Chapter 13
A long while later, I realised I wasn’t alone. The sensation of being watched by unseen eyes crawled up my bare spine, making the hairs at the base of my neck shiver. It was not an unpleasant feeling – quite the opposite, in fact – simply because I knew it was Cassie watching me. Without stopping, I began to search my surroundings trying to glimpse her before I spoke. At first there was nothing but the same grey-green blur of bushes and rock, but as I slowed my rotations I found the only obvious place she could be.
A large outcrop of rock hid most of Cassie’s figure from view. As I continued to move I caught snippets of her: the right half of her face, one green eye following my body as I shifted around. Another flash of her face, this time I saw her lips twitching with the ghost of a smile, before I whirled on again.
Despite my fear that Cassie might have been influenced by the recent additions to her daily supplements, I couldn’t help but want the way she looked at me to be real. For me, it was real.
“I know you’re there.” I paused for a fraction of a second, before finishing the sequence with a high-spinning kick. When I landed I was in the perfect position to see Cassie’s face as she reacted to my words. She ducked behind the rock for a split-second, before re-emerging almost immediately, guilty features blazing red. To avoid further embarrassment I feigned nonchalance and continued with my routine, circling and sweeping my arms around me in a series of gentle punches.
Pretending Cassie wasn’t there quickly became difficult. Each time I spun my body around now, I found my eyes being drawn back to her. Simply seeing her standing there, watching me, filled me with a curious, nervous excitement that was hard to ignore.
“What are you doing?” she eventually asked, breaking what had become a heavy silence.
Curiosity coloured her words and, with some relief, I was happy to note that she sounded intrigued and not scared. It was a bit of a gamble, trusting her with another of my secrets, but it felt natural all the same.
“Just…one…minute…” I replied, my words popping out around the deep breaths I was taking. The last few movements in the sequence flowed together, before I came to a complete stop and was able to re-focus my attention on Cassie.
“What was that?” Cassie repeated her question, prompting me to answer as I ambled across the clearing to where she stood.
“An experiment.” I was deliberately vague. Right now I didn’t want to talk about my secrets; I was interested in hers. Rinsing my mouth with fresh water, I stepped closer to her.
She swallowed thickly, her breath appearing to catch in her throat. It was nice to see that I could distract Cassie; it was normally the other way around.
“Am I making you uncomfortable?” I hoped the answer was yes.
She looked away from me. “I’m not nervous.”
I laughed at her very unconvincing lie, before lowering my face and bringing us closer together. “How about now?”
“Nope.”
Cassie’s breath wafted across my lips as she spoke. All I could think about was putting my mouth onto hers and tasting her. “And now?” I whispered.
“Not even a little bit.”
Cassie’s eyes were half-closed, her breath shallow and soft. Everything told me that she wanted me to kiss her.
“That’s good,” I murmured. Closing my eyes, I pressed my lips onto hers.
I was so scared, but, happy at the same time. When Cassie kissed me back, her mouth opening to mine, all my fears vanished. There was nothing in my head – no questions, no anger, no tension – nothing, but Cassie. Winding my arm around her back, I pulled our bodies closer, and fell completely in love…
It was hard to pull away, but I had to let the poor girl breathe. Or perhaps run! I laughed hollowly inside at my own joke. I really hoped she wouldn’t run. The force around her was magnetic to me. Even now, when I wasn’t touching her as much, the warmth of her breath on my lips immediately drew me back. With some effort I stayed still, but kept my arm locked around her.
Cassie’s eyes remained closed and I watched her lips twitch minutely as though she was holding off a smile.
“I’m still not nervous,” she said unexpectedly. Her voice was more breath than words. Then she opened her eyes, blinking up into my gaze.
“I’m glad!” I laughed, taking the opportunity to lean back a little further. She was still too distracting up close and personal. I stared at her now – even though she watched me too – with a confidence I could feel growing in every part of my body. My certainty stemmed from the realisation that Cassie liked me too. A lot. The expression on her face told me everything. I’d never seen her look so happy.
I couldn’t help it: I laughed aloud at the sense of delight I felt. As if to confirm my thoughts, Cassie smiled up at me, her expression content. She stood, unmoving, between my arms.
Was this the right time for Cassie’s present?
Probably…I just wouldn’t tell her that I took the afternoon off to dig it out and make repairs, in the hope of impressing her. I cleared my throat. “I almost forgot…” Yeah, right! “I’ve brought something for you.”
My statement seemed to put Cassie on edge. Her gaze lost the softness it had held a moment earlier, and I could see that she was really looking at me now.
“What is it?” Caution was evident in the grim expression that now clouded her features.
“Don’t look so worried,” I assured her. “I’m not going to subject you to invasive procedures or anything. You should see your face!”
She didn’t seem to like that I found her funny, and she pulled a face at me.
“Come on,” I encouraged, taking her hand and coaxing her to where I’d put the Rainbow Maker. She noticed the large black crate immediately.
“What is it?” She looked from the box, back to me, sounding less nervous now.
“It’s the Rainbow Maker.” I was unable to hide my smile as Cassie recognised it. The expression on her face was lovely. “I’ve repaired it – no more kinks – just for you.”
“No!” She exclaimed, laughing happily. “Really? You’ve fixed it for me?”
“Yes, for you, Cassie.”
She’d moved in front of me to get closer to the box, but at these words she turned around. Her gaze weighed heavily on mine and I wondered – as usual – what she was thinking. She looked serious, but pleased at the same time. It was an unusual combination.
“Will you show me?” She asked.
Something inside me did a joyful little jump, as I heard the excitement in her voice. “I’d love to.”
Stepping around Cassie I hurriedly setup the various elements of the Rainbow Maker. It was essentially a box with a water feed, a light point and a viewing slot – not massively technical, but what did you want from a ten year-old science project?
The original problem had been the positioning of the light, which hadn’t been at the right angle. I’d seen the fault immediately today when I’d pulled the model out. When I glanced at Cassie and saw the excitement in her face, I finally understood why I’d kept it all this time. Part of me must have always hoped I would get the chance to show her this and I almost felt ten years old again, proud that my skills my impress a pretty girl.
It hadn’t taken me long to make the adjustments, so that it would work properly. I added a step shape to the top of the box, so that the light source was now recessed beneath and behind the viewing point, rather than immediately beneath as it had been on my original model. When I had set the water spray up and looked into it today, the rainbow was clearer and the colours more vivid than they had ever been. Better refraction. And perfect for Cassie.
After checking and double-checking the basic components were all working I moved aside to make space for Cassie.
“If you place your chin on here,” I indicated the outside step above the newly positioned light source. Cassie dutifully knelt down and leaned onto the box where I’d pointed. “You’ll need t
o press your eyes close to the viewing slot, so that no other light gets in. That’ll give you the best results.”
“OK,” Cassie shuffled forwards. “Is this right?” Her voice became muffled as she pressed her face tight up to the viewer.
“That should be perfect. I’m just going to get this bit started…” I leaned over and switched on the small pump that would spray the water droplets into the air, at a right angle to where Cassie was viewing. There was a low hiss as it started to work. I let it run for a few seconds to ensure that there was a good arc of water flowing inside the box.
“Are you ready?” I asked, perhaps overdoing the drama a little.
“Um-huh,” came the reply.
Reaching beneath Cassie, I switched the tiny lamp on, that was inside the box, and would produce the rainbow.
“Oh!” She exclaimed a second or so later. “I can see it!” She laughed.
“Is it clear?”
“Yes – really bright and clear. The colours are so beautiful.” There was a definite smile in her voice; I couldn’t see her face. Leaning against one of the nearby rocks, I settled back and watched Cassie as she watched the rainbows.
“It’s perfect,” she said.
Perfect. Yes, I think it is.
We were sitting on the grass, our knees touching as we faced each other. The Rainbow Maker lay over to one side, where we’d left it after the water in the pump ran dry. At that moment, I found it funny just watching Cassie. Her eyes were shining with an excited vitality I hadn’t really seen in her before. She seemed so giddy, almost child-like.
“What?!” I asked, laughing. “Why are you staring at me like that?”
“I’m not staring.” She disagreed immediately, but continued staring.
“Yes, you are.”
“OK, so maybe I am.” Cassie smiled at me, before glancing down to her hands. “I just – no one – I mean – ”
“What?” I asked, interrupting her stuttering, placing my hand over hers.
Cassie took a deep breath and let it out. “Thank you,” she smiled, looking me in the eye. “I was just trying to say thank you. For doing this, for me.”
I felt the magnetic draw again, pulling me closer to her. This time I knew what I was doing, and didn’t stall. Cassie’s eyes closed slowly as my face drew into hers and I found her lips. “You’re welcome,” I murmured.