God is my Judge

Marshmallow

My favorite day I can remember actually started pretty horrible.
Our happy trio decided to camp out instead of getting a hotel when we were out on a job in Tennessee, the sweater was perfect, warm and sunny. There were woods for miles around our sight so instead of driving 15 miles back and forth we decided to just camp out in the woods. We opened the top under our tent so we could see the stars and told ghost stories like little kids and fell asleep giggling about the monsters in the dark that couldn't possibly exist, never mentioning the ones we knew for a fact did.
That was well before we'd seen most of what we have seen by now.
When we woke up the tent was flooding quickly from the downpour and it was cold. The sun that had shone down brightly upon us the day before seemed about as real as the ghost stories we had told, as there was no trace of it to be seen. I was cold and wet and cranky because all of our clothes were also cold and wet and Noah had left the windows down on the car. I remember being so uncomfortable but when we all settled into the car and Noah shoes squeaked against the rubber floor mat I couldn't help but smile. And every so often there would come a drawn out squeak from the back where Noah just had to move and drag his feet and before long I was laughing so hard my stomach hurt for no reason. I could clearly see Noah's dimples in the mirror and even Daniel cracked a small smile. I stuck my tongue out at them dramatically when suddenly we hit something and the car lurched to a stop. I jumped out, not bothering to shut the door to see a turtle in the road. We had run over his shell and it was cracked. I felt a gasp rise deep from in my throat and I went to pick him up when he snapped at me. There was white hot pain in the tip of my finger where he had met the skin. I gritted my teeth and looked back at Noah and Daniel was who each wore identically expressions of horror.
"Do we have a box?"
Neither answered so I cleared my throat. Suddenly it seemed as if Daniel snapped back into himself as his expression soured.
"It snapped at you, why would you help it?"
I looked at Noah but he stared back at me as if he were asking the same.
"It's hurt and helpless. We just ran him over and he's trying to protect himself from any further harm. Do we have a box?"
Daniel sighed but he turned and popped the trunk anyway. Luckily, we had a shoe box where we had gotten hiking shoes for the trip. The turtle looked as if it would very much like to take a bite of out me but he wasn't fast enough and I scooped him up in the box.
"To the vet!!"
***********
Daniel had this way of looking at us. Like we were completely foreign to him and he had to study us. Out of the corner of my eye I watched his expression as the day went on and he watched me. More than he ever had. That day I felt as if I were flying. Like I had spent my entire life in the dark and his eyes were the light and I would do anything. Anything. To keep his eyes on me for a second longer. I tripped a couple of times not so accidentally. I ran out of water and had to ask for his. Anything to get his attention and keep it. But it didn't stay, soon he was back to being the same old Daniel. When his eyes looked at me they didn't linger and when he touched me to pull me up he didn't hesitate to pull away. Finally I'd had enough. When Noah went to the bathroom I cornered him.
"What is if?"
He grunted at me, not looking up. I narrowed my eyes.
"Don't grunt at me you know what I'm talking about,"
He still didn't look up. Suddenly I felt white hot rage burn through me like it never had before. How dare he. How dare he give me a taste, enough to make me want so much more and then rip it away without a second thought. I shoved him roughly and he fell backward. I blinked and suddenly he was on his feet in front of my face.
"What's your fucking problem, Azra?"
"What's your fucking problem, Daniel?"
I seethed. Before I could think up another smart thing to say his hand was around my throat and I was pushed against the tree.
"I don't need your fucking mouth today, Azra."
"I don't need-"
But he cut me off. And he kissed me. Hard. For the first time. This time it didn't feel like light, it felt the way pop rocks feel. Like a sizzle through my entire body and I wanted so much more. I went to push back against him but his hand was still around my throat. Suddenly he pulled away and whispered in my ear.
"You're not my type."
It was meant to hurt. And at first it did. But something gave him away. As he began to walk away I saw the tightness in his pants where it had not been there before. I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood and I reveled in it because this gave me something I had never had before. So I let him go. And later after Noah went to town and brought back marshmallows to roast, which he knew were my favorite. We drank Mountain Dew and ate slightly too done hotdogs with roasted marshmallows over the fire and ever so often I would catch Daniels glaze linger on my mouth for a second too long after I spoke and smile a little to myself because I knew. No matter how many time he told me he didn't do feelings. That he didn't know what love is or why I would focus so much on him when all he wanted was to "watch over my crazy ass". He felt something for me. Whether it was lust or maybe just a twinkling a love, it was something. And that was something he'd never be able to take from me.