Free Lie to Me (an OddRocket title) by Suzanne Brahm Page B

a face on a napkin and drinking wine. It was a song that Mom played all the time. "Thanks for talking to me."
    He nodded. "No problem."
    "'Night," I said, opening the car door and standing on the gravel. "Tell Mariah..."
    "I'll tell her I took you straight home."
    I nodded.
    RD looked at me as if he was considering something. "I'm working on that boat at the marina. Would you want to help me a few hours a week?" he said. "I could use an extra set of hands working on the varnish. I have the summer to get that girl fixed up and..."
    "Yes," I said, resisting the urge to jump up and down. "I'd love to."
    "All right," he smiled. "It's thankless work. Just a few hours and I'll pay you and teach you how to sail."
    "I'll do it. I love boats."
    "Okay, then," he smiled. "Looks like you got yourself another job. You are officially a moonlighting psychic. Why don't you give me your cell?” I gave him my number, my heart racing. Suddenly, my world didn't seem so small. "Make sure your mom is cool with you working with me."
    "She will be," I said.
    He tipped his hand at me as if saluting. "Later."
    I closed the car door and walked down the steep driveway that led to the house. I tiptoed upstairs, avoiding the creaky third step from the top and inched past my mom’s bedroom door. I couldn’t face her and I didn’t want to stop thinking about RD. The way he'd talked to me, how he'd wrapped his arms around me when I'd cried. I'd never felt anyone hold me like that. I cried watching a movie with Nick once, but he'd sat on the couch and kind of pretended I wasn't. I had felt so uncomfortable. RD knew how to deal with emotions and he seemed to know exactly what to say. And now he wanted me to work on his boat with him. I didn't feel as overwhelmed with worry any longer; there was this flicker of possibility in my world. Maybe my doomed summer would turn around.
    My phone beeped at three in the morning with a text. I assumed it was Priya and reached for the phone to hit delete . She was probably up, feeling guilty. Maybe she'd had a nightmare that she'd destroyed our friendship and realized it was true. But it wasn't Priya. It was a number I didn't recognize.
    The message said, You are GOOD .
    My heartbeat thumped against my chest.
    You are GOOD. RD? It had to be RD. Why was he texting in the middle of the night?
    I impulsively replied. My heart raced while my fingers flew over the keypad.
    See you soon.
    I hesitated and added one more thing.
    You are good, too.
    I hit send and immediately wished I could grab the message and shove it back in my pocket like a note I'd hadn't meant to pass in a class. What if that wasn't RD or what if he thought my reply was weird?
    I closed my eyes and willed myself to sleep, my mind replaying every moment with him in the car. The moment he'd touched my face, I'd looked up into his eyes and, for a split second, I'd felt him move toward me. It was as if he wanted to kiss me. I knew it was wrong. He was older than me, my new boss, a guy I barely knew, but I fell asleep that night wishing that his "almost kiss" was real.

Chapter 11
    In the morning, fog floats above the Sound until the sun rises and the heat melts the thick clouds away. I woke up early and wasn't surprised to see the water obscured by a blanket of white. Thinking about RD, I felt like I may have the power to bring the sun back. I kept my cell phone in my hand as I walked into the kitchen. I did not want to miss his call.
    I rifled through the refrigerator for some orange juice. My throat hurt from staying up too late and my head hurt from trying not to think too much, but my heart felt strong. I hadn't slept well. I kept going back and forth in my mind between RD's "almost kiss" and my mother's secret. What was she hiding? How bad could it be and what would have happened if RD had actually leaned over and brushed his mouth against mine? I closed my eyes wondering what it would be like to feel him press against me.
    I poured myself a glass of juice