Hints - Digging Up Magic #8

They had to all but drag Jenna away.  She had ridden the bull at least four times and had been chatting with a group of people of people near our table.  They managed to not be the last ones to get back to the bus.

Nikki tried to pay attention to the conversations going on but all the way back to the cabin she found herself spacing out and looking at nothing out the window.

“Hey,” Ian tightened the arm he had around her shoulder, giving her a little squeeze.  She jumped a little.  Had he been there this whole time?  “We’re here.”

She couldn’t sleep.  That jolt, or whatever it was that that man had made her feel, it was different.  More than the obvious though.  It wasn’t every day that you just bumped up against someone and felt like you touch an electric fence.  But more in the way that it didn’t actually hurt.  It was like an almost intense heat and a muscle tensing like a Charlie horse.

It was almost like the feeling she got when she touched the cuff that first time.

She rolled out of bed and grabbed her satchel on the way out of the room, being careful to be as silent as she could be.  She passed the bathroom and gently pushed the backdoor open to the patio.  She sat in the big rocking chair that was off to one side and, tucking her feet underneath her and her bag in her lap, let herself rock.  She took the cuff out and ran her fingers across it, back and forth.  She felt like she was on the verge of discovering something. Something about her interaction with that man told her something about this cuff.  Now if only she could figure out what.

The sound of the backdoor startled Nikki so much she nearly lost hold of the bracelet.  Getting spooked by the slightest noise was starting to get old to her.  She managed to stuff it back into her bag before the footsteps stopped beside her.

“You weren’t planning a late night adventure without your best friend, were you?”  Jenna sat beside her on the little side table that was next to the rocking chair and leaned her back against the wall.

Nikki snorted.  “Of course not.”

Jenna smiled and was silent for awhile.  “I heard you get up.  So I did what best friends do and waited five minutes than came in after you.  What happened tonight?”

“If you’re referring to tonight, then I don’t know since this technically morning and tonight hasn’t happened.”

“And if I were referring to last night, smarty pants?”

“Then I would still not know what you were talking about.”

“Don’t play dumb with me now.  I heard that glass drop.  I saw that was you and some guy and then we were running out of there like the place was on fire.  What happened?”

“Nothing.  Honest.  The guy just bumped in to me on accident, I dropped my glass, and he bought me a new one…”

Jenna watched her for another quite moment.  “You’ve seemed pretty distracted for a couple days now as a matter of fact…  Does this have anything to do with Ian?”

“Ian?”  Nikki was afraid before that if she looked Jenna in the eye that she would be able to tell that she was hiding something.  She looked directly at her now though.  “What would Ian have to do with anything?”

“Well, he isn’t bad to look at…”

“What?  No!  Jenna!  I haven’t even known the guy a week.”

“I’m just saying you hit it off pretty quick…”

“No.”

“Don’t try to protest too much.  Ow!”

“Protest that.”  Nikki sat her satchel back on her lap and tried hard not to laugh.

Nikki could just barely see Jenna stick her tongue out at her and laugh.  Another moment passed.  “You know that whatever it is you can tell me, right?”

“I know.”  Nikki’s hands subconsciously went around her satchel.

When she didn’t say anymore Jenna didn’t press her.  And they sat in another comfortable moment of silence.

“You know,”  Jenna finally broke it.  “This would be a great place for you and Ian’s wedding- ow!”