A Timeless Place

Chapter 25

"There is freedom waiting for you,
On the breezes of the sky,
And you ask "What if I fall?"
Oh but my darling, what if you fly?"

~ Erin Hanson

"Meet me by the lake when you feel like it," he sighed. I heard him quietly get up and slip through the tent. "I'll be there all night."

My heart was beating frantically as I vowed to stay silent. Of course he knew I wasn't asleep, I told him about my poor sleeping habits last night. I mentally slapped myself. I contemplated staying inside, pretending that I was in fact asleep. But it was cold outside. Surely, he wouldn't actually wait there all night? Sighing, I pulled on a hoodie and slipped through the tent.

He was already standing in front of the lake, his back to me. I watched his dark figure as I approached him, his broad shoulders and his hair rustling in the slight breeze of the night.

I pulled up my hood over my head as I approached and stood next to him.

"You actually came," he said. His voice was a paradox. It was as if he was surprised I came, and yet he was already expecting it.

"Didn't want to explain to your mom why you got hypothermia," I replied, wrapping my arms around me.

"Maybe tell her that a certain someone started avoiding me all of a sudden," he glanced at me sideways, pursing his lips.

I flushed. I thanked the darkness for providing me with cover.

"What's wrong, Kitty?" he asked. He ducked down, sitting on the bank in front of the lake.

"Nothing," I replied automatically. I slowly sat down next to him, pulling my legs up to my chest and wrapping my arms around them.

"Was it because I kissed you?" he said. When I didn't respond he continued. "I thought it didn't mean anything to you?"

Still, I just couldn't respond, the muscles in my mouth unable to move. It wasn't because I couldn't talk. It was because I didn't know what to say. Only that I was jealous? Jealous of all the previous girls that had come before me? That I knew this was only a game to him? Admitting those seemed pathetic.

"Was I that bad a kisser? No, that can't be. I'm one of the best," Wes mused, jokingly putting a hand under his chin. "Hmmm..."

I softly chuckled in response.

Wes sighed and ran a hand through his hair in frustration, "Geez, Kitty. I can't tell what's wrong unless you speak up."

Suddenly remembering Jordan's comments by the tent just before, I asked, "What's the deal?"

"Deal with what?" he asked, frowning.

"The deal you made with Jordan," I asked, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh," Wes replied, brushing it off. "Just this deal we made a long time ago, really."

"Well?" I turned my head to the side to face him, giving him an expectant look. He was fiddling with a few strands of grass on the ground. I had a bad habit of avoiding the topic at hand. And this distraction seemed to work.

He stopped fiddling and glanced up at me, his grey eyes, the colour of steel now, pierced mine. His expression was hopeful yet unsure- still guarded. This caused me to pull my eyebrows up together in confusion.

"The deal was he would finally make a move on Eli if I was man enough to do something," he said, his voice controlled as he stared into my eyes, not once breaking contact. The way he was looking at me made my breath hitch in my throat. What distraction had I gotten myself into?