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A quick glance at the door tells me Eagle is the poor sucker charged with babysitting us today. It could be worse. At least he responds when we speak to him.
What I wouldn’t give to touch a keyboard right now.
“Penny for your thoughts?”
I jump out of my scheming to see Dana bouncing where she sits on my cot.
“Just wondering what happens to us now, you know?” Which isn’t a complete lie.
“Hmm. I thought maybe you were thinking about a certain someone from your past. You know, a certainhunkysomeone, maybe?” She waggles her eyebrows at me as she attempts to pry.
The look on her face takes me back to high school. To the night I told her I had a crush on the new kid in school, and his name was Jack.
I remember it like it was yesterday, yet it also feels like it was someone else’s lifetime ago.
Jack was nothing like the other boys in school.
He never cared to prove himself to anyone around him. He never went out of his way to be the popular kid, but he was liked by everyone.
Well, almost everyone.
He and Maxwell never got along, but they tolerated each other around me. I always thought Max was a good friend. It wasn’t until Jack showed up that I clearly saw the jealousy he somehow hid from me.
I remember Dana slept over at my place one night. It was close to Halloween. We decided we would watch a horror movie together, then we were going to fall asleep with the lights on and one flashlight each. We had it all planned out—until I told her how I felt about Jack. Then we spent the rest of the night talking about boys and what we thought our first time would be like.
“Maybe I was thinking about him. This is all so…”
“Crazy? I mean, what are the odds? Like, if I was reading it in a book, I’d be all like,That’s one hell of a coincidence right there,” she jokes, and I smile. She always knows how to make me laugh. “He hasn’t changed, really,” she continues. “Except he’s kind of bossy, and he smells like cookies. I can’t quite put my finger on it.”
“Cinnamon. He smells a little like cinnamon.” I chuckle, and Dana’s face lights up in agreement.
A throat is cleared near our open door, and I look over to see Grizz standing in the entryway.
Dana jolts to her feet and smooths out her pants. Her tone flips on a dime. “Oh, hey,” she sings out as I watch her tilt her head to the side.
“Hello, Dana.” The burly man at my door nods his head at her, and my senses tingle.
These two have obviously spent some time together, and I’m not the only one keeping secrets.
“Tonight is downtime. Most of us usually end up in the common room, to play games or watch movies, and Jack mentioned you both would probably be joining us tonight.” He takes a minute to shuffle in place. “I was wondering if you ladies would like to walk down with me later. I’ll show you where it is. If we get there early, you could pick the movie, and I have a bottle of wine I picked up the last time I was in California that I’ve been saving.”
I may as well be invisible.
Neither has looked my way since he started speaking. When I glance at Dana, I’m met with something I’m not sure I’ve seen before. She’s close to being a puddle on the floor. I don’t think she realizes he’s stopped talking and it’s her turn now.
I almost can’t keep myself from bursting at their mutual interest as I answer for the both of us. “We would love that. Thank you.”
“Great. I’ll be back in a few hours. How about just after dinner?”
Dana nods, and he leaves us to our conversation.
Except I’m no longer interested in the conversation we were having.
“Care to share, Dana Bear?” I stand, then tuck my legs under myself as I sit back down on the sofa to get comfortable.
“What?” I can tell by the way she shrugs her shoulders that she already knows I don’t believe her for one minute. “Fine. We were talking earlier this morning, over breakfast, and he was really easy to talk to. We have some things in common. His real name is Michael. He’s actually a great guy. Well—for someone who is holding us against our will, I guess.” Then half a worry creeps into her smile. “Wait. Do you think I have that Swedish disease?”
“Stockholm syndrome?” I laugh. “No, I think you’re okay. I’m starting to get the feeling we’ve been captured by the good guys after all.”
