She smiled at him in a way that made me feel like I was intruding on them. Her teeth were so straight, I could tell she’d had braces in her past, and her dark brown eyes had thick, maybe fake, eyelashes sprouting out of them. They were so pretty and delicately placed that it didn’t matter if they were real or not. The color of her hair matched them perfectly. Her boots were scotch clean, and she wasn’t wearing a bit of makeup. I wished I didn’t feel so instantly threatened by the presence of another woman. I was feeling a little more sure of myself this morning, but I was sort of distracted by her beauty as they briefly caught up.

I was hardly on her level, or Kael’s, and I knew they were probably aware of that. They were sure of themselves, enlisted into an organized, structured career, and both immediately charming. I felt awkward and embarrassed by my thoughts.

“When did you get here? I heard you were sent back but didn’t know it already happened. Where are you staying?”

He sighed. “With a friend.”

The girl looked at me, smiling still.

“Turner. And you’re?” she asked me, reaching out her hand. It felt so formal to handshake in the line at the grocery store, but there I was. Unsure what to do with my body and my mouth.

“This is Karina. She’s Phillip’s wife’s friend,” Kael answered for me, gently pressing her hand down between us so I didn’t have to shake it.

Her chin pointed up. “Oh, the French girl?”

I couldn’t read her. I couldn’t tell if she was being judgmental of my friend or if she was merely stating a fact. She was a blank sheet of paper that I couldn’t read a word from.

“Yeah,” he spoke for me again.

I felt like hiding behind him. I wasn’t usually so easily intimidated, and I tried to reclaim how I felt when I looked in the mirror this morning. That confidence had evaporated and I was collapsing in on myself as the noise around us continued to escalate.

Turner stood there for a few seconds, waiting for one of us to talk. I knew she couldn’t care less if I spoke, she wanted to talk to Kael.

“Well, see you? I’ll call you later. Does everyone else know you’re back?” she asked, leaning toward him. He moved a sly step away from her. At least it wasn’t only me who he kept at a distance.

“No. Don’t tell them,” he said to her.