Free 18 Truths by Jamie Ayres Page B

couldn’t. Somehow, the truth would change us, and I didn’t want that. “Yeah, mine was about losing you, too.”
    He nodded his head. “I figured as much. It’s our greatest fear, isn’t it?”
    Tears pooled at the corners of my eyes, but of course, he mistook my sadness for another reason. The impulse to kiss him took over. Pulling him onto the bed with me, I enveloped him in a sea of passionate kisses on his mouth and neck before trailing more down his shoulders, arms, and hands. I took in his warmth, his smell, letting his closeness calm me. My hands slipped through his fine hair as he mimicked my path of kisses before kissing my navel again. I flashed him a mischievous smile, beckoning him to come closer with my index finger. He slid on top of me, elbows resting on either side of my shoulders, pressing his forehead to mine.
    “How far do you think we can go before they stop us?” I whispered.
    He gave me a look of pure hunger.
    I licked my lips, and then arched upward, bringing my mouth to his. The spark between us had never felt so strong, and I began to think that maybe emotions came more easily in this realm. I felt like my whole life I’d been riding a bike with training wheels, and now I’d advanced to driving a motorcycle. And our free will still seemed to be intact because nobody stopped him when his hands roamed over my body… and mine his. Except the thought that my impulsiveness was really an evasion, a camouflage for the truth, put an end to what I’d started.
    “I don’t mean to be a party pooper, but maybe this isn’t the best way to prepare for our first assignment.”
    His lips moved against my skin as he spoke. “I know. Maybe it’s how we can celebrate after our first ‘A’ plus?”
    I laughed, something I didn’t think I’d done since arriving at headquarters.
    “Sounds like a plan.” I brushed my cheek lightly against his. “Are you scared about starting our new job?”
    He shrugged. “Kind of, I guess. It has this video game feeling to me, like Zelda when Link is returned to the Temple of Time and meets the mysterious Sheik, who guides Link to rid the five temples of Hyrule from Ganondorf’s monsters and—”
    I held up my free hand and giggled. “You lost me at video game. English, please.”
    A moment of silence followed. “I don’t know how to explain my fears really… but in those games, the storyline makes it so easy for the creators to throw in a twist or two. Because everyone’s thinking, ‘Oh okay, we just have to collect the five elemental gems from the five temples, then we’ll be done,’ but BAM, nuh-uh! You never get past the third temple before there’s a plot twist! So, like, what are those angels gonna throw at Grace and us on her Limbo plane? Riel and Ash are kind of snippy, don’t you think? I get the feeling they don’t particularly like humans, especially Riel, but I always thought angels were like our servants, so that doesn’t make sense.”
    I wanted to tell Nate to shut the hell up, because hello! Certainly, they could hear us with their angel superpowers or whatever. “Maybe that’s why they don’t like humans, because we abuse their help. Anyway, we’re not humans anymore, remember? They probably don’t have human emotions, and perhaps it’s time we stop thinking like humans, too. Look toward them as a good example.”
    He wet his lips and gave a jerky nod of assent. “Yeah, but to me, just the fact they’re more powerful and more intelligent means they have less vulnerabilities and makes them emotionally different than us. Oh man, I hope there’s a killer battle between the demons and the angels or some junk like that during our assignment! That would be so cool to watch. Like something out of the movies!”
    Punching his shoulder, I shouted, “Nate! Remember what Dr. Judy said? Don’t tempt the demons like that.”
    “Fine, fine.”
    I stared at him, not in the least bit amused but unable to stay upset with him for even a