24. War

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"Okay, pull yourself together," Trevor orders.

I'm hanging onto his arm to keep myself from falling to the floor in a fit of giggles.

"I'm gonna pee." I giggle again. It's not the normal giggles of insecurity that girls bring out when they're trying to be cute. No, these are the ugly giggles that erupt from the deepest part of your gut. Like the belly-rolling giggles that are uncontrollable and completely embarrassing. The giggles that bring out the snorts and the farts.

Trevor eyes me without amusement like I'm some nine-year-old tag-a-long.

"You're one of those girls who pees their pants when they play hide-and-seek, aren't you?" He sounds like he already knows the answer.

"Pfft... What? No." Yeah. Yeah, I totally am.

Man, I need to do some bladder control. And by the look on his face, he knows.

"What?" I defend. "When I'm nervous and excited my abdominal muscles, and all the surrounding muscles, get a little weak. I don't wet my pants or anything. Gosh, darn it. Leave me alone."

"Okay, well you're gonna have to shut it or you'll ruin this whole operation." He's so serious that I start giggling even harder. He makes it sound like we're part of the military on some secret mission.

"Operation," I gasp as I hold my stomach. It's beginning to feel the effects of too much laughter.

"Stop, or I'll make you stop," Trevor warns, and I catch a glimpse of the look on his face. The heat in his shimmering eyes instantly sobers me. What did he mean by that? My eyes flicker to his lips, where they twitch to reveal a satisfied grin. "Thought that might work."

Well, that just soured my mood. Thanks.

"Let's do this, Lieutenant Trev," I announce.

Trevor shakes his head and then places a finger to his lips as he carefully opens the door to my dorm.

It's dark, but the vibrating walls are a clear sign that Mercy is unconscious. That level of snoring would be impressive even if she were a dude. We stealthily glide across the floor, and I only trip once. We get to the side of the bed where Mercy is sleeping soundly, and I catch Trevor making some strange hand signals out of the corner of my eye. I just gape at him in response, but I'm not sure if he can see my blank expression in this lighting since I can barely see him.

He sighs and then leans down towards my face. My breath vanishes from my body as I feel his body heat mix with my own. I don't even care if this is not the time or place. I will sacrifice this operation for one chance to know if my dream kiss was accurate at all. When I feel him bypass my lips and head towards my ear I nearly cry.

"You go under the bed, and I'll pass the Saran wrap over her body so we can wrap it more easily." His breath tickles the hairs around my ear and I nearly start giggling again.

I push my fist to my mouth and nod.

I didn't realize what I was getting myself into because there is literally no breathing space under her bed. I think her entire childhood is packed under here. I push crap aside as I maneuver my way into the dark, tight space. I poke my hand out of the crack between the bed and the wall to give Trevor an okay sign. Seconds later I feel plastic hit my fingers, and I grab the roll, passing it along my body towards where my feet stick out. I can't move well enough to hand the roll to Trevor, so he has to get on his hands and knees and reach under the bed for it.

We continue wrapping Mercy into her bed for nearly thirty minutes. It's a good thing she sleeps like a dead bear or we'd never get away with this. Trevor made sure that her head was clear from any possible suffocation accidents, and then we bolt from the room. I'm giggling all over again at our clever and successful plan as we stumble into the dimly lit corridor.

"I could kiss you right now with how brilliant that was," I say as I double over to catch my breath. I'm still laughing.

"What's stopping you?" he questions suggestively, the hint of a smile on his lips.

My gaze shoots to his instantly. "Uh," I pause. "The desire to live?" I reply, but I sound anything but confident because his expression is confusing me.

Seconds pass before the look leaves his face.

We walk in silence to the elevators and continue in silence until we reach the main entrance. I push the door open and wait for Trevor to pass through. The awkwardness is unsettling, but I don't know how to break it, so I do the next stupidest thing. I hug him. Yep, I pulled his stone-like frame into my arms and squeezed.

I don't give him a chance to hug me back because I don't want to be humiliated if he doesn't. I catch a brief scent of cinnamon lingering on his skin before I pull away, and something about it has warmth shooting through my chest.

"Thanks, Trev," I whisper.

He smiles with a nod before turning and strolling away.

I'm kicking myself the whole way up the elevator because I hate that I hugged him, but I also hate that I didn't take him up on his offer to kiss him. He may have been joking, but it sure didn't appear that way, unless he was messing with me. In that case, I'm glad I didn't take him up on the offer. That would have been embarrassing.

As I slide between the sheets of my dirty bed once again, all thoughts of Trevor vanish as I recall what we'd done to Mercy, and a genuine smile spreads across my face. A giddy excitement births inside my chest because I Just. Can't. Wait. Until. Tomorrow. I've never been more excited to watch someone wake up before in all my life.

That sounds a lot creepier than it should.

The smile doesn't leave my face until I drift off to sleep, which just adds a bit to my creep-factor. Who falls asleep smiling? Emma White! That's who. And I'll still be smiling tomorrow when I watch Mercy struggle in her plastic trap.

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Fun night for Trevor and Emma, huh? I hope you guys enjoyed seeing Emma let loose. Haha. She can be a bit of a psycho when she's "drunk on loooooove". Wait... did I say love?? No no no... I didn't mean that. :p

Thanks for all the votes and comments. You're all grrreat! :p

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