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Carolina. The scent of the sea faded. The sound of the surf receded. Her arms floated effortlessly around Jeff’s neck, and a slow-melting fire flowed through her veins. She rose on tiptoe and gave herself to the kiss. To the sensations pulsing through her. His lips felt warm and strong, the kiss burning and fiery on her skin.
    When it ended, she could feel him trembling.She heard him take a deep breath as he leaned his forehead against hers. She could hardly breathe, and she was afraid to move, as if movement would shatter the magic world surrounding them like glass. “I didn’t think lightning could strike the same place twice,” he mumbled.
    She hadn’t thought so either. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. She wasn’t supposed to feel this way about him. But she did. Nothing had changed since the summer. He could rock her to the tips of her fingers and toes with a kiss. “It’s only chemistry,” she said. “I’ve heard about such things.”
    Jeff pulled away and looked deeply into her eyes. “It’s more than chemistry, and you know it.”
    Lacey felt overwhelmed by emotion. Suddenly she wanted to cry, to weep uncontrollably, and she didn’t know why. “No,” she insisted. “This kind of stuff happens only in romance novels.”
    “It’s because I’m sick, isn’t it?” he said flatly.
    His question so caught her off guard that she stammered, “I—I don’t k-know what—”
    Jeff stuck his hands in his pockets and stepped aside. A wave splashed over the tops of Lacey’s shoes, soaking her feet and leaving them chilled. “I know the signs because it’s happened to me before,” Jeff said. “I like a girl and then she finds out I’m a bleeder. Instant turnoff. But you knew from the beginning, Lacey, so I thought it didn’t matter to you. But it does matter, doesn’t it?”
    She went hot and cold all over. It was as if he’d shone a light into some secret part of her heart and something dark and ugly had crawled out. She
had
rejected Jeff because she didn’t want a sick boyfriend. She’d said as much to Katie at Jenny House. “It’s any sickness, Jeff. It’s mine too. I hate it all. I know it’s not your fault, but it’s not mine either.”
    “I’ll bet no one at your school knows you’re a diabetic.”
    She said nothing.
    “I’m right, aren’t I?”
    “It’s none of your business.”
    “You know, Lacey, you’re the person who won’t accept that you have a disease. Why is that?”
    She whirled on him. “How can you ask me that when you’ve just admitted that girls drop you once they discover you’re a bleeder? You of all people should understand why I keep my little secret.”
    “I don’t like being a hemophiliac, but it’s what I am. I can’t be responsible for girls who can’t handle it. Who can’t see past the illness and accept
me
. I do know that I have some pretty incredible friends who know about my problem and who care in spite of it. Give people a chance, Lacey. They just might pleasantly surprise you.”
    “I’m not that way,” she said. “I can’t go around telling people that I’m sick. I’m
not
sick. I manage my diabetes just fine.”
    “Get over it. If they’re really your friends, it won’t matter. And if it does matter, then they aren’t the kind of friends you need.”
    “I’m not going to stand here debating this with you. I’m handling my life just fine and I don’t need any pointers from you. I don’t want
anything
to mess things up for me this year.”
    “Such as me,” Jeff added with finality. “I get the picture.”
    Emotionally, she felt wrung out. Her blood sugar was high too, she could feel the semiqueasiness in her stomach and an ache in her head. Much too high. “I should have never taken this little walk with you, Jeff. Whenever we’re together, we end up fighting.”
Just like my parents
, she thought but didn’t voice.
    “I’ll walk you back to the house and see that you hook up with Mr. Wonderful.”
    “Todd’s