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  “What purposes?” I narrowed my eyes at him. I didn’t feel nervous or even suspicious of him really, but it seemed like the right thing to do.

  “In order for this friendship to work, you’re just going to have to accept that there are certain things that I’m not gonna tell you,” Jack said firmly. “I’m not trying to be a dick about this but that’s just the way it is.”

  “And what if I can’t accept that?” Okay, as soon as he said that I’d have to accept things, I knew that I would. Grudgingly, I would follow whatever conditions he put on our friendship.

  “Then we can’t hang out anymore.” He tried to sound matter-of-fact about it, but I could hear the sadness in his voice.

  “This doesn’t make any sense,” I grumbled, but I was already relenting.

  “Why can’t you just tell me things!”

  “I can’t tell you why I can’t tell!” He said it like it meant something, like I would go, oh yeah, I get it now.

  “This is gonna frustrate me to no end,” I sighed. I was sulking, but that only made him smile.

  “I know.” He was still smiling, but he sounded regretful. “Okay. I’ll drop you off and then you can take some time to think about things and decide if hanging out with me seems worth it. And then, if you still wanna hang out, you can text me. Okay?”

  “Okay.” I tried to sound as dejected and pouty as possible, hoping that would change his mind somehow and he would divulge all his classified information to me. But I think we both knew that I didn’t actually need time to think. Whether I liked it or not, I was going to have to settle for his restrictions.

  When he dropped me off, I was still trying to look deeply offended, but Jack completely saw through it. He laughed and said he’d see me soon, then sped off down the street. I stood outside my apartment building for a few minutes, trying to imagine what he could possibly be hiding from me. Weird government experiment? CIA? Werewolf? Nothing really seemed to fit.

  I tried to make a mental checklist of what I knew about Jack. He claimed to have some kind of medical condition (a rare on) that made everyone in love with him. Even though he didn’t look like it, he was probably stronger than anyone I had ever met. His skin was devoid of any real temperature, or at least a human one. He was positively entrancing to everyone else, and while I didn’t feel that way about him, I couldn’t help but want to be with him. And for some very peculiar reason, he seemed to feel the same way.

  After the concert (and a brief interrogation from Milo), I laid awake in my bed for hours upon hours running a million different theories about Jack. My most promising one was that he was a celebrity of some kind pulling some ridiculous Hannah Montana lifestyle. That would explain why everyone else was attracted to him, and he probably had a personal trainer, thus explaining his uncanny strength. And, obviously, if he was going for some kind of secret hidden identity, then he couldn’t tell me. That still didn’t explain why everyone else would recognize him but me, or why he’d want to live incognito. But at least it was a theory.

  Since I had been up until the wee hours of the morning trying to figure Jack out, and I didn’t have school, I fully intended to spend the entire day sleeping, curled up in the soft comfort of my down blankets. Unfortunately, my Jane embargo fell through. Or rather, burst through my bedroom door, destroying any chance of sleep with a heart-pounding adrenaline rush awake.

  “What the hell is going on?” Jane hissed after she’d thrown open my bedroom door so hard that the door handle would leave a mark in the plaster.

  I jumped up with a start, tangled up in a mass of blankets and sleep induced confusion. I could barely focus my eyes on the blurry vision of Jane, standing in my doorway, with her hands on her hips glaring down at me. Milo cowered behind her, muttering things about how she needed to keep it down or Mom would completely freak out. Whenever Jane was around, Milo acted like a puppy about to pee on the floor, and it drove me nuts.

  “What are you talking about?” I mumbled groggily. I flopped back down in bed, trying to remember the dream that Jane had unceremoniously ripped me from.

  “You know what.” Her lips curled back into some kind of sneer and she carefully stepped her Prada heels over my dirty clothes strewn about my room.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the alarm clock telling me it was 11:13 am, and I grimaced. It wasn’t even noon yet, and Jane was in heels and red lipstick. She was made for a world entirely different than the one I existed in.

  “I really don’t,” I yawned and pulled the covers up over me more.

  “Why haven’t you answered my zillions of text messages or phone calls?”

  Apparently, Jane thought it was the perfect time to argue, and she yanked my covers off of me, forcing me to talk to her.

  “Because there were zillions of them,” I retorted and grudgingly sat up.

  “Ugh,” Jane groaned. She sat down on the bed next to me in a terrific huff and exhaled dramatically. “There wouldn’t have been so many if you just answered me.”

  “Sorry,” I muttered.

  “Well?” Jane looked at me.

  Her expression had softened and she’d apparently forgiven me, which was pretty amazing actually. There was only one Cardinal Sin for her, and that was ignoring her, which I had somehow managed to do for almost two days.

  “What?” Her quick forgiveness stunned me, and I didn’t really know what she was trying to get at. Was I supposed to thank her or something?

  “Have you talked to him?” she asked plaintively, and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. I should’ve known. All she really cared about was Jack, otherwise I doubt she even would’ve known that I hadn’t talked to her in two days.

  “Him who?” Milo visibly puffed up at the mention of a guy, preparing himself to defend my honor or whatever would need defending. That was completely ludicrous since Milo was the kid at school that got shoved into lockers, and he was younger than me. I don’t know who exactly he could protect me from, but it would be a pretty sorry excuse for a guy.

  “Jack!” Jane answered him like it should be completely obvious. What else in the world could she possibly be talking about? Then when she realized by Milo’s expression that he had no idea who she was talking about, she looked completely stunned. Her mouth literally fell open. “Oh my god, Alice! You didn’t tell him about Jack?”

  “I have not, no,” I shook my head. In fact, I hadn’t planned on telling Milo about Jack until I had things sorted out better, but thanks to Jane, that would no longer be an option.

  “How could you not tell him?” This fact just completely flabbergasted her.

  She couldn’t grasp a world where one didn’t incessantly talk about Jack.

  “I don’t know, Jane,” I sighed. “It just didn’t come up.”

  To be honest, her instant obsession with Jack was the first thing about him that truly made me nervous. If he had this affect on her, what was he doing to other people? And why wasn’t I the same way? And why would he even want to bother being around me when girls like Jane would do anything just to be near him?

  “Wait.” Realization flashed across Milo’s face, and I would’ve cut off my leg to keep him from completing his thought. “Is Jack the guy you went out with last night?”

  “You went out with him?!” Jane gasped. Her eyes got so big, it was almost cartoonish.

  “We just went out to a concert. It was no big deal.” I used every fiber of my being to keep my tone casual and nonchalant, but I heard her sharp intake of breath.

  “Who is this guy?” Milo demanded. Jane’s expressions were making him nervous, and he was really doing his best to look as threatening as he possibly could.

  “Jack is just like the most amazing guy ever,” Jane explained eloquently.

  “He’s just a guy,” I countered, once again using my ultra-casual voice, and even adding a shoulder shrug for good measure.

  “How can you even say that?” She was offended that I’d referred to him as “just as a guy.” In he
r mind, he’d been stacked up with the gods and should only be gushed about in revered tones normally reserved for shoes and hand bags.

  “You know what, I just don’t get it.” I decided that I’d been going about things the wrong way. I’d been asking Jack why other people liked him when I should’ve been asking the people why they liked him. “What is it about him that you like so much?”

  “You’ve got to be kidding.”

  “I’m not.” By then, I was already beyond irritated, but I tried not to let on.

  “But you’ve met him!” Jane insisted.

  “I know that!” I gritted my teeth and plowed on. “And I still don’t get it.

  You’re like crazy about him. You’ve got to be able to articulate what it is that you’re attracted to.”

  “He’s just…” Jane fumbled for words, which I didn’t get. He’d obviously been the only thing on her mind, so why couldn’t she explain him? “It’s like…

  There’s just something about him. It’s completely indescribable. I just want him.

  More than I’ve ever wanted anything.”

  “Huh.” That was all I could think to say.

  “You’re telling me that you don’t want him?” Jane asked me in total disbelief.

  “No, I don’t,” I said honestly. I liked Jack in a really weird, insistent kind of way, but not like Jane. It was much simpler and less carnal. Or at least that’s what I gathered from the way she talked and acted.

  “Then why are you sneaking around with him?” Milo asked.

  “I don’t know.” There was no way that I could explain it to him since I didn’t fully understand it myself. Something about Jack made me want to keep him a secret. “I guess cause he’s older. I didn’t want you to worry.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t worry if you weren’t sneaking around,” Milo replied gruffly. Sometimes, he was way too parental to be my younger brother.

  “Did he say anything about me?” Jane returned to the only topic that truly mattered to her; herself.

  “Nope.” I stood up and started going through my dresser drawers for clothes. The whole conversation had run its course with me, and I was moving on to take a shower and start my day.

  “Not a thing?” Her voice sounded so small and sad, but I ignored it. It was easy to do when I remembered the way she’d woken me up.

  “Nope,” I repeated. “But, look, I’m gonna hop in the shower. And you’ve probably got better things to do than wait around for me.”

  “I guess,” Jane mumbled. She looked totally dejected, but I figured that in a few short hours, she’d probably be drunk and dancing topless on some poor guy’s table. It was kind of hard to feel sorry for her.

  After she finally pulled herself together and left, Milo gave me a brief interrogation on Jack. It took a little while, but I managed to convince him that I wasn’t having sex with him and had no intention of it. Reluctantly, he dropped the subject and allowed me to take a shower. The hot water felt good on my skin, and I let my thoughts wander to where I had left off last night. Then I got to thinking about what Jane said, and how in love she was with Jack even though she couldn’t think of a single reason why.

  That’s when it hit me. Jack, the way I saw Jack — attractive with a boyish charm — that’s who he really was. What everyone else saw, like Jane and the waitress at the diner, they were just responding to something that wasn’t real.

  The pheromones or whatever were creating some kind of illusion. But maybe I wasn’t completely immune. Maybe there was nothing spectacular about Jack at all, but I was just responding to it on a smaller scale. His familiarity was all part of the illusion, and I was falling for the same trap Jane was.

  Chapter 3

  The television channel TNT, in its infinite wisdom, had a John Hughes marathon running on all day. Milo, who never had particularly understood the appeal of Molly Ringwald, had grudgingly sat on the couch and watched them with me. He tried to convince me to watch something else, but I was stronger than him and manhandled the remote. We had just started onto our second viewing of Pretty in Pink when my cell phone started to jingle. It was going on midnight and I assumed it was Jane calling for some kind of sober cab service (even though I did not possess a car), but I picked up my phone off the coffee table anyway. I’d probably been too hard on her earlier. Much to my surprise, I found a text message from Jack.

  So. You haven’t texted me.

  You’re very observant. I responded. My plan was to try and be indifferent.

  I didn’t appreciate the idea that I had probably fallen victim to some kind of spell or hormonal manipulation. Sure, I liked him, but I couldn’t tell if I actually did or if my brain had found some chemicals that told me I liked him.

  Does that mean you don’t want to be friends? He actually typed that, like a note I’d get in the first grade. Something about that completely endeared him to me, and since I couldn’t smell or see him, I decided that must mean that I actually liked him.

  No. I do. Definitely.

  “Who is that?” Milo asked with an edge to his voice. He was sitting at the other end of the couch from me, and he leaned over so he could look at my phone, but I turned it away from him. “It’s that Jack guy, right?”

  “You do realize it’s perfectly legal for me to text members of the opposite sex.” I gave Milo a hard look and he just shook his head.

  “Whatever,” Milo grunted and turned his attention back to the movie, even though I knew he hated it. My phone jingled again, and Milo made a humph sound.

  Excellent. Wanna do something? Jack messaged.

  What did you have in mind? I asked, knowing full well I would say yes to anything.

  Anything. Everything. The city is our oyster! Jack texted back.

  That sounds pretty ambitious. I replied, but it did sound exciting. He was awfully enticing.

  It is. So can you be ready in like fifteen minutes? Jack inquired.

  Sure. Meet you outside.

  I flipped my phone shut and got up. Milo shot me his infamous disapproving glare but didn’t say anything. In a flash, I touched up my make up and slid on shoes. Before rushing out the door, I promised Milo that I wouldn’t be home too late and that I had my phone if he needed me. He grunted at me, and then I dashed out to meet Jack.

  He was already waiting outside, this time in a bright red sports car that looked like it cost more than a house. Naturally, he was grinning wildly when I opened the car door, which slid upwards instead of opening out like a normal door, and jumped inside.

  “So, this is nice,” I said, referring to his overly flashy car.

  “Its more than nice. It’s a Lamborghini Gallardo,” Jack explained with that foolish grin plastered on his face. “There’s only six thousand of these in existence.”

  “Is it new?”

  “Nah, it’s my brother’s.” Before I could say anything more, he put the car in gear and it thrust itself headily into the street. I had thought we had gone fast in the Jetta, but it had nothing on this.

  “Your brother must be loaded.” The car gracefully slid around a corner and weaved in between cars. Quickly, he turned it onto I-35, presumably so we could get the full effect of it going top speed on the open road.

  “He kind of is,” Jack shrugged. It was the casual way someone talked when they never had to struggle for anything, and I wondered if Jack was wealthy and where he came from. “I don’t really worry about money, I guess.”

  “It must be nice,” I muttered. We were pretty poor, but not quite so poor that I felt like I had to get a job and bring in my own money. Just enough where I felt it.

  “There’s plenty of other things to worry about,” Jack replied seriously.

  “Believe me.”

  “Like what?” I looked over at him, instead of the blur of the scenery flying past us. He smirked at me and shook his head. So that was another thing he wouldn’t talk to me about. “So you have a brother?”

  “Two, actually,” Jack nodded. “And a sister. We
ll, she’s actually my sister-inlaw, but she feels like a sister.”

  “So is she married to your brother, or are you married?” I asked tentatively.

  “No, I’m not married,” Jack laughed. “She’s my brother’s wife.”

  “What are there names?” There was an endless amount of things I wanted to know about him, but I was stuck asking safe questions, like his family members’ name.

  “Peter, and then Ezra is married to Mae. Ezra is the oldest.”

  “What about your parents?” I had turned towards him and rested my head against the seat. The rush of the world around us had made me a little dizzy.

  “Dead.” His voice was emotionless, but his eyes got hard, which didn’t look right at all.

  “Sorry,” I offered lamely.

  “Nah, it was like fifteen years ago.” He shook his head, trying to brush me off, and then he turned to me, his face brightening again. “What about you? You have family?”

  “My mom, and a younger brother,” I answered. “But he’s more like an older brother sometimes.” Jack laughed loudly at that, his wonderful laughter echoing throughout the car and sending waves of warmth over me.

  “Yeah, I can completely relate,” he grinned.

  “Really?” I had always thought of Milo as an oddity, but it was nice to know that there was someone out there like him.

  “Yeah, but Peter’s something else,” Jack said. “Really. I doubt you’ll ever meet anyone like him.”

  “Well, I’d have to meet him first,” I pointed out.

  “Maybe someday.” He sounded weirdly far off, almost apprehensive.

  “You’re not married, but does that mean you’re single?” I didn’t know why I was asking.

  “Uh, yeah.” Then, before I could ask him more about that, he turned the tables on me. “What about you? Are you seeing anyone?”

  “Hardly,” I snorted. Other than a few drunken make out sessions at a couple parties, I had nothing to show for a love life.

  “Why not?” Jack pressed.

  “You saw my friend Jane,” I explained dully. “She has this way of completely stealing all the light in the room.”