Page 182 - My FlipBook

L IS A J. L A W R E N C E

“Here.” She grabbed his arm and started tracing curving
lines on his skin with her finger. “Actually, do you mind if I
use a pen?”
Ash shook his head, still watching the place where
Alice had drawn the invisible symbol. She came back with a
Sharpie—Elgin’s Sharpie—and uncapped it. Gripping Ash’s
arm with her left hand, she drew the curved, intersecting
lines with her right. Her brow furrowed, and long hair fell

onto his bare arm and wrist. Greta watched Ash’s eyes leave
the symbol and examine Alice’s face, close to his. Greta felt
like an intruder, watching them. Then Alice pulled back and
put the lid on the Sharpie, triumphant.
Ash lifted his arm to examine the symbol. “It’s nice.
It’ll look good.” He noticed Greta now and cleared his throat,
shifting away from Alice. ADVANCE READING COPY

Alice swung her purse off the back of the chair. “I’m
going out for a smoke.”
“I’ll go with you,” Ash said, prompting Greta to give him
a classic Ash-style eyebrow raise. He might have recognized
it had he looked her way. They slipped out the front door
and settled on the top step of the porch. Through the screen
door, Greta watched Alice light the cigarette and smile as she
blew a stream of smoke above their heads. After a minute she
offered it to Ash, who took a drag in a way that told Greta

he’d done it a hundred times before. She felt a pang, watching
him. What secret parts of his life did he shield from her?
Elgin sighed, possibly about the cloud of smoke drifting
through his sunset. Greta got up and stood behind him.

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