The Mayfair Moon by J. A. Redmerski Read Free Book Online Page A

hand.
    Unsurprisingly, Tori overdressed for this kind of social gathering; the glittering make-up, pigtails and short pink skirt was awkward against the casual colors and jeans.
    “Have trouble finding it?” said Julia.
    “No, your directions were perfect.” I smiled.
    Julia gestured for me to follow. “Let’s go sit down over here,” she said. “It’s far enough away from the racket, but not too far away we look like snobs.”
    I assumed she meant the skateboards when she said ‘racket’.
    “Unless...” she paused, raising a brow, “you want to sit closer to the skaters.”
    I caught on. “No, no, I think your spot will be great.”
    “You sure?” she said, pulling me along. “Evan is hot, and so is Layne; he’s the tall one over there in the Fight Club shirt.”
    Tori jumped in, “ Julia , I thought you hated Layne?”
    “I do, but that doesn’t mean he’s any less hot.”
    “Why do you hate him?” I asked.
    We came to an area with two stone picnic tables situated in an L-shape next to each other. A park grill stood feet away in the center; remnants of charcoal lay scattered about. A bright red and black sign had been nailed to a nearby tree that read: ‘No Camping’.
    “Well, I don’t really hate him,” Julia answered.
    “No, she used to date him,” Sebastian said with a twinge of laughter. It caught me off-guard since he hardly ever spoke.
    “We never dated.” She stared at Sebastian for an infuriated moment longer. “So anyway, Adria” she finally went on, looking over at me again, “was it just you that moved here?”
    Really, the question was just her way to distract everyone from the subject of her and the guy, Layne. And it worked. Suddenly, all eyes were on me and I was stuck tiptoeing around the topic of Alex. But how were they supposed to know that the very mention of her made me uneasy and even a little annoyed? Or, that talking about her only made me think about the night she and I were attacked by a wer...well, by a beast, and that they were making it more difficult to put behind me? Making it more difficult for me to convince myself I was a stable member of society.
    “No,” I said, “my older sister, Alexandra, came too.”
    I was glad they didn’t probe further.
    The first hour at the skate park was fun. I laughed a lot; something I realized I hadn’t done in a long time. I even tried to stay up on Harry’s skateboard, which was an unsuccessful mission in so many ways. Everyone laughed when I fell, but no one made fun of me. Well, except maybe for jealous Cecilia. Her laughter was a bit smugger.
    Suddenly our circle got quiet and everyone looked up and toward the street.
    “You’ve got to be kidding me,” growled Tori.
    The muddy Jeep with big tires drove slowly into the skate park. The same three guys were with the spiky-haired blond girl from school. Once again, they were looking in our direction and this time it made me uneasy. I glanced at Julia and then Harry, lastly at Tori and Sebastian, but saw that everyone seemed as perplexed as I was. I had hoped that someone from our group might know what attracted their obvious stares.
    “Thank god,” said Tori, as the Jeep pulled away from us and went toward a nearby parking lot instead.
    I watched across the long stretch of grass and trees that separated us from them. Pulling into a space, the driver killed the engine and only he and the spiky-haired blond girl got out. Bracing her palms against the hood, the girl hopped up and sat atop it letting her legs hang just over the tire. The driver walked around to the passenger’s side and leaned against the back door, crossing his arms over his chest and his legs at the ankles. Vaguely I could see his lips moving as he spoke, apparently to the guys that still sat in the backseat. I got the strangest feeling. I knew they were watching us, even when they appeared not to be. Quietly I glanced once more over at each of my friends, wondering which one of them could be the