The Skylar Experiment : Dead Ending (second draft)

99. Borrowed Time

RILEY 

WE SETTLED DOWN to work and it was surprisingly efficient. Lauren went toe to toe with Raymond in the adjacent field, and their whole area rumbled from body slams and built-up static. When I caught a glimpse of them, they seemed... almost happy to punch one another.

I figured it was a good release. The night I first found out about Luc's nature, he'd told me that hunting Wanderers was satisfying for them, filling a desire to let loose all that energy.

Apparently, that didn't do it for me. Because it didn't feel good. I was sweaty all over, my chest ached, and my legs were stiff.

I'd had it up to here with getting owned again and again with Luc doing the ass-kicking and Dad hovering to correct my stances.

Luc was too fast, too overwhelming. He'd sneak up from any direction and blindside me. I wasn't strong enough to confront his attacks. The deal we'd made dangled by a rope in the back of my mind, but right now, I could only accept how tough of an accomplishment that would be. My determination slipped from me, and I was worn like a dish rag.

It got better when we switched to using abilities, though I still looked like a clown while trying not to run into the walls at superspeed. Luc was a natural, stopping dead wherever he desired.

"Talents and specialties are harder to control than the rest," he'd explained as if to keep my spirits up. Didn't work well. "If you're truly Sonic the hedgehog, it's going to take more effort to fine-tune this."

When I noticed Lauren and Raymond taking a break and cut off the music, I called one too.

I slid down the perimeter fence, guzzling down water. Sweat-clad legs stopped in front of me. My gaze trailed up and found churning green eyes looking back.

"If you're about to do a victory lap, I am going to throw this bottle at you."

"Such a sore loser," he laughed, undeterred. I snapped my arm back with the projectile, widening my eyes at him, and he backed up. Dark brown tousles fell loosely over his forehead. "Chill out, I was just going to tell you something."

I loosened my arm, still gripping the bottle just in case. I pushed away damp strands of hair away from my neck and ouch. God, muscles I didn't know I had were hurting.

In a heartbeat, Luc sat beside me and I was somehow turned so that my back was to him. His hand swept my braid aside, lingering around my neck, then both curved around my shoulders.

"Let me help you with that," he pried, voice thick. I let him. His fingertips brushed the skin under my collar, and I closed my eyes. Their warmth soaked through me. His fingers dug in and he started doing circular motions, ripping a happy sigh out of me.

It was a sweet kind of pain, the kind where you smiled and winced at the same time. I wanted to lean into him, but he didn't allow it. Luc kept massaging dutifully. Sometimes, he ventured down, stealing my breath away.

His thumbs pressed into my middle back and then slipped into the small of my back. He found the kinks in my muscles and worked to rub them out. I almost melted. Everything in me was aware of how close he was to my hips.

"Thank you," was I could manage, having forgotten about whatever he wanted say earlier.

He stopped one second to press his soft lips against my pulse, and the whole arena disappeared in my mind. What a waste that I wouldn't have any energy left after training to do something more fun back home.