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just talking. He’s, uh . . . an old friend.” I was glad my voice didn’t squeak.
    Alden straightened to his full height. He didn’t appear frightened of Zak at all. “Yeah, we’ve known each other practically forever.”
    Zak’s fingers clenched into a fist on my shoulder.
    “It’s okay, Zak,” I assured him.
    “Like hell, it is.” Zak took a step toward Alden, who didn’t even blink. In fact, he smiled. Zak was no taller than Alden, but he was much larger, industrial strength. I cringed when I pictured the potential outcome if Zak went all tough-guy.
    I grabbed the back of his shirt. “No, Zak. Please. It’s my birthday.” I wrapped my arms around his waist, doing my best to convince him to let it go. “For me?” His muscles relaxed, and I dropped my arms from around him.
    Alden held his hand out. “I’m Alden Thomas.”
    Zak didn’t shake his hand, but pulled me to him instead. “I’m Zak Reynolds. Lenzi’s boyfriend.”
    Alden winked at me. “Yeah, I kinda picked up on that.”
    My phone rang. I wiggled loose from Zak’s possessive grip and pulled my cell out of my purse. It was Mom. “Hello?”
    Even through the bad connection, my mom’s anger came through loud and clear. “I’ve crossed the causeway and I’m on Broadway. Where in the cemetery are you, Lenzi?”
    “I’m at the gate near the corner of Fortieth and Broadway.”
    My mom disconnected the call. She was in total Momzilla mode. This was going to be bad. I shoved my phone back into my purse.
    “She’s almost here,” I said, walking toward the gate.
    “You called your mom to come get you? Why didn’t you just wake me up, Lenzi?”
    I stopped and turned to face Zak. “I tried.”
    He strode over and placed his hands on my shoulders. There was none of the electric current I felt when Alden touched me, only weight. “I’m sorry, babe. Really. Just call her back and tell her I’ll take you home.”
    I crossed my arms. “No, Zak. I’m not getting in a car with you. You can ride with Mom and me, or we can follow you to make sure you get home okay.”
    He looked over his shoulder at Alden, who cocked an eyebrow.
    His grip tightened on my shoulders almost to the point of pain. “I’m fine to drive. And I don’t need your mom to follow me like I’m some baby who can’t find my way home.” He pushed me away. “I’m outta here.” He staggered to the gate, awkwardly scaled it, and landed with a thud on his feet on the other side, catching the bars for balance. He made it to his car, and after cranking the engine several times before it started, pulled away from the curb.
    I rubbed my shoulders where Zak had grabbed me and watched him round the corner at the end of the block. He’d told me he had a bad temper, but this was the first time I’d really seen it.
    “Well. He’s quite the catch,” Alden said.
    I stomped past him and snatched Zak’s guitar case handle, jerking it from the pavement where he’d dropped it.
    Alden followed me to the gate. “Please let me show you. If you don’t believe me after we soul-share, I’ll leave you alone forever.”
    I shoved both guitars through and grabbed the iron bars. “Forget it.” I struggled awkwardly over the gate, tearing the seat of my jeans on one of the pointy finials at the top. I shimmied to the ground and watched as Alden scaled the wall as if it were nothing, landing lightly beside me.
    Mom’s green minivan rounded the corner and came to an abrupt halt in front of us. I could only pick up one guitar at a time because I was covering the hole in my jeans with my free hand. Alden reached in front of me to open the sliding side door of the van and put Zak’s guitar in after I’d put Dad’s on the seat. Was he snickering? He opened the front passenger door for me, and I flopped into the seat.
    Mom leaned over to get a look at him, lowering the window as I slammed the door. “Who are you?”
    He leaned in through the window, too close for my comfort. He smelled