Finding ELE (ELE Series #2) Written By: Rebecca Gober and Courtney Nuckels (23 page)

I try and take a million mental images of
the way he’s looking at me. With sheer love and respect. He gives
his head a shake and says, “I’m going to do my darnedest not to
beat up all the guys who can't take their eyes off you
tonight.”

I laugh a bit at that. It wasn’t exactly
what I expected him to say. “Well, I appreciate that.” I respond
with a large smile plastered to my face.

He leans in and whispers in my ear, “Now,
what exactly is Candy supposed to be wearing?”

"It's supposed to be a representation of the
setting sun. Or possibly, a sparkly vampire?" I joke.

"Hmm, nice." He says.

"Wowza!" Connor comes to a standstill behind
us. He's wearing a similar outfit as Alec. His light brown hair is
growing out and it looks disheveled but it fits his style. His eyes
are bugged out and his jaw has dropped. By the way he's ogling her,
I'm surprised he didn't whistle and holler 'va va voom.'

Claire's cheeks turn crimson. She runs her
hand through her hair self-consciously, twirling it between her
fingers. "Hi." She whispers.

Connor moves quickly to her side. "You
look…hot."

She giggles. "Thanks, you don't look too bad
yourself."

Connor leans in and kisses her sweetly.

Alec takes that as a cue to pull me into a
quick lipstick smearing kiss then we all head out to the
courtyard.

The party is going strong outside. The sun
has fully set and the fire lights the courtyard up nicely. Kids are
running around again, stealing marshmallows and popping them into
their mouths. More people are dressed up tonight than during the
first bonfire. I attribute that to the new items that were found
during the most recent scavenging expedition.

I look around but don't see Tony anywhere. I
don't know if I'm happy about that or not. Things are still a
little awkward but I think we can work it out.

Alec grabs my hand, spins me around once and
pulls me onto a makeshift dance floor. We dance to a slow song and
I lay my head against his chest just like women do in movies. It's
nice.

When the slow song turns into a fast one, we
join up with our friends. I have a blast dancing and laughing at
Connor and Alec trying to dance.

Candy found herself a dancing partner and is
dancing with the cutest boy at the party. We all smile and laugh as
Sebastian sways his hips from side to side and nods his head in
unison. He's too cool for school!

When we are all thoroughly sweaty and our
energy levels have dropped a few points, we head over to the
refreshments table. Alec serves me a glass of punch and I hand him
a skewer with a marshmallow attached to the end. We head over to
the fire to make the tastiest smores ever.

Surprisingly, the flames reflecting off
Candy's dress looks pretty cool. A beefy looking blonde who looks
to be around seventeen, notices it too. I overhear him introduce
himself as Jake. He flirts with Candy and I watch the come on from
my peripheral vision. She giggles at one of his comments and
unfortunately a little bit of that hyena laugh surfaces. I cringe,
worried that he’ll be deterred but he laughs too and accidentally
snorts. Maybe there is a perfect match in the making here. He asks
her to dance and I look over at her as she walks away. She mouths
to me, 'He's hot.'

I nod my head, even though he's not really
my type.

Once we are stuffed to the rim with sugar
and chocolate, we go back to dancing. After a few songs, I excuse
myself from our dancing circle that has grown larger with the
addition of Jake. I tell Alec that I need to go to the restroom,
but really I want to look for Tony. I haven't seen him all night
and I want to make sure he's okay.

I walk around the party by myself for a few
minutes, then give up and head to the restroom for real this time.
On my way back I run into Tony. When I say, run into him, I mean I
literally smack into him at the end of the hallway. I almost fall
back, but he catches me just in time. He sets me upright and I
smooth my dress down to keep it from riding up too high.

Tony's copper hair is combed back and
shorter than the last time I saw him. He must have recently had it
cut. He is wearing low cut jeans and a bright blue polo that makes
his eyes look nuclear next to it.

He gives me the once over. The look in his
eyes kicks the temperature up a few notches and I squirm in place.
"You are earth shatteringly beautiful." He says to me.

His comment takes my breath away. My mouth
drops slightly and I find myself at a loss for words.

At my reaction, he shakes his head like he's
clearing the cobwebs. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that." He
runs his hand through his copper hair.

I blink a few times then say, "It's okay. I
mean, thank you."

He looks away. "Just stating the truth."

Ready to change the subject and lower the
uncomfortable factor a notch, I say, "Are you not going to the
party?"

He shakes his head. "Well, I was heading
down there but I'm probably just going to go join a poker game I
saw going on in the dining hall instead."

"Why?" I raise my eyebrow inquisitively.

He runs his hand through his hair again. I
really wish he'd stop doing that, since it makes him look boyishly
cute. I try to think of Tony as being a lot older than me, since he
handles his demeanor that way. Most of the time he comes across as
rigid and cold. It helps me to not think of other things, like how
good he looks in those jeans. Or how his muscles stand out under
his polo shirt. No, I don't want to think of those things around
Tony. I want to think of him as my hard-core, drill sergeant
trainer who just happens to be my friend. That's how I want to
think of him.

He clears his throat. "I want our friendship
to work Willow. I'm sifting through a lot of feelings that I can't
help having. I don't think spending a night watching you dance
around in that dress will be good for me. In fact, that will
probably be the end of me."

I blush at his candid statement. "Okay." I
twist a strand of hair in my fingers and look away awkwardly.

"Have fun." He says sincerely. Then he walks
past me leaving me alone in the hallway.

I stand there for a few moments feeling
stunned until I hear someone clear their throat.

I look up to find my mom. "Hey." I wonder if
she saw all of that.

"Hey." She comes up to me and puts her hand
on my shoulder. "Are you okay?"

I nod my head. "Yes, why do you ask?" Hoping
she won't confirm that she was a witness to the interaction between
her right hand man and me.

She gives me a half smile and hugs me from
the side. "You know I saw everything." She points to her eyes, "Mom
vision." I look up at her embarrassed so she quickly continues. "Do
you want to talk about it?"

I shake my head. "Not really." I can't even
wrap my head around everything, never less be able to talk about
it.

Understanding sparks in her expression. "I
understand sweety. Do you mind if I give you some advice?"

"No." I tell her. "I mean, yes, you can give
me advice. You know..." I know I'm not making sense so I'm glad
when she ignores my stammering.

"I think you need to take some time to
really figure out who Willow Mosby is. You have two great guys who
I can tell like you a lot. I also can see that you seem very torn
when you are around Tony."

I look at her guiltily. I didn't know it was
that obvious.

"I'm not going to tell you that's wrong
baby. It's perfectly normal. Tony helped you when you needed him on
the outside. Alec helped you when you needed him on the inside.
Your feelings for the two of them are natural. You need to take the
time to think about what you want."

My eyes tear up. "What are you saying? Do
you think I should not be with Alec because I have these feelings?"
I can't do that, I love Alec.

My mom shakes her head. "No, I'm not saying
that at all. Alec is good for you. I'm just saying that I don't
want you to beat yourself up over having a small spark with Tony.
Of course, I'm also not saying that you should act on that spark by
any means while you're with Alec. Over time though, you will get to
know more about who you are as you come into your own. Eventually
you will know exactly what you want. I know I did." She tells
me.

I blink away the tears. "So there was
another guy before dad?"

She laughs. "Of course honey. There were
several other guys that I thought I loved. Your dad and I even
broke up for a while back when we first started dating. We both saw
other people in between but it was that time apart that confirmed
that we were meant to be together." She clarifies quickly. "I'm
still not saying to break up with Alec. I just don't want you to
think you are a horrible person for having mixed feelings, that's
all."

"Okay, thanks, I think." I feel a little
confused by my mom's talk but deep down it does make me feel
better. "I love you."

"I love you too baby." She gives me a hug,
then we part ways and I head back to the bonfire.

I find Alec leaning against the wall with a
drink in his left hand. He looks around the courtyard, taking in
all the action going on. I walk over to him and put my arms around
his sides.

“
Did you get lost?” He asks
me.

I shake my head. “No, I was talking with my
mom in the hall.” It’s not a complete lie, but I don’t feel like
opening up a can of worms about Tony’s and my conversation.

Alec doesn’t ask me anymore he just holds me
tight against him. I close my eyes and listen to the music playing
joyfully in the background. With all the chaos that’s going on
around us I can’t help but feel so right in this moment. Things may
not be perfect, but with Alec, everything seems right. That's all I
can ask for in times like these.

Alec and I find a spot by the fire and
listen to several people tell stories of times past. A few of the
older gentlemen tell us about life before the virus. Alec cradles
me to him and I rest my head on his chest. The fire brings a
comforting heat in the cool air of the night. I learn a lot about
our history and ask a lot of questions.

After an hour or so Connor and Claire join
us and then Candy comes over a bit later, winded by all the dancing
she’s doing. She claims she had to dance so long in order to burn
off the calories from all the smores she ate.

Yeah right, I think to myself. I’m sure Jake
had nothing to do with her wanting to dance so long.

After the party dwindles down, the guys
escort us girls back to our rooms. I can't help but notice Jake go
in for a kiss outside of Candy's door. I look away quickly to give
them privacy. Inside, I'm happy for her. She can use a little
encouragement out here.

I kiss Alec goodnight and head into my room.
I take my few minutes of privacy, with Claire still outside to
change out of my dress and throw on some cotton shorts and a tank
top.

Claire comes in several minutes later
practically glowing. "He told me he loves me!" She squeals and
belly flops onto my bed.

"So, what did you say?" I ask in a calm
voice that I'm putting on only to tease her.

Her eyes get big and she flips her hair
back. She lowers her voice and talks like a guy. "I said that's
cool, I like you a lot too."

I throw my head back laughing at her
impression.

"I really said: Finally! Then I told him
I've loved him for a long time now." She says with a wistful smile
on her face.

I match her previous squeal and raise her a
high five. "Oh my gosh that's big!" I know that Alec and I have
been using the L word for a while, but Connor doesn't seem much
like Mr. Commitment. So this kind of step is huge for him.

"I know! I mean I didn't think he would say
it anytime soon. I have to admit that I've felt pretty green every
time I hear you guys say it. I had to keep telling myself that
Connor will tell me that he loves me when he's ready." She throws
her head down into a pillow and screams into it excitedly while
kicking her legs.

"I'm so happy for you Claire." I can't help
but feel giddy too, with all of the excitement emanating from
her.

She looks up at me, all sunshine and
rainbows like. The girl sitting across from me with a giant smile
plastered on her face is a complete reverse from the one I
originally met. I'm so happy that she has found happiness.

"Thanks Willow!" She gives me a hug then
goes to the bathroom to change.

I fall asleep almost instantly once we turn
off the lantern. It's a nice peaceful sleep too, one without
interruption or dreams.

We train a lot over the next three days. My
mom has stepped up everyone's training schedule and now we are
working not only with our individual partners but also in group
settings. I'm getting better at hand to hand combat. I'm not trying
to gloat, but I'm a pretty rocking shot now with the pistol too. I
don't hit the target perfectly each time but nearly every round
hits it at least. That to me equals rock start shooter status.

Tony and I don't have too many awkward
moments thankfully. I can see that he's doing his best to separate
his feelings for me from our training. He still hasn't gotten to
the point though that he volunteers to hang out with us in our free
time. I don't bug him about it. Plus I'm sure he's busy doing
whatever he usually did before I came around…whatever that is.

Having finished a long day of training, I
head to my room to shower. I've been hearing about an impromptu
meeting my mom is going to hold at dinner, but I'm not sure what
it's about. Either way, I'm sure that everyone will appreciate it
if I don't come drenched in sweat and smelling like teen
spirit.

After a quick shower, I meet up with Alec
and we head down to the dining hall. When we reach the entrance, we
find that the tables have been put away and instead there are just
rows and rows of chairs.