Chapter 8
"Did I hear someone say 'Chocolate chip cookies'?"
"Total!" Angel exclaimed. "Where've you been?" Total, our flying black Scottie, hopped up into Angel's arms and began to lick her face.
Total then pranced across the table, managed to secure a piece of my pizza, and returned to Angel's lap. He cocked his head in the direction of a doorway down the hall as he answered Angel's question.
"The missus – well, soon to be missus. Akila likes for me to help put the little tykes to bed." Total sighed dreamily, then ate his slice, savoring each bite.
I heard Iggy stifle a snort. Fang looked at me, wrapped an imaginary string around his finger, pulled it tight. I nudged his side.
"Ohhh, are they sleeping? I wanted to see them," Angel whined half-heartedly and stroked Total's fur.
"All except Angelina. I'll take you to see her in a minute. I'm starving."
"Aw, man. I wanted to play with the puppies!" Gazzy exclaimed.
"I'll wonder if the missus doesn't let him eat until he's put the pups down either," Fang whispered and I chuckled.
"Yes. She does." Angel said with a mixture of anger and melancholy in her voice. Total looked up at Angel, his scruffy little face a mask of confusion. "Total and Akila take turns and help each other out with everything. She feeds them, then he puts them to bed. It's half and half. Right, Total?"
"Right." Total hopped off of Angel's lap and she followed him to Total's bedroom on the first floor. He turned to look at us as he flew up to the door knob. "Out in a minute. Save me some cookies."
After Angel and Total disappeared through the doorway, I looked at Fang. "I don't know that it's always a good thing that she can read minds."
His mouth quirked upward and he brushed a loose hair off of my face. His other hand found its way under the table and to my knee. I felt my cheeks redden as he squeezed it.
Moments later, Jeb excused himself, disappeared into the kitchen. Then, Iggy rose from his chair, maneuvered his way to the stairs near the front of the house.
"Gas-meister, come on. Need you to check something out for me."
Gazzy bolted from his seat, was on the stairs before Iggy. "Is it that –"
"Yeah…" A wily smile exploded on Iggy's face.
"Oh, great. I hope they aren't planning to use my nail polish remover again," Nudge huffed, sprinting after them. "Three bottles. What could they possible need three bottles for?"
I watched Nudge disappear up the stairs, leaned back in my chair. My mind drifted to my mom and I could practically smell the chocolate chip cookies as though their scent wafted from the nearby kitchen. I hadn't seen her but a few times since I pulled her from that underwater bubble Mr. Chu had locked her up in, when she almost died – died because she was a member of the CSM and Mr. Chu didn't want them messing with his global plans for creating new enlarged snot filled, super radiation fish species. And he chose her – because he knew of my ties to her. Seeing those black suits today. What if they tried to do that again? Or what if it was someone else they tried to take? Angel or Iggy or…
… or Fang?
"Yo."
Fang's wordy comment snapped me from my abstraction.
"Sorry. Just thinking about my mom."
Fang continued to study my face, stroked my hair. I started to get all these warm fuzzy tingly feelings throughout my body. Part of me liked it.
Part of me hated it.
I bolted from my chair, strolled quickly through the living room to the bay window at the front of the house. An opaque gold curtain draped over it, accenting the scarlet-hued walls. I peered out through the middle of them, searching for a vehicle that might herald my mother.
"I wonder when she'll get here," I surmised. I turned around and practically jumped out of my Nikes. Fang was in my face, slowly chewing on his pizza.
"Ugh. I hate when you do that," I huffed.
He shook his head with that wry smirk that sent tingles down my spine. And then he continued to study me. Intently.
"What?" I snapped. I started to feel very uncomfortable. Fang just kept – well – looking at me.
After an eternity of ogling, he grabbed the back of my neck and pressed his lips against mine and all the discomfort of the past few moments faded away. My lips became lithe under his. His kiss was tender, but furious and I threw my arms around his neck to press myself closer to him. His hands were in my hair, then on my arms, then my waist.
Here I was, kissing the one person who I totally trusted, who totally got me. Every thought of the day - the interview, the baddies in black, the flock fighting - all that melted away. If someone told me I had died and gone to heaven, I would have seriously believed it.
Suddenly, one of Fang's hands maneuvered under my tee-shirt and around to my back. His tough calloused hand glided over the spot between my wings. He pulled me closer. And I kissed him harder. I wanted him to hold me like this forever. His hand shot back to my waist….
…and then up past my stomach. What was Fang doing?
Suddenly, images of blue pegs in a Life car hit my head like a sledgehammer. Total and Akila and puppies and lots of puppies. A litter. A litter of bird kids…
I abruptly pulled away from Fang and tried not to sprint back to the table.
"I'm sorry… I just… we…"
And then I slid the patio door open, took three long strides, fanned out my wings, and shot out into the night.
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A/N: Just a teensy bit of FAX there for ya... ahem...
Must apologize... finding I'm just not as good at updating with this one as I was my last... will try to do better...
