Male Narrator

Koda POV: A few steps away from the stall, I gather up the remnants of my common sense, trying to calm my heart. Summer pinches me in the side when she finds her way back to me. “Well, are you going to give me my flowers or not?” She has a smirk and cocked her hip out, just enough to show she is putting on a show of being petulant. I cup her cheek with my free hand before pulling her into a hug. “Hi.” I croak out. Summer chuckles a bit and just says, “Hi,” back into my neck. The brush of her lips is electrifying as she voices the simple word. My body shivers as it tries to release every desire I had just shoved into a box. Taking one step back I lift the flowers between us. “Wow, Koda. This is beautiful. You arranged this yourself?” Summer scans the flowers, smiling softly. “I did a good job?” “I would certainly say so!” “Perfect. Obviously these are for you, but we now need to take a selfie so I can send it to Gerba.” Summer rolls her eyes playfully and pulls us further out of the main walkway. “Made quite an impression, did she?” “Wanted to help me woo my woman. I fear she may actually just appear at my door one day if I don’t update her on my progress.” “Woo - what?” Summer’s face is clouded with confusion. Not letting her focus too much on that comment yet, I swing her around in front of me. I stand behind her, lifting my arms around her, phone at the ready. Summer turns her head to me right as I am about to rest it on her shoulder. Her breath mingles with mine, her lips mere centimeters from mine. “What… what is this, Koda?” It is the smallest of whispers. She’s so close. The compulsion surges through me to take her by the face and consume her. To let her overtake my soul. Tucking a windblown caramel lock of hair behind her ear, I try not to let my hand tremble too visibly. Then I pinch her chin, turning her back towards the phone. My voice refuses to release my confession while looking at her. Barely above a whisper, “Wooing. And hoping to the Fates that I didn’t wait too long to realize I wanted to.” From the phone screen I see Summer’s eyes widen slightly. “Smile, honey.” I whisper. Testing out the endearment brings us both back to reality. The word tastes funny, and Summer’s small scowl before smiling gives away her feelings on it also. That one is out.

Dune POV: Koda puts a hand to my chest before I can follow Summer into the house. “You need to wipe that look off your face. Now.” I physically take a step back at Koda’s bluntness. “What the hell are you talking about, Koda?” “You. Left. Her. Now take that look of longing and put it back in whatever box you need to.” “Koda, what is this about? So what if I realize how much I missed her? Am I not allowed to regret my choices?” Why am I fighting him? I need to use her for information. That does not require me to fight him on … whatever this is. “You broke her when you left. I had to pick up the pieces and glue her back together. If you think I am going to give you the chance to break her again… you are severely mistaken. I am glad you both are open to trying to be friends again. But lock that shit down because you are not hurting her again.” Koda punctuates the last six words to hammer in his point. I rub at my chest. The words clang around my soul. Not that I hurt her by leaving. Not that she missed me. That I broke her. I stare at my friend, wondering what he saw and how he stayed friends with me after. I push the boy that loved Summer back into the box I try to keep him in. Koda clocks the motion of my hand and I stop.

Aaron/ Rune POV: “Which device did they start at?” I attempt to keep the concern from my tone. Jeff must not buy it though.When the man doesn’t answer immediately I turn to look at him. The color drains from Jeff’s face. “Just spit it out already.” “It’s… they jumped on via your laptop’s IP address.” “Mine?” Jeff falters, “Yes, uh yes sir.” It’s as if a lightning bolt just hit the worry off my shoulders. The weight of it immediately shattered. A maniacal smile spreads across my face. Jeff takes a step back. I try and fail to reign it in. He is newer to this post, and after the last couple weeks, my behavior has been less than ideal. Ornery and short. But this… this news is the best I’ve received in weeks. Now I know exactly what she is distracted by. “Let me know once she gets close.” “She?” “Yes, she. It seems that Summer Chase has figured out that someone is using her classes and webinars for their own purposes. I imagine she will only let me continue to attend her classes until either she tracks me down, or until this class ends.” I go back to my office with just the slightest of skips in my step. Deep in my soul, there has always been a hunch that she would eventually find my registrations. Some might argue I wanted her to find them. If not, I would have taken more care in randomizing my actions. Then she may never have found me. She never could have shown her cards - she is looking for something. This is my favorite type of race. I only have two weeks left watching her with anonymity. Two weeks to figure out how to find a way to get in front of her. Such a limited time to find out why she would be looking into my registration? What would prompt her to research it? Does she know about the power wielding humans? What is making her tick? I start planning ways to get in front of her as she stares into her camera and into my soul. “I can’t wait to finally meet you, Summer Chase.”