No Ordinary Girl

Chapter Fifteen

My stomach was grumbling when lunch time came around.

We all hopped in the fancy car, and Ace did not wait even a minute to be a complete a-hole. "I want that monkey!" he hollered, and the whole car burst into hysterical laughter. Simone shook her head, like that worn-out mother with demented toddler twins I saw at the grocery store once. "Behave, Mr. Rogers."

I wanted to punch Ace in the face.

"I'll punch him for you," Leo whispered in my ear. "If you want." My heart skipped a beat. It always did when he could read my mind like that. I vowed to stop sitting so close to him. I knew a little distance would weaken his abilities.

He smiled wider. "I'll beat the crap out of him."

My silly heart skipped another beat. A beautiful boy defending my honor. I imagined it for a second – yeah, Leo could totally take Ace. Although Ace was very charming and suave, he looked like he'd never had a single struggle in his perfect life. Leo on the other hand, was street smart and a tiny bit rough around the edges. I got the sense that he'd seen a thing or two in his day.

Simone planned to take us to dinner at the hotel, but we all whined like babies, until she took us to McDonalds. I wondered if Simone Adler had ever tasted a Big Mac. My money was on no.

As soon as Kendra bit into her Junior McChicken, she let out a loud moan, like she hadn't eaten in days. In her defense, I had one too, and it was pretty darn good. I don't think any of the five of us had indulged in fast food in weeks. We were all sick and tired of quinoa, and kale salad, and couscous (although, I rather like couscous.) Simone ate a Big Mac, after all.

We didn't talk about the case – we barely had enough time to scarf down our food.

"I used to eat these all the time in college," Simone confessed. "Back when my waistline behaved."

*

We were back at the Henderson household by two o'clock. Simone had arranged for Leo and I to both have a chat with Mrs. Henderson, in an intimate space. It was our time to shine.

We followed Jenna to the office tucked to the right side of the house. As I followed her, my gaze was fixed on her long shiny golden hair, her tiny waist, and the elegance of her walk. I wondered what it would feel like to be her; so perfect and pretty. Did she realize she was spectacular? She had to. I was sure that she turned heads wherever she went.

She froze in the middle of the room; a desk, chair and sitting area. "Where should we all sit?"

We settled ourselves on the small loveseat and chair in the sitting area. I tried not to stare too long at the stack of Missing Person flyers on the sideboard tucked against the wall. I shifted my attention to the walls, lined with bookcases. The books were color coordinated and perfectly aligned. Decorative accents dotted the collections; a ceramic bird, a framed photo, a pretty box – nothing really spoke to me. "Wow, these shelves should be on Instagram."

She smiled sweetly.

Leo settled into the arm chair. "I think you two should both sit on the love seat."

We both slowly made ourselves comfortable. I didn't want to talk about the stuff we already knew. I wanted to get deep into her emotions. "So tell me, Jenna... may I call you Jenna?"

"Yes."

"What was it like when you first met Mason?"

Her face lit up. "It was love at first sight."

"Where did you meet?"

"At a Halloween party. I was dressed as Wonder Woman, and he was dressed as Captain America. Turns out we were both Marvel comic fans."