Kiss and Tell(12)

“Snow in October again?” Tenley muttered. “Why do I live in Massachusetts?” She reached forward to turn up the volume.

“The storm has already been dubbed Octo-storm,” Marlin continued. “You might want to put away your pumpkins and take out your sleds, because we’re talking a full nor’easter: closed roads, power outages, downed phone lines. We still have almost a week before it hits, though, so don’t wait until the last minute to stock up on essentials and put up those storm shutters.”

A new song started, but Tenley wasn’t listening anymore. She kept hearing those words: closed roads, downed phone lines. Maybe snow in October wasn’t such a bad thing. There was a lot the darer could control, but no one could operate in those conditions, not unless he or she was superhuman.

A few minutes later Tenley pulled up to a huge, industrial-looking building. Confused, she double-checked the address on her phone’s map. 331 Hillside Drive. She’d been expecting a jeweler’s office, since the buyer had mentioned a loupe, but this looked more like a factory. She peeked into her purse. Her pepper spray was tucked safely next to the ring box.

A long, wooded pathway led up to the building. As Tenley rounded a bend, a sign came into view. BAUER INDUSTRIES.

Wait, wasn’t that—

“Tenley!” Calum Bauer emerged from the building’s steel doors, waving energetically. He was wearing a zip-up sweatshirt over a T-shirt that illustrated the step-by-step evolution of a human into a robot. “I didn’t realize that you were the seller until you e-mailed me back.” He flashed a lopsided grin as he ambled toward her. “How fortuitous!”

Tenley swallowed a groan. In her opinion, Calum Bauer was the worst kind of tragedy. He’d been born to one of the richest men in the country, only to grow into a ghostly pale, computer-loving supernerd. The bidder’s handle, Computerlover2, suddenly made complete sense. “You’re looking to buy a ring?” she asked dubiously. “For a female?”

Calum nodded, oblivious to her sarcasm. “I’ve been on a quest to find a gift for a special someone, and your ring seems like it could be perfect.”

Tenley averted her gaze. She wondered if he was talking about Sydney. She’d seen the way he’d looked at her at the homecoming dance: One word from Sydney and he’d morphed from computer nerd into slobbering puppy. She winced at the thought of his regifting Sydney with the darer’s ring. Not exactly the way to her heart. Then again, neither was his penchant for talking like a grandfather.

“I just want to take a quick inspection through a loupe,” Calum continued. “If it’s as perfect as I think, I’ll proffer whatever price you’re asking.”

Proffer? It took all of Tenley’s willpower not to roll her eyes. “The thing is, Calum, I, um, actually changed my mind on the drive over.” She cleared her throat, thinking fast. “The ring is more sentimental to me than I realized. I don’t think I can part with it after all.” Not unless it’s to a kidnapping darer. “I hope you understand.”

Calum nodded, looking disappointed. “Of course. Would you mind if I still take a quick look at it, though? If there’s a brand name on it somewhere, I might be able to replicate it. Then you won’t have come all the way out to my dad’s offices for nothing.”

Tenley hesitated. She didn’t love the idea of letting the ring out of her possession. But the hopeful look on Calum’s face was so sweetly pathetic that she found herself agreeing.

Calum led her into the building and down a long hallway. Huge computer screens filled every room they passed. Tenley caught sight of several young guys hunched over their keyboards. With the thick glasses and scrawny arms, they managed to make Calum look like a movie star. He, at least, was actually pretty built, thanks to a summer of lifeguarding at the Club.

She followed Calum to a room in the back of the building. Floor-to-ceiling windows lined one wall, offering an unobstructed view of the bay behind the building. “Conference room,” Calum explained. He pulled a small jeweler’s loupe out of his pocket.

Tenley handed him the ring and dropped down at the table. She kicked her foot absently as she watched Calum. He was holding the loupe over the stone, turning it left and then right so the facets caught the light. She was pretty sure she’d never seen a male under the age of thirty look that closely at jewelry in her life. She shifted a little in her seat. Why was Calum so interested in the ring? A warning bell rang in her head.

“I don’t think you’re going to find a brand name inside the stone,” Tenley said tightly.

Calum looked up, blinking hard. “Sorry, I just got caught up.” He paused, turning the ring between his fingers. “My mom taught me. She used to be somewhat of a connoisseur when it came to jewelry.” He dropped his gaze to the table. “Old habits,” he said with a shrug.

Tenley’s chest squeezed. This was what the darer had done to her: filled her with paranoia, turned everyone into a suspect. “My dad used to love to walk along Dune Way and analyze all the waterfront houses,” she said quietly. “I still do it to this day.”

“Habit,” Calum confirmed. He looked over at her. “Is that what that locker-room video was all about? Old habits?”

Tenley tensed at the mention of the video. She could feel her eyes blazing as she met Calum’s gaze. But there wasn’t any judgment on his face. Just an open curiosity.

“In a way,” she said carefully. “It got more out of control than I meant for it to.”

Calum nodded knowingly. “I understand.”

Once again Tenley gave him a dubious look.

“Really!” he insisted. “You know how I attended Danford Academy for a few years?” Tenley nodded. She remembered Calum going away to boarding school in seventh grade, but she’d forgotten it was Danford. “Well, your prank pales in comparison with some of the senior pranks I witnessed there,” he said.

“From the sidelines, I’m sure,” Tenley couldn’t resist teasing.

“Except for one time,” Calum said proudly. “I assisted with one prank at the end of my sophomore year. It involved strawberry jelly squirting out of showerheads.…” He grinned. “Suffice it to say that I know how easily things can go awry.”

Tenley laughed. “I’m surprisingly impressed, Calum.”

Calum took one more look at the ring before handing it back to Tenley. “No clues to the brand,” he said with a sigh. “Guess I’m back to square numero uno.”

“Have you thought about artwork?” Tenley straightened up in her seat, surprised to find she actually wanted to help him. “Some girls”—avid photographers, she added silently—“might prefer that to jewelry.”

Calum nodded, looking thoughtful. “A painting of a computer could be nice.”

“No, it could definitely not,” Tenley groaned.

Calum broke back into his goofy grin. “Just joshing.”

Tenley stood up, her nice streak wearing thin at the use of the word joshing. “Or you could buy yourself a new vocabulary instead,” she offered. “By the way you talk, I’d think you were turning eighty any day now.”

“Nope,” Calum said cheerfully. He stood up, too. “Just eighteen. This Saturday in fact.”

“A word of advice,” Tenley said. “If you throw a party, don’t give dentures as favors.”

“How about flasks?” Calum offered. “Would that meet with your approval?”

Tenley laughed despite herself. “Are you really having a party?”

A wistful expression crossed Calum’s face. “I’m not exactly adept at gathering the masses. Unlike you.” A smirk tugged at Calum’s lips, and Tenley had a feeling he was thinking about the last party she threw—where she’d been dared to kiss him during a game of truth or dare.

“I was born with the party-throwing gene,” she acknowledged. She stopped in the doorway. Of course. It was what her mom had always taught her. The one solution to every problem? A party.

“You know what,” she said slowly. “You should have a party.” She wove her hands together as the idea took shape. “And I’m going to help you. You provide the house and the drinks, and I’ll take care of getting everyone to come.” This was her chance to get back in her grade’s good graces. Everyone was dying to check out Neddles Island, the private island where Calum and his rich Einstein of a dad lived. A party there was the perfect way to erase the Jessie incident from everyone’s mind. It also, she realized, would be perfect darer bait. Whoever was tormenting them seemed to love big scenes. A party could be just the thing to lure their stalker out of hiding.

“Do you really think people would come?” Calum asked doubtfully. “Would you, if you weren’t doing the inviting?”

Tenley studied her shoes. The question gave her a squirmy feeling in her stomach. She’d spent so long clinging to the top of Winslow’s social ladder that she’d never bothered to look down. But now she was on the ground, too, and the view was worse than she’d imagined.

“You’re having a party,” she said firmly. “I’ll take care of the invites if you do the rest.” She put her hands on her hips, fixing him with her fiercest stare. “I’m not good at taking no for an answer.”