The Tainted

by Frost Kay

  “Baz and Mesa wouldn’t miss this for anything.”

  She flicked a look in his direction before resuming her search. “What makes you say that?”

  “It’s a guy thing.”

  “Un huh,” she said, eyeing the mass of dancing people. “I’m going to walk around the meadow and see if I can find them. If not … I’m going in.”

  Aaron snorted. “Good luck with that.”

  She saluted like the dork she was and wandered around the grove. People lounged on blankets playing games, talking, celebrating. Each group she passed sent curious glances her way, but no one was downright rude. That was a first. Maybe it was because she’d arrived with the others. Tonight, by far, had been the warmest welcome she’d received in a long time.

  The firelight twisted and snaked through the air, casting dancing shadows against the silent trees that stood as gentle giants above them. It was something she’d add to her collection of memories to turn over in her mind when things were bad in the future. Beauty of that sort could make the grumpiest person downright chipper.

  She scowled when she caught sight of Aaron standing in the same spot, now surrounded by a group of people. Darn it. She glanced at the mass of people swaying to the beat. Either she could stand here all night, or she could enter the fray and find her friends. A small smile tugged on her lips. On the plus side, she loved to dance.

  She propped her bow and quiver next to a tree, began to sway her hips to the beat, then took the plunge by slowly dancing her way into the crowd. Her breaths came in big puffs of air as bodies crushed her from all sides. Hands brushed her arms, face, and waist as she danced further into the crowd. Then, a familiar face entered her line of vision.

  Colton’s head was thrown back as a group of girls surrounded him, all pawing at his shirt. She sniggered and kept dancing. They reminded her of a pack of wolves surrounding their prey. It wasn’t until he dropped his head and caught her eye that she knew she was wrong. He smoothly disentangled himself from the girls and took three prowling steps to reach her. He was the wolf, not the prey.

  He grinned and pulled her against him. She lightly placed her hands on his chest and followed his lead to the music. “Here I thought a good little girl like you couldn’t dance,” he said with a roguish grin.

  “Never said I couldn’t,” she said, shimmying out of his grasp. He grinned and took a step closer, interest glinting in his gaze. Hazel waved a finger at him and danced away, laughing. “I need to find my friends.”

  He jerked his chin to her right. “I saw Baz in that direction.”

  “Thanks,” she called over the loud music.

  Sweat dewed the back of her neck as she swiveled her hips and danced her way through the crowd. She’d never felt so free. So happy. Right now, she was in the moment. No responsibility. No shame. Just happiness and freedom. Hazel threw her head back and lifted her hands into the air, enjoying it.

  “Hazel?”

  Her eyes popped open at her name and twisted to smile at Baz. Mesa was frozen in his arms, her mouth hanging wide open.

  “Surprise!” she said, sashaying toward them.

  Mesa abandoned her ice sculpture impression and shook her head. “What are you doing here?” she asked, wrapping Hazel in a hug.

  “Celebrating.” She pulled back and smiled at Mesa’s huge aqua eyes.

  “How did you get here?”

  Hazel’s smile waned a touch. “An acquaintance.”

  Baz crowded in, eyebrows raised. “Your father is going to kill you.”

  A sick feeling swirled in her gut, taking with it part of her happy glow. She glanced between the stern faces of her friends and reached for each of their hands. “Look, I know it’s a surprise to find me here…” She raised both her eyebrows. “I’m not going to question why you didn’t invite me yourself…” She ignored both of their sheepish expressions. “But I know why you didn’t. I wouldn’t have come.”

  “Then why did you?” Mesa asked.

  Hazel glanced to the side, the gyrating bodies around them blurring and rolling. “Because I needed one night for myself before I buckle down and live for Harbor.” She turned back to her friends and forced a wobbly smile onto her face. “I made my decision. I’m ready for it, really I am, but tonight is for me. Tomorrow will be here soon enough, but for tonight? Tonight, I want to celebrate and dance. Will you dance with me?”

  Baz was the first one to crack a smile. He twirled her around and reached for Mesa with his other hand. “I, for one, won’t turn a pretty lady down. I say I’m the lucky one. I get to dance with the two most beautiful girls here.”

  Something loosened inside her chest as Mesa melted and shimmied toward her. Her best friend placed a kiss on her cheek and met her eyes.

  “Tonight, we dance, and tomorrow, we stand together.”

  Hazel jerked her head up and down. Standing for Mesa and Baz would be one of the easiest things she’d ever do.

  Baz lifted their hands in the air and shook his hips while wiggling his eyebrows. “Enough seriousness. Let loose, and let the fun begin.”

  Eight

  Hazel

  Her stomach muscles hurt from laughing so much.

  Baz had twirled them around and around. It was an absolute blast, and at no time did she feel like a third wheel. Her self-consciousness melted away the longer they danced. A few times, she’d danced with guys and girls she’d met over the years, and no one protested one bit.

  Baz dipped her and spun her out of his arms to pull Mesa close again. Hazel smiled at the love on their faces. At least something wonderful would come out of the blending tomorrow.

  She rolled her hips and caressed her sides as she lifted her hands in the air. Masculine hands settled on her waist and a chest touched her back. She let him lead her for a while before she spun around and almost tripped over her own feet.

  Dark, serious brown eyes met hers. She blushed and focused on dancing with the music while looking anywhere but at Aaron’s face.

  “Are you not going to look at me?”

  She forced herself to look into his face. “I just didn’t expect it to be you. You don’t seem the…”

  “Fun-having type?” he tacked on, pulling her a little closer.

  Her nose crinkled. “Those are your words, not mine. I was going to say dancing type.”

  A smile cracked his stony expression. “Dancing is a great way to get close to pretty girls.”

  “Mmmhmm,” she hummed, placing her hands on his biceps. It was clearly a line, but it still warmed her inside nonetheless. When was the last time a male had said she was pretty other than her family?

  Matt.

  Her throat closed up; heat suddenly pressed from behind her eyes. She scanned the crowd as they blurred around her. He would have loved it here. Aaron leaned closer and brushed his thumb underneath her eye. Oh, hell. Mortification washed over her. She was crying. How pathetic.

  “Come on, let’s go cool down,” he said, taking her hand, leading her out of the crowd.

  Cool air rushed over her skin when they parted from the dancing frenzy; she swallowed over and over to clear the lump that had formed in her throat. Matt seemed to haunt her every thought in the last week. Everything reminded her of him.

  Aaron paused and let go of her hand. “Are you thirsty?”

  She nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

  “I’ll grab you a water.”

  As soon as he dropped her hand and strode toward a cooler, she swiped at the tears making an escape despite her wishes. Leave it to her to cry when she was so happy. She inhaled deeply.

  Get it together, Bresh.

  Aaron weaved around stargazing, paired-off couples and wordlessly handed her the water.

  “Thanks,” she croaked before taking a small sip. She bit her lip and glanced at the ground, her emotions all over the place. She flinched when Aaron stepped into her space and cupped her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes.

  “It’s okay.”

  Haze
l nodded jerkily, and then froze when she caught Gen and her posse glaring in their direction from the corner of her eye. That’s the last thing she needed.

  Aaron noticed her attention and followed her gaze. He scowled and stepped back, holding his hand out to her. “You wanna sit for a little bit?”

  He was offering a lifeline. “Sure,” she whispered and took his hand.

  He led her into the forest and wove around a few trees until they reached a secluded spot. She shifted on her feet and glanced back toward the party. It was close enough that she could still hear the music and see the firelight, but far enough away that no one could overhear quietly-spoken words. Aaron released her hand and sat on a fallen log and patted the spot beside him.

  Here goes nothing.

  Hazel followed his lead and plopped down beside him with enough space between them that they didn’t touch. Silence descended around them. It should’ve been uncomfortable, but it wasn’t. She was grateful he didn’t force her to speak. Slowly, she wrangled control of her emotions and studied Aaron out of the corner of her eye, her cheeks still burning. They’d only exchanged a few sentences until this point, and she’d already cried around him. If only she had disappearing powers.

  “So, you going to tell me what those tears were about?” he asked, breaking the silence. He glanced from his hands to the side of her face.

  No, she most certainly did not. If she opened up now, she might never stop crying. She shrugged a shoulder. “Not much to say.”

  “I don’t think that’s the case, but I’ll let it go for now.” He clasped his hand between his knees. “How about something easier? You and Colton?”

  Nothing about this conversation would be easy. “What gave you that idea?” she asked, not giving anything away. Her papa always said to never give information for free. It was currency, like anything else.

  “You looked pretty chummy together. I could only hear snippets of your conversation, but it seemed like y’all hit it off.”

  Interesting. She angled herself toward him, her knee almost brushing his, and raised a brow. “You eavesdropped?”

  Aaron rolled his eyes. “We were walking behind you. It was hard not to hear some things.”

  “I just bet,” she replied, not taking his bait. If he wanted an answer, he would have to ask her outright. There was no way she’d make it easy on him.

  He chuckled and turned towards her to straddle their makeshift bench. “Have you made your decision? Are you marrying Colton?”

  That was a straight as you could get. Her heart thundered, and her throat grew dry, but it was surprisingly easy to say the words she’d been dreading for months. The moment was finally here.

  “Yes, I’ve made my decision.”

  She was going to puke.

  “Can I make one last appeal?”

  He thought she’d chosen Colton. Hazel swallowed against the nerves that threatened to leave her mute. “There’s no need. I chose you, Aaron.” There. It was done. There was no backing out now, and her voice only wobbled a little.

  Aaron blinked slowly. “That’s not the answer I was expecting.” He barked out a laugh. “I prepared a speech and everything.” He ran a hand through his hair and straightened, meeting her gaze. “You made a good decision.”

  Did she? Only time would tell. Hazel tried to smile at him, but it felt wrong on her face.

  “You don’t need to do that.”

  “What?” she asked through numb lips.

  “Pretend you’re happy.”

  A blush crept up her neck. Hell, she was being so rude. “I meant no offense…”

  He held up a hand. “You don’t need to explain anything to me, Hazel. We’re both reasonable adults. There’s no need to make platitudes or lie to each other. The only way this will work is if we’re honest with each other. I’ll start … I’m not an emotional person. I’m stubborn and I like to get my way. Now you…”

  Well, that was honest and unexpected. She pursed her lips and tried to think of something good. “I’m a crier,” she blurted. “It happens if I’m mad, hurt, angry, or sad. Everything inconveniently shows itself in the form of tears.”

  “Good to know.”

  He squinted at her and then pulled a flask from his back pocket and held it out to her.

  “Moonshine?” she guessed. Her brothers raved about Aaron’s family’s moonshine.

  “Is there anything else?”

  Hazel smiled and shook her head. “I’m good.”

  “Suit yourself.” He took a pull from it, then wiped the back of his mouth with his hand and sat the flask between them. “I needed a little liquid courage before my next confession.” A pause. “I’ve always planned on marrying you.”

  Her jaw dropped. Say what? She snapped her mouth closed and crossed her arms. “Now that I find hard to believe.”

  “Why is that?”

  Hazel snorted. “You’ve never looked my way. We’ve practically been raised together, and not once did you linger.”

  He shook his head ruefully. “I tried a few times, but Matt was always at your side. You were blind to everyone else.”

  Just hearing his name made her ache. She rubbed a hand over her chest and stared at the flask between them. People always said time would heal all wounds, but they were full of crap. Nothing would heal the pain, but she knew it would fade. “I miss him.”

  “You’ve been different since he died.”

  “Death changes a person, especially when you love them,” she murmured.

  Aaron reached out a hand and placed it on top of her left hand. “So, you were in love with him? I could always see it plainly on his face, but I couldn’t get a read on you.”

  “I loved him so much, but we were never in love with each other.”

  Aaron’s eyebrows rose as he pulled his hand back. “Now, that’s a damn lie. I’m good at watching people. If Matt wasn’t in love with you, I’d eat my hat.”

  She shrugged. “Are you sure you want to talk about Matt?”

  “No, but it seemed like you need to.”

  That was perceptive. Hazel locked away her grief and changed the subject. “More truths?”

  “Lay it on me.”

  She tipped her head back and stared up at the dark foliage above. “I don’t want to marry you,” she found herself saying. The words sounded way worse out loud than they did in her mind. She dropped her chin, expecting anger or embarrassment from Aaron, but all she saw was resignation and acceptance.

  “I know, but our lots have been cast.” His tone was bleak.

  His words struck a chord inside her. “Are you being forced into this?” It was one thing for her to make a sacrifice—Harbor was her responsibility—but she wouldn’t put it on someone else if they didn’t want it.

  He shook his head. “No, you misunderstood what I meant. We’ve both made decisions that have led us to this point. We can only move forward. Our choice has already been made.” A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “But on the positive side, after the blending, we’ll leave everything behind and start fresh. Our life will be what we make it.”

  He made it sound so simple. “I’d like that.”

  “And…” he continued, “any preconceived notions I have of you, I’ll try hard to toss out the window, if you’ll do the same. This will be a learning process for the both of us.”

  “I’ll do my best.” She snagged the flask and took a healthy swig. The liquor burned all the way down to her belly. Hazel hissed through her teeth and set the spirits down, a bitter aftertaste in her mouth. “I don’t know how you drink that. It’s gross.”

  “I’ll pretend you didn’t say that,” he said dryly. “But I’ll keep in mind that you don’t like moonshine.” He clasped his hands in front of him and eyed her. “Are you attracted to me?”

  She sputtered and then gaped at him. “Well, that was blunt.”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m not sure how you want me to answer that.”

  “Honestly.” />
  Hazel bit the inside of her cheek as she gazed at Aaron. He was muscular like all the guys she’d grown up with, a product of hard labor. His square jaw was nice, but his eyes were a little too close to his large nose. He was nice looking, but she wasn’t attracted to him.

  “No.”

  “Oh, thank God,” he mumbled. He flashed her a quick smile. “I’m glad I’m not the only one.”

  “Am I ugly?” she asked slowly.

  “No, but to me, you’re plain.”

  That should have hurt her feelings, but she somehow found herself smiling. “Then we’re on the same page.” An idea took root in her mind. Who said they had to live their lives a certain way? They could live just as friends, partners. The idea calmed the churning in her belly. Hazel held her hand out for him to shake. “We can set our own rules. Why don’t we live as roommates? Then you and I won’t be forced into something we don’t want.”

  Aaron’s smiled faded to the serious mask he wore all the time. “Deal.”

  He clasped her hand, his rough calluses catching along her skin. Her brows furrowed as he turned their clasped hands and stared at the back of her hand.

  “What’s wrong?”

  He flicked a glance up to her face and then back down to their hands. “You know that our arrangement can’t be permanent. They’ll expect us to produce the next heir, and soon.”

  Oh, how she knew. “True, but no one said when we have to.”

  “Do you really want to take the chance and wait?” he said, tracing one of her delicate blue veins.

  Hazel eyed him hard. “You just said you agreed with me.” Was he changing his mind already?

  He lifted her hand and flipped it palm side up. “I do, but life in our world is short. If we wait too long, Harbor would be in danger.”

  Her breath stuttered as he dipped his head and pressed his lips to the inside of her wrist. A little flutter went through her chest. Well, that was uncomfortable. She tugged on her arm, and he relented, much to her relief.

  He straightened and arched an eyebrow. “You’re going to have to get used to me. I propose we try an experiment.”