true colors - jb & ag 《completed》

{twenty-six}

It's Isaiah. I'm sure of it. He came looking for me at the Martins' house. Probably to lure me outside." Ariana jabbed her scalpel into the pumpkin's eye with a glee bordering on psychotic. It was two days until the big party, and Mom had sent her and Justin to the backyard and put them on carving duty. Ariana's life might be totally out of control, but jack-o'-lanterns she could handle.

"Heck of a lot of good that does us, since his dad's the chief of police." Justin scooped out a spoonful of orange guts and splatted them onto a newspaper. "Besides, the knife they found at the scene had been wiped clean of fingerprints, and Penelope said the voice that threatened her was muffled. She hasn't been able to give the police any more information."

"Can't we go to the county prosecutor or something? Tell them that the police chief and his son are psychopaths? I'm pretty sure that sort of thing runs in families." An unseasonably warm breeze ruffled Ariana's hair. The hint of dryness in the air made her want to soak up the sun before it disappeared for the long Ohio winter.

"Yes, but for that we'll need solid evidence. Which—"

Ariana finished his sentence. "Which is what you're working on that I could ruin if I get too close. I know! But I'm starting to feel like you just made that up so I'll stop snooping. I'm telling you, Colin's family is hiding something. If I could just . . ."

A plop of wet goop struck Ariana's face. She jerked back and crossed her eyes to see strings of pumpkin pulp hanging from her nose. Justin bounced on his toes, eyes dancing, spoon loaded and ready.

"Justin!" She swiped at the stinking mess and raised her knife. "I have a scalpel, don't make me use—" Another splat.

"That's it!" Ariana lunged and grabbed a handful of guts, flinging them just as another mass smacked her chest. Justin hooted his victory and ducked behind the table.

"Ugh!" She dodged another missile and then reached for more ammo, but the moment she did, pumpkin innards splattered her neck and face. Rethinking her strategy, Ariana faked one direction, and then spun and sprinted around the end of the table. Justin raised his hand to fling more gunk, but then froze, his eyes widening just before she threw herself at him. He let out a startled grunt as she tackled him to the ground and began to rub her arms and face against him like a cat.

Within a matter of seconds, she'd completely slimed him. His chest shook beneath her and she realized he was laughing so hard he couldn't breathe. Ariana giggled as he sucked in a sharp breath.

He gripped her arms and rolled to the side so they lay in the damp grass facing each other. "You're surprisingly strong for such a little thing." Grinning, he pulled a clump of seeds out of her hair and flicked them away.

Ariana brushed a glob of pulp from his throat, her fingers grazing warm skin. "I imagine that has something to do with my mass, times the velocity as I ran . . ."

Justin wrapped his arms around her and pulled her flush against him. "I get it, science girl." He cupped her face and leaned in, his lips hovering a hair's breadth from hers as he murmured, "Velocity times mass equals momentum." He kissed her top lip and then lifted his head.

Sparks ignited all over Ariana's body. He sure knew how to sweet-talk a girl.

He lowered his mouth again and kissed her with slow deliberation, as if she were a dessert and he wanted to savor every mouthful. Ariana ran her hands over his strong shoulders and then laced her fingers in the hair curling against his neck. He gripped her waist and their mouths opened together. Urgency flooding her veins, Ariana kissed him until she couldn't breathe—and didn't want to.