“So. Are you Caleb’s cousin from out of town?”
“Uh, no.”
“Hmm. Are you his sister? I always assumed from the many times Caleb and I have talked that you were older.”
“No, I’m...”
Boy, oh, boy. I had no idea what the crap to say. What was I? Would Caleb be upset if I said I was his girlfriend? Was I his girlfriend? Could I blurt out soul mate? I could tell this girl was interested in him and waiting anxiously for my reply, but I just couldn’t fit an explanation into my mouth.
Once again, Caleb came to my rescue. “Maggie and I are on a date, Ashley.”
“Oh?” she asked, her voice shrill and vexed. “And how did you meet? You don’t go to school with us, I know.”
“She graduated with my cousin, Kyle, the other night.”
“Oh.” She looked genuinely crushed and hurt and then pissed. “I thought you said you didn’t date.”
“I didn’t date,” he answered and seemed to look for an explanation that wouldn’t hurt her feelings.
“So, what? You just didn’t want to date me? Is that it? I’m not good enough for you? You could have just said that instead of making up some stupid ‘I don’t date’ story,” she sneered.
“Look, I didn’t date, that wasn’t a lie, but Maggie is...” he looked at me, “different.” He looked back to her. “I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings, but I wasn’t trying to. Besides, aren’t you leaving for Vassar in a couple semesters anyway?”
“That’s not the point.” She glared at me. “Can you even enroll in college yet? You look like you just got out of preschool.”
“Ok, that’s enough.” His hand came around the front of me as if to shield me. “I’m sorry if you think I led you on - which I didn’t - but you will not sit here and talk to her like that.”
She got up huffing and stomped her sandaled foot before walking away swiftly. He turned to me quickly. “I am so sorry about her.”
“It’s ok.”“I’m sorry about this, too.” He pulled his hand back. “I got this feeling like I needed to protect you or something. I don’t know, weird. I really am sorry about her.”
“It’s pretty obvious she has a crush on you.”
“Yeah.” He rubbed his face. “She’s pretty persistent. She’s asked me out since the beginning of freshman year, but...” he shrugged.
“The rule,” I supplied. He nodded. “So, would you have dated her if the rule wasn’t there?” I asked and felt a ping of guilt for acting like a jealous girlfriend when I had no idea what I was to him.
“Uh, no.” He smiled. “She’s definitely not my type. I prefer girls with morals and substance over new cars and attitude.”
I nodded and looked down at my hands, but wasn’t so sure. I had to find out what I was to him. What were we doing? I know I only met him yesterday, but this was far from some crush. We were soul mates.
He didn’t seem too bothered by the whole no-dating thing, but maybe he regretted it or wished some other girl - an older different girl - had imprinted with him. Someone that lived in his city so it would be easier for him. He already had to move to Kyle’s to stay the summer because of me, changing his plans and barging in on family. All because he’d imprinted with me, the only reason.
If he’d never touched me, I wouldn’t be here right now with him. She could have talked to him like they apparently did normally and she wouldn’t be all upset. And he could’ve talked to her and not felt the need to come to poor little me’s rescue.
He was only with me because of the imprint. I knew it. His body reacted to me and needed me, but other than that, I was nothing to him. He would never have picked me over Ashley if he had a choice. A real choice.
I felt a warm, calming finger under my chin as my face was pulled up and I tried not to look at him, but his gaze pulled mine to it. He looked serious and his blue eyes were blazing.
“That is absolutely not true,” he insisted, reading my feelings, before laying his forehead against mine.
I felt the push and tingle of our skin, his heartbeat steady beside mine, and then I was seeing him, a vision of him. He was standing at a stoplight, listening to Cage The Elephant on his mp3 player and thinking about Kyle coming up to join him at Tennessee the next semester. He looked back and did a double take as a beautiful young girl made her way to the crosswalk.
I couldn’t believe that was what I looked like to him. I didn’t look like some silly high school girl. I looked pretty and confident, distant and a little sad.
The girl looked around and even in the dim light he could see her freckles. He liked them. She checked her phone and stopped behind him to wait. He wanted to turn and get a better look, but didn’t want to seem like he was checking her out so he peeked back and smiled and nodded when she caught him instantly. He turned back and wished he could talk to her, but there was no point. It would just make it worse.
He waited impatiently for the light to turn so he could leave and get the girl out of his mind. He had no idea why he was so struck by her anyway. The light turned and he peeked back once more and started to cross but she wasn’t looking, she was checking her phone again. He didn’t look both ways before crossing because he was looking back, to get one last peek before never seeing her again. Me.
When he turned back it was too late, then he felt a jerk on his back and tumbled backwards on top of something. When he rolled off and realized it was the girl he was at a loss for words. Then he realized what had happened. The sad, anxious, beautiful girl had saved his life.
He didn’t know what to say or do. He asked if she was ok and when he finally heard her voice saying that she was, he thought it was the sweetest sound ever to hit his ears.
He could see a cut on her brow and reached his hand to push back her hair. It was soft and curly. He could smell her shampoo and it was doing marvelous things to his senses. Add that to the sweet green eyes looking up at him and that was it.
He started to question right then if he was imprinting with her, but no visions came, no jolts or tingles or fire as was described by his family. Just butterflies and a racing pulse.
And he was disappointed.
He’d never found anyone he really wanted before. There was no one he ever thought about breaking the no dating rule with, no one that made his heartbeat race and trip, until now. And he was so very disappointed that he couldn’t have her, especially after she saved his life.
He asked if she needed an ambulance or ride, but she refused. She seemed dazed by him when he got close which made him smile. He flirted with her a little. He wanted her to like him, no matter how pointless it was.
He convinced her to let him walk her, but then he found more disappointment when she told him that she was headed to see Kyle. So this was the girl Kyle was breaking the rule for. He’d talked about this girl for two years. No wonder, he thought. She’s pretty awesome and funny and sweet and thoughtful. And those green eyes...
She asked him questions and they laughed and talked all the way to Kyle’s. Caleb couldn’t hide his disappointment anymore and used her injury to touch her hair once more. Then Kyle had shown up and gave him the look of death over the girl’s shoulder while Caleb’s hand was in her hair.
Kyle asked if the girl was ready to go; she wasn’t, he could tell by her hesitation and it thrilled him even if just to piss off Kyle for being a jerk.
Then she came to him. She said her name was Maggie and she smiled. All breath left his body. He managed to mutter his name, took her hand and was shocked by a bolt of lightning in his veins. His hand felt on fire where he touched her and his lungs burned for breath that wouldn’t come. Visions swam in front of his eyes.
I couldn’t tell what the visions were and I got a sense that I wasn’t supposed to see them. Those particular visions were just for Caleb, just like mine were meant for me. So all I saw were swirls of light and haze as I watched Caleb’s face change from happy to elated as he witnessed each vision.
Then he was jolted back to himself and looked at her odd expression of confusion along with longing. He knew exactly what had happened. He could feel her heartbeat banging against his just as loudly as his own and his body knew exactly what to do to comfort and protect her.
He knew it. He had just imprinted with the girl he wanted more than any other, the girl who had saved his life, the girl he thought he’d never have. She was his.I was brought back to the present when Caleb pulled his head back a little, but kept his face close.
“Now, you see. Don’t doubt how I feel about you. This has nothing to do with an imprint and everything to do with you.”
I was breathless and in awe of what Caleb had shown me, his memories. They were clear and vivid and had seemed all too real. It was strange to watch the same event through different eyes.
What was stranger still was that Caleb had wanted me before the imprinting. Before. I couldn’t stop the smile that spread my cheeks.
I knew I needed to say something.
“You almost got hit by a truck because you were checking me out?” I joked and he laughed loudly.
“Yeah. It’s a good thing you saved me. It would have been all your fault if I didn’t make it,” he said through a grin.
I laughed, nodding and then stopped. I looked at him, really looked at him. He wanted me. Me. Not imprinted me, not high school me, not track shorts me. Just me. I decided that was all the proof I needed. I leaned into him and rested my head on his shoulder. “I’m really glad I was at that stoplight, Caleb.”