Free Shades of Atlantis by Carol Oates Page B

asked, gazing into his beautiful, radiant face.
    His smile widened, lighting his eyes.
    Because I knew I couldn’t not kiss you anymore, he told me, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Then he kissed me again.

Chapter 5
    Oblivious

    The next morning I was up early, not that I’d slept much. Every time I closed my eyes, the scene up on Mount Battie replayed behind my eyelids. Caleb had dropped me off at home, promising that he would be back in a few days. I was dizzy from the twists and turns between us, not to mention the kisses. He didn’t explain about his girlfriend, and I didn’t ask, but I just wasn’t the type of person who would actively go after someone else’s boyfriend. I prided myself on the fact that I could never be that girl.
    I couldn’t allow myself to follow the direction my thoughts had taken last night, that Caleb felt the same way I did. If I continued down that road it would only lead to disappointment. His relationship meant any other outcome was impossible.
    I scribbled a note to say I was borrowing Lewis’s pickup for an hour and took a banana from the fruit bowl on the table in the kitchen, leaving the note in its place where it could be easily seen. I was out the door before the rest of the family even stirred. When I got to Amanda’s bedroom, she was still in bed groggy, but awake at least. Amanda’s parents were early risers, so I knew dropping in unannounced wouldn’t be a problem. It was snowing again, and thick heavy flakes covered me from walking up the drive. I threw my damp jacket over the old-fashioned column radiator by the wall before jumping onto the bed beside Amanda.
    Easy, she moaned. It’s not even morning yet.
    Almost, I informed her jokingly, grabbing a pillow from behind her head and sitting against the bars at the end of her bed with the pillow pressed between my chest and my raised knees.
     
    Amanda blinked, trying to focus on the clock half-hidden on her bedside table among scraps of colored paper. Her eyes widened. It’s eight-fifteen! she exclaimed, finally focusing.
    Your mom was up; she let me in, I offered by way of an explanation for the early morning wake-up call on a Saturday.
    Yeah, well, she probably got to bed before three, she groaned, dragging the remaining pillow from under her head and squashing it over her face with both hands. It sounded like I had missed some night, not that I would swap it for mine, even with the Chris thing and the inevitable heartbreak I was setting myself up for.
    Amanda’s dark green dress lay in a mound of crumpled silk on the floor beside her bed. I hadn’t known what she was planning to wear last night; she was unusually secretive about it. The green was similar to the color of Ben’s eyes, which was a surprise choice. I wondered if it was intentional and opened my mouth about to ask, but Amanda interrupted with a long sigh into the pillow still over her face.
    I know why you’re here, she accused. The tone in her voice made me suspect she knew something about last night. I wasn’t actually going to tell her about kissing Caleb. Amanda was amazing at gathering gossip, but even she couldn’t know about it already. I was sure we had been alone up there.
    What do you mean? I asked innocently. I came to find out how last night went.
    Amanda pulled the pillow sharply from her face to her chest and held it there. She still had her makeup on from last night, although most of it was smudged on one side of her face. Her hair was sticking out everywhere, but she still looked better than I did most mornings.
    Chris showed up at the after party. He told us about Caleb jumping him. She narrowed her eyes. Well?
    The nerve of that guy! Did he have no shame at all? Maybe he didn’t take Caleb seriously. Or maybe he was just the meathead I thought he was in the first place. I punched the pillow across my lap in frustration.
    You mean how Caleb pulled him off me after he tried to feel me up and ripped my