by Kim Cormack
Melody laid down beside her and chuckled, “Don’t give me that crap. You want him bad.”
Kayn smiled at her and admitted the truth she’d hidden from absolutely nobody, “I do, but every time something starts to happen between us, they stop it. He had me so turned on last night. I wanted to scream when he walked away. Hell, I did scream into my pillow.”
Melody started to laugh as she tried to play devils advocate, “Maybe, it’s not the right time or the right person?”
Kevin popped into her mind and she willed the thoughts of him away. She couldn’t ever think of him that way again. He was her enemy. That was over. They’d murdered each other. Murder was a deal breaker for any relationship. She understood why he’d killed her the first time but feeding her to those demons was just over excessively cruel. What was wrong with her? The people that they were before this life didn’t exist anymore. They’d died the second they’d been marked. They just hadn’t known it at the time.
“Who are you thinking about now? Is it Zach,” Melody asked.
Kayn laughed uncomfortably, “What? No. Never, that’s so gross!”
“Are you sure?” her friend prodded.
Kayn grinned and said, “One hundred percent. Why would you even bring that up?”
Melody smiled and whispered, “He kissed me a few nights ago, I mean really kissed me. Then he took off to take care of you and never brought it up again.”
“You actually like him, don’t you? I guess it’s true what they say…Water can break down a mountain given enough time,” Kayn chuckled.
“It’s not like that,” Mel whispered. “It’s not like he broke me down. He took me by surprise. He grabbed me and kissed me on the dance floor, until my knees were weak but since then, he’s been ignoring me completely. It’s messing with my head. Now, it’s all I can think about.”
That move sounded familiar. Frost must be giving Zach lessons on how to be a player. As soon as she got Frost alone she’d ask him about it. Kayn rested her head on the pillow and said, “I think that might be a good thing. You and Zach, I mean.”
Mel sighed, “I had no idea he was capable of that. He’s an incredible kisser.”
Kayn grimaced and smacked her on the arm.
“What was that for?” Mel laughed.
“I don’t need the mental picture,” Kayn groaned. “I have to be with him all of the damn time. The last thing I want is to be picturing that grossness.” Melody scowled at her and Kayn chuckled, “I mean …good for you. I hope it lasts forever.”
“Funny Brighton. I was sent in here to get you up and tell you we’re doing a job on our own for the first time.”
Kayn automatically assumed it would be the base group of them, but when she got ready and stepped outside she realized what Melody had meant by, alone. Everyone else was gone. It was just them, the five survivors of the Testing. Frost had left without saying anything to her and she’d never done anything without Grey, Frost, Lily and Lexy there. What if they messed-up? They were all sitting outside drinking coffee and chatting. The group appeared to be completely fine with the situation. She definitely wasn’t. It felt like a recipe for disaster. Didn’t they understand that she had absolutely no idea what she was doing?
Melody said, “Here Kayn,” as she passed her a coffee.
Yes, she could use a coffee or ten. Kayn wandered over, perched her backside on the log beside Zach and took a sip of the steaming brew. They all made small talk for a bit, like normal people whose plans for the day did not include morally questionable activities. How long did they have to do this job? What was it? Why wasn’t anybody talking about it?
Zach squirmed around on the log and animatedly exclaimed, “I heard your thoughts! I totally heard that!”
He was staring directly at her. Kayn knit her brow. She sarcastically replied, “congratulations?”
Haley got all excited as she exclaimed, “Do me! Do me!”
Zach flirtatiously teased, “Well, if you insist.”
Haley scowled at him and hissed, “You know that wasn’t what I meant.”
“Okay, think about something,” Zach instructed, while grinning. Haley stared directly into his eyes. He concentrated for a minute and then sighed, “No, sorry. I’ve got nothing.”
Haley appeared to be disappointed as she shrugged and said,” It was worth a try.”.
Melody sat down with her coffee and announced, “I know you’re dying to do me.”
Kayn grinned, knowing her friend had meant to ply Zach with innuendo.
He casually glanced at Melody and toyed, “I already know what you want.”
Kayn choked on the gulp of coffee she was trying to swallow.
Astrid gave her a few sturdy pats on the back as she teased, “You’re supposed to swallow it not breathe it in”
Her eyes were watering both from the near choking experience and the fact that she was trying hard not to laugh. Kayn said, “Thanks.” Frost had used a line quite close to that on her. She glanced at Melody and it was obvious that she was intrigued. Their sparring match of innuendos was seriously entertaining and she’d almost forgotten about the pressing issues of the day.
Mel had a devious glint in her eyes as she stood up, walked over to Zach and ordered him to stand. He rose to his feet and she leaned in like she was going to kiss him. His eyes widened. She paused, blew a tiny gust of air from between her parted lips and then wiped his cheekbone with one finger and explained, “You had an eyelash.” She spun around, strutted back over to where she’d been sitting and took a casual sip of her coffee.
Kayn placed her hand over her mouth to stop the laughter that threatened to burst out. Mel was obviously not the girl to play games with. She had experience and wasn’t afraid to use it.
Astrid shook her head and said, “As entertaining as this little game is, I think we should have a talk about the job because we need to get going. I was told we were supposed to start driving south on the closest highway for up to six hours and that we’d know who the new girl was when we saw her. We’re supposed to steal her from Trinity and then drive south on the backroads until they contact us.”
Kayn’s eyes travelled around the group. Those were some seriously vague instructions. She questioned, “Do we have money for a room or are we staying in the RV?”
Astrid smiled, took a card out of her pocket, waved it in the air and said, “You’re guess is as good as mine. We have this card for expenses and we have no idea where we’re going but we’ll obviously have to keep driving after we steal the girl from Trinity.”
Confused, Kayn knit her brow as she clarified, “They’re sending us to steal someone from another clan? How do we do that, we’ve never seen them do it.”
Haley piped in, “We have. Granted it was twenty years ago, but they just snuck up on them, killed everyone and ran. It’s pretty basic.”
Kayn was trying to pay attention but a mosquito had begun to feast on her arm. She observed it snacking on her flesh without slapping at it or squishing it. She pinched her skin on either side, causing it to gorge itself to death on her blood. It dropped off her arm and she smiled.
“Alright then,” Zach announced. “Let’s get on the road. I’ll drive first. Kayn, come with me and keep an eye out for Trinity. Should we just start driving and do the regular three hour stints before changing off.”
“Sounds good,” Astrid replied.
Kayn got up and followed Zach into the motorhome while the others took the braces out from under the tires and made sure they had everything packed up. She placed her travel mug in the sink, grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge and chugged it. She was unusually thirsty. Zach was already fumbling around up front. She hollered at him, “I’m going to dive into the bathroom!” As she started walking to the back of the RV, her stomach grumbled. She was hungry. She paused and backtracked to the kitchen to grab a granola bar from the cupboard. After quickly scarfing it down, she shuffled down the hall and into the bathroom. The tiny bathroom felt extra clau
strophobic this morning. As Kayn was washing her hands she noticed that her veins were unusually pronounced on her chest. She knew what this was from the Testing. It was something to do with her Conduit ability. She traced the tip of her finger along one of her brilliant green veins. Hopefully she’d be able to keep her ability in check. They’d made sure the Dragon part of her could be controlled but the Conduit part of her was still up in the air. She was aware that she’d only touched the surface of what she was capable of. She decided to keep quiet about it. There was no reason to stress everyone out. Anyone that was the least bit observant would notice the overly pronounced veins. Oh, well. What could she do about it? Not a damn thing. She wandered to the front and sat in the passenger seat, ready for the drive ahead. As the RV’s engine began to purr, he plugged in his cell and started his play list. She mentally prepared for the three hours of metal from Zach’s playlist and a dance track came on. She glanced over at him.
He laughed and said, “I’m not an asshole. I know you’re going to be stuck up here with me all of the time now so I downloaded songs I knew you’d like.”
She smiled as she enquired, “When can we stop for breakfast?”
Zach was playing with the rearview mirror as he replied, “I was thinking we’d stop for brunch in a couple of hours? It’ll cut our driving time in half. We can get some fresh air and stretch our legs for a bit.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Kayn replied as they slowly pulled out and began to cruise down the long winding gravel road towards what she assumed would be a highway. No such luck. It was miles of bumpy road. She disliked gravel roads, especially if they were stuck on one for a long time. At least she was up front with the driver and not in the back trying to play cards or read something. Zach cleared his throat and she glanced at him.
He said, “Hey, have you had a chance to talk to Melody alone since that night you got sick?”
She knew what he was digging for. She grinned as she replied, “Maybe.”
“She told you! I knew it!” He chuckled, while shaking his head. He reached over and switched the song that was playing.
Kayn turned to look at him so she could read his expression as she countered, “So, Frost obviously gave you some lessons on how to hook and reel a girl.”
He grinned, while concentrating on the winding gravel road ahead of them, ran one of his hands through his short jet black hair and far too casually responded, “Why would you think Frost had anything to do with it?”
Oh, come the hell on. I wasn’t born yesterday. Kayn rolled her eyes at her rather inept Handler and stated, “So, that’s a yes?” This was a seriously hazardous gravel road they were driving on. She could hear the gravel pinging around underneath the RV.
Zach grinned as he answered, “Well, I didn’t exactly have any reliable male role models to learn from.”
The fact that he’d called Frost a reliable male role model was hilarious. Kayn’s stomach began to complain, even though she’d already eaten a granola bar. Man, she was starving this morning. Why was she so hungry? They went over a large bump and they heard a chorus of swears from the girls sitting at the table behind them.
Zach suggested, “You should grab a snack? That grizzly bear under your shirt is distracting.”
Kayn knew what he meant but she could have taken it many ways and perhaps if she wasn’t starving to death for some strange reason she would have cracked a joke or two. Her stomach complained again and he started to laugh. She’d just eaten a granola bar? What in the hell? She nodded and asked, “Do you want anything?
He replied, “Another cup of coffee would be awesome.”
“If you can handle sitting up here all by yourself for five minutes. I’ll grab you one,” Kayn sparred as she got up, steadied herself and maneuvered her way back to the small kitchen area. Kayn always felt like using a knife to cut open a snack, wasn’t the greatest idea while in a moving vehicle. Especially if you were one of those accident-prone people. While they were driving, her munchie choices were rather limited. Someone had already made a fresh pot of coffee, so she could check that chore off the list. Kayn glanced over at the table where the girls were all stubbornly struggling to play cards while being jostled around. Haley’s fanned out cards flew out of her hands and onto the floor. She was about to get up to retrieve them when Kayn crouched down and passed them back. She thanked her. Kayn smiled while attempting to pour the coffee into a couple of travel mugs while surfing the bumpy road. There was an art to back road surfing. With two travel mugs full of black coffee in her hands and absolutely no where to put them while she grabbed some creamer, she giggled. She definitely hadn’t thought this one out.
Astrid got up, took them from her and teased, “The last time I was on coffee duty I spilled it everywhere.”
Kayn grinned, silently thanking her without having to say the words. She countered, “Where was I? I totally would have helped you.”
“You were out cold and epically hung over,” her new friend teased. “If I’d asked you to help, I would have been cleaning up coffee and vomit.”
They managed to get the creamer into the coffee and put the lids on while skillfully maneuvering the gravel road and giggling. Astrid sat back down while Kayn pressed both coffees against her chest, while snagging a whole box of cookies.
Haley tossed a water bottle cap at her and scolded, “Don’t you dare bring him a whole box of cookies. He’ll never stop for breakfast. I’m starving, my stomach won’t stop grumbling over here.”
They went over an enormous bump and she fell with a thud to the floor while somehow managing to not spill either coffee. I am Batman.
The three girls were still laughing as Zach hollered from up front, “You guys okay back there? What’s taking so long Brighton?”
I’ll tell you what’s taking so long you dumbass. You’re driving like you just escaped from a frigging sanitarium. Kayn sat there on the floor, scowling as she wedged both coffees between her legs. She was eating some of these damn cookies. It was happening and he could just bloody well wait until she was done. She took one out, popped it into her mouth and offered the box to the girls at the table. They declined.
Haley rolled her eyes and asserted, “We need real food and soon. It sounds like there’s a table full of angry dogs back here. He’ll stop if you ask him sweetly. Isn’t he supposed to take care of your every need? He’s your Handler and you’re hungry.”
Kayn chuckled and sighed, “Yah, I won’t hold my breath. He said he was going to stop for brunch in two hours. I’m starving too. I was taking the cookies for me.”
“You’re a pretty girl,” Haley directed. “Go batt your eyelashes at him. Maybe he’ll stop sooner.”
Melody smiled as she explained, “That’s not Kayn’s style.” She placed her cards on the table as she deviously chuckled, “Read em and weep.” They all placed their hands down. Mel raised both arms in victory.
Astrid chimed in, “Hell, I’ll even go up there and batt my eyes at him but he’d probably suspect something. He’s not a girl but I’m dying over here.”
Kayn rolled her eyes and sighed, “I’ll ask again.” She scrambled to her feet and put the cookies back in the cupboard before making a second attempt to bring the coffee to Zach.
Melody grabbed her arm as she passed by and said, “Hey Kayn.”
She paused mid step, coffee in hand to humor her friend. “Yes Mel?”
“Tell him I’ll kiss him again if he stops,” Mel whispered.
Kayn grinned as she teased, “Now, that actually might work.” When she appeared up front she could tell by Zach’s expression that he’d heard everything they’d said. She passed him his coffee.
He skillfully maneuvered his to go cup into the holder with his one semi free hand as she said, “I think Mel forgot about that promise she made in the Testing.”
Kayn sipped her coffee and knit her brow. What was he talking about? She responded, “Refresh my memory.”
He grinned mischievously and spared, “Thi
nk about it.”
It popped into Kayn’s head and she beamed. “Oh, you mean when Mel promised to kiss you every single day when we got out of the Testing.”
She’d guessed correctly. He was grinning as he drove over a huge pot hole way too fast to shake up the table of girls behind them. Kayn almost tossed her coffee at the inside of the windshield as the girls at the table started cursing up a storm. Zach was still giggling like a naughty child as Kayn leaned in closer and whispered, “I’m not sure she meant that in a romantic way.”
He shook his head and whispered back, “I know she didn’t but a guy can dream, can’t he?”
They drove in silence for a few minutes, while she dwelled on how starving she was and watched the rather unimpressive scenery flash by the window. Her stomach let off a hilariously loud complaint.
Zach rolled his eyes and sighed, “Fine. I’ll pull over for breakfast at the first place I see.” The girls at the table began to cheer and he started to laugh. “How much can they hear back there?”
Kayn laughed out loud and teased, “How much could you hear of our conversation while I was back there trying to get us coffee, while you drove like an asshole?”
“So, everything then,” Zach whispered and winked.
It took another forty minutes to find somewhere they could pull the RV over and park at. Even then they had to park in the parking lot across the street. The girls were out of the motorhome and halfway across the parking lot before they made it out of the door.
Zach made sure the door was locked and casually asked, “Be honest with me. Does she like me in that way?”
Kayn elbowed her friend as she smiled and countered, “Do you think Frost likes me in that way?”
“Come on…He’s always liked you in that way. You already knew that.” Zach sparred, as they darted across the busy street and strolled towards the front door of the diner. He stopped her before they went inside and enquired, “I’m serious. Did she say anything or am I just wasting my time?”
She might as well just tell him. Kayn gave his shoulder a squeeze as she replied, “That kiss rocked her world.”