by Tonya Kuper
Uh, my brains felt like they were going to slide out of my nose—ancient-Egyptian-mummification style. I didn’t say that, though. Reid and Santos were staring at me like I was some moron. They waited for me to respond.
“Go big or go home,” Santos taunted.
Deep breath. “This isn’t so hard,” I said, all nonchalant. I threw in a shoulder shrug for good measure.
Reid’s lips twitched again.
Santos approached Reid with an extended hand. “Lemme give it a try.”
Reid handed over the marker and accepted the stopwatch.
“Go,” Reid yelled. Santos scribbled a tree. Really? Easy.
I Pushed the tree. The branches fanned out toward the ceiling of the warehouse. Notches in the wide trunk. Some roots spearing out like vines across the warehouse floor. Not too shabby, if I did say so myself.
“Hold up there, sista.” Santos stopped my celebration before it began. “We ain’t through yet.” He turned back to the easel, and the marker squeaked against the whiteboard. He jumped aside with a flourish, waving his arms all Vanna White style, and, like on Wheel of Fortune, he revealed a single word in block letters: forest.
Huh. It seemed to me that he was cheating, but the word conjured the thought, and I repeated Reid’s words, an observation is just an observation, like it was a mantra. No limits. Just Pushing what my mind could see.
Forest.
I Pushed. Heat licked at my brain, then came pain, nausea.
My stomach rolled into my throat.
With my next blink, the entire warehouse was full of red oak trees. My favorite tree in autumn when we’d lived in the Midwest. And, since I’d conjured thoughts of fall, the leaves changed from green to red—another shooting pain zinged through my head—and a breeze rustled through the warehouse, dislodging the leaves from the trees in one big gust, sending them whirling like a crimson blizzard. Oops.
Pain erupted in my head again, and more red oaks started popping up. They rose from the warehouse floor and sprouted toward the ceiling, crowding out the room, crushing the workout equipment and the sparring arena. A branch whipped out and shattered the flat screen.
“Stop!” Reid shouted the command, and I tried to shut off my thoughts.
He Retracted the worst of the offenders but didn’t clear the whole room.
Santos let out a long whistle. I heard him, but I couldn’t see him through the trees. A moment later, the grr-grr-grrrrr of a chainsaw echoed through the warehouse. “I’m yelling timber!” Santos sang in his best Kesha voice. “You better dance.”
I knew better than to laugh. Santos didn’t.
He toppled one of the most obnoxious trees and brandished the power tool, singing and dancing like a loon with wood chips flying. Ax Men meets hip hop—now this was a sight I would remember.
“Put it down before you saw off your own arm,” Reid growled.
“You’re no fun.” Santos turned off the chainsaw and left it on a stump. One of the tree limbs had snapped off a corner of the whiteboard. Cool as could be, he capped the marker and placed it on the easel. “I, uh, think I’m going to chillax in my room for a bit.”
A couple of red oaks blocked the hallway to the bedrooms. Reid Retracted them, and Santos beat a hasty retreat.
A ring of trees surrounded us, and Reid’s feet crunched over the fallen leaves as he approached me. He crossed his arms. “While Santos’s methods were a bit crude, he used his abilities to formulate a solution. He’s a Pusher. So he Pushed the chainsaw to cut his way through the trees. Okay, now what was going through your mind when you Pushed?”
“I…I don’t know.”
He nodded. “And that’s the problem. You have to be concise, intentional. Pushing requires your undivided attention. Full concentration.”
“I get it.”
“Even as you’re Pushing something, you need to be calculating the next Push or Retraction to counter that action. Do you understand?”
I could clearly deduce that I would need an equal and opposite reaction. I thought of magnets and opposing forces, the concepts inherent to the Law of the Conservation of Energy. But Reid was in operative mode, and he wouldn’t appreciate my lengthy mental dialogue, so instead I said, “Yep. Got it.”
“Okay, then let’s try Retracting those trees. Focus. Observe the act in your mind.”
It was like pulling energy from the world around me and sucking it into the middle of my being. A really bizarre feeling rolled through my body, I blinked, and half the trees were gone. The other half toppled and collapsed onto one another, carpeting the warehouse floor like it was some desolate logging camp.
My stomach and head fluttered. The lightheaded rush reminded me of one of those whirling carnival rides where the floor drops out and the centrifugal force keeps you glued to the walls. I held my stomach like that would keep the contents of it locked in there.
Reid’s eyes trained ahead to the decimated mini forest. I stepped in front of him so he’d look at me. “I don’t understand. What did I do wrong?”
His arms fell from his chest. “It wasn’t really wrong—it just wasn’t enough. You have to Retract with the same preciseness as the Push if you’re trying to undo a goof like this.”
I resented that he was being critical. It wasn’t like I knew what I was doing. “I’m just learning, Reid. I’m going to make mistakes. I’m not trying to goof up.”
Reid muttered a curse.
“It’s not fair for you to get mad at me!” I hated that he seemed annoyed, because if he was, I—or my lack of expertise—was the cause. I wanted to hide my face, now heated with embarrassment. I hated when people made me feel like I wasn’t adequate enough in something. Perfectionist problems.
“Hey!” Santos popped his head out of his room. “I feel like I’m in timeout,” he whined. “And it’s boring.”
He offered me an understanding smile as he shuffled out of his room. His interruption eased the tension between Reid and me. I wanted to thank him for that.
“Nobody nails a forest,” Santos said. “Most Oculi can’t even Push a tree on their first day.”
His words made me feel marginally better, but it was the disappointment and censure in Reid’s expression that I struggled with.
“He’s right,” Reid agreed. Like the flip of a coin, his mood seemed to change. He even flashed that lopsided smile. Whoa, whiplash. I didn’t call him out on his whole Dr. Jekyll routine—Hannah would’ve been so proud!—instead I kept my expression blank and waited.
His gaze shot past me, pulling my attention in the same direction. Santos had snatched up his chainsaw again, and it motored to life. “Hold up!” Reid yelled.
Santos shrugged. “Come on, you know you want to try…”
A momentary look of amusement slid across Reid’s as he shook his head. He Retracted the remainder of the trees and Santos’s chainsaw.
“Let’s try something kind of…experimental.”
His tone was different, more playful, and—dare I say?—suggestive.
“Uhh.” I slowly spun toward him. The first thing I saw was his broad chest and strong jawline, so naturally when I thought of experimental, I thought of his body. Dear Star Lord. What is wrong with me? Heat flashed in my cheeks.
One corner of his lips curled in amusement. “Get your head out of the gutter.”
“I…psh…ha.” I shook my head, denying that he’d just caught me making a total and complete fool of myself. Damn it, Hannah hadn’t coached me through this kind of awkwardness.
“Instead of Pushing something static,” he said, “why don’t we try something in motion?”
“Liiiiiike…?”
He leaned toward me. “We’ve got a moving target right there.” I followed his eyes to Santos, who was now climbing up the stepladder to the playground fort. “Show me what you can do.”
Well, not like that wasn’t putting me on the spot. Who’d he think I was, Data? I didn’t have infinite answers for everything. I’d just proven that. A
nd could his instructions be any vaguer?
Okay. Um. I focused on Santos. His clothes. I could change his clothes.
I Pushed. The pulse of energy was less painful, but a dull headache was settling in the back of my skull and taking up permanent residence.
“Hey!” Santos tumbled down the slide. He wore a clown suit, big shoes, a rainbow wig, and a big red nose.
I glanced over, and I thought something was wrong with Reid. He was buckled over, holding his stomach. Laughing.
“Yeah, yeah,” Santos yelled as his shoes flopped our way. “Laugh it up. It’s all fun and games until the funny guy is turned into a…” He looked down at himself.
“A funny guy,” I said.
Reid stuck out his fist. I hit mine to his, and for some reason that seemed like some award in its own right.
“Do it to Reid. If I’m a clown, how would you dress Reid?”
“I—”
Reid lowered his chin and watched me through his dark lashes—daring me. “Go ahead.”
“I didn’t even think about what I was making his clothes,” I blurted. “It just happened.” Shit. I’d probably screwed up again. I frowned, thinking of his reaction to the maple forest.
“Josie.” He touched me under the chin. “That can be a good thing—you not having to think so hard.”
“But I don’t understand. You told me to concentrate. To be specific in my thoughts.”
“Yes. But you won’t always have to do it that way. For the big-ticket items and for your first observations, yeah, it has to be precise.” Reid crossed his arms again. “But as you master your skills, it’ll come more naturally.”
“So I won’t have to try so hard?”
“Exactly.” He tipped his head to me again. “Go ahead.”
Right. Just swap out his clothes the way I had with Santos.
“Hey.” He stopped me. “Lay off the dark-haired Thor stuff.” The reprimand was delivered in a gruff tone, but his eyes sparkled.
For a moment, I debated pranking him, but before my mind could conjure ball gowns or a Wookie costume, I Pushed and the headache revved like an engine in my head. In the next moment, Reid stood before us in a full army uniform—fatigues, boots, helmet. Okay, so we were going with my true impression of him.
Santos erupted in laughter, while Reid’s head bobbed in tiny nods. His gaze was on the floor, as if thinking. “I get that.”
“What would you dress me as, Reid?” And why those words came out of my mouth, I didn’t know.
A grin spread across his face, slow and mischievous. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”
My stomach kissed my heart. It just shot straight up. Yeah, I would’ve liked to have known. Then again, maybe not. His impression was probably an old-school nerd with broken glasses, pants up to my bra, and a pocket protector.
In the next instant, the boys’ clothes were back to normal and I was still staring at Reid.
He cleared his throat and said, “Let’s take a break, then hit the mats.”
10.
Josie
I
took a few minutes in the restroom to freshen up and wrap my brain around everything that had happened over the last twenty hours. My conceptions of the world were shattered. With my mom’s mad scientist lab, Dad, and everything I’d just Pushed into reality, I was barely keeping it together.
Reid was right. Physically working off some of the stress and frustration would be a good thing. I wasn’t a gym rat, but I could appreciate yoga or hitting a treadmill. Hannah and I went to an intermediate yoga class twice a week. I practiced my forms.
I stepped out from the back of the warehouse, and music reverberated in my chest. My eyes scanned the floor as I rounded the corner. All good. Reid and Santos had restored the warehouse to its former glory. Flat screen intact. Not a leaf or swing in sight. What I did see, well, whoa. Two shirtless guys beating the crap out of each other.
The moves almost appeared choreographed. They struck and retreated so seamlessly, their strong bodies a blur of kicks and punches and retreats, but when my gawking in the doorway nabbed Santos’s attention, Reid kicked Santos in the stomach, sending him to the floor, cursing.
Nope. Not choreographed.
Reid held out a hand, helping Santos up. Both of them sauntered toward me in tempo with the song. It didn’t seem like they did it on purpose, but it added to their badassery and reminded me of the way they’d walked up to me on their first day of school—by the USS Enterprise, had that only been yesterday? How the whole world could just up and shift on its axis in the span of a day…
Santos was built. Lean and muscular and only wearing blue Adidas shorts and sneakers.
I took in Reid’s defined chest and the dips and ripples in his abs. Jeans rode low on his hips, exposing the black waistband of his underwear. A thin, dark trail started at his belly button and disappeared into his pants. Insta–face burn. I tried not to stare but, Thor Almighty, how could I not?
“I don’t have workout clothes. You want me to Push—”
“Josie, you need to learn to fight in street clothes. This isn’t a workout session.” His eyes flicked to the front of my shirt, and he walked toward the training area. Okay, so no free weights, then.
“Shoes on or off?” I bent down, prepared to take off my Sperrys.
“I said street clothes. That goes for footwear, too.”
I was starting to think I’d prefer Santos over Reid. Reid was so stringent.
I approached the mat. I’d never done any extensive sparring, but I wasn’t a total nube when it came to self-defense. The tae kwon do I’d practiced for years with Eli had to count for something. I hoped.
A heavy footfall pulled my attention back to Reid.
An arm came at me from the side. Without thinking, I ducked, punched under the incoming arm, and swung my shin at the ankles in my sights. Reid’s legs swept out from under him, and his hands shot out to catch himself. He landed on all fours.
I gasped for a breath of air, my chest heaving. Evidently I held my breath whenever I was attacked. Reid’s eyes locked on mine. Finally some eye contact. And then he gave me a shitty smile.
“What the hell?” I snapped. Reid stood and didn’t stop moving until he was in my face. I didn’t let myself flinch. “Just because you’re pissed at me, did you really need to try and take me out? I know you think insta-immersion works best, but maybe it doesn’t for me. Maybe, just maybe—”
“Will you shut up?”
I hitched my hands on my hips. “So rude.”
“Five days, Josie.”
That shut me up in a heartbeat. What the hell was wrong with me? I hadn’t lost sight of the goal. The awards ceremony was—I glanced at the wall clock in the living room—125 hours and fourteen minutes away. Reid shouldn’t take it easy on me. He couldn’t afford to.
“I’m sorry,” I began.
“Stop.” Reid didn’t budge, but he crossed his arms, too. “I was going to give you a compliment, but you won’t stop thinking or talking long enough for me to get a word in edgewise.”
Oh, oops. “Proceed.”
He shook his head, closing his clear eyes for a moment. “You are a piece of work.”
“That doesn’t sound like a compliment.”
Reid barked a short laugh. “Because it wasn’t. I was going to tell you that you did a good job earlier, you know, with the whole Pushing Pictionary thing. And this?” He pointed behind him, where I’d taken him down. “How did you know what to do?”
“My parents made us take tae kwon do. Like, for years and years. I guess it just kind of comes naturally.” A hint of pride fluttered through my muscles. And with that pride, just a smidgen of hope. Like maybe I could do this. Maybe I could actually pull this off.
“Mmm.”
Reid stood so close that I had to angle my head up to him. My shirt was already sticking to my sweaty stomach. And he still didn’t have a shirt on. I had to make a conscious effort not to look at his body. I could barel
y focus on what he’d said.
In no way, shape, or form had I lost sight—no pun intended—of the big picture. I remained focused on the end goal. Reid was just, well, a wee bit distracting, that’s all. And perhaps that was a good thing. Yes. If I could focus around Reid, then that would only better serve me in a real-world environment, when I faced other distractions.
Yep, that was my story. And I was sticking to it.
“Let’s work more on hand-to-hand combat. See what comes not-so-naturally, natural.”
Giving him a nod, I pivoted toward the mats. Feeling his presence behind me and hearing the swish of his jeans as he moved, I stopped short. I twisted, throwing a punch toward his lower jaw. He shifted out of the way, grabbed my wrist in midair, and twisted it around my back. Thank the moon of Endor I was pretty flexible.
He yanked my arm farther up my back. His opposite arm wrapped around my waist and tugged me into him, his bare chest pressing into my back.
Pain and exhilaration shot into my nervous system. I was stuck. My heart beat wildly, but I wasn’t scared. It had to be the rush of adrenaline into my bloodstream and the fact that a half-naked guy held me in a death grip.
Reid’s exhale tickled the back of my neck as he steadied his breath. “Nice try.” His voice came out in a rough whisper. His arm tightened around my waist again, his fingertips singeing my skin through my tank as they dug through the material, drawing me in to his body.
“What’s the matter, Josie? Can’t move?”
A chill danced down my spine when he pulled in a deep breath and his chest expanded against my back. I should’ve been shrugging out of his hold, but I didn’t. My body had locked up in response to his presence. And it pissed me off, because even though he could be an underwear model, I would’ve rather made out with a Romulan. Similar personalities.
Okay, I can do this.
I rolled my body to the right and down, and Reid loosened his embrace around my waist and dropped the hand holding my wrist. I turned to face him, his fingers sliding across my stomach as I twirled.
He could flip from flirty to field marshal? Yeah, well, so could I.
I took another step backward and bounced on my heels. “Okay,” I said. “Again. Come and get me.”
