Oooh, that was going to tick him off for sure. “Better let me call him back quick,” I said, still smiling as Anne gave me the phone. I found his number, hit the call button, lifted it to my ear, then pretended to sniff my phone. “Hey, Anne, you wearing a new perfume tonight?”
That set Carrie and Michelle off into fresh giggles.
Dad answered on the first ring. “What is going—”
“Sorry, Dad,” I interrupted the potential tirade. “I was going to call you and ask you if it was okay for me to get photos taken here at the dance. But Anne stole my phone and hid it in the only, um, pocket she had in her dress. And then she had a…wardrobe malfunction and had trouble getting the phone back out.” A snicker escaped me. “I’m sorry if we worried you.”
A long pause filled the connection before he cleared his throat. “Well, at least you sound as if you are having a good time for a change. Call me before you leave.”
His words surprised me. He was right. I was actually having a good time. A great time, in fact.
Now if I could just avoid seeing Tristan dancing with Bethany all night…
CHAPTER 7
TRISTAN
It was a dumb thing to do, going out to Drip Rock Road. I was already running fifteen minutes late in picking up Bethany, and my favorite hilltop was in the opposite direction of her house.
Still I found myself driving out there, needing…something. Fresh air. Quiet. A few minutes of freedom.
My parents had kept me on total lockdown every minute I wasn’t at school. They’d let me loose tonight because I’d taken Mom’s repeated, not-so-subtle suggestion and asked Bethany to go with me to the dance. Not because I had any interest in Mom’s choice of replacement girlfriends. I just needed to see Savannah outside of class one last time before the school year ended.
So I’d called Bethany as instructed last week. And then I’d thrown on the tux Mom had rented and left the house tonight with the corsage Mom had picked up for Bethany. But when it came time to exit my driveway and cross the road to the country club subdivision where Bethany’s house was, I’d turned in the opposite direction and come out here instead.
Even though the sun was setting, the air was still warm with no breeze to cool it off. The darkening sky over the pines below shimmered from the heat. And it was only the start. In the coming weeks as summer came on full force, being outside past eleven in the morning would become pure torture. Already it felt like I’d stumbled into a swamp. Even the air was trying to choke the life out of me.
I glanced at the corsage, waiting like a silent demand from my mother on the dashboard of my truck. Mom would be ticked off if she knew I was letting the corsage wilt instead of rushing straight over to Bethany’s with it like the good little boy Mom expected me to be.
I looked at the hills around me, and then to the sky. In the east, the first stars were just starting to wink into view. And I wondered for the thousandth time where Savannah was right now. Was she at Anne’s house with her friends, getting ready, smiling into a mirror while those long fingers of hers fixed her hair and makeup?
Was she thinking about me at all?
I knew she was going to arrive at the dance looking more beautiful than ever. Earlier this week in the office, I’d picked up an image from Michelle’s thoughts of Savannah in a long black satin dress. Michelle had been really proud about finding that dress for Savannah. If Michelle’s memory was anything to judge by, she had a right to be proud. Savannah was going to look even more stunning than usual.
Tonight, watching Savannah but unable to hold her in my arms or dance with her was sure to be an exercise in torture. Especially with another girl on my arm all night.
A smarter guy would have stayed home.
Except I couldn’t. Just like I couldn’t convince myself to give up on us. I’d tried. Over and over, I’d told myself that there was nothing we could do. There were too many powerful people standing in our way. But every time I told myself to let her go, everything inside me rebelled. I couldn’t imagine my future without Savannah in it.
How could two people seem so perfect together, be so happy together, and yet be so wrong in so many others’ eyes?
There had to be an option I was missing. Maybe I was too close to the problem. Or maybe I didn’t know enough about the council. My parents I understood…they were just trying to protect me. They couldn’t understand that Savannah wasn’t dangerous to me. But if the council could be convinced to change their minds about Savannah and me, and if I could create a bloodlust-dampening spell that would make it safe for Sav to be around me, surely my parents would change their minds, too. There was no way their fear of vamps could be stronger than their love for me. I knew that, deep down, they wanted me to be happy. I just needed a way to get rid of their fear.
I’d thought Savannah and I were it, that our love would be the proof everyone needed to break down the fear and hate on both sides. Now it looked like we would have to get rid of the prejudice before we could be together. But how?
Savannah knew more about the council than I did. If I could get her to talk to me, we could figure something out together that might appease the council. But she wouldn’t talk to me, because she was listening to everyone else, letting their fear beat her down and convince her to stop fighting for us. And yet I knew she loved me. There wasn’t a single doubt in my mind about that. Yes, we’d both kept the secret about her vampire side from each other. But what we’d felt together hadn’t been a lie. The way we’d talked, kissed, held each other, the way she’d looked into my eyes so many times…I’d never felt anything more real, no magic on earth stronger, than that.
I would never feel anything like it again.
But I couldn’t fight this battle alone. I needed Savannah’s help. How could I convince her that we could make this work when she wouldn’t even talk to me?
Magic. I could do a spell that would allow her to feel how I felt. I could literally give her my confidence, my faith and belief in what we had together. Then she’d have the confidence to want to fight again.
The cafeteria would be dark during the dance. Surely there would be the perfect opportunity to pull Savannah out of sight at some point. If the spell worked, she would agree to dream connect with me later tonight. And then we’d figure out a new game plan together.
What spell should I use? Dad had never taught me how to give someone confidence.
Then again, why worry about using a specific spell anyways? Using magic wasn’t about the words I said. It was about focusing on what I wanted to make happen, injecting those intentions with my willpower, and then releasing the spell so it could take effect.
As I got back into my truck, feeling for the first time in weeks like I could breathe again, I created the spell in my mind.
“I want you to feel what I feel, Savannah,” I murmured as I started my truck’s engine. “I need you to have faith in us like I do. I need you to want to keep trying, to fight back with me, to help me find a way to change their minds.” I envisioned those thoughts filling with energy. And then I released them into the air toward where I figured Sav would be by now…at the dance.
I carefully turned toward town and headed down the hill. I could pick up Bethany and be at the dance in fifteen minutes. The spell would probably take effect immediately. I hoped it lasted long enough. Once I got to the cafeteria, I would need a few minutes to find Sav, another minute or two to talk to her and get her to agree to dream connect with me tonight.
The truck rushed down the steep road, which was straight for a long stretch. But I could see the sharp curve ahead. I tapped on the brakes to slow down for it.
Nothing happened.