Chapter 10
As our vacation went on, Kat got more and more irritating. She kept yelling at us for no reason, and just being plain annoying. The team had planned a picnic up on a cliff, and Emile, Jorge, and Jun had already gone up there, leaving Carter, Kat, Jake and me to pack the four huge picnic baskets. We were in the four-wheel drive waiting for Kat to come out of the base.
"Beth! You have left your room a mess! I expect you to clean it as soon as you get home!" she screamed at me.
"Seriously, you're not my mother. Shut up and get in the car, Kat," I snorted at her.
"No. You have to drive the car over to me first," she replied, turning her nose up in the air.
"Yeah, not likely," I said, and drove off leaving Kat behind, flipping me off in anger.
"Wait for me!" Kat screamed. Jake and Carter burst out laughing.
"Hopefully that will teach her a lesson!" Jake shouted over the wind.
"Yeah!" Carter replied grinning.
We arrived at the picnic site and Jake and Carter unloaded the stuff. Kat came speeding up the cliff on a mongoose; her face red with rage. I chuckled, and picked up my Sniper Rifle to go and do some target practice with Emile.
"How dare you!" she screamed. I giggled back.
"Come and do some target practice with us!" I said in a mocking voice. She moved to punch me, and I held up my Sniper at her.
"Kat, I go have a Sniper Rifle and I am not afraid to use it," I said in a grave voice. "Don't even think of hitting me."
Kat sighed and said, "How come we have a Hyper Lethal Vector on our team? Anyway, what are we going to play?"
"Let's play Spartans and Elites!" Jake said.
"What the… What the heck is Spartans and Elites?" Emile asked.
"It's the Spartan version of Cops and Robbers!" Jake said laughing. "The Elites are running from the Spartans. Beth and Emile, you are with me. Carter, Kat, Jun and Jorge, you are the Elites. This bunker is the prison. Go!"
We played Spartans and Elites for quite and while, then we sat down and had a late lunch. After lunch, Carter suggested we play 20 questions, and that turned out to be a big mistake. After a while, we were all bored, so we had a competition to see who could take down the most targets with a Sniper Rifle. I won, and we went back to the picnic area and we all sat down against a massive boulder watching the sky turn pink as the sun set.
Jake scooted closer to me, then pulled me into his arms. I rested my head against his chest, and saw Carter do the same with Kat. We all watched the sun. It was a truly beautiful sight. Looking off the cliff and onto the horizon, the gorgeous orange sun sank down lower and lower. The way the golden rays of the sun shot up into the clouds, turning them a soft red was amazing. As the golden jets of light shot down onto the land making it pink, I felt filled with energy. The sight was enchanting, and the pink land held my gaze. I was content. In this world of craziness and war, I was finally content. Looking at my wonderful team, I realized they were all as close as family to me, and I loved them all. It all felt right somehow.
Jake pushed me back a little bit, then asked me to go with him. I got up and he took my hand, leading me away from the team but still in view of the setting sun. He rested a hand against my cheek, and with the other he held my hand.
"Beth, on your birthday when we kissed... I felt like i was flying. It made me think about how close we are, and how i want it to change. I've felt this way for a while now... Damn I'm not good at this," he chuckled nervously and I saw the cutest blush on his cheeks.
"Hey it's okay, just spit it out," I said quietly.
"Okay... Beth, I'm so in love with you and I have been since before we arrived on reach together. I want to be with you and take care of you, protect you and love you for the rest of my days... So, will you be mine?"
By now, tears of happiness were sliding down my cheeks and I moved closer to Jake. "Yes, yes Jake I will be yours, so long as you will be mine forever... I love you."
The sun was dipping lower and lower, and as the golden light shed it's rays on us, I let my eyelids fall shut as our faces moved closer. Our lips finally met, and we kissed passionately and poured our love into each other. Today had been the most perfect day of my life.
Once the sun had gone down, I took Jake's hand, and we walked back to where the rest of the team was now getting up. Jake lead me towards the mongoose that Kat had driven up, and I quickly caught on to what he wanted to do.
"Race you home guys!" I shouted then jumped on behind Jake, wrapping my arms around him, smiling.
In order to win, we took a short cut and were back at the base in no time. As the rest of the team pulled up, we were standing around drinking coffee and eating cookies, much to their annoyance. For the rest of the evening we sat around playing board games until we all either fell asleep on the couch or retired to our quarters.