Page 15 of Sparks
When the doors opened a cacophony of voices filled the air and I shared a surprised glance with Silas. We walked into the common area, and holy crap. It was all the same people as last night, minus the music and dancing. In fact, they all looked as rough as I felt. All of the tables were filled, and soldiers sat along the walls with plates on their laps. My heart began a nervous thumping.
The minute they caught sight of Silas and me, one of the soldiers jumped up from his seat at the table and waved us over. The others looked over and followed suit, Jerome being one of them.
“No, no,” I said as Silas waved a hand to stop them.
Jerome gave me a hug and I held his arm. “At least sit with us.”
He glanced over to the meek buffet. “I feel bad, but they just ran out of food. At least the hot stuff.”
“We’ll be okay,” I assured him. I tried to glance nonchalantly around the room, but my eyes immediately found Shawn sitting two tables away. He raised his coffee cup to me and my heart jumped inside my ribs. I gave a tight smile and turned to see Silas watching our exchange. We walked together to the buffet and I took a mini box of cereal with a carton of milk. Silas took an ugly banana, a yogurt, and the end slice of a loaf of bread which he popped in the toaster. Thankfully there was a little coffee left, but it was a bit weak for my taste.
We went back to the table and I nibbled at my cereal, trying really hard not to slump. Geez, I swore I could feel Shawn glancing at me. The blood buzzed under my skin.
“How are you guys up so early?” I asked Jerome.
“Same as you, probably,” he said. “We’re used to getting up at the ass-crack of dawn.”
“Sounds right,” Silas said with a chuckle.
“Mornin’ Harlow Robinson.”
Gah! My entire insides swooped at the sound of that voice, and my heart raced as I looked up into Shawn’s handsome face.
“Good morning,” I said with a shy smile.
“Feeling okay?” he asked.
“Eh.” I groaned a little and he laughed.
“Same here.Whew.”
“Did you sleep well?” I asked.
He shook his head, staring out over the room. “I never do.”
That seemed like a deeper admission to me, and I wondered about the thoughts that kept him up at night.
“What will y’all do today until it’s time to leave?” I asked.
“Nap. Play cards. Maybe try to find a way to get some pizza.”
“That sounds amazing,” I said. We smiled at each other and I felt the steady trot of my heart. Being near him was dangerous. “I’m going to head back up.”
“All right,” he said quietly. “See you in a bit.”
I nodded and stood, with Silas right behind me. As we walked, Silas muttered to me.
“Someone is smitten.”
Annoyance pinched me. “I’m not going after him.”
His eyebrow lifted, and he hit the elevator button. “I wasn’t talking about you.”
Silas’s words tickled my insides, but I shook my head.
“He’s just being nice—” Silas cut me off with a laugh, and I glared at him. “Don’t. Please.”
“All right.” He sighed and shrugged, wearing a smirk as we got off the elevator and went our separate ways.
