A Timeless Place

Chapter 12

"We're making a fire?" I raised an eyebrow at him. 

"Well it is getting really cold," he said. 

"What better excuse to ingest a fat-load of calories," I commented. 

He grinned at me sideways, turning into the right lane, "Ahh I see what you did there." 

"Sorry, I just had to," I smirked. 

"Okay, Miss. World-of-Puns," he laughed, turning right. 

We pulled up at a parking lot and got out. Wes led me to a bonfire site that was a few metres in front of the car. The sea lay in front of it not far off. There was no one else around but us. Of course, who in their right mind would be at a beach on a Monday night?  

There was already a pit, surrounded by stones with wood and sticks. I understood why he'd brought the packet of dry leaves because the leaves on the tees now would be damp. Damn, smart Wes. Always thinking ahead. 

He placed the leaves under it and started up the fire while I sat down on the sand, drawing my legs to my chest and wrapping my arms around my legs for some warmth. It was really starting to get cold. I watched him start the fire, his arms flexing as he reached over the pit. Yes, I checked him out, okay! Blame the hormones, not me! The fire started up slowly and Wes blew on it, making the fire grow. Once he was done, he sat down next to me. We both sat facing the sea. 

"You're really cold, aren't you?" he asked, looking at me sideways, his eyes falling to my shivering arms that were wrapped tightly around my legs. 

"Yeah, well, I didn't exactly have time to grab a jacket," I retorted, raising an eyebrow. 

"Exactly," he smirked at me. He inched closer towards me, wrapping an arm around me. I was too cold to even push him off. But then I realized, I didn't even want to push him off. His embrace was warm, the heat off his arm and side radiating off of him. I could feel my body absorbing the heat, welcoming it, spreading it through my muscles, my nerves, my veins. Yeah, I really didn't want to push him off. I leaned my head against his shoulder unconsciously, wanting more heat to envelope me. We stayed like that silently. 

My mind started to wander. Today was not as bad as I thought it would be. I thought this outing would be horrible, like a kidnapper making his hostage do things. But then again, I thought Wes was horrible. And I hadn't been more utterly wrong about anything else in my whole life. I thought he would be unbearably arrogant, bigoted, critical, pessimistic and sarcastic. But even though he may have some of those traits, it was just a façade, a little bit of who he was. Behind the sarcasm, he was faithful, caring, sentimental and so damn smart. I even felt a little bad at despising him this whole time, only a little. Well, he did insult my best friend. So, feeling a little bad was generous. 

"Mason," Wes muttered. 

"What?" I asked, jumping in shock slightly. I hadn't realised that I'd zoned out. "I'm Kitty, remember? Or are you still fantasizing about one of the guys who gave you his number?" 

He rolled his eyes at me. He straightened up, causing my head to softly fall on his side. I quickly straightened up in confusion. He moved his arm from around me, lingering a bit before he did so. He grabbed a packet of marshmallows and opened it. 

"Mase is my brother," he explained quietly, moving to open the packet of skewer sticks. "That's the reason I didn't join the football team. Football was his thing, studying is mine." 

"Brother rivalry?" I questioned. 

"That's one way of putting it," he pressed his lips into an amused smile.