(BL) Hunting The Field Guide novel Chapter 147

Chapter 147: A full frontal attack

"Kellen Woods! That’s the whole fucking point! You get to tease him too! It’s a happy thing. A good thing." She insisted. He frowned, forcing her to let his hand go so that he could cross his arms.

"But then I’ll feel like I lost if I say it first." She snorted.

"It’s not a game of who wins and who loses, Kellen. If it was, the Captain lost years ago. I don’t count teen admiration." She told him, her eyes sparkling, but Kellen had a suddenly thoughtful look on his face. "What are you thinking about?" She asked, as if she was able to sniff out his thoughts. His frown deepened as a strange feeling filled him.

"I...used to go out of my way to avoid the Captain on the front lines, but he used to search for me. I...fuck, I knew who he was before I went to the front lines, obviously from the posters I used to have," her mouth hung open at the new information she had obtained so easily since he was distracted, "but I think it was more than that. I used to keep track of where he was before he formed his own Guild, back when he was in the D.E.C." Kellen felt his face heat as Taylor closed her mouth as soon as she felt his gaze shift towards her.

"I didn’t know what it meant at the time, and I never thought anything of it. I just admired him a lot. H-He was a good Espers, and he fit all the criteria of someone I would look up to." Taylor shifted closer to Kellen, putting a hand on his knee, a smirk on her lips.

"I’m sure he was someone you looked up to. But, another question there Kellen. Did you want to be like him, or be with him?" The blush that covered his cheeks answered her question better than his words could. Taylor burst into laughter. "Kellen, you were on the front lines for seven years with this man, yet you did nothing?" She almost sounded like she was upset with him. Kellen found himself scoffing.

"Taylor, up until three weeks ago I was a C Class Guide. Who in their right mind would think of a C Class and an S Class together? Of course I didn’t do anything, and I’m clearly still hung up on that mentally now. I can’t wrap my head around why he likes me, or why he was so upset, when you can as soon as you hear about the situation. Brent had to point out some of my feelings on this whole situation earlier today, and I’m already feeling a bit sensitive from that. I hate feeling like I’m dumb or an idiot." Her smile didn’t fall from her face, but she sighed.

"Isn’t it wonderful to have such great, caring friends around you who care about you and love you and make sure you can see the bright flashing signs in front of you?" His face heated as she smirked at him. "Am I happy you nearly killed yourself to get to this point? No. Of course not. But Kellen, it kinda feels like it was inevitable you would end up here."

Confused, Kellen stared at her and she sighed. She closed her eyes for a moment, before she continued.

"Honestly, I always thought that we were going to work in the same place. It took me by surprise when you breezed past every Guild available and went straight for the front lines." The smile that touched her lips made Kellen’s stomach knot. It wasn’t a happy expression, and it stayed on her face as she continued to speak.

"I understand the reason why you avoided Guilds. Most don’t treat lower Class Espers or Guides well. I know that. I was also disgusted that there was such a difference in treatment between one Class level and the next. But, can I tell you a secret? Captain Thatcher started putting in the groundwork to make sure that everyone who worked at the Guild was treated equally about seven years ago. After he met you. Clearly, you made a strong impression on him." Her expression shifted, and Kellen felt his heartrate pick up as he heard those words for the first time.

"Yeah, but we couldn’t have been together then. No one would have allowed it." He insisted. He wasn’t sure why he was fighting for this point so hard. It was already moot. They were a pair now, and he was no longer a C Class Guide.

She hummed for a moment, sitting back in her seat.

"Well, you might be right about that. We were basically little kids back then, so it would have seemed predatory on his part. Thank goodness he held himself back for so long then." She was ignoring what he said, and instead brought up a completely different issue. She was clearly enjoying herself as she took a sip of her latte.

"Held himself back?" Kellen asked, and she nodded gravely.

"Well, were you going to approach him first? Think about it, Kellen, would you have? Would you have gone up to the Captain of the Saturn Guild as a fresh faced Field Guide with barely any work experience and hit on him?" He opened his mouth to respond in the negative, before he really thought about it.

"No, you said you were super awkward. Things have probably gotten better in the seven years, give or take, since you last hit on him." She shrugged. "Plus, Captain Thatcher is probably in such a foul mood right now that everyone would beg you to take him away. Oh!" She snapped her fingers. "You can call him by his first name when you go pick him up. It would be a nice final touch." Kellen could feel himself growing flustered.