Dangerous Light

“So, where are your friends?” Amelia questions her daughter as she leans up against the driver’s door of her rental car.

Crossing her arms, Athena shrugs meekly. “According to what Jordan said, they’re golfing until about noon today. We’re all probably gonna hang out after that. They leave tonight.”

“Oh,” the older woman’s lips purse as her eyebrows rise slightly, “that’s unfortunate.”

Biting her lip, Athena leans against the passenger door of her car. “Yeah, tell me about it.”

“When are you leaving?”

Athena runs a hand through her hair, “I’m looking at a flight for next weekend. Just to give me time to tie up my loose ends here.”

“That’s a good idea,” Amelia nods. “But I told you that I handled everything with Gram.”

“I know. But, I have my apartment, and car and stuff.”

The dark cloud, full of awkwardness and tension, lingers over the two blonde women.

“Have you called your father yet?”

Athena feels a knife cut into the tension surrounding them, “not yet.”

“So you’re just gonna show up on his door step in Thunder Bay and hope he doesn’t turn you away?”

Athena smirks, “he’s not gonna turn me away, Mom.”

Crossing her thin arms, the older woman licks her lips. “I don’t want to see you get hurt, Athena.”

“Dad would never intentionally hurt me, Mom.”

Nodding, Amelia looks down at her feet. “Just be careful, okay?”

“I’m always careful,” Athena smirks, sheepishly shrugging her shoulders.

“Give me a hug. I’ve gotta be to the airport in 20 minutes.”

Well, Athena’s breath silently catches in her throat when her mother’s firm breasts press into her upper chest, this isn’t awkward at all.

After pulling away, Athena forces a smile, “text me when you get home. Just so I know you made it okay.”

“Yes, dear.”

Leaning back against her car, Athena smiles sadly as her mother climbs into her rental. Tapping her nails against her own car, Athena watches as her mother’s vehicle backs out of the parking space and drives away. When the car is pulling out of the parking lot, Athena slowly moves away from the passenger door. Under her breath, she mutters, “love you, too.”



“I need these shipped,” Athena speaks to the young man behind the counter as she pushes the two boxes forward.

The young man blinks, mouth wide open. “What exactly are you shipping in those?”

“Clothes and other personal stuff,” Athena shrugs, one of her hands on top the two stacked boxes. “Why?”

Blinking, the brunette man shakes his head. “Those are just, uh, big boxes. Like, moving boxes, or something.”

Athena shrugs, pushing them of them forward. “Well, I’m moving. So, all of my stuff has to get there somehow, right?”

The young man helps her pull the first box onto the counter and pulls it onto the scale. After punching some of the buttons on his keyboard with one finger, he slaps a freshly printed sticker on the box and repeats the same process with the second box. “Would you like insurance on these packages?”

“Yes. And notification of their delivery, please.”

The young man types the information into the computer and sighs, shaking his head. “Jesus Christ, lady, you’d be better off just putting this stuff in suitcases and flying with it.”

“No, I wouldn’t. Those prices are going up, too.” Athena crosses her arms, staring at the employee’s bloodshot, hazel eyes.

“Your total is $350.45.”

Handing four large bills to the young man, Athena does not even bat an eyelash. Accepting her change, she gives the man a smile. “Have a good day.”

“Yeah, you too.” He mumbles, glancing at her boxes with a sneer on his face.

As soon as Athena steps outside of the shipping center, her phone begins to ring. She digs it out of her purse, and answers it. “Yes?”

“Hey,” Jordan’s loud voice comes over the telephone, sounding awfully cheerful. “What are you up to?”

Athena slowly walks toward her car, “I’m heading home right now. What are you guys doing?”

“We’re on our way back from the golf course. Guys wanted me to call you and see what you have planned for us today.”

Biting her lip, Athena looks around. “I, uh, wasn’t aware I was in charge of planning.”

“You know this city better than any of us,” Jordan chuckles, “surely you’ll come up with something.”

A muffled voice sounds from Jordan’s end of the line, and Athena strains to hear it.

“Max wants me to remind you that we all have to be to the airport by eight tonight.”

Resting the back of her wrist against her slightly damp forehead, Athena takes a deep breath. “Did you guys have anything in mind for tonight?”

A noise comes across the line as Athena crosses the parking lot to get to her vehicle, quickly climbing into the car and starting it up to crank the air.

“Ma belle,” Max says after clearing his throat.

The young blonde woman chuckles, more to herself. “Max.”

“I was thinking we could do something a bit more low key. Jordan and I have seen the crazy side of Vegas; we’d like to see the calmer side.”

Nodding to herself, Athena bites her lip. “Did you have anything specific in mind?”

“Think about if you were to try to wine and dine me, ma belle. Where would you take me?”

Two loud, and static, noises meet Athena’s ear. She winces and pulls the phone away to look at it.



“Gimme that phone back, Talbot.” Jordan grumbles, attempting the snatch his cell phone back from the man driving the rental car.

“I’m not even done talking to her,” Max reluctantly surrenders the device to the fussy Staal sitting behind the passenger seat.

Sidney looks over at Max, not saying a word.

“Oh, you’re mad at me, too?”

Shaking his head, Sidney turns back to the road. The captain speaks quietly, “it’s not what you said, Max. It’s how you said it. And I’m nowhere near as upset as Jordan is.”

Jordan leans in between the two seats, phone still stuck to his ear, “you know I can hear you, right?”

Sidney smirks, looking over his shoulder at his friend. “Yeah. I wasn’t trying to hide anything from you.”

With a huff, Jordan leans back into his seat, “I’ll call you later, Athena.”