Chapter 17
1033 Words
Perrin
I topple into bed after my father leaves, but I'm too restless.
Seeing as I'm not going back to bed anytime soon, I get up and head downstairs. The smell of bacon wafting from the kitchen has me realizing that I'm absolutely famished. I haven't eaten since I trained with Ethan yesterday.
Ethan.
My stomach sinks. I don't feel so hungry anymore.
I trapse down to the kitchen anyway.
Dina's already got my latte in a to-go cup and I see her puttering across the kitchen with more menus that I can handle this early in the morning. I sweep down and give her plump cheek a quick kiss.
"You're welcome" she smiles, not even looking in my direction.
Dina always knows just what I need.
“You need to eat.” She doesn’t look up from her menus, but knows that the breakfast burrito she had prepared for me was left abandoned on the counter.
I retrace my steps and pick it up. It smells of sweet potatoes, cheese, bacon, eggs, sausage… my mouth begins to water. Dina really knows how to cook.
“Thank you” I call out from across the kitchen, waiving the burrito over my head.
“Mhmmm” is all I can hear as I head out the back door.
I wonder if she knows about last night.
I want to see Ethan, but I feel like walking to the Infirmary this morning. I just need to clear my head. I decide to take the backway out the gardens and head in that direction.
**
I'm about halfway done with my latte (the burrito is long gone) when I smell another wolf in the woods up ahead.
Unreasonably skittish, I vault into the thick of the trees.
Coming into view, I see Lo. Headphones deep in her ears, it looks as though she's been out for an early morning jog. And by the looks of it, she's been out here awhile. She's removed her shirt and it's tied around her small, toned waist. Sweat is glistening on her skin. I can't make out her face--it's hidden beneath a ballcap. I can't decide if I should step out or if I'd scare her in the process.
She stops almost directly in front of where I'm hiding in the bushes and pulls out an ear bud. Nose in the air, her head swivels.
"Perrin?" She can't see me, but she must have caught my scent.
I awkwardly start to climb out of the bushes. Why am I in here?
"Hi...." I make my way through some more of the hedge. Suddenly aware of my body language, I awkwardly chug the rest of my coffee, throat burning in the process. I try to stifle a cough, but spit up espresso down my chin.
She gives me a wicked grin. "You were always so put together."
"Shut up." I laugh, wiping my face and stepping out onto the path.
She pauses her music, hand on her hip. I can't help but look at her chest as her breath begins to slow. I avert my eyes before my face starts to flush.
"Were you stalking me?" I can tell she's joking, but I really don't know how to explain why I was hiding in the trees. I know it's just Lo, but nobody is supposed to know what happened to Ethan. What was I supposed to say? 'Yea, sorry Lo, Ethan was attacked last night on patrol and now I'm jumpy when I hear anything out of the ordinary.' Smooth, kid. Real smooth. I scramble for a response.
"I uh... I guess I just didn't recognize your scent, that's all." I shrug noncommittally.
"I smell that bad, huh?" I know she's teasing. On the contrary, actually. She smells like warm chamomile and honey. The deeper I breathe, the more it fills my nostrils.
She suddenly reddens. "Oh, sorry." As if she actually smells terrible, she rifles the light jacket off her waist and attempts to put it on. It rolls and gets stuck on her chest, head covered as she struggles to pull it down.
Having known Kira all my life, I can only help but laugh. Kira has often described getting in or out of wet workout clothing similar to peeling duct tape off your skin: Painful, slow, and sticky.
“Are you laughing at me?” Her voice seems distant from the confines of her pullover, but I continue to laugh.
"Do you need help?"
She stiffens. "Um, Ok." I try to get my laughter under control. She looks like a stuffed turtle.
I approach her from behind and help her unravel the pullover. It was caught up in her sports bra. As both pieces of clothing are pretty damp, she finally gets it over her head and turns to face me.
I didn't realize how close I was to her. A good foot shorter than me, I can only see the top of her hat until she looks up, squinting into my face. She's all white teeth and sweet smile until she stumbles awkwardly away. "Sorry!" She stammers. "This is so embarrassing. I'm heading back for a shower."
"You don't smell that bad." I try to ease her, but it's no use. Her face turns deep red, making her purple-blue eyes stand out under the shade of her hat. I try to quickly change the subject as she turns to walk away.
"Hey--it was nice to catch up yesterday."
"Uh huh." She's already replacing her ear buds.
"Do you want to maybe grab dinner or something?"
The startled look on her face tells me I've stepped over some line.
"What?"
"Do you want to grab dinner? After the welcome ceremony? Just to catch up, I mean. We didn't really have a chance to talk yesterday."
She gets a look on her face... a mixture of confusion and something else.
"Will Ethan be there?"
"Uh, no."
She pauses. "Maybe some other time."
She turns on her heel and trots down the path.
I stand there, watching her silhouette recede into the trees. I'm more disappointed than I deserve to be, and I'm not exactly sure why.
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