Simmer by Kaitlyn Davis Page A

That
sounded like the strangest environment ever.
    "You grow up a lot faster," Vanessa said,
"knowing that you have a higher purpose and all. I mean, by the
time I graduated, I knew how to, I don't know, treat my best friend
with respect for example." She stared pointedly at Kira.
    "No," Kira said under her breath, "I think
you learned how to be a total bit—"
    "Okay!" Luke interjected from the front seat.
"Let's make peace, not war people."
    Kira crossed her arms and looked out the
window, letting an uncomfortable silence form in the car. The only
sounds were the purring engine and the wind in the trees outside.
There weren't even people or other cars to distract anyone.
    "Where are we going?" Casey said. Her face
was bright red from blushing.
    At that exact moment, Kira's phone buzzed.
She flipped it open and quickly read the text.
    "It's Tristan. He said he would meet us on
the road?" Kira said aloud, finally breaking her silence.
    Luke just nodded.
    "Who's Tristan?" Casey asked.
    Kira and Luke answered at the exact same
time.
    "Our informant."
    "My boyfriend."
    Their eyes met in the rearview mirror, but
Kira pulled hers away quickly.
    "Wait, your boyfriend is involved in all of
this? How? He's not a conduit, is he?" Vanessa questioned, sitting
tall now that her curiosity was piqued.
    "No," Kira laughed. As far from it as you can
possibly get, she thought, but instead replied, "he just knows a
lot about this stuff."
    "How?" Vanessa pressed the issue.
    "Oh, you'll see," Luke said.
    Kira couldn't tell if he was disgusted or
laughing at the thought. But, she didn't mind. She did wonder why
he wasn't telling the girls what Tristan was — why he wasn't
preparing them. But, that was his call.
    Kira looked out the window and tried to keep
her legs from bouncing too much. She was excited, so much that she
couldn't contain it. The best she could do was look the other way
at the trees flying by and hope she was covering her glee with an
appearance of boredom.
    Was it completely crazy to be so excited to
see your boyfriend when it really had only been two and a half
days? No, she decided. Not when the last time you had seen him, you
had both been running for your lives.
    "Hey Kira?" She turned at Luke's voice. "When
Tristan said he would meet us on the road, did he mean literally on
the road?"
    "I don't know..." Kira said and followed
Luke's pointing finger to a black blob in the distance. It
definitely looked like someone standing on the side of the road.
Kira dug her hands into the chair, hoping it was him.
    Luke started to slow down and as they
approached, Kira could clearly make out the swoopy black hair and
pale skin she knew belonged to Tristan. His tall, muscular frame
was hidden behind dark-washed jeans and a black t-shirt, but his
eyes were on the car.
    "Luke! Don't stop!" Vanessa jerked her
brother's shoulder. "Do you know what that is?"
    "Luke!" Casey yelled at the same time. She
started rolling down her window, preparing to fire a shot. Luke
stopped her when Kira didn't bother to interject. She was already
unbuckling her seatbelt and grasping the handle. Pushing the door
open, she ignored the shocked cries of the girls in the car and the
darkening look on Luke's face.
    Before Kira had time to fully stand up,
Tristan's arms were around her. His hands pulled her firmly against
his hard chest, and all she wanted to do was hold on tight and
never let go.
     
     
     
    Chapter
Seven
     
    Kira completely forgot about the three
conduits in the car when Tristan cupped her face with his palms and
kissed her. It was short, too short, but strong and full of
passion, sending a lively bunch of butterflies right into the pit
of her stomach and an electric jolt down her spine.
    She wished she could say she had been the one
to end it, for Luke's benefit or the sake of the two jaw-dropped
conduit girls, but it was Tristan who cut the kiss short as per
usual. He pulled off modern teenager very well, but he was still in
a lot of ways a