When All is Null and Void

Chapter Thirty-Two

"No, you're not," Caleb countered. "Don't say that."

"Oh," Danielle said, waving her hand in the air. "I know I'm not an idiot. I just feellike one. Seriously..." She squealed suddenly, a sound she'd never heard come out of her mouth. Then she trained what she hoped to be a penetrating glance at Caleb. "Why are you telling me now? Is this, like, allowed? Are we being covert about this?"

"You're taking this way better than the last time I accidentally kidnapped you," Caleb whispered.

Danielle blinked. "What do you mean, the last time?"

Caleb's eyes widened. "Nothing," he said with a grin. He started walking toward the water, hands deep in his pockets.

Danielle followed after him. "No, no," she said, latching onto his shoulder with her hand. "Don't go flouncing away before you explain."

"I wasn't flouncing," Caleb retorted. "Do you remember Jason Rivers' party?"

"I remember going, but nothing really after that," Danielle replied honestly. She cocked her head. "Wait... am I going to find out why I don't remember it very well?"

"Well," Caleb said. "That's because Alexander and I wiped your memory." His shoulders gave an awkward heave.

She let out a breath through puffed up cheeks. "I can maybe understand that. I wasn't trustworthy yet. I hadn't proved myself." And she could. This was a big secret, and obviously you couldn't just tell anyone.

They continued to walk toward the water. Caleb was quiet and thoughtful, while Danielle was a sprinkler of nonsense and questions culminating in: "Wait, so where are we?"

"Florida. I thought going somewhere warm and sunny would be a better ice breaker." They were at the water now, and Caleb kicked of his sandals—wait, he was wearing sandals. This was amazing—and stepped into the ebb and flow of the waves.

"Did you seriously just equate Florida's climate as an ice breaker?"

He cast her a sly smile. "Not at all."

She'd grown to know his smile over the last eight weeks. The first time she'd seen it was on the first day in the Starbucks. Or, maybe she'd seen it at the party and couldn't remember. At first she pushed aside the butterflies. Caleb wasn't similar to the guys she'd garnered feelings for in the past. He was awkward, short. His cheeks always seemed to have a red flush to them, and then dimples would crater his cheeks when he talked, drawing her in.

She turned her attention back to the ocean, cheeks warm. They were standing on a beach in Florida, with the sun glowing down on them. She wanted to swim, wanted to run into the water and splash around, but first she had a few questions. "Do I get to know where you're from?"

"I work for the Museum—capital M. In about seventy years, these rings," he held up his hand and wiggled the fingers, "are going to be created, allowing people to Hop through time and space—but just on earth, not like the Doctor. We collect artifacts."

"You were looking for an artifact that night of the party..." she said. Her brain struggled to remember what had happened, but vague impressions, like shadows against a wall, met her. "I caught you and we—" the memory ended. She could vaguely recall a dark cave, but then again she wasn't sure if that had only been a dream.

"I wasn't really looking for an artifact," Caleb said, kicking his right foot in the surf.

"Why were you there then?" Danielle peeled off her boots and socks and rolled up her jeans. Why had Caleb's clothes changed when hers hadn't?