Chapter Two

Reese

The salty breeze rolling over the boardwalk reminded Reese Van Buren that he needed another drink. Possibly something with alcohol. But alas, he had forgotten he was in America where the drinking age was twenty-one, and not eighteen as it was back home in North Holland. And the last drinking establishment they’d visited had confiscated their fake identifications since the cards were undoubtedly suspect. He was almost tired of traveling and partying since leaving Europe with his travel mates.

Almost.

Reese did, however, enjoy the openness of American girls. It was a refreshing change from the closed and overly scheduled young women of his village. With it being spring break, the American girls were ready to have a rollicking time. He’d had no problem convincing Henry, Jan, and Lars to go on this adventure with him. All he had to do was play a YouTube video of girls going wild on the beaches during spring break, and they eagerly packed their luggage.

“Explain to me again, why are we in Maryland?” Lars towered over the locals and tourists on the boardwalk, his athletic form weaving through the crowd. “We could be drinking with the masses on the Florida beaches.”

“And romancing the girls,” Henry added, glancing back with a scowl on his face. Henry was the only English one in the group. Reese had roomed with Henry at Le Rosey, an expensive boarding school in Switzerland. It wasn’t as though Henry was utterly handsome. It was his confidence and his accent that attracted the opposite sex.

Jan, Reese’s cousin, rubbed his pudgy belly. “All the amazing smells around here are making me hungry. Might we get a bite?”

“You didn’t have enough to eat on the drive?” Henry smacked the back of Jan’s head. “All our supplies are gone.”

“I have to maintain all my sexy curves.” Jan shimmied, running his hands over his sides.

Jan would eat anything, especially if it was slathered in barbecue sauce. He’d acquired a liking for the stuff after sampling it at a roadside diner. Reese didn’t much like the taste. It was too spicy for him.

“You were all given an itinerary,” Reese said, turning slightly to search the buildings flanking the boardwalk. “We’ll arrive in Florida in a few days. Plenty of time to partake in the spring break festivities. At the moment, we must find that photo booth. The lady said it was in this vicinity.”

“It feels as though we’re on a race around the world,” Lars said. “Why must we rush everywhere?”

It was very much like that. A race to see the places Reese would never get another chance to see. He was determined to distract himself from thinking about his future demise. He had only three months to live, and he planned to do it in a drunken stupor where no one knew who he was.

Three months.

Just a quarter of a year.

The days were like sand in the hourglass of his life, slipping away from him. He never fully got over the sinking feeling he’d had when he first learned of his imminent demise. He contemplated suicide, but thought better of it. His parents would never forgive themselves. Nor would Jan.

Jan gave Reese a concerned look. Reese returned it with a brave smile. Jan was the only one who knew Reese’s troubles. Even his parents hadn’t learned that he had discovered the truth—that Reese had uncovered their secret.

“There it is,” Jan shouted as though the others were across the boardwalk and not standing right next to him.

The four took turns getting head shots in the booth. They were to meet up with Jack, a scoundrel for certain, who could forge identification cards for them. Satisfied with the outcome of the photographs, Jan and Lars set out to locate Jack’s bumper sticker stand at the end of the boardwalk. Jack had asked that only two of the friends meet him. He didn’t need a group around him raising suspicion.

Reese and Henry strolled the boardwalk as they waited. People of all shapes and sizes snaked around one other, eyes focused on the attractions and signs above the booths. The smells of fried meat and baking breads swirled in the air.

The rubbish playing in Reese’s thoughts never silenced. The only time it was quiet was when he’d had a few drinks too many. He replayed what he and Jan had learned repeatedly in his mind. He knew the reason his father’s older brother had died at eighteen, and why his father and his father before him died at the same age. A family curse, is what the tarot reader had told him. A curse exacted on his family by a jilted lover.

Reese hadn’t believed it, not until he found the records confirming it. The first-born males in his family all died, at the exact second of their birth, on their eighteenth birthdays. Their hearts simply stopped. The coincidence of the deaths could only be magic. Cursed magic. The only cure could come from a fate changer, and they had gone into hiding centuries ago. Using their gift carried too great a cost.

Henry suddenly veered in the direction of three girls buying ice cream at a nearby stand. The blond girl’s long, tanned legs were the obvious beacon catching his attention. Reese followed, stopping in the queue beside Henry.

“I heard this was the best ice cream on the boardwalk,” Henry said loud enough to hook the girl with his British accent.

It worked. The girl spun around. “It is. You should totally get the rainbow sprinkles.”

“Thank you,” he said, giving her that sexy, cocky grin that made girls drop their panties. “I shall.”

She smiled, revealing straight white teeth, the apparent handiwork of an orthodontist. The girl’s left eye was a little off, but their dark blue color was hypnotizing. Reese was disappointed he hadn’t spotted her first. She was nearly perfect; a little too thin, though. But there was an understanding among him and his mates; they didn’t pursue the same girl.

“My name is Leah,” she said, placing her hand on the younger girl’s shoulder. “This is Daisy, and that’s Aster.” She looked at the other girl’s back.

Aster didn’t turn around, ignoring the exchange happening behind her. The girl’s auburn hair was tied into a messy knot, her body toned. She was a little shorter than Leah, with more curves that pleased Reese. He tried to keep his eyes off her round bum. The line inched forward, pushing him closer to the girl. He strained to keep from bumping into her.

The small one, Daisy, he recalled, rocked on her feet, apparently not knowing what to do. Definitely younger than the other two, she had the same color hair as Aster. They were probably related, Reese assumed.

“I’m Henry, and this is Reese.” He leaned closer, which, with his height, made him look like a canopy over Leah.

Classic move, Reese thought. It had gotten Henry many dates. Now all he has to do is—

“You smell lovely.” And there it was—the compliment, the smoldering eyes, the complete focus on the girl. “But indeed a flower like you would, now, wouldn’t you?”

“Thank you. It must be my perfume.” The pink in Leah’s cheeks told Henry all he needed to know; he had her under his control. Guilt rippled through Reese. It was possible this girl would want more from Henry than he was willing to give.

“Puh-lease,” Aster said, reaching the stand. “He’s coming on to you. Ignore him. He probably says that to all the girls. Three cones with rainbow sprinkles, please,” she called through the booth’s window.

The girl’s astute. I’ll give her that. It impressed Reese that she hadn’t succumbed to Henry’s charms.

Henry acted wounded. “I’m being completely honest.”

“She does smell like a garden,” Daisy offered, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt.

“Whatever.” Aster sighed and returned her attention to the girl behind the counter.

Reese was about to shove the boy behind him, who kept knocking into his back, but he thought better of it, imagining it causing a human domino effect.

Leah gently elbowed Aster in the side. “Don’t be so rude, Aster. They’re guests in our country.” She flashed a sweet smile at Henry. “So how long will you be in Ocean City?”

“Here,” Aster interrupted, handing off a sprinkle-covered ice cream cone to Leah, then one to Daisy. She spun around with her own, the cone squishing into Reese’s chest. She paused, mouth open, as their eyes met. The candied mound slipped down his shirt, leaving a globby vanilla trail. “Oh shit, I’m so sorry.”

She frantically yanked several napkins from the dispenser and wiped at Reese’s chest. A chill ran down his spine and he shuddered. “Forget it,” he said. “It’s only a new shirt.”

“You really shouldn’t stand so close to someone.”

Is she fooling with me? She knocked into me. “You really should be more careful,” he said.

“Well, I didn’t expect you to be all in my space.” She scowled as she rubbed at the stain, working down his abs. The motion sent awareness to all his muscles, and he quickly gripped her hand, stopping the assault.

“I said, forget it.”

Her eyes locked onto his, and instantly the anger on her face dissipated. Something passed between the two, something that caused a tug inside Reese.

It took her several seconds before she swallowed hard and spoke again. “I…um…right. Here,” she said, handing him the napkins and diverting her eyes away from him.

Just a minute, he thought, tossing the used napkins in the trash barrel by the stand. What was that? Does she fancy me? He was very certain there was a connection between them. As Aster ordered another cone, Reese inspected her body again. She rose to her tiptoes to reach the cone the girl behind the counter passed through the window. Aster’s calf muscles flexed, revealing her obvious athleticism.

Reese could see himself asking Aster for a date under other circumstances. She was cute. Her nose was slightly upturned with a dusting of freckles, and her eyes were a golden brown, full of warmth and wonder. But her attitude was anything but warm. In fact, she was quite rude.

“Perhaps you might show us around?” Henry pressed. “Show us the local hot spots?”

Leah’s smile widened. “We’d love—”

“Sorry, we can’t,” Aster snapped. “Remember, girls only. Let’s go, Leah. Daisy.” She headed down the outer side of the queue. “Nice meeting you guys.”

Reese doubted it had been anything close to pleasant for her.

Leah frowned at Aster’s retreat. “All right,” she said, and gazed up at Henry, a pout on her full lips. “Will you all be around later?”

“Possibly,” Henry said.

“No,” Reese said at the same time and added, “We should find Jan and Lars.”

Aster rushed back and tugged on Leah’s arm. “Come on, already.”

“Bye, enjoy the boardwalk.” Leah frowned as Aster coaxed her away. “Stop pulling on me,” she muttered.

Daisy didn’t say anything. She merely shuffled after them.

Reese watched as the girls disappeared into the crowd. Leah glanced back several times, Daisy a few, but Aster hadn’t, not once. He wondered about that. Was she trying not to or was she really disinterested in him? There was a moment. He was confident she felt something, just as he had. What was he doing? She wasn’t his type, surely. He had his pick of the girls, usually. There was something special about Aster, certainly. But he didn’t have the time or energy to pursue his feelings. If he even knew what they were.

“Where have you vagrants been?” Jan wedged between Henry and Reese, four identification cards fanned between his fingers. “We are in business, as Jack said. New York driver’s licenses.”

Henry snatched them from Jan’s hand. “That was swift.”

“He has a machine hidden in his booth,” Lars said.

“Brilliant,” Henry said, handing out the licenses. “Now, where’s the nearest pub? Preferably one with eager birds.”

Jan turned back in the direction from which he and Lars had come. “We passed one earlier. It’s just a ways back.”

Reese took his fake card from Henry. “Marvelous. Let’s get pissed.”