Free Touching the Surface by Kimberly Sabatini Page A

off the jet-black marble bench that served as a headstone.
    Trevor straddled the beyeballs. My s

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    questions
    We were back at the pond and I was no">I didn’t have time to speculate as he roared back to awareness. “Why are you spying on me?”
    Did he mean here or in the cemetery or both? It didn’t matter because I couldn’t answer him anyway. I could barely breathe with him crushing my ribs like twigs, and when I tried to suck in air, the weight of him compressed my lungs even further.
    “Gahhhhh . . .”
    “Oh, sorry,” he mumbled, pushing off the ground next to me and rolling to the side. He sprung to his feet, agile like a cat. I, on the other hand, was trying to reinflate my lungs before I made any sudden movements. It occurred to me that I would require air to deal with Trevor.
    I was less than graceful as I moved into an upright position, nearly tipping back over as I tried to free a stick from my tangle of hair. Trevor paced back and forth between where I sat and the gazebo. His feet were surprisingly stealthy considering the intensity of his movements.
    He stopped abruptly and studied me. “Can you answer me now?” His voice was calmer but still had an edge to it. His face was all kinds of serious.
    I wasn’t sure how to answer. Like it would matter, anyway. My existence alone was enough to tick him off. I gave a seriously unattractive snort thinking about it. Realizing that there was nothing I could do to make him happy had released all the pressure that was building up inside me.
    “All right, Trevor,” I said, flying to my feet and dusting off the butt of my pants. I felt a small quiver of power, as his eyes grew large at my unexpectedly confident response. Feeling braver, I strode toward him. Giddily I watched him take a step backward, then two.
    What would he do when his legs pressed up against the wood of the gazebo? The thrill of dominance prickled the hairs on the nape of my neck. Let’s see how he likes being the prey for a change.
    “First of all, no one is spying on you.” With my arms crossed, I threw my hip out to emphasize the point. “It’s called hiking. It’s what I do to blow off steam and get my thoughts together. I accidentally came across the pond and . . .” How could I say it without giving him an even bigger ego? “Well, I was searching to see who’d created it. It was just so surprisingly beautiful.” My eyes were slits, making sure he didn’t mock my honesty. If he laughed even a little bit I’d throttle him. But his gaze stayed steady and he remained quiet so I continued. “That’s when I found you and at first I thought you were sleeping. Then I noticed your arm was twisted and . . .”
    He was easily swiveling the appendage around with the tiniest of smirks on his face. “Good as new,” he said.
    “Oh. Well, good. I’m glad to hear it.” I unfolded my arms.
    “Anyway,” I continued, “I ran to help you and—” I was interrupted by a much louder snort than my own. I ignored it and continued. “So as I got close to you, I mean near you, I fell into your Delve and that’s how I landed on . . . This}
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{hibto really could be seen as your fault.”
    I found myself taking a step back at the same exact moment that Trevor took one in my direction.
    There was a slight drawl in his voice as he asked, “So you were trying to save me?”
    He was drawing closer and if I moved back too much farther I’d be standing in the pond. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing; I could feel the heat flaring up in my cheeks.
    “Well, I appreciate your worry.”
    I couldn’t tell if he was being sincere or sarcastic. He was within a foot of me now and I needed to look up to meet his gaze.
    “What I wanted to know was, why were you spying on me in the cemetery?”
    “Oh.” I bit my lip. “I don’t know why I was there.” I thought about it a moment. “Did you know it was me? I mean, did your past self know it was me in the woods or did you