“I’m still mad at you for putting me here, Jgel.” Her words cut, but the smile on her face eased the bite of them. “I know we didn't have many options, but it doesn't make living here any easier.”
“I can understand if you guys don't want to hang out with the locals,” I said finally. “But at least I'll be there? I don't think I'm too bad, as far as humans go.”
That made Khalice genuinely chuckle. “No, you're quite pleasant.”
“I just would have felt weird, knowing we’re neighbors now, if I went to the bonfire without at least inviting you. It would show poor manners, as my mother would say.”
After another beat, Khalice wore an authentic grin. “Well, you were certainly raised by a wonderful woman.”
“We should try to socialize more, Khal.” Jgel told her. “It would be good for the kids. Chrizel might not be so angry and Betz could play with kids her own age around the park.”
“And if the human children are mean to them and I incinerate their parents for mocking our 'demonic' spawn?”
Ahh, I was beginning to understand Khalice's apprehension to mingle within the park. While I thought stellymn were fuckingawesome because they resembled what humans would label as demons, I could understand that the reverse would also be true. Maybe more so. Humans weren't exactly a whole hell of a lot understanding when it came to change, and accepting "demon" looking Orbs was a tall order, especially for those who deemed themselves particularly religious.
“You don't have to join tonight if you wanna think it over.” I nodded. “I can let you know the next time we're getting together. No worries either way.”
“I think that sounds lovely.” Jgel replied, but his eyes were focused on Khalice. When he finally broke his gaze from her, he gave me a penultimate smile. “We appreciate you offering us attendance, Krueger.”
“Of course.” I beamed, standing up. “Well, I won't take up anymore of your time. It was really nice meeting you, Jgel. And I'll see you at work, Khalice?”
“Absolutely.” Khalice and Jgel stood up, mirroring my leave as she gave me a stern look. “I’m sorry again for my abrasiveness. I really do appreciate the invitation.”
“Anytime.” I said evenly, turning back to the door of the RV. “Have a goodnight.”
They ushered goodbyes to me as I headed through the door and sauntered down the stairs, breathing in the crisp night air as I was plunged back into the darkness of the poorly lit park.
That certainly hadn't gone as planned but at least I'd learned something new. Even Orbs had hang ups about who they fraternized with. We really weren't so different.
Chapter 12
Flamesfrom the bonfire licked upward toward the sky excitedly, warming those of us sitting around it even as the night progressed and the air deepened with its earlier chill. It was nice to unwind with everyone after work. And even though it would have been great to see Khalice and her family join, the company was nice all the same.
We were actually sitting in the same formation as last time, with the same attendees. Darlene and Gerald were talking about the hype of the Hell-O-Ween festival that was buzzing around town. Byll spoke about how more Orbs were thinking of moving over here after hearing about the unproblematic atmosphere that seemed to swarm the RV park. Colette was noticeably quieter than last time, but she was laughing along at everyone's jokes and would give her two cents on topics as they came up.
Lincoln had surprised me the most. I'd been a little hesitant in seeing whether or not he could transition into just being friendly with me, but he'd exceeded any doubts I might have had. All night he'd been jovial, cracking more jokes than usual and making the group laugh as he regaled us of tales from his family. And even though they were outlandish and insane stories of a wealthy family, nothing was out of the ordinary in hisrenditions. Apparently there were some rich people out there in the world that weren't totally out of touch with reality. But the way he was able to treat me like I was simply a friend astounded me. I'd really thought that he was going to push back a little more, but there hadn't been a single instance of anything other than friendship between us all night.
Music was playing off of a bluetooth speaker Byll had brought, something with deep bass and an energetic synth that I wasn't familiar with but got everyone on their feet. We were all dancing as a group, the light of the fire playing off of us as we continued to inebriate ourselves.
Myers and Lincoln were on either side of me, everyone either too enamored in dancing or in light conversation to notice much else. Things turned differently when Lincoln caught my gaze, churning from friendly to something deeper and heavier. I thought I might have been imagining it, but all of that went out the window when he leaned in and kissed me.
His lips felt good against mine. Too good. I didn't want to, but I leaned into the kiss. The contact just felt too nice, too familiar for me not to reciprocate. Before our lips could part and our tongues could meet, I alleviated the potential dangerous situation we could find ourselves in and broke contact. I stepped backward, absorbing the look of loss playing out in Lincoln's features.
“What are you doing?”
My hands lingered on his chest but my expression told him to back the fuck off. Luckily, he listened, stepping back until my hands fell from his frame. Everyone around us was still dancing, not noticing the shift in dynamic that was happening.
“I just…I’m sorry.” Lincoln said, the hope lingering in his voice that made me feel like the biggest asshole on the planet.
But I couldn’t take the energy switch, feeling like I needed to be absolutely anywhere but here right now. I excused myself,and it was only then that someone noticed the weirdness going on. Myers stopped dancing and glanced between us. Before she could question me, I walked off as calmly as I could. I aimed for the privacy and the seclusion of the trees that aided in keeping the RV park more or less shaded and like the little slice of peace that it was.
As I stood there, realizing I was out of breath with my hands on my knees as I tried to inhale a chaste breath, I hated to admit it but it was true. I wanted to entertain the idea of hooking up with Lincoln. He was familiar now, and there would be nothing wrong with indulging in familiarity. The problem though, was that he wasn’t the object of my desires anymore.
Arze was.
And as one-sided as it was, as ridiculous as it was to imagine that Arze would feel for me that same way that I felt for him, that’s all I wanted. Perhaps my crush had risen to the newfound height of not wanting anyone but him. My body was reacting to Lincoln, but my mind and my heart weren’t, and I didn’t think it would be fair if I let my body have full reign on that situation. It wouldn’t be fair to Lincoln and it wouldn’t be fair to me either.
No, I needed to block out Lincoln. I was trying to. But he clearly hadn’t moved on from our night together. And for both our sake’s, I really wished he would.
