Verita (9 page)

“Well, have fun. We’ll see you later.”
Andi
turns and leads the group inside, bouncing all the way. She’d be annoying as hell if her energy wasn’t so contagious and refreshing.

I turn and start walking back and forth. Okay, so I’m actually pacing, but my watch says it’s 6:01. He’s officially late. Now that there’s no one to talk to, my mind is free to worry again. It had all been a joke; he’s now hiding with his buddies, having a good laugh at my expense. I feel like such a fool. He isn’t even my type. But there’s no denying it: something about him turned me into a love-struck fool last night. Or had it? Maybe I was just feeling the after effects of cryogenic sleep and a botched re-awakening.

“There you are.”

I spin around at the resonant sound of his voice.

“Hi,” I manage to say as he steps forward and gives me a one-armed hug. He lingers just long enough for me to breathe in his musky aroma. Nope, it wasn’t cryogenic sleep.

“Ready for dinner?” He looks at me with an amused smile and offers his arm to lead me.

I smile back. “Yeah, let’s eat.”

They must be serving Italian tonight, because the entire dining hall has the fragrant aroma of roasted garlic. Usually this would have my mouth watering, but my stomach just gives a nervous flop. So I settle on getting myself a salad.

“I hope that’s not what you consider a meal. That’s not even enough for an appetizer.” He looks at my tray with apprehension.

I look over at his tray. He has enough to feed two people, easily. Apparently he has no issues with butterflies. “I had a big lunch, so I’m not that hungry,” I lie.

“Humph. If you say so.” He shrugs.

We sit down at a table for two in a secluded corner. It doesn’t take me long to find out about Brody. In fact, he rather likes talking about himself. I find out that he’s two years older than me and from Texas. He arrived here a year ago as protection for the construction crew. During school he was the center and co-captain of the football team – the Soaring Eagles. Once he graduated, he immediately signed up for the Army.

“I wasn’t about to be one of those college geeks, so naturally the Army was the choice for me. The Army must have thought the same thing. I was barely in boot camp for two weeks when they pulled me aside and said they had a special assignment for me. Now, here I am, protecting all of you.” He smiles, pleased with himself – and presumably thinking that I should be pleased too. He shovels down some more food while I pick at my salad. I feel unsettled by the level of government involvement he inadvertently implied.

“Wasn’t it hard to leave all of your friends and family behind?” I ask as he picks up my hand and begins stroking my wrist.

“Nah, I had already said goodbye to them when I left for boot camp.” I frown at his response. How could he act like it was no big deal? I don’t think I would have been able to leave if my parents had still been alive.

“So you didn’t see your family again after leaving for boot camp?” I pull my hand back as he shakes his head. “What did they say when you told them where you were going?”

“I didn’t. The recruiter told me that he’d take care of all the details. This was all top-secret, so they couldn’t be told the truth,” he explains. I search his face for any sign of guilt or remorse. None shows.

“So, as far as you know, your family could have been told you died. Doesn’t that bother you even a little bit?” The horror I feel must be evident on my face, because he shifts uncomfortably in his chair.

“Look, it doesn’t matter now anyway. I’m here and they’re all dead and buried by now.” He shrugs. “No point moping about the past.” He leans forward and grabs a hold of my hand again.

“I guess that’s one way to look at it,” I reluctantly say, but I can’t help being bothered by his feelings about leaving his family.
Oh. I get it. He’s putting on a tough-guy act. And here I am trying to pry into painful memories. I’m such a dolt.

“
Whatcha
thinking?” he asks, ending my mental dialogue.

“I was just thinking how different we are,” I quickly blurt. Not entirely a lie.

He just stares back, apparently perplexed by my response. He’s not my type, but he’s handsome. I’m sure he’s used to girls falling all over him and telling him how wonderful he is.

I was starting to get perturbed by his lack of response, but then he leans in, grabs both of my hands and stares at me with those steamy brown eyes, and I forgot what I was so bothered about.

“We’re not so different. We’re both beautiful and good at what we do. We just do different things.” He smiles at me. My stomach flips.

“You think I’m beautiful?” I ask, stunned. Not even Brad had called me beautiful before. The closest he had gotten was cute or pretty.

“Of course. That’s what got my attention.”

“And now?”

“Still beautiful.” He tilts his head and winks at me. “Come on; let’s go for a walk.”

He grabs my hand to pull me up. I hide my disappointment. I know he’s just trying to be cute, but I was hoping for a response that showed he’d since noticed, and appreciated, other things about me.

We walk along the perimeter, just holding hands. Neither of us speak. The sun is starting to set. It throws red and purple streaks across the sky. I can see two of the planet’s three moons just making their appearance along the horizon. One moon looks blue; the other yellow. I wonder what is in the atmosphere, or on the surface of each moon, that causes the differences. Then I chide myself for over analyzing the beauty before me.

Suddenly, I hear what sounds like a fisher cat screech. Involuntarily, I jump. Brody pulls me toward him, saying, “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you from whatever’s out there.” Somehow, I know he truly means and believes it. We slowly make our way back towards the dorms and recreation halls.

“I told the guys I’d meet them for some pool. It’s kind of a guy thing.”

“Oh, that’s okay. I told
Andi
I’d meet up with her if I got a chance.” I wonder if he notices the annoyed edge in my voice.

“I’ll meet you for dinner again. The night after tomorrow. You can meet the guys then.” Again, no questioning. He just assumes I won’t refuse.

For a moment I’m tempted to say no, but as he pulls me close the thought just seems silly. “Okay, six o’clock again?” I ask.

“Yeah, six o’clock, but at dining hall A. That’s where the guys meet,” he explains.

“Okay.” I stare at the ground, unsure of just how to say goodbye. He’s running off to play pool instead of staying with me – not a good sign. But then, he also wants me to meet his friends – and I guess that’s a good thing.

He takes my uncertainty as shyness, and decides to take matters into his own hands. I feel him wrap his arms around my waist as he easily lifts, turns, and pins me. My back is now against the dormitory wall. He leans in closer, merging our bodies together, and then bends in to kiss me. I hold my breath in anticipation, but the moment seems to linger on. I feel my heart give a hard thump as my pulse begins to race, and I know I will wait here all night if it takes him that long to kiss me. My hands instinctively reach up and around his neck to pull him in closer. I feel his heat as my hands close upon the rough hair of his neck. I feel a strange ache in my chest, and know that I need to feel his kiss. Impatiently, I rise up on my toes and close the remaining distance. My lips lightly brush against his, and I feel a wave of heat surge through me.

Then, all of a sudden, his lips crush down to meet mine. His kiss is hard and rough, but his lips move with mine in an urgent frenzy. I part my lips and the kiss deepens. His lips are aflame, making mine blister in sweet pleasure, and I want more of him. I drop my arms to his waist, and attempt to pull him closer, to somehow meld our bodies into one. I feel his hand drop from my waist and cup the seat of my jeans, pressing me to him. His other hand rises up and roughly feels my curves. My breath is coming in shallow pants as I feel his hand dip under my shirt and back up again.

“Yeah, ride him, baby!”

The catcall startles me, and I jerk my face away. Embarrassment comes crashing down on me as I realize just what I’m doing. I actually have one of my legs curved around his thigh. I push him away, mortified. In two minutes time, I have gone further with this near-stranger than I had with Brad during the six months we were together.

“I… I don’t know what came over me,” I say to the ground, unable to meet Brody’s eyes. “I should go.”

I feel his fingers press against my chin as he gently lifts my face to meet his eyes. “Don’t be mad at me.” His face looks as confused as I feel.

“I’m not mad… just surprised with myself.” I shake my face free and turn away.

“I’ll still see you at dinner?” He squeezes my hand and gives me a sweet smile when I nod . “Okay. Goodnight,” he says. He briefly pulls me close and kisses my forehead.

“Goodnight,” I whisper back, as he turns and heads toward the recreation hall.

I consider finding
Andi
, but then decide I need some time to figure out just what happened, and just what is going on with me. So I walk, retracing my steps along the perimeter. Maybe I should check in with the hospital. Maybe my hormones really are out of whack. Of course, with my luck, Dr. Emily would be the doctor on call. I can just imagine the smug look on her face as she diagnoses me with being a slut. I quickly dismiss that idea, but then I draw a blank. The only explanation I can think of is Brody himself. Despite our differences, I’m incredibly attracted to Brody, to the point that I lose all self-control.

The thought is daunting. My heart is still healing from Brad’s betrayal. If I’m falling this hard and this fast for Brody, can my heart survive the trauma if he decides to hurt me too?

“You really are anxious to get outside, aren’t you?” I turn and see Ryan walking my way.

“What, you don’t get enough of my company in the lab, so you’re following me now?” I feign a worried look, but I’m actually relieved to have a distraction from my thoughts.

“I guess we’re just kindred spirits, both drawn to the fence like a moth to a flame.” He laughs, holding his hands up in a surrender gesture. “I really mean no harm.”

“Well I guess you’re welcome to walk with me then.” I gesture to my side. He falls into step, and we continue on our way.

As we walk, he asks more questions about me. He wants to know about my favorite music, my favorite movies, and my favorite books. When I ask him what his favorite book is, he blushes. “You can tell me. I won’t laugh or anything.” His sudden shyness intrigues me.

“Well, I like Shakespeare,” he quietly admits.

“That’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” I insist.

“You didn’t grow up in my family,” he glumly protests. Seeing my confused look, he adds,

 
“My dad, mom and two older brothers were all really into hockey. My sister was the only one who understood that there was more to life than a little black puck.” He mimes hitting an imaginary puck.

“Ah… so, macho men can’t read anything that resembles a love story.” I try to convey my understanding in my tone. Seeing his face drop, I quickly add, “But anyone that’s really read Shakespeare knows there’s a lot more to his writing that love stories and tragedies. There’s a lot of blood, gore and action too. Personally, I’m a fan of his comedies.”

He smiles back. “See? Kindred spirits.” A dry laugh escapes him. “My family was under the impression that I had an extraordinarily large amount of book reports due.” He laughs, but I can see the sadness in his eyes. Maybe there is more to Ryan than I originally gave him credit for. I’m tempted to ask him how he went from a family of six to foster care, but then I’d have to open up about my past. I’m already too emotional; that talk would certainly start up the waterworks.

I look up and notice we’re by the east fence.

“Hey, do you want to visit the bio-domes the day after tomorrow?” I ask, trying to lighten the mood.

“Sure, but don’t we need to get permission?”

“A friend of mine, Troy, offered to show our team after lunch,” I explain.

“Okay, sure, that’ll give us something to do. I’m almost done with the handbook.” I catch a flash of disappointment on his face. I wonder what that’s about. He looks fine now; maybe it was just my imagination.

“Me too. I figure tomorrow I’ll start familiarizing myself with all the equipment in the lab. You’re welcome to join me if you like,” I offer.

“Sounds good. Maybe we can start a DNA test on that sample you were looking at,” he says offhandedly, like it’s no big deal.

My cheeks redden somewhat. “Oh, I didn’t realize you had noticed that. Yeah a DNA test would be interesting.” I guess I hadn’t been as discreet as I thought – but he couldn’t have gotten that close of a look or he’d be questioning where I got the sample from.

“So are they hairs blown through the fence from your mysterious creature?” His tone is now hopeful, and I see the curiosity in his eyes. I hadn’t been discreet at all.

“Yeah, I think so,” I admit, without going into the full detail of how I actually obtained them.

“Well, it’s getting late. I’m going to hit the gym before bed. Do you want me to walk you back?” He gestures in the direction of the dorms.