Slow Burn Part 35

"Barton Creek Country Club. My father's a member." Dean grins faintly at me. "Call Eileen, and let her know. The address is 442 Country Club Way. Drive to the Main Gate-tell them to say they're with the Youngblood party."

"Seriously? G.o.d, Dean, thank you so much," I mumble as I swipe the screen of my phone to dial Eileen.

I tell her the good news, and even Dean can hear her whoops of joy. He chuckles quietly, and keeps his eyes on the road. I have her write down all the information, and she promises to call all the parents right away to let them know about the changes.

I'm too overwhelmed to say much of anything. I can't believe Dean's coming to the rescue again. The Barton Creek Country Club! I've never been there before, but I've heard it's super ritzy! I wonder what kind of strings he had to pull to get a room there, especially on such notice?

I bite my lip. "Whatever this costs, I can-"

Dean glances at me. "Don't worry about it."

"But I have-"

"I said don't worry about it."

His tone is final, and I keep my mouth shut. There has to be a way I can pay him back for everything he's done for me so far. I'll worry about it later. Right now, I've got to focus on pulling off a last minute talent show at a country club, of all places.

Please let this work.

Dean stops to speak to the security personnel at the main gate, making sure they know he's expecting several guests in a couple of hours. After he confirms with them, we're cleared to go down a long winding road lined with palm trees. We drive by several people on the perfectly manicured golf course, and I wonder if anyone's ever accidentally hit a pa.s.sing car with a golf ball. I also wonder how I can join when I catch sight of the magnificent building that is the BCCC. Dang, it looks like a palace. That ornate fountain surrounded by a riot of colorful flowers-I want to put it in my backyard and swim in it every day.

I follow Dean into the foyer, which is all marble floors and pillars, tasteful furniture, and elegant lighting. He moves fast so I don't get to gawk much, trailing after him when he turns sharply down a hallway. The woman behind the desk doesn't even look up. I guess it's okay to go back there then?

Dean holds a door open for me and gestures for me to go through. I enter a large circular room with a stage in the front and chandeliers that look like giant glowing pearl necklaces.

The room is mostly empty except for-oh! Johnny, Mack, Lorena, and Nick are here! They're hard at work, setting up fold up chairs in rows facing the stage.

"You guys!" I shriek, running forward to give them each a hug. "How...?"

"You needed us, we're here," Johnny says with a grin, holding me in his arms for a lingering few seconds.

"Thank you so much! This is amazing!" Oh, my G.o.d, how am I ever going to repay everyone?

Dean and Johnny leave to get the boxes from his truck, so I grab a few more chairs that are piled up on the side. The room is huge, and there are at least fifty chairs set up.

"I think this should do it," I say, straightening out the row I'm in. "There's not going to be a whole lot of people coming-just family and friends."

"That's what you think," Mack says with a grin, placing two folded-out chairs in his row. "Dean called in a bunch of favors. This room is gonna be packed. So get to work, woman." He playfully swats Lorena's a.s.s. She looks up from her phone, pretending to scowl at him.

Uh...what did Dean do? He couldn't possibly have called that many people in the short amount of time he had...right? I glance at the fancy clock on the wall, and run to grab more chairs.

Eileen shows up, along with some of the kids whose parents are going to be in the dance. The kids are super-excited, and they look so cute in their dark hoodies and sweatpants! I leave the chair set up to my friends so I can help Eileen with the kids. Sierra sticks to me, making it almost impossible to do anything, but I know she's feeling anxious and shy, so I do the best I can with her hanging on to me.

I'm so busy making sure all the kids have their glow sticks firmly attached to their clothes that I don't even realize just how many people are in the room right now. Not just family members of the kids, but people from school, as well. I spot Tanya's curls bobbing around in the crowd, and we wave frantically at each other. Jason and Ryan are here, as well as most of the football team. I also spot a few cheerleaders standing in a group, chattering away. And there's Bobo! What's he doing here?

"Where did all these people come from?" Eileen whispers to me, looking around nervously.

I shrug helplessly. "My friends...I guess they wanted to make sure we had a big audience."

"Well, it's amazing-all of it. Your friends are wonderful-you're very lucky to have them."

"Yeah," I agree fervently. "Uh...I just hope the kids don't freak when we turn off the lights."

Eileen chuckles, patting my arm. "Have faith. Come on, it's almost time."

Mostly everyone is seated, and the Jubilee kids are huddled together at the front, costumes on and ready to go. Eileen strolls onto the stage, and warmly welcomes everyone to the one-act show. She tells the audience a little bit about the Jubilee program, and how excited the kids are to show off their skills. After enthusiastic applause, she nods to me, and I help get the kids ready, lining them up by the stage steps.

Someone dims all the lights so it's very nearly pitch black. We hustle the kids up the stage, and position them, turning them around so they're facing away from the audience. Micah, overcome by excitement, lets out a lot whoop, and everyone chuckles in response. We're all in place now, and wait for our cue.

The music starts up. We chose a mash-up of popular songs, and as the first one plays, the kids turn around one by one, visible only as neon stick figures, thanks to the dark and the glow sticks. Everyone cheers wildly.

It goes even better than I imagined. Even the mistakes are awesome! Someone drops a neon-lit ball while trying to dunk it through a hula hoop, and it bounces off the stage-where it's quickly s.n.a.t.c.hed up, and people start tossing it around the room, turning it into crowd volleyball. Maryanne tries to run off the stage, and her dad-one of the performers-catches her, and manages to make it look part of the dance.

For the finale, the adults in the back pull the kids through the hula hoops. And cue the thunderous applause and cheers. The lights come back on to show the beaming faces of all the kids. Well, all except for Jameson, who's in tears. Why is he crying? Oh, one of his glow sticks fell off!

Eileen comes back on the microphone, thanking everyone once more, and to my embarra.s.sment she singles me out.

"Everyone please give it up for my a.s.sistant, Juliet Somers! She ch.o.r.eographed the whole routine, and this day likely wouldn't have happened if it weren't for her and her awesome friends. So, take a bow, Juliet!"

Embarra.s.sed, I manage a dorky little wave. Someone-Mack, maybe-shouts my name, and there are a few whistles. I spot a familiar red-blonde head in the back row. Heather! I try to catch her eye, but she's not looking at me. I can't believe she came!

Eileen goes on to announce that she hopes everyone stays and enjoys the refreshments provided by me and my friends. Uh...what? Then I see the long tables set up in the back. Ben and Arianna are putting out napkins and paper plates. Where did all that food come from? It looks like they raided a deli: there are little sandwiches, big bowls of pasta salads, and platters of beautifully arranged fruit. Ben sees me looking, and gives me a c.o.c.ky salute. I am too stunned to do much more than blink at him.

Oh, my G.o.d, this is freaking incredible. I'm going to have to bake a huge thank you cake. Forget that-if one of them ever needs a kidney, I am so there.

I try to look for Heather afterwards, but she's gone. I think about calling her-but there's someone I have to find first.

Dean is talking to a couple of guys from the JV football team. I smile at the them as I approach. The two guys get the hint and drift toward the food table, leaving me and Dean alone.

I am suddenly inexplicably nervous. "Hey," I say-just for something to say.

He looks amused. "Hey, yourself."

"Um...c.r.a.p, where do I start?" I stare down at the floor for inspiration, before staring earnestly up at him. "This-what you did...it's so amazing. Seriously, I don't think you know how much this means to me-and Eileen, and the-the kids. I don't even know how you pulled it off, but...thank you, Dean. Thank you a million times! I can't even..."

I start to choke up. Dean looks uncomfortable, and slightly alarmed. "Don't mention it, Juliet. Really."

"But...not just for today, but for always being there for me..." I fumble with my words. "You've been such a great friend to me, and I just wanted you to know-thank you. For everything."

I lightly place my palm on his chest-and gasp at the zing of electricity that shoots through my arm to my suddenly pounding heart. What the h.e.l.l was that?!

Dean seems to freeze under my touch. I wouldn't even be able to tell he was breathing if I couldn't feel his chest moving. He stares at me with an intensity that burns me from head to toe. My hand drops away in a dead faint.

Um. I don't think he likes me touching him. I clear my throat, and start backing away from him.

"S-sorry," I apologize, my face flaming with mortification.

Turning on my heel, I make my escape. What was that about? I'm so embarra.s.sed. Why did I have to touch him? What if he thought I was. .h.i.tting on him, or something? Way to make things awkward, Juliet, you big dummy.

Confused, elated, and extremely self-conscious, I shake the incident out of my head. Hoping for a distraction, I find Arianna and try to hug her in grat.i.tude. She reacts like I've thrown a spider in her face. Hm, maybe I shouldn't try to touch people anymore. Clearly, I'm disgusting.

Never mind. Here come a bunch of people who love it when I give hugs. I open my arms wide for the herd of Jubilee kids coming at me.

"Zool!"

d.a.m.n it. They stole my shoe again.

Chapter 37.

Dean, Johnny, and their parents are vacationing in Aspen over Christmas. While they're gone, I enlist Lorena, Mack, and Ryan's help transporting Dean's present to his room. It's a huge pain! We have to drain most of the water out of the tank, and put the livestock in buckets-but the hardest part is moving the tank itself. It's huge, and takes all four of us to get it safely up the stairs.

"Wouldn't it be easier to just fill the tank up here, rather than lugging all these buckets?" Ryan grunts, red and sweaty from trudging up and down the steps.

"It would, but then we'd have to wait four to six weeks before we could put anything in the aquarium," I explain, out of breath myself. "I started the tank last month. For a salt.w.a.ter aquarium, you have to cycle the water and establish good bacteria. You can't just add everything at once, you have to..."

I trail off when I notice Ryan's eyes starting to glaze over. He escapes back downstairs, and I go back to setting things up. With Dean's room being so bare, it's easy to find the perfect spot for the aquarium, away from the windows.

"This must've cost you a fortune," Lorena says to me, watching me check the heaters.

"Actually, my dad bought the tank and most of the equipment for me not too long ago. He was gonna help me set it up, but we could never find the time-he lives in Hidden Cove." I shrug. "I figure why let all this go to waste, right?"

"You think Dean will like it?"

"I hope so. I mean, it's a lot of work-you have to check the water every week. But I could come over and do it for him until he got the hang of it. And I know he's leaving for college soon, but-what?"

I stop when I notice the weird smirk on her face. When I raise my eyebrows at her, she just shakes her head, and walks away. Okay...

It takes hours to put the aquarium back together. Ryan, Lorena, and Mack go home after the heavy lifting is done, but I hang around to inspect the finished product. It looks good. I mean, there's only a few small wra.s.se fish in there right now-but I think the colorful rocks and coral more than make up for it. I hope Dean likes it. It can be a huge pain to maintain-we had a salt.w.a.ter aquarium when Dad was living with us-but I liked doing it. I hope Dean feels the same way.

Everything's done, but I don't leave yet. I want to keep an eye on the tank for a few hours. Also, I have a little more decorating to do. I've ordered a couple of star kits online to stick on the ceiling-not the super-cheesy ones that you'd find in a kid's bedroom. These are self-adhesive little dots that actually give the illusion of a night sky. At least, according to the pictures I saw on the website. Hm, they don't look like much now.

I have to ask Jelena, the live-in housekeeper, for a stepladder to reach the ceiling-and it takes me over three hours to put up all the stars. An hour into it, my arms feel ready to fall off, and I start second-guessing myself. What if Dean hates all of it? I could donate the tank to the rec, or something (I don't want to think about moving that sucker again!), and the stars-what if he thinks they're childish? I'd have to come back here and sc.r.a.pe them off his ceiling. Ugh.

I should've asked him before making these major changes to his bedroom. How presumptuous of me. Oh, well. I'm not stopping now. If he doesn't like it, he doesn't like it. And I'll find a deep dark cave to hide in for a couple of months.

It's dark by the time I'm done. I pull the drapes over the windows and the sliding gla.s.s door so that the only light in the room comes from the peacefully lit tank, and the glowing dots on the ceiling. I lie on my back on the floor, pleased with the new ambience. Not bad. Really not bad. I should get on Dean's bed to get the whole experience, but I've never seen a bed that precisely made before, and I'm a little scared of it.

Jelena comes in to admire my work, and declares that Dean will love it. As a bonus, she tells me she used to work in an aquarium supply store, and would be more than happy to look after the tank while Dean is away. Since she is way more knowledgeable than me on the subject, I gratefully agree.

Before I leave, I stick Johnny's present under the huge elegantly decorated Christmas tree in the family room. I bought the Razorheads concert tickets months ago, and there's no reason they should go to waste. The Razorheads are his favorite band, and the seats are good ones. It gives me a little pang, wondering who he'll take to the concert in my place. Only a little one, though, and I'm surprised to realize it doesn't hurt.

I'm with Dad and Cerise for Christmas. It's Christmas Eve, and we're staying the night at Mich.e.l.le and Uncle Derek's house. Their little house is bursting with Christmas decorations, but I kind of think it's compensation for the definite lack of cheer in its occupants.

I'm so happy to see Mich.e.l.le again after weeks of not hearing from her. She tries her best to put up a good front, but the sparkle in her eyes is gone. She looks...empty. I feel so sad for her, and for Uncle Derek. He looks as helpless as I feel.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but-thank goodness for Cerise. She's a one-woman cheering squad. She is so determined that everyone have a good time, that I'm afraid not to. Man, she's a bouncy little thing. I notice Uncle Derek noticing her perfect little figure as she jumps around, trying to get us to sing Christmas songs with her. He catches me glaring at him, and looks away sheepishly. Mich.e.l.le sits on the couch like a statue, a smile pasted on her face.

The couch is ridiculously hard, and I just can't get comfortable. Which is why I'm awake to hear the knock on the door at about one in the morning. Burglars don't knock first, right?

Stupidly, I'm more curious than frightened as I tiptoe over to the door to see who it is. I have a feeling it's Derek's soldier brother, back from Afghanistan as a Christmas surprise.

I open the door just wide enough to see who it is-then gasp in surprise.

"Dean!"

I blink at him in astonishment. I must be dreaming. Why would Dean Youngblood be standing on my aunt's porch-in Hidden Cove-when he's suppose to be with his family in Aspen?

But there he is-tall and slightly damp from the falling rain, with lost eyes and a vulnerable expression on his achingly handsome face.

"Merry Christmas, Juliet," he says in his low rough voice.

I gape at him. "What are you doing here? Is everything okay? Did something-?"

He shakes his head. "Can we talk?"

"Um...sure. Hold on a second."

I dash back inside and grab Mich.e.l.le's sweater. Putting it on, I slip back outside, closing the door behind me. I start walking to the front of the house, where Dean's truck is parked next to the streetlight, and he follows behind me. It's still raining, but I'd rather get a little wet than risk someone in the house waking up.

I lean against the side of his truck, hugging myself to stay warm. "What's going on, Dean? Why are you here? How did you even know where I was?"

He stands in front of me, he won't look at me. He runs a hand through his wet dark hair, and stares at the ground. "I went by your house to drop of your Christmas present. Your mom told me where you were." One side of his beautiful mouth quirks up in a smile. "She complimented me on my flawless English."

I feel a small jolt of alarm. "You didn't tell her who you really are, did you? She'd freak! She's the type that holds grudges, you know?"

"I didn't tell her. She didn't really ask."

"Oh." I squint at him, confused. "So...why are you here?"

He finally lifts his head to give me a long searching look. "I saw what you did to my room," he says softly.

"Oh," I say again. I shift nervously. "Um, did you like it?" I ask tentatively.

c.r.a.p, he didn't. He looks almost angry now, staring at me. "No one's ever done anything like that for me before."

"Okay," I say after another anxious pause. "Is that good or bad?"

He cracks a small smile. "It's good."

I sigh in relief. "Thank G.o.d. I was hoping you'd like it. And I can totally help you take care of the tank, if you want. I was gonna get you more fish, but I figured I'd wait a couple of days, you know-oh, hey, why are you home so early? I thought you guys weren't coming back 'til after New Years?"