Enlightenment (Children of Ankh series Book 2)

by Kim Cormack

  During their conversation, the dock filled with more scantily clad teens in search of an after-effects refuge. Kayn closed her eyes and tried to nap, while listening to the soothing sloshing of the water as it lapped against the dock.

  After a relaxing sprawl in the sunshine that was perhaps a touch longer than it should have been, they went for a swim. The lake was insanely cold. She was surprised. She could almost touch the bottom. It wasn’t very deep. The cloudy appearance of the water beneath the surface had given it the illusion of depth. It was painfully cold.

  They played around splashing each other while doggie paddling in place but their continuous motion really didn’t help much…It was bloody cold. She watched him swim for the shore and let out an inner competitive cheer because she’d outlasted him.

  Kevin called out, “Kayn! It’s freezing! Get out before you pass out!”

  He was already standing on the rocky beach, basking in the sun’s rays and she was freezing half to death, to prove what? An irrational point? She kept paddling in place while trying to convince herself to make a break for the shore. Was she trying to prove she was stronger than he was, or was she freezing her rump off because he looked incredible standing there in the sunshine? She desperately wanted to disregard her instinct for self-preservation, knowing what kept her in the water. Her heart was trying to build a wall… But this was Kevin. He isn't Kevin. Get a hold of yourself. You are not a silly ridiculous girly girl. Her skin was aching as she made her way towards the shore. She’d been in the water too long. She was trembling uncontrollably as she walked out of the water, looking like a soaking wet blue-lipped water nymph.

  Kevin hurried to her side, placed his towel around her, gave her shoulders a little rub with a towel and then pulled her into the warmth of his chest. “You’re an icicle,” he whispered while holding her shivering, damp body against his.

  Kayn wasn’t sure if she wanted to snuggle against him or push him away and ask him what in the hell he thought he was doing? He was rubbing her skin, attempting to warm her up. She shivered against him, but this time it wasn’t because she was freezing. It was a reaction to the warmth of his chest against hers and the confusion in her heart.

  He whispered in her ear, “I feel like maybe I’ve lived this exact moment before. Are you sure I didn’t have a crush on you? I find it hard to believe I could have ever seen you like this without trying to make a move.”

  She pulled away and stared into his eyes, with her lips a mere breath away from his. He was massaging her back in a physically familiar, intimate way. He doesn’t remember you. He inched away while intensely searching her eyes. He was trying to remember her. She could feel it. His hand brushed across her chest. Her eyes widened for a second, before she realized, he was only wrapping her in the towel. She whispered, “You’ve seen me a million times, just like this. If you ever saw me as anything more than a friend, you never told me.”

  “Well… I must have been a complete idiot,” he acknowledged.

  Her lips were still quivering as she spoke, “The cards weren’t evenly stacked; it’s not your fault. Chloe’s gift was like Lily’s and Frost’s. Everyone wanted her. She was a breathtaking force of nature.”

  “She’s dead then? Did she die with the rest of your family and mine?” Kevin enquired.

  She could tell he immediately regretted bringing it up. She replied, “There are things I’m not allowed to discuss with you and that’s one of them…I was warned. You’ll remember everything when you’re ready too.”

  “There’s one thing I already know,” he brushed a damp ringlet off her brow while whispering, “I think I could stare at you and count your freckles for the rest of my life and never get bored.” He intimately grazed a finger across her pulse point on her neck.

  If he wanted to kiss her, he was pushing all the right buttons. She was about to cave when she realized what he was doing. He was playing a game with her. He wanted her to make the first move.

  He slowly, seductively brushed his thumb along her bottom lip. She shivered and he grinned, visibly proud of the physical reaction he’d caused with his not so innocent games. He whispered, “You have a freckle on your bottom lip. I was just making sure it wasn't a grain of sand.”

  If he wanted her to become so lost in her feelings for him that it wouldn’t matter if he wasn’t the same person, he was doing a stellar job. Everything about him felt warm and familiar. It would have been so easy to allow him to kiss her. Her feelings for him made her a sitting duck but two could play at that game. He may not remember her but she knew he wanted her. Desiring a girl also made a boy a sitting duck. She casually teased, “Well, as much as I’d love to just lay down naked in a field and allow you to count every last one of my freckles, shouldn’t we at least make an attempt to find out what we’re supposed to be doing this week?” She was never this forward.

  It took a minute for him to find an answer. With a pained expression, he said, “I think we’re just supposed to hang out here and wait for them to come back.”

  “Doesn’t that seem a little bit strange to you?” She enquired, “We’re supposed to be enemies, but this week, we’re all friends. Nobody hurt anyone else. Have a great time while we’re gone?”

  He replied, “Yes, it does, but there’s so much dark and twisty crap in my everyday life. I for one am just going to go with the idea of a well-deserved vacation from reality.”

  They made their way back to the dock to collect their clothes in silence. She bent down in front of him, on purpose as she picked up her clothes and slipped on her tank top over her damp bathing suit. She was enjoying the fact that even though he didn’t recall his feelings for her, their attraction was undeniable. She stepped into her shorts, turned around to face him and caught him staring. She picked up their earlier conversation, “There’s obviously more to this week off than just a well-deserved vacation. There’s always some kind of weird twist.”

  “Shhh,” he placed his finger over her lips and teased, “Don’t over think it. Just relax and enjoy it.”

  “Right… Relax,” she giggled. There was something about the familiar tone of their conversation. She leaned in and kissed his cheek. He touched where her lips had been and she saw the recognition in his eyes. She kept it light by teasing, “How can you relax? It’s like standing in the middle of a highway ignoring the fact that at any moment, a big rig might come around the corner and squish you like a pancake?”

  “Don’t hate the big rig. Hate the road. You can stand up and move out of the way whenever you want,” Kevin pointed out while referring to her comment.

  That sentence applied to many things…mainly her decision to spend time with him. That was the fine print and she could see it quite clearly. One week… You only have one week together. Would she listen? Well, that remained to be seen. They both sat on their towels and as she gazed into the eyes of the boy she’d known since she was five, she smiled and thought, probably not. Once they’d warmed up, they ended up taking off their clothes again and stretching out on their towels. Kayn fell asleep to the feeling of Kevin drawing pictures on her back.

  When she opened her eyes, he was gone and everyone was packing up their things. A bell rang. What was that about?

  Mel answered her thought, “Dinner is being served in the dining hall.”

  She was hungry. They rushed to drop off their things at the cabin before gathering for dinner. The three Ankh arrived at the hall and took a spot in the lineup for the smorgasbord. Patrick was in the line behind them but Kevin and Stephanie were nowhere to be seen. Kayn wanted to question Patrick but decided against it. She’d allowed herself to be swept away today a little bit more than she’d intended to. She ate her meal in silence while the others laughed, chatted and joked around.

  Zach noticed her silence first and said, “You probably allowed yourself to get a little caught up in him today, didn’t you?”

  Kayn took a sip of water and over the background noise of clinking plates and conversation she l
oudly replied, “Quite obviously.” Her eyes kept sneaking peeks at the doorway. He wasn’t coming. He was with Stephanie and she was an idiot.

  “I know you want one of my sweet potato fries,” Zach teased.

  Kayn laughed as he tossed a fry across the table. It landed on her plate which was easily the equivalent of a crumpled piece of paper in the trash can goal. She smiled as she popped it into her mouth and glanced at the door again, under the pretense of looking at Patrick. The super nice Triad was talking to everyone else but purposely avoiding conversation with her. She could read between the lines.

  They finished dinner and the trio made their way back to the cabin, while avoiding the topic of Kevin completely. She paused as they started to scale the rickety worn looking wooden stairs to the cabin and glanced at Triad’s cabin across the way. The curtains were open and Kevin and Stephanie were snuggled up under the blankets together, seemingly out cold. Why was she doing this to herself?

  Zach placed his arm around her and gave her a brotherly squeeze as he led her up the stairs. He assured, “We sleep like that together all of the time and it doesn’t mean anything.”

  “Not naked like them of course, but it could totally be innocent,” Mel commented.

  She hadn’t noticed they were naked. Kayn swung around.

  Melody shoved her onto the bed and laughed, “I’m kidding. They probably lost track of time while they were having a nap.”

  Zach plugged his cell into the speakers on the end table and began to play some tunes. He cranked it up and Kayn started to laugh as he ominously announced, “They won’t be asleep for long!” He laughed as he grabbed Kayn’s hands and towed her across the room against her will. He climbed onto the bed and directed, “Get your butt up here Brighton. If you want to save face, start dancing. You have to act like you didn’t even notice he missed dinner.”

  Soon, all three were dancing on the bed, jumping from the couch to the bed and twirling around to the music in hysterics. They were smoking each other in the face with the pillows and lip syncing to the girly songs. She felt better. Eventually, they exhausted themselves. The music was turned off and it was time for bed. Kayn strolled over to close the curtains. She saw Kevin, wide awake, drinking a coffee and watching them while sitting on the stairs of his cabin. He made eye contact with her just as she yanked the curtains closed. The three Ankh watched a movie on the laptop and then drifted off to sleep.

  Remember Me

  Kayn awoke the next morning to the sun’s blinding beams shooting at her corneas like laser beams. What time is it? She looked on the cell phone that graced the bedside table. It was only five o’clock in the morning. She peered over at her sleeping fellow Ankh and decided that neither of them would appreciate being woken up to go for a run with her this morning. She got out of bed and toddled into the bathroom. She brushed her teeth, washed her face and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. This was exactly what she needed. She needed to hit the open trail on a run. Kayn put on her running shoes, wandered down the steps and sprinted away as soon as she hit the gravel. As the crisp morning dew christened her face, she felt cleansed of the drama from the day before. She ran the trails for a good hour before heading down to the dock. Nobody would even be up yet, she’d have a moment to Zen her mind out before the drama of the day began. In the bushes before the rocky beach a couple of deer were peacefully grazing on foliage. She tip-toed past them and when she reached the end of the dock, she slipped off her shoes and socks. Kayn sat with her legs dangling over the edge and her toes in the water. She stared at the mist as it rose off the surface and closed her eyes to properly embrace the peaceful atmosphere. The tune of the crickets was the harmony and the sound of the water lapping up against the dock, the background music. It had been a wonderful morning so far. She’d been so caught up in the moment that she hadn’t heard anyone approaching. Someone grabbed her shoulder. They startled her and she fell ungracefully into the lake. She bobbed up sputtering in the water. Who in the hell pushed her in?

  Kevin knelt on the edge of the dock with his hand out, to help her. He exclaimed, “Oh my God. I’m so sorry. I thought you heard me coming.” He couldn’t stop giggling.

  Kayn took his helping hand and tugging him into the lake along with her. He bobbed up to the surface, cursing up a storm. She started to laugh, Now, it was funny. They both raced for the ladder and wrestled like kids for a moment until he let her go first. She offered Kevin her hand.

  “Do you think I was born yesterday?” He bickered.

  Kayn stepped back and grinned as he climbed out. She planned to shove him back in but decided to save it for another time. She sat down on the dock with her feet dangling in the water, knowing how easy it would be for him to toss her back in.

  Instead, Kevin sat beside her and remarked, “It’s not even six in the morning! How are you this hyper?”

  Kayn smiled as she replied, “You shoved me in first and I’ve been running for an hour.” With curly hair in a ponytail, she knew she looked the same as she had before her unintended submersion but with more bluish-purple lips.

  He clarified, “I walked up to you, put my hands on your shoulders and you jumped in.”

  “I owed you one,” she stated.

  He questioned, “You owed me one for what?”

  “Never mind,” she said. She’d read him all wrong yesterday and she didn’t want to get into it.

  Kevin kept asking, “What do you owe me for? Are you talking about that first night on the track? I’ve already apologized.”

  The water wasn’t nearly as cold as it had been yesterday. Kayn glanced at him and said, “It’s not important.”

  “No… I’m curious now. Did I do something?” He prodded while searching her eyes.

  “We had a great day together. I thought I’d see you at dinner. You and Stephanie didn’t show up? Does any of this ring a bell?” She enquired while meeting his eyes.

  “I’m sorry…You lost me,” he replied. “You fell asleep on the dock. I went to go have a nap before dinner. I woke up in my cabin alone and you three were jumping around your cabin like a bunch of sugar amped toddlers. You closed the curtains and went to bed?”

  He really didn’t appear to know. Should she? Why the hell not? Kayn explained, “You didn’t show up for dinner and neither did Stephanie because you were in bed together.”

  Kevin started to laugh and he teased, “I see what happened here. So, you’re not sleeping in the same bed with Zach then?”

  She replied, “Well, yes. Never mind. I see your point. Here’s mine, we can’t do what we did yesterday. I let myself just fall back into what we were. It’s too confusing. This feels too close to what we had.”

  He began ringing the water out of her ponytail while responding, “Let me get this straight. You got spooked yesterday and you want to run away.” He gently kissed one of the freckles gracing her shoulder.

  She shivered. “Kevin,” she whispered. He tilted her chin and tenderly kissed her lips. Her heart ached as her emotions flooded all sense of reason.

  He whispered his response, “I’m not letting you go… Not yet.” He kissed her again, seductively darting his tongue against her bottom lip. She instinctually parted hers, allowing the kiss to deepen. She couldn’t help herself; it had been so long since she’d been with him like this. He momentarily pulled away and their eyes met. He seductively caressed her cheek and kissed her again with such raw intense passion that she lost all sense of reason. His hand slipped beneath her soaking wet tank top and she gasped as their frenzied kisses became more. His hand slid down her moist abdomen to the waist band of her shorts. She gasped and pushed him away as she snapped back to reality. What was she thinking?

  Kevin chuckled as he got up and casually made himself look decent. He teased, “I’m certain that was the hottest kiss of my life. There’s no chance of me not wanting to do that again. I’m afraid I’m going to have to decline your request to G-rate this for the next week.” He turned around and walked away leavi
ng her swollen lipped and utterly speechless. She sat there for a second with her hand over her mouth and then she started to giggle. This was only the second day. She waited until he was back inside his cabin before she ventured up to hers. She opened the door to both of her bunk mates sitting at the tiny table in front of the picture window. They each placed their coffee cups down and began a slow campy almost silent golf clap.

  Zach teased, “I thought I was going to have to stomp down there and save you from getting in over your head. I thought we were mad at him? He shoved you in the water and you end up in the steamiest make out session, I’ve ever seen. How did that even happen?”

  Kayn sighed, “I guess you two saw the whole thing?”

  Melody took a sip of her coffee and enquired, “What did he say before he walked away and left you like that? The look on your face was priceless.”

  Kayn sat down at the table. Zach passed her his coffee. She took a sip and passed it back. She began with, “He scared me and I fell in. I pulled him into the lake when he was trying to help me back out. We both got out and I told him it was too confusing for me to be with him like we were yesterday. I said we had to slow things down. I called him on the Stephanie thing and he asked if Zach was sleeping with me last night. So, maybe it wasn’t what it looked like. He kissed me and told me he wasn’t ready to let me go.”

  Zach grinned as he enquired, “We just want to know what he said before he walked away. Judging by the look on your face, it was monumental.”

  Kayn felt her cheeks heat up as she replied, “He said, he was pretty sure that was the hottest kiss of his life and he was going to have to decline my offer to go back to the G-rated version of our relationship.”

  Zach howled laughing, “That might be the coolest thing I’ve ever heard.”