Temptations

Golden Caramel

"Hmm?" I ask, shaking my head a little. "What? Oh, yeah. Thank you." I go back to drinking Heaven when it's abruptly taken away from me. I pout and try to reach for it but he holds it straight over his head.

"Hey, no fair! Your arms are longer than mine!"

"You're drinking it too fast. You'll get a brain freeze if you keep that up. Plus, I need to show you something."

"Okay, but, can I have my Car-Mo back?" I plead, pulling on his arm like a child. He just raises his eyebrow in question. "Please, Jesse? I promise I won't drink it all at once." I reassure him.

He gives me a quizzical look before slowly bringing his arm back down. Can he really be teasing me right now? All I want to do is walk around with my Car-Mo now that he oh-so generously brought it to me.

Maybe he's trying to bribe you.

Bribe me? Why would he want to bribe me? I barely know anything, let alone do anything.

He could want something in return— I mean, he does know you like Caramel Macchiatos and he did warn you to be careful.

Or maybe he's just being considerate. I've only been here like two weeks and I haven't had any coffee.

...You never know.

I wonder why you're so guarded...

A smile crosses my lips as the cool feel of the sacred iced coffee is placed into my open palms. If only he wasn't watching me so closely, I would be able to chug this thing down.

"You wanted to show me something?" I remind him.

All of a sudden, his face brightens up and his cheek bones become more defined as he smiles excitedly. Jesse nods his head before starting for the backyard. Then he looks back, gesturing for me to follow.

"I take it you're not going to tell me where it is we're going." I say, running to catch up to him.

"Nope." Is how he replies. His smile turns into a smirk, mischief is in his eyes.

Abruptly, I stop. "You're not going to kill me, are you?" I take a sip of my Macchiato.

"Only if you try to kill me." Jesse turns to grasp my arm, "C'mon, it's not that far away." He gently pulls on it to signal me to move. It seems like he's taking me into the forest.

"Okay, but if you do end up killing me, then be prepared to be haunted." Chuckling, I give in and walk beside him. He moves slower now, almost like he's building suspense. I look up to see that his smile has faded, his eyes have gotten darker, and he looks like he had aged a few decades.

This must be serious.

Changing the subject, I say, "Well, wherever it is you're taking me, I'm sure it'll be beautiful. It is in the forest, right?"

Nothing. Jesse just stays quiet. Hmm... I wonder what made him like this. Wait, he just lifted an eyebrow, maybe he's just kidding. OH! He just glanced at me, could he really be plotting some evil scheme!? Ah, and now I have to ask: "Just to be sure, you don't have any evil plans, ravenous bears or crazy chickens hiding anywhere, right?"

Jesse chuckles and I can't help but laugh with him. "You have nothing to worry about except for your drink." Right when he says this, we are shielded by the canopy up above us. The trees block most of the light from coming through but some still escapes and shines on the path in-front of us.

"What drink?" I reply, holding up my empty coffee cup and smiling victoriously.

Stopping in his tracks, Jesse points to the cup and cocks his head. "How did you finish that without me seeing you?"

"I guess I'm that sneaky." Turning on my heels, I walk in the same direction we were going.

"Hey Ange," Did he just call me 'Ange'?

"Uh...Yeah?" The only people who call me that are Sam, mom and dad, and-

"It's over there." Jesse turns his head to the right, smirking in the process then glancing back at me.

"Oh," I walk in that direction, noting the sudden increase in brush and trees. Suddenly, I'm overcome with hesitance. "Wait, what's over there?"

"Come on, I won't bite."

Hah... right...

Oh, just go in there! What could it be? I'm guessing it's not bad at all, or maybe he's just trying to lure you into some weird trap.

I don't know...Maybe I should let him go fir-

Just go!

Heara takes over my legs and makes me move towards the bushes. I quickly turn to Jesse, "If I die in the next three seconds, tell Sam that I love her and that I was the person who accidentally burned her stuffed bunny all those years ago."

Jesse just laughs before pushing me through the great wall and revealing the most beautiful sight I have ever seen.

Right in front of me flows a stream that trickles down a set of three levels created by rocks. I move my eyes with the water to see that it leads to a wide lake. It's deep enough to swim in and wide enough to take a while to reach the other side. Not only does the stream flow quietly, but it holds a bright blue that contrasts with the dark green of the bushes and trees. Under me, I see dark soil with an occasional rock here-and-there and as I look towards the stream again, I realize the rocks get more consistent as they get closer to the body of water.

I whip myself around to face Jesse. With a wide smile I say, "It's beautiful! How on earth did you find this place?"

He just shrugs and tilts his head a little bit. "I was jogging one day and happened to run into this place. Apparently barely anyone knows about it."

"Wow... Everyone should know about this, it's too beautiful," I turn back around and take a step. "And the smell..." Taking a deep breath, I smell the water, the wet soil, and a foreign but familiar scent. "Someone's here." I tell Jesse, but he has already come over to me and is now on guard.

Jesse pulls me behind his back, his hand tight and iron on my forearm. His eyes narrow as he scans the perimeter of the lake, then above in the trees. I can't find anyone but Jesse. I can't hear anything but my breathing and the stream.

Suddenly, the hair on the back of my neck stand up. My entire body freezes as it senses another being other than Jesse. It's ominous, dangerous aura then triggers a sense of death and I realize that whatever is with us means to harm us.

I don't like this. Not one bit.

Jesse's hand grips me tighter, his gaze fixed to our left. Without warning he turns around and fazes across the field. The only thing I saw was his eyes.

And they were burning gold.

Merry Christmas!!!!!

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-Janeslove