They lived in an old farmhouse on the outskirts of town. Scott immediately joined every sport he could and became popular, while Selene grew more distant and reclusive.
He did what normal teenage boys did—acted out as much as he could. He flirted and slept with any girl who gave him attention. Meanwhile, Selene hid her secrets from the world and had the weight of the secret of her abilities on her shoulders.
He knew how she must feel, being unable to touch anyone. What those abilities made her feel, how alone in the world she must have felt. Then the night of her sixteenth birthday changed the way he looked at her.
He’d gone out of his way to get her the nail polish and the scrunchie. Well, he’d asked Cristy to do it so no one would see him buying girlie products.
Cristy had only done it because the gifts were for his sister. He knew no one liked Selene. He also understood that Selene didn’t want to try to be friends with anyone. She had separated herself for a reason.
“It’s easier this way,” she’d told him when he’d invited her to another party. “If someone happens to touch me or I screw up and show anyone what I can do, we’ll have to move again.”
He couldn’t argue with that. The only reason they had stayed so long with the Lindseys was because Selene had distanced herself from everyone.
She was incredibly smart—like, super genius—but she hid that ability from their teachers. She got just enough answers wrong on her tests to stay under the radar.
Every single time his grades slipped, Selene would step in and help him get through his classes so that he could do well enough to remain in sports.
It was because of sports that he’d gotten the scholarships to college. He had wised up a lot that first year living in the dorms. No more goofing off for him.
Selene had left the Lindseys as well. She’d taken a job at a motorcycle shop. When that didn’t pan out, she’d become a bartender at a dive bar.
Over the next few years, they saw each other a few times. She bounced around from job to job, while he continued to climb the ladder at the firm he’d been hired at.
Then, one night over a year ago, she’d showed up on his doorstep.
She’d rung the doorbell frantically, waking him up. He’d opened the door in nothing but his boxer briefs, much like the first time he’d met her.
It was storming out so badly, it had taken him a moment to realize it was Selene standing on his doorstep.
“Did you see it?” she asked, her long dark hair soaked from the evening rain. She was wearing all black. Not that that was anything new for her. She had always worn dark colors. Now she was in tight black jeans, a band T-shirt, and a leather jacket. She looked damn good.
“What?” he asked, blinking the sleep from his eyes.
“The moon.” She motioned to the dark sky.
He glanced up at the dark cloudy sky and shrugged. “Nice to see you too.” He motioned for her to come in out of the rain.
“Did you see it?” she asked again, stepping past him.
“No, it’s cloudy. How am I supposed to see the moon?” He pulled on a pair of his jeans.
“You live like a slob,” she said, kicking a pair of his shoes by the door.
“It’s a one-room studio. What do you expect?” he said with a yawn. “Coffee?”
She nodded. “You didn’t see it then?”
“No,” he said, and she looked deflated as she sat down on his sofa.
“How long are you going to be in town?” he asked her as he pulled out two coffee mugs. She didn’t answer him, so he turned around to look at her. “I’ve seen you twice in the past year,” he pointed out. “Where are you living now?” He handed her a cup of coffee and walked back to make one for himself.
“Tennessee,” she answered quickly. Since he was turned away from her, he couldn’t tell if she was lying or not. She had a tell, he knew. A small glimmer in her dark eyes that he alone could see.
Taking his cup of coffee, he moved over and sat next to her. She was correct—his place was a mess. He’d been so busy working on his last project, he hadn’t taken any time to clean up. He’d had no personal life in the last few months, so he hadn’t any reason to clean the place. No women in his life to worry about impressing.
He felt embarrassed that Selene was seeing the place the way it was now.
“What are you doing in Tennessee?” he asked.