“You suck.” I have to yell at him, since the propellers are so loud.
“Occasionally,” he tells me in return. “It’s a shame you’ll never know just how well.”
I burst out laughing. “You’re awful!”
His smile is crookedly charming. “That’s not what she said.”
I roll my eyes, the corners of my lips tilting upwards, and it’s then I notice Kellan watching us, his face devoid of any emotion. He’s sitting in the web seat directly in front of us, next to the Blaze, Brock. Since we boarded the plane, he’s been very quiet, and I don’t know if I ought to draw him into our conversations or leave him alone.
Will makes the decision for me. He yells out, “So. Kellan. Chloe tells me you’re an ace surfer. I’ve been considering taking lessons—”
Liar. He’s never once mentioned this to me in the half year I’ve known him. But I love him for it anyway.
“—and was wondering if you had any pointers for an uncoordinated bloke like myself.”
Another lie. Will is one of the last people I would ever call uncoordinated.
Kellan studies Will for a second or two, but then a hint of a smile curves his lips. “Well, for one, I’d advise you to live near the beach.”
“Already done that, mate. In case your geography skills aren’t as ace as your surfing skills, let me assure you that Anchorage is indeed a coastal town.” He turns to me. “You Annar people are horrendous with geography.”
I laugh, remembering his teasing me back in his kitchen in Alaska.
Kellan actually chuckles, too. “I know where Anchorage is. I meant you ought to be closer to a spot where there are decent waves, like Yakutat. That’s if you plan on heading back to Alaska any time soon.” That half-smile of his that I adore quirks for a brief moment. “Of course, if you stay in Annar, then it won’t be a problem, as you’ll be able to go to whatever break you like whenever.”
Will’s long legs spread out in the tiny aisle in between the rows of web seats. His eyebrows lift upward. “You know of Yakutat?”
Kellan’s eyes meet mine. “I do.”
I clear my throat and then force my voice to carry across the aisle. “Have you surfed there before?”
“Once, when I was fifteen. Joey thought it would help develop ‘character.’ Personally, I think all it did was help incite hypothermia.” His smile ticks up a teeny notch. “Too bad I didn’t have a Creator with me at the time to make me a special wetsuit. I guess I wasn’t lucky enough at the time to know you then, so I’ll just have to make up for it now and convince you to give me what I need.”
I’m going to pass out, because surely we are too high in the air and there isn’t any oxygen anymore and—
“If you like,” he says to Will, like he can’t tell he’s affected me, “I can take you out and give you some pointers sometime in the next week or so. Chloe can tag along and we can make fun of her when she attempts to stand up.”
The other Guard have stopped talking with one another and are now listening to Kellan. And my heart swells, because right here, right now—Kellan is publically declaring his approval of Will.
“I’d like that,” Will is saying. “Plus, I’m always game to pick on my favorite blonde. Oh wait, my mistake—you’re only a fake blonde.”
Feeling like a total mush toward Kellan in more ways than one, I know I need to redirect this conversation back to something safe. I say to them, “Har-har. Pick on Chloe and her inadequacies, why don’t you?”
“It’s ridiculously easy to do,” is how Will responds.
But Kellan? He refuses to do as I want, because he says, “As there are precious few inadequacies I can find in you, as you call them, I have to make do when I do find one.” The corner of one side of his mouth lifts higher. “But for all of your perfections, you truly do suck at surfing.”
Butterflies explode into a full-fledged frenzy in my chest. Damn him for being so sweet. And hot. And desirable. And also, for knowing he’s getting to me, because there’s a spark of victory in his eyes the moment my heart decides to sprint even faster than it was just moments before.
How am I going to do this? How am I ever going to resist this man?
“Are we talking about the same girl here?” Will asks. “Because, mate, let me assure you that her bowling game is the worst you’ll ever see. She’s bloody wretched, which in a way makes her handy to have around, as you know you’ll always beat her.”
Thank the gods for Will. “You suck,” I say lovingly once more.
“Again,” he repeats, “it’s a pity you’ll never know just how well.”