Ima’s eyes widened when Nahum smiled at her. She leaned over to Dash. “He talked to you about me?” she whispered out of the corner of her mouth.
Dash grinned at her, then gave her a nudge in Nahum’s direction. “Talk to him,” he hissed between his teeth. He saw the look on Ima’s face, then leaned in. “Look, don’t be shy, okay? Nahum wants to talk to you.” He wrapped his arms around her head, pulling her to his chest, burying her nose in his shirt. He kissed the top of her forehead. “I’ll be right back,” he said as he released her.
“But—“ Ima looked up and groaned. Dash had disappeared. His kiss, on the other hand, lingered.
Ima glanced at Nahum, willing Dash’s kiss out of her mind. She didn’t want Nahum to know how she felt, to witness how pathetically she acted toward someone who did not want her in that way.
As she looked more closely at him, she noticed things that surprised her. He had high cheekbones, long, black eyelashes, and skin that looked like it would feel like cocoa butter if she brushed against it. His eyes sparkled, drawing Ima in to their dark, piercing pools. He gazed at her with both confidence and nonchalance—he didn’t intimidate her and he didn’t want anything from her; he simply looked at her unabashed. For the first time in her life, a male other than Dash was staring at her without making her feel uncomfortable. But she still kept her guard up.
Nahum’s face broke out into a smile and his boyish grin won her over. “Hi, Ima.” His cheek dimpled when he said her name.
“E,” she said. “You can call me E.” She hesitated, unsure of why she had said that. Unsure of what else to say.
Nahum’s eyes twinkled, even though the room was dim. “E it is.”
Another awkward pause. The only person who ever called her that was Dash, but this boy wasn’t him. His intense stare burned up all her words, and she grasped at the corners of her brain for something, anything to break the silence. “Dash said you wanted to talk to me about something?”
“Yes.” Nahum’s eyes glistened like something she’d seen in a picture—a calm, secluded lake, the kind that would have been surrounded by trees a hundred years earlier. The Scorched Years had taken their toll on the scenery, and most lakes were too frozen or too polluted to enjoy anymore. But the way Nahum’s eyes reflected the light reminded her of nature itself. She loved that. She loved the idea of looking at someone and seeing the past reflected back at her. The notion seemed lovely and romantic, without feeling overly mushy.
She looked away, realizing how much she was staring at him.
He leaned toward her, captivating her with his soft spoken words. “We don’t know each other, right?”
Ima scrunched her nose, perplexed by his question. “Before now?”
Nahum nodded. “Dash probably told you my memory is locked. I don’t remember anything about India or my past life, but I remember you. A younger version of you, maybe about thirteen. In the memory, I walked down a long hallway with doors leading to empty, white-walled rooms. I looked for a certain room number—number 3281—and I walked in, and there you were, singing a song I’d never heard. You sang so beautifully. And I got this feeling—this feeling you had something special about you, something unforgettable.”
Nahum’s candidness took Ima aback. “You must be mistaken. I don’t—“ she stuttered. “I’ve never been to where you’re describing. I’ve never seen it.”
“But you believe me, don’t you?” Nahum asked her softly, like a sweet lullaby. “The vision is so vivid in my mind. It’s the only thing I remember. I’ve been thinking about it all this week, and then I met Dash. And then, out of nowhere I see you with him, the very same girl from my only memory? It can’t be coincidence.”
ESTÁS LEYENDO
Socialpunk (Socialpunk #1)
Novela Juvenil"This book would be good for those that enjoyed the Hunger Games!” ~ Cover 2 Cover Blog "When I read the first page, I did not anticipate that I would be finishing the book that night, but I did. I had to. I didn’t care that I was up until 3:00AM."...
