Bless the broken road

Chapter 2: Private Moments

A couple hours later

Conner had a full belly now and it was nothing but meat and potatoes and coleslaw. He was in Heaven... well, mostly heaven. Sitting back in the porch swing, he felt truly content. And so full! It was just a heavenly feeling!

Jason chuckled at him knowingly and sat down next to him. "You got your fill of meat?"

Conner grinned, rubbing his stomach. "God yes, if I ever see tofu again, it'll be too soon."

Jason laughed. "Yeah, we T-Rexes can't have meat substitutes. We've got to have the real deal."

"You've got that right," Rocky said making his way over. "You should have seen the way Aisha's eyes widened the first time after we took over the dino powers. That whole persona I have now, about always having food around me; it didn't start until I took on the Great Power. Then I just couldn't get enough meat. I didn't level out until we took on the Ninjetti Power."

Conner gave his fellow red rangers a look. "So you're saying this craving for meat is a dino thing?"

Jason nodded. "I'm convinced since the same thing happened to me. During that whole Pudgy Pig incident when we were holding that food festival at the youth center; there's a reason I volunteered to handle the American food, especially the burgers. Thankfully, my parents never really gave much thought to our sudden increased craving for meat, they just wrote it off as a sign that I was in the midst of a growth spurt and left it at that."

Conner nodded. "Yeah, my parents took it the same way, not to mention that I was constantly on the soccer field. They even encouraged both my protein and carb intake. I wasn't about to complain." Conner paused and looked at Jason. "I know this is a change in subject, but what was....the Pudgy Pig incident?"

Jason shook his head and put a hand over his face. "Oh good lord, that monster was something else. It was way back in the early days, way before even Tommy came into the picture. It was just the five of us against a monster that literally ate everything you could think of, even our weapons..."

Kira sat back in her seat, unable to eat another breadstick. Her stomach was finally satisfied; though her heart and emotional state was another story. The whole time that group of women had sat eating and talking amongst themselves, Kira had been in her own world. The venomous words that had been thrown at her had hit their mark. Kira felt shame burn within, though even that made no sense. She was still a virgin and though she'd privately longed for and even fantasized about Conner, she'd kept her distance. Trent had seen through her act and quietly, in the privacy of his car, called her out on it. It had been a hard thing to hear from him and she had reeled when he'd done his best to dump her in his most compassionate voice.

"I really care about you Kira, and I want what's best for you...even if it means freeing you from this relationship. I know it's Conner you love, not me." Kira had given him a shocked look, which he'd met with a wry smile. "I'm an artist, we notice everything. You've loved Conner for a while and I'm okay with that. He can give you the love you need – I can't."

Kira had been dumbstruck. "What are you talking about? Conner is happy with Krista, and I'm happy with you...why are you doing this?"

"Content isn't the same thing has happy. He's content in his relationship with Krista, but it's not going to last. It's the same with us. You're content with me, and I'm grateful that you gave me a chance to redeem myself for the way I treated you the first time we were together...but you're not as happy as you could be. A girl like you should be over the top happy, smiling and laughing all the time. Conner can give you that, I can't. Please Kira, don't make this any harder than it is already."