JM BENAVIDEZ

As I walked into my house, I realized that I didn't really want to be there. I headed into my closet and grabbed my rollerblades. After I had secured them to my feet I decided to head over to the basketball courts for some smooth skating. I hopped across the carpet and out the front door, careful not to damage my new floors. The gardens and courtyard still seemed empty and I made a quick escape for a little alone time. I dashed between houses a little faster than I would have normally because it seemed like everyone was still in their meetings. I let out a huge sigh of relief as I made it to the courts without being stopped. 

I flipped around backwards, skating large circles around the courts in reverse. After I got comfortable that there were no rocks or sticks to trip me, I started swerving in and out of the poles, making circles and loops as I went. Occasionally I've flip around and blast around the courts at top speed, before hanging a turn and flipping back around, going backwards again. Rollerblading was something that had always liberated me and helped relieve stress. I was grinning like a Cheshire cat within minutes as I flew around the basketball courts. "That's pretty impressive." I slid sideways, skidding to a halt and looking across the court at Lael. "Thanks. Do you skate?" He smiled. "Every now and then but I prefer skateboarding because you can just hop off and be on your feet again." I looked down at my feet and then up at him as I crossed the court towards where he was walking toward me. "Can you do any tricks?" I asked trying to keep the topic light. He shrugged. "A few, but mostly on the skateboard." 

Lael grinned. "But I can do a few tricks without wheels too." I raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?" He nodded and got up onto his hands, walking closer to me on them. I giggled and he turned to face me. "Grab my ankles, I'll pull you around." I laughed again and paused before reaching out and grabbing his ankles. He was wearing shorts and I tried not to focus on the feel of his bare skin in my hands. Is shirt also hung down and I caught a glimpse of his lower stomach as he walked. He had a light dusting of hair around his navel and on his legs. I closed my eyes, trying not to recall my dream as I touched him. He looked up at me. "You holding on?" I nodded nervously. "Yes." Lael chuckled. "You aren't nervous are you?" I smiled, knowing he meant about being pulled not about touching him. "Not quite the way you're thinking." 

He dropped one of his legs and I let go, moving out of the way as he flipped over and stood back up looking at me. He wrinkled his brows approaching me slowly. "Let me get this straight. You've spent the day and night with both Zuriel and Amadeus had a dream about Zaazanach and then gone out on two dates, yet I make you nervous?" He took another step closer, invading my personal space intimately. I chewed my bottom lip and nodded. Lael smirked, closing his eyes momentarily before looking up at me with brown eyes that easily matched my own. "Why do you think that is?" I took a deep breath, wondering if now was the time to come clean about my dream and the havoc it left in its wake. My mouth moved before my head had a chance to make a decision. "Because you are the most like me and that means something." 

He wrinkled his brows. "Did you have one of those mandatory meetings where you had to disclose all of your personal attractions to everyone else?" I nodded as my mind went berserk. "Yeah, apparently all of the girls were a little peeved because I had so many dates lined up. I tried to explain that I've encouraged the guys to seek out the other girls as well and it shocked everyone. Do I seem like the kind of person who has to be the center of everyone's attention?" He tilted his head curiously. "You do flirt a lot." I shook my head. "No I don't. It's just that I'm not afraid of you guys where the others are." I reached out touching his arm casually. "I'm not afraid to touch you or interact with you like I do with the girls, but the others are so it comes off as flirting." 

He looked down at my hand. "That's not entirely true. You hesitated when you grabbed my ankles and then again just now." I hung my head. "Well, things are a little different when it comes to you." He looked into my eyes and I saw the hesitation my mom had spoken of. "Why?" I smiled reassuringly. "Because of the dream I had about you." He grimaced, wrinkling his brows. "That doesn't seem fair. I didn't have anything to do with your dream." I nodded, dropping my hand from his arm, putting a little more space between us as visions from the dream flashed through my mind. I took a deep breath and he looked at me curiously. “What is it?” 

I lowered my voice as I looked up at him. “I know it seems unfair but I promise that it doesn’t put you at a disadvantage.” He didn’t nod or speak, he just stood there watching and waiting for me to continue. I wrung my hands anxiously. “I have never even considered the things that we did in my dream, so I was really caught off guard by the whole thing. And now I can’t look at you, or be near you or even hear you speak without having flashbacks of that dream.” My voice shook as I tried to explain myself. “And to be completely honest, it was a very good dream.” I looked up into his eyes nervously. “In the dream where I called you love.” I nodded. “Yes.” His eyes stayed locked on mine for what seemed like a very long moment before he nodded. “And this is why I make you nervous.” I nodded again. “Yes.”

He took a deep breath and I felt like I was a deflating balloon as the built up pressure came rolling off of me. “Then I will try not to take your actions so personally.” I tilted my head looking up at him. “You thought that I liked you less than the others?” He smirked. “That would be the obvious conclusion, yes.” I wrinkled my face in irritation. “Don’t take that tone with me, I didn’t do anything to you.” He took a step closer, challenging me with both his stance and his stare. “Well, maybe you should.” I stammered nervously and started to take a step backwards, forgetting that I was on rollerblades and slipped. Lael caught my arm, jerking me hard against him as I nearly struck a basketball pole with my head. I scrambled frantically to catch my balance and nearly kicked him with my skate. He pinned my arms to my sides, lifting me so that my feet dangled. “Easy Meira, easy!” I leaned my forehead against his chest, letting myself go limp in his arms as my racing heart calmed down. 

He tilted his head looking down at me. “I didn’t mean for you to try and kill yourself or me.” His voice was gentle and he smiled as I peeked up at him. “Thank you for catching me. Did I hurt you?” He shook his head. “No. Would you like me to put you down now, or do you feel safer like this?” I pressed my cheek to his chest, listening to his slowing heartbeat. “You should probably put me down, but this is very nice.” He leaned his cheek against the top of my head, holding me a moment longer. "It is nice." He said softly, before carefully setting me down on my feet. "Are you steady?" He asked loosening his hold on me but not letting go. I gripped his arms as I balanced myself and then looked down at my hands, holding onto his strong arms. I giggled nervously and looked up into his eyes as I slowly let go. 

He lowered his eyes, trying to ease my discomfort and I smiled at him. "You're really cute. I know that you don't think so, but you are." I watched in amazement as he tucked his long wavy brown hair behind his ears nervously. I carefully leaned forward, un-tucking his hair from behind his ears with a grin. "And he gets shy too." He caught both of my wrists as I started to pull away, pulling them over his shoulders and wrapping them around his neck. "You're right. I don't think I'm cute and I get really nervous around you too. I don't get why you tolerate me, much less want to be anywhere near me and I'm damn thankful for that dream you had." 

I sighed, thinking about the conversation we'd had so far and something he had previously said clicked in my head in connection with what he just said. I tilted my head. "Why did you care if we had told everyone who we were interested in? Who did you pick?" He smirked. "I asked because I wanted to ask you the same question. But you jumped off topic so I just let it go." He looked down at his sneakers and then up at me. "I think your list is a little longer than mine, so why don't you go first?" I crossed my arms over my chest, challenging him with my eyes. "Why don't you tell me who you think is on my list?" He shook his head. "It really doesn't matter. Hey, I'm sorry for interrupting your skating time. I'll let you get back to it." He turned abruptly and started to walk away.

I watched him walk for a few minutes as his sudden exit registered in my brain. He really didn't think her stood a chance with me and yet as far as I was concerned, he was one of my finalists. I shook my head laughing and skated after him. "Oh no you don't." I yelled, before jumping onto his back and grabbing on for dear life. He stumbled forward off the basketball court and into the grass, throwing me over his shoulder with a thud. I groaned miserably and he dropped to his knees beside me. "Oh shit. Are you alright? I'm sorry I didn't mean to toss you." He was leaning over me so that our faces were in opposite directions and I giggled as I looked up at him. "Yeah, I'll be alright. It's my own fault for trying to launch myself at you like that." He stood up and walked around me, trying to help me to my feet. I pulled him back down into a sitting position on the grass instead. "I think maybe it's safer on the ground." 

He laughed and I smiled into his eyes. "Please don't run away. I know that you're just as worried about getting hurt as I am and I forget that it must be hard when the competition seems so fierce from that side. But from my side it's really simple. I'm here until you tell me to go." His shoulders slumped. "Until I tell you to go?" I nodded. "Believe it or not my list is a lot shorter than you might think. Yeah there are three guys who haven't been officially removed from my side of the board, but that's just because we haven't talked yet." I shook my head. "My sisters are just as deserving of happiness as I am. If Aimi has a serious crush on Amadeus, then he's hers. If Aureliana is nuts about Zuriel, not a big deal, she can have him. If Eirian wants to try her luck with Nathanael, alright." I paused and plucked a blade of grass from the ground. "There's even a chance that Aureliana will make a move on Elijah too. Although she sets him on edge like nobody's business."

I looked up into his eyes, knowing he was ticking down the list of my suitors in his head. "What about you?" I shrugged. "I haven't decided yet. I still have three more dates, although I expect my date with Zuriel to be short and sweet when I remind him yet again that he's wasting his time on the wrong girl." I looked down at the ground again. "I guess I'm really just waiting to see how my date with Elijah goes tonight to see if I'm going to send him Aureliana's way too." Lael reached out, lifting my chin so that I looked up into his eyes. "And what about me?" I shrugged softly. "I don't know. It seems like maybe you're more interested in running away." He wrinkled his brows as he started to speak and then changed his mind as he dropped his hand from my chin. He pursed his lips as he thought long and hard about what I had said and then he nodded. "I'll make a deal with you, I won't run away if you don't count me out and we'll see how the next two days go." 

I tilted my head as I looked at him. "You haven't been listening to me have you?" He smiled weakly. "No, I've heard you. But you don't realize what the other sides of your equations look like. You're counting people out who think they're still in the running and are going to fight to keep you." I took his cheeks in my hands looking at him with as much sincerity as I could muster. "And I'm telling you, you're wrong." I released his cheeks and smiled. "Now, help me to my feet so I don't break my ass." I chuckled. "Again." He sat there staring at me for a moment, digesting what I said and then he smiled. "I'm really looking forward to going out with you tomorrow night." I nodded. "I would hope so, because it would be no fun if I was the only one excited about it." He smirked and shook his head as he stood up. "I'm still sorry I tossed you." I reached up my hands to him and smiled as he took them. "You do know that I'll expect you to make it up to me right?" He stepped on my front wheels so I wouldn't roll forward and helped me up. "Then I'll take that into consideration when planning for our date." 

I wrapped my arm around his waist in a one armed hug and smiled. "Thank you." He jerked his head as he looked down at me. "For what?" I smiled. "For staying true to your word and never asking about my dream again. For being so understanding and patient. For giving me the chance to win you over." I shrugged. "Take your pick." I dropped my arms from his waist as I looked up at him. "But mostly for making me feel comfortable. That's what I like the most about you. When I'm with you, I feel like I fit instead of feeling like I have to fit in." I placed my hand on his elbow, pulling him down to me so I could whisper into his ear. He tilted his head towards me when I motioned him closer. "And I know you didn't have anything to do with it, but thank you for loving me the way you did in my dream." His body froze and his arm stiffened under my hand. His eyes closed and I placed a soft kiss on his cheek. I dropped my hand from his arm and backed away from him, smiling shyly. He slowly stood up as he opened his eyes, looking at me. A beautiful smile crept its way across his face and his eyes danced as he gave me a tiny nod in acknowledgement. I gave him a small wave and he waved back as I quietly and calmly skated away.