by Kim Cormack
“I need you to stop saying things like that,” she whispered as his finger trailed an intimate seductive path down the length of her arm. Her heart swelled in response to his touch as pleasurable goosebumps rose on her skin. She resisted the impulse to pull away. He definitely wasn’t the same person. This version of her best friend knew how to make a girl squirm. It both intrigued her and made her feel sad. He had grown up without her.
After a pause, he whispered, “Let me rephrase that. Say we locked the door to one of those cabins for a week and I made you beg me to stop doing things to you that could wreck you for all other men for the rest of your life. We get to live a very long time Kayn. Does that sound like a very nice thing for me to do?”
Her eyes widened and her cheeks blushed. She got an eye full of dazzling sunshine. She held her hands over her eyes while squinting in the brilliance of midday’s rays. She was going to need a moment for a comeback to that. She almost whispered her calculated reply, “You clearly have a little more practice talking dirty now, don’t you?”
Kevin inched a little closer and whispered, “I’m pretty sure I have a little more experience at lots of things.”
She shifted away from his touch. He was like a different person and yet somehow, he was still the same. Kayn needed him to do something, anything to give her a hint that he remembered her. He was being a flirt. A guy attempting to work his game. Kayn whispered her reply, “If I believed you remembered me, there is nothing I wouldn't do for you.”
“I am curious about you,” he acknowledged. “We have a week to take a walk down memory lane and maybe it’ll be incredible, but at the end of the week, it's not going to matter what I do or don't remember about my past. It's not going to change anything between us.”
Kayn replied, “No… It won’t. I understand that now.” She heard Melody call her name. She stood up and began to shake the grass off.
“Can I kiss you? See if anything comes back to me?” Kevin teased as he stood up beside her and brushed off his clothes.
“You’re joking, right?” She said as she spun around and marched away from him.
He chased after her and teased, “That wasn’t a no!”
She fought the urge to laugh. A lot of Tiberius had rubbed off on Kevin and she was pretty sure that was a bad thing. “You need to earn a kiss from me,” she challenged, without breaking her stride.
Kevin chuckled while trying to keep up with her. He probed, “I’ve never turned down a dare from you, have I?”
She stopped walking away and allowed him to catch up while giving her reply, “That feeling might be correct.”
While appearing to be thrilled that she’d answered him honestly, he baited, “Okay then... I dare you to make me remember you this week.”
“Fine… I dare you to remember me,” Kayn sparred while meeting his intrigued gaze. What in the hell was she doing?
“Deal,” he answered as he held his hand out so they could shake on it.
Kayn took his hand and said, “What are we, children?”
“I see my obvious attempt to seduce you isn’t going to work. Why don’t we start over?” He fanned out her fingers and kissed the symbol on the inside of her palm while introducing himself, “My name’s Kevin. I’m clan Triad and I am a Virgo.”
He’d done the kissing hand thing from the story book they loved as children. How could he not remember her if he remembered that? With complete inability for rational thought, Kayn corrected, “You’re not a Virgo. You’re a Scorpio.”
“Well, that certainly explains a lot,” he chuckled, without letting go of her hand.
“Halloween. That’s your birthday,” Kayn added as her resolve to stay angry dissipated. He let go of her hand. Heaven help her, she didn’t want him to. They strolled side by side without touching until they reached the barbwire fence where he held it up as she cautiously shimmied through. She did the same for him and in a second, they were walking down the trail. He was checking her out. It was weird. Kevin never did that. Remember this isn’t Kevin, her mind reminded her.
As they strolled down the dirt trail through the lush forest towards the cabins, Kevin enquired, “Tell me something about the new and improved Kayn.”
She slowed her pace as she replied, “I’m a pretty good karaoke singer. I won a prize once.”
“Oh, did you? Are you sure it wasn’t a wet t-shirt contest because I for one, cannot believe I ever went swimming with you without losing my damn mind, watching you come out of the water. Let’s go swimming right now,” Kevin flirtatiously teased.
Intrigued by the version of Kevin that openly desired her, she couldn’t help but play along. Kayn toyed with him, “I’m already wearing a bathing suit under my clothes. Let’s go, right now.”
He chuckled while provoking, “You mean I don’t get to see you in your sports bra and granny panties again?”
“Those weren’t granny panties,” she huffed, sensing his eyes on her curves as she sauntered ahead of him. She was playing with fire, she knew that. That kissing hand thing had messed with her mind. It was like he had the information he just didn’t know why it was there. With the urge to test him, Kayn paused and questioned, “Do you smell that?”
“I have no clue what you’re talking about,” he teased.
She explained, “You should really make sure this path is safe first. Smell the grass.”
Intrigued, he clarified, “Why do I want to smell the grass again?”
“To check for hillbilly urine,” Kayn stated while managing to keep a straight face. She had to see if he’d do it.
Kevin shook his head and muttered under his breath, “You may very well be the weirdest girl I have ever met.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” she countered.
He humored her as he knelt, yanked out a handful of grass and sniffed it.
Melody strolled towards them and said, “Hillbilly urine?”
“Is that actually a thing?” Kevin asked.
Kayn looked at him with a dead serious expression, “Sure it is... How do you not know about the hillbilly urine thing?”
Kevin shook his head. He glared at the two girls and accused, “You guys are messing with me!”
Zach indifferently wandered up and announced, “You’re the guy that took my place in Triad. I should thank you. I have to be honest… I thought you’d be taller.”
“That’s hilarious,” Kevin replied. “You’re all as weird as she is. Is it contagious in your clan or something?”
Zach chuckled as he joined the groups trek on the dirt path, “I wasn’t weird at all when I was in Triad. I’ve spent a whole year with these people and now I’m as nutty as a damn fruit cake.”
They grinned at each other. Melody quite randomly hip checked Zach. He almost bit it and fell into a bush, but quickly regained his balance. He walked for a few feet before trying to do the same thing to Kayn, but she didn’t go down. Kevin caught her and they had an awkward moment, before continuing their casual stroll. Kayn waited a few minutes, so Zach wouldn’t be expecting it. She hip-checked him into the bush and he went down. “Score!” She yelled, while raising both hands in the air and obnoxiously dancing around.
Kevin appeared to be intrigued by their immaturity. As they reached the dock, he nudged Melody and asked, “Were we friends?”
The lumber sunk into the water as they stepped onto the dock. Melody glanced back at Kevin while responding, “We only met once. The day you left with Triad, I switched back to Ankh. Maybe someday you’ll remember what I did for you. How I bound you together.”
Kevin flirtatiously replied, “Is that supposed to be kinky, because it sure sounds like it is.”
“No! You know that’s not what I meant!” She laughed as she laid her towel out on the dock.
Kayn was thoroughly enjoying the witty banter when the warmth of early summer’s caress on her skin, brought her back to blissful childhood memories. Her family always went camping with Kevin's family. It felt like she’d wander
ed towards a wooden dock just like this one countless times in her short mortal life. There always seemed to be a patch of sharp rocks to pass over. At the beginning of the summer, her bare feet would always complain because they were unaccustomed to the harsh, rigid pebbles beneath her soles. By the end of the summer, they’d be racing over them as though they were not even there. She inhaled the familiar scent of the timber as she felt the coarseness of the wood beneath her feet. He was staring at her. She met Kevin’s mesmerized gaze as she casually stripped off her clothing and strolled towards where they’d laid their towels. She was intentionally messing with the version of him that found her tempting knowing the sparse pastel blue material of her bikini barely covered her breasts. She was toned from her running obsession but she’d always been a tiny bit self-conscious about her larger backside and curvaceous wide set hips.
“You’re an evil girl Brighton.” Melody observed. She was giggling as she laid down in the sun and closed her eyes.
Zach was lounging on his towel, taking in her bikini situation. He commented, “He’s going to need an intervention from Tiberius to stay away from you after seeing you in that.”
Good. Kayn sprawled out on the dock, in the warmth of the sun, while avoiding the urge to grin. She made eye contact with
Kevin again as he removed his shirt and stretched out on the dock beside her. Touché… his abs were amazing. He was trying to play the same game with her.
He winked at her as he teased, “Are you guys too hung over to see me? Because you’re talking like I’m not lying right beside you.”
After a long moment of silence, Mel whispered, “Oh no… we know you're there. We just don’t care.”
Kayn changed the subject, “Zach…Where did you end up last night?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Zach sparred with an enormous self-satisfied grin.
Instantly interested in their conversation, Mel prodded, “Just tell me what I missed... Spill it.”
Kayn glanced at her friend. Mel was squinting the sunlight, trying to see Zach’s face so she could gage the truth of his story. She fought the urge to giggle. Women are uniquely territorial creatures. Was that a hint of jealousy in her friend’s eyes? Mel had been occupied elsewhere. She understood her predicament. She felt that way about Frost. She wasn't one hundred percent sure she wanted to be with him, but she didn't really want anyone else to be with him either.
Zach sighed, “I slept with that crazy chick. She may wear me as a skin coat someday but man was it ever worth it.”
Mel smacked him and quietly scolded, “You are such a dog.”
After putting two and two together, Kayn winked at Kevin and whispered, “Zach slept with your girlfriend.”
Kevin rolled to his stomach, propped himself up on his elbows and said, “Stephanie can do whatever she wants. She’s not my girlfriend.”
Intrigued by his denial, Kayn also rolled over. She met his gaze and countered, “Does she know she’s not your girlfriend?”
Kevin grinned and switched topics, “I saw something pretty hot last night involving a few members of your clan.”
Zach chuckled, “Yes, well-timed subject change my friend. For future reference ladies, men never want to know they’ve crossed swords.”
Kevin made a point of acting like he hadn’t heard Zach’s commentary as he continued his story, “I stumbled across Lily and Grey last night...literally.”
Melody was the first to reply, “Good for them...Grey deserves to be happy. He’s a good guy.”
Zach questioned, “I always thought you had a thing for him?”
Melody squinted in the intense sunlight as she replied, “Why would you think that?”
“Well for starters, you never bite when I hit on you,” he teased.
“That’s because you’re a dog Zach. Case in point, it’s possible you slept with Satan last night,” she giggled while closing her eyes, pretending to nap.
“I’m only a dog due to lack of bone,” he replied. “If I ever thought I had a chance with someone like you I’d never pee on anyone else’s tree again.”
Kevin chuckled and said, “Fidelity, being compared to pissing on a tree. That may very well be the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard.”
“Anytime you need to use my classy pick-up lines, you feel free,” Zach replied.
“I am already working on a few good ones to use on you ladies tonight,” Kevin taunted.
“Please don’t,” Mel moaned, without opening her eyes.
“Alright, just friends then,” Kevin teased as he extended his hand towards her.
Melody peered over at him with her hands acting as a sun visor and stated, “Let’s just shake on it later.”
Kayn had dozed off with her face resting on her arms while listening to the comic sparring match. She felt someone touching her hair and looked as Kevin showed her the lint he’d plucked out. It had obviously come from her towel. Lovely. She puckered her lips and blew it off his finger. The orange bit of fluff landed in the water and floated away. She’d been certain she knew what each of his expressions meant. She couldn’t quite place this one. It was not on the list. She whispered, “What are you thinking?” She grimaced…She’d just allowed herself to become a sad female cliché. She humorously thumped her forehead on the dock. Everything worked out so much better in her mind. She rubbed the bump and muttered, “That’s going to leave a mark.”
Kevin was stupefied as he asked, “Did you really just bang your head on the dock, on purpose?”
She rubbed her wound while saying, “It was supposed to be funny. Damn it. That really hurt.”
Melody sat up and explained, “Oh, Kevin…This is Kayn we’re talking about.” She laid her hand on Kayn’s forehead and healed the giant goose egg.
“Our Kayn is a little bit accident prone,” Zach explained.
“It was hilarious in my mind,” Kayn mumbled to herself. When she peered up, Kevin was sitting beside her, with an enormous grin on his face.
He teased, “If you’re crazy it’s not a deal breaker… But I do prefer to know up front.”
Kayn grimaced at the group. It always felt like she was the butt of everyone’s jokes. She did acknowledge that she asked for it, the majority of the time.
“Everybody’s either crazy or boring,” Zach ribbed.
A few people they hadn't met from the other clans began to gather on the dock. They were passing around helpful hangover remedies.
“Here, these might help,” an attractive stranger said as he threw sunglasses on the dock in front of Melody.
Mel smiled as she reached out to grab them. “Awe, you’re a prince,” she replied as she slipped them on. Someone else gave her a juice from a cooler and placed a couple of Tylenol in the palm of her hand. She took them and said, “You’re a life saver.” She paused for a second, knit her brow and questioned, “I wonder why my hangover hasn’t healed? It should have healed a long time ago.”
The stranger bearing sunglasses and juice said, “I have a feeling that wine was meant to teach us a lesson.”
“It definitely taught me one,” Melody commented. “How come you’re not in pain this morning Kayn?” she asked.
“When we got back to the cabin, I ate a loaf of bread and drank a bunch of Gatorade.” She responded while stretching like a cat lounging in the sun.
Kevin nudged her as he enquired, “You really ate a whole loaf of bread?”
Kayn opened her eyes and motioned with her fingers as she spoke, “You take the crust off and roll it into a ball, it expands in your stomach and absorbs the alcohol.”
Kevin snickered, “You guys are just a wellspring of strange information, aren’t you?”
None of them bothered to deny it. They just beamed.
Kevin passed Melody some sun block as it travelled through the group of strangers. He said, “Just because you can heal your burns doesn’t mean you should do it on purpose.”
Melody lifted her hair, glanced at Zach and asked, “Can you put
some lotion on my back?” He smiled while liberally applying it to her back and shoulders. “Want me to do you too?” Mel questioned.
“If you’re offering,” Zach teased.
Mel rolled her eyes while massaging the lotion into his skin.
“With my permanent tan, I never need the stuff,” Zach said. “Enjoyable as it is, it’s not really necessary to put any on me.”
“Famous last words... I don’t burn,” Mel sparred.
Come on Mel, you know better. Zach’s expression changed. She’d seen this vacant look of emptiness pass across his face before. Kayn gave his shoulder a quick squeeze with a knowing close lipped smile. The past always had a nasty habit of creeping up and stomping out an enjoyable moment. She knew a few of Melody’s secrets but Zach had never told her any. They’d reminisced about wallpaper once. She knew which conversations to avoid because there were only a few things that set Zach off emotionally. Fire had always been a touchy subject and burn was also a word to avoid using in his presence. It was easy to read between the lines. He hadn’t even looked at her when she squeezed his shoulder. Melody was aware she’d stuck her foot in her mouth. Kayn lightened up the situation by saying, “Isn’t anyone going to do me?” Zach cracked a smile. Kevin winked at her but didn’t offer his services. It was obvious that she was trying to get Zach to smile.
Zach smirked and teased, “All right... I guess I can do you both. You have to promise me you won’t bang your head on the dock if I don't do a good job though.”
“I promise to behave myself.” Kayn answered.
Zach gave her a dirty look and mumbled, “You’re such a liar.”
Kayn arched her back and grinned at Kevin. When he was finished, she laid down, closed her eyes and whispered, “Thanks Zach.”
“Anytime, Candy Kayn,” he answered.
He’d used her old nickname. She stealthily observed Kevin's reaction, half expecting the look of confusion as he regained a memory of her, but he hadn’t even flinched. It was a nickname he’d given her as a child. She fought the overwhelming urge to jump on his chest and shake him back into her version of reality. This is just the first day. He has lots of time to remember.
