"All right. Then, why don't you all go out and explore a little, and I'll get everything set up for your return." She takes a few steps back and smiles.
That sounds like the perfect excuse to begin exploring. "Sounds perfect to me. Are you guys ready?"
"I'm ready to go anywhere with you." Charlie grabs my hand and tugs me toward the door.
"Actually, I'm going to stay back and help Ria." Dax's eyes stay firm on her. “I'll explore with you next time."
That's his way of saying he doesn't trust her and wants to keep an eyes on her. I've gotten to know him well enough to understand him. "Well, okay. We won't be gone too long."
"Looks like we'll have some alone time." Charlie smirks, and his shoulders relax a little.
Alone time does sound great, but what I'm most excited about is exploring this new world and finding a hint about where the artifact is.
9
Before walking out of the house, I fasten the necklace in place and ensure the amulet is secure. I don't want to chance feeling like I did just a few hours ago.
"Are you good?" Charlie reaches out and gives it a gentle tug. It doesn't loosen and stays in place.
"It appears so." I'm ready to get out of here. I'm not sure why, but the walls are now closing in on me. "Let's go check out our potential new home." Maybe I’ll miss Earth more than I thought.
"Have fun exploring the market." Ria turns her back to Dax and rubs the back of her neck. "I told some of the ladies at the market that you may be heading over there soon to check it out. So go have fun exploring."
If that wasn't a subtle way of telling us what to do, I'm not sure what else could be. "Great, that sounds like fun. I didn't get to see much earlier anyway."
"That is a huge understatement." Charlie holds the door open for me and places his hand on the small of my back. "I doubt you would even know your way back there from here."
In all fairness, that's the truth. "Then, I guess it's a good thing you decided to come with me."
Taking a step outside, I hold my breath, prepared for my senses to be overloaded. But nothing happens. The amulet does its job.
"I couldn't risk this cute face never returning." His eyes search me over, and after a second, his shoulders relax. "I mean, what would I do without you?" He pulls me against his chest and lowers his lips to mine for a kiss. "That last part wasn't a joke."
"You'd be miserable for a few days and then move on." I don't want to get serious now. Let's just keep this light. Ria kind of made it obvious they are going to be watching us.
"Chris..." He raises an eyebrow and frowns.
"Now's not the time, and you know it." We can't let emotions get in our way. "Come on, apparently we have some people waiting to show us the ways of this world."
His forehead creases and eyes flash. "No, this isn't..."
“Look, I love you and never plan to leave your side. Can we talk about this later when we don’t have prying eyes on us?” I stand on my tiptoes and press my lips against his.
At first, his body tenses, but after a few seconds of persistence, he gives in and pulls me into him. His fingers dig into my back, and I let out a moan.
"Dammit, this is when I wish we were back at one of our places." He growls and kisses down my neck.
My breathing picks up, and I slip my hand under his shirt feeling his lean, muscular stomach. "Tell me about it."
One of his hands roams down my back while the other hand grabs some of my hair, and he tugs. "As much as I hate to say this, we're kind of out in the open, and anyone could walk by. We probably should get going."
Ugh, he's right. What started out as a distraction somehow made a left-hand turn. "Fine, you're right. They are probably wondering where we are." I chuckle and force myself to take a step away, looking to the left and right. There is a row of what appear to be duplexes lined up on both sides of the road. It almost reminds me of the visits to New York City when I had jobs to work on with my parents. We're standing on the walkway between the two sets. They're made of some kind of muddy plaster. "Whoa, are all the houses like this?" It’s kind of interesting.
"Oh, yeah." He glances around at them and reaches out to touch Ria's house behind me. "Yeah, the whole way here, it was like this once the houses started coming into view. I guess you didn't notice since you were about to implode." His jaw twitches at the end.
This whole thing has to be hard on him. I can only imagine what it would be like for me if I were in his shoes. "Is it wet? It looks like mud." I reach out and touch the wall. It's cool, but there doesn't appear to be any excess water. Though, it does feel grainy as if there are minerals in it.
He reaches out and touches the wall too. "Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. However, it's dry, so I don't think that's it."
There's a lot we need to learn about this new world, and there's no time like the present. "We better get going before they send someone looking for us." I grab his hand and pull him down the walkway.
A laugh bubbles out of him, and he tugs me back. "You're going the wrong way." He arches an eyebrow and grins. "Do you really think you should be the one leading?"
That's a fair point. "Hey, let me just have this moment." It bothers me that
