Untraceable

Survival Skill #8

Pay attention to your surroundings and be prepared for attack.

~

I stop dead in my tracks. “I can hear you, you know.”

“Man. You’re good. I’ll give you that.”

“It’s not hard to hear an elephant coming.” I spin around and my heart slips a little.

Wyn looks better than ever. I cock my head and try to figure out what it is. Is it the new dark jeans, the navy Coldplay t-shirt, or the Converse shoes?

My voice cracks as I shake off the all-too-familiar feeling of attraction tainted by confusion. “What do you expect? I’m trained in self-defense and wilderness survival.”

Wyn rolls his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. I know. You’re a badass.”

I nod once. “And don’t you forget it!”

He smiles and tilts his head to one side like a little puppy. I’ve seen that look so many times before. Wyn and I have been friends since we were babies. Pooped and played together. Last year, we even started dating and everything seemed okay, until Dad disappeared. Wyn tried to comfort me, but it was just too weird, so we broke up at the worst possible time. I guess he was frustrated with me for pushing him away, and I was tired of feeling smothered.

Now I’ve heard Skyler Stevens has been draping herself all over him, trying to get noticed. I wonder if Wyn hangs out with her because Carl’s her father or because he really likes her. After all, Skyler’s petite, pretty, and perky. The total opposite of me.

Never understood what GI Joe saw in that blond doll anyway.

I take my first jab. “Dating Barbie yet?”

Wyn raises one eyebrow. “Why? Is Skipper jealous?”

“You wish.” I scoff and poke the chickenpox scar in the middle of his forehead. “You are certainly no Ken.”

Wyn puffs out his chest ever so slightly. Assuming I won’t notice. “Thank goodness. Because I hear he has no ‘banana in his hammock’. If you know what I mean.”

I try not to laugh because it’s true. “That’s because Barbie’s got them.”

He smirks and flexes his skinny arms. “Ken’s got nothing on this.”

Even though he’s kidding, I know Wyn’s always been a little sensitive about being on the skinny side, so I squeeze his bicep. “You definitely have much better hair. Anyway, you’re changing the subject.” I glance around, all spy-like. “So where is she? Your shadow.”

“If this isn’t an official inquiry on who I really want to be dating, then I plead the fifth. Besides, it would be rude of me to talk about another girl in front of a lady.” He flashes me a bright-toothed smile.

I give him a look. “Oh brother, you’re such a shyster.”

“Are you from the ‘50s? Who says shyster anyway? Kinda dorky.”

“Like dorky is any cooler.”

Wyn shoves his hands in his pockets and strolls next to me. “You know, you almost gave me a heart attack the other day.” His strides are longer than mine, so he does a lot of starting and stopping. Reminds me of how my mom drives, first accelerating then braking every few feet. He pushes my shoulder. “You’re lucky I lured Carl out of the office and distracted Bernice for that long.”

I wink at him. “I knew you could handle it. Bernice loves to flirt with you.”

“Ha, ha.” Wyn grabs for me.