"Thanks, little dude. And you smell like cookies." His hazel eyes flash mischievously and he quickly removes his hands. He pulls a chocolate chip cookie from the pocket of his little black overall and holds it up.
"I stole," he gives his brother a quick glance and corrects his error, "Eh, borrowed these from Mom's kitchen. She baked them for the party." He peeps through his super long thick eyelashes at his brother again as if expecting to be scolded. But Damion appears amused, trying to hide a smile. Realizing nothing bad is gonna happen to him he holds out the biscuit to me. "You want one?"
"Nope, I'm good for now." He crams it back into his pocket.
"People, the game is about to start," a guy with a microphone shouts. I suppose he works here. The green team grabs their gear and heads out.
Damion throws a belt around my waist and straps me in. He's so tantalizingly close and so intent on what he's doing, so I lean slightly forward until my nose is in his hair. He smells clean, fresh, and heavenly.
He pulls the straps tight, his fingers doing a secret seductive dance against my body, making me blush. As if sensing my thoughts, he glances up with heated eyes and smiles like he's enjoying a private joke.
Fuck. There really is such a thing as a panty-wetting look.
I hold my breath, trying to fight the damp heat forming between my legs as he loads the last hopper into my belt.
While we walk to our gathering point, Damion and Jackson show me, Kiara and Luke how everything works. The men talk some strategy, concluding that the guys would be the protectors, some would stay with the flag and the rest would cover the girls while we try to get to the opponent's flag.
And then the games begin.
The rules are easy. When you are hit with an enemy ball, you have to leave the field immediately. The team that gets to the other's flag first is the winner. At this moment, we are on the other side of the course and can't even see the green flag.
The semi-jungle scene stretching before us is a strange, fearsome place where the enemy could hide in every nook and cranny, specially made for the game. There are trees, trunks, reeds, hay bales, walls, pipes, huts, and tunnels; well placed over the whole course to make it easier, as well as more difficult, for each team. We slowly crawl forward, using the trees and man-made shelters as cover. I'm stuck between Damion and Luke, while Kiara, Jackson, and Axel are just a few meters behind us. The rest of the black team is hidden close to our flag somewhere.
Then Jackson shoots and a green team member swears and leaves the field. I notice some movement to my right and motions to the others. I lean against a tree, hiding while waiting for our opponents to come closer. Damion lies flat on the ground and I jolt when he starts shooting. I peep from behind my tree to see Ren standing up, black dots on his helmet and chest. He looks down at something and I notice part of a green arm. I land a shot at it with a huge smile. It's Chloe and she jumps up with a scream.
Got you bitch! I yell to myself, feeling ecstatic while moving around the tree.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
Pain shoots through my tummy and boobs. The bitch is shooting me with suppressive fire. I want to shout out, but don't get a chance as a hard body flings against me and pushes me back into the tree, strong arms cradling around my head.
Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!
I can feel his body contract with each shot, but the popping sound doesn't let up.
"Chloe, stop it, you're out!" Kiara shouts, but there are some more pops before the explosion of balls suddenly stops. Guess she ran out of ammo. Damion moves his body painfully away, but I stay stuck to the tree for a few moments, gasping for breath.
I'm not sure if my lack of oxygen is because of the force of the balls that hit my chest, or because of the closeness of the body that was pressed against mine seconds ago. Something about him protecting me pulls a string in my heart.
Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!
"Ouch! Ouch! Stop!" Chloe yells and then she stands there looking surprised down at her overalls covered with black paint, her gun drops to the ground.
"Take that bitch!" Jackson wails, looking like a regular James Bond, weapon still aimed at Chloe.
Pop! Pop!
Two more shots land on a surprised Chloe.
"Stop it!" she yelps. But it wasn't Jackson this time.
"You deserved that for shooting Mel and my brother," Luke jumps up and down and gives Jackson a high-five. "Bitch!" he says then. Jackson winks at him.
Ren helps a shattered Chloe and they walk away together, his arm protectively around her shoulders. The idea of him not even attempting to help me or stop her, clouds my mind as we continue our quest, the fact that he's holding her not bothering me a bit.
Logan who shoots Kiara from behind, is taken out by Jackson. And not in a good friendly manner.
"Fuck you, Logan Blackburn," Kiara swears and shoots Logan on his ass as they walk away together.
Even though this game is pitiless and even painful, shooting the other team does have a profound and strangely compelling effect of fun on me. And it seems I'm not the only one who feels that way. Damion has this energetic light in his eyes and I know he's enjoying it just as much. Two more green team members experience our rage and leave the field. We can see the green flag a few yards from us and we bundle together behind a wall.
"Okay, this is it. Let's get that flag." Axel whispers.
Luke peeps over the wall in the direction of the winning piece of cloth. I wipe the sweat rolling down my forehead like tiny little vipers with my sleeve. My parched tongue licks over my palate, where dust and spit intermixed to a muddy bitterness.
"I'll cover Mel and you stick to Luke." Damion looks at Axel and they salute each other. Jackson disappeared.
"Luke, you're the secret weapon." Luke shakes his head eagerly, giving his brother a fist bump. I get up and run to the next cover, green balls splatter all around my feet. It sounds like a machine gun, and then Damion falls next to me.
"It's Enrique, the bastard," he grumbles with a smile. We look at the next safe spot and he motions at Axel to be ready. I start running again, balls flying past my head. A pain shoots through my arm. The next moment, Damion dives forward, grabbing me as we fall to the ground, his body on top of mine. Again, he takes a beating of green balls on his body - back, arms, legs, helmet. He moans softly, cursing the lunatic who's emptying his gun on him.
I see Damion's mouth move but my heartbeat pounding in my ears causes ferocious drumming inside the helmet, deafening me for a few moments. I take a deep breath and close my eyes to calm my ticker down and when the thumping slowly stops, I can hear his voice.
"You okay?" he asks as soon as the grievous bodily harm to him stops. I nod and then I hear Enrique laughing from behind some logs. Douchebag!
"Enrique, you're going to be a bloating carcass when I'm finished with you!" Damion shouts, but Enrique just laughs harder.
I smell that fresh, citrus, and woody scent I have come to associate with Damion over the years. Homme mixed with sweat! Somehow it triggers my butterflies. They must be drawn to the musky smell of perspiration.
I barely register the pain from the bruised wounds on my body as it is being drowned out by the heightened, throbbing ache between my legs.
The next moment, Enrique swears loudly, and he runs past us, jolting each time a black ball hits him. Jackson is following close behind, an arsenal of paintballs firing from his gun straight at his twin. And the look on his face tells me that he might just be enjoying it a little too much. From somewhere behind a car wreck, Ilkay is covering Enrique, dishing out a frenzy of fire toward Jackson.
"Fuck off, Jackson!" Enrique swears again, trying to hide behind an old car wreck.
"Now why would I do that," his twin shouts back.
Damion looks at me with a heated glint in his eyes, and wipes his fingers over my cheek, saying I have some dirt there. I wiggle to get free, scared by the emotions I'm feeling, and notice a green patch on my sleeve. Damn, I've been hit this time - I'm out.