“What’s written all over my face
now?”
Tristan gave Natalie a loving smirk,
his hands tugging on the waist of her jeans until she was pressed up against
her. “Only love and devotion.” They held hands as they walked up her street and
rounded her backyard toward her bedroom window.
Tristan leaned against the tree that
guarded her bedroom window, at least that was the story they made up when they
were kids. He pulled her close, resting his hands on her hips. “Maybe he’s just
upset about something else, and it has nothing to do with your suspicions about
Evelyn.”
“My illness?”
“Vampires we can kill. We can see
them. This…” Tristan pulled her hair back and stared through her forehead like
he could see what was plaguing her brain, “…we can’t fight it. Don’t even know
what it is. I know how it makes me feel.”
Natalie bit her lip. “There’s not
much I can say except right now, I feel okay.”
Tristan snorted. “For right now. But
we don’t know how long that’s going to last. Or why it’s even happening.”
Her worry increased when he talked
like that, and when she saw the fear on his face. “We can’t worry about every
little thing. I know it’s hard, but right now, we’re together. I feel good.”
She ran her hand up his arm. “You feel good too,” she whispered and blushed
just a little.
Tristan’s face broke out into joy.
“Wow, my little flirt! Someone giving you lessons?”
“I’ve been watching soap operas at
the hospital,” Natalie beamed. “I think next, you’re supposed to kiss me.”
Natalie bit her lip, nervousness bubbling inside as they shared a kiss. It
lingered and her eyes closed. She clutched onto him, and in those moments, she
felt like everything would be okay.
Tristan seemed to feel the same way
from the way he nuzzled her neck, holding her close. Natalie leaned on him, and
her body released the tension she didn’t realize she was holding. To get to be
close to him, alone, even for a few minutes, was like reaching an oasis.
Tristan chuckled and gave her soft
kisses. It made her feel hot, even against the gentle summer breeze.
“You know my favorite thing about
this tree?” Natalie waited for him to shake his head. “It makes me think of
you. All those times you used it to visit me at night, or I used it to sneak
out to see you. Remember when we were kids and we’d use it to go to the
carnival late at night?”
Tristan chuckled. “And we thought
the circus clowns were possessed.”
Natalie beamed, her smile going from
cheek to cheek. “It always made me think of you, but until a few months ago, I
didn’t get why. Now I do.” She finally said it, and the nerves bubbled up in
her. She swallowed them back, but still her face flushed.
Tristan’s eyes were loving and kind.
He caressed her neck and a moment later, they were kissing. Sweet and simple
turned hot and heavy. Natalie clutched his arms with her fingers, and her
glasses steamed up from the heat of his breath. His hands searched over her
legs and then across her butt.
Natalie pulled away, resting her
head against his chest. She was overwhelmed, afraid of the intensity, but it
didn’t change how she felt about him.
“You really are a sweet girl. How’d
I ever get so lucky to meet you?”
Natalie shrugged. “It’s a small
town.”
“It was rhetorical.”
She scowled. “Oh, well it still
sounded like it had a question mark on the end.”
Tristan kissed her.
“I really should go in now, but it
doesn’t mean I actually want to leave,” Natalie said. “I’ll see you tomorrow,
somehow.” Thinking about all her mother’s rules made her stomach tight with
nerves. “Besides, I can see your house from here.”
Tristan gazed over her shoulder
through the yard and past several houses. “I’ll look out my window when I get
to my room, if you’ll do the same.”
Natalie grinned. “Promise?” She bit
her lip, feeling bashful.
“Oh yeah.” Tristan tightened his
grip around her waist and kissed her nose. “You did good work out there
tonight, Nat. I’m proud of you.”
She smiled wide, her heart filling
with glee. “It was nothing. It was only a few this time. I could practically do
that in my sleep!”
“That’s my tough girl.” Tristan
kissed the side of her head. “Night, princess.”
Her heart skipped. She watched him
walk away while waving, thinking she might never stop smiling. Once he was
gone, her back gate closed, Natalie climbed up her tree. Back before the
paladin knew she was a superhero, climbing trees was out of the question, but
now Natalie found her hidden strength and easily pulled herself up. Her bedroom
window was still open, with the lights off. As quietly as possible, she scooted
her legs in first and pulled herself through.
Natalie held her breath as she spun
and closed the window. As she did so, the bedroom lights came on. She gasped,
turned around and saw her mother sitting on her perfectly made bed, tears in
her eyes, while her father stood over by the door. This is it, Natalie thought. The things she did were going to
destroy all the progress they’d made that night.
Across the Universe by Beth Revis
Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter
