when sheâd lived the reality that would later become her nightmares.
ELEVEN
CHRISTOPHER WAITED UNTIL THEY WERE all on board the homeward-bound ferry before he pulled Lucas aside on a pretext.
âOkay, whatâs the deal?â Christopher demanded.
âWhat do you mean?â Lucas stared at him blankly.
âI mean the way Aisha and Zoey have been treating me all night,â Christopher said, glancing across the darkened deck to see that Aisha and Zoey were still well out of range.
Lucas shrugged. âZoeyâs been ragging me since yesterday about this dumb nomination thing. Thatâs probably what youâre picking up on. Has nothing to do with you, man.â
âNo, thatâs not it. Iâve been going for lip and getting cheek all night from Aisha. Sheâs pissed and I donât know why.â
âYou could ask her,â Lucas pointed out.
âI donât think so,â Christopher said. He hunched his shoulders. âZoey tell you where she went this afternoon?â
âI think she did,â Lucas said, scrunching his forehead pensively. âI mean, I guess she did, but I donâtââ
âDid she go to the mall?â
âActually, yeah. At least in last period she said she and Eesh and maybe Nina were going to head out to the mall. I remember now because she wanted to know if I wanted to go with them.â
âDamn,â Christopher said, slamming his hand back against the rail and instantly regretting it when a jolt of pain shot up his arm.
âLike Iâd want to go shopping,â Lucas said, laughing at the thought. âI think she was just being polite. I donât think she really wanted me along. Unless maybe it would give her more time to make snide remarks aboutââ He fell silent, looking sideways at Christopher. âWhatâs the matter?â
âI have a bad feeling Aisha saw something she wasnât supposed to see,â Christopher said in a low voice.
Lucas leaned closer. âYeah? What?â
Christopher hesitated. Was Lucas the kind of guy who told his girlfriend everything? Lots of guys were that way, and whatever he told Zoey would go straight back to Aisha. Then he grinned wryly. Hell, Lucas had done time. He probably knew how to keep a secret. âThere was this babeââ
âUh-oh,â Lucas commented, glancing over his shoulder guiltily.
Christopher couldnât help but grin. âBlond hair down toher ass,â he said. âI mean, major babe. Major, major stuff.â
âOh. You think Aisha caught you looking?â
âI was looking, all right.â
Lucas shook his head. âGirls never understand that we have to look. We have to. It doesnât mean weâre going to do anything about it. And the thing is, girls look, too; theyâre just quicker. Theyâre subtle; just a glance and boomâtheyâve memorized everything down to whether the guy has clean fingernails. Guys, it takes longer. We have to give it a good five- or six-second look.â
âSee, youâre right about that,â Christopher said, nodding his agreement.
âAnd then the girl gives the guy a hard time even though sheâs just doing the same exact thing, only faster.â
âWell, this girl definitely took more than a five-or six-second look,â Christopher said.
Lucas grinned wolfishly. âUh-huh.â
âI got her phone number.â
The grin on Lucasâs face evaporated. âYou did what?â
âI got her phone number. I told her Iâd call her sometime.â
âThatâs going a long way past looking,â Lucas said.
Was it just Christopherâs imagination or was Lucas looking disapproving? More likely jealous. âShe was into it; what was I supposed to do? Just walk on past and go buy my socks?â
Lucas made a donât-ask-me face.
âGive me a break,â Christopher said. âAre you telling
C. J. Cherryh
Learning to Kill: Stories
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Brenda Sinclair
Christopher George
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Jill Gregory
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