Page 100 of The Formation of Us

“Did your dad say she was a prostitute?”

“No, he said she was a ballerina.”

“Gosh, that’s a lot better than being a prostitute.” Adam wished his own mother had been a dancer.

“I wonder what my mother looks like.” Rebecca’s eyes sparked. “Maybe I look like her. Maybe if she saw me now, she’d wish she hadn’t abandoned me. That’s what my dad says she did.”

“You’re real pretty. I’ll bet she’d be sorry she gave you away”

A small smile touched Rebecca’s lips and she ducked her head.

“Do you miss her?” he asked.

“No.” She lifted a flat rock with the toe of her shoe and flipped it over so the wet, loamy side faced the gray sky. “I would never want a different mother than Evelyn. But sometimes I wonder about my first mother. You know, what she’s like, what her voice sounds like.”

“Yeah, I wonder about my dad too. Faith thinks he’s in prison or something, but he could be dead for all we know.”

“Do you think he is?”

He shrugged. He had no idea.

They tossed rocks in the creek for a few minutes, then started skipping the flat stones across the surface. For a girl, she was good at it, and he liked being her friend. He wanted to be more, but he couldn’t ask.

“I noticed that Nicholas Archer hasn’t been bothering you in school.”

It was because Adam stayed away from him, and told everybody that Rebecca was his cousin now.

“I hope you’re going to stay in school this year.” She gave a flat rock a good ride across the creek, then faced him. “I like walking to school with you.”

She was so close he could see the gold flecks in her eyes. Heat burned through his body and he felt his stomach tighten. “I like it too,” he said, his voice rough and shaky, but it didn’t squawk.

“Do you think we’ll ever do that . . . you know . . . what Iris and Patrick were doing?”

Strange things were happening to his body, and he was shaking so badly he was too afraid to answer.

“We could kiss, if you want to,” she went on. Her voice was so soft he wanted to trap it in a jar and keep it with him forever. He wanted to keep Rebecca and her friendship forever.

“I want to,” he said, and before he lost his nerve, he did the one thing he’d been aching to do since the day he met her in the store. He leaned forward and touched his lips to hers. They were warm and soft, and her brown eyes were filled with so many gold flecks it made him dizzy. His whole body went weak, then got shaky and sweaty.

“That’s the best feeling in the world,” she said softly, her voice filled with pleasure and wonder, her mouth so near his he had to kiss her again.

Something wild and hot flooded through his stomach, and the feeling grew heavy and moved lower. Kissing Rebecca was the best feeling in the world for him too. He put his shaky hands on her arms to bring her closer to him, but the sound of a branch snapping jolted them apart. If her father caught them . . .

Rebecca stumbled backward over a small pile of rocks. Adam caught her arm and saved her a fall, but Rebecca glared at the trees along the bank. “Melissa Archer is spying on us again!”

“Why is she so stupid?” He scanned the bank but couldn’t see the girl.

“She likes you.”

“Well, I don’t like her.”

“Good.” Rebecca brushed sand and bits of leaves off her skirt, then gave him a warm smile. “I don’t blame her for liking you. I sure do.” She surprised him with a quick kiss, then backed away. “I won’t tell anyone about Iris and Patrick. Or about us.”

“We’d get in big trouble if you did.”

“You can trust me.” She grabbed her skirt and lifted it to her shins. “I have to get home before I’m missed.” Then she darted into the trees, tall and beautiful and as graceful as a deer, and Adam knew he would never love any girl but Rebecca Grayson.

Chapter 31