Rifiuto: Non Miriena
Zane felt his eyes widened, and he turned to Jo. She swallowed.
"So, why were you sent here?" Jo's brow furrowed.
"What do you mean?"
"What did you do to get sent here?"
She shrugged. "I wanted to go here. My brothers have all gone here, so I'm going to go."
"Ricco, Davie and Luca?" She nodded.
"Yeah, how-"
"Everyone knows about your brothers. They're legends here."
Zane could see the younger girl tense; he could feel the woman in his arms tense. Her back went rigid, and she tightened her grip on his hand. He squeezed back gently, pressing a kiss to her hair.
"So what if they are? It doesn't mean I'm like them."
The cadet chuckled softly, reaching out to brush a stray strand of hair off her cheek. She glanced at his hand before looking up at his face. He smiled at her, a warm and comforting smile. When he leaned close, she pulled away, stammering,
"I... I didn't hear your name-" He laughed softly.
"It's Kyle. Kyle Marks." She looked up into his blue eyes, feeling her insides turn to jelly.
"Josefina Lupo."
Their lips brushed together, in a tentative first kiss; they stood in the middle of the hallway, on a hot June day, taking a private tour, so Jo could get acquainted with her new school before her dad signed the paperwork.
Zane watched, silent, his eyes narrowing. He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close, watching the young cadet with a mask of jealousy in his blue eyes. Jo glanced up at him, a small thrill going through her at the sudden possessiveness that overtook Zane at the sight of her teenage self being kissed by someone else. It was familiar behavior, he'd been that way in the other timeline, and she'd missed it. It was nice to feel taken again.
"How long?" She asked, pulling away. He stared at her, confused. "Your legacy here?"
Marks thought a moment before, "Since nineteen-twenty-two. Yours?" She bit her lip.
Zane felt a smile tug at his lips; even as a teenager of- what? Fourteen?- that action was still adorable.
She ducked her head momentarily. "Since it began. Back before Lupos even came to America. My mom's ancestors attended The Point; she was a Grant- a U.S. Grant." Marks laughed.
"That's an easy way to remember the family history. Although it... must not be easy, even with President U.S. Grant in your family tree."
"I mainly get compared to my brothers. Not the dead relatives." She replied.
"Well, you've got to be better than your brothers. I mean, come on, none of them- not even Ricco- looks half as good in their uniforms as you do." She blushed.
"I'd seen him on the base; developed a crush on him. He was one of Luca's friends." Jo whispered, watching as she and Kyle continued down the hall, talking. "Luca was four years older than me. He'd already graduated by the time I started at The Point." Zane nodded.
"So, what do you say? A movie maybe?" He asked as they continued down the hall.
"Wouldn't it be weird, dating your best friend's baby sister?" He shrugged.
"Not really. It's not like Luca's gonna date you." She shuddered.
"Ew. Besides, you know how protective Luc is of me."
"Please, one date is not going to be cause for alarm." She gave him a look Zane was all too familiar with.
"Fine. But if Luc catches us-" She didn't get to finish, because he'd grabbed the back of her head and pressed his lips to hers, deepening the kiss. She felt her back hit the wall, as her hands moved up his chest and around his neck. He pulled her close, slipping a hand beneath her shirt.
Zane watched, silent, waiting for her to shove him away and slap him, or maybe kick his ass.
But after twenty minutes, nothing happened.
Nothing that Zane was hopping for, anyway.
Instead, he watched as she tilted her head back, a soft moan escaping her throat. The fact that his lover had let some... disturbed fifteen-year-old lay his hands on her- when she herself was fourteen- made Zane's blood boil. She was a girl- a child- and that kid was taking advantage of her.
She pulled away, catching her breath. He rested his forehead against hers, pulling her closer. "Luc's gonna kill us."
"Me maybe, but not you. You're his baby sister, he loves you." She raised her eyebrows.
"What do you say we skip the tour? I know this whole place by heart- I've been coming here since I was a kid, watching the drills and the color guard, the basketball games and the graduations. I could find my way around in my sleep. What do you say we... go finish what we started somewhere private?"
Zane watched as his lover took his hand, allowing him to lead her to the dorms. He turned to Jo.
"How did your brother react?" She bit her lip.
"He didn't take it well." Zane screwed his mouth up.
"I wonder why." She rolled her eyes.
"What? Are you jealous of something that happened my freshman year at The Point?" She asked, turning to him.
"What's it to you?" He replied. She glared at him.
"Zane! I was fourteen! Kyle was a friend! It felt... right!"
"And we don't?" He demanded. He knew he was being childish, but he needed to hear her say it. That they were right. That their affair was more than just an affair, and that they fit. Something she'd been denying for months. She sighed, irritated.
"That's not what I meant, Zane-"
"Then what did you mean? Please, explain it to me, because I would really like to know." She growled, pulling away from him.
"You're being a child!"
"Oh I'm being a child?"
"Yes! If you would just grow up and-" But she didn't get to finish, because Zane had grabbed her, shoving his mouth onto hers in a kiss that rivaled that of Kyle Marks's.