“Well then, hello.” I laughed and she giggled and as I looked at her, I realized she was one of the closest friends I had here and likely one of the only ones I could turn to for girly matters. “Steph? Can you come in for a second? I want to talk to you about something.” I said seriously and she nodded, her eyes widening a bit in surprise and curiosity. She stepped inside when I opened the door wider and then came and sat with me in my little living area, waiting patiently to see what I needed to talk about.
“I need your advice.” I began tentatively and she leaned a little closer, intent on giving me her full attention. “I have a date planned for tonight - “
“Aye, with Ian, right?” she broke in with a big smile and I looked at her in surprise.
“How did you know?”
“I saw him trying to stuff a piece of paper under your door late this morning and when I asked what he was doing, he told me.”
“He did? You don’t mind, do you? When I first got here, I was under the impression that you two might…” my voice trailed off uncertainly and she laughed again and shook her head.
“Aye, maybe I had a bit of a crush on the good doctor, but deep down I knew it was never going to go anywhere. We’ve known each other too long. No, he’s all yours if you want him. I’m actually going on a date of my own tonight with Jamie.” She admitted with a pretty blush and I smiled in surprise.
“Wow! Congrats! You two are so cute together! How long have you two been an item?” at my question, Stephanie’s blush deepened and she shifted a bit in her chair.
“We’re not. Yet. I’ve had a crush on him longer than I’ve had one on Ian but I never thought Jamie ever noticed me. Then, the other day out of the blue, he asked me if I’d like to go out to a local pub tonight and I said yes! So, keep your fingers crossed for me!” She said excitedly and we laughed together as I reached over to give her hand a supportive squeeze.
“That’s great! Good luck! So this might be a really good time to ask you for help since your mind is going to be on it too. See, I don’t know what to wear tonight - “ again she cut me off as she shot to her feet, dragging me up with her.
“Come with me! Let’s see if we can find something that will fit ye! Trust me, I know what you’re feeling!” We left my cottage and went over two doors to hers. As she opened her door and let us in, I looked around myself curiously. I had never been in her cottage before and it was comfortably set up, even if it was a tiny bit on the unkempt side. Lots of floor-pillows were stacked in a corner with a blanket and a couple of paperback novels scattered around.
I followed her into her bedroom and she quickly pulled the rumpled sheets up on her bed, trying to make it look tidy.
“Sorry, I’m not the greatest housekeeper.” She admitted sheepishly and I laughed.
“No worries, neither am I. I just don’t have as much stuff here to make a mess with.” I perched on the edge of the hastily made bed while she went to her closet and pulled the door open.
“I’m not as tall as you are so pants are out of the question. How do you feel about skirts?” she asked me and I kind of pulled a face.
“They’re okay. When you’re as tall as I am, you feel a little self-conscious in them. Actually, given that we’re having a picnic out by the cliff, I’ll probably stick with the new jeans you bought me, I love the color and fit of them. Do you have any pretty shirts I might be able to borrow?” I asked thoughtfully and Stephanie started flipping through hangars. A few hangars came flying in my direction with a few shirts on them of different colors and materials and I laughed, fingering a slinky black tank top that landed on the mattress beside me.
“With your long dark brown hair and your gorgeous tan, you need to wear a light color. It’s going to be a little cool though so it’ll have to be a warmer shirt so you don’t have to wear a jacket.” She muttered to herself, rifling through the pile of tops that now littered the bed and she pulled out a cream-colored cable-knit sweater-wrap.
“What is that? A sweater?” I asked in confusion, fingering the soft wool appreciatively and she nodded with a wink.
“Kind of. A sweater but it’s a cowl-necked wrap too. Once on, it hugs your shoulders, crosses over your front, and is no longer than waist-length, so it’ll go great with some jeans. Very figure-conscious. And you’ve definitely got the figure for it.”
“Sounds interesting.”
“Try it on.” She encouraged and with a slight shrug I stood up and pulled my t-shirt off. She helped me pull the sweater on and true to her word, the soft wool crossed over my chest, hugging my breasts and giving me to-die-for cleavage. It stopped just above my belly-button which made Stephanie giggle with an envious look at my mid-section.
“I don’t think I will ever run enough or do enough crunches to have abs like yours. Keep the sweater, it was made for you.”
“Thank you. This will be perfect I think. Now what about you? What are you going to wear for your date with Jamie?” I set the sweater aside and turned to her expectantly and her eyes widened as she inhaled slowly and she started chewing on her lip nervously.
“I….don’t know. Maybe a pair of black leggings and - “
“No! No pants.” I said sternly and she jumped in surprise.
“Why not? You’re going to wear them!”
“I’m also going to be sitting outside having a picnic, right? Jamie sees you in pants every day. Give him something to look at and wonder about. You’ve toned up quite a bit in the month that we’ve been running together. Show those stems off a little.” I encouraged her and she blushed and eyed her closet doubtfully.
“A skirt though? Really?”
“Let me see what you’ve got hiding in here.” I stood up and went to her closet, flipping through the various hangars while she took my spot on her bed and after a minute of searching I pulled out a black leather skirt with some roses embroidered near the hem on the right side. I tossed that on the bed beside her and resumed my searching, pulling out a pink blouse. My attention returned to her closet and I started rummaging around in her shoes and pulled out a pair of black knee-high leather boots.
“There. The blouse will match nicely with the flowers on the skirt and the boots will cover most of your lower leg so you won’t feel too exposed or flashy.” I said happily and she blushed.
“Are ye sure? I don’t want to come across as a floozy or something.”
“Of course! Trust me, you’ll look beautiful and pulled together and Jamie won’t know what hit him. Don’t forget, he already knows you, right? He knows the kind of girl you are and that you’re not about to jump into bed with him on the first date. Unless of course, that’s what you want.” When she started shaking her head so quickly it made her hair swirl around her shoulders, I laughed. “Then relax. He’s going to see you dressed up a little and he’s going to think ‘wow, she got dressed up for me. What did I do right?’.”
“You’re right. Thank you.”
“You’re very welcome. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to head back to my place, have a shower and take my time getting ready. Let me know tomorrow how your date went.” I gave her a quick hug before collecting my sweater and leaving her place.
Chapter 14
After my shower, I stood in front of the vanity in the bathroom and carefully applied a fresh dressing to my stitches. I was a fast healer so they weren’t nearly as inflamed looking as they had been the night before but they were still a little sore and I didn’t want the wool of my sweater to catch on the thread and pull it.
Once the bandage was in place, I went back into my room, pulled my jeans on and did them up before pulling the sweater on. I adjusted it around my shoulders, made sure my bra wasn’t sticking out anywhere and then stood back to admire myself in the mirror. Stephanie had been right, this sweater was made for me. It criss-crossed at the front and at the back, leaving my belly-button exposed over the waistband of my jeans, it made my decolletage actually look delicate, feminine and just a little sexy.
&nb
sp; “Just what the doctor ordered. I hope.” I winked at my reflection before leaning closer to the mirror to apply some eyeliner and mascara. Once my makeup was finished, something made me open the safe behind the mirror and I gazed inside at all of the old journals that were stacked in there.
“Granddad, what do I do? Whatever you feared was coming for you, I think finally is. Please be with me when it finally arrives and help me any way you can.” I whispered to the books, trailing a finger down the spines. On a whim, I pulled out one of Granddad’s earlier journals near the top of the pile and while I leafed through the pages, something fell out and landed on the floor with a soft plink. Closing the book in surprise, I bent down to see what I had dropped and my mouth fell open in surprise.
A silver necklace lay on the cement floor, with a dragon pendant attached to it. I picked it up carefully and was amazed, even after all of the years that it had been hidden away, at how the silver still shone like it was liquid. I let the pendant rest in the palm of my hand while I examined it and was in awe of the sheer beauty of it. The dragon had more of a serpent shape than one with four legs, but it was so intricately designed, from the point of the snout, to the horns, the wings, the tail. And it shone in the light, regardless of which way I tipped it, reflecting almost as perfectly as a mirror.
“Well aren’t you beautiful.” I murmured, undoing the clasp of the necklace and putting it around my neck. My interest in the necklace and pendant deepened when I finished fastening it and looked back in the mirror. Considering every one of my ancestors had been men, the chain was awfully small and delicate for them to wear, and the curve of the dragon’s tail rested right where the shadow between my breasts started. Which meant, if a man had put it on, it damn near would have been a choker on him. “Where did you come from, hmm? Perhaps you were meant to be a little present from Granddad to Nan?” I murmured, smoothing my hand across the charm. At my touch it warmed slightly and I gasped. The light flashed across the charm again even though the light in the bathroom hadn’t changed, nor had I moved and I cocked an eyebrow.
“Granddad? Can you hear me?” I asked the empty bathroom, feeling utterly ridiculous because my grandparents had both been dead now for almost ten years. “Granddad? This dragon charm...I’m going to keep it, is that okay with you? Maybe it’ll bring me some good luck.” I told the empty bathroom and the mirror I stood in front of, my gaze glued to the reflection of the charm around my neck. Another inexplicable flash of light and a slight warming of the charm confirmed for me that I was either crazy or this necklace was going to be my version of Mom’s amulet - without it needing to be spelled first. She had worn the ruby necklace every single day without fail and I had asked her a few times why she never took it off and she had explained that once she put it on, it had become a part of her. The magic in it had bonded with her own energy and that was all there was to it. She was never taking it off. Being my mother, I had never questioned her use of the word ‘magic’ but now I realized how blissfully ignorant I had been.
“Have you and I bonded, little dragon? Is that what you’re trying to tell me?” I murmured, giving the little pendant a fond squeeze before letting it go and continuing with my date-preparations.
When I was finally ready, I took a deep breath to calm my sudden nervousness and left my cottage, pulling the door closed behind me. I walked along the lane-way until I reached the trees and I veered off the gravel onto the grass to walk through the bushes and trees to get to the cliff on the other side.
When I emerged through the trees into the clearing, I spotted Ian immediately, a blanket spread out on the grass, with a big basket off to the side. He was just finishing putting some wine glasses on the ground beside a bottle when he caught sight of me and the smile on his face actually made me blush.
“Wow, Kailani, you look…” his voice trailed off as I got closer and I smiled faintly.
“Thank you, and you are as handsome as always.” I praised, admiring his slim-fit khakis, white polo shirt and brown Oxfords.
“I don’t really feel like I dressed up for our date now that I’ve seen you. I think I’m more suited for work.” He said apologetically but I waved his words off as rubbish.
“Please. A woman likes a man who can clean up and wear something other than jeans and plaid shirts. No offense, I know plaid is a big deal around here.” I laughed lightly, sinking to my knees on one corner of the blanket and he chuckled, kneeling opposite me.
“No offense taken. May I offer you a glass of wine to start us off?” now that I was close enough to see around the basket, I realized he had two bottles of wine sitting out; a red and a white and I hid a smile at his preparedness.
“I would love a glass of white if you don’t mind.” I admitted and he grabbed the white wine, pulled a Swiss Army knife out of his pocket so he could use the corkscrew and a moment later he handed me a glass of wine. He poured himself one and when he had recorked the bottle I held my glass out to him.
“A toast. To a beautiful evening by the water.” I began and he cleared his throat and then raised his own glass.
“And may this date be the first of many to come.” He winked at me and I blushed a little, hoping to hide it by taking a sip of the wine in my hand. He chuckled again as he saw my cheeks turn pink and as he gazed at me in the fading evening sun, his gaze dropped to my throat and he noticed the necklace I wore.
“What a beautiful necklace, is that new?” he asked in amazement, leaning forward a little to get a closer look at it and I looked down at the dragon.
“Not exactly. To be honest, I have no idea how old it is or who it belonged to. I found it in between some pages of one of Granddad’s journals this afternoon. I thought it was fitting so I put it on.” I told him and as he reached out to lift the charm with his finger, the gentle brush of his skin against mine sent a delicious shiver down my spine. He must have felt something too because when he looked up at me and our eyes met, his breathing was suddenly much more shallow.
“Dragon got your tongue, Doctor?” I asked quietly, a playful note in my voice and he just gazed into my eyes for another moment in silence. It would have been so easy to lean just a little closer to him and fit my mouth to his and taste the kiss I’d been dreaming about, but I didn’t want to rush anything. If I’d learned one thing, it was that he was a thorough man, who took his time and made sure he was always in control so I didn’t want to rock his boat. Yet.
Leaning back from him a tiny bit, I pretended to get more comfortable on the ground, curling my legs to the side so I wasn’t kneeling on them any longer and he sat back as well, the spell between us broken.
“I spoke to Alice first thing this morning and she put together this entire basket for us. I’m not even sure what all is in here.” He admitted as he too got more comfortable on the blanket and I smiled slightly before turning my gaze to look out at the waves, sipping my wine slowly as we relaxed. We chatted like we really were two people out on a first date, getting to know each other’s likes and dislikes, what our families were like. What made our friends so amazing, how my trip with Rachel had been up until the day I’d arrived here.
I learned that twice a week Ian went into the local hospital and did rounds there and once a week he spent a morning at a local walk-in clinic. His mother had died a few years earlier of cancer and his father was living in an old-age home down the coast. I learned that he and Edan had been childhood friends and while he had been away doing his medical residency, Edan had gotten reacquainted with Ciara and the rest, as far as those two were concerned, was history.
“What about any special people? Any previous girlfriends around here that I need to know about before they get jealous?” I fished shamelessly and Ian laughed and blushed, shaking his head.
“None to speak of lately, not to worry. I dated a nurse at the hospital a couple of years ago and while she was really sweet, our crazy schedules just didn’t permit anything serious. Ciara has tried to set me up once or twice, once with an art curator, bu
t she was more interested in her art than in me, and the second time was with a young woman who used to live here but she moved away last year to travel around Europe. So to say you’ve nothing to worry about is an understatement. What about you? Anyone waiting for you to come back home?”
“Rachel and Gran and that’s about it.” I said dryly and then filled him in on my parents passing away and how they’d left me the house that Rachel and I lived in together. I told him about Mark and how I was too tall and not waif-like enough for him, and that made Ian make a rude sound in the back of his throat.
“Personally, I like being able to look into your eyes without having to stoop down to see you or have you crane your neck up to see mine. And if you were waif-like at your height you’d look positively skeletal. I think you have all the right curves in all the right places, and he must not be much of a man if you’d knock him over just by jumping into his arms.” He defended me loyally and then once he realized what he’d admitted, he blushed, cleared his throat and turned his gaze out over the waves.
“Thank you. That’s probably one of the nicest things a guy has said to me in a long time. My dad and my grandfather were tall men, and given their genetics, I guess I understand why. You’re not going to be a very formidable dragon if you’re skimming the five-foot range. When I was growing up I always felt like a giraffe. I was taller than all of the girls in my class and most of the boys. I could never wear any kind of heel if I went out on a date and when I met Mark I thought I’d finally found someone who would accept me. He was just over six-feet, like you, and wiry from all of his time on a surfboard. I thought he could handle me but I was clearly wrong and I just wanted to chop myself off at the knees when he left.” I said quietly and the pain in my voice had Ian reaching a hand out to give mine a squeeze.
“You’re perfect lass just the way you are. And he was a fool not to see that. But then, if he had, we wouldn’t be sitting here together so for that, I tip my glass to him in thanks.” Ian held his glass out in a toast to the waves and I laughed lightly, toasting the waves too.
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