Summer Solstice

Hot And Cold

I nibbled at the edge of my sandwich, refusing to look up at the boys. We'd been eating in relative silence since Konai and I had returned from our unscheduled outing. I looked up only to grab my tea and take a slow drink, and Konai leaned over, sliding his arm around me. "I'm sorry Teddy embarrassed you."

I shrugged and took another bite of my sandwich. It wasn't Teddy's fault, apparently I'd been blinking different shades of pink like a neon strobe light. "That's okay," I turned and smiled at him softly, "I don't think he meant to..."

"I didn't! I swear.... I wasn't even trying to see it. It just, you know, happened." Teddy used his fork to push around the food on his plate. "And... it's okay. I mean, pink is just..." He glanced between Konai and I, then looked down again. "Pink is good." He mumbled, then picked at his plate again.

I smiled, and tried not to laugh at his discomfort. It was bad enough that I was embarrassed, I didn't want him to feel the same way.

Tor reached over and nudged Teddy with his spoon, "Don't feel bad. It was so bright I saw it too." Tor grinned at me, then went back to eating his sandwich.

I almost choked on an ice cube, "Wait, you could see it?" I leaned forward and lowered my voice, "I thought that was just a guardian thing?"

Tor smiled, "My birthday is this Saturday. I'd be shocked too, but I've been getting random little glimpses of things for the last two weeks."

"Yeah, and projecting things too." Miki snorted.

Tor's eyes widened, "I have not."

Teddy grinned, "Yeah buddy, you did."

Tor made a disgruntled sound in the back of his throat. "Uh huh. So what did I project? I haven't tried talking to anybody." He crossed his arms and leaned back.

Konai sat his lemonade down and smiled at Tor. "It was involuntary. Trust me." He smirked, then he and Teddy shared a look.

"What do you mean?" Tor frowned and leaned forward, "What did I project, and when?"

Nobody answered, and I nudged Konai with my arm, "What did he project to Miki?"

Miki laughed, "It wasn't just me, he projected it to everyone....except you of course."

Konai looked at me when I tugged on his shirt sleeve, and he swallowed hard. "Well, err... it was the other day, when we were here and Simona stopped by to say hello."

I looked at Tor, who's face had gone ghostly pale. "I didn't." His voice came out half strangled.

Cailan's arms were crossed and he was staring down at his plate, smiling widely. "Yeah, you did."

Tor's cheeks turned a mottled pink, and I suddenly realized why all the boys, including Konai, had been blushing that day. Simona had walked in and Tor had thought... something. Konai must have known where my mind was headed, and turned abruptly to blurt out, "It wasn't anything bad, really."

I turned back to look at Tor, who was eyeing the edge of the table like he'd just love to crawl under it and hide. "That's okay, I don't think I want to know." I smiled quickly and looked away. Simona was a very pretty girl, and Tor was a guy. It didn't take much to guess what he could have been thinking. I reached for my tea and took a very long drink, trying not to be embarrassed by the situation.

Konai chuckled and leaned his arm up on the table, resting his chin on his hand, "He wondered what it would be like to kiss her."

I stared blankly at him for a moment, then smiled. "Oh, that's not bad."

"Yeah, that's what he was thinking," Teddy chuckled.

A low growling sound came from Tor, and all of the boys laughed, "Don't worry, you'll be able to keep your thoughts to yourself a lot easier after Saturday." Miki reached over and patted Tor on the shoulder. "And you never know, Simona could be the one."