I yanked the knot closed and stepped back, hoping she didn't see the effect of being so close to her had on me, as hard to hide as that effect might be.
She stepped back at the same time, her skin still flush pink. "Thank you. Um… Ocean should be out soon, she takes a bit longer to get ready. Is there something I should do while we wait?"
Me. You could do me. I mentally swatted myself. "Why don't we warm up with some stretches?"
Ocean joined us after a few minutes, and I helped her with her belt. Despite a killer figure, my body gave no reaction when I wrapped my arms around her. I could've been helping my sister, for all the attraction I felt.
I was in serious trouble.
The hour-long lesson nearly undid me as I adjusted Rose's stance, molding her soft body into hard shapes with my touch, and watched her bend over, twist, kick and punch. She had surprisingly good form and strength for someone who'd never fought before, but she seemed nervous every time I touched her, like she was scared I would hurt her. This triggered warning bells in my head. Was she in danger? Had someone else hurt her? I wanted to ask her if she was okay, but that didn't seem my place. Instead, we focused on the drills and the lessons, and I bit my tongue but kept my eyes peeled for unusual bruises.
At the end of the hour, both girls had put in a good work out. Rose's face shined red from the exertion, and beads of sweat clung to her neck and chest, dripping seductively into the valley between her breasts.
She disappeared into the bathroom to change and emerged in her regular clothes. She held out a gloved hand to me. "Thank you for the lesson."
I took her hand and we stood there, not really shaking hands, not really holding hands, just… suspended in the moment.
Before I could still my tongue, I blurted out, "Would you like to go out with me? On a date?" What? No. I needed to take it back, but I couldn't.
She pulled her hand out of mine and looked down at her feet. Ocean walked up behind her and smiled. "She'd love to. How about tonight? Say, 8:00? You can pick her up at this address by the gate." She handed me a slip of paper with an address in Olympia.
Rose looked up in surprise.
As much as I wanted this date, Rose had to agree or it was a no-go. "Rose? Do you want to go out with me? It's okay if you don't. I probably shouldn't have asked since I'm training you. You can forget I ever said anything."
"No!" She reached for my hand again. "No, I mean, yes. I'd love to go out with you."
A lightness of being infused me. "Great. So, does 8:00 work for you?"
"Yes, that's fine. I'll see you then, Derek."
When she said my name, it floated in the air like the wind, and like the wind it caressed my skin. "See you then, Rose."
FIVE
No Time to Woo
ROSE
These times of woe afford no time to woo.
— William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
Dear Diary,
There's an order to Community, a sense of things getting done and things working out. Someone handles all the food, someone else the money, and someone yet again handles all repairs. It gives everyone an assurance, the same assurance parents give their children, that everything will be okay. Some look down upon our living, but I don't find it so strange. I've never been to a village, but I've read of them, and if our Community had need of another name, I suppose I'd call it that, a village. We raise kids together. We spend nights by the fire. When the morning rooster sings its song, we all hear the same melody and move to the same tune. We all breathe the same northern wind, carrying the scent of pine and the chill of winter. We all walk the same earth and leave footprints in the mud. My mother started Community as a place where people can be themselves, but we became more than one self could ever be alone. We raised each other on our shoulders and built a place sturdier than any other home. There's an order to Community, a sense of things repeating and things fitting in. Someone handles all the rules, someone else the punishments, and someone yet again handles all our futures. Everyone works together. Everything fits.
Except me.
MOTHER LEAD A discussion on what our response should be to the recent attacks on our coven as my mind wandered to my time with Derek. The way he'd said my name, the way he'd touched me… I just couldn't stop thinking about him.
Flutters of butterflies swarmed my belly when I envisioned what our date that night would entail. Would he try to kiss me? Would I let him? That would have been an easy question to answer yesterday. Of course no one could touch me or kiss me. I couldn't risk it. But now, all I wanted was to feel his body pressed against mine for more than just martial arts training.
Ocean leaned over to whisper in my ear. "If you're trying to keep lover-boy a secret, you might want to stop gazing off into the distance with that lovesick grin on your face. Someone's bound to notice."