Wings of the Walker - CoraLee June Page 0,64

slowly raised his eyebrows at me before inspecting a pile of crates off to the left of the train. The guys seemed happy and in their element, but I noticed a thoughtful air about them that made my anxiety rekindle.

“Hey, Ash!” Patrick yelled while jumping off the cargo trolley. I smiled as he ran towards me. He was a little sweaty from the heavy lifting, and his unbuttoned shirt flapped open with each stride of his long, muscular, legs. Patrick pulled me closer towards him, picked me up, and twirled me around in an incredibly embarrassing display of public affection. Patrick made me feel giddy and treasured, but I was nervous about what the others would think. He slid me down his tall frame until I was eye level with his chest.

That was another thing that had changed since Josiah’s kidnapping. Although I’ve always felt the intense friction of desire between the others and me, our boundaries seem to have become even more blurred over the past few weeks. No matter how much I wanted to convince myself that I’ve gained a makeshift family in Dormas, there's always the hint of something more percolating between us.

“Oh calm down, will you?” Huxley interrupted with a growl. “This isn’t date night, you tool. We’re going on a fucking mission.” He scowled deeply at us while wiping his hands on the denim of his jeans. Jacob rolled his eyes. Huxley’s bitter attitude was one thing that hadn’t changed.

“You’re just pissed you lost,” Patrick joked while using the bottom flap of his unbuttoned shirt to wipe the sweat dripping off his chin. I caught a glimpse of his sculpted stomach and released a low, appreciative sigh. Once again, I had to fight the urge to blur the lines of our friendship. With much-controlled effort, I averted my eyes from Patrick’s toned body while everyone snickered at his comment.

“Lost what?” I asked, fearing the answer.

Cyler then piped in to answer. “Are you referring to how he lost the vote to bring you along? Or how he lost when we drew straws to decide who gets to sit by you on our hour-long trip? ”

Huxley rolled his eyes in response to Cyler’s chiding remarks, then slowly made his way towards me. He wore his signature frown, and I noticed the familiar intensity storming in his juniper eyes. Sometimes I thought Huxley and I were making strides in our friendship, but just as I began to grow comfortable towards him, he displayed random bursts of hostility that gave me emotional whiplash.

“Don’t look at me like that, Ash,” Huxley grumbled with a pained expression that had me questioning why we were still playing this fiery dance with one another. He gave a pointed stare towards Cyler, Jacob, and Patrick, which made them step back to provide us with some privacy.

“We don’t need any distractions while we’re there. This meeting requires us to tread carefully," he began in a low voice. His eyes refused to meet mine. "Even though I know the Scavengers personally, they’re still unpredictable. I don’t want another thing to worry about.” He ran his hand through his short brown hair, ruffled from the hard work of unloading the cargo off the train. I lingered on the fact that he would worry about me. Huxley cared. No matter how much he aspired to convince me he didn’t.

“And he didn’t want you to meet his ex-girlfriend,” Patrick added with a chuckle which caused Huxley to whirl around and playfully punch him in the side. They both started to wrestle one another, causing large puffs of dirt and sand to kick up and fill the humid air.

I chose to ignore Patrick's statement, as well as the ridiculous yet gnawing fang of envy that demanded to know who she was and how she broke through his armor of arrogance and pride. So this is how they got the meeting with the Scavengers.

“Where you guys go, I go,” I shouted over them. “We’re family, Hux, whether you want to accept it or not. And I don’t necessarily want to be cooped up in the house with Jules until you return.”

They continued to wrestle. Huxley ignored my statement, and after sitting on Patrick until he cried “MERCY,” Huxley went back to work unloading the cargo .

“We’ll be fine,” Kemper said in a matter of fact tone while scanning through his tablet. “We're meeting with one of the smaller and more civilized camps. Their leader, Tallis, is fairly progressive. We’re hoping that