girly
part of me began to doubt he truly loved me like he said. You don’t give up
the person you love so easily. But then the logical part of my brain reasoned
he did what he had to do to get me and everyone else to the Southern Kingdom
safely. He sacrificed himself for me which made me feel guilty about doubting
his love. Basically, I was trapped in an endless circle of guilt and doubt.
“So, the two of
you boyfriend and girlfriend?”
Collin’s question
brought me back to the present situation.
“Who?” I asked.
“You and him,”
Collin said, nodding to Ash at my side.
An awkward silence
ensued. I had no idea what to say for a space of ten seconds. I could feel
Ash’s eyes on me waiting for my answer just as much as Collin was. I answered
the only way I knew how.
“Why do you ask?”
Collin shrugged.
“Most of the girls in our group are hooked up with someone. I just wanted to
know if you were free.”
“Yeah,” Ash said,
putting a possessive hand on my thigh. “She’s taken.”
I looked down at
Ash’s hand wondering why it felt so odd for him to touch me that way. Then I
looked up at his face and saw him staring at Collin like he was challenging the
other man to call him a liar. When I looked over at Collin, he didn’t look
convinced about Ash’s claim of possession over me.
“Well, you ever
change your mind, Skye, I won’t be too far away.” Collin winked.
Ash was about to
get up to do who knows what to Collin but I grabbed his arm and pulled him back
down.
“He’s just
teasing, Ash.”
But my words
didn’t seem to deflate my best friend’s anger.
“You,” Ash said
pointing a finger at Collin, “stay away from her.”
Collin laced his
fingers behind his head and leaned back in his seat. “And if I don’t?”
The conversation
was taking a bad turn. The whole point of my starting an oral exchange with
the outsiders was to make friends with them not cause more problems.
“If you don’t
leave her alone, dude, you’ll have to deal with me too,” Kale said.
“And me,” Kirk
proclaimed.
“And you don’t even want to know what I’ll do to you,” Ian leaned forward resting his elbows on his
thighs staring straight at Collin. If looks could actually kill, Ian would be
a master assassin.
“Hey hey,” Flash
lifted his hands in surrender. “No need to start a ruckus. It’s just been a
long time since we were around such pretty girls. And like Collin said, most
of the girls in our group are spoken for.” Flash turned his attention to Zoe.
“How about you? You hooked up with anybody?”
Zoe’s eyes
widened. “I…I don’t have a boyfriend if that’s what you’re asking.”
Flash cleared his
throat. “Think I could take you out sometime then? You know if you’re not
busy or anything.”
Zoe looked over at
me like she wanted me to tell her what to do.
“It’s your
decision, Zo,” I told her.
Zoe looked back at
Flash and rewarded him with a shy smile. “I guess that would be ok.”
Flash smiled
back. “Cool.”
The men of our
group didn’t seem to like the idea of Zoe having anything to do with an
outsider from the expressions on their faces, but they didn’t say anything.
“All right,
children,” Doc Riley called from the front of the transporter. “We seem to be
here. The President’s transporter has stopped.”
When we stepped
out of our vehicle, a mountain with three carved figures loomed before us. The
three men were on horse back and dressed in old uniforms like soldiers from the
War Between the States. I couldn’t remember their names but knew where we were
because I had seen the carving in a travel magazine once.
“Stone Mountain, Georgia,”
I said aloud.
“Yeah,” Ash
agreed. “I remember you showing me the picture of the mountain.”
It took a while
for everyone to get out of their transporters. There were close to a hundred
transporters in all. Nearly a
part of me began to doubt he truly loved me like he said. You don’t give up
the person you love so easily. But then the logical part of my brain reasoned
he did what he had to do to get me and everyone else to the Southern Kingdom
safely. He sacrificed himself for me which made me feel guilty about doubting
his love. Basically, I was trapped in an endless circle of guilt and doubt.
“So, the two of
you boyfriend and girlfriend?”
Collin’s question
brought me back to the present situation.
“Who?” I asked.
“You and him,”
Collin said, nodding to Ash at my side.
An awkward silence
ensued. I had no idea what to say for a space of ten seconds. I could feel
Ash’s eyes on me waiting for my answer just as much as Collin was. I answered
the only way I knew how.
“Why do you ask?”
Collin shrugged.
“Most of the girls in our group are hooked up with someone. I just wanted to
know if you were free.”
“Yeah,” Ash said,
putting a possessive hand on my thigh. “She’s taken.”
I looked down at
Ash’s hand wondering why it felt so odd for him to touch me that way. Then I
looked up at his face and saw him staring at Collin like he was challenging the
other man to call him a liar. When I looked over at Collin, he didn’t look
convinced about Ash’s claim of possession over me.
“Well, you ever
change your mind, Skye, I won’t be too far away.” Collin winked.
Ash was about to
get up to do who knows what to Collin but I grabbed his arm and pulled him back
down.
“He’s just
teasing, Ash.”
But my words
didn’t seem to deflate my best friend’s anger.
“You,” Ash said
pointing a finger at Collin, “stay away from her.”
Collin laced his
fingers behind his head and leaned back in his seat. “And if I don’t?”
The conversation
was taking a bad turn. The whole point of my starting an oral exchange with
the outsiders was to make friends with them not cause more problems.
“If you don’t
leave her alone, dude, you’ll have to deal with me too,” Kale said.
“And me,” Kirk
proclaimed.
“And you don’t even want to know what I’ll do to you,” Ian leaned forward resting his elbows on his
thighs staring straight at Collin. If looks could actually kill, Ian would be
a master assassin.
“Hey hey,” Flash
lifted his hands in surrender. “No need to start a ruckus. It’s just been a
long time since we were around such pretty girls. And like Collin said, most
of the girls in our group are spoken for.” Flash turned his attention to Zoe.
“How about you? You hooked up with anybody?”
Zoe’s eyes
widened. “I…I don’t have a boyfriend if that’s what you’re asking.”
Flash cleared his
throat. “Think I could take you out sometime then? You know if you’re not
busy or anything.”
Zoe looked over at
me like she wanted me to tell her what to do.
“It’s your
decision, Zo,” I told her.
Zoe looked back at
Flash and rewarded him with a shy smile. “I guess that would be ok.”
Flash smiled
back. “Cool.”
The men of our
group didn’t seem to like the idea of Zoe having anything to do with an
outsider from the expressions on their faces, but they didn’t say anything.
“All right,
children,” Doc Riley called from the front of the transporter. “We seem to be
here. The President’s transporter has stopped.”
When we stepped
out of our vehicle, a mountain with three carved figures loomed before us. The
three men were on horse back and dressed in old uniforms like soldiers from the
War Between the States. I couldn’t remember their names but knew where we were
because I had seen the carving in a travel magazine once.
“Stone Mountain, Georgia,”
I said aloud.
“Yeah,” Ash
agreed. “I remember you showing me the picture of the mountain.”
It took a while
for everyone to get out of their transporters. There were close to a hundred
transporters in all. Nearly a
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