Edan poured water into the cups and used his hands to warm them. “I’m losing my patience. We should already be in Terra and...” he stopped talking.
“You’re wondering what’s going to happen if we have trouble at this door too?” she guessed and Edan agreed. “Don’t stress about it. If nothing happens then cool, if it does, then we’ll deal with it the same way we’ve dealt everything else. Together.”
Edan smiled.
“Feeling calmer?”
“Surprisingly, yes.” He dipped teabags into the cups.
“What can I say? I’m pretty good at calming deadly situations.”
Edan laughed. “That superpower would’ve been useful to Donovan back when I was eighteen.” He gave her one of the cups. “We had a major issue.”
“Too bad.” She grabbed the cup and had a sip. “When I was fifteen I was…” she stopped cold. With the principal’s son. Gaia took a deep breath, and she covered her mouth to muffle her gasp. Crap!
“What?”
“I cheated on you,” she gasped at her realization.
“You what?” Edan had heard her perfectly but he couldn’t understand what she was talking about.
“We’ve been a match since I was six,” she explained. “But when I was fifteen I kissed the principal’s son. I mean… it wasn’t a kiss-kiss, and it lasted for like a minute and a stray dog ended up attacking him.” She kept talking, getting more stressed by the second. “But still, I kissed him, and I kissed someone out of a pact.” She left the tea on a table next to the couch. “All that and we were a match.” Edan pursed his lips in a thin line so Gaia couldn’t tell he was laughing. Tragically for him, she did. “Are you… laughing?” Her mouth fell open. She was there spilling her heart out in her damn pajamas to the man she adored and he was… laughing? “I’m sorry,” she said, her expression changing to an irritated frown. “Is cheating funny to you?”
“Forgive me, Red.” He tried his best to stop smiling. He really tried. “I don’t think cheating is funny. Also, what you did wasn’t cheating.” He sat next to her.
“I—” she began to complain before Edan stopped her by placing his finger on her lips.
“Come here.” He opened his arms and sat her between his legs. “You had your memory erased, Red. You didn’t even remember your name, much less your match.”
“I should’ve, shouldn’t I?” She traced the length of Edan’s arm with her index finger. “I mean, even if I didn’t remember your name I should’ve felt the connection.”
“You did,” he said, leaning his head against hers. “Just not the way you think.”
“How then?”
“For starters the dog didn’t attack the dean’s son, you did.” He caressed her arm. “There are three main reasons why a dog attacks: either he feels threatened, which he didn’t; he has rabies, which I hope he didn’t; or he was defending his owner. And Red, you weren’t his owner,” he said, feeling Gaia relax a little. “The dog was acting on your thoughts. He knew you were uncomfortable and attacked on your behalf.”
“What about finding other guys cute?”
“That’s why no one declares their match before their teen years.” Edan kissed her forehead. “You never had a boyfriend because you never liked anyone enough to date. They all felt like something was off or missing within them. You confused the indifference our match connection gives towards other men and women to the indifference someone feels with a boring person,” he said, and she nodded, surprised at how accurate that was. “Besides, knowing someone is attractive doesn’t mean that you like them. Teens tend to confuse that, a lot.”
“So we’re okay?” she asked, feeling much more relaxed.
“You tell me, did they make you feel like this?” He hugged her.
“No. Never.”
He took her by the cheek. She could see in his eyes he wanted to kiss her. His eyes stuck on her lips, slightly parted. He pulled her closer to him, and holding her by the nape of her head, he kissed her. “What about this?” he asked between small kisses.
“No. Absolutely never.”
“Then stop stressing. We are OK.”
“Good.” She kissed his arm.
Almost instantly, as the anxiety and the memory of her nightmare faded, Gaia dozed off.
Unable to wake her up, Edan carried her to his bed. He took the blanket and covered her like he did back at the first camp and many other times during their childhood. He then lay down behind Gaia and cradled her between his arms. “Night, Red,” he whispered, and kissed the top of her head before falling asleep.
* * *
Priyam guided everyone inside the airport. As soon as they walked in Gaia knew that the trip would be anything but easy. There wasn’t anyone who didn’t turn to look at the group she was with.
Between Willow’s beautiful freckled face, Shui’s delicate features with blue hair, the twins looking and behaving like teen rock stars, Veter’s height, Donovan’s charms, and Edan’s presence they had no chance of passing undetected by the entire airport. The Six and Edan looked completely out of their element. If it wasn’t for the fact that they needed to blend in, Gaia would’ve been laughing so hard at them.
Wind wielders tended to be more comfortable in colder weather than warmer ones. Sadly for Veter, Priyam forbid him from wearing one of his half-opened shirts with a leather vest inside the airport. He felt suffocated with one of Donovan’s regular T-shirts, which looked crazy fitted on his body. “You should stop wearing clothes this tight,” he complained as he ripped off both sleeves and a piece of the neck with his hands.
“They aren’t tight.” Donovan stretched his arms up to show him how perfectly his gray T-shirt fit him. “You’re just fucking enormous.”
“Donovan!” Gaia and Icarus scolded him at the same time.
“What? I haven’t had breakfast.” He rubbed his six-pack. “Everyone is my enemy right now.” He pointed at Gaia and Icarus. “Even you two.”
“Enough with the fighting.” Priyam jumped between them. “Why are you guys acting so damn weird? Giant, don’t rip off your clothes in front of everyone! They’ll think you’re nuts. And you!” She turned to Donovan. “Stop being everyone’s enemy. Once we get to the damn gate, we’ll find you a muffin or something.”
“Wow…” Floyd enjoyed seeing bossy Priyam. “They call her ‘Priyam the mama bear’,” he whispered to Pink, who was also impressed.
“For now. That’s the line we need to be in.” Priyam pointed at the beginning of their respective airline. “See up there how it says Cancún, Quintana Roo? When they ask final destination say Playa del Carmen and give them this address.” She passed each one of the teams a pamphlet of the hotel. “Keep your passports in your hand.”
“NEXT!” the lady from the booth screamed and The Six tensed. “It will be fine,” Priyam calmed them down. “Follow the instructions I gave you and we’ll be done before you know it. We’ll go first. Pay attention and try to do the same things we do.”
“Hello, welcome to Sunny Planes,” greeted the tanned lady from the booth. “May I have your passport and confirmation number?”
“Sure.” Priyam gave her the passport.
“What’s your final destination?” the lady asked while typing Priyam’s data on the computer.
“Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo.”
“Here’s your boarding pass.” The lady circled with a red pen where the gate number was. “Please try to be at least half an hour before the departing time.”
“Thank you.” Priyam took her stuff and smiled at the rest to show them how easy it was.
The lady waved at the line. Same as with Priyam; Willow, Hunter, the twins, Gaia and Synthia passed with no problem.
“Next!” the lady screamed once she was done with Gaia’s plane ticket.
Donovan walked to the booth and placed his passport in front of the lady before she could ask for it.
“Welcome to Sunny Planes.” The lady grabbed the passport from the booth. “Wher
e’re you going today?”
“Guess… Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo,” he answered, bored of having to hear the same questions over and over again.
The lady stopped typing. She scratched her thin eyebrow before looking at Gaia and the rest. “Are you all going together?”
“Yes.”
“What are you going there for?” the lady asked in a condescending tone.
Irritated by the lady and the lack of breakfast, Donovan crossed his arms and glared at her. “Why do you care?”
Her thin eyebrows lifted in two small arcs. “What did you just say?”
Priyam gasped in horror. She had no idea what was worse, Donovan’s response or the mediocre attempt of Pink, Floyd and Veter to hide their laughter.
Saving the situation, Edan dashed to the booth. “There you are.” He gave the lady his passport, followed by an unusual charming smile. “Sorry, my half-brother gets cranky whenever he skips a meal.”
“It’s alright.” The lady acted all girly fascinated by Edan’s piercing green eyes. “My sister’s the same.” She typed a few words. “I noticed your whole group has the entire first-class section. Would you like for me to put your seat together with your brother?”
“No,” Donovan scoffed.
“Yes, please.” Edan gave Donovan a push to the exit. “Look bro, they are calling you over there. I’ll handle this.”
Flustered by Edan’s presence, the lady combed one of the strands of her golden hair back to its place. “Here are your tickets.” She circled the gate just like she did with all the other tickets, only this time she did it slower. “Hope you enjoy your stay at Playa del Carmen and have a safe flight.” She returned their passports and the tickets.
“Thank you.” Edan waved goodbye. While the lady swooned over Edan, he reached Priyam and gave her all the tickets. “There you go, mama bear.”
“Thanks.” Priyam relaxed.
“Next! Passport?” the lady asked after managing to take her eyes away from Edan’s back.
“Hello.” Veter passed his passport to the lady. She took it with her bony fingers and lifted it up to inspect it. “Yes, that man in the picture is me,” Veter confirmed. “It’s real. I assure you,” he laughed, and Priyam’s jaw fell open.
“We are doomed,” Priyam cried, while Gaia patted her back.
The lady inspected the passport and then Veter. She noticed how besides his strange humor, he gave the same vibe as the rest of the group she just gave tickets to. “I assume you are also going to Playa del Carmen?”
“How’d you know?” He moved closer to the lady. “Who sent you?”
Shui laughed and pulled him backwards. “He gets nervous whenever he travels.”
Unsure of what to think about the group, the lady printed Veter’s ticket and placed it inside his passport. She then handed them to him. “Can I see your wife’s passport?”
“My wife.” He grinned, pleased, at Shui. “Has a nice ring, doesn’t it, wife?”
“Apologies, we’re newlyweds.” Shui stepped forward to the airline booth. “He gets really excited every time someone reminds him.” She took out her passport and passed it to the now-frowning lady. “Here’s my passport. Anything else?”
“Make sure your husband doesn’t drink before getting on the plane.” She passed Shui the tickets.
“He won’t.” She took her documents and dragged Veter to where the rest were waiting.
“See? Not so bad.” Gaia hoped to sound convincing, cheering up her friend as they all walked to the security point.
“Not so bad? They’re terrible!” Priyam panicked. She used her passport and ticket as a fan. “What are we going to do on the other side when we have to go through customs?”
“I have no idea.”
“I do, they’ll kill us all,” Priyam snapped.
“Relax.” Gaia put her bag inside the X-ray machine. “Sorry buddy, I’ll see you as soon as we cross.” She placed Icarus in a Chihuahua cage and gave it to the officer in front of her. “Here’s its paperwork.” She waved Icarus goodbye and returned her attention to Priyam. “We still have all the flight to think about that. What worries me the most is…” she got closer. “What are we going to do with the twins’ weapons?”
“They are shipping them a different way.” Priyam shoved her coat on top of her computer and pushed the trays to the machine. She waited for the officer to give her the ‘you can pass now’ signal. “Make sure all your pockets are empty,” Priyam said to the back of the line. “Specifically you Floyd.” She saw the twin taking dozens of pebbles, pieces of gum, pens, candy, potpourri bags, and other shenanigans out of his multiple pockets.
Priyam passed the metal inspector and picked up her things with Gaia. “Can they even do that?” asked Gaia. “Ship ‘you know what’ to ‘you know where’?”
“What I gathered from their conversation, yes,” she said, wondering why Floyd would have potpourri in his pants. “Lorenzo is taking care of that.”
“Astoundingly, everyone passed.” Edan hung his bag across his chest. “What’s next Priyam?”
“Let’s go find the gate, then we can eat in a nearby restaurant. Donovan desperately needs food. We desperately need to feed him.”
Ten minutes later, after finding the gate, Edan and the rest searched the area for a restaurant.
“Twenty-five wings for ten dollars?” Pink exclaimed. Her light-blue eyes opened wide in awe. “I believe we found our restaurant.”
“Fucking chicken wings?” Donovan complained.
“Don’t worry, grumpy beast.” Pink pushed him from the back, having the perfect view of the sections of Donovan’s eagle tattoo that weren’t covered by his T-shirt. “They have twenty different salads to choose from.” She stopped a few feet from the male host. “G’day, table for…” Pink turned around to count but she found them to be too much. “Me and everyone behind me.”
The male host grabbed a bunch of menus. “Follow me please.” He guided them to a table in the very back of the restaurant. “Your waitress will be here in a minute.”
“Thank you.”
“Not hungry, G.” Priyam passed the menu to Gaia and stood up. “I’ll be right back,” she yelled almost outside of the restaurant.
Edan placed the menu down. “Where is she going?”
“To get some books.” Gaia checked out the dessert section. There were so many she couldn’t decide if she wanted regular food or a triple chocolate cake and a lemon pie. “I saw her checking out the bookstore on our way here,” she said, mulling over her delicious options.
“I’ll go with her.” Floyd jumped out of his chair. “I need some snacks.”
Willow closed her menu. “You’re in a restaurant.”
“He prefers snacks,” Pink pointed out while looking for the waitress.
“Who wants something?” Floyd asked the rest of the group.
“Nuts,” said Donovan. “Take this little man before someone sees him and kicks us out.”
“Icarus… is coming with me?” Floyd asked with a shaky voice. It was too late. Icarus climbed his petrified legs up to one of his jacket pockets. Floyd arched his arm to keep his elbow far away from the pocket.
“Pay with this.” Edan took out a roll of bills.
“Mine.” Synthia snatched the bills and left the restaurant to do some shopping.
Unaffected, Edan took out another roll of bills. “Don’t be late.” He threw the roll to Floyd.
He waved goodbye, exiting the restaurant, making sure his elbow never came in contact with the pocket where Icarus was hidden. “Thanks, Dad!”
Edan twitched at the word. Noticing it, Gaia hugged his arm. “They grow up so fast,” she teased him.
“Fast?” Edan glared at the group. “They’re about to turn eighteen and somehow they continue to behave like children.”
“Good morning, my name is Elizabeth and I will be your waitress.” She took out a notepad with a bright-green pen. “Do you guys know what you want?”
“French fries and a triple chocolate cake.” Gaia passed the menu to the friendly waitress.
“Anything else?”
“Nope.” Gaia turned to Edan. “You?”
“Spinach dip, lemon pie and lemonade,” he ordered, and the waitress kept asking the rest of the group.
“Lemon pie?” Gaia frowned.
“I could tell you were indecisive about the cake and the pie.” He grinned. “This way you can have both.”
* * *
Floyd arrived with a massive bag full of candies and snacks to the bookstore where Priyam was checking out the new-release section. He noticed she had two books in her hands and another one resting on the counter.
“I’m pretty sure no one told you, Snowflake,” Floyd tapped with his finger on the cover of one of the books Priyam was carrying, “we’re not going to stay for two years in Mexico.”
“Please, these are for the plane and the bus that will take us to Terra’s door.” She pointed at the bag of groceries. “What about you? I’m pretty sure they’ll serve food on the plane.”
“Plane? This is for the gate.” Floyd’s laughter transformed into anxious shivers due to Icarus crawling down his leg towards Priyam.
“Icarus!” Priyam left the books on the counter to pick him up. “Come here.”
“I still don’t get how they let it pass.” Floyd shivered. “Please keep that creature hidden.”
“We got a permit. You know, the power of many diamonds.” Priyam tickled Icarus’ little furry stomach. “I can’t believe you are scared of Icarus. He’s adorable.”
“He’s strange.” Floyd cringed.
“How can you be scared of this cutie when you come from the deadliest country ever?”
“Easy, we don’t have squirrels.” He sat on a pile of books frowning at Priyam’s quizzical smile. “I’m serious. We don’t have squirrels.”
“Are you telling me you have nine of the ten deadliest species in the world but you don’t have squirrels?”
“The deadly ones probably ate them.” He grinned. “Aren’t we lucky?”
“No. I love squirrels.” Priyam carried her books.
Seasons Within Box Set Page 53