Fins(41)

“I’m sorry,” he said, but I already knew.

“No, I’m sorry,” I gently touched his ribs. “I forgot.”

“It’s all right,” he said, rolling onto his back. “I haven’t ever broken anything before.”

“Never?” I asked, sitting up and looking down at him.

“No, I don’t break.”

“You don’t break,” I repeated slowly and let myself touch his hair.

“But I’ve never had to let my guard down, either.”

I shifted to my knees and faced him. He looked so beautiful lying there on the sand. I felt protective and knowing he was hurt brought overwhelming feelings of love and sympathy. I leaned over him and he watched me with those intense blue eyes.

“I take it you don’t want me to leave you alone?” He asked, smiling at me.

“No,” I whispered, touching his lips with mine. His arms pulled me closer to him, one hand softly at my neck and the other around my back. Making sure I didn’t place any weight on his chest, I kissed him as deeply as I could. Again, that warmth began to encircle us. It was peaceful and felt right. Everything about him made me want to be with him, even his smell.

I don’t know how long we lay there kissing, but after a while, Thayde pulled away and lightly kissed my nose.

“I think we should stop now,” he said.

“Why?” I asked, feeling almost drunk.

“I don’t want to go too far.”

It was sweet. He was being so respectful and here I was, at the verge of tearing his clothes off. I nodded and sat back. Carefully, he sat up, wincing a few times.

“I don’t think I want to go through another Judgment,” he said lightly.

“You won’t have to,” I said.

I helped him stand. We held each other and watched the sun set. Gold melted into orange and as the sun disappeared, the red that was left behind reminded me of the final color of The Fire when it happened to me.

“Shall I take you home now?” He asked, breathing into my hair.

“No.”

“Ah, but you have to be back before midnight,” he turned me toward my shoes, “or else you’ll turn into a pumpkin, remember?”

He was right. And Mom would have a fit. Pulling our shoes on, we walked hand in hand back to his car and as we drove back home, all I could think was “I’m in love!”





Chapter Nine




Nothing’s Normal



Thayde kissed me good night and left me standing in the door of my room. I fell into bed, head reeling from all the emotions I was feeling. The last thing I wanted to do was go to sleep, especially knowing he was in the guest bedroom.

All I could think about was Thayde - how his touch felt on my skin, how he smelled so good, and his eyes - those gorgeous blue eyes, staring straight into my soul. I fell asleep thinking of him and I woke up thinking of him. “I’m going to marry this man,” I thought.

Jumping out of bed, I pulled on a sarong and quickly brushed my teeth. I ran a brush lightly through my hair and decided to go ahead and find Mom and tell her I was in love with Thayde.

A beautiful breakfast was set up in the gazebo. Mom and Tammer were already eating. Seaweed. Blech.

As I approached them, they both looked up at the same time. Naira sat on Mom’s lap and smiled as I sat down.

“Hello,” she said in her sweet little voice, “I like Thayde.”

“I do too,” I agreed and grabbed a slice of fresh coconut. “What do you guys think?” I asked, pretending to be preoccupied by the coconut.

“I think he’s very nice, Morgandy.” Mom sounded sad.

“What’s wrong?” Something was always up with these two. I was starting to dread their answers.

“It’s just that, well, I guess I wasn’t prepared to lose you so quickly.” Mom grabbed a glass of water and took a drink.

“I’m not going anywhere,” I said and looked at Tammer. “What’s she talking about?”

He finished his mouthful and cleared his throat. “Well, you’ll be eighteen in December. You’ve met the man you’re going to marry.”

Darn his mind reading.

“You’re obviously in love with him and he’s head over heels about you.” He rubbed his chin. “It’s playing out exactly as it did for us.”

There was silence. No one spoke. Not even the birds made noise.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“We were told that history was going to repeat itself.”

“Who told you that?” I pretended to not be concerned.

“Geiruna.”

“And you believed her?”

Mom kissed the top of Naira’s head and whispered in her ear. She slid off Mom’s lap and skipped into the house. Mom watched her lovingly and then looked at me.