“Look, I’m sorry to drop in like this, but I wanted to apologize for the way I behaved on the beach. Trip told me it wasn’t you who deposited that money, so… I’m sorry. I was a total bitch,” I explain, sliding my hands into the back pocket of my shorts and kicking my toe against some of the wood debris littering the floor at my feet.

“You don’t have to apologize, Lucy, it’s fine. I already had a talk with my mom and she’s going to stop the deposits. She just… Well, you know how she is. She doesn’t know any better way to say she’s sorry or to help someone out,” he says with a shrug.

“Thanks. And will you tell her thank you for me? I know her heart was in the right place, but… you know, it’s not really appropriate considering…” I trail off, not bothering to add, “Considering we’re divorced and I’m dating someone else even though we just made out a few minutes ago and my body is still burning, wanting more.”

“I’m glad you stopped by, actually,” he tells me, moving to the corner of the room. He wipes his hands on the rag tucked in the back of his shorts before bending down and lifting the lid off of a box, rummaging around inside until he finds what he wants. Standing back up, he turns and walks over to me, holding a few folded pieces of paper out to me. “I wanted to give you these.”

I take them from his hand, trying not to make a big deal when our fingers brush against each other and I have to force myself not to sigh.

“What is this?” I ask as I start to unfold the papers.

He quickly reaches out and wraps his hand around mine to stop me.

“Don’t open it now. Just… you know, later. Whenever. It’s just something I found that I wanted you to have.”

His free hand comes up to my face and he brushes his fingertips against my cheek while my heart stutters and I hold my breath. “Got a little dust on you before. Sorry about that.”

The smirk on his face tells me he isn’t sorry in the least about putting his dusty hands on my face and dragging my mouth to his. I quickly take a step back so I can breathe again and his hand drops from my cheek.

I clutch the papers he gave me in my hands and continue backing away from him towards the stairs. I need some distance right now. If I spend another second down here alone with him, I have no idea what the hell I’ll do, but it will most likely be something even more stupid than kissing him.

“I should be going,” I tell him lamely. “Again, I’m sorry about that day on the beach.”

I turn away from his stare and rush up the steps. His voice calls to me as I get to the top.

“See you soon, Lucy in the sky with diamonds.”

Chapter 21

From Fisher’s High School Journal

October 28, 2001

“Each electron has a negative electrical charge and each proton has a positive electrical charge. The charges are equal in magnitude, but opposite in sign. So basically, they are electrically attracted to each other.”

The only reason I haven’t fallen asleep yet is because I could listen to Lucy’s voice all day. I don’t know what the hell is happening to me, but I haven’t even looked at another girl in almost a month. Obviously, I’ve lost my mind. She’s the complete opposite of almost every girl on this island. She’s shy and keeps to herself, never going out of her way to be something she’s not to try and fit in with the rest of the sheep in this school. She only speaks when she’s called on in class and is constantly walking around with her nose buried in a book. I don’t think half the girls here have read anything beyond fashion magazines, but Lucy reads Anna Karenina and Gone With the Wind for pleasure. The only time she shows a hint of personality or a little bit of snarky attitude is when she’s with me, and it makes me feel pretty damn good that I can bring those emotions out of her.

On top of that, she’s really smart. She’s the only sophomore taking AP Chemistry and getting straight A’s, to boot. When our teacher told me I’d need to get my grade up or risk not graduating in the spring, I immediately signed up for tutoring. There’s no way I’m not graduating and postponing Marine basic training. As luck would have it, Lucy was on the tutor list and I made sure all of my available dates coincided with hers so that the teacher would have no choice but to pair us together.

Lucy pauses in her explanation, looking up from her Chemistry book to find me staring at her mouth instead of the page we’re on. I can’t help it. Her mouth drives me insane. She never wears that sticky, shiny lip-gloss shit all the other chicks paint on. Her lips are always a perfect shade of pink and she keeps them shiny enough just by running her tongue across them, like she’s doing right now.

“Hey. Focus,” she scolds, tapping her pencil against the book and forcing me to tear my gaze away from her mouth to stare in her eyes.

“I am completely focused. What you’re saying is, opposites attract,” I tell her with a wink and a smile.

I can’t help it. I know it ticks her off when I try to charm her, and that’s what I lov…like about her. She’s the only girl in this place who doesn’t climb all over me when I try to flirt.

She groans and rolls her eyes at me and my smile gets wider.

“Yes, but only in the scientific world. Why are you even in AP Chemistry if you still don’t know the basic lessons?”

Moving my elbows to the table and my eyes away from hers, I run my hands down my face and sigh. “Would you believe me if I told you I only signed up because of the hot girls in the class?”