Block his Laser Eyes 9

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Kylee lowered her eyes. Suddenly everything about Price was endearing, from his spiky brown hair to his light-brown eyelashes to his fidgeting feet. She made him nervous? The thought brought a delighted smile to her lips.

He coughed. “Yeah, okay, you can laugh.”

Her eyes shot up. “No, no, I’m not laughing at you. I understand better than you think, actually. I get nervous too, right?” She gave what she hoped was a sincere smile. “I’d love to go. It would be nice to have a friend. I deserve that, right?”

He cocked his head and peered at her. “Yeah. Yeah, you do.”

Something in his eyes was so serious, so tender, that Kylee felt like he was seeing an intimate part of her. She pulled her shirt tighter around her as if to block his laser eyes.

“I better get inside,” she whispered, more because she didn’t know what else to say than that she wanted to leave him.

“Me, too.” Price shouldered his towel. “I’ll see you later.” He lifted a hand in a gesture that might have been a wave.

“Later,” Kylee echoed. She backed away toward the house, not tearing her eyes from Price until he went inside.

***

Kylee’s ears perked up at the sound of Price’s front door banging shut. She’d become very familiar with it over the past week, and now she could recognize the sound from almost anywhere in the house. She dropped her pencil, leaving the math homework half-finished.

“I think I’ll check on the chickens,” she told her mother. She hurried outside before her mother questioned her.

Every day after school, Price came outside to get the mail. Kylee skipped the chickens and hurried toward his yard.

He stood at the mailbox, flipping through a pile of envelopes.

“Hi,” Kylee called, striding across the yard as fast as she could without looking anxious. It wasn’t easy to hurdle the waist-high weeds.

He looked up and flashed her a grin. “How do you always know when I’m here?”

“I hear you come outside?” she suggested, trying to ignore the burning that crept up her neck. I’ve memorized your routine. Duh.

“Yeah?” He gave her that probing look of his. “You must have excellent hearing.”

“Or you’re just loud,” she teased.

“Yeah, must be it,” Price said.

Kylee nodded at the mail in his hands. “Anything good?”

“Here? No, just junk for my dad.” He shoved the mail under one arm.

“Nothing from your old friends?”

He shrugged. “Nobody writes letters anymore.”

“Oh.” Kylee nodded. “Do you still talk to them?”

Something like disappointment went across his face. “I get messages sometimes, but they’re pretty generic.” He shrugged. “I guess that’s life.”

“Yeah.” Kylee walked beside him. “That’s what happened to me when I quit going to school. It was like I died or something.”

He shot an undecipherable look at her. “How odd.”

“I know, right? But I’ve got you now.” My one and only friend. She had the sudden urge to touch him. She started to reach for his hand, then thought better of it and withdrew. She hoped she didn't botch this.

“You’ve got me,” he murmured.

The front door opened, and Lisa came out. “Anything for me?” she called, running over to Price and scooping the mail away from him.

“Just junk for Dad.” He shoved his hands in his pockets.

“Oh, well.”

“Hi, Lisa,” Kylee said, expecting no response.

Lisa didn’t disappoint her. She took Price’s hand and started dragging him to the house. “I need help with the noodles. I think I overcooked them.”

Price groaned. “Again? I’m tired of being the guinea pig while you learn to cook.”

“Don’t you know how to cook?” Kylee asked. “Why does your little sister have to do it?”

“Hey, I’m doing a good job,” Lisa said. “Next time you can cook.”

“Okay, you’re right,” Price said, laughing. He avoided Kylee’s eyes. “Just keep making your mac and cheese.”

She was the outsider again. Every time Lisa came along, Price went back to ignoring her. “Your sister doesn’t like me, does she?”

Price spared her a glance, his eyes squinched up and tight. He looked back at his sister. “Lisa, go inside. I’ll be there in a minute.”

“No way. There’s no time. The noodles will be ruined.”

“Lisa, I—”

“Forget it,” Kylee interrupted. “I’ll just go home.”

She willed herself to be angry and indignant as she walked away, but all she felt was disappointment.

That friendship was short-lived.

YYY

For two days Kylee didn’t talk to Price. She didn’t try to meet up with him when the bus came or when he walked the dog or got the mail.

She about died of boredom.

She hadn’t realized, or at least not in a cohesive thought, how much Price brightened her dull and predictable life. All they did was meet up for a few minutes here and there. Yet it meant something to her.

So much so that she nearly gave in on Thursday. If he’d gotten off the bus with the other kids, she might have talked to him. But he didn’t.

She was thus both surprised and pleased on Friday to see Price waiting at her mailbox when she went out after dinner. She looked back toward the dining room. No faces showed through the window, yet her heart rate picked up anyway.

“What are you doing here?” she hissed. She rubbed the tips of her fingers against sweaty palms.

He blinked, those molasses-colored lashes closing over his light brown eyes. “Are you afraid of something?”

“Haven’t you heard anything I’ve said about my stepdad? No way will he be okay with you talking to me.”

“Maybe he won’t see me.”

“Yeah, if we’re lucky.” Kylee lifted her chin and let her tone frost over. “You should go back to your house. You know, where you can pretend I don’t exist.” She jerked on the mailbox, angry when the lid jammed.

“Need help?”

“I got it.” She gritted her teeth and pried it open on the third pull.

“Hey, don’t be like that. I don’t pretend you don’t exist.”

She whirled to face him, jaw tightening. “Yes, you do! As soon as your sister appears, you stop talking to me! I know she ignores me, which is rude enough, but you, too? Can’t you just tell her we’re friends?”

His face reddened, and Kylee interpreted his answer for him.

“No,” she said. “Okay. I get it. Fine.” She swiveled around.

“Wait, Kylee, please, listen.” Price paraded in front of her, holding his hands out with the palms facing her. “Don’t stop talking to me again.” He scratched at his eyebrow, keeping his gaze on her. “I’ve been wondering where you went. If I’d see you again.” He blurted the last line out like he was tossing a grenade and didn't want to get caught in the explosion. His eyes darted to the ground, the blush rising all the way to his ear

“I don’t want to be treated like a nobody.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “If we’re going to be friends, you have to acknowledge me in front of other people.”

He hesitated.

Kylee leaned closer. “Is it that hard? Is your reputation so fragile?”

“No, hey, it’s not like that. You—” He sighed. “You have no idea.”

“Then tell me,” she said.

He lifted his face, those eyes flicking back and forth as he studied her. “Listen, I’m going to the beach tomorrow. The offer still stands. Want to come with me?”

Her heart pitter-pattered in her chest. She hadn’t forgotten his mention last weekend, but she’d assumed he’d changed his mind. “You drive?”

“No.” Price grinned, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “But I’m a quick study with city buses.”

The beach was twenty minutes away by car, but the public transportation system would take at least an hour. One hour each way of the two of them, with only each other for company. A full day away from Bill, away from the chores. “I’ll think about it.”

“Yeah, do that.” One side of his lips turned upward.

“I mean, I want to,” Kylee amended. “But I have to ask Bill.”

He blinked, an expression of blank confusion on his face. “Really?”

“Yeah, duh. Don’t you have to get permission before you go places?” Maybe he didn’t. “I’ll work it out.”

“Okay,” Price said, though he sounded less sure of himself. “Then, uh, meet me at my house at eight tomorrow morning.”

“Perfect,” Kylee breathed, unable to stop the smile pulling across her face. “See you tomorrow!”