Secret Paradise

Chapter Three

If I want to get out of here quickly I need to be firing on all cylinders, so I'm one of the first to leave the room. I'm really not surpised that everyone does the same, I tell them they don't need to but they shrug and follow me anyway. I'm the mama duck and they're my little ducklings.

The priest must have given up about trying to save my soul – and by extension Kayle's – as we can finally sleep in the same bed. My boyfriend takes advantage of that but not in the way I was expecting.

"Blaise, get that cute butt of yours over here," he says with a wink.

I'm tired but in need of some relaxation and fun so I go over, purposefully adding some sway to my hips. Kayle laughs. His touch is light and gentle as he positions me on the middle of the bed. It doesn't feel sexual but still intimate. I'm cradled within his legs and as his lips graze the side of my neck I'm acutely aware of him, but still this doesn't feel sexual.

His hands are at my neck and on my shoulders and the tension I've been feeling just melts away. I don't always need Kayle's massages but when I do it's pure bliss. He finishes on my shoulders and pulls my shirt up, kissing my bare and fully relaxed shoulders. I'm jelly in his hands and I lie down on my front.

I don't know exactly where Kayle's hands are but I can just about locate his fingers walking the length of my spine. By the end of this full body massage I'm so relaxed it's scary. It almost feels guilty to be so blissed out when everyone is so stressed out. Kayle's hands reach my feet and I refuse to feel guilty for taking time out for something I seriously needed.

I'm still lying on cotton candy clouds and drift away to sleep. It's the best night's sleep I've ever had but not one of Kayle's. I had what we call the running dream. I haven't had one in ages and it's a sign of a good night when I don't wake up tired. Of course when I do wake up, Kayle has the dark shadows under his eyes. When I have those dreams I move all over the bed and I kick him. So he stays up to avoid my flailing feet and to stop me from falling off the bed.

He yawns and I laugh, "If you didn't want me to have the dream you shouldn't have given me such a good massage."

Then Kayle shrugs and he smiles, "You needed a good night's sleep and this is the best way I know to get you to drift off."

"You need sleep too love."

He shrugs and hands me my clothes, that ends the conversation, and the smell of food just wakes me up that little further. My brain knows it would just be watery porridge but my nose and stomach don't care. In times of crisis I think I'm led by my stomach.

"Come on, let's go feed the beast," Kayle laughs and I'm too hungry to argue with him.

Actually I can't do anything on an empty stomach and I'm not very pleasant to talk to until I get my morning cup of fizzy pop. I know it's not healthy but I don't care. I need the caffeine and I don't like coffee. It's a sad state of affairs when the fizzy pop and coffee has to be rationed. So as well as everything else we have to deal with, we're all suffering from withdrawal. We are not happy campers.

"Just out of curiosity, what do you think would happen if we can't get out?" Someone ventures to ask Kayle.

Out of the two of us Kayle is definitely the one with the all the answers but I'm the approachable one. It must be something to do with how I grew up here so even though I've changed, people still know me from when I was the quiet child that grew into the awkward teen who wouldn't be bossed around by the council.

I groan in frustration as Kayle speculates. I'd forgotten that the council were still around. I just hoped they'd be long gone by now. I don't know why I bothered, I'd heard their howls over the last few nights. It was a warning and a promise, there's something that they want but I'm not going to let them get the chance.