“You noticed, huh?”
“Hey, I dig scars.” He points out one on his chin, the bridge of his nose, and his jaw. “I’m a rough boy.”
“Eighth grade. I was in a knife fight with this girl, dodging and jumping around. But she was good. Really good. Out of nowhere, she darts at me and slices my temple open. It bled like a geyser.”
Eric whistles. “That’s pretty badass.”
“You know I’m kidding, right?”
“Totally, but I was a little turned on.”
I laugh, feeling girlish and silly, as I toy with the ends of his hair. “Truth, I was trying to impress my eighth-grade crush by doing a handstand. I got up for a few seconds, then crashed into the dugouts on the baseball field. It did bleed a lot.”
He brushes his lips over it, and I hear him breathe me in deeply.
A light-headed sensation washes over me, and I laugh nervously. Eric makes me nervous. Makes me aware of my skin. My bones.
“The crush didn’t even know I was alive. Meh, I’ve figured out to be myself now. If people like me, they will. If they don’t, then it wasn’t meant to be anyway. I shouldn’t have to impress anyone.”
A strange expression flits over his face. “My family lives to impress. Gotta keep up the appearance that everything is fine, even when it’s going to hell.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” He picks up my wrist and presses a hot kiss there. “Let’s go home,” he says and shuts my door and gets in on the other side.
When we’re halfway back to my place, it starts to snow, graceful flakes of sparkle falling from the sky. Snow is nothing new in Minnesota, but it’s the first one of the year.
It drifts down and settles in the grass, the trees. The air is hushed, as if the world is in a lull, waiting for something new.
“It’s so pretty,” I muse, craning my neck to see out the window. We pass the town square and I squeal as I show Eric the tree they’ve put up. All the lights are gold and glittery.
“I’m happy Mom will be able to spend Christmas in a place like that,” I say.
He clears his throat. “Speaking of, what are you doing for the holidays?”
The semester ends on Friday, then we have the week of Christmas.
“Working a few days this week. We don’t get a lot of business the last two weeks of December, but Eddie said I can come in and bartend. Marcia gets the dance hours since she’s been there longer. I’ll spend several days with my mom.”
“Are you busy on the twenty-third?”
I give him a sideways glance. “Do you have something in mind?”
“Would you want to go to my parents’？”
“Really?” My stomach flip-flops.
“Sure,” he murmurs, yet tension radiates off him. “Don’t you want to see the house I grew up in?”
It’s a dating step.
Not that we’ve defined what we’re doing.
I nod. “Yeah, sure. I’d love to.”
The second I say it, nerves tighten.
He doesn’t get along with his parents, his father especially.
If he doesn’t like his father, does that mean his father won’t like me?
“Alright.” He doesn’t seem happy, though, and I get the feeling he’s dreading it.
And if he hates it, I probably will, too.
“It’ll be fun,” I add, trying to gauge his reaction.
His jaw sets. No, in his mind, it will not be fun at all.
He pulls up in front of my house. “I’ve got to go home this Friday. But I’ll come back and pick you up.” He rubs the pad of his thumb gently over my cheek, then leans in to kiss me. He stops as his eyes flicker past me. “What the . . .”
I whirl in my seat to see two policemen standing at my door. Not even campus police. Real, Sparrow Lake police officers.
Jumping out, I rush up the steps. “Hello. What’s this about?”
They meet me on the porch, eyes assessing. The younger one says, “I’m Officer Warren, this is Officer Thomas. We’re looking for Julia Lauren.”
Office Warren starts when he sees me. Pretty sure I recognize him from the club. He’s young, early twenties, with brown hair. A wholesome look about him. Nice smile. Blue eyes.
The other one, Officer Thomas, is older with a paunch, a mustache, and wire glasses.
“That’s me. Is there something I can help you with?”
The older policeman holds up a piece of paper. “I have a search warrant. We received a complaint that some items were stolen and might be here.”