Chapter 19
I lead Onyx back out to the garden and we sit on the bench. He looks at me waiting for me to say something and I look back at him. I lean forward and I kiss him gently on the lips before I quickly pull back. He looks at me and a smile spreads across his face.
“So you brought me out here so that you could have your way with me?” he asks with a smile.
“No, uh I have no idea where that came from,” I say as I start to blush.
“Mm hmm, well if it helps I’ve wanted to kiss you since I first met you.”
“Okay, so when we first met you said that you were two years older than me but now I’m fifteen is it safe to assume that you’re sixteen?”
“You would be correct.”
“So, uh, how come you don’t have a girlfriend?”
He shrugs his shoulders. “Most girls are, I don’t know, too into themselves, if you know what I mean.”
I laugh. “Yeah, I know exactly what you mean.”
“So why no boyfriend for you?”
“Because my dad would flip.”
“I could see that. You’re his little girl.”
“Yeah, I guess. But honestly, I didn’t bring you out here to kiss you. It just sort of happened.”
“Trust me, I’m really not complaining. But what did you want to talk to me about?”
“This upcoming battle…are you going to stick around? I mean, like, I know you don’t have to, but are you going to help me when I have to go against Velshkar?”
“Yes, I’ve got your back, princess. Always. You don’t have to ever worry about that.”
I feel heat rising in my cheeks and I want to lean in and kiss him again but I fight the urge. “Well, we might want to go in. You know I’m on a short leash around here.”
We stand up from the bench and are about to go in when he gently grabs my arm and pulls me towards him. We look into each other’s eyes and then our lips meet. I wrap my arms around his neck and he wraps his arms around my waist and we kiss passionately. I feel me losing myself in him and I pull away and look into his eyes. He smiles at me and I smile back and look at the ground.
“That was, uh, that was pretty awesome,” I say.
“Yeah, well, you weren’t too bad yourself,” he says as we start to walk towards the house.
“So what does this mean? I mean you are guarding me and if we start to date there is no way my dad is going to keep you around,” I say.
“Well, I guess that we’ll just have to keep it a secret,” he says.
“I like that,” I say with a smile.
“You know, Semaj? I’ve been thinking about something else,” he says.
“What’s that?” I ask.
“Well I’ve been thinking about what happened between you and your friend and maybe just maybe you are being a little too hard on him. I mean, us guys aren’t like girls, we do stupid stuff.”
I sigh. “I’ve been hearing that a lot lately.”
“Probably because it’s true. I think that you should talk to him and hear him out. It would be wrong to throw away your friendship over something that’s so small.”
“I guess I can talk to him. But if his excuse sucks, just know that I’m going to stay mad at him.”
“Trust me, I believe you.”
I smile at him as we head up the stairs towards the medical unit. I take a look at Onyx and he urges me to go ahead. I take a deep breath and open the doors. I look over to where Brenden was staying and see him packing up his stuff. I walk over and tap him on the shoulder. He spins around and looks at me in shock.
“Hey,” I say softly.
“Hey,” he says.
“Sooo, I’ve decided to talk to you about the you having a girlfriend situation,” I say.
He sits down on the bed and rubs his hand across his face. “I don’t even know where to begin.”
I sit beside him. “Oh, I don’t know, how about how you met? When it happened? Why didn’t I know? You know stuff like that.”
He laughs. “You’re still you, I see.”
“Of course, what were you expecting?”
“I don’t know.”
“Okay, so go ahead and tell me. How’d you meet her?”
“Well I met her when I started intense dragon training. She was in the same class as me.”
“Okay and…”
“And she couldn’t get the hang of the throwing fireballs so I helped her. And then we started to hang out outside of training and she was really cool. Then, next thing I knew, she was my girlfriend. I didn’t mean to hide it from you, but I just didn’t know how to break the news to you.”
“How about, Semaj, I have a girlfriend.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“And why not?”
“Because around that time I thought that I had feelings for you, too.”
“As in romantic feelings?”
“Yeah and well now I realize that I don’t. I really care about Soria. She’s a sweet dragon.”
“Well, I don’t like her, but if she’s important to you then I can tolerate her. But don’t expect me to hang around long.”
He laughs. “Okay. So what has been going on with you?”
I shrug my shoulders. “Nothing much. Started intense dragon training today. Went to the dragon berry festival yesterday.”
“Really? Who’d you go with?”
“My guard Onyx. We actually had a pretty good time.”
“I bet so, the dragon berry festival is a pretty fun festival.”
“So, I see that you’re packing are you cleared to go home?”
“Yep. Finally get to go back in my own bed,” he says as he stands up.
I stand up and give him a hug. “Well, I’ll come see you soon. I’ll come in a few days, though. Give you and Soria a chance to spend some time together.”
“So, in other words, you’ll be there when you’re off lockdown,” he says with a laugh.
I laugh also. “Yeah, you know me well.”
We walk out and into the hall and Onyx is standing there. He looks from Brenden to me and smiles.
“Hi, I’m Onyx,” he says.
“I’m Brenden,” he says as he sticks his hand out.
They shake hands and then size each other up a little. I find it amusing because it seems as if they are each trying to mark their territory.
“I see that you and Semaj have made up,” he says.
“Yes, we can’t stay mad at each other too long, but I have to get home. Don’t let her give you a hard time,” he says with a smirk.
“I won’t,” he says.
Brenden gives me a hug goodbye and then walks down the stairs. I watch after him until he’s out of sight and then I look over at Onyx. “Best advice ever.”
“So I’m taking it went well.”
“And you will be correct. But I’m going to be calling it a night. I have an early day tomorrow.”
“Okay well let’s get you up to your room, then.”
“Yes sir,” I say with a laugh.