Risse ran bullet points through her mind as she drove, and by the time she pulled in to her driveway, her mind was buzzing with possible ideas. She couldn’t wait to write them all down and get started. She was glad she still had time before she was supposed to go out tonight so she could work on her blog. This was going to be her best post ever!
The two-story colonial Charisse grew up in smelled like warm cookies and chocolate when Risse came rushing in through the kitchen. Her mom was pulling a pan out of the oven, and the amazing smell brought Risse to a halt.
“What is that?” she asked, planting a kiss on her mother’s cheek.
“Blondies with leftover Halloween candy mixed in. I thought you kids might like a treat tonight.” Faith Arella wiped her brow, leaving a streak of melted chocolate.
“That sounds awesome! Thanks, Mom. You’re the best.”
Faith smiled, glad she could still make her kids happy with a simple thing like dessert. Her son, Zeph, was already married and working full time, even though he was only 19, and Charisse was well on her way to adulthood with only half a year left of high school. Her little blog had already brought in enough money to pay for Charisse’s car and support her beauty product obsession.
Faith was at loose ends as a stay-at-home mom with children who didn’t really need her any longer. Until she figured out what to do next, she’d keep making blondies and pray it was enough to bring her kids back home once in a while.
“I’m gonna go work on my blog till it’s time to meet everyone,” Risse said, eyeing the dessert. “Can I take a slice with me?”
Faith nodded, and Risse scooped a steaming hot slice onto a plate before racing up the stairway.
Her room was as fashionable as she was, with aqua walls and gray and white bedding dotted with half a dozen decorative throw pillows in various textures. Her dresser and nightstands were mirrored, and their crystal knobs sparkled like prisms. She kept it tidy so it looked nice in the background of her videos. She wanted her room to be camera-ready at all times, because she never knew when inspiration would strike.
Charisse sat down at her desk and quickly outlined the major points she wanted to emphasize while snacking on her mother’s blondie, then she changed her clothes and freshened her makeup before turning on the camera.
“Today I met someone that most people would consider incredibly handsome,” she began. She had debated whether or not she wanted to mention the encounter that had inspired today’s topic, but she was positive someone like Jake Henley would never watch a beauty blog post, so she figured it was safe enough to talk about him as long as she didn’t mention any names.
“He had great hair, probably finger-styled with medium-hold gel,” she couldn’t resist throwing in some beauty routine commentary, “the perfect five o’clock shadow, and eyelashes that rivaled the effects of my favorite mascara. His clothes were designer, and they hugged his amazing body in all the right places. But the first thing I noticed when I met him wasn’t how great he looked, it was his attitude. It only took one look for me to see that, as beautiful as he was on the outside, he was downright ugly on the inside…”
Risse talked for another five minutes about how an attractive personality is more important than any beauty routine, quoting a few of her favorite scriptures and giving examples of people who were beautiful because of what was on the inside.
She played back the video in her editing software, enhancing the colors and cutting out any extraneous umm’s and ahh’s. When she was satisfied, she published the post and notified her fan base on social media.
Instantly, the view count started rising, and the comments popping up were all positive. Risse smiled, pleased that she’d used her platform for something of greater consequence than usual. Hopefully, her fans would be inspired by her words and not disappointed that she hadn’t given them suggestions for new beauty products to try.
She still had an hour before she was due to meet her friends at the bowling alley. Her curiosity got the best of her, and she decided to see if she could find Jake’s channel. It didn’t take long to locate one of his videos, and she was surprised at how popular it was. Was it possible that other people didn’t find him as offensive as she did?
She hit play and listened with a critical ear as he talked about some kind of car he liked. Most of the words meant nothing to her — turbo in-line sixes, a stroked LS3 with custom LS7 heads and a Fast LSXR 102 mm intake. The words blurred together into nonsense syllables as she focused on his face instead of what he was saying.
He was definitely passionate about the topic. His caramel eyes lit up and his white teeth sparkled behind his broad smile as he waxed poetic about transmissions and tires. His masculine voice was almost hypnotic. When the video ended, Charisse found herself clicking on the next one automatically.
This one was about a movie he had liked, and much easier for Charisse to follow. Besides the occasional use of profanity, Risse thought his commentary was funny and intelligent, and she found herself wanting to see the movie based on his reaction to it, despite the fact that she had never been interested in action movies. She was so absorbed in the video, she didn’t even hear her mom knocking.
“Risse, what time are you leaving? Did you want to join Daddy and me for dinner?”
Risse glanced at the time and gasped. She was supposed to leave fifteen minutes ago!
“I’m late!” she exclaimed, scooping up her purse and jacket and giving her mom a quick squeeze.
“Don’t forget to take the goodies… and bring back my pan, please!”
“I will, Mom. Thanks again! See you later!” Risse rushed down the stairs, grabbing the pan of blondies on her way out the door.
The bowling alley was only a few miles away, so she wasn’t terribly late, but she hated to make anyone wait; she didn’t like to be inconsiderate.
When she arrived, she saw her four favorite people (besides her parents) hanging out in the last lane. Her brother, Zephaniah, was there with his new bride, Eve, and so were his closest friends, twins Cheydan and Maddock Engel. The crack and rumble of tumbling balls and pins assaulted her ears, and the scent of hot dogs made her stomach rumble as she wound her way through the crowd towards her group.
“Hey sis, I was just about to text you to find out where you were at, but Cheydan told me to be patient.” Zeph rolled his eyes, mocking his friend’s gift as he gave his sister a peck on the cheek.
“I’m sorry! I just lost track of time. But I brought blondies!” Risse held up the pan of goodies, and her friends let out an appreciative murmur.
“Did your mom make these? Her stuff is the best.” Maddock took the pan from Risse and opened the lid, inhaling the scent like a blondie sommelier. Risse nodded and gave the twins each a side hug before reaching to embrace her sister-in-law.
“Eve, you look great,” Charisse said, pulling back to admire her. Marriage was definitely good for the shy redhead. She was practically glowing. Zeph wrapped his arms around his wife from behind, resting his chin on her head.
“You look pretty good, too, big brother. I guess married life is working out all right.” Risse winked and Eve blushed, her rosy cheeks almost the color of her hair.
This was the group’s first real get-together since the wedding, and Risse was ecstatic to have everyone together again. The twins had graduated the same year as Zeph and Eve, when Risse was just a sophomore, and everyone had been so busy starting their new lives that they hadn’t taken much time to just hang out.
Now that Zeph had moved out, Risse felt like everyone she loved was drifting away. It had been her idea to get everyone together for a night out, and right away the old feelings of friendship and closeness came rushing back, enveloping her with a sense of rightness.
“How’s the new house, Zeph?” Risse asked as she slipped on the bowling shoes Maddock handed her.
“It’s great. Eve is doing an amazing job of making it feel like home. I miss you, though. But I have to admit I don’t miss sharing the bathr
oom with you and your 5000 different beauty products. Eve manages to look just as beautiful as you, but all she has is one tiny little bag.” Zeph smirked, his hands indicating the minuscule size of Eve’s toiletry collection.
Eve laughed, and her smile made her face radiant. Zeph was totally right. “We want to have you over for dinner sometime soon, Risse. Maybe you can help me pick out colors for some of the rooms I haven’t done yet.”
“I’d love that.” Risse smiled, happy they still wanted to include her in their life. “How’s the Dominion stuff going?”
Dominion Connan had surprised the entire Celestia Divisa world two years ago when he announced that Zeph would begin training to take his place as Dominion. Up until then, everyone thought Zeph was a dud — the only Celestia who didn’t have a special gifting.
In actuality, Zeph had the rarest gift of all — discernment of spirits. He could recognize a Celestia by their aura, something no other Celestia or human could see, except for his wife. He learned of his gift when he discovered Eve, a Celestia who was unaware of her own nature. They were also able to discern a Celestia’s gifting, the main job requirement for a Dominion.
Dominion Connan had kept Zeph’s gift a secret from everyone, including Zeph, until it was time to prepare for the exchange of power. Since then, Zeph and Eve had traveled the region with Dominion, meeting the different Celestia congregations and practicing their gift of discernment.
Now that Dominion Connan was ill, Zeph and Eve had taken over. It was an incredible honor and responsibility for a couple of nineteen-year-olds, but Dominion Connan had the utmost faith in them, and so did Charisse.
“It’s going okay, surprisingly. It helps that all the congregations have met us before. I’m glad Dominion Connan started our inception when he did.”
“Do you think he knew his time was coming?”
Zeph nodded. “I don’t think he would’ve rushed us to start training and get married so soon otherwise. Not that I’m complaining!” He squeezed his wife and she squeezed back, their love for each other obvious.
“I’m not sure I could’ve waited much longer anyway.”
Cheydan shook his head and tsk’d.
“Just wait till you have a girl as amazing as Eve, Cheydan. I don’t think you’ll be so patient, then.” Zeph teased.
Cheydan grimaced at the reminder. He might have the gift of patience, but he was still a teenage boy. His heart was definitely willing to wait for the right girl, but his special gift wasn’t quite as effective at soothing his eager hormones.
“What have you been up to, Cheydan?” Risse asked, turning her attention to the Engels as Zeph rose to take his turn. Maddock set down a tray of hot dogs and sodas, and Charisse eagerly snatched one of each.
“I got a new job,” Cheydan said. “I’m working as a customer service rep at the JH Industries call center. They take calls 24/7, so I can work around my class schedule.”
“With your patience, I bet you’re great at that, Cheydan.” Charisse touched his arm and smiled around a mouthful of hot dog. Sometimes Cheydan wondered if Risse liked him — she was always so sweet and loving — but he was pretty sure it was just her gift of kindness, not any real attraction. He loved her, and she was beautiful, but it was hard to see her as anything other than Zeph’s little sister.
He’d never been in love before, never even had a girlfriend, but he was patient enough to wait for sparks to fly instead of settling for the wrong person, no matter how great she was. It was hard to resist Charisse, though, especially when she gave him that sweet smile.
“I got a strike!” Zeph yelled in amazement as the pins crashed to the floor.
“You are definitely my good luck charm, Eve,” he said, grabbing his wife and swinging her around. Eve threw her head back and laughed, and Zeph peppered her neck with kisses.
Charisse grinned in pleasure at the sight of her brother so happy. Zeph had trudged through most of his life, his disappointing lack of talent weighing down his soul like the gravity of a denser planet. Ever since he found Eve and got appointed as the next Dominion, the weight of his incompetence had been lifted, and his soul had inflated into something transcendent.
“How about you, Maddock? What have you been doing?” Charisse asked after casually bowling her own strike.
“Still working at the grocery store.”
“And spending all your money on food for the soup kitchen?”
Maddock smiled and dropped his head. His gift was generosity, so giving came natural to him. He didn’t do it for recognition or praise.
“I get a discount.” He shrugged.
“How are your classes going?” Eve asked. Eve was probably the brainiest of the bunch, and a little envious that the Engel twins were going to college. She had always planned to get a degree in math or science, but her plans had changed when she learned of her true destiny. Her new life was far more exciting than a regular career would be, but she still sometimes wondered what she was missing.
“Pretty good, I guess. But I’m having a tough time with calculus. Hey, maybe you could help me?”
“Sure, Maddock! I’d love to. Come over some night. You can see our new place, and I’ll give you some pointers.”
“That would be awesome, Eve.”
“How’s Dominion doing, Risse?” Cheydan asked, dropping down beside her after bowling his third strike in a row. It took him forever to line up his shot, but when he finally released the ball, it always hit its mark.
“He’s okay, better than when he first got there. I don’t see him resuming his duties anytime soon, though.”
The teens all nodded gravely. Celestia were immune to most sickness and disease, so they tended to live long, healthy lives, but their bodies were half human, so they didn’t last forever. Dominion Connan was one of the oldest Celestia in the world, and his body was showing signs of deterioration.
“I saw today’s blog post, Risse; it was really great.” Eve broke the solemn silence.
“Thanks, Eve. I’m sort of worried how my fans will respond to it, since it’s a little out of the norm for me.”
Eve shook her head in disagreement. “They’ll love it; they already do. The comments are some of the best ever. Teens can be passionate about issues, so they appreciate when other people are, too. Your sincerity really shines through in that video, Risse. If it’s possible, you come across as even more incredible than you were before.”
“Thanks, Eve.” Charisse’s face glowed like Eve had applied a Mayfair Instagram filter.
“But what everyone is desperate to know is, who’s the hunky rude-boy?” Eve stage-whispered, leaning close with a conspiratorial grin.
Charisse stuck her tongue in her cheek then looked around guiltily before deciding it wouldn’t hurt anything to confide in Eve. It wasn’t like she knew him. “He’s this new volunteer at the nursing home. Biggest jerk ever.”
Eve’s eyes widened at the description. Risse never said anything bad about anybody.
“He’s cruel, and mannerless, and full of himself! I can’t believe they let him near the patients.”
“Wow, I’ll make sure to avoid him next time we come to visit Dominion!” Eve said, and Charisse cringed. Why hadn’t she thought of that? Of course they would cross paths at some point. Zeph and Eve were Dominion’s most frequent visitors.
“Well, I haven’t spent very much time with him, and he did just get in a lot of trouble, so maybe he was just having a bad day. I should let you make up your own mind.” Charisse back-pedaled, trying to undo the bad impression she had just left. She was pretty sure his attitude was a permanent personality flaw and not just a temporary bad mood, but it wasn’t really fair to make that judgement for others.
Eve tilted her head, considering, but the damage was already done. Charisse knew that Eve’s opinion of him would always be tainted by Charisse’s words, and she kicked herself for being so thoughtless. Once again, Jake Henley had brought out the worst in her. What kind of role model was she, posting v
ideos about kindness when she had just soiled someone’s reputation with a few careless words? Charisse hung her head and muttered an apology.
It was her turn again, so she grabbed her ball and flung it down the lane without much concentration. She left three pins but knocked them down on her second throw, bringing her score to a tie for first place with Cheydan. They celebrated with another serving of Mrs. Arella’s candy bar blondies before calling it a night. Risse sent the rest of the pan home with Cheydan as a prize, with his promise to bring the dish to church the next day.
Risse hugged everyone goodbye, her mood brightening at the mention of tomorrow’s festivities. She always loved Sundays. She loved the warmth and togetherness she felt when she saw her entire Celestia family all in one place. It wasn’t time for the quarterly ceremony, but going to church always made her feel happy, so matter what was going on that day.
Chapter 5
Jake rolled over with a groan, covering his eyes to block out the midday sun shining through his window. Why didn’t he ever remember to shut the blinds? His head ached, but his bladder demanded his attention, so he stumbled out of bed and towards the bathroom.
He popped a couple aspirin and rubbed his face with his hands before glancing in the mirror. He definitely looked as bad as he felt. He usually enjoyed the parties enough to make them worth the hangover, but last night had been less than satisfying.
The beer had been flat, the old sawmill filthy and crowded, and every girl who caught his eye had turned out to be annoyingly self-absorbed and catty. He wasn’t sure if it was just a bad crop or if his standards had risen, but whatever it was, all he could think about was how basic those girls seemed next to Risse Arella.
The thought of her brought unfulfillable desires to his mind, but a glance at the clock told him he could probably see her in less than an hour if he hurried up and got ready. He jumped in the shower and let the hot water wash away the filth and stench of last night.
Date with Destiny Collection: Angel Romance Series: Books 1 - 4 Page 16
