A Timeless Place

Chapter 66

"My soul honors your memory with every flashback, every inhale, and with every newcomer."
~ Alfa

Miscalculated Love, Anticipated Talks and the Potential of Something More

"Countdown?" I raised an eyebrow at Eli dubiously as I looked around at everyone lounging about the alfresco. Kevin was feeding wood to a roaring fire pit as Jan discreetly threw marshmallows at him and Jordan sipped on a soda, laughing as Kevin remained unaware of the marshmallows getting lodged into his hair. "There's still more than half an hour to midnight, Eli."

"That you could be spending with friends!" Eli winked with exaggeration on every word. Something seemed wrong. "Unless...I interrupted something when I walked in?

Wes cleared his throat, "As a matter of fact, we were getting pretty ho-"

I nudged him painfully but at that same moment, something exploded in the far distance beyond the trees in the backyard and we all whipped our heads in time to see a firework whizzing high into the air, reaching its maximum height before exploding into bursts of green, blue and red sparkles.

"WHOOOOOOOO!" Kevin shouted, turning around to tackle Jordan. The packet of wood fell to the ground and scattered everywhere amongst the marshmallows Jan had thrown. "Birthday countdown beginssss!"

Eli looked back at us, "Okay, now go join your individual friends and sit separately like good, responsible teenagers."

Wes and I looked at each other with raised eyebrows before turning back suspiciously to an innocent-looking Eli. She smiled too widely and pushed us towards the rest of the group too eagerly.

We had barely taken two steps before Jan spotted us. She had stood up to grab a second bag of marshmallows from the table to our right and stopped midway upon seeing us. Her eyes flitted between mine and Wes' and suddenly, they opened wide in excitement and glee, "They're back together!"

"No, they're not," Eli coughed, stepping in between Wes and I. "I just asked them to be civil for Jordan's sake."

Both Wes and I gave Eli an odd look but Jan didn't buy it. She turned around to Jordan and Kevin and shouted, "Wes and Kitty are back together!"

Kevin and Jordan cheered, raising their sodas and I noticed Eli's odd expression and Jan's too-happy of an expression.

I glared at the girls and crossed my arms over my chest, "You guys bet on us, didn't you?"

When Eli didn't reply, I threw my hands up in the air and shouted at her, "How could you! And you of all people lost the bet?! You thought Wes and I wouldn't get back together?!"

"No!" Eli took a step back, but her voice grew defensive. "We all knew you'd get back together eventually."

"She just said you were too stubborn and would probably take till after midnight," Jan interjected with a wide smile. "And I said you two couldn't keep your hands off each other. Pay your dues, Eli."

But it seemed as though Eli would not admit defeat without a fight, "You're supposed to be the responsible one who talks for hours and hours before making a decision! How would I know I'd find you making out in your dad's office straight away?"

"That's because of my charms," Wes winked at me, kissing my cheek.

"See, I only lost because I didn't take into account the type of person Wes is," Eli rolled her eyes at him.

"Okay, I'll leave you ladies to fight over who knows me best," Wes winked, excusing himself as he made his way to the boys. We rolled our eyes at him as he grabbed a soda, fist bumped Jordan and ruffled Kevin's hair.