Page 8 of The Orc's Oath
Despite the small talk, our connection felt strained in a way it had never been before. It was as though we were two old friends who hadn’t seen each other in years and were trying to catch up but didn’t know where to start.
“So, where did you and Cassian go earlier?” she asked. “You guys pulled up together right after me and Ember did.”
“We went on a mission to scout out some info about Samara. Didn’t get much.”
Apparently, the answer satisfied her because she nodded and didn’t ask more. Emily looked around me and peered over at Morgan, who was still standing where I had stood with Cassian a few moments ago. However, she was alone now and looked out of place. “Why is she standing all the way over there by herself?” Emily asked.
Morgan stood there, staring at her feet and kicking dirt around. “I don’t know,” I responded, shrugging my shoulders. Morgan looked up at me, and I could tell she was unsure if she was welcome to join in on our conversation. Signaling with my head, I tried to motion for her to join us, but she shook her head and went back to staring at her shoes.
“Morgan!” Emily yelled across the yard, unwilling to allow the lonely girl to stand there awkwardly. Morgan looked up, trying to find who had shouted her name when her eyes landed on us. “Come over here, girl! Join in on some girl talk!”
I looked down at Emily in her chair and raised my eyebrow. “How can it be girl talk if I’m here?”
A sly smile stretched across her face as she answered my question. “I didn’t say you were invited.” She gave me a subtle wink, and it took me a second to get the hint. Emily was trying to make Morgan feel like she was included and one of the girls.
Morgan reluctantly walked over to the group and sat down next to Ember. Emily looked back up at me, and with a small smile shooed me away. As much as I wanted to stay and hang out with her, I went along with her plan. Feeling like she was included would be good for Morgan, and if it went well, then she wouldn’t give me as much crap about hanging out with the pack. Maybe, just maybe, she would see that this group isn’t as bad as she thought and be willing to give them a chance.
I grabbed myself a fresh drink, sat with some of the guys, and watched the girls talking and laughing around the firepit as the guys left for more wood. It was nice to see Emily smile, even if it wasn’t at me. But how she invited Morgan to join them to make the girl feel better opened my eyes as to why I fell in love with her in the first place.
Huh, love. Never thought I’d feel that way about someone. It felt nice. Maybe one day I would have the balls to say it out loud.
