Page 44 of Five

“He didn’t say,” she says, talking loud enough for me to hear her, even though Five is now pacing back and forth across the pool house living room.

Naked.

Which totally makes me smirk.

He says a few more things that I don’t catch because I’m too busy looking at how the light from outside casts shadows across his perfectly toned body.

And then he hangs up. Looks at me. Frowns.

“I’m sorry,” I say. “OK? I should’ve told him earlier not to come here. And that it was over. I just… figured… I don’t know. I was still looking for you back then and, well. Can you blame me for forgetting about him, Five?” I bat my eyelashes at him. Which is totally stupid because it’s too dark for him to see my teasing flirt.

“We need to go,” he says, grabbing my hand and dragging me over to the door.

“Wait,” I say. “Why are you so wound up? I’m not interested in him, Five. I swear.”

“That’s not it, Ror. That fucking meeting in Denver I was telling you about?”

“Yeah,” I say, my stomach clenching as I wait for what comes next.

“He’s involved in that too.”

“Involved in what?” I ask. And then it all fits together. The weirdness unveils itself and I get a better glimpse of what’s hiding underneath.

“They’ve been after him for years too. He’s always told them no, but I don’t think we’ve been saying no for the same reasons. I think his rejection was just because… he’s simply not interested.”

“How the hell do you know Cliff Middleton, anyway?” I ask.

“We met at summer camp,” he says. “When we were kids.”

“Cliff,” I say, shaking my head, unable to see it, “is a robot geek?”

“No, Rory. Cliff comes from old money. Just like me. Never mind that for now, OK? Just trust me. This is not good. All that shit I was telling you about bizarre invitations and stupid clubs? Well, he’s on the list for recruitment too. And the fact that he’s here, when he so clearly should not be here, and that he’s your brand-new boyfriend… well, I mean, look, Rory. None of this is a coincidence.”

“And it has something to do with our parents?” I ask. “I’m so confused.”

“I don’t know about them yet. I can’t even begin to think about what they’re up to. This is something else and we need to go over to Sparrow’s and talk to everyone in person before we call my dad.”

“Oh, shit,” I say. Just imagining that phone call has me nauseous.

“‘Oh, shit’ is right,” Five says, opening the sliders and leading me outside. We walk around the pool to our clothes. I go searching for my phone, but…

“Five,” I say. “He took my phone with him.”

Five turns. Stares at me. There’s some moonlight out there, so I get a pretty good look at the expression on his face and wish I hadn’t. Because he’s worried. Very. Fucking. Worried. “Did you have it pass-word protected?” he asks.

I shake my head.

“Why the fuck not?” He’s mad now.

“I just got it a few days ago. It’s new. And I skipped that part.”

Five closes his eyes for a long moment of silent introspection. He’s probably thinking I’m the same ditzy blonde he knew all growing up. And right now, I don’t blame him. Because everyone knows to put in a password when you get a new phone. Your phone has your whole life on it. It has everything on it.

“OK,” Five says. “We gotta go find him. Right now. Get dressed.”

“Um,” I say, pulling up my shorts and grabbing my bra from the side of the pool. It’s damp from lying in a puddle of water all afternoon. “There’s more…”

Five is just pulling his t-shirt on when I say this. But he doesn’t even wait until his head pops out of the collar before he says, “What is it?”