Accidents Happen

“Fiona, meet Jack, Nicholas, and Bradford.” Gavin introduced, pointing to each well muscled guy.

“And this is Annabelle, Lizzie, and Luna Mae.” I mocked, rolling my eyes. “Now if we’re done being kindergarten teachers, I’m starved.”

“Let me get the pic-a-nic basket out of my car.” Jack said, doing an awful Yogi impression.

“I’ll go come with you. I left the Frisbee and stuff in your car.” Bradford called after him, jogging to catch up. I almost laughed at how Abercrombie they looked with their polo shirts and cargo shorts. It’s almost like they called each other last night, twirling their hair like a bunch of girls while they coordinated.

“So.” Nicholas said, rocking on his feet, hands deep in his pockets.

“Hey Fiona, can I talk to you for a second?” Gavin asked, motioning for me to follow him. He lead me over to the corner of the pavilion we were under. “Are you feeling better today? Was it just like a 24 hour flu or something?”

“I’m not sure.” I shrugged. “I’m feeling better today though. Don’t worry about me.”

“I just didn’t want to ask in front of everyone because I didn’t want them getting the wrong idea.” He explained.

“What’s the wrong idea?”

“That I gave you something from, you know. It was a stupid though, never mind.” He turned away, walking back to the group. They were setting up a table cloth on the wooden table, spreading out the food that everyone had contributed.

“Alright, let’s dig in!” Bradford announced, rubbing his hands together.

I took a seat, Luna Mae plopping on one side of me and Nicholas on the other. I watched as Gavin’s expression changed from happy to pouting while he went to the other side, sitting between Annabelle and Lizzie. It was hilarious.

Never mind him, I thought, grabbing a plate for myself and piling all the delicious food I could fit onto it. Luna Mae did the same, grinning at me as we dug in.

“You know, I like a girl with a good appetite.” Nicholas whispered in my ear. I wanted to slap him for that, but I restrained. If these were Gavin’s friends, they were my friends. I peered over at him and he looked like he was silently fuming. Must’ve been another stick up that ass of his.

***

“I’m open!” Jack shouted at me, motioning me to throw the Frisbee to him. I wasn’t sure exactly what we were playing, but it was some sort of Frisbee keep-away game. Either way, my new ballet flats were long discarded in the pavilion.

I tossed Jack the Frisbee, making it soar into the sunset. He jumped up and caught it though, tossing it to Bradford.

“I got it!” I yelled when he threw it back in my direction. In all my concentration on catching the flying disk, I forgot to check my footing. And I fell, hard. I felt my cheek dig into the ground, as well as my shoulder.

I pushed myself back up, spitting a clod of dirt out of my mouth, shivering from the taste. “Are you okay?” Luna Mae was the first one to my side. She began brushing the dirt off my back and shoulder while I scrubbed my face with my hands, watching the grains fly.

“Come with me, I’ve got handy wipes in my car.” Nicholas said, offering me a hand. I took it and he pulled me up, grasp still firm on my hand when I was all balanced on my feet.

“Thanks.” I said, mustering as smile as I yanked my hand from his grip.

“That’s okay. I like my girls feisty.” He smirked, referring to my actions. Those words, where had I heard those before? I shivered. Gideon.

I stopped in my tracks, trying to catch my breath. Memories flooded in, making it almost impossible to breathe. It was almost like he knew. But he couldn’t have, right? I slapped a hand to my forehead. Of course not, Gideon wouldn’t tell anyone. He was the criminal here.

“Are you okay?” Nicholas asked, coming back to my side. He placed a warm hand on my shoulder, but he made it feel a little invasive.

“I’m fine. Let’s go.” I replied, jerking from under his hand.

“Whoa, whoa. I’m not sure what I did wrong here, but I think I deserve to know. ‘Specially if you want to use my handy wipes.” He raised an eyebrow, blocking me from going any further.

I heaved a sigh, calming myself down. “You just reminded me of someone I really don’t like.” I explained. “And that thing earlier, when you got really close and whispered in my ear? Yeah, that bothered me too. Next time you want a girl, try not coming on so strongly.”

He ran a hand through his hair, looking up at the pink sky. “How about we start over?” He thrust a hand in my direction. “Hi, I’m Nicholas.”

“You pretty boys think you can get away with anything, don’t you?” I chuckled, slapping his hand away. “One more chance. Even though I’m not interested.”

“I’ll take it.” He nodded, motioning me to his car. He opened the door, digging around inside until he found what he was looking for, popping back out with a tube of handy wipes. He popped the top, offering it to me. I took a wipe, scrubbing the dirt off my arms and legs. “You missed a spot.” He informed, taking a wipe for himself.

I just stared as his hand came closer and closer to my face, gently caressing with the wipe. The air around us began to smell like lemon, whirling around as the wind whipped. I realized how gentle Nicholas was being and I decided that maybe he wasn’t so bad after all.