Grounded (Grounded #1) (3 page)

He nodded, said he had to get back to work and left me sitting in the coffee shop with a smile on my face and a hankering for another cup.

Chapter Four

Between my run-ins with Jensen, Aric and I got together pretty often, running and climbing anything and everything we could find to stay in shape. He pushed me, teased that he could run three laps in the time it took me to run one, but come on; the dude had almost a foot on me, making his strides much larger.

After finishing dinner at Frost’s, another place where they were starting to know me by name, we walked back to his apartment. I loved that I could walk just about anywhere in town without a problem. Since the motel was farther out, I usually drove into town whenever the mood struck, parked my car in the first parking lot I saw upon entering Putnam Valley, and walked everywhere until I was ready to go back to the motel.

The summer night was quiet and crisp when we stopped at the corner, waiting for the light to change. Aric cupped my face and leaned in until his lips touched mine. I wasn’t expecting that at all. Swept up, in or by the softness, I didn’t want him to let go. The kiss was much too quick for my taste.

Then he pulled back, his eyes watching mine. He tasted sweet, and the constant prickling that covered my body whenever he was near didn’t hurt either. To say it surprised the hell out of me would be an understatement. It was a great kiss.

“Sorry,” he said quietly, not looking like he meant it. “I probably shouldn’t have done that.”

“Why is that?” My racing heart made my voice breathy.

“I have a list, actually.”

I laughed. If I thought about it, I could come up with one, too. Mine would probably be longer than his.

“Okay.” I faced him, crossing the street without looking to keep him right beside me, never missing a beat. “What’s number one?”

“You’re Gremalian.” He paused. ”Oh, wait, you’re the Gremalian daughter of the head of the Gremalian council.”

“Oh, please.” I brushed him off. “Number two?”

He went on to list things like I came to New York to get Jensen, we were working together, and I was very young, although there was only four years between us. Then he hits me with the kicker.

“You like him.”

“Who?” Playing dumb was much easier than fessing up. I knew who he was talking about, and he was right.

“Jensen.”

We turned one more corner and ended up back at his apartment. I’d already decided not to go in. Since I’d parked my car outside of his apartment, I stopped there. When I didn’t say anything, he started talking again.

“It’s okay, Alyssum. He’s a likable guy.”

“What makes you say that? About me?”

“I’m quite perceptive. Plus, you blush every time you see him. I wasn’t going to kiss you. I didn’t want to confuse things. We’re talking war and have loved ones on opposite sides, but apparently, somewhere along the way, I decided to throw my hat in the ring.”

I cocked my head to the side and scrunched my face. “It’s a good hat.” I had another question that couldn’t wait. I took a deep breath because the answer might not be what I wanted to hear. “Does it bother you that I like him too?”

Aric swallowed and thought about that. “It doesn’t bother me that you like him. It bothers me that he likes you, but I’m a grown up. I can deal with that for now. It’s not like I have a claim on you. Yet.”

That answer was part what I wanted to hear and part what I didn’t. It made sense, but I wasn’t ready to say that I wanted to be with either of them. Like them? Yes. Date them? Absolutely. But push one away? Definitely not.

I hopped in my car and went home—or, in my case, a small motel room over a thousand miles away from home. My room felt empty and much too quiet. I didn’t even have a book to hunker down with because I’d already read the ones I bought in town.

I don’t sleep much on a good day but, ever since I arrived in New York, I’d slept even less. Since it was still kind of early, even for small town, USA, I drove to the bookstore to feed my other habit and ended up with a few magazines that I couldn’t normally get back home. I overheard some people talking about the holiday celebration the next day and remembered Mr. Burkhardt inviting me to the Memorial Day Festival. Sounded like something the whole town would be attending. I needed to be there too.

***

At the park, throngs of kids chased wildly after each other. Melted popsicles ran down their arms, mixing sticky with sweat. It reminded me of home, that the human and Gremalian worlds weren’t so different after all. I walked around, looking for Jensen or Mr. Burkhardt, trying not to appear like I was looking for them.

I stopped at a vendor cart and ordered a cherry Snow Cone to give me something to do. Also, it was hot. The scorching temps from earlier tapered off, making the weather a bit more bearable, and the ice felt good going down my throat. I wished I’d pulled my hair into a ponytail when I felt a drop of sweat run down the back of my neck.

“Fancy meeting you here.” Jensen came up behind me while I watched some girls playing hopscotch.

“It sounded fun and I haven’t seen fireworks in a while,” I replied.

“’Round here it’s like Christmas. So is the Fourth of July. Basically, we like to watch things explode into pretty colors. Our stuff is set up over that way.” He jutted his thumb behind him. “Come on.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to intrude.”

“Please, there’s tons of people. My parents take in all the strays.” My eyebrows shot up. Was he comparing me to a dog? “I didn’t mean—”

“Don’t worry about it.” I giggled and decided to give him a break. He was really cute when he was embarrassed.

We walked back slowly, making conversation like every other time we ran into each other. It was a lot easier to get comfortable with him than I thought it’d be. Talking to him was almost natural, as if we’d known each other all along. I was afraid he’d be wary of me, but he was laid back enough that it hadn’t been an issue.

He asked about my family, but I couldn’t really tell the whole truth. That would come in time. As with every time we were together, I constantly tried to figure him out. Was he laid-back? Yes. Confident? Mostly. Once in a while, he seemed less sure of himself than his normal mannerisms would have me believe. A conundrum.

None of that should even matter. Not to me. All I was supposed to care about was getting him home, but I cared about his feelings. Damn it, I cared about him.

“You done?” he asked, pointing to the empty Snow Cone cup I was still carrying.

I handed it to him and he tossed it in the trash can we passed just before I saw his group. It looked more like a house party than a picnic. There were portable tents everywhere. A couple of picnic tables were already full of people. Others were either sitting on blankets in the grass or standing with drinks in their hands, laughing, talking and seemingly having a very good time. One guy, about fifty years old, had clearly enjoyed a few too many drinks, as represented by his loud voice, swaying footsteps and slurred words. Somehow, they all noticed me, the newcomer, right away.

“I send you for ice and you bring back a girl?” A woman, presumably his mother, asked as she walked over to us.

Of course, she looked nothing like him. The gray was starting to creep into her short, manageable mom-cut that human women tended to get by the time they reached forty-five.

“Forgot the ice.” His eyes jumped from her, to me, then to nothing. Aw, being called out by his mom like that must’ve been rough, especially with me standing right there.

“This is Alyssum,” he said to her. Then he turned to me and said, “And this is my mom.”

“Don’t worry, Alice. I’ve got an extra bag in the cooler,” called another woman around his mom’s age.

“That’s okay, Mrs. Hancock. I’ll go back. Feel like another walk?” he asked.

“Sure.”

We headed out the way we came just as slowly as before. There was no rush. Everywhere I looked, people were enjoying food and their time with friends. Nobody seemed to care about anything else.

“How long are you in town?” he asked.

“Not sure. It’s kind of indefinite.”

On our way back to the group, Jensen reached up as we passed under a tree and pulled off a handful of leaves. He let a few trail in the breeze. The rest crunched in his hand, which gave him a distraction to focus on even though he was carrying a ten pound bag of ice in his other hand.

“Are you staying with friends?”

“No. I’m at a hotel.”

“Oh god!” He rolled his eyes.

“It’s not that bad.”

At the rate we were walking, I started to worry the ice would be water by the time we got back. Still, I wasn’t complaining. It felt natural being with him, comfortable.

Once the sky darkened enough, some of the kids took out sparklers. Soon, the only light around the group were some lanterns his dad lit and the shimmering snaps off the ends of the sparklers. I watched Jensen straighten a blanket, then come back to me.

“The show’s going to start soon,” he said.

“Wouldn’t miss it.”

We sat down, side by side, not even a foot apart. I came to Putnam Valley to convince him his people needed him. I didn’t entertain the idea I’d actually like him so much. Even with the warm air, I liked the feeling of his body heat covering the right side of me. He felt relaxing and familiar, as if my body already knew his on a subconscious level.

The first warning boom got everyone quiet and situated. Then the show started. Small pops of color against the night sky brought a smile to my face. As the flares climbed higher and higher, I noticed everyone else lying back on the ground to get a better view, so I laid down too. I felt Jensen do the same.

The fireworks were perfect, even more beautiful than the few times my mom took me to Marquette to watch the fireworks display over Lake Superior on the Fourth of July. Our shoulders almost touched and, a few booms later, his pinky finger looped around mine, waking my body up. That’s when I had to look over. I had to see his face. I needed to see if that small touch had the same effect on him that it had on me.

He wasn’t even watching the show. He was watching me. I held his gaze for a full minute. The dropping and clenching in my stomach became too much and I had to move my eyes from his. What I was feeling right then had nothing to do with us being Gremalian. Intertwining the rest of our fingers, we laid there like that until it was over.

Before I had a chance to sit up, he pulled his hand back and jumped to his feet. The party went back to full swing like there’d never been any interruption. Music started, drinks got poured and people resumed eating. It was like someone pushed the pause button during the show and then hit play.

“Hey.” I tapped his bicep, which was rock hard under my finger. I felt a spark. Not one of those ‘Love at First Sight’ type sparks, but an actual spark of static electricity. It was frustrating that he didn’t seem to feel anything. “I think I’m going to go.”

“Really?” He looked disappointed, which sent the butterflies in my stomach wild. I wanted him to be disappointed, wanted him to ask me to stay, propose marriage, anything to keep me there. Okay, a proposal would be premature. Anything else would be good.

“Yeah, I’m kinda tired.”

Really, I needed some space and perspective. Two guys in two days had shown some interest in me, which I wasn’t used to. Sure, I had a semi-serious boyfriend until the year before, but Sage was now only part of my life because he was part of my father’s security team. I didn’t let our relationship go very far. The realization that I found him heinous kind of squashed all romance.

“How long does this whole thing last?” I twirled my finger in the air to indicate the party.

“Oh, some of these people will end up sleeping here,” he laughed, “so possibly all night.”

“Thanks for inviting me. I had a lot of fun.”

He nodded, eyeing me for a few seconds. “Where are you parked?”

“Way out. But it’s a nice night. I don’t mind the walk.”

He brushed his hands off on his khaki shorts. “I’ll walk with you.”

“That’d be great.” With a good-bye to the new people I met and a ‘don’t be a stranger’ from Jensen’s dad, we headed out in the general direction of my car.

We didn’t talk much, just a random comment here or there. Instead, we let grasshoppers chirp us a soundtrack. He trusted me. I could tell, feel it even. My purpose in coming was to gain his trust, but my plan took an unexpected turn somewhere along the way. I had a whole new batch of feelings for Jensen.

“Here I am,” I said, hitting the button on my keychain to unlock the doors.

I leaned casually against the front panel on the driver’s side, palms resting against the hood. He stopped just before his knees could brush my thighs, so close I couldn’t help looking up at him. The girl in me wanted him to dive in for our first kiss. I was pretty sure it’d be a good one.

“I’d like to see you again,” he said softly. A smile played with his lips. “On purpose.”

“You have my number. Or rather, your dad does.”