Free Intrinsical by Lani Woodland

curled on his face. “I see.”
    “ You see what?”
    “ More than you probably want me to.”
    “ You two look cozy,” Cherie said. I hadn’t realized how close I had moved toward him while we were talking, and I scooted away from him. “What are you two whispering about over there?”
    I’ve always thought fast on my feet and I smoothly lied. “I was asking Brent how Gifted and Talented P.E. went.”
    Brent smiled into his napkin. “Nice,” he muttered under his breath. He raised his voice so our friends could hear as his face drew into a painful grimace. “Torture! How was remedial P.E., Yara?”
    “ Um . . . better than torturous. So . . . good, I guess.”
    The conversation was soon filled from all three of them detailing the horror of how Mr. Molter, the cross-country coach, had pushed the runners beyond what they thought possible.
    “ So, why don’t you join the team?” Brent asked, only half-joking.
    “ Besides the fact you three make it sound like so much fun?” I paused for comedic timing before answering honesty. “I never really thought of it as an option.”
    “ Why?”
    “ I’m not a very fast runner,” I said.
    “ Have you ever heard the expression ‘slow and steady wins the race’?”
    I laughed. “I have, but I’ve actually found that statement to be false. I’ve raced a hare.” I motioned toward Cherie. “And the tortoise” I pointed to myself. “Always comes in last.”
    “ So are you on any sports teams?” Brent asked, pushing around the vegetables on his plate with a fork.
    “ I have found that most teams appreciate my lack of membership. I do love sports, but I’m not a practicing participant
    of organized sports.”
    “ Organized sports? Is that similar to organized religion?”
    “ Hey, I won’t question your beliefs if you don’t question mine, all right?”
    “ Okay,” he laughed, raising his hands in defeat.
    “ And it may be totally lame, but I’m actually liking Social Dance.”
    Brent eyed me carefully. “Well, not totally lame , but—”
    I threw my napkin at him. “Shut up!”
    “ Temper, temper,” he chided, lifting his eyebrows with a smile.
    I pointedly moved my chair closer to Cherie and talked to her through the rest of dinner.
    ****
    On the way back to our dorm, Brent walked slowly beside me, while Steve and Cherie hurried ahead. The space between Brent and I was almost five feet wide; people probably wouldn’t even guess we were technically together. A tense silence crackled between us and it was clawing angrily at my nerves.
    Brent started to snicker and I turned to see what was so funny. “To think you couldn’t even get through a single meal without throwing something at me.”
    I knew he was baiting me but this time I refused to get tangled in the hook. “So let’s hear the speech I’m sure you’ve prepared.”
    Brent put his thumbs through his belt loops and rocked on his heels. “You need to learn to control your astral projection.”
    I brought my fingers to his lips, enjoying for a split second the feeling of his breath on my skin. “Shh. Not out here, someone might hear.” Grabbing his arm, I dragged him into a dark alcove in the stone wall for some privacy.
    “ If you wanted to get me alone, you only had to ask,” he said with a wink.
    “ I just couldn’t control myself,” I deadpanned, letting go of his arm. “I just don’t want anyone to overhear this conversation.”
    Brent took a few steps back and rested his shoulder against the wall farthest from me. “I’m sure this is all a little bit startling to you, but you do need some help. It’ll be better than you floundering around alone in this.”
    “ Why?” I asked, fidgeting with the buttonhole on my sweater.
    “ There is so much to tell you . . .” His voice trailed off, his head cocked to the side, listening. “Someone’s coming.” In two large steps he was very close to me again. His citrusy musk cologne enveloped me, and my spine melted as I