“So anyway . . .” he whispered. “That’s what that spell does.”
I could have killed him for joking after what just happened. Instead I held him while he laid his head back and rested.
The microwave clock said that ten minutes had passed. It was getting late in the day, the shadows in my house growing longer across the kitchen floor where we lay. My mother would be home at some point.
“Genie,” Quentin said, his voice back to its normal strength. “I think I’m okay now. Thank you—urk!”
I shook him by the neck. “That’s the Band-Tightening Spell? That’s what happened to you every time Xuanzang said those words?”
Quentin was either nodding or his head was just flopping back and forth. “Pretty much.”
“Jesus Christ!” I shouted. “How was that okay with anyone? That’s screwed up! What kind of holy man just tortures another person? What kind of human being?”
I tried to pry the earrings off Quentin without success. “If I ever meet Xuanzang I’m going to knock his teeth down his throat,” I said, my fingernails jamming against the clasps. “And I’m not too happy with Guanyin either, right now.”
“Genie, stop! Ow! You’re pulling my earlobes off!”
He tried to fend me off but I didn’t let him. We struggled against each other, using our hips for leverage. He flipped over on top of me and managed to pin my wrists to the floor before we realized what we were doing.
Quentin picked up on the sudden flush in my cheeks and slowly pulled his hands away as if I might be upset by any sudden moves. But he didn’t unlock his eyes from mine.
“I should go,” he said, sitting back on his heels. “Before your mom finds us like this.”
“Wait.”
I reached up and buttoned the top of his shirt. I’d undone it part of the way when I was toweling him off. The damp fabric clung to his skin. I could see his muscles twitch like live wires as I slowly popped each button through its hole.
“Thanks.” He let me fix and smooth his collar before we finally got up. Benefits of having a long reach.
I walked him to the door and he lingered on the steps. “So I’ll see you at school then,” he said, giving me a drawn-out, hungry look.
“I guess so.”
“Or if you want to meet elsewhere, I have a phone now. It could be any time, any place.”
My breathing picked up at the hint.
“That’s good,” I said. “You should have one.”
I could feel where this was leading. And as glorious and satisfying as it would be to dive headlong into it, to drink deeply from the river, I wasn’t quite ready yet.
“Thanks for introducing me to your ex,” I said.
Quentin’s face went scandalized, a rarity that was particularly delicious. “The Lady of Mercy is above any sordid entanglement!” he said. “Her virtue is unquestioned! How could you even imply such blasphemy?”
“Way to put your ex on a pedestal.”
“God, I hate you,” he muttered.
That was more like it. The moment successfully ruined, I laughed and shut the door in his face.
21
“Oh my god,” said Yunie. “I knew there was a dirty girl waiting to come out of that shell of yours.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You marked him,” she said, pointing at Quentin, who sat across the library reading by himself. “That is the hottest thing I’ve ever seen happen at this school.”