Page 64 of Until We Burn
All my fearlessness from before vanishes under the wholesomescene of families laughing and munching on grilled food at the picnic tables around us.
“What if people figure out what we did?” I whisper.
“I doubt they’ll draw a connection between us secretly hooking up and our hands smelling like disinfectant,” Kai assures, “Besides, reporters at the Howler have been working with the Griffins all day. They’ll probably think we’re helping each other out for a story.”
Helping each other out.The lewd sound of my eager moans and Kai’s hips pounding into me echoes in my head. I gulp, my cheeks flushing.
“Oh, Diana! Diana!”
My head snaps up. Sadie Beaumont, a first year Métis reporter, hurtles across the field towards me. She stumbles to a stop with her cheeks puffing out. “I was looking all over for you!”
“Yes, I was…” I gulp as Kai arches his brow at me. “I was helping some of the Griffins move around a few boxes in the athletics building.”
“Oh, did you happen to spill something?” Sadie wrinkles her nose. “You smell like disinfectant.”
Kai shrugs. “Yeah, Diana made a bit of a mess while she was helping me out.”
My eyes widen. Kai smirks smugly at his shoes.
“I-I, um…” I press a trembling hand to my throat. “Is there something I can help you with?”
“The source we have scheduled for this month’s radio show just cancelled.” She frowns. Sadie flips through a pocket agenda filled with underlined and highlighted deadlines. “He’s down with the flu and we don’t have anyone else lined up. Do you have any ideas?”
I swallow hard. Since the scandal broke out, many of my trusted sources have severed contact with me. Only a scattered few remain, but none of them have anything newsworthy to share with DHU students.
“Not really,” I confess.
Sadie shrinks back, defeated and crestfallen. Behind her, I can see Andrea lecturing a group of fidgeting first years.
I fight back the urge to roll my eyes. “Did Andrea have any ideas?”
“No. She just told me to‘figure it out.’”Sadie groans. Suddenly, sheperks up at Kai. “Hey, what about you? Aren’t you some big shot hockey player on campus?”
Kai scratches the back of his neck, chuckling sheepishly.
“Not for the right reasons,” he demurs. “But if you’re in a bind, I’m okay with stepping in for a quick interview.”
“That’s perfect!” she squeals. Sadie eagerly scribbles into her agenda. “I’ll email you all the details. You’re…Kai, right?”
He smiles and nods. “You got it.”
“Great!” Her pocket agenda snaps closed. “See you later!”
I make sure she’s far enough before I whirl around and smack Kai’s chest.
“‘She made a mess?’”I hiss, “Are you crazy?”
“That was kind of clever, you have to admit.” Kai laughs.
I roll my eyes, yet I can feel a smile coming on.
The afternoon sun softens over him. Standing beneath it with his hands tucked in his pockets, Kai looks so at ease that I wish he could always feel relaxed like this.
“Are you sure about doing an interview?” I fiddle with my media pass. “You’ve only done a few since your first year.”
“Yeah, I know.” Kai blows out a breath, raking his fingers through his hair. “They’re not my favorite thing to do, but it’s the only way I can control the narrative around me. At least people will get to hear the words out of my own mouth instead of someone else’s.”
“I can understand that.”
