Chapter Five

I haven’t known Jay that long but she already seems to know how I think.

The fact she thought she scared me with her threats was adorable. Just adorable.

Anyway, the next morning we packed up camp, put everything into the van and set off. The only seats were the driver's seat and the passenger seat. I sat in the driver and Brian sat next to me.

The girls sat along one wall, and the boys sat across from them.

Jay was holding Noel in her lap, Ming was reading, Buck works on his drawing of Ming, and Chris was showing Matt how to sharpen a stick with a knife.

So far, Noel had only talking to the girls and occasionally to Matt. She wouldn’t say anything about her past, so far.

I wondered where her twin was.

In case you're wondering… yes, I’m planning on selling her, Jay, and Dale at the end of all of this.

Nothing has changed absolutely nothing. Well, maybe something. For some reason I don’t feel the usual joy, I have when planning.

At least, not when it comes to Jay.

Jay, the only Type One to cause me this much trouble. The only one to make me feel this way…with her beautiful brown eyes, and a sweet smile.

Oh my gosh, what am I saying?!

Pretend I never thought that. It never happened.

Back to what’s important. After an hour we ran out of gas.

We grab our things and walk once more.

“Where in the world is the stupid lab?! I mean, how big could this stupid woods be?!” I hear Jay shout.

I roll my eyes, “did you think that we’d find it after a day or something? These woods are huge! It might be another week before we find it.” I tell her.

She glares at me, and keeps walking.

“How do we know that we’re even going in the right direction?” Brian asks. This question stops Jay.

“Well, the truck was heading this direction, so we should probably keep heading in this direction, until we no longer can.” Jay replies.

“So, technically, we’re lost. That’s just perfect.” Chris says startling everyone.

“Well, in a way, it was inevitable.” Brian tells us.

In the corner of my eye I see Matt mouthing the word, trying to figure out its meaning. I lean over, and whisper “It was going to happen no matter what.” He nods in response.

I start paying attention again to discover that the matter has been resolved. We go with Jay’s idea.

As we walk I think about Matt. He was only ten, and yet, he believes fully in our business and me. For someone so young, he was insightful and brave.

I cared for him. I cared for all my boys. Each one of them, in some way, hold a special place in my heart.

Crap. I’m being soft again, aren’t I? It’s the woods. All this walking is giving me too much time to think.

I stop suddenly. Everyone sees me stopped and does likewise. “What is it?” Buck asks me.

I put my finger to my lips and shush him. One by one they hear it too, well, except Matt and Noel.

“Water. It sounds like a river.” Jay whispers.

We walk towards the sound and sure enough, it’s a calm river.

“Why don’t we stop for the night and take proper baths for once?” I suggest.

Everyone agrees eagerly. We all begin to set up camp, discussing how we’ll do this.

It ends up that the girls go first, with one of them always blocking the path to the river. After that I let my boys go before me. Soon I’m the only one left.

I finish up and pull on my pants, and then hear a gasp. I turn around and find Jay staring at me.

“Crap. I thought you were done. No one was blocking the path. Sorry.” she says quickly.

“Nah it’s okay, I have to do is put on my shirt.” I smirk, loving how uncomfortable she is.

Thankfully, my chest is hairless and smooth, showing off my well-defined abs.

Jay collects some water in some bottles she brought with her. “Need some help?” I ask her, while walking over by her.

I reach for a bottle and accidentally brush her hand. She jerks it back and looks at me. I don’t see the usual hatred in her eyes, instead I see something I don’t identify.

She quickly stands up, I do to. She looks so beautiful, standing there in the moonlight. I slowly start to lean in. We’re very close.

Before either of us know whats happen our lips meet. Jay puts her hand on my neck, and I slide my down to her mid back.

My mind is exploding right now. I can’t think straight. What’s happening?

Suddenly Jay pushes me harshly away. “No… no, I'm sorry. We can’t, it would never work.” With that she runs back to camp.

I sigh, the memory of our kiss is already fading from my lips. I sit down on the cool grass.

I had failed. I had let my emotions win for a second. I just made things harder on myself.

The boys must never find out about this. Never. They would think I was weak and pitiful. Not worthy of leadership.

I vowed to myself right then and there I would never let my emotions win again. Jay was profit, not someone I felt something for.

We needed to finish this soon, I needed to forget soon.

I put my hand on my chin and discover angry tears. I wiped them away quickly.

I stand up, and look around. No one in sight, at least from what I can tell.

I head back to camp. Jay avoids me, and Brian stares at me, probably wondering why we weren’t talking again.

He would never know. Never.

 

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POSTED TONIGHT INSTEAD OF TOMORROW, BECAUSE I HAVE JOB TRAINING TOMORROW.

 

Done