"It's not stupid," Adam said softly. "But I'm not sure what your theory is ... How does this have anything to do with leaving 2009?"

"Well ... Holly was breathing and I didn't want to see her ... stop. And that's probably why I'm stuck here ... why I can't go back."

His forehead wrinkled. "I'm still not getting it."

"Karma. Punishment ... for leaving." I picked at the slice of turkey in front of me, keeping my eyes on the table. "But if I could do it over-"

He waved his hand to stop me. "No, it's cool. I just needed to wrap my head around your theory."

"I'm sure that's the reason. People shouldn't get a second chance to do the right thing. And karma is probably going to keep kicking my a.s.s, and Holly's never going to want anything to do with me. Like last night."

"Yeah, you completely bombed." He busied himself making a sandwich.

"I was such an idiot. And she's got guys like Toby asking her out all the time."

"Well, guys don't ask her out often. She doesn't give off that vibe. That's how it works. And Toby isn't capable of looking at a girl without having some kind of s.e.xual fantasy." He crammed the corner of the sandwich into his mouth. "Seriously, he's very open about what goes on inside his head and I don't think he knows how to do the whole 'friend thing' with a girl. So, he flirts instead. Besides, he knows she'll say no."

I rested my head in my hands, trying to get some grasp on the idea of this day ... of this year ... as my new life. When would I ever stop wanting to be somewhere ... somewhen else? And what was less selfish-staying here or continuing on with more attempts to get back? And could I even save Holly if I did?

"You don't have to answer any more questions right now. I'm sure this is hard for you," Adam said, breaking me from my thoughts.

I lifted my head and smiled at him. "Honestly, you can ask me everything on that list. It's been forever since I could actually talk to someone like this. No lies or cover stories."

He tried to hide the excitement on his face, but I wasn't fooled. Maybe it wouldn't be fun and games like it had been in 2009 ... but at least I wasn't alone.

"I think we can be absolutely sure of one thing," Adam said after sliding the notes back in front of him again.

"What's that?"

"You have definitely changed your home base, but I don't know how the h.e.l.l you managed that."

"Besides hopping over to another universe." I grinned at him. "Knowing you, you won't give up until you find out."

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN.

SAt.u.r.dAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2007, 8:00 A.M.

I got to the gym around eight to get my cleaning done early so I could help Holly with the parties. I thought it might make a nice peace offering, since she hated me now. When I opened the door, the lights were already on and two people were in the gym: Holly and Toby.

She was swinging around the bars, with Toby standing on a block underneath her.

So this is the sweating and touching he mentioned yesterday.

Toby gave her a push on one of her swings and I nearly had a heart attack when she let go of the bar and flipped twice in the air before landing with a loud thud on the blue mats.

"Nice!" Toby said.

"That was pretty freaky," I said.

Both of them jumped, and then relaxed when they saw it was me, but Holly's face tightened immediately.

d.a.m.n, she's still mad.

Holly took off for the locker room to change. I gathered my supplies and started cleaning the front windows. After a while, Toby strolled over.

"I guess she's still p.i.s.sed off," he said.

My stomach twisted with grief, but I forced a grin. "You're probably psyched."

He laughed and picked up an extra rag to clean a smudge on the window next to me. "Maybe, but I'm not going to fall apart because Holly Flynn turned me down for a date."

"Sure, you won't," I said.

"Seriously, she's just fun to tease. Don't get me wrong. Holly's really cool. But a girl like that is a little more than I can handle."

"What do you mean?"

"Too smart-I couldn't pull any s.h.i.t with her. She'd see right through me." He paused in his window-cleaning and tilted his head to one side. "I'd make out with her, though."

"So, why isn't Holly on the team, like you and Jana?" I asked. "She seems really good."

"She hasn't competed in three years, since she moved from Indiana. I think it's injuries and maybe a money thing."

"Money?"

"She's not in the poorhouse or anything. But it's an expensive sport."

"Is she good enough to compete?"

"Yeah, that girl's got more talent than anyone on our team. She'd never believe me, though, which is why I'd never tell her."

"She'll just think you're trying to hook up with her."

He laughed. "Well, at least I'm not the professional player. Besides, I just met this chick last night at my friend's party. She's mega-hot and a total airhead."

"Exactly your type, right?"

"Yeah, but only if the flakiness is genuine. Not that pretend-I'm-stupid s.h.i.t. You know it's going to bite you in the a.s.s later. Besides, I love messing with people who just don't get it."

I had to stop myself from telling Toby how lame his dating philosophy was. "She sounds like a blast."

Both of us stopped talking when we saw Holly come out of the locker room wearing her staff shirt and tan shorts. Her hair was wet and braided. On the front of her shirt she had pinned a giant b.u.t.ton that said PARTY HOST.

I followed her to the party room. She was placing cups on the table in front of each chair. I grabbed a stack of plates and walked behind her, setting them next to each cup. She ignored me for several minutes, then finally stopped and turned to face me.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm just helping. You're obviously p.i.s.sed off and I'm trying to smooth things over."

She put her hands on her hips. "Why?"

I tried to respond, but my tongue twisted, holding back words I couldn't say. What would my Holly have told me to do?

Jackson, quit being a chickens.h.i.t and outsmart me.

"I'll tell you why if you tell me why you're mad."

She went back to setting the table with brightly colored spoons and forks. "I'm not mad ... just not interested."

Ouch. "Why not?"

"Because I know your type."

"Which is?"

She grabbed a roll of string and a pair of scissors and started cutting long strips to tie on the ends of the balloons. "You know ... the type that's all charming just to get in a girl's pants."

I attempted to look angry. "First you a.s.sume I want to go out with you, and now you're a.s.suming I want to get in your pants."

Which I do and have.

She blushed again, just like last night. "No, that's not what I meant..."

"If you're so sure, then tell me five things you know about me," I said.

"You work here, that's one."

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, what else?"

"You've read A Tale of Two Cities and know how to waltz, despite being a high school dropout from Jersey."

"Someone is very judgmental. Admit you don't know enough about me to make an accurate a.s.sumption regarding my alleged player status."

"And what do you suppose we do about it?"

"You owe me dinner."

"Fine, five o'clock. I'm driving and we're eating Thai food," she said.

"Sounds good."

The last party was out by five o'clock, and at quarter to six Holly was waiting at the door for me, wearing a denim skirt and a blue top. Her hair hung down and the ends were curled.

"You look nice," I said.

She shrugged. "I went home to change while you were fixing that broken showerhead in the men's locker room."

After turning off the lights and doing a final walk-through, I locked the doors to the gym and followed her to her car.

She had about a dozen library books stacked on the pa.s.senger seat. I moved them carefully to the back. "This car is awesome."

"It's a beat-up fifteen-year-old Honda and the air-conditioning never works."

"Cla.s.sics are great."

We were both quiet the rest of the ride, but she turned to me in front of the restaurant and cut the engine. "Just so you know, I'm not allowed to date. Not that this is a date ... but to my mother, it will seem that way. So I invited a few friends."

"Chaperones?"

"Exactly."

"Who did you invite?"

"David and Adam. You met them yesterday." I nodded. "And Jana."

"Great."

Right before we walked into the restaurant, she spun around and was just inches from my face. "I decided you were right. I was way too quick to judge you."

"Are you apologizing?"

"No, but I'm giving you an opportunity to prove me wrong. Not because I think you need to impress me, but just to protect your reputation."

I shrugged. "Whatever."

She smiled. "Great, then I'm sure you won't mind answering a few questions over dinner. Like you said, I couldn't name five things I knew about you."

"Okay," I said, unable to hide the growing nerves in my voice.

"And, Jackson?"

"Yes."

"This won't be easy."

My heart was already pounding. Holly was a very hard girl to lie to. I would know. I did it more times than I could count.

"What do your parents do?" she asked me as soon as we sat down at our table.

"My dad works at a school in Manhattan."