26. Stargazing

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We went back to Randall’s house and watched a movie on the big television in their living room. No one was there except for us and we spent little time actually watching the movie, most of it spent fooling around on the couch. His lips found all my ticklish spots and I would squirm and laugh. I got my revenge and tickled him until he begged for mercy. By then, he was shirtless and we were off the couch and on the carpet. He was rolling away from me, trying to escape, when his mom walked in.

I immediately stopped and checked myself, making sure I still had all my clothes on. I blushed, embarrassed by the situation. She looked over to Randall, lying there, panting, his face red from not being able to breathe, and she laughed.

“Like young pups,” She smiled before she went to the kitchen to begin cooking. “Are you two going to be here for dinner?” She called from the other room.

He looked at me and I shrugged. “Sure, mom!” He yelled back as he pulled his shirt back on.

We moved back to the couch, cuddling against each other. We finished the movie, even though neither of us knew what was happening at that point.

After dinner, I wasn’t ready to go back to my lonely white-walled room quite yet, and Randall knew it.

“Come with me,” He grabbed my hand and led me outside. We went to the side of the house where a ladder was propped against it.

Randall began to climb up onto the roof. When he got onto it, he looked down at me still on the ground. “Come on up, you won’t be disappointed, I promise.”

I sighed and reluctantly began to climb the ladder. Heights were never really my thing, but if I fell off the roof, I wouldn’t die. It would be painful for a few hours, but then I would heal, as long as the bones were reset in the right positions. Rapid healing wasn’t so awesome if the bones healed crooked and then had to be broken again to get straightened out. That wouldn’t be fun at all.

On the roof, I was surprised. It didn’t slope as much as I thought it would, so it wasn’t quite as scary as it could have been. The roof wasn’t shingle, but metal. With my hands touched it, it was warm, but still cool compared to the summer night.

There was a large plastic storage container on the roof with us. Randall opened it up and pulled out some mats with a grippy surface. They looked like yoga mats. “So we won’t slide down the roof,” He said as he laid them out side by side. He pulled out some large pillows for us to lie on and after he set them down how he wanted them, he flopped down on one. I joined him, looking up at the stars and the partial moon.

“Do you do this often?” I asked him as I rested my head on his chest.

“On some clear nights I come up here. I can’t help but be fascinated with the night sky. The night itself holds so much wonder and power.”

“It means so much to one person while it can mean something completely different to another. It’s like a poem. It can be interpreted in so many different ways yet still be the right answer. It just depends on the person,” I commented.

He ran his hands through my hair as we just looked up at the constellations and named the ones we could find, the only words that were spoken. He knew more than I did, so I just let him point them out after a while.

I didn’t realize I had fallen asleep until he woke me gently with a kiss. He had already carried me back down to the ground. “I should probably take you home,” He smiled.

“I guess I’m more tired than I thought I was,” I yawned.

As he was driving me home, he mentioned something I had feared he would eventually pick up on.

“You know, today...we didn’t have any interruptions from Tala. At all.” He looked sideways to me.

“Isn’t that good?” I held my breath.

“It means that I was wrong in worrying about your self training. Whatever you’re doing seems to be working remarkably well. Better than what I was doing with you.”

“I learned it all from you.” I didn’t want him to feel bad about himself.

“Well keep it up,” He pulled in front of my dorm. “The next full moon will be here before you know it.”

“I will, and I’ll see you again soon,” I told him.

“Goodnight, Selene,” He kissed me goodbye.

When I got upstairs, of course Lilith was waiting for me. She knew who I’d been with and probably suspected what I’d been up to.

“So how did I do? Did you have any trouble today?” She asked me, a smug look on her face. She already knew the answer.

I almost hated to admit it. “Everything was perfect, Lilith,” I managed to say, biting out each word.

“I bet you’re wondering,” She walked over to me, “When I want my payment.”

“It’s crossed my mind,” I managed not to flinch as she touched my neck. I managed not to flinch when she touched me. I could feel her power, almost as if she was exuding it on purpose. I remembered Tala’s warning about how powerful she was. I knew there was a truth to it.

“Well just know that I haven’t forgotten. I’m just waiting for the full moon. The closer to it, the more power runs in your blood. Plus, you’ll be stronger, so I will be able to take more blood. You will recover amazingly fast, don’t worry.”

I moved away from her, towards my room. “I’d better go to bed.”

“Make sure you get enough sleep. Tomorrow’s going to be a long night.” I gave her a dirty look. I didn’t want to do any more training. She knew what that look meant, “If you think your training is over, think again. You’re not even close to being done.”

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A/N: Happy New Year! For 2009, I hope to be more on time with the chapters, get more writing done, and post two chapters per week. We'll see if I keep that resolution. I'm probably going to go back and reformat some stuff to make sure everything in the story is on the right schedule. I don't want Selene going to school six or seven days in a row. I'll sync it all with a calendar as well as the moon phases. I've just been kind of lazy. I also need to make more mention of days of the week so time will flow correctly. These last few chapters have been mostly character development between Selene and Randall. In my last story, the relationship seemed to move too fast. I want their relationship to actually grow and develop. Next chapter is on Monday!