Аманда Хокинг: Fate

Milo came out a little bit later, hopping off the dock into the water. He explained that Mae wanted to stay inside to continue chopping the fruit into fancy shapes. She always went overboard trying to feed us. We were just two people, but she cooked like we were an army. It only made it more obvious when they didn’t eat anything, but Milo had only made a few comments about it.

Surprisingly, he hadn’t really caught on that they weren’t human. Jack had been more discreet about his paranormal abilities than he had been with me, but Milo was a smart kid. I was inclined to think that he knew something was up, but just let it go, because they didn’t seem dangerous and they made me happy. I couldn’t actually prove this theory, though, because I couldn’t ask him about it. Then it would reveal too much, and it would just be easier if he never found out what they were.

“It’s a really beautiful night out,” Milo commented, staring up at the night sky. He had splashed around a bit, but he was floating on his back not that far from me, just admiring the night like I was.

“It’s been a fantastic summer,” I agreed.

Unlike normal summers, where it always seemed to be insufferably hot or disgustingly humid, for the most part this when had been spectacular. Of course, it probably helped that I mostly only came out at night, and that I spent a great deal of it either in air conditioned bliss or in the lake. As of late, everything had just felt perfect.

“I can’t believe it’s almost over,” Milo sighed.

“Don’t remind me!” I cringed. School was only three short weeks away, and I was not ready for it at all.

“It won’t be so bad.” Milo had been trying to convince me that school had little effect on my life, but it changed everything. There’d be no more all-nighters with Jack, and soon everything would get cold and snowy, and Milo would make me do homework. None of it sounded pleasant at all.

I was about to protest further about how ridiculous high school was when something grabbed me and pulled me under. I tried to scream but water buried me. Immediately, I assumed it was some evil sea creature coming to eat my soul and panicked. My lungs had been without air for a fraction of a second, but they insisted that I was dying. Clawing my way to the surface, I grabbed onto something strong and soft and pulled myself up.

As soon as I reached for him, Jack pulled me up out of the water and let me cling on to him. Over my own panicked gasps for breath, I heard him laughing softly, and I realized belatedly that he had been the one that had grabbed my ankle to pull me down. After a summer of similar gags, I should’ve caught on to the fact that Jack thought it was funny scaring the crap out of me.

I should’ve slapped him or told him he was a jerk, but I was instantly distracted by the feel of his arms wrapped around me. His chest was pressed up against mine, and I know he could feel the frantic beating of my heart that drove him absolutely crazy. I looked up in his soft blue eyes, and I felt breathless for whole new reason. His laughter died down, and his smile faltered as his body temperature started to rise, smoldering against my skin. Ordinarily, he would’ve pushed me away by now, but he was letting me linger in his arms and I relished the moment. My thoughts wandered back to that amazing kiss, and I unconsciously tilted in towards him, hoping desperately that he’d let go just long for one innocent little kiss.

“Hey! Look! A shooting star!” Milo shouted excitedly.

It was just enough for Jack to realize what was happening, so he pushed me back and swam a little bit away from me. Although I hadn’t directly asked about it, his temperature only seemed to rise when things between us started getting physical. During the crazy passionate kiss, his skin had felt like it was on fire, but in a really good way. Lately, Jack had been doing everything he could to keep from letting things get out a hand, and sometimes that meant that he’d physically push me away. It was getting harder to shrug off, though. The way I felt about him was getting out of control, and it was really hard trying to pretend like there was nothing going on at all.

“Did you see it?” Milo piped again.

I meant to shoot an angry glare at him for disrupting one of the few moments I managed to have with Jack, but then I saw him just staring blissfully at the sky. He hadn’t been attention to anything else but the stars, so he hadn’t known that he’d interrupted anything. Had he been aware what was going, he probably would’ve crept off into the night so we could have more privacy. He was constantly egging me to go out with Jack, but I think that was mostly because he fully intended to live through me.

“Nah, sorry, I missed it,” I told him.

“They’ll probably be another one,” Milo assured me soothingly, and I realized that I had probably sounded very heavy with regret. Unfortunately, it wasn’t about missing a stupid star. Sure, I do love a good shooting star, but kisses with Jack were even a rarer commodity than that.

“I hope so.”

I was treading water, but Jack had moved on to harassing Matilda. He’d gotten very good at finding ways to ignore me, much to my chagrin. Poor Matilda was standing at the end of the dock, barking her refusal to jump in, but he was promising her everything in the world in an attempt to cajole her. Milo had apparently tired of his stargaze so he went over to join him.

Being out in the water suddenly didn’t feel like it was that much fun. The adrenaline from the near sea monster death, followed by the near kiss, left my body feeling achy and tired. Besides, I knew that Jack would do his best to steer clear of me for awhile, and even if I understood that routine, it didn’t feel very good.

“I think I’m gonna head back inside and see if Mae needs a hand,” I said, to no one in particular, which was just as well. Matilda was far more captivating than I was, apparently.

I turned away from them, Milo and Jack laughing heartily at how indecisive the dog seemed. By the time I made it to the shore, I heard the loud splash and their happy glee as Matilda finally jumped in the water. If only my resolution with Jack could be that simple. Admittedly I didn’t openly plead with him for things between us to move on, but he definitely knew how I felt. And I knew how he felt, which really made everything all the more frustrating.

Wrapping the towel tightly around me, I stepped in through the French doors. My skin froze instantly, thanks to the artic draft from the air conditioner. Amy Winehouse was blasting out of the stereo, Mae’s one new guilty pleasure. Jack was always trying to get her to listen to new music, and so far the only things that took were Winehouse and Norah Jones. She was dancing around the kitchen, singing along with the songs into a spatula, and despite my aggravation over the Jack situation, I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Oh my gosh!” Mae put her hand over her heart and her golden eyes flashed with embarrassment at the site of me. “You scared me!”

“Couldn’t you hear me come in?” I asked, watching as she turned down the stereo and tried to collect herself. “Aren’t you guys supposed to have super hearing or something?”

“Well, yes, when we’re paying attention,” Mae smiled sheepishly at me. The fruit snack she had been preparing looked complete and nicely arranged on the island, and from the looks of the mess in the sink, she was just cleaning up when I interrupted.

“Do you need a hand?” I offered.

“Probably. But you need to go put some clothes on first.” She nodded at me, and I realized dimly that I had begun to shiver. “Unless you’re not done for the night.”

“Oh, no, I’m definitely done,” I replied grimly. The thrill of it had completely worn of the instant Jack pushed me away. That had a way of sucking the joy of anything.