Goddess Secret by M. W. Muse

the truth is that I think River is the one who’s blinded by feelings. He’s the one that doesn’t make the best judgment calls because he lets his emotions control his actions.”
    “It sounds to me like you’re referring to something specific.”
    She sighed. “River sort of hit on me yesterday.”
    Calli’s eyes got really big. “What did he do?”
    “Umm…he wanted to show me something. One of his abilities. He said he was thinking about me the other day and felt tremors. But instead of thinking about me to generate the tremors yesterday, he wrapped his arms around me. Of course my heartbeat picked up, so when he finished showing me the tremors, he had to comment about that.”
    “Legacy, he hugs you all the time.”
    “I know, but yesterday was different. He thinks there’ll come a time when I’ll want him to cross the boundaries that I put up.”
    “What do you think?”
    “I just don’t want him making passes at me. I need him to be a friend. I don’t want anything more from him.”
    “Then maybe you should tell him this. The fact that he makes the earth move just by thinking about you is pretty significant.”
    “I have told him this on several occasions. How many times do I need to tell him to back the hell off?”
    “As many times as it takes.”
    Legacy sighed and turned back around. Calli was right. Legacy would talk to River.
    The rest of the morning, she thought about the conversation she needed to have with him. She had hoped that she’d be able to save it for after school, but by the time lunch rolled around and she finished eating, apparently River couldn’t take the silent treatment anymore.
    He leaned over to her ear, but she wasn’t looking at him. She was talking to Calli on the other side of her. “Can I talk to you outside?”
    She slowly turned her head in his direction to look him in the eyes. They were pleading with her, so she sighed and nodded. No time like the present.
    He stood up first, pulling her chair out for her. She rolled her eyes at this gesture, and Calli saw her. Her BFF half-smiled at her as she got up.
    They walked outside, and River leaned against a tree with his arms crossed. She stood a few feet in front of him, mirroring his posture. She stared at him, waiting for him to speak. She wasn’t going to be the first one to start.
    “I’m sorry,” River whispered as he shut his eyes and bowed his head.
    She continued staring at him without saying anything. The submissive gesture was too little too late. He looked up and sighed when he saw that her stern expression was still clearly evident.
    “Legacy, I’m really sorry. I had no right to talk about Adin like that. He is who he is, and I am who I am. Everyone is different, and he certainly is within his right to do whatever he wants. I’m sure he has his reasons, and if you understand what those reasons are, then that’s all that matters to me.”
    “I’m not going to keep fighting with you about Adin.”
    “You won’t have to. I’m going to try harder at respecting your relationship with him.” River stepped forward and reached for her arm. “Just please don’t be mad at me anymore.”
    “Stop!” She shoved her arm out from under his hand as she stepped away from him. “You have to stop treating me like I’m more than just a friend.”
    River’s eyebrows furrowed and he shook his head. “What are you talking about?”
    “You shouldn’t have held me like that yesterday. I know you didn’t have to in order to show me the tremors, and as soon as you got finished showing me your ability, you got mad about Adin. That wasn’t the first time that we’ve had a close encounter that resulted in you asserting your feelings for me. You did the same thing over the summer after we looked for Calli’s dog!”
    “Legacy, you know how I feel about you.”
    “And you know how I feel about you.”
    “I think you’re confused.”
    “Ugh! You are such a self-righteous prick! You know what? Forget