Blame Aphrodite - SAMPLE-

Taffy

"All this exercise has got to be good for you, Peter," I said, glancing behind me at my friend. "We're nearing the stream now."

"You know-," Gasp of air. "Usually when you speak-," Another gasp. "I get a headache-," Gasp.

He spoke as we neared the stream. I frowned as he collapsed to his knees on the bank and splashed water over his reddened face.

"Were you going to add more to that sentence? Or are you just biffing me?"

"I was going to say-," Gasp. "I've never been happier to hear words come out of your mouth." Another gasp followed by him slurping down water.

"Glad I can be the one to lessen your mental load today. Let me know when you're finished bathing yourself and we can continue." I joked, nudging him with my foot as I looked deeper into the forest.

"Water has never tasted so good." He gurgled in the flowing stream.

I chuckled and glanced around. My eyes landed on the petite woman peering around a tree in the distance. Had her long hair not caught the wind, I doubt I would've noticed her there.

"Valencia," I called out to her causing Peter to choke. "You continue doing...whatever it is that you're doing. I'm going to talk to Valencia. Don't drown." I said to my friend and made my way over to the woman.

She stepped out from behind the tree and watched with cautious eyes as I walked closer to her.

"Valencia," I greeted again when I stood in front of her. I bowed and smiled when she only watched me with perplexity. "I brought you a gift. A couple of them, actually." I said and pulled my pack from my back.

I knelt down and scrambled around in the bag, finding what I wanted to pull out. The first thing I wanted to show her was the candy I stashed away. I pulled out the brightly colored sugar and handed it to her.

She frowned and picked it up, examining it with a careful eye.

"It's candy. You eat it," I said, pointing to my mouth. "Here I'll unwrap it for you." I slowly reached forward and took the candy, unwrapping it with ease before handing it back to the woman.

Once again, I pointed to my opened mouth, signaling for her to eat it. She frowned again and tried to hand it back to me.

I smiled and ripped the candy apart, handing her a half. I plopped the candy in my mouth and ate it, making sure she knew that it was good and safe to eat.

"Your turn," I motioned for her to try it and then she did, hesitantly. "I stole it from one of the helpers so I hope you like it." I knew she had no idea what I was talking about but I liked watching her brain work to try and comprehend what I was saying.

Her eyes lit up with each passing second as she chewed. After she swallowed the small piece, she held her hand out once more.

"You like taffy, I see." I smiled and shuffled in the bag to find another piece. This time, she unwrapped it herself and plopped it in her mouth. "I'm glad you like them."

"Is that my taffy?" Peter gasped from behind me. He came up from behind me and grabbed my bag. Valencia, while usually heedful, only chewed on the candy, not paying any mind to my friend. "Everett!"

"Are you really going to be mad about a couple of pieces of taffy when she looks like that when she eats them?" I asked, nodding towards the woman who was still eagerly chewing on the candy. "She really likes it. Give her another-," I reached for my bag but Peter jerked it away from me.

"This was special, expensive taffy from our trip to-,"

Valencia cut him off by reaching out her hand, signaling she wanted another piece.