Breaking Through The Surface ✔

Chapter twenty-four

Ambling up the porch steps to my house the next afternoon, I groan as I recall the small pile of homework I abandoned on my desk. I am so not fit to do homework today. Natalie didn't get us back to her house after the bonfire party until it was beyond past midnight. She and Kyle had been M.I.A. for most of the night leaving us without a ride until they reappeared clearly having been up to the dirty business if their dishevelled clothes were anything to go by.

I admittedly spent most of my time with Cohen at the party. After towing me over to the bonfire, he snapped up a neglected bag of marshmallows.

"We can't let them go to waste," he says, taking notice of the disapproving look on my face.

"But they're not ours to take."

"No one is going to miss a few stolen marshmallows."

"So you admit that you're stealing them," I grin.

"Just get a stick, Sunshine."

Stepping over to a nearby pile of sticks specifically made for the art of roasting marshmallows, I select one from the top. It's long enough that we won't be too close to the fire as we roast them but sturdy enough that the stick won't bend and let the marshmallow drop to its fiery death.

Spotting Cohen sitting on a log near the fire, I join him, "Is this good enough?"

He nods in approval, "Perfect."

Removing a marshmallow from the bag, he impales the sweet treat with the pointed end of the stick.

"The trick to make sure you get the perfect roasted marshmallow is to place it over a patch of hot coals instead of over the open flames," he explains. "This way it won't just catch on fire and burn."

"I'm guessing you've done this before?"

He glances at me, "We used to have little bonfires in our backyard when I was a younger. I'd be the one to roast the marshmallows."

"We?" I question inquisitively. "Oh, you mean with your Mom?"

Around the stick, his knuckles turn white, "Yeah... just with Mom."

As I'm about to question him further, he pulls the stick out of the fire and places the perfectly golden marshmallow in front of my face, "Eat up, Sunshine."

Fanning the treat with my hand to cool it off slightly, I carefully remove it from the stick with my fingers and pop it into my mouth. With a slight crunch from the outer layer, its smoky sugariness explodes on my tongue.

Emitting a slight moan, my eyes widen, "You have to make me another one of those."

Laughing, he asks, "I guess you like it?"

"It's amazing."

"Kind of like you."

My grin falters at the compliment and a blush crawls up my neck flooding my cheeks with colour. I laugh nervously, "You don't have to say stuff like that."

"Why not when it's the truth?"

In an attempt to keep him from saying any more, I blurt the first thing I can think of that has been on my mind ever since my first week here, "Why was that guy giving you a wad of cash a long time ago?"

At first, his eyebrows furrow in confusion but then his face drops and he looks away from me. I cringe at my blunt question, scolding myself in my head for blurting out things that aren't any of my business. I just hope that my question won't make him angry at me.

Taking a deep breath, he lifts his head to look up at me, "I guess since we're friends now I can tell you. I told you before that it isn't anything illegal or bad and that's the truth."