Between Gates (The Gate Chronicles Book 1)

Chapter 20: Picnic

“Maybe. Either way, it’s beautiful.” She leaned against him, and he put an arm around her.

“Yeah, it’s beautiful alright.”

She rested her head on his shoulder, and gazed in placid contentment at the beauty of the forest. She took a deep breath of the musty, gentle smell of the leaves. Funny that gold had a smell. When she’d owned gold on Earth, not that she’d owned much, it’d been scentless. It must be all the other trees around that caused the heady scent.

Chenn eased away from her. “We should eat, or we won’t have any time before we have to head back. We’ve already been gone a half-hour. It takes fifteen minutes to get back, so…”

She smiled. “Okay.”

Nari laid out the blanket while Chenn pulled out the two meals. They sat next to each other on the blanket as they ate the cold soup and hard rolls.

“You know, they really need to train the chef better. Back at West Base, at least they had good food. Plain, but eatable.” Nari made a disgusted face as she took a sip of the watery brew, which had bits of half-rancid meat floating on top of its oily surface.

“Yeah… They took one of the men who said they could cook and put him in charge of the food because the chef refused to work for rebels.” Chenn gave her a wry grin.

“Oh, that makes sense. Well…. Whoever they recruited is obviously a lousy cook, and they ought to fire him. I cook better than whatever idiot made this!”

Chenn laughed hard. “Maybe we should make you the cook!”

“Oh… I don’t know about that. My cooking is passable, but….”

“Then I’m talking to Amory about it. Anything is better than the moron cooking for us now is. We’re likely to die of food poisoning or consumption because of his nasty cooking.” Chenn took one last sip of the foul concoction before deciding he’d had enough and turning the bowl upside down. He watched the brew spill away into the grass with satisfaction.

Nari almost spilled her soup in her lap as laughter shook her. “Chenn, don't talk to Amory about me. The best I can do is peanut butter and jelly or a simple casserole.”

“Then I'm talking to Amory. I think you’d be a great cook compared to the one we have now.”

She took a gulp of air as she continued to laugh. But she had to stop a moment later because her stomach was beginning to hurt from laughing so hard.

She looked into Chenn’s sapphire blue eyes. Something was so familiar about them. But she couldn’t place what. Then he was kissing her again, and she forgot that she’d even thought something was wrong.

Her heart thudded against her ribcage as tingles erupted up and down her spine. She shivered in his embrace, closing her eyes and melting into his kiss. Butterflies flooded her stomach, and she was liquid in his arms. 

After a moment, she pulled back, grinning at him. “How long before we have to go back?”

“Another hour nearly. Want to walk through the woods?”

Nari smiled mischievously. “I’d rather climb one of these trees.”

She jumped up, leaving her bowl of soup sitting there. It was nasty and watery anyway, and she didn’t really want it.

“What?” He stood up, starting towards her.

“Race you to the top!”

“But… I haven’t climbed a tree in years! I’ll probably break my neck.”