Chapter 6
River was out of breath as she returned from the third floor washroom. As soon as her door closed, she flicked her lights off. She had completed her twenty-minute nightly routine in less than eight minutes. Still, she was a few minutes late for Lights Out, but hopefully the Third Floor Monitor had not seen her. She turned on her little night-light, which gave off just enough light to recognize shapes. She stored her bathroom kit back in the bottom drawer of her night table. She jumped at the sound of someone knocking on her door. Maybe the Monitor had seen her after all or maybe it was Sandra. River did a quick look around her room to see if there was anything Sandra might have forgotten, but it was too dark to tell for sure. It had to be the Floor Monitor, because that was the kind of luck she was having; which basically was no luck at all.
Whoever it was knocked again, only a little louder and a little faster this time. River wished there was one of those peep holes in her door, so she could know for sure who was out there. Luckily she was already in her pajamas, so if it was the Floor Monitor, River could try to pretend that she had been in bed. She turned off the night light and slowly opened her door, but as soon as it was opened just a crack, it flew wide open and a big dark shape burst into her room with such force that it knocked River to the floor. The dark shape quickly closed her door, leaving the room once again in total darkness. River was too startled to even scream. All she could hear was deep breathing and all she could see was a looming, tall, dark blob.
River went from being worried about being caught with her light on after Lights Out, to being terrified for her life. This was crazy. Who could it be? She knew it wasn't Sandra. It was too tall and big to be Sandra.
"Who's there?" River finally managed in a trembling voice. Her shaky greeting was aimed at the mysterious gargantuan who had invaded her room. Surely whoever it was could hear the frantic pounding of her heart.
"Shhhh, wait a second," a low, deep voice demanded.
River's arm hair stood on end. She knew that voice. Her terror instantly warped into anger and outrage, but just as she was about to tear a strip off her intruder, a hand clamped over her mouth. Right away she started to fight him, but his other arm locked around her body like a vice-grip, pulling her up from the ground and holding her tightly, with her back pressed firmly against his chest. Again he whispered, "Shhhh," only this time he whispered it directly into her ear, causing an involuntary shiver to run down her spine. How had he been able to see her? She hadn't even heard the stupid, Sasquatch move and then suddenly he was holding her prisoner. She felt his whole body tense and instantly she stopped squirming. Not a second later she heard footsteps run quickly past her door and then a few seconds after that another set of footsteps ran past her door, only much slower than the first.
River held still now for her own benefit. It was one thing to be caught with lights on after Lights Out, but it was another thing entirely to be caught with a boy in your room after Lights Out. River remained completely still, locked in his arms, while they waited to make sure that the footsteps were not returning any time soon. She tried to breathe deeply to calm her racing heart, but all she managed to do was inhale his delicious scent; a mix of clean soap along with a hint of the most wonderful men's cologne.
As she drifted in the haze of Irish Spring and Sandalwood, she barely registered that his head had turned and nuzzled into her hair. Did he just smell her? Pulling herself from her scent-induced coma she suddenly realized that he had relaxed his grip some time ago, and yet here she was still leaning against him of her own accord. In total indignation she practically threw herself across the room to get away from him. When she banged into her dresser, she spun around and hissed, "Are you crazy?"
Again with the Ninja moves he somehow silently ended up directly in front of her, reaching out to take hold of her arms. He was probably afraid she might try to hit him. He was right to think that. She immediately struggled against his hold. He backed her up into her dresser and then leaned his whole body into her. "River,” he whispered into her ear, trying to calm her. “Just give me two min…”
But she didn’t let him finish. “Do you know what could happen to me if you get caught in my room,” she sputtered. “How did you know this was my room?” Her anger increased when she heard him chuckle. “You are an ass…”
Dayden’s lips descended on River’s deliberately cutting off her harsh words. When she realized what he was doing her eyes shot open wide and she fought with all her strength to push him off, but Dayden held firm, not allowing her any room to move. His kiss started out harsh, but slowly turned tender as River’s squirming decreased. His lips became soft as he gently devoured her lips. River couldn’t think straight. She felt his tongue run along her bottom lip and she unconsciously opened her mouth in response. His tongue then worked its way into her mouth and River was lost in the intensity of his kiss. She felt a tingling sensation all the way down to her toes. When Dayden finally pulled away, River's whole body was humming. She had just received her first kiss. ‘Holy freaking hell, he had just stolen her first kiss.
River’s eyes had grown more accustomed to the dark, so when she looked up at Dayden and saw the proud smirk on his face, she could not stop herself. Her hand smacked his face so fast and so hard that the sound alone startled River. “How dare you!" She spat at him, losing a little of her conviction after realizing just how hard she had hit him.
Dayden was shocked by the force of her slap. He lost his smirk and his face hardened as he regained a firm hold on both her arms. “You didn’t seem to mind it sweetheart.”
“Don’t you dare call me sweetheart,” she snarled at him.
“If you don’t want a repeat performance, I suggest you stop squirming and keep quiet,” Dayden told her firmly.
River could tell that Dayden meant business, she stopped squirming immediately, not wanting to test his resolve. He was too strong anyway, it was useless to try and fight him. She figured the only way to get him out of her room was to let him talk. In a menacing voice she growled, "Dayden, you have two minutes to say what you have to say and then you're going to get the hell out of my room."
"Fine," he snapped as he released her arms and took a step back. He had released her so quickly that River stumbled as she tried to keep as far away from him as possible. She felt her way through the shadowed darkness to her bed and for the second time that day, crawled up to the headboard and pressed her back against it, pulling her legs up Indian style. She was surprised when she felt her mattress sink as Dayden too, sat on her bed. The stupid boy had no concept of personal space.
"There's a chair over by my desk," River told him, trying to get him to give her more breathing room. She didn't like it when he was so close.
"I'm fine," he said firmly. "Look River, just hear me out. The reason I'm here... ah in your dorm room... after Lights Out... is because every time I try to talk to you, you refuse me."
River didn't know what to say to that. It was true. She had dodged him at every opportunity.
When Dayden realized she wasn't going to say anything he continued, "Look I know you think I'm crazy, but the Mate selection ceremony is tomorrow..."
"Actually it's today," River interrupted in a sullen voice.
Dayden lit up his watch and must have seen that it was past midnight. "Okay so it's today," he confirmed angrily. "I have to make a decision... but I wanted to talk to you first."
River's breathing started to pick up and she felt a cold sweat break out at the base of her neck. The last thing she wanted was to have another panic attack. "Dayden, why are you doing this," she whispered, unable to find her voice. "I've already told you how I feel." She saw his shadow run its hand through his hair and then she heard him sigh.
"River, don't you feel a connection between us?" He must have moved closer, because suddenly his voice sounded like it was right next to her ear.
She tensed up and moved as far away from him as she could. "No Dayden I don’t...," she cut herself off, releasing her own sigh. After a few quiet seconds, she started again, "Well... okay," she said in exasperation, "if I’m being totally honest… maybe I feel a little... but I just think it comes from us having common interests," she said, stumbling over her words, and yet still trying to explain her crazy mixed up feelings for him.
"It's more than just that," he said gruffly.
She felt his finger run gently along the top of her hand. How could he see? She swore he had to be a Ninja... a Sasquatch Ninja... okay, she was officially losing it. She huffed out another sigh as she said, "Look Dayden, I'm only sixteen. I just don't want to be someone's mate. The thought terrifies me," she told him honestly. "I like you. I think you are nice and smart and good look... ah... well that's enough." Dayden chuckled. "But I don't want to do it."
"But, what about your dad..."
"Dayden!" River snapped cutting him off. "I can't talk about my dad."
"I know. I know,” he said desperately, “but he created the Arcane Fighter. What are the odds? I mean that's what I am obsessed with." He was rambling. "It's just with the specialized training for mates and being at Special Ops, maybe we could find something out..."
Again she cut him off, "There is no WE, there's only me and I just can't do it. I don't want to be your mate," she said flatly, leaving no room for debate. "I'm sorry."
"Wow," he exclaimed. "I repulse you that much?"
"No… no it's not that," she assured him. "It's just I'm not ready to live with a guy."
"Oh...," It was a like a light bulb turned on for Dayden. "That's what you are worried about?" Suddenly he understood why she was so reluctant. "River, I would never force you to do anything you wouldn’t want to do," he said softly.
"Dayden, you don't even know me," she snapped angrily. He was pressuring her and she didn't like it. She felt backed into a corner. "This is the first real conversation we've ever had. And you don't know anything about me. And I don't know anything about you. I could never live with someone I didn't know. Plus I'm not an investigator. I'm just a kid. I couldn't sneak around Special Ops trying to find something out about my dad. What if I got caught?"
"It's better than sitting here doing nothing," he growled in frustration.
Dayden was pushing her too hard. How could she explain that she was scared? She was so afraid of finding out that her dad was... She couldn't even consider the word everyone else was using. At least she had hope now; hope that he would be found and would come back to her. But, if she found out he was ... gone... well then she would be completely alone. He was all she had in the entire world. Against her will tears trickled down her face. She sniffled and swiped at her face angrily.
“I’m sorry,” Dayden whispered. He knew he had gone too far and pushed her too hard. His apology only made her tears fall faster.
It was quiet for a long time before Dayden finally spoke. "I asked the other Fly Boys if any of them had you on their suggested mate lists after the results of the personality tests. Funny thing was not one of them had your name on their list." River knew he was trying to lighten the mood. "You must have put some pretty wonky answers down."
"Yeah... I definitely did," she admitted smiling through her sniffles. The quiet stretched on again, before Dayden whispered, "Are you sure River?"
"I am," she whispered back quickly, knowing exactly what he was asking. She felt the bed move as Dayden stood up.
"Okay, then I'm going to go." He sounded disappointed.
"I'm sorry Dayden," River whispered as she got up to see him out. She ended up walking right into him. Dayden pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly. She felt him kiss the top of her head.
"See you tomorrow River," he whispered, as he slowly let go. He quietly opened the door flooding her room in light. She could finally see him. He was dressed all in black; black running shoes, black ripped jeans and black sweatshirt. His hood was up and his dark hair curled around it's rim in the cutest way possible. His lips were a natural ruby red and reminded her of the kiss he had so easily stolen earlier. He looked up and down the hall before stepping out. River stepped closer taking hold of her door. He was just about to walk away when he poked his head back in.
"By the way cute pajamas," he said with a wink.
River looked down at what she was wearing and realized she had on her yellow Sponge Bob boxer shorts with matching black tank. Instantly she felt her cheeks heat up. When she lifted her head Dayden was right in front of her looking down into her eyes. Darn Ninja. His eyes were so beautiful. He leaned down and before River knew what he was doing his lips touched hers. His lips were so soft and gentle. River surprised herself when she moved closer rather than pulling away. Her eyes closed all on their own. She felt his one hand on the back of her hip pulling her closer. His other hand ran softly through her hair. Somehow her hands ended up on Dayden's shoulders. He was so much taller than her, yet not too tall. Before she could stop herself, her one hand worked its way into his hood and stroked through his dark wavy curls. His hair was silky soft. She never knew kissing a boy could be so incredible. When Dayden finally pulled away, River's whole body was tingling again. How did he do that? She had just received her second kiss and even though she didn't want to, she had to admit it had been amazing.
Dayden's thumb gently caressed her cheek as he gazed deep into he eyes. He shook his head as he ran his finger across her lips. Then he let go and silently disappeared down the hallway. River closed her door and leaned against the back of it. 'Wow!' That's all she could think was, 'Wow!' How was she ever going to sleep now?