Nomads

Chapter 14

To say that Luke Joshua Callahan was a good kisser was probably the understatement of the century.

Those words didn't mean much, however, when coming from Naomi Mara Joy Henderson, who had never been kissed before Luca closed the gap between them on that bench under that tree at the bottom of that hill on the first day of senior year.

The moment was short lived, unfortunately, due to the fact that a blonde haired girl popped out from behind a bush to their right and started shrieking at them, causing the couple to spring apart from shock.

"No! Luke! You can't seriously like her!" Sarah screeched. She brushed some leaves off her yellow sundress and stomped over to them while the rest of their audience peeked their heads out from behind the same bush and hissed at her to stop and come back.

Luca's face was masked with irritation as he leveled the blonde with a cool stare. "Why can't I?" He snapped, scowling at her.

Mara frowned at the exchange, placing a hand on Luca's shoulder. "Luca, don't talk to your friend like that."

His eyes snapped from Sarah to the rest of his friends who had come out from behind the bushes, owning up to the fact that they had been caught spying.

"Some friends they are, that they'd not only spy on our private conversation but also question my decision to like you without even knowing you." he growled.

Mara gave him a knowing look, a teasing smile tugging at her mouth. "Did you tell them about me before you walked up to me in the cafeteria this morning?"

"... No."

"Did you tell them how you knew me after?"

"No."

"Do you ever tell your friends anything personal?"

"Not really, but-"

"So you shouldn't be surprised that they spied on us, nor should you be upset if they don't approve." She flashed him an amused smile before turning to face his friends. "Hi, I'm Mara."

He scowled at that. "Her name is Naomi; don't call her Mara."

Said girl whipped to face him with a mild glare. "My name is also Mara, and I go by Mara."

"No you don't, you go by Naomi."

"No, I don't. I go by Mara."

"I'm not going to call you that, and neither are my friends."

"But I- you know what, let's put this argument on hold and come back to it later." she said, standing up from the bench to face Luca's confused friends. "I'm Mara, or Naomi. You can call me whichever you like. But I prefer Mara."

"But you should call her Naomi," pressed Luca, who stood up and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "She's also my girlfriend."

Mara rolled her eyes and blushed under her dark skin, but said nothing.

"Uh..." Amir was the first to speak. "Hi...?"

Mara grinned. "What are your names?"

"The blonde girl who shouted at us is Sarah Jeffords, the *cough* fake redhead with the attitude is Julia Cheng, The brunette is Margarita Sanchez, but she goes by Maggie." stated Luca, pointing at each one in succession. "The guy in the glasses is Amir Qureshi, and the ugly white guy on the end is Mason Donahue."

"I am not ugly. I'm a stud muffin and you know it." Mason muttered.

Mara tried to cover up her laughter with a cough, but couldn't wipe the amused smile off her face. "Sarah, Julia, Maggie, Amir, and Mason." She repeated. "Got it. It's nice to finally meet you. Luca has told me a lot about you guys."