No, good looking wasn't the right term. He was sexy. There was no doubt about it, and he probably got a lot of looks from the other women around. Being the mayor’s son probably didn’t hurt either. She wasn't in the market for anyone. She was technically engaged, though she didn’t understand Atlas’s eagerness to run off. But now, she definitely needed to be honest with herself if she was going to keep her cool. The danger was always in the denial of something. It was what made the craving worse.
“You're not cold, are you?” he asked, and he must have caught her shiver.
“That wasn't an answer to my question,” she redirected, hoping not to give any more of her inappropriate feelings away. She had already practically had a fight with Atlas right in front of him.
“My father isn't exactly a talker or the bonding type. He is busy being in the public eye and making sure everything works like a machine here, even the citizens. That is the way it has to be to make sure this experiment works. I assume I was born here, but I can't be sure. I’ve never met my mother, after all. She died giving birth to me. That’s what I know. And my memory is scarce before the age of about ten. Apparently, I was sick before that.” He shrugged it off like it was nothing, but Brenna sensed some unresolved issues under the surface.
“So, was your dad the first mayor, or was there someone before? How long has this been operational?”
“Has anyone ever told you that curiosity is not always a good trait?” he said, standing his ground and looking her up and down.
Brenna felt oddly exposed in these clothes as he looked at her and kept her eyes trained on the ground as a weird tingle came over her. What was wrong with her? “No, no one has told me that, but then again, I don’t think I have ever been in a situation where I needed to ask so many questions,” she mumbled.
“Fair enough, but I don’t think you’re going to get all the answers in one day, and certainly not from me. Just because I am the mayor's son does not mean I have endless knowledge about this place. I do know it was my father's idea before he even had a single thought of me. I know he acquired a lot of money and that it wasn’t easy. I don’t know much else. We don’t go around keeping that kind of history or telling folk tales. It would grow the population far too fast for us to sustain, and while we want to save as many as possible, we would save no one that way.”
Brenna met his blue eyes and gasped involuntarily. She shook her head and looked away again but was happy with his answer. It made perfect sense to her, and it made the whole thing feel like the real deal, even as it sounded too good to be true. If anything was going to bring life back to this side of the planet the way it once was, this was it.
“Well, thank you, for everything,” she said, feeling like the tour was probably coming to an end.
“What, no more questions?” he said, quirking his mouth up once more like he had when they had first met. She ignored it and tried to focus behind him as the rain picked up.
“I might have one or two,” she couldn't help but joke back, breaking a smile herself.
“Wow, she smiles.”
Damn it, he shouldn't make her feel this way. Just because he was new and different and because this place was safe. It was nothing more than that.
“Look, your friend . . . boyfriend . . . whatever he was to you, I am sure if you are important to him, he will find his way back once he is done doing whatever he needs to do. I would guess he is used to the life of a typical overgrounder, the same as the rest, and just needs to see it for himself and make a decision. So, in the spirit of celebrating your new citizenship, assuming you want it, how about I try to answer some of your questions, and you tell me why you don’t quite seem like other overgrounders?” he asked clearly probing.
Brenna scoffed, but he was right. It was only fair. It was simply the idea of being alone with him for any longer that made her wary of doing this. Though, it wasn't like she had anywhere else to go. She was at his mercy right now, and she did want to know as much as possible. It wasn't like the mayor's son was going to make some move on a total stranger. He was just being kind and making small talk, trying to get to know her and make her feel at home.
“Okay,” she agreed.
“C’mon,” he told her, motioning for her to follow him. He walked briskly through the rain, and she kept up with him the best she could as he took her to that tower she had seen earlier, the one with the tank. He helped her up a flight of stairs, a key opening a gate to them. He was the mayor's son, so of course, he had access to everything. Though, he was clearly abusing that power right now.
“So, what does this thing do, anyway?”
It holds and converts rainwater into energy and for drinking and crops,” he called back to her as they kept ascending until she could see the rest of the city and much of the landscape beyond the way she had come. But he took her hand, leaving a burning sensation upon her skin, as he led her around in a semi-circle to the other side. The sun was beginning to set, and it looked beautiful from this angle. Of course, she had seen many sunsets in her lifetime, but she rarely got to enjoy something like this. This was spectacular.
“So, how about you tell me first, and then, once the sun goes down, I think I will be able to show you the answer to one of your questions.”
She looked at him strangely, not understanding, but she leaned over the railing and watched, their elbows bumping as she told him the story of what she had done to get her kicked out of her Colony. She didn’t know why, but she had even mentioned the rape that had happened to her at the hands of the Raiders. He was just so good at listening, and she had never known anyone other than Atlas to truly talk to like this. At nineteen, back at the Colony, she would still be growing up, but the Batista women were either married or thinking about marriage and babies. It was nice to talk to someone else who may not have it all figured out yet.
“I can't believe you did that. I think you’ll fit in here just fine. That's what all this is about. I mean, I may be kind of an asshole, but only on the surface. It’s for fun. I do appreciate what my father has accomplished, even if I resent our relationship or lack thereof sometimes,” he admitted.
“I am not one to judge about parents. My own mother abandoned me to the coyotes and the other deaths of the desert because I saved a life she didn’t approve of in the first place. She was prejudice, but she was also a medic and saved lives.”
She made the mistake of looking at him as the rest of the light from the sun disappeared below the horizon, and her stomach did some weird flips. A few lights shown through the town, just so those that needed to make their way inside could still see and to keep crime to a minimum. From what Brenna could tell, there was none of that. But the light shone on his hair just right and his face making him look even more handsome than he already did.
Brenna had spent all day without a weapon at her side for the first time and without worrying about being without it. And she hadn’t worried about food, clothing, or whether she or someone she loved would get ill and they wouldn't be able to do anything about it. This was real life.
This was what she had always wanted. Only a day spent in the Oasis, and she could feel it.
She didn’t know what came over her, but he was just so close, his light pink lips smiling at her, and she placed her lips on top of his just to see how they would feel.
She was shocked at the way her body responded, an electric shock running through her. This was not comfortable at all. Not safe. Not familiar. It was dangerous and needy. His hand ended up slipping into her hair, entwining with his fingers as they continued to kiss in a way she didn’t understand, considering they had been strangers several hours before.
She pulled away with a gasp of horror at what she had done. It had been so stupid and reckless, letting herself get so relaxed that she just went with whatever her mind told her. “Oh my god, I am so sorry,” she said, her hand over her mouth. She needed to run. She turned on her heels to head for the stairs, but Heath grabbed her, pulling her back. She w
anted to protest, shaking her head, but then he was pointing out beyond the walls of the Oasis.
“Look,” he told her. “The reason everyone that comes has to be checked for the virus and vaccinated.”
Brenna focused at the fence on the side of the city she didn’t come from, and terror struck her. Hundreds of sleepwalkers were making their way to the fence in an attempt to get through, their moans louder than any of the other sounds around them.
Thirst (The Oasis Plague Book 1) Page 10
