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I had no idea what to say to that.

“Um...”

“I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”

“You didn’t, I’m just not good at this,” I admitted feeling even more blush creeping up.
“At what?”

“At...you know. Anything.” I laughed. “I have no idea how to handle these situations.”

“What situations are these?” he asked, his eyes following every move my face made making it impossible to look away or escape the depth of those penetrating and honest eyes.

“Well, you know, uh, dating situations.”

“Are we dating? Is that what this is?”
I looked at him and he was completely serious. He had no idea about any of this any more than I did. With Matt he was so sure of himself and he dominated everything in our relationship, I didn’t have to think or act or make decisions. He did it all for me. He never even asked me if I wanted to be exclusive. It was implied by him and I didn’t think to disagree. Now, I didn’t know how to proceed.

“Um, I don’t know. I have no idea what this is. Dating doesn’t sound like it covers it to me,” I confessed softly.

“Do you like it?” he asked just as softly. “Do you like what’s going on with us?”

“Yes. I like it a lot.” As I spoke he grabbed my hand, which I’d forgotten was still touching him, and pulled it gently from his shirt and brought it down beside us lacing his fingers with mine. “Do you?”

“This is more than I ever hoped for.” He watched our hands as he spoke and he laced and unlaced our fingers over and over. “I have no idea what I’m doing but I love spending time with you,” he confessed and smiled wistfully.

“You’re doing everything exactly right,” I assured him. “I don’t want you to feel like you have to try to be something you’re not.”

“And I don’t want you to feel pressured.” He straightened his back and looked suddenly serious. “Just because I...have certain feelings for you doesn’t mean that you have to return them.”

“I know that. I like you. You’re not like any guy I’ve ever met.”

“Well, I’m
not
like any guy you’ve met,” he said wistfully and managed a small chuckle.

“And I’m happy about that.”

I smiled and looked at him until he smiled too. I pulled my hands free and put my arms around his neck. His arms hugged me tightly and even lifted my toes from the floor a little. His hair tickled my arms and for some reason the smell of his soap and sweat on the skin of his neck was doing funny things to my senses. How had I dated someone for five months and never gotten goose bumps or butterflies... and never thought that was weird?

Our body’s grooves fit together all the way up and I couldn’t stop the thought of some girly notion about us being made for each other. It made me smile wider thinking about it and then l felt his breath in my hair, the tingles and goose bumps cascaded down my spine along with his warm hands.

When he placed me to my feet again he looked at me for a moment before smiling crookedly like he could read all my thoughts. He pulled his hands from my hips, reaching for my hand once more and tugged me to follow him.

“Hungry?” he asked grinning and I couldn’t help but feel a little smug for putting that goofy gorgeous grin on his face.

“Starved.”

“Maybe I can cook something for you this time.”

“What can you cook?”

“Canned soup?” he mused.

“You’re as bad as Danny,” I laughed and nudged him with my shoulder to ensure that he knew I was joking. “I’ll handle the snack this time. But you owe me, mister.”

“Anything,” he answered firmly and my heart skidded once again, because he was completely telling the truth.

As the same annoying cackle filled the stale air, I couldn’t help but think that Polly and Piper were the strangest people I had met so far. They both had an Amazon women stature going and not only was Polly loud and dramatic, did I mention I hate drama, but they also insisted on being the center of everything.

Polly is tall for a teenager, really tall and Zena looking. Black hair down past her shoulder blades, that matched her shiny black knee high leather boots and a very curvy body. Piper, who’s tall body looked to be about fifteen or sixteen, had black hair too. Short, straight and flat with sharp slanted bangs, very slim but curvy and her green eyes were anything but inviting.

These days even Piper, a Keeper no less, was getting on my nerves for a reason that didn’t have to do with Merrick for a change. I guess she made herself honorary house mother and Polly was Mrs. Underground USA. It was like they were made to be Keeper and Special together.

The amount of orders and chore changes and food disagreements that came out of those two teenage mouths was astonishing. Not to mention the fact that Polly was a vegetarian, which I have no problem with, but how would we know to pack more vegan foods for an alien invasion and why was it all of a sudden our fault?

Her latest disagreement was about there not being any Crystal Light and the water was too stale to drink straight from the pipes.

The end of the world as we knew it. The old ‘can’t we all just get along?’ saying wouldn’t stop playing in my head. Celeste said it best one night after a particularly heinous kitchen meeting.

“Those two are dangerously persnickety.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

That night started normal enough, I had planned to hit the sack early since we were getting an early start for the store trip the next morning. Danny wasn’t on his cot yet so he must have been out wandering the halls with Celeste. Where was Margo with all this going on? Shouldn’t her mother care, like me? I want Danny to be happy, I do, but I just felt like they were only taking to each other because there was no one else.

Celeste is gorgeous, and Danny, though he’s my brother, was handsome. Eeew. Under normal circumstances they would’ve been attracted to each other anyway. I guess maybe I should ease up.

There was a commotion that drew me from my white sterile room, before I could lay down for the night. I exited thinking it was someone fighting over the last cereal bar but it was Celeste, lying on the floor, not breathing. A few faceless people were standing over her, her mother nor any of the Keepers being one of them.

Danny’s face was sheet white as he kneeled beside her, looking clueless and helpless. I ran over, wondering why no one had started CPR yet. Shock? How long had she been out? What happened?

I grabbed her neck, tilting it up, and pushing Danny, him falling back on the floor in the process, to reach her. Someone screamed and that sent everyone out of their rooms to see what was going on. I blocked them out and focused.

I blew into her bluish mouth, holding her nose and turning to listen. Then I pushed down on her chest four hard quick times and I blew in her mouth again and listened. I kept repeating the process.

I glanced up quickly to see Kay looking stricken and pale as I kneeled over her charge. She was wringing her hands and leaning in to watch me.

I also heard Polly whimpering and no doubt in my mind her untimely screech of a scream was the one that summoned all the extra bodies that were now my audience. I heard her as I tried to concentrate.

“Are you sure you’re doing it right? It doesn’t seem to be working. Maybe you should let someone else take over, Sherry. Maybe you don’t know how to do it,” she whined as she wrung her hands and swayed side to side like she has some kinda emotional investment in Celeste and should care more than the rest of us. “She’s gonna die.”

I’d had enough.

“Just shut up, Polly!” I heard my voice along with a couple others echoing the same or similar sentiment, glad I wasn’t the only one needing her to pipe down.

I heard other whimpers and gasps behind me but I didn’t turn too see. I was surprised I even remembered how to do it. Babysitting as a teen required taking a safety class, CPR included. This was the first time I’d ever had to use it and now I was wondering if
was
doing it right because, well, she was still not breathing.

After the seventh time of compressions she coughed back to life and a piece of something green fell out of her mouth to the floor. I leaned back on my heels with relief.

Danny was right there, saying her name and holding her hand. Had I not been watching them close enough? They looked more serious than I thought. Or maybe he was just being generally concerned. Although, being locked in passionate embraces in the hallway could constitute as serious.

Her lips were still blue but her color was coming back in her cheeks from white to peachy. Eyes still red and teary.

Margo rounded the corner with a wide look of grief and terror at the scene. It appeared Susan had run and gotten her for which I was grateful. Margo grabbed Celeste up from the floor by her wrists and hugged her, running her hand down Celeste’s hair, crying so hard, sobbing, while Celeste explained that she was ok.

When I tried to get up was when I realized the crowd around us.

Merrick, who wasn’t among the crowd before, helped me up by lifting my arm at the elbow, but then he slid his hand down my arm to grab my hand, and didn’t let go. I didn’t look up at his face behind me, I just knew it was him by his familiar warmth and tingle.

We all stood there for a minute and waited for Celeste and Margo to catch their breath.

“I’m sorry,” Celeste breathed and whimpered. “I was running and my candy...”

“It’s ok now. It’s over,” Danny assured her, petting her hair though she was still in her mother’s arms. “Sherry gave her CPR. She saved her life.”

Jeez, Danny. A simple “she’s alive” would have sufficed. He was looking at Margo, wanting her to know that I had been the one. He could have let her mother think that he had been the one. I was perfectly fine with that.

“Oh, Sherry!” Celeste screamed, leaping her tall body from her mother and throwing her arms around my neck, pushing me backwards. Merrick steadied me with his free hand on my back. “Sherry, I owe you my life! I can’t believe you did that!”

“It’s fine, Celeste, really. Let’s not make a big deal out of this, ok.”

Did I know Celeste was the type to not let things go? Yes. Yes, I did.

“Are you kidding?! We are so gonna be besties! I’ll be like your indentured servant. Anything you need, just ask. I can’t believe this, Sherry!”

“Celeste, please. Anyone would have done that, ok? We can be...besties, whatever that is. That’ll be plenty payment for me.”

Margo eyed me with tears still streaming. She reached over and threw her arms around Celeste, who’s arms were still around me. They were squeezing so tight and I looked around for someone to think it was as strange as I did and help but everyone just smiled at me.

Susan even had tears in her eyes. Gah! I couldn’t even help someone without being thrust into some spotlight-o-drama that was never intended for me.

As Margo and Celeste backed away slowly, Kay who had been standing silently this whole time, wrapped her arm around Celeste’s shoulder and whispered something in her ear, then looked up to me.

“Thank you, Sherry.”

I nodded. It looked as though they’d all regrouped and were calm but everyone still stared at me, smiling and the unwelcome silence and attention was everywhere.

I could feel my cheeks coloring now, as that embarrassing betraying deep color of red spread across my face and down my neck, as I flicked my gaze back and forth, looking for an out. That was the response Celeste was looking for and once again leapt at me for another embrace. Celeste had almost a foot on me, so every time she jumped with a thank you, I got a chest full on my face.

This time, she knocked me slam into Merrick who still stood behind me, him having to catch us from falling backward. Even though Merrick’s hand grabbed my hip in the process, I was begging inside for this to be over.

“Ok. Ok,” I breathed.

Thankfully Calvin came bolting down the hall to save me.

“Celeste? Celeste! Are you ok?”

Without looking to see that sweet reunion I turned to flee from my prying onlookers. I realized after all that, Merrick was still holding my hand and was now being towed by me.

As I made a break away from Celeste and towards my room, I didn’t remember him gasping or acting funny when he grabbed my hand nor when we fell into him. Of course it was loud out there what with the shrillest thank you’s I had ever received.

I pulled him into my room and shut the door, leaning against it, him in front of me.

“Ah! That was terrible. Who knew saving someone was so much work. The thank you was worse then the actual saving,” I laughed, breathlessly.

He smiled, amused but wouldn’t stop staring.

“What?” I said, finally catching my breath somewhat.

“You’re just...amazing. Is there anything you can’t do?”

“Reach the spice rack?” I said with a bashful grin.

He chuckled and lifted his hand still intertwined with mine and brought it up to trace my jaw line with his fingers. And there went my calm breaths as I felt a spark of something, electricity. I took my free hand, bringing it up to his forearm, and leaned in just a little. He tensed a tad, but didn’t seem to hyperventilate. Or was he just getting use to me? I decided to ask him.

“Are you ok with this? Am I losing my touch?” I asked and laughed a short breathy laugh as I moved my palm up and down his forearm slowly.

“Under control.” He chuckled and swallows. “That feels...amazing,” he said, eyes closed like he was savoring it, his fingers still moving up and down my jaw.

“What brought all this on? The control?” I said but my voice squeaks.

“I just try to focus, think of you and not lose my heart in my throat, seems to be working. Practice, I guess.” He chuckled. “What brought all
this
on?” Same question, different meaning as he looked up to see my response.

“I don’t know,” I spouted, wetting my lips in nervousness. His eyes jump to the movement and then back to my eyes. “I’ve just begun to realize some things.”

I thought back to the times before, the times I thought it was rejection when it was anything but. It hurt me to think that but why? Because I wanted to touch him and I wanted him to like it? I thought back to how my heart fluttered when he looked at me. How he was so fascinated when he was lacing our fingers earlier, and how much I loved that look on his face.