Hazy Darknes (Chapters 5 &6)

                                                  Storm

            “You named your four wheeler?” I asked him skeptically.
            “It lives longer that way,” Cloud said laughing. We were outside and I was staring at a gorgeous black Raptor 700R SE four wheeler. It had a black plastic box attached to the back. “I’ve made some adjustments to it. It was fast before now it’s just incredible.” He must have saw me staring at the box because he said, “I don’t usually have that attached.”
            “Why did you name it Shady?” I asked deciding I didn’t want to know why he had the box attached today.
            “Shadow is over used. So Shady was close and I liked the name. Here,” he tossed me a helmet.
            “I’m going to be riding?” I asked frightened.
            “Haven’t you ever ridden on one before?”
            “Yeah, but it didn’t look like this. It wasn’t very fast.”
            “Don’t worry, I’ll keep you safe.” That was all the reassurance I needed. I believed him, I mean I had no reason not to. Plus, I had a helmet and so did he.
            He jumped on the front and stood waiting for me to get on. I stuck my helmet on and attempted to jump on back as smoothly as he did. I almost fell, but caught myself at the last minute. I heard Cloud chuckle. “Hold on,” was the last thing he said. We started moving and I gripped his waist as tightly as I could.
            We went into the woods behind the house and I realized there were trails. He could maneuver around turns without slowing down or flipping us. We had to be going at least forty miles per hour. “You want to go faster?” Cloud asked me.
            “Does it?” I asked holding on tighter. He laughed and we went faster than I thought possible. The four wheeler didn’t make very much noise so I could hear when Cloud talked to me. “How fast does it go?”
            “About sixty, but only because I made adjustments. Are you enjoying the ride?”
            “Yeah, this is fun.” We had been riding for about half an hour when we started slowing down. “Why are we slowing down?” I asked.
            “I want to show you something.” He said and looked back at me. We pulled out to an opening with a pavilion and pick nick table. There was a pond there with a tire swing and rope attached to the tree by it. I guessed it was so you could swing and land in the pond. There was a garbage can and a building the left of the pavilion.
            The others were at the table and we pulled in between two black motorcycles. Cloud shut off the four wheeler and hopped off. He put his hand out to help me off. He probably thought I was going to fall again.
            “Can I ask you two questions?” I asked him while taking his hand and getting off the four wheeler.
            “Fire away,” he responded.
            “Does everyone have every single vehicle know to man and why always black?” I asked. I was down off the four wheeler, but he hadn’t dropped my had yet and I didn’t want to pull away.
            “No. We only have two motorcycles, only the guys and Nisha have cars- so far- and because black blends in with the surroundings better,” he replied. “Shall we go eat?”
            “It is lunch time isn’t it?”
            “That’s three and yes it is.” He dropped my hand, but we walked over to the pavilion together.
            The table was covered with a red checkered table cloth and there was a pick nick basket on it. I sat down between Cloud and Autumn. Autumn pulled out hoagies and handed them out. We all started eating and making plans for the rest of today.
            “Let’s swim in the pond for awhile and then go see a movie later tonight,” Nevada suggested.
            “Let’s take Kishi,” Nisha suggested.
            “Yeah, he needs to get out more,” Levon said.
            “Okay we’ll ask him,” Autumn chimed in. “I don’t know it he’ll go though and we can’t force him too.”
            “Yeah that would get ugly,” Nevada trailed off.
            “What do you think Aurora?” Cloud asked me.
            “Uhhh, well I never met Kishi. It would be nice to know him,” I said.
            We finished eating and Autumn and I cleaned up. We put the garbage and table cloth back in the picnic basket. We took it over to the garbage can and threw everything away.
            “You don’t want the basket?” I asked her confused.
            “Nope, we got plenty more at home,” she said.
            “What’s this building?”
            “It’s a bathroom and changing room. To the right is the boy’s bathroom and to the left is the girl’s.” Cloud came over to carrying the plastic box. The rest of the group came over after him. He opened the box and I saw it was full of towels and swimming suits.
            Cloud handed out the towels and suits. All the girls got bikinis. I almost had a panic attack and had to fight hard to control my facial features. I could wear a bikini without looking bad, but I was sure I wouldn’t look as good as Autumn and Nisha.
            Autumn pushed me into the changing room, which was good I didn’t think I could move on my own. When we were safely inside the changing room and out of ear shot of the guys I finally said something.
            “A BIKINI?!?!” I whispered loudly.
            “Oh, you’ll look great,” Autumn said.
            “I’ve never wore a bikini in my life. EVER!”
            “It’ll be okay, calm down.”
            She pushed me into one of the curtained off changing cubical. I changed into the multi-colored polka dotted bikini. I made sure everything was secure and I wasn’t going to lose any part of it. I wrapped my multi-colored polka dotted towel around myself. I left my clothes in the changing cubical and stepped out.
Nisha was wearing a white bikini with purple flowers on it and Autumn was wearing a black bikini with orange stars on it. They both had their towels over their right shoulder.
            “Come on let’s see it,” Autumn said. I looked at her like she was crazy and she ripped the towel out from around me. I stood there shocked. “Wow! You look sexy,” she said and did a little shimmy. I started to laugh and she put my towel over my right shoulder. “You look better than me.”
            “There must be something wrong with your eyes then,” I said. All three of us started laughing. “Okay,” I said and took a deep breath, “let’s go.”
            We walked outside and the guys were waiting for us. It took all I could manage not to turn around and run back into the bathroom. I thought I saw Cloud’s jaw drop a little, but if it did he quickly snapped it back into place. I must have been seeing things.
            “Last one there is a rotten egg,” Autumn shouted, already halfway there.
            “I’m pretty sure that’s cheating,” Nevada called and started racing after her.
            We all started to laugh. I started running after them. I threw my towel on the pick nick table where Autumn’s and Nevada’s were. I ran down grabbed the rope and swung over the pond. I let go when I was sure I would hit the water and then felt the water surround me. I loved to be in the water. The feeling of it all around me was comforting.
            I came up and got splashed. I laughed and looked around to see who the culprit was. It appeared to have been Nevada. He was whistling and looking around guiltily. I splashed him back and he laughed too. I heard something hit the water and looked over to see Nisha had got in the same way I had.
            I felt myself coming out of the water and then I was flying through the air. I screamed and hit the water. I came up dazed and saw Cloud standing where I had been a second ago. I started laughing and everyone else did too. I made my way back to where Cloud was. I stood in front of him and smiled innocently.
            “No hard feelings?” He asked.
            “No, but,” I took my leg and knocked him off balance and then pushed him under. He came back up and I said, “Now we’re even.” We all started laughing, again. This was the most I’d laughed ever. I really liked my new home and new family.
            We stayed in the pond until about two o’ clock and then got out. We got dried off and changed and met back at the pick nick table. I was the last one to arrive. I sat down and picked up on the conversation fairly quick. They were discussing what movie to watch.
            “I want to watch a comedy,” Nisha said.
            “Horror is so much better,” Cloud argued.
            “I want to watch a romance movie,” Autumn said and snuggled up to Nevada.
            “No,” Nisha, Levon, and Cloud said at the same time.
            “What do you think, Aurora?” Autumn asked me.
            “Why don’t we have Kishi decide?” I suggested.
            “That’s a brilliant idea,” Nevada said.
            “Maybe we should see if he’s going first,” Nisha said. She didn’t say it rudely, but more like a suggestion.
            “I’ll call him,” Levon said as he dialed the number. They continued to discuss the movie topic when Levon hung up the phone. “He can’t go. He’s busy.”
            “Now what are we going to do?” Nevada asked.
            “Let’s split up. We’ll all go see what we want to,” Autumn said.
            “Okay, so who’s doing what?” Levon asked. “We’re watching a comedy,” Levon said pointing to him and Nisha.
            “We’re watching a romance,” Nevada said sliding his arm around Autumn.
            “I’m watching a horror movie,” Cloud said. They all looked at me and smiled.
            “Wh-what?” I asked.
            “We can all guess what you’re going to watch,” Autumn said looking from me to Cloud and smiling. I stayed quiet and looked down at the table.
Cloud put his index finger under my chin and lifted up my head until I met his gaze. “Will you watch a horror movie with me?” He asked sweetly.
            “S-sure,” I stammered. I was aware of everyone’s eyes on me. Cloud laughed and pulled his hand away.
            “Well, let’s get going,” he said. We walked over to the plastic box that now had everyone’s wet towels and swimming suits in it. Then, we went to the four wheeler and Cloud attached it securely to the back. “Want to drive?” he asked smiling.
            “What?! No!” I said quickly.
            “You’ll do great. I’ll give you a real quick lesson on shifting and starting a manual four wheeler. You’ll pick it up fast you’re smart.” He told me how to start it, shut it off, shift, and brake. “Think you can do it?”
            “Are you going to be mad at me if I wreck it?” I asked seriously.
            He responded by laughing and saying, “I trust you. If you do start to swerve too sharp I’ll grab the handle bars and save us. If we do wreck, though, I will not hold you responsible.” I looked at the ground and smiled when he was done saying this.
            “Okay, I’ll try,” I replied without looking up. I got on the four wheeler and waited for him to get on. He got on just as effortlessly as before and sat behind me. “I don’t know which paths to follow,” I said looking back at him.
He handed me a helmet and put on his own. “I’ll tell you where to go,” he said. I put on my helmet and started the four wheeler. I felt Cloud’s arms go around my waist and his hands intertwined around themselves out my belly button. He held me securely, as if to say that everything was going to be fine. I took a deep breathe and then started out the trail we came in from.
            All my fear of wrecking went away as soon as I started driving the windy path back to the house. I couldn’t go around turns like Cloud could, I had to slow down. That was okay with me though. Cloud pointed out the paths I should take to get home. Every time his hand came down from pointing and went around me, my heart started to race.
            I saw the opening to our yard and went through it. I went into the gated area where they- well we now- kept the four wheelers and parked it where it had been early. Cloud left go of me and got off the four wheeler. He hadn’t said anything the whole ride home so I was worried I’d did something wrong. I shut off the four wheeler and removed my helmet and set it on the four wheeler in front of his. Cloud was facing the direction opposite the four wheeler and I got off the four wheeler and walked up a few feet behind him.
            “Did I do okay?” I asked afraid I had disappointed him.
            “Yes, you did perfect,” he said still not looking at me.
            “Cloud, what’s wrong?” I hadn’t seen him like this since the day he took me from my family.
            I reached out and touched his arm. He pulled away and started walking around the swimming pool fence. I followed after him. He walked up the porch steps and went into the house. I didn’t follow I stayed in front of the steps trying to control my emotions before I went inside. I got them under control and walked up the stairs and into the house. I didn’t see Cloud, but I did see Autumn.
            “What’s eating him?” She asked.
            “I think I did something wrong,” I whispered and started to look at the floor.
            “Well, he’s outside let’s go talk to him.”
            “What if I just make him more mad?”
            “Pish-Posh! Let’s go,” She said and grabbed my hand. She drug me outside. I was still looking at the ground. “Cloud,” she yelled, “you have some explaining to do.”
            Everything went dark. I felt hands around my eyes and someone pushing me somewhere. I didn’t struggle it wouldn’t help anything. It would probably only make things worse. Though, I was curious as to who was behind me. I thought I knew who it was, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up. He was mad at me.
            We came to a stop, but they didn’t remove their hands. I felt the original hands sliding off and new ones cover my eyes. I felt someone wrap their arms around me. Then, I could see.
            Sitting in front of me was a four wheeler with my new family surrounding it. It looked like Cloud’s four wheeler. I felt someone’s lips at my ear. “Surprise,” Cloud whispered. I couldn’t move. I was frozen in shock, not a bad one though. “It’s yours. Go look at it,” he whispered in my ear. He let go of me and when he saw I wasn’t moving took my hand, drug me to the four wheeler, and sat me on top of it. “I haven’t had time to do any work on it, but if you want me to I will,” he said.
            I stayed quiet. “Well say something!” Autumn practically shouted at me.
            I drew my feet up onto the seat. I wrapped my arms around my legs and put my head on my knees. “Thank you all so much,” I said and burst into tears. I had never been emotional, but no one had ever gotten me anything like this before. “I’m s-sorry,” I said between sobs.
            “Can we have a minute?” I heard Cloud ask everyone. I heard everyone start to leave. “It’s okay I wasn’t mad at you and if you don’t like it we’ll sell it. No big deal,” Cloud said once everyone left. I felt his arms wrap around me.
            “I d-don’t mean t-to cry. I’m sorry. I love it,” I said. My crying was starting to slow and I could speak a little better.
            “Are you okay now?” He asked.
            “Yeah,” I said the tears had stopped but I knew my eyes were puffy and red. I lifted up my head and wiped my eyes with the edge of my shirt. Cloud let me out of the embrace and I swung myself off the four wheeler and into his arms.
            I lost my balance, but he caught me. He took one hand and smoothed my hair down and left the other around me. “Don’t ever scare me like that again,” I scolded him.
            “What?” He asked confused.
            “I thought you were mad at me. I couldn’t figure out why.”
            “So I do have you under my spell,” he said approvingly. I smacked him gently and pulled away. I folded my arms and looked at the ground sadly. “Did that offend you?” He asked worried.
            I looked up at him and smiled. “Looks like I got you under mine,” I touched his nose as I said this and then started running for the house laughing. He caught up with me on the porch.
            “So what are you going to name it?” He asked.
            “Hmm, how about Storm?” I asked.
            “I like it. It’s very creative,” He responded. “Let’s get ready for the movies.”

                                                Can we talk?

            “Who bought it?” I asked.
            “What?” Cloud responded.
            We had gotten ready for the movies and were now in his car waiting for Autumn and Nevada to come out and get in. Levon and Nisha were taking Levon’s car.
            “Who bought the four wheeler?” I asked looking to see his reaction.
            “Well, it was from all of us,” he replied looking back at me.          
            “You’re lying. Can’t you just tell me the truth?” I said looking away.
            He sighed and said, “Kishi and I bought it together as a welcome to our family gift.”
            “Why? Why would you do that for me?” I asked confused.
            “Everyone got something when they came here.”
            “Were the gifts everyone else got as expensive as a four wheeler?” I asked skeptically looking at him.
            “Your gift wasn’t expensive,” he shot back.
            “Cloud, please don’t lie to me. I’ll look it up on the internet when we come back if you won’t tell me.”
            “No, no one else got a four wheeler,” he said looking away.
            “Then why’d you and Kishi get me something so expensive?” I asked.
            He turned his head quickly towards me. “Your worth it,” was all he could say. Autumn and Nevada hopped in the back seat.
            “Let’s go!” Autumn said cheerfully. Cloud and I were still looking at each other. I shook my head no and he raised one eyebrow and nodded his head yes.
            We pulled out of the garage where Cloud’s car was and Levon followed by pulling out of the space that was beside us. We went down the driveway the whole time I was shaking my left leg. Cloud looked at me and then at my leg with a puzzled look. I stopped shaking my leg immediately. I didn’t want to tell him it was I nervous habit.
            I was indeed nervous about tonight. I mean a dark movie theatre with a super hot guy. Who wouldn’t be nervous? “If I was attractive maybe I wouldn’t be so nervous,” I thought. I looked out my window and began counting trees. I counted to six hundred and forty-eight before we arrived at the movie theatre.
            We got out and Autumn and Levon practically ran to the door. Cloud and I looked at each other over the roof of the car and started laughing. “Cloud, do me a favor?” I asked innocently.
            “What is it?” He asked back.
            “Let me pay for the tickets and snacks. Okay?”
            “Whoa, whoa, whoa! There’s no way I’m going to let you-,” he started to say, but I cut him off.
            “Your going to let me do this,” I said fiercely.
            “No way, that’s not fair to you. I’ll pay-,”
            “No! I’m going to pay for it all,” I said looking at him sternly. “You got me a four wheeler, the least I can do is pay for a night at the movies.”
            “Will it make you happy and make us even?” He asked.
            “Yes it would,” I replied with a smile.
            “Fine, okay,” he said defeated.
            “Thank-you,” I said still smiling and skipped off to the theatre entrance. Once inside, I bought our tickets. I bought a large popcorn and a large soda for Cloud. I also bought him four different types of candy. I got myself a small soda.
            “That’s all you’re getting?” He said sarcastically. “You know all this really isn’t necessary. I’m a big boy I have my own money.” I folded my arms and gave him the “You didn’t just say that” look. “Alright! Okay, geez,” he replied. I grabbed all the things I bought and handed him all the stuff I got him. We then headed to the movie theatre showing our movie.
            We entered the movie theatre and picked seats in the middle. There were only four other people in the theatre. The previews for other movies started to play. I was aware of someone’s eyes on me. I looked over to see Cloud staring at me.
            “What?” I whispered.
            “You realize I’m not going to be able to eat all this stuff on my own,” he whispered back.
            “Then take it home and share it with everyone else,” I said in an annoyed tone.
            “Don’t you want any? It’s getting close to five you’ve got to be hungry,” he said exasperated.
            “I don’t think I’ll wither away anytime soon,” I said a little too loud.
            “Now you’ve done it,” he whispered.
            “Hey! Hey you. Can you like keep it down up there. Some of us are trying to watch the movie,” some guy yelled from behind us. Cloud and I looked at each other and laughed silently. The movie started and I settled in to watch two hours of terror and gore.
            I didn’t need to watch the movie to know what it was going to be about. The movie was called Midnight Death and like most horror movies started out as an innocent trip somewhere. Then, about halfway through someone dies and the movie just gets more bloody and terrifying. By the end everyone, who didn’t die, is safe and they end with some kind of lead into a sequel.
            Halfway through Cloud poked me. “Are you getting scared?” He asked.
            “No way! This is kind of boring,” I answered yawning.
            “I know one way to scare you,” he came back. I must have looked really confused because he continued by saying, “I’ll just act mad at you again.” He laughed quietly to himself.
            “You won’t have to act.  I’m sure you’ll get mad at me sooner or later, but probably sooner,” I was staring him down as I said this.
            “I beg to differ,” he said and smiled.
            “Yeah right, you’ll see,” I warned.
            “Want to bet on it?” He asked smiling.
            “Yeah I do. What are we going to bet?” I asked cocking my head to the left.
            “Hmm. If I get mad at you by the time your birthday comes you can have whatever you want, but if I don’t get mad I get whatever I want. Deal?” He asked business like.
            “Deal,” I said and we shook hands. By this time I was amazed that no one shushed us. I looked around to see what everyone was doing. The couple behind us was elderly and had fallen asleep. The couple in the front row was too distracted making out. I poked Cloud and pointed to the couple behind us. We both laughed as quietly as we could manage.
            The movie ended just as I suspected it would. The people who didn’t die were safe and there was a lead into a sequel. Cloud and I got up and walked out of the movie theatre laughing. I laughed so much I was on the verge of tears.
            Our movie let out before anyone else’s did. We decided that instead of standing in the lobby waiting like idiots we were going to go wait in the car. Cloud texted Nevada and told him where we’d be. We walked out to the car and got in. It was seven o’ clock and chilly outside.
            “Are you cold?” Cloud asked once we were in the car.
            “Nothing unbearable,” I replied shrugging my shoulders. Now was my time to get him mad at me. “It’s like the cold left in my heart from being torn away from the only family I’ve ever known,” I said sadly, even though inside I was very happy with my life.
            “I really am sorry about that,” he said this just as sadly as I had made my comment. “Can you ever forgive me?”
            “Way to go. Make the one person who is trying to be nice sad,” I thought to myself. I looked at him with despise in my eyes. He backed as far away from me as he could in the small car. “Why won’t you just get mad at me?” I prompted.
            “Oh, is that what you were trying to do. Good go, but it didn’t work,” he said proudly. His voice then fell to a more innocent tone, “Do you forgive me though?”
            “Of course I do! As a matter of fact, there is nothing to forgive. If I ever say something like that again do me a favor and ignore it. I really don’t mean it. I’m happy living with the group,” I remarked.
            “Marvelous,” he said excitedly.
            I heard the car doors open and felt the presence of two people. I looked back to see Autumn and Nevada looking lovingly into each others eyes.
            “Ewww, gross! Not in the car,” Cloud said as they were about to kiss.
            “What are you going to do? Kick us out?” Autumn said in a sassy tone.
            “Hmm,” Cloud made it look like he was thinking about it, “I like possibilities.”
            I smacked him very gently. “That’s not nice,” I scolded. “If they leave, I leave,” I said in a tone with finality.
            He looked back at them. “You’re lucky,” he said.
            “Thanks Aurora!” Autumn said pleasantly.
            Cloud started the car and pulled out. I turned around when I was sure he wouldn’t see and twisted my finger around and mouthed, “Wrapped.” Autumn and Nevada started to laugh and I turned around quickly.
            “What was that about?” Cloud asked, clearly jealous to have missed something.
            “Well aren’t we nosy,” Autumn declared. Before he had time to respond Autumn asked, “What are we doing for dinner?”
            “I don’t know,” Cloud answered.
            “Let’s get something at home,” I suggested. I didn’t want Cloud to buy me anything and this was the perfect way to escape it.
            “That sounds good,” Nevada said. “Who’s cooking?” They all looked at me.
            “Yeah, sure,” I said cheerfully since I had gotten my way.
            We drove home discussing our movies. Autumn and Nevada felt the need to re-enact theirs. Cloud looked like he might throw up. When I knew no one was looking I laughed at him quietly. I didn’t mind them doing it, as long as I didn’t see it. I guess seeing and doing were two completely different things.
            The car stopped and I looked around to find out we were in the garage already. I had missed everything anyone said for the last ten minutes of the car ride. I hope nothing important came up. We all got out of the car and went into the breezeway. Suddenly something occurred to me.
            “Where are Nisha and Levon?” I inquired.
            “Oh, that’s right. There are more people than the four of us,” Cloud stated. I stared at him incredulously. “It’s a joke,” he reassured me. “They wanted to go out to eat at some fancy restaurant.”
            “Oh, okay,” I said with a smile. “So what do we want for dinner?”
            “Whatever,” Nevada and Autumn said at the same time. “Jinx! Double Jinx! Triple Jinx! Quadruple-,” they said in unison until Cloud broke it up.
            “Okay! We get it,” he said loudly. We all laughed and went into the kitchen. Autumn and Nevada went upstairs to “change” and Cloud and I were left alone in the kitchen. “What are you making?”
            “I’m not sure. Do you have any requests?” I asked.
            “How about you cook frozen pizza? Or is that too difficult?”
            “I could do that in my sleep, but I do need you to tell me where you hide it,” I stated smiling innocently.
            “I’ll get it. It’s in the down stairs freezer. Wait here,” he ordered.
            “Yes, sir,” I said saluting him. He walked away and was back in no time with the frozen pizza. I preheated the oven and slid the pizza in. “Okay, it will be ready in half an hour,” I said turning around.
            Autumn and Nevada were still no where in sight, but Cloud was leaning against the island watching me. We stared at each other for awhile and I finally gave in. “What’s up?” I asked.
            “Nothing,” he said shrugging. He pushed away from the island and walked into the living room. I wasn’t sure if I should follow or wait for the pizza. I saw Cloud’s head poke out from around the wall. “Coming?”
            “Yeah,” I said while walking towards the living room.
            He was sitting on the recliner and I sat in the middle seat of the three seat couch. He flicked on the TV and started searching for something to watch. “Anything you want to see?” He asked politely.
            “Nothing in particular comes to mind,” I answered as politely as he asked.
            “What about this?” He asked landing on a channel. The show was called Fiends of Daylight. It was a monster truck show and one of my favorite shows.
            “Perfect,” I said enthusiastically. He set the remote down and settled in to watch thirty minutes of monster trucks running over piles of dirt and jumping lines of cars. I couldn’t concentrate on the show. I couldn’t stop thinking about how Cloud and I could be so alike and yet, so different. The oven timer went off.
            “Whoop, whoop,” I said excitedly as I jumped off the couch and ran to check the pizza. I had a haunch that Cloud was looking at me strangely the whole time I was going out of the living room.
            “Where’d that come from?” He asked still in the other room.
            “I don’t know. Random spur of hyper activity, I guess,” I stated back.
            “Is the pizza done?”
            “Yes it is. Will you get Autumn and Nevada?” I asked as I pulled it out of the oven. “Which table will we eat at?”
            “The one in the kitchen,” he said as he started to walk up stairs.
            I cut the pizza and then put a hot pad down on the table and set the hot pan of pizza on it. I set the table for four and waited for them to come down before I got the drinks. I saw Cloud come down the stairs, but didn’t see Autumn or Nevada coming after him.
            “Where are they?” I asked.
            “Well it seems that Autumn is hiding a mini-fridge in her closet. They had hoagies and soda. Now they are asleep,” he informed me.
            “Oh. What do you want to drink?” I asked as I removed two plates and put them away.
            “Iced Tea, please,” he responded while grabbing a slice of pizza.
            “Will do,” I said and got two cups from the cupboard. I filled them with iced tea and set them on the table. I looked at the table to make sure I got everything and then sat down and grabbed a slice of pizza. I was opposite Cloud so we could have a conversation without turning our heads. “What time do you think Levon and Nisha will come back?” I asked casually.
            “When they go out, just the two of them, they are out all hours of the night,” he replied and took a bite of pizza.
            I took a bite of my pizza and chewed it. Cooked frozen pizza wasn’t half bad. I swallowed and then paused to make sure he wouldn’t ask anything while I had my mouth full. I finished my slice of pizza and thought about different things while he ate his second slice.
            “How many boyfriends have you had?” Cloud asked, breaking the silence. He was finished with his second slice and was studying my face.
            “What do you count as a boyfriend?” I answered with my own question.
            “Whatever you count as a boyfriend,” he said.
            I counted in my head. “Two,” I said after double checking to make sure I didn’t miss anyone. “Wow, my life’s pathetic,” I thought to myself.
            “You want to tell me about them?” He asked with curious eyes.
            “Umm, sure. Well, the first one was a guy named Nollin. We were four and neighbors. It didn’t work out. He broke up with me within two days because he saw a cuter girl at the park,” I said while laughing through the last sentence. “The second was a guy named Andrew. We were in first grade and he used me to get back at his kindergarten girlfriend. After that I pretty much gave up on dating,” I ended with a sigh. “What about you?” I inquired.
            “I’ve dated three girls and then gave up as you did. All three of them liked me for my looks and not me. They just wanted me as eye candy and when they found someone better dumped me. I was four, five, and six years old. I was young and stupid,” he finished with a shrug.
            “So because of those three you ‘refuse to throw his life away by wasting time on someone else,’” I stated quoting Autumn.
            “Who told you that?” He laughed.
            “Autumn,” I said surprised he was laughing.
            “I only told that to her because she’s so nosy about my life,” he said still laughing.
            “Oh, that makes sense,” I said joining in with his laughing. I got up and started cleaning up dinner.
            “Why don’t you let me take care of that?” He asked taking the plates from me. “You cooked, I’ll clean up.”
            “Wow. No one’s ever done that for me before,” I said shocked.
            He smiled at me, “I’ll have it done quicker than you can say ‘Fiends of Daylight’. You can try it too.”
            “Fiends of Day-,” I started to say, but he was done. “How did you do that?” I asked amazed.
            “I’m pro,” he said. “Well it’s only nine o’ clock. Now what should we do?”
            “Let’s go swimming,” I suggested.
            “Aren’t you afraid of the dark?” He asked.
            “Please! Night is my favorite time. Night and Winter, that is,” I said reassuring him.
            “Okay then let’s go,” he said enthusiastically.
            I headed to my bedroom and found my swimming suit and towel on my bed. They were both dry and I was grateful for that. I shut my door and changed into my bikini. I was starting to get used to it and Autumn said I didn’t look bad. I trusted her and hoped she was right.
            I walked out the door with my towel in hand and found Cloud at his door. He had a nice six pack and chest. He was very muscular. I never noticed his swimming suit before. I observed it now and it was black with blue Hawaiian flowers on it. It was cute and really brought out his eyes.
            “Ready?” He asked.
            “Yeah,” I replied.
            We walked out to the breezeway and he turned on the porch light so we could see better. We then walked outside and threw our towels over the banister. We went down to the pool and I felt the water. It was surprisingly warm.
            The pool was three feet at the left hand end. It had stairs going into the pool there. At the right hand end, it was eight feet and had a diving board. Cloud went over the diving board and did a perfect dive into the water. I, on the other hand, just walked into the pool.  He came up right in front of my face.
            “Can we talk?” I asked. I saw his face get panicky. “It’s nothing bad,” I hurried to reassure him.
            He looked relieved and said, “Sure.”