
"Of course I mean Cal!" I practically exploded. "I can't believe you didn't say anything."
Janice shrugged. "We just went out once," she said. "Last weekend."
Tamara and I waited.
"Can you embellish, please?" I pressed after a minute. "I mean, we're your friends. You went out with the single best-looking guy on the planet. We deserve to know."
Janice looked pleased and embarrassed. "It didn't really seem like a date," she said finally. "It's more, like, he's trying to get to know people. Know the area. We drove around and talked a lot, and he wanted to know all about the town and the people…"
Tamara and I looked at each other.
"Hmm," I said finally. "So you're not hooking up or anything?"
Tamara rolled her eyes. "Be blunt, why don't you Morgan?"
Janice laughed. "It's fine," she said. "And no. No hooking up. I think we're just friends."
"Hmmm," I said again. "He is friendly, isn't he?"
"Speak of the devil," Tamara said softly.
I looked up to see Cal ambling toward us, his lips curved in a smile.
"Hey," he said, crouching on the grass next to us. "Am I interrupting anything?"
I shook my head and drank my soda in an attempt to look casual.
"Are you getting settle in?" Tamara asked. "Widow's Vale is pretty small, so it probably won't take you long to figure out where everything is."
Cal smiled at her, and I blinked at his supernatural face. By now I expected to have this reaction when I was around him, so it didn't bother me as much.
"Yeah. It's pretty here," Cal said. "Full of history. I feel like I've gone back in time." He looked down at the patch of grass, absently stroking a blade between his fingers. I tried not to stare, but I found myself wanting to touch what he touched.
"I came over to ask if you guys would come to a party this Saturday night," Cal said.
We were all so surprised that we didn't say anything for a second. It seemed gutsy for a relative stranger to throw a party so soon.
