#FridayFlash: Just a Little Hitch

I don’t know much about these two, but I like’em.

Word count: 938

***

A Little Hitch

As the door opened, my eyes closed. Warm wind blew into the church and rustled the skirt of my wedding dress.  Carter Eddings’ voice was exactly the one I expected to hear following such a rudely late entrance. “Hey, Trance. You busy?”

The smile I aimed down the aisle at my waiting groom was present before my eyes fully opened. “I’m sorry, are you lost?” Half-turning to meet his gaze, something inside lurched uncomfortably. Damn if he didn’t look good. My chance for a normal life had just ended. “And my name isn’t…”

Carter had a grip on my left arm, just above the elbow, before I could finish speaking. “Don’t have time for games.”

“Let go of my bride!” Tom’s angry demand preceded his coming down the aisle, and several male guests rising from their seats. Carter looked past me for a quick survey and smirked.

“You’re joking. Him?” Insulted, I yanked free while he kept talking. “Is he rich? Because he’s damn sure no prize in the looks depar…”

Petals exploded. Carter’s blue eyes narrowed. “Did you just hit me with flowers?”

“You did this on purpose, didn’t you? Waited until today to show up.” Dropping the remains of the bouquet , I stumbled sideways, pushed while someone else hit him: Tom. Who then flew backwards, thanks to Carter’s quick reciprocation. A kick to his shin stopped him from leaping onto poor Tom.

“Ow, damn it all! I’m gonna tan your hide, Trance!” Hopping on one leg, both hands wrapped over his shin, Carter glared. Never one to ignore such a well-presented opportunity, I slapped both hands onto his shoulders and pushed.

He went down on his rear and I ran, hands full of satin, straight out the church doors. Getting as far away from those inside as possible before Carter caught up was foremost in my mind.

Unfortunately, he recovered quickly and acted faster than I remembered him capable of doing. A blink and I was swaying headfirst into a water trough. A scream let me in on the fact that the teleportation had been witnessed.

“Shit.” Another blink, and I was upright, facing the church as Carter stalked out. “I hate you.”

“Normal life ain’t for the likes of us, Trance. You know that.” He grinned, walking towards me. “Regular folk don’t…”

A shot cracked into the air and we both dove for the dirt. Well, I did. Carter landed on me. So much for my once beautiful wedding dress. “Get off.”

“Time to leave.” Blink and we were still in the dirt, but somewhere else.

“How sweet. It’s as though you lovebirds never parted.”

I sighed. “Hey, Jones. You, get off of me.”

“In a minute. Were you really going to marry that guy?” His lips tickled my ear. Jones made a weird sound. “Trance was getting married? Oh, man, wait until I tell the others!”

“Yes, I was, but Carter ruined that, didn’t you? Get. Off. Me!” Adding a nudge of telekinesis ended with a thumping sound. I’d launched him directly onto the landing ramp. I rose, dusting my hands off and looked down at my dress. “And my dress. You ruined my dress.”

“I wasn’t shooting,” he protested. “You were seriously going to…” He sat up. “Marry that guy?”

“Damn sure wasn’t marrying you, was I?” Stomping up the ramp helped hide the flutter of happiness. I’d wondered, and now I had an answer. “Are my quarters empty?”

“No. All your stuff’s still there.” His boots thudded behind me. “I wasn’t about to go digging around in all that girl crap, so just locked it up.”

“After I clean up, you can tell me just what the big idea was, ruining not only my wedding, but my last chance at happiness.”

Carter snorted. “You’d never have been happy there. Why do you think I came back?”

“Wait, that’s right. You left me on this dirtball planet in the first place.” Whirling around, I swung a fist that didn’t connect. He’d moved too quickly again. “Your reflexes have improved.”

He grinned. “Your taste in men has taken a turn for the worse.”

“Kiss my…” Jones interrupted my comeback. “You two better get on board. We have a posse headed our way. Or maybe they’re a lynch mob? What’s the correct term?”

My turn to smirk. “Way to go, Carter.”

“Me? All you had to do was excuse yourself.”

“I was getting married! The bride can’t excuse herself in the middle of her own wedding!” The urge to kick him was rising again. Still grinning, he grabbed my arm, dragging me the rest of the way on board. While Jones closed the hold door, Carter pinned my arms by embracing me. “Admit it. You missed me.”

“You left me on a planet where they think people with psychic talents are witches, and burn them at the stake, Carter.” I paused before adding the clincher. “You didn’t even tell me why or bye.”

He squeezed. “Needed a safe place to stash you and I didn’t mean to be gone that long.”

“Did you miss the part about burning? That wasn’t a safe place and you were gone for a year.” Damn him. I wasn’t trying to get free. He was right – I had missed him. “A year, Carter.”

“I’m sorry, Trance. Really. There was something I had to get taken care of,” he paused as the ship took off. “I’d better get up there. We’ll talk later.”

With a quick kiss, he was gone. I glanced back at Jones. “What did he have to take care of?”

Jones smiled. “Getting divorced. Welcome home, Trance.”