Poseidon (The God Chronicles) (12 page)

“You chicken!” Sy called, laughing.

“Look at all it
s teeth,” I shrieked, watching it grab the offering.

“I would have kept you safe.”

“You can’t tell a shark to only bite so high!” I argued. “You can’t guarantee me anything!”

“That’s true,” he said, still laughing. “But I’m still going to call you
chicken all night.”

“Better to be a chicken than loose a hand,” I retorted.

He walked forward and embraced me, the smell of his cologne engulfing me as I buried my face in his shirt.

“You’re beautiful when you argue, did you know that?” he said softly, kissing the
top of my head.

“Compliments will not distract me from whining,” I laughed, wrapping my arms around his waist.

“Fine, you win. Chicken is better than amputee.”

“Thank you
.” I grinned triumphantly.

“So, pretty much everything will be shut down by now. Do you want to see if the Dairy Queen is still open?”

“Sure,” I enthusiastically agreed. “I love their ice cream.”

“Uh, who doesn’t?” He
asked rhetorically, grabbing my hand and ushering me towards the stairs to leave.

We made sure everything was locked up and hurried out of the front of the gift shop, but the metal grate was already down at the Dairy Queen.

“Aw, man,” he said. “I guess we’ll just have to go out to one of the restaurants right around here.”

“How sad,” I laughed
at his disappointment.

“It is,” he said
defensively. “I didn’t want to spend any more time with you than I had to.”

“Hey now,” I
jokingly protested. “Be careful what you wish for. I don’t have to say yes the next time you ask me out.”

“Yes you do,” he
disagreed as we headed out the doors and into the evening heat. “You can’t resist me, admit it.”

“Why don’t we eat at Johnny Rockets?” I suggested, ignoring his flirtations. “They have good ice cream, too.”

“Always the smart one,” he teased. “That sounds good.”

“I could resist you all I want,” I
joked back as he helped me into the car.

“We’ll see about that,” he said smoothly.

“Hey, Sy!” a voice called out as he opened his door and slid in.

“Oh great,” I
grumbled under my breath.

“Ash,” Sy said, leaning forward so he could see her around me.

“What’s going on?” she asked, coming up to my window and sticking her head in, almost knocking it against my own. “I haven’t seen you at our usual lunch spot.”

“I only ate there twice,” he
pointed out with a laugh.

“With me,” she
replied in a teasing voice. “That makes it our spot.”

She finally turned and
acknowledged me, a slight sneer on her face.

“It made me feel a little
. . .sick?” Sy said, obviously trying not to hurt her feelings.

“Do you want to do something tonight? I was thinking in like thirty minutes we could hit up a late movie. We haven’t hung out in forever!”

“I can’t,” Sy said, trying to disguise his laugh as a cough. “I’ve got plans already.”

“
Aubrey won’t mind if you bow out to go on a date, will you?” she asked purposefully getting my name wrong, turning to me with a cold look in her eyes.

“I’m already on a date
with
Audrey
,” he said, emphasizing my name with an apologetic smile.

“I got the in depth tour of the aquarium,” I
said frostily, flicking a piece of her hair off my chin.

“You’re lying,” she
sputtered, looking slowly from him to me. “This is a joke, right?”

“I’m afraid not,” Sy said, turning the car on. “
Audrey and I have been seeing each other for a while now.”

He winked at me and took my hand, kissing it softly.

Ash looked at him, mouth gaping open. Suddenly, she pushed herself out of the car, slamming her hand on the roof and kicking the door before she turned and walked away without a word.

“Well, that went better than I thought,” Sy
sounded slightly relieved. “She struck me as the kind of girl who would—”

“I can’t believe this!” Ash shouted, heading for us again.

“—do that,” Sy finished.

“I waited outside work for three hours, trying to catch you on your way home! I thought we were becoming an item!”

“I’ve seen you once in the past two weeks,” Sy argued in his defense.

“I asked you to kiss me!”

“But I didn’t,” he reminded her.

“Only because the cops showed up!”

“I’m sorry, Ash,” he said. “I’m with Audrey now. Nothing is ever going to happen—not even if I wasn’t.”

She ground her teeth together, her lips pursed in anger.

“Fine,” she finally ground out. “I’m done with you.” She pointed at him, giving him the death glare before finally leaving for good.

“Ouch,” I
winced. “Harsh much?”

“It’s the truth,” he said with a sigh, putting the car in gear. “She needed to know not to wait around for me.
I thought if I ignored her before she would go away. I guess it made her upset instead.”

“I was talking about her,” I giggled. “I loved everything you said.”

“Are you a jealous girl at heart?” He teased.

“Maybe,” I
hinted, raising my eyebrow.

“Nope. You’re a tease,” he laughed.

“I can be whatever I want,” I said with a laugh. “My mommy told me so!”

“Definitely a tease,” he
confirmed with a nod.

Chapter Eleven

I stirred some of the energy shot Mary had given me into my lemonade and joined Sy on the couch.

“What’s that?”

“Just something that Mary gave me.”

“Your therapist?”

“Yeah. This isn’t for that though. She thought I would like it because it boosts energy and I run a lot.”

“I don’t think you should drink any more of it,” he
cautioned, taking my cup from me.

“I only put a little in there,” I said, reaching for my glass back.

“How do you know if it’s safe to take?” He asked. “There wasn’t any label or anything on the bottle I just saw.”

“It’s not a big deal, really,” I
asserted, grabbing the cup back from him. “She’s a doctor, I trust her.”

“She’s not that kind of doctor
though,” he argued.

“What is your problem with me having a little more energy?” I laughed. “You’ve been taking me out almost every night for two weeks. I’ve got to catch up somewhere.”

“It’s not that,” he defended. “And you’ve been working every day since school started. When else am I supposed to take you on a date?”

“I can’t help it, it’s my job,” I
chuckle. “So, if you don’t mind, I’m going to take all the extra help I can get.”

“Fine,” he grumbled. “But not too much. That stuff can really hurt you.” He eyed the bottle Mary had given me on the counter. “In fact, why don’t you just let me take it home with me
? That way you won’t be able to use more than you should.”

“I’m a big girl, Sy,” I teased. “I can measure it myself. Give it a
rest, okay?”

He gave me a stony look and returned his attention to the evening news. After a few more minutes, he
glanced at his watch.

“I’ve got to get to work,” he said, standing up. “I’m on night feedings.”

“Have fun,” I teased.

He bent down and kissed my lips lightly. We hadn’t really kissed much since the last time. I was afraid we would get carried away again. I think he might have had that same fear. Every time our lips came together there was an explosion of endorphins making me ready for more, but he always
retreated quickly. Sometimes I could see the battle for self-restraint in his eyes.

“I’ll see you in the morning,” he said with a shaky voice as he pulled away.

“Drive safe and sleep well.”

I closed the door behind him, sighing softly and placing my cup on the counter. I stopped then, looking at the now empty spot where my energy supplement had been.

“That little sneak!” I opened the door again and called out to him. “Sy! Bring back my glass!”

Only the sound of his Jeep starting up answered me.

“What a dork,” I mumbled, going back inside.

I drained the rest of my cup and sat back down, curling up under a light blanket I’d pulled out earlier in the day. August was the hottest time of year here, but I still liked the comfortable feeling of curling up in a good, soft, blanket.

My head was pounding, limbs aching, and my foot felt the hand of death itself was grasping it. Every breath I tried to take crushed my lungs even more.

I blinked, trying to get the salt out of my eyes, while my fingernails scratched at the rocks around me. White water crashed down on top of me, pushing me further from freedom. My arms flailed in the cold as I faded into the dark.

I jerked awake, sucking in a breath to ease my aching chest.

Did I just
. . . am I remembering what happened?
I laid my blanket on the arm of the couch and walked to the bathroom to splash water on my face.

It was a
tad unnerving, suddenly remembering details of my accident after a year of trying and getting nothing. What was I doing different now? It must have been being around Sy. I couldn’t think of any other reason.

I looked at the clock on the wall and sighed. It was four thirty in the morning. I’d planned on getting up at five.

Might as well stay up now.

I set my hand down on the counter, into a small puddle of water. Immediately, I remembered walking along the rocks at the beach, slipping into the surf
as I turned, and hitting my head on the way down.

It all came quickly after that, right up to the point that I first saw Sy in the water.

Death had almost claimed me!

It had been one thing to hear everyone tell me that, but reliving it all now
. . .I’d had no idea. Sy was really, truly owed great thanks.

I must have passed out as soon as I saw him
, I mused on my way back into the living room.
I need to go tell him thank you!

Running
my fingers through my hair during the quick walk across to his door. Hopefully he wouldn’t be too upset to be woken up.

I knocked softly, smiling
when rustling began behind the door.

“Wel
l, hello handsome,” I beamed, appraising him as he opened the door.

There he was in all of his shirtless and sleep tousled hair glory, more naked than I’d ever seen him. It made my insides twist happily
, causing my blush to appear.

“Hey,” he said sleepily, rubbing his eyes. “What’s up? Is something wrong?”

I tilted my head and smiled, just looking at him.

“
Audrey?”

Within milliseconds
I launched myself at him, wrapping my arms around his neck and standing on my tiptoes to kiss him easier. His arms wrapped around me, drawing me close as he returned the kiss. A vague awareness of being picked up and wrapping my legs around his waist registered as he pulled me inside and shut the door, pressing my back up against it. His hands caressed my thighs, fingers slipping under the edges of the short shorts I’d changed into after work. My hands weaved through his hair as he kissed me harder, a soft moan escaping him.

There was no way to
get enough, as I clutched him tightly and slipped my tongue in his mouth. He responded by pressing his hips against me harder and raising his hands to my arms. They trailed down my skin slowly, leaving goose bumps. He didn’t stop there though. He continued up my sides, lightly brushing over my breasts and pulling at the collar of my shirt.

H
is bottom lip caught between my teeth as he turned me away from the door, carrying me down the hall to his room. All the while he kissed me like a man dying of thirst and my lips held the last drop of water.

As he laid me on the bed and fell on top of me, my heart soared. Could
this be falling in love again? As if he’d heard my thoughts, Sy spoke up.

“I think I’m falling in love with you,
Audrey,” he whispered breathlessly. Warm lips brushed over my neck, his tongue flicking out and licking my collarbone. He moved a little further, testing the waters by lowering my collar and placing a kiss just above my breast.

“I think,” I
stuttered, trying to keep my brain functioning as he touched me. “I think . . . oh, I don’t know what I think. Just kiss me some more.”