In My Eyes (Watty Awards 2012)

In My Eyes- Chapter Seven

7. FISHING FOR ARTERIES

She was freakishly good, just like I suspected she would be. Her movements were graceful and carefree- it was almost like she wasn’t doing anything. As she bounded over the wall that everyone struggled with, she stood on the top like a queen surveying her kingdom before continuing on her way. I couldn’t take my eyes off of her.

“Chrissie,” Dana giggled, drawing my attention away. “Are we still on for tonight?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“I have something special that I’m going to show you,” she purred and I couldn’t help but smile. Well, I’d be damn lucky to get this hot chick as my mate. I’m just going to forget about her best friend, because I want to get laid!

“WOO EMI! YOU PASSED!” the flower girl screamed. She pounced on Emilee as soon as she got near up and they tumbled onto the ground, landing in a compromising position. I opened my mouth to comment but the Halfling beat me to it.

“Ooh, porn!”

“How does it feel to be beaten by a girl, Benjamin?” Emilee teased, sticking her tongue out and pushing the flower girl off of her. The Halfling winced, his pride obviously wounded, and I turned back to Dana. She was staring down at a book in her hands.

“Hey, Em, these are really good,” she commented. I took the book out of her grasp before she could look through it more and began flipping through the tons and tons of drawings in it.

The book was old and worn, most of the pages crumpled around the edges. On the front cover Emilee’s name was scrawled messily in permanent marker. I turned to the front page to see an amateur drawing of a house, a garden surrounding it. It looked like someone around the age of eight or nine drew it. The more I looked through it the better the drawings got, until they were at the level of a professional. I stopped at the last few, completely shocked.

There was a picture of me.

Unable to stop myself, I showed it to everyone else.

“I drew it for you,” Emilee said, a blush coloring her face, “I mean, I knew you liked him so... I drew him. I was going to give it to you for your birthday, but you can have it now since you've already seen it.”

Dana’s face widened in delight, and I frowned. For some reason I was hoping that she was drawing me for a reason. Like, maybe, she had fancied for me? But she was just being a good friend.

Or was she?

My mate took the sketchbook from me and began flicking through it as I contemplated my new epiphany. What if Emilee really did have some sort of degree of feeling towards me? That would make her a good candidate to be my mate. We were meant to have an instant connection.

What if Emilee and I did have an instant connection, but it just wasn’t as flamboyant as Dana’s?

No. Now I just feel like I’m cheating myself into all these theories. Why am I hoping so hard that Emilee is my mate? She’s not. Dana is. I should only be thinking about her.

Right? Right?

“Wow, Emi, this is really good,” Dana- my real mate, I swear to God- commented happily. “You got his eyes just right!”

“Thanks,” Emilee replied. She seemed a little embarrassed. The Halfling took the sketchbook from Dana- we seemed to be passing it around like that human game they play at parties- and grinned happily at one of the pages. My slightly blissful mood fell. Did she draw a picture of him too?