Something Like Lightning Read Free Page B

“That’s correct.”
    “So then why does it matter?” Kelly pressed. “If people can take photos of them at home, it’s not like there’s some big secret worth protecting. You can probably find hundreds of photos of these things on eBay right now.”
    The man dropped his hand and glanced around helplessly. Then another idea must have occurred to him, because he stood up straight and sniffed. “You can’t take photos of the store,” he said. “Company policy.”
    Kelly snorted. “Trying to stop your competitors from stealing your amazing marketing secrets?”
    “Like putting sale items by the entrance,” Jared said. “To lure in customers.”
    “Or how the cartoons playing at the back of the store get kids in the rest of the way, dragging their parents along with them.”
    “Or the impulse items near the cash register,” Jared said.
    Kelly nudged him playfully. “Gosh, no one has ever thought of that before!”
    The man glanced between them, his face turning red. Finally he sputtered, “Do I need to call security?”
    “Don’t bother,” Kelly said. “We were just leaving.”
    Before they went, he took one more photo, this time of the man’s blood-flushed face.
    “I had no idea how much fun that camera could be,” Jared said as they continued walking down the mall corridor. “It’s annoying when you point it at me, but I never realized it would piss other people off. Let me try!”
    “No way,” Kelly said. “It’s expensive. Besides, that guy was a big enough asshole to actually call security. Let’s go before they show up and make me delete my photos.”
    They arrived safely at the car without incident, which was almost disappointing. Then they grabbed some fast food from a drive-through and cruised around Austin as the sun set, not having a destination in mind and not caring. Being free was enough. No parents, no school. No rules except for traffic laws, and Kelly broke most of those at one point or another. As long as the car was in motion, they were free. Jared was DJ, choosing songs from the MP3 player connected to the car stereo. Occasionally, when some random thought occurred to him, he would turn it down and they would talk.
    In other words, the perfect night. On Monday when he was back at school, other people would no doubt brag about a big weekend party or whatever. Kelly would simply say that he and Jared drove around, but that didn’t communicate just how amazing a time this was. Hanging out together felt good. Simple as that. From the frequent grins Jared flashed him, he felt the same way.
    So maybe there was no chance of them getting physical, but surely this was the reason Jared was single. No girl could offer him companionship like Kelly could. Aside from sexual frustration, Jared probably didn’t feel he was missing much of anything. Kelly sure didn’t. Sex together would be awesome, but they already had everything else.
    The contents of the gas tank dwindled to fumes as the night wore on. Neither of them had cash for a refill, so they drove back to Kelly’s house. Hopefully one of his parents would take the car out on an errand in the morning and fill it up again. Otherwise he’d be pushing it anywhere he wanted to go.
    Once upstairs in Kelly’s room, they watched TV, the queen-sized bed doubling as a couch. After catching the second half of an instantly forgettable action movie, they shut it off. Jared flopped onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. Kelly sat cross-legged and watched him, resisting the urge to grab his camera. The sole illumination came from the off-white Christmas lights he’d hung in one corner. The shadows cast across Jared’s face made him appear much more introspective than usual, but when he spoke, his words didn’t suit the moody scene.
    “I wish I was the fastest man alive.”
    Kelly chuckled. “Why?”
    “Because I need to win that race.”
    “The triathlon?” Kelly shook his head. “Why are you so