International Affairs

Secret Spot

Chapter 17: Secret Spot

As angry as Katelyn was at Derek, she couldn’t deny the beauty of the view.

“Yeah,” was all she could say.

“Come closer,” Derek said, hopping onto the railing at the edge. “The view is fantastic.”

Katelyn cautiously walked to the edge. They were pretty high off the ground.

“You brought me here on purpose,” she stated.

“Katelyn, you’re too sharp,” Derek laughed.

Katelyn rolled her eyes. “Why couldn’t you have shown me like a normal person?”

“Would you have come?”

Katelyn thought about it. “I guess not,” she admitted. “How did you discover this place?” she asked.

“Well, this roof top used to be a greenhouse,” Derek explained. “Except then the academy built a giant glass dome and this rooftop wasn’t used anymore. I was curious to what it was being used as.”

“Nothing?”

“Nothing,” Derek agreed.

“Are we allowed up here?” Katelyn asked, still a little nervous.

Derek looked around. “Did you see a Keep Out sign?” he asked.

“Well, no.”

“So what’s the problem?”

“I guess there isn’t one,” Katelyn said.

There was a pause.

“So can I see the note?” Katelyn finally asked.

“Always thinking about Timothy Wilson,” Derek complained. “I show you paradise and you think about another man.”

Katelyn felt her cheeks get pink. “This is hardly paradise,” she said, trying to maintain a poker face. “This is the top of a building and I’m not thinking about Timothy Wilson either,” she said, defensively.

“Do you like him?” Derek asked, more serious than Katelyn had ever seen him.

“I mean, he’s not annoying,” Katelyn offered.

“Do you like LIKE him,” Derek clarified.

“What? Are we like five?” Katelyn asked. “Of course not,” she told Derek. “I’m not into that stuff.”

"People can’t control the way they feel,” Derek told her.

“Sure they can,” Katelyn retorted. “It’s what a good spy does. She always keeps her emotions in check.”

“What if you fall in love?”

“This is getting weirdly personal,” Katelyn informed Derek. “Just because we’re basking in the glow of a beautiful sunset, doesn’t make me obligated to answer your nosy questions.”

“Why not?” Derek asked.

“Because the idea is absurd,” Katelyn said, crossing her arms. “I would never fall in love with anyone. Not you, not Timothy, not any guy.”

“How can you be so sure?” Derek asked.

“Because,” Katelyn said, wondering why she was even telling Derek this. “Falling in love messes up everything. Distracts you from your career and even worse, sometimes you get so obsessed with your stupid fairy tale love that you hurt everyone around you and you don’t even care.”