Free Touching the Surface by Kimberly Sabatini Page B

always go around threatening people?” I didn’t add that from what I knew of him in the afterlife, it was completely believable.
    “Do you always snort?” he asked.
    He was outrageous, the master of deflection. I could feel a vein pulsing in my temple.
    “Me? Did you not hear the snort that came out of your nose?” I demanded.
    The chuckle rumbled from someplace down in his gut. It rolled up and out and bounced around me. He was laughing. For the first time, he wasn’t hard and angry. My tongue felt dryfrom the breeze blowing into my gaping mouth. A piece of me wanted to be angry that he was making fun of me, but that smile was like light reflecting off the snow on a crystal clear day. I was hypnotized by it, blinded.
    “I’m not a beast,” he said, the corner of his mouth twitching.
    “Sure acted like one,” I fired off without thinking.
    “Ha.” He threw back his head. “I think I like you better with a backbone.”
    “Hey, I’ve always had a backbone.” I glared at him, trying to distract myself from the hummingbirds doing loop-the-loops in my stomach. Where did those little birds come from? I tried to concentrate. “I, on the other hand, was just wondering where you’ve had that smile stashed.”
    I sucked in some air for fortification and took a step forward. Shoot, he didn’t back up. Now we were almost nose-to-nose. Actually it was nose-to-chest. All the breath I’d taken in came rushing back out and piled up against the place on his T-shirt where he displayed his witty slogans. God, I hoped it was minty fresh.
    “Fair enough,” he said. “I came here angry.”
    Neither of us budged and the hummingbirds were going all ADHD on me now.
    Breaking the spell, he rocked back and knelt down to tie his shoe. I took that moment to remind myself to breathe.
    “I emerged from the lake right after you arrived. I could see you, the back of you, heading up to the Haven with Mel and I think I just imprinted my anger on you. I had no idea who you were, but I could barely control it. Then . . .” He tugged the lace of his shoe free and started tying all over again.
    I finished the thought for him. “Then I Delved and you discovered that manslaughter was a pretty decent reason to hate me.” I plopped myself down on the ground next to him.
    “I’ve got two questions for you,” I said.
    “Just two, huh? I’ve got more than that for you.” He chuckled. How could I respond? It was just outright weird to be having a semi-pleasant conversation with him.
    “Fire away,” he said, facing me straight on. The pale blue staring back at me was caught between emotions that I couldn’t read or understand.
    I fingered my necklace, running the charm swiftly back and forth across the chain. “Okay. I understand why you’re so angry with me.” I stopped. His arm was tossed casually over his knee and he was chewing on a blade of grass, watching me in a way that made goose bumps run up and down my arms. “But why were the sparks flying between you and Oliver from the start?”
    “I don’t know. Something ignited when I came face-to-facewith him.” His knuckles cracked under the pressure of his fingers. “During this last Delve, the me from the past was flooded with thoughts of him. I think some of the emotions were more complicated than just grief.” He picked at the worn threads on the knee of his jeans, causing a hole to appear. “I’m not sure what it meant because the Elliot in the past interrupted me.”
    I ignored his implication of blame. This was the first truce we’d acquired and I didn’t want to crush it.
    “So did the past-life Trevor know that it was me in the trees?” I asked, repeating my original question.
    “I only knew it was you because I know you now. Back then, the other Trevor had no idea who was stalking him.”
    “I wouldn’t call standing quietly in the trees stalking !” I said, my voice getting higher.
    “I probably wouldn’t have either, but past-life me was thinking