Disclaimer: I do not own The Riddles of Epsilon.

Thank you to those who reviewed. I am sincerely sorry about the long wait, but I have been SO busy with learning French and Geometry and all that evil stuff. Anyway, I am not exactly sure how old Jess was in the book, but for my own amusement, I am making her 16.

Mrs. Shilling was clinging to the arm of a brown-haired boy that seemed to be about seventeen, and was doing a wonderful job at concealing any disgust he may have felt at being so close to the smelly little woman. He had grayish green eyes that were partly covered by his shaggy hair. He wore stylish jeans (thankfully they were not the baggy kind) and a loose fitting, white, button-up shirt with the top two buttons undone.

This was the 'sweet little boy' that Mrs. Shilling had promised to introduce to the family. He was new on the island; he had just arrived a week ago with his parents. And all the now sixteen-year-old Jess could do was stare at him.

The young man had opened his mouth to say something, but Mrs. Shilling beat him to it by saying, "This is James Dove, the one I was telling you about."

Well, you sure missed a few facts, like: he isn't a 'little boy', he's seventeen, he's hot, he's unbelievably handsome, oh, and he is gorgeous! Jess thought.

Mrs. Shilling looked appalled, her mother was shocked, as was her father, and Mr. James Dove looked like he was trying not to laugh and was having trouble keeping his surprised face on. What were their problems?

Mrs. Shilling recovered first. "That is Jess."

James Dove was still trying to conceal his smirk. "Pleasure to meet you," he said, shaking her hand. This show of manners, of course, brought the adults back to their senses and they all exclaimed about how polite he was.

After the introductions and bits of idle chattering, (How is school? Strait A's? Oh, you PERFECT boy! Can I KEEP you? … Just kidding…) Jess found herself outside with James, fully expected to give him the tour of the town.

As she led him away from the house, she watched him in what she hoped was a secret way. He was smiling very slightly and was watching the wisps of clouds drift and reform. "So…" he started in his deep, strong voice that made her legs turn to jelly. "Hot, handsome, and gorgeous, huh? I hope you were talking about me and not dear Mrs. Shilling," he added, turning his head to wink at her.

Jess froze. No… She couldn't have… Ok, Jess, be cool, she told herself. "Definitely about you," she said with a giggle… Wait… she didn't giggle. What was wrong with her?!

Then James Dove laughed, and Jess, who had continued walking, nearly stopped again. When he had become quiet again, he eyed the town wearily.

"You don't really want to go in there, do you?"

James turned to her and studied her. "Not particularly. Not much of a people person."

Jess was surprised. "Really? You sure didn't show it in with my parents."

"You don't have to like talking to people to know how to deal with them," James replied.

The way he said it didn't sound right. He wasn't smiling anymore and he seemed to be concentrating on something in the distance. "Well…"

He suddenly turned to her and grinned. "How 'bout you show me some place out where people don't normally go? You know, some place away from the town."

Jess was a bit confused, but the request and the begging eyes that came with it brought an immediate response. "Yeah… Follow me."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

When they had moved stealthily back past Jess' house, she had decided not to take him to the cabin so soon as was her original plan. She had realized he might take it wrong. That, and she didn't know if Epsilon would like it if she brought a stranger there. So she just took him halfway, to the stone seat, where he sat.

"This is nice," he said. Jess couldn't help but feel that he knew there was more.

"Yeah… I like it up here," was her response.

James moved so half the seat was empty and motioned for Jess to sit, which she did. They were squashed together and he put his arm around her. "Now it's more than nice," he said, his voice almost teasing.

Jess let out a scoff, but laughed anyway. "I suppose you've met the rest of the town by now?" Jess questioned.

"Yes, but no one gave me a better welcome than you," he joked, chuckling quietly.

Jess blushed.

The two of them sat there for about half an hour, talking about random things (James was from California, loved the Lord of the Rings movies, ate chocolate every chance he got, and was not-so-secretly an obsessive reader.) before he stood and stretched.

"As much as I'd love to sit and talk some more, my mom will be worrying. I went out this morning for some fresh air and ended up being scooped up by Mrs. Shilling," he explained, sounding slightly embarrassed.

"Oh, well, yeah. And my parents are probably wondering if I'm ever coming back, I mean, how much is there to show in this place?"

He laughed and said, "You know, I think I can find my way back myself, so you can just stay here if you want to."

What did that mean? Had she said something wrong? She studied his face for some answers. Hmm… Maybe he was just being thoughtful? "You sure?" she asked, not wanting to seem desperate to be with him.

"Yeah. Have fun, Jess." He gave her one last brilliant smile and then turned and walked away.