“Stop it,” I laughed, waving Nick
away. It was the fourth day straight of torrential downpour and Nick decided to
abandon Mikael—for whatever reason—and spend the day with me. It was a splendid
idea, mostly because he had stopped asking if we were still good. In fact, his
entire attitude had taken a complete 180. The only downside was, the moment he
came through the door he couldn’t seem to stop kissing me.
Nick hadn’t answered my questions
about what had gotten into him, or what was the special occasion. He was
single-minded in his pursuit, and when I didn’t stop talking, he kissed my
extremely ticklish neck, thus the laughter. The situation itself wasn’t
preferable, but it was better than him questioning everything.
I pushed him away, saying, “Nick, no
more. Talk to me. Stop—”
“Don’t you just want to be with me?”
he asked, his eyes focused and serious. They were brighter than usual with a
twinge of sadness. “Really be with me?”
“What do you mean?” I tore out of his
embrace, pretty sure I didn’t like where this was going.
“I love you,” he said, ceasing to
move; he just stared, waiting for my reply.
“I love you, too. That’s no reason to
be so touchy all of a sudden.”
“We’ve been together for nine months,
Abriel. Let go already.” He grabbed me in his arms, engaging my lips again. His
hand started to slip under my shirt.
“Cut it out!” I shouted, forcing him
the room length away. “I love you, but I am not putting up with you trying to
feel like—like you need extra confirmation.” I didn’t even try to erase the
anger from my voice.
“Abriel—”
“Leave. I do not want to hear it,” I
asserted, jabbing a finger toward the door. “Not from you.”
“Abriel, listen—”
“Go away.” When he moved toward me
instead of the door, I sent a burst of air to shove him outside. Standing in
the doorway, I added, “When I want to see you again, I’ll come to you.”
It seemed the moment I turned my
back, fighting exploded behind me. Drei pushed Nick down and he slid through
the mud, rebounding like a pro to ineffectively shove Drei. It really pissed me
off, the entire situation. Even though both knew I hated it, here they were
fighting, and to top it off, in the rain. I ran outside, quickly becoming
soaked—adding to my fabulous mood—yelling at them to grow up, since I couldn’t
just break up the whole shenanigan.
“Shut up!” I bellowed as loud as I
could, stepping between the two and shoving them apart. Breathing heavily, I
turned to Nick first. “You, leave,” I said, my dark blonde hair sticking to my
face and shirt, sending rivulets of water down my skin. “Don’t ever think you
can touch me again; not ever.” Then I swiveled on Drei, his features shocked,
and a voice in the back of my mind wondered what I looked like. “I don’t need a
white knight, okay? This is a new world, and I can handle things myself; I
don’t need you fighting for me.”
Drei’s features sank, and I realized
he really did think I needed his help protecting my honor and whatnot. But I
didn’t. It was better he realized that now.
“Just go…both of you,” I finished,
exasperated. “Leave me alone.” I threw my hands up as I went back to my cabin.
Why were guys so difficult? And
how in the world did I ever end up between two of the most hardheaded guys in
existence?
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