Wings of the Walker - CoraLee June Page 0,111

things out with me, but Jacob kept a firm and wordless grip on my hand, preventing me from making any rash decisions .

“Let’s not head home just yet. I wanted to show you something,” Jacob said while pulling me towards the trees. My dismal mood immediately brightened at the prospect of spending alone time with Jacob.

“You showing her the spot?” Kemper asked with a grin. The moonlight danced along his blond hair and cast dark shadows along the lines of his face.

“Yeah, you want to come?” Jacob asked unconvincingly.

“Absolutely! It’s about time she got a proper initiation. Hux, come on. You’ve got to come with us,” Kemper said, clamping his hand upon Huxley’s stiff shoulder.

I put my hand behind my neck and looked at their three faces. Jacob looked resigned but still happy, Kemper had pure excitement coursing through his features, and Huxley was timid , a word I never thought I’d use to describe him. This ‘spot’ was important to them.

“Come on, Huxley, you can keep an eye on us,” I joked.

He rolled his eyes in such a delicious way that my breath hitched. “Fine. But we can’t be out too late, I’ve got plans with Mia.”

With that revelation, my stomach sank—no—plummeted. Why did it affect me so that he was spending time with Mia?

“You make it sound so much more scandalous than it actually is,” Jacob said to Huxley while giving my hand a gentle squeeze, as if he could sense that I was disheartened. “You’ve got guard duty at the same time as her,” Jacob explained.

“On the completely opposite side of the province,” Kemper added. I hated that their explanations made me feel immensely better.

We made our way to the secretive ‘spot’. I spent the majority of our walk trying to pry information about it out of them, but all three only provided vague answers and boyish chuckles. As we walked further away from the town, the wildness of the woods made excitement and anticipation course through me. Although I felt safe near Jacob, Kemper, and Huxley, the eeriness of the dark still made me eager to get to our destination .

After tripping over my third stray vine, Jacob gave me a mischievous look before hauling me over his shoulder. I yelped in surprise and felt his hot hands on my thighs, causing my mauve skirt to ride up. “We’re about five minutes away, can’t have you tripping and scraping that perfect skin of yours before we get there,” he said with a laugh.

It was a torturous five minutes. Every step he made, pushed his hand up further, and I loved the feel of it. It made me anxious and tingly all over, and I counted the seconds until he put me back down.

“We’re here,” he said in a breathless voice while sliding me down his long body and onto the floor of the woods. I placed both my hands against his chest and peered up at him. The moonlight barely illuminated his face, but I saw the flash of his white teeth as he bit his lip.

“Come on, you two,” Huxley voice scolded from the dark. I followed the direction of his voice with outstretched hands until I was in a clearing. Leaves crunched under my boots, and the moonlight illuminated the space completely, allowing me to see Kemper, Jacob, and Huxley clearly, as well as our surroundings.

In the clearing, I noticed that when I looked up, I could see the bright bulbs twinkling against the night sky. Without the light pollution, the stars were easily seen and illuminated the blue-black sky in scattered brilliance.

“Wow,” I whispered in awe. It was absolutely beautiful.

Jacob migrated over to a trunk that sat at the base of a tree then unfolded a blanket from it and placed it on the ground. He then grabbed my hand and guided me onto the blanket.

“The green is the toxic carbon dioxide released from the trees in the deadlands. It’s very dangerous, but from down here it looks beautiful,” Kemper explained while pointing up at the sky. I watched as the green haze danced in the dark.

“When we were boys, before we all lived together, we’d sneak away from home and meet here,” Kemper explained while I got comfortable. Once I was situated, Jacob laid down on my right, and Kemper on my left. Huxley sat cross-legged at my feet, but I felt the warm touch of his hand rest against my ankle. The feather-light brush of his skin against mine was so