom.” He handed the receiver to Jay-Tee, who nodded at him.
The first thing she said to the phone was, “You’re going to promise me the same thing, right, Reason?”
10
Ammonite
“You don’t have much furniture,” I said. Danny’s hair
was damp, making the curls cling even tighter to his head. He’d changed clothes, too, but my ammonite was still in his pocket.
Danny was bone-meltingly gorgeous. His brown eyes were huge and almost slanted, with the longest, blackest eyelashes. His hair was cut close to his scalp, leaving lots of tiny little curls. His skin was a gorgeous shade of brown, darker than mine or Jay-Tee’s. It glowed. Looking anywhere other than at him was an effort. So I did an inventory of his furniture: a couch, two comfy chairs, a huge television, and six stools around the kitchen island, one of which I was sitting on. In the giant room, it seemed like no furniture at all. He pulled up one of the stools and sat opposite me.
“So, Reason?” he said. I bit on my tongue to stop myself from blushing or shaking or doing anything that would make him realise that I liked him. I wanted him to realise, but only if he liked me, too, and not just as Jay-Tee’s friend.
“Uh-huh?” I said, barely opening my mouth.
“What did your grandmother have to say?”
“I didn’t get to talk to her, just Tom and Jay-Tee. She was out doing something. They didn’t know much. They said they’d get her to call me back.”
He pulled the ammonite out of his pocket, placed it on the benchtop, where its browns, greys, and blacks almost disappeared into the marble counter. “This is magic, right? How come you gave me this?”
Now I was blushing. “I . . . You know when we were at that dancing place?”
“You mean the club, Inferno?”
“I guess. The place where you introduced yourself to me? You know, when you were looking for Jay-Tee?”
He nodded.
“Well, I didn’t know if you . . . You might’ve been like Jason Blake. I know you’re not now , but I didn’t then. I gave it to you so I could follow you. Then if you kidnapped Jay-Tee or something, I could find her again.”
“You can follow it even when you can’t see it? So it is magic?”
I nodded. “I can always feel where it is. Well, not if it gets too far away, but.”
Danny and I reached for the ammonite at the same time, our fingertips touching briefly. “Sorry,” we both said.
“Take it.”
I did. It was warm. The feel of Danny from it was overwhelming.
“Good to have it back?”
I nodded. It did feel good. I slid it into my pocket but kept it in my hand, between forefinger and thumb.
“How does it work?” Danny asked. “I mean, the whole time I had it with me the stone never felt cold. Very weird.”
I tried to explain about magical objects, how magic rubs off on them. It was hard because it didn’t entirely make sense to me. I could almost hear my mother scoffing at the explanation. I tried to think of it as like the sun’s energy being absorbed by a dark stone, but longer lasting so that instead of staying warm part of the night, it stayed warm forever. I thought about Danny as his heart continued to beat between my fingers. Had part of him rubbed off onto the ammonite? Had he absorbed something of me from having it in his pocket the last few days?
The phone rang. Danny handed it to me. “Your grandmother.”
“Hi, Esmeralda,” I said, glad for once to hear her voice.
I needed to think about what Esmeralda had said. I walked to the sliding glass doors and opened them, stepping out onto the balcony. The wind was bitter, but no snow fell, and the sky was perfectly blue, with tiny pockets of stringy, feather-thin clouds. On the ground, piles of snow lingered. I could see a large body of water, but I couldn’t smell much salt in the air so I figured it must be a lake or a river, not the sea. Close to the shore were sixty-two rotten wooden posts sticking
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