Page 51 of What did you do?

“Are we going in or not?” I demanded, attempting to look anywhere but at him.

Nervous excitement flooded me.

I had always had a stupid crush on Aurelius. He was charismatic and kind. Full of self-esteem but somehow entirely selfless at the same time. No one could be near Eli and not like him.

“Haven’t you ever wondered what it would be like if we kissed?” he asked, something new radiating through his eyes.

My eyes shot from his to a butterfly on his shoe.

Younger me had thought about it a lot—far more than I should have—but as an adult… He was my only real, fully trusted friend left, and I wouldn’t let my brain go there. I couldn’t risk losing him as my friend. There was no way I could take losing him too.

“No,” I bit back a little too defensively to be believed.

“I have. I don’t know that I’ve ever stopped.”

He lifted a hand off of mine to run his fingers lightly over my forehead, pushing back my windblown hair and tucking it behind my ear. I fought against the urge to lay my head on his chest. His large hand slid into mine, and he stepped away to open the planked door and guide me through.

I followed, eyes the size of saucers and mouth hanging open like a fish.

Three hours ago, I was thinking of ways to hurt him. An hour ago, I was thinking how lucky I was to have a friend like him. Now…I was disappointed he hadn’t actually kissed me.

What would it actually feel like to kiss him? What if only one of us felt something? We could be ruined forever and still tied together.

Eli tugged me along behind him by the hand, and I don’t know what I was expecting—an electric shock or something, perhaps—but I came out the other side unscathed and without even an indication I’d walked through a magical ward.

I released his hand, using the excuse of taming my hair, which was being blown about even more now. I had chosen a white lace sundress that stopped just above my knees today, but I was not a white-dress kind of lady. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever actually enjoyed a meal and not spilled some of it on me. I had somehow already stained it with dirt and grass just from theshort walk. How could Seelie royalty wear white so often? One more reason I didn’t fit in here…or anywhere.

We stopped on the top of a tall hill. Soft, salty notes in the slightly sticky sea air filled my senses as we stood, looking out onto a large shimmering ocean. The sea itself was a deep, warm orange color that glittered like Christmas lights when the sun beat down on it.

The sea from my window.

“Wow,” I sighed.

It was stunning. The sky somehow matched the magical-looking sea that blended into pinks and light blues around the sun. Large white-and-orange birds flew in the horizon under the sun, dipping in every once in a while, reminding me of seagulls. A section of the water looked choppy and blurry off in the distance.

“What’s that?” I asked as Eli stepped behind me. He wasn’t even touching me, but I could feel the heat from his body.

“It’s the Golden Sea, and those are fire birds. They are hunting for fish,” he replied softly.

“Not the birds. What’s that blur out there? It looks like it might be moving toward us slowly?” I asked.

My heart began to race when his hands found my waist. What was happening? This shouldn’t happen.

But I also didn’t want to move.

“That is just rain from the golden seas. It’s not uncommon for it to rain here. It usually doesn’t last for too long, and it’s actually quite refreshing since the sun is a bit stronger here from the sea’s reflections.”

I pulled away to turn and look at him.

One brow rose as he cocked his head to the right quizzically.

“So it’s a golden shower?” I said, nodding and barely stifling a giggle as I pulled my lips into my mouth. “And you say…you say you enjoy a nice golden shower, huh? That the golden shower isrefreshing? Good to know.” I cackled, taking off running down the dirt path.

Hearing Eli’s laughter and thumping feet following closely, I slowed my pace.

The large green meadow was fenced off with thick, bolted iron panels all the way around, as far as I could see. Large pink-and-cream flowers littered the pasture, taking up more space than the grass. A small shelter covered in flowers backed up to the iron panels nearest to us. It was the oddest juxtaposition, to see the fierce black-iron panels surrounding the beautiful field and the completely flowered cottage.

“What do you think?” Eli asked.

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