Summer Solstice

The Starting Storm

I wasn’t sure if I should be happy, or panicking. Kaida and Joe were supposed to resolve the end of their non-quite-a-relationship with each other. Instead, Kaida had made a move, and a major one at that. She’d actually kissed him. My mind stuttered at the thought, and I blinked, trying to replay the image in my head, then thought against it.

Thinking about them kissing might actually give me a heart attack. Plus, I didn’t want to think about Konai’s reaction when he found out about the kiss. I wasn’t sure who he’d be more angry with, Kaida or Joe.

As I watched, Joe’s smile turned into a goofy lopsided grin, and he looked a bit dazed. He stepped back, stumbled, then righted himself. After a moment of staring at the back porch, he shook his head, possibly trying to clear his thoughts, and walked away, still smiling.

I stepped back from the window as Kaida’s footsteps sounded up the stairs. Turning around, I pretended to study the edge of the pillow I’d hit her with earlier. I looked up as she entered, then frowned, “Um, Kaida? Where’s the flower?”

“Oh!” She pivoted quickly and ran back down the stairs.

I laughed, then choked. This wasn’t right. Joe was supposed to give her space, tell her that being with him wasn’t an option. Something. He wasn’t supposed to just stand there and let her kiss him. Was he?

My chest ached and part of me knew, instinctively, that this could end very badly. I sighed and flopped backwards on the window bench, covering my face with the pillow. Before Kaida could come back and hear me, I screamed into the pillow, then pulled it back and slapped myself with it.

I used to think my life was complicated before, and now it was worse.

The odds that Kaida was Joe’s mate were slim. I’d been lucky, being matched with Konai, something I still had trouble believing. If Joe’s birthday came and went, and she wasn’t his… No, not something I wanted to think about.

I knew about the kiss, but couldn’t talk to her about it because she’d be irked about me spying on the two of them. And if I mentioned knowing about this kiss, she would bring up the fact that I’d had Konai’s shirt earlier. That was another conversation I didn’t want to think about, and couldn’t possibly explain.

‘Oh, by the way, your brother has magical powers, felt my pain and decided to come check on me, I was fine, but managed to get soaked while making out with him the rain. It was a really nice party…’ Sure, that information would go over smoothly.

About the third time I thumped myself in face with the pillow, Kaida walked back in holding the tiny pot of flowers.

“Wow. It’s not that big a deal Andrea, I just left it in the sink downstairs.” She rolled her eyes. “It was pretty soggy out there and I didn’t want it getting over watered.” She sat the pot on her dresser and crossed the room to sit at the end of her bed. Her cheeks were pink, her eyes bright, and she looked luminous.

Crap.

She was happy. More than just happy, she was practically euphoric. Kaida was glowing from head to toe, and I was positive I’d never seen her look so relaxed. Ever.

And Joe had done that.

I sat up and rubbed my temple, wishing that I wasn’t thinking about how perfect he was for her. I needed to say something to Kaida before this got too out of hand, before Konai found out she’d put a move on one of his friends. Especially a friend that was a guardian.

I tugged at my ponytail and looked up at her. She was smiling at me, tilting her head back and forth to make the antlers on her hat wave. I smiled, then felt like crying. How could I ask her to drop the idea of Joe and her? And how could I even start to explain why, without telling her something that was going to risk revealing what the boys were? I looked away and steadied myself, then took a deep breath…