Willow by Donna Lynn Hope Page B

at. Her eyes briefly met mine and she gave the faintest of smiles; my face lit up in return. I also noticed a group of three who were clustered together near some trees. They were all wearing dark hoodies and were talking amongst themselves. Their faces were shadowed in darkness and one was smaller than the others. I felt Reece leave my side and watched as he went and retrieved two sodas from the cooler. While he was returning Amber stopped him and he began to chat with her.
    Feeling self-conscious as I stood by myself, I began to fidget and brushed my bangs out of my eyes. I directed my attention back to the trio and felt my heart leap as the one leaning against the tree with his hands in his pockets lifted his head enough that the fire disclosed his chiseled features. It was Haven and he was looking right at me but his expression was blank. I dropped my eyes and noticed that his companions had turned to look in my direction and I briefly made out Lacey’s face but didn’t recognize the other one. I was too shy to stare so I turned to look for Reece who caught my glance and came my way with Amber by his side. Ridiculous , I scolded myself. Here I was, almost an adult, and I couldn’t even be alone amongst strangers without needing someone to make me feel secure.
    Reece handed me a soda while my thoughts raged. It had been several days since I had seen Haven and I thought we had a great time together and then nothing. He must not have been interested and I didn’t want to worry about it or question myself further. I decided to put him out of mind and concentrate on my friends who seemed happy to be with me. And yet, I could feel his eyes on me and as much as I wanted to, I couldn’t bring myself to look back.
    At one point Amber and I went to the table to gather some goodies. We picked up napkins and paper plates and while she used a fork to pierce a hot dog, I picked out a large, soft pretzel. Someone had brought melon cubes on skewers and another had set out a plate full of brownies. Satisfied we had enough we returned to our chairs and ate around the crackling fire which every so often spit in the air with a sizzling hiss. Periodically I would meet Haven’s stares and before my nervous habits could give me away I would turn and engage someone in casual conversation, anything to keep from wondering.
    As I ate the last melon ball I heard Reece laugh out loud. “Enjoying that are you?” He was talking to Amber. When I looked over he threw his head back and laughed again. Amber had his full attention and she was shaking her head as she looked at him. That’s when I noticed she had just eaten the last of her hot dog. She looked over at me and rolled her eyes and I laughed with her.
    Moments later Reece switched places with Amber and sat down next to me. He pulled me towards him in a friendly hug. “Doing okay?” He asked. I assured him I was fine. That’s when a young man whistled and loudly announced, “It’s that time again.” While he spoke a girl began passing out candles and matches. She approached the trio but one of them lifted his hand and shook his head. The girl walked back to the circle, made her rounds and sat back down.  
    The young man explained the rules of the game and said by the time we were done telling our tales, all the candles should be extinguished. I leaned in front of Reece until I got Amber’s attention. “I don’t know this game.”
    She shook her head in agreement, “I don’t either.”
    “You there…” a voice thundered.
    I looked up to see the young man gesturing in my direction. Feeling a sudden flush of embarrassment at having been singled out I remained silent.
    “Why don’t you start,” he challenged. 
    “I don’t have a story to tell.”
    From across the fire a female voice interjected, “Everyone has a story.”
    “Well I don’t.” I sounded as irritated as I felt.
    From my side Reece pulled his hands together as he spoke, “I’ve got one.”  Leave it to