9. Games and Star Gazing

"Go to the game room and we'll play soccer," Jared called as he and Mel dashed from the room hand in hand to dig up a soccer ball.

I turned my face towards Alexia. "Up for a game?"

She smiled her gorgeous smile at me and waggled her eyebrows. "Yeap."

"Cool, let's go. Come on Wanda, Ian," I said to the couple as they sat there kissing each other sweetly. "Make out session is over!"

I upturned a container of water over their heads to Alexia's and Annessa's delight. I dropped the container into the sink and dashed past Alexia, grabbing her hand and pulling her along with me as I scooped Annessa into my other arm and ran with them before Ian could catch me.

"IAN'S GOING TO KILL YOU, JAMIE!" I heard Wanda laugh while I chuckled and kept running.

Alexia kept up easily with me, laughing along with me. This only made me grin and whoop more. When we entered the room, I stood the girls in the middle and told them to wait there.

"I'm gonna get Ian again before he gets me," I explained to her. She smiled and laughed lightly, and I thought it was at my plan.

That was before I heard him drone behind me.

"Too late."

"Oh, shit!" I turned to tackle him but he jumped me before I even saw him.

Ian wrapped me in a headlock and dropped me to the ground, so I pushed my shoulder into him and swung one of my legs around to trip him at the same time. I twisted out of the headlock and launched myself away from him as he went for me again then leapt back to grab his arms and hold them behind his back. Ian somehow flipped me onto my back and grabbed me in another headlock when Wanda strode over to us and smacked her husband on the arm.

"Leave him alone, Ian," she told him.

Ian dropped me into a heap on the floor and lifted Wanda up effortlessly.

"What about you? Can I rough and tumble with you?"

"Ian!" Wanda squealed at his insinuation as he lowered her onto the ground and laid over her, kissing down her neck and across her shoulders.

I got up, dusting myself off from my match, laughing at Ian and screwing my nose up at what he had said to my sister while I searched for Alexia.

"What're you doing?"

I circled to see her standing within my reach and smiled at her kindly.

"Looking for you," I answered truthfully.

I thought I saw her blush but she dipped her head so I wasn't entirely sure. I took a small step forward and reached a hand out slowly, touching my fingers beneath her chin and coaxing it up to look at me.

"How good are you at soccer?"

She smiled lightly and shrugged. "Good enough that my brother and I had good matches."

Wanda came and led Annessa back towards the kitchen to prepare food for the next day while we formed teams.

I grinned at Alexia, "Then let's play."

ALEXIA'S POV

I crouched low to the ground, ready to spring forward when the ball was launched.

Melanie kicked the ball forward, and Jared and I took off after her to support her while we made our way to our goals. Ian was on Jared, Kyle was on Mel, and Jamie was on me. All three boys tried to seize the ball when their defenses obtained it, and all three failed as Mel, Jared and I passed it to each other.

Jared kicked the ball to me when we were near our goals, and I caught it between my feet, pivoting over it to stop it and aiming it towards the goals. I booted it hard and it flew, scoring us a goal to bring us to a tie (five to five) just as Jamie slid across the ground and knocked my feet. He sent me off balance halfway through my victory jump and I fell on top of him, knocking the air from both of us.

"You alright?" Jamie laughed as he got us both to our feet.

I nodded while I laughed along with him. "I'm good. Sorry."

"Nah, that's cool." He jogged of to the centre line again and I sauntered after.

When the ball was kicked off again, Ian and Kyle grabbed the ball and Jamie sat himself on the floor for the thirty seconds it took the brothers to wind up the field and score easily.

"Last round; it's late and we still need to work tomorrow," Sunny called. Since Sunny was pregnant, she had played our score keeper and referee, though we didn't really need one.

The ball was brought back to centre point, and Jamie and I bent our knees and held them with our hands as we challenged each other lightheartedly.

"You're gonna lose," he mouthed to me.

I shook my head at him, laughed quietly and mouthed, "Speak for yourself, weakling."

When the ball started rolling, Mel rushed forward and guarded it with her feet, kicking it sideways to Jared or me when a threat approached. When she realized she wouldn't be able to get the goal smoothly with Kyle tracking her, she passed it to me and I aimed it straight at the goals without stopping it to line it up. We scored and cheered so loud it reverberated off the walls and rung in our ears.

"And… game!" Sunny called.

Sunny whistled and called the game to an end, eight to six in our favour. Mel, Jared and I all knocked fists together and did a little victory dance while the other guys just walked past saying they were gonna knock us dead next game; they were just going easy cos I was new and on that team.

"Sure, sure," I snorted. "You're just a sore loser, Jamie, admit it," I teased.

I patted him on the chest as he walked up to me and he caught my hand in his as I went to let it drop back down to my side.

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not; what are you gonna do about it?" he asked mischievously.

I shook my head and ran my free hand through my hair while I chewed on my lip for lack of a witty reply. Without a word, Jamie lifted me into his arms and started running with me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and shoulders and looked at him in horror.

"I want to show you something," he said to me softly as he sped through the dark.

JAMIE'S POV

Her face was beautiful to watch as I deposited her on the cool night sand, the moon bouncing back from her hair and her eyes glimmering wonderfully.

"Jamie… It's beautiful," she breathed.

"Sure is," I breathed.

She turned and looked at where we had exited from and raised an eyebrow.

"We're living beneath this?" she asked as she flicked her hand to the cave mouths direction.

"It's keeping us alive, isn't it?" I asked.

She nodded silently and then smiled; looking up at me and opening her mouth as if she were going to say something but then closed it again. She looked away from me for a second then started over.

"It's just so smart, they'd never think of it." She sounded so elated I found it hard not to smile and reach for her hand.

Her skin was soft and beautiful, and I ways forever trying to find excuses in my head to touch her.

Just touch her; you know you want to, little fiend Jamie coaxed.

Little seraph Jamie quarreled, She's a beautiful woman and she deserves respect.

I rolled my eyes internally at them as my devil and angel continued to bicker and realized too late I'd actually rolled my eyes.

"What?" Alexia asked hesitantly, pulling her hand away but looking like she hated to do it.

I held her hand firmer in mine and shook my head, smiling a little and pulling her closer to me. "Nothing."

She raised an eyebrow and looked at me skeptically so I sat down on the sand and tugged on her hand till she sat beside me.

We sat silently for a while, and I noticed her playing with her silver key that Annessa had collected and replaced on her sister's neck when she was asleep. Figuring it had something to do with her family; I left my questions alone and decided to wait for something about keys to come up so I could ask.

Maybe that way I wouldn't come off as such a pervert, anyway.

I leant back onto the sand and pulled Alexia down with me so she was lying beside me and resting her head on my arm. I let my hand fall onto her arm and just laid there, watching her watch the stars.

ALEXIA'S POV

I was rather comfy in Jamie's arms, comfier than I should have been anyway. The wind was a warm summer breeze and the sand was cooler the deeper you buried your feet in. I watched the stars and picked out Aquila, Cygnus, and Lyra in the constellations. And sure enough, I was soon making images of Jamie's face out of the stars, too.

"What are you thinking about?" his voice was soft, gentle.

"Nothing. I'm just… watching the stars," I replied tranquilly.

"They're beautiful, aren't they?"

"They are. I've never seen them so bright. I suppose the vacancy of bright city lights helps though," I chuckled lightly.

I felt his chest shiver as he laughed silently beside me and, from the corner of my eye, trailed my eyes down his body.

Bad, bad, bad mistake.

His shirt had moseyed up his stomach to his naval, and it revealed the handsome toned skin and his pants were balanced on his hips above his smooth skin; I could see between the material of his pants and where his stomach lowe—

"Are you cold?"

His voice shocked me back to reality and I metaphorically kicked myself repeatedly.

"No. Why?" I probably sounded blunt, but there's nothing I could do about that now.

"Cos you're shivering, that's why." He held his arm where it was but moved so he was looking into my face. And penetrating my heart.

I blinked at him, trying to shake all thoughts of him naked with me out here out of my head. I looked away from him when I felt myself going red and shivered again.

"Come on," Jamie muttered as he stole me into his arms. "I think it'd be close to sleep time anyway."

"Jamie, I can walk," I said as I flattened my hands against his chest, pettily pretending to want to get down.

"It's okay, this way will be quicker."

When he refused to release me, I grumbled a, "Whatever", but deep, deep down, I was singing and dancing in total enchantment to be this close.

I rested my head on his shoulder and listened to him breathing as he took us back to our room.