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Chapter 168 by brevdravis brevdravis

The Drop Off

A surprisingly Subdued ride.

The feeling of fear and last knots in my stomach faded completely as we headed north. We stopped for a quick bite to eat when we hit Santa Cruz, and over the meal, the good atmosphere continued. The winks, the nods, the smiles. It was actually kinda funny some of the angry looks that were shot our way as we sat there, just trying to eat. I felt almost like I was attracting the ire of every other person present and although nobody said anything, the constant stares were a bit off putting.

"What the hell is up with people?" I murmured to Kaila as we sat opposite each other in the small booth of a roadside diner. "Feels like every other person on the planet wants to kill me today."

"Yah, noticed that too." Carla shrugged, her arm around Charlotte possessively. She leaned forward and speared one of my fries with her fork. "Look behind you! Is that a three headed monkey?"

I pulled the small plastic sword from my burger. Carefully, I snapped off the curved plastic guard, and held the plastic item between my fingers.

"En Garde. I will protect the sovereignty of my plate!" I snarled, engaging her fork as it again approached my plate.

"AH, but while you're distracted, I sneak in and swipe the prize!" Helen smirked at my elbow, grabbing the small section of the burger that was now missing its plastic adornment.

"Ah, Betrayed by one I trust the most!" I clasped my hand over my heart theatrically. I also noticed that everybody in the diner was pointedly NOT paying attention to us. They were not paying attention to us so hard that many of them were having trouble not laughing.

"It's not a betrayal, it's a sacrifice for the greater good!" Helen smirked.

"The Greater Good..." Everybody at the table chanted.

"Oh fuck, we've all seen that one, then..." I groaned.

"The Greater Good..." The women began, but Carla was absolutely the first one to crack into peals of laughter, followed by Helen, who had somehow managed to get through the first one only through sheer **** of will as her pursed lips attested.

The rolling hills that marked the route to San Francisco dashed past us in what seemed like an instant, and I began to dread our impending arrival. The freeway gave way to the steep hills and crowded city blocks that led into the heart of the city. We followed Charlotte's directions, eventually leading us to a small apartment building that fit in with the rest of the steep heavily crowded block. It was impossible to find a parking spot, so Kaila simply engaged the emergency brake.

Charlotte opened the rear sliding door and hopped down. She walked to the passenger window, as I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned, just in time for Helen's lips to plant a solid kiss on me. There was love in that kiss, and I could sense that she was trying to give me a memory.

As we finished, I saw Charlotte, leaning in the window and providing Kaila with the same treatment. She then reached her hand in and grasped Carla's hand firmly.

"I'll see you tomorrow. No, seriously, I want to see you tomorrow, I'm pretty sure you don't work too far from me. We'll figure it out, do lunch, something." Helen smiled at me, and with a final pat, stepped out of the car, looking at me fondly. "I mean, no pressure, but... we've got so many things to work out between us all and I just don't want to wait."

She slid the door shut, and embraced Charlotte, the two of them walking onto the sidewalk. A loud honk from behind our car caused me to start the bus moving again, and soon, we were down along the block, and they were lost from sight.

"Ok... well... fuck... " Carla broke the silence after a few more moments.

"Yeah," Kaila responded, her voice a bit distant. "But... we can make it work. I think we can at least. Tomorrow, though? Already? She's really staking a claim isn't she?"

"Helen doesn't strike me as the type to let something sit," I remarked calmly.

"You're not as subtle as she is, Brent," Kaila snorted. "Ok, you want to talk about it. We're coming up on the bridge. You gonna ask and give us a totally epic story to tell?"

Don't ask it... don't ask it...

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