Cherry || b.barnes

21 || In the Palm of My Hand

We're on our way to the safehouse. This time, for real. After a particular long shower which not only was caused by both James and I doing it together and the cabinet being relatively small for two people, for two super soldiers, there was no time left for breakfast.  Accordingly bad mooded, I stalk next to James along the street up the hill. There are clouds covering the sky, now, and somehow, there's this clumsy kind of awkwardness in between us, none really ready to talk about what happened three times, but neither really ready to leave it without any clearance.

As I have enough of the break and half the way already behind us – meaning, five minutes -, I decide it would be wrong to ask about it anyways. Not simply do we know each other for just a couple weeks, but also, I think I barelt know him. Despite the fact that I think his soul was my partner in crime all along, like I knew him my whole life.

Instead, I decide to go for a different direction. »Are you, too, always this impossibly hungry?« Sighing, I shake my head, not making a secret out of my dismay. »Lord, I feel like starving.«

»It's not like you hadn't your mouth filled this morning.« James responds casually, like we were just talking about real breakfast, walking on my left and syncing with my pace. He previously decided to secure the environment of the small forest before going through with me, and just arrived back at my side.

I blush, heat taking over the majority of my face. Doing these things has been one thing, but I'm not really prepared to actually talk about them, as I realize again. However, I won't let James get the upper hand with such cheeky comments. Raising my chin high while cocking a brow, I don't present him a single glance. Instead, my eyes rake over the earthy road we're taking, the trees still green and reaching high around us. The shadows they cast surely would cause an epileptic attack if we drove through this periphery with a car, making we wonder how this is even possible with the sun hiding. »Obviously, it wasn't really satisfying.«

James scoffs at this, head thrown back shortly and then tilted downwards, a smile of disbelief and amusement decorating his stunning features while he shakes his head. This man is illegally beautiful.
Before he can get I changed my mind for merely a second to observe him, my head is directed forward again. There's not a single breeze here, a little mysterious for the greyish clouded sky and the atmosphere of a storm incoming. »Sounded very different to me.«

»I'm a good actress, as you may or may not noticed.« I counter, trying to swallow down the increasing temperature of my face. Images float my mind, images of his hands discovering every inch of my body, of his lips, his tongue. How he held me up in the shower, careful to not hurt me and yet hurting me with an iron grip around my throat so pleasingly. Lord, I should stop this. This will end in no good.

»Sure« he grimaces, before his right hand gently bumps against my upper arm. Not stopping, I turn to look at him, first his incredible ocean eyes, then down to his hand. To see a slightly smashed nut bar, packed into a bluish cover, held out to me. »To answer your question: Yes, I'm like always hungry. And that's why you always need to pack some snack.«

He obviously gets instantly why my glance switches from him to the bar to him again, a couple times so, and I slowly start to hate that he can read me so well. It's kind of jeopardizing my mission. »It's fine, I'll just eat something when we're back at the hotel.« he continues. One more time my eyes flick up and down, causing him to grin quietly to himself, »And it's not poisoned. I swear.«

»I'm sure I find a cliff to push you down from before I die.«

»I'm pretty sure about that, too.«

With him still holding the food to me and us getting closer to our destination, I sigh before grabbing the plastic package and open it, stuffing the trash into the pocket of my suit and eat the nut bar. It's warm, like he just slipped it out of his pocket, and I really, really try hard to bite back a comment on that.