“No,” Jaxson shook his head. “I’ll send half of you up, and then the rest of us will meet you there.”
Kirk nodded and stepped into the contraption with confidence. Some of the others were slightly hesitant to walk on after him, because I could still see the uncertainty in their eyes.
“Blake, you think you can give us light?” Kirk asked as he settled in.
I looked at the guys.
“Jace and Jaxson, you should go too,” Lincoln stated. “Drake, Troy, and I can take the next one.”
I nodded and imagined the ball of light. I looked over at Jaxson and smiled. I wondered if I could combine my gift of illusion and fire together. I envisioned the colorful images that Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory invoked in me. I smiled in satisfaction as the light changed into unnatural colors. The purples, bright yellows, blood red, emerald greens, and electric blues were mesmerizing.
I could hear Troy chuckle as the doors closed. Jaxson grinned at me wickedly.
“Hold on tight, I’m not sure how this is going to work out,” Jaxson stated in his best impression of Gene Wilder.
Carrie let out a noise of concern.
“Please ignore him.” I giggled. “He often uses his sense of humor to alleviate tension. It’s his coping mechanism.”
Jaxson gave me a mischievous grin.
“Says the girl with the kaleidoscope fireball.” Julie grinned. She leaned forward and looked at me. “What’s it like having seven men as your connections?”
“Julie, not the time or place,” Kirk groaned with a fond smile.
“I’m pretty sure all of us have thought it.” Carrie grinned. “I just want to know why you allow them to wear shirts? Because I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t allow them to, and I’ve only seen four of them.”
“So, if I wanted you girls to wear only bikinis all day long then, would you?” Kirk asked cynically.
“If you were Lincoln Hudgens.” Carrie said without skipping a beat.
“I don’t know about that,” Julie said with her head cocked to the side. “Something about Jace and Remy makes me think I could parade in a bikini all day.”
Kirk looked sharply at his connections while some of us laughed. I didn’t feel threatened by their comments or even slightly territorial. I could see they were just trying to get a rise from Kirk. Needless to say, they were succeeding.
Jace looked over at me and smiled. “I’ll walk around topless for you if you want,” he teased.
To say I was shocked was an understatement. Remy and Jace had different ways of wanting to please me without looking like they were…suck-ups. Lincoln struck me as having the same temperament.
“Promise?” I asked with a smile in return.
We came to a smooth halt, and I looked over at Jaxson. The ride went by faster than I thought it would. We climbed over the railing onto the landing. Jaxson took a step forward to brace the rail once everyone was off.
“If you can draw from their gifts, why couldn’t you bring the other group up?” one of the guys from the South Carolina group asked in an almost condescending tone.
“We’re not going to wear her out when we don’t need to,” Jace said bitingly. “Giving us light isn’t nearly as draining as making an elevator we can all ride in.”
“No explanations were needed, Jace.” Julie said with an eyeroll. “He of all people should know that. He’s horny as hell, eating like a horse, and sleeping for at least a day every time he looks through a wall or tries to peek under a girl’s clothes.”
“Which explains the horniness,” Carrie said pragmatically.
Eww, gross! What a creeper!
“Hmm, I guess,” Julie agreed.
“Can we worry about the task at hand?” the man in question asked defensively.
“Just waiting on the rest of our team,” Kirk reminded him with a smirk.