The Kissing Deadline (23 page)

Sierra’s brother Parker ambled over. “Oh.
That one’s Cassie. I'd kiss her.”

Sierra rolled her eyes.

He started toward Cassie, but Sierra grabbed
his arm. “You had your shot.” She maneuvered past him and grabbed
Cassie, tugging her away from Ryan. “Come on, you won.” She shoved
Cassie up onto the platform.

Great.
Audience of five hundred,
check out my birthday shirt.
Cassie scanned the crowd, too
happy to really feel embarrassed. From this vantage point, she saw
that a second table had been shoved close to hers. It included more
of the cast and crew from the play.

Paige popped one of the maraschino cherries
into her mouth. Seconds later she plucked out the stem. It was tied
into a knot. She twirled it, and the guy next to her appeared
fascinated with the trick, Cassie realized what she was supposed to
do with those cherries—intrigue some guy.

Coach Ameen handed Cassie a slip of paper.
“The Spring Fling King owes you one.”

The flash of light from Paige’s camera was
followed by dimming lights.

“Last dance,” Antennae Guy said into a
microphone with a deep voice. He hugged his date as close as her
hoop skirt would allow.

The room got even darker. The disco ball
sparkled with the twinkle lights, and the strains of a romantic
ballad lured the remaining couples onto the dance floor.

Ryan beckoned Cassie with his crown and held
out his arms for her to jump from the platform. “Trust Fall.”

She shook her head. Ryan reached out and
jerked on her ankle. She fell into his arms, and he caught her. He
backed onto the dance floor and lowered her until she stood in a
position to dance with him.

Cassie blinked as a spotlight beamed down,
highlighting their dance. “Do you think pulling me off the stage
counted as my trusting you?” Her arms slid around his neck. It was
so romantic, and she barely noticed the whispers around them. She
breathed in his cologne and grinned. “You owe me a kiss.” She
touched the back of his hair.

“Anytime.” Ryan glanced at her table. “I
wondered if you’d show up with that David guy.”

“I didn’t think of him, but sure, he’s nice.
If I didn't have another date, I'd…”

Ryan pulled her closer. “You have another
date.” He kissed her.

“Good,” she said against his mouth. Nice. He
was
much more forceful than Yourgath.

Ryan tugged on the hem of her sweet sixteen
t-shirt. “Guess you don't need this anymore.” He raised it.

Cassie lifted her arms, giggling, and the
shirt slid clear--her new favorite shirt.

Ryan grazed his fingers across the orange
marks on her shoulder. He eyed the jagged x-mark on her gown. “What
happened?”

“It doesn't matter.”

Ryan kissed her again. Then he whispered, “Do
that thing again, like with the sugar.”

Cassie smiled and raised his hand toward her
mouth. Before it reached her lips a hand pulled at her arm, and she
met her friends’ smiling eyes.

“Over here, birthday girl.” Brooke motioned
for her.

Sierra waved.

Cassie grasped Ryan’s hand, towing him back
to their table.

All around them partiers were leaving the
dance, but not her friends. They stayed seated. A birthday cake
starred as the centerpiece of their table.

Sierra centered the cake, so the icing faced
her. Sixteen candles flamed brightly. “It’s after midnight. Blow
out your candles.”

“Wish carefully.”

Cassie leaned over the cake and blew. Sixteen
candles winked out. She grinned and leaned back in Ryan’s arms
while everyone sang. “Happy birthday!”

At the Sunday matinee performance, a student
walked across the stage and propped up a sign: ‘
The Dragon’s
Nest
: Act III, Continued,’ then he rolled out a waist-high
backdrop in the shape of a nest.

The Jeweler and Baker were strapped together
inside the nest. A large speckled dragon's egg nestled behind them.
The villagers rushed up.

“I'll use this dragon's egg in my wedding
cake.” Ryan jumped into the nest and stabbed his sword into the
egg. Slime oozed from the crack. Next, he yanked at the Baker and
Jewelers’ bonds, freeing them.

Outside the nest, the Poor Boy whispered to
the other villagers and handed out a long length of rope. They
sidled up to the nest.

Ryan lifted the Baker over the side to
freedom. She ran away. Then he assisted the Jeweler up and out of
the nest. She too made a quick getaway.

Seizing Cassie, the villagers shoved her to
the edge of the nest. They lifted her struggling, protesting, and
released her. Ryan caught Cassie before she landed.

Cassie smiled at Ryan in relief. He frowned
at her and shook his head.

The villagers ran in a circle around the
nest's perimeter. The rope swung out behind them as it rose over
the nest and wound around the couple, turning them into a human
maypole. Once Yourgath and Madrageen were secured to the giant
oozing egg, the villagers knotted off the rope.

“The dragon demands a sacrifice of true love.
If she has it, she will leave our village alone,” Larry told them
apologetically.

The villagers backed away from the nest while
Ryan struggled against the ropes.

“No dragon's breath burns hot enough to
scorch our love.”

“If all that remains of me is ash, then my
ashes will be happy for they are with yours,” Cassie replied.

Yourgath kissed Madrageen.

Amber, who Sierra liked to call
dragon’s
breath
, wore a fire-patterned unitard. She rolled out a curtain
that looked like a wall of flapping red flames in front of the
nest. Behind the curtain, stagehands pushed the nest into the
wings. Grey fabric ashes remained behind.

A large claw appeared from the wings. It held
out a bag overflowing with coins. The Poor Boy took it.

“I need them all,” Sierra the Dragon
said.

The Poor Boy turned to the villagers and
pointed. “Look over here, the dragon is leaving our village.”

The villagers rushed over. The claw extended
and scooped them up. Villagers screamed.

After hurrying back to the village shop with
his fist full of money, the Poor Boy barged in and surveyed the
empty shelves. There was nothing to buy. The bag dropped from his
hand and coins bounced on stage.

Off in the wings, the director addressed the
cast. “Okay, get ready for the ending,” she instructed, and handed
out props.

On stage, the Poor Boy went behind the
counter, grabbed a musket and rushed off set.

A cast member walked along the stage,
carrying a sign for the audience.

It read,
The Dragon’s Nest: Addendum
Courtesy of the Gun Club, One Month Later.

Poor Boy stood at the counter making a sale,
clad from head to toe in dragon-skin garb. On the wall behind him
rested the musket alongside a mounted and stuffed dragon's claw.
The shelves were stocked with dragon-skin capes, boots, belts, etc.
The daily special read,
DRAGON WINGS
and
DRAGON
STEW.

Curtain fall brought cheers and claps. While
Mom beamed with pride, Dad frowned. “It was awfully touchy for a
school production.”

“They were adorable,” Mom said.

“I thought those STOP flyers were touting
their morality. Why didn't they…”

“It's okay, dear.”

“He's the dude who dropped her on the stage
and got abandoned at the zoo. We had to feed him.” Spencer put his
fingers between his teeth and blew a loud appreciative whistle.
“I’m so joining the gun club.”

The cast emerged from behind the curtain and
bowed in unison. The audience shouted the loudest for Larry. Ryan
and Cassie held hands, egg goo dripped from their fingers and as
the curtain fell, he kissed her.

Epic Escape

The Accidental Movie Star

Do Over

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