Shades of Valhalla - Inner Origins Book One

by Ellis Logan

Chapter 9

  The fighter in me itched to wipe the smirk off Emelie’s face, but I took a deep breath and controlled myself. I’d met plenty of girls like Emelie before, and I’d stopped letting myself get sucked into their petty dramas years ago. I straightened my back while instinctively loosening my stance.

  Cooper spluttered, coming up out of the water after being dunked again by Holly. She gleefully kicked more water in his face as she swam over to us. Cooper followed cautiously in her wake, eyeing her with a mischievous gleam in his eye.

  “Hey there, you must be the new girl Rowan mentioned.” I peeked at Rowan, surprised that he’d been talking about me. “I’m Holly, Rowan’s older sister.”

  “Older, ha!”

  “Well, I am.” She gave him a cheeky grin.

  “Two minutes, Holly, just two minutes. You don’t need to go around flaunting it all the time.” Rowan actually sounded put out. This must be one of those old sibling rivalries they always talked about in movies. Personally, I was a little intrigued by the idea that anyone could actually get under his skin that way. I found it oddly reassuring, and instantly warmed to his sister.

  Rowan walked over to the cooler and popped a beer open. He swallowed about half of it and glowered at her. “I swear, Holly, only you can drive me to drink.”

  She laughed and winked at me. “It’s what I live for. You going to offer Siri something?”

  Rowan had the good grace to look embarrassed. “Sorry, Siri. In case you haven’t already guessed, this is my twin, Holly. She’s annoying as hell, but I love her dearly.” This last bit was delivered with a healthy dose of sarcasm and had Holly laughing even harder. “Would you like something to drink? Looks like we’ve got beer, hard cider, and water.”

  I didn’t usually like drinking, I wasn’t a fan of anything that clouded my thinking, but I didn’t want to seem weird so I asked for a hard cider. I figured it wasn’t like I actually had to finish it. Rowan handed me the cider and put our bags down on the stone, opening up my bag with the cookies in it.

  “We brought some goodies of our own, too. Cookies, an apple, a couple sodas if anybody wants them.” Rowan announced to the group.

  “Sweet, cookies!” Cooper launched himself out of the water, dripping all over Emelie. He took three and popped one in his mouth whole. “Eryumm.”

  “Ugh, Coop, you are such a Neanderthal. Did you have to get me all wet?”

  “It’s what I live for.” His voiced lowered and he schooled his features into what I could only assume was his attempt at bedroom eyes.

  “You are disgusting.” Emelie sighed theatrically. “Well, I suppose since I’m already soaked, I might as well join you, Holly.” She pointedly ignored the rest of us and dove flawlessly into the pool of water.

  “You can thank me anytime,” Cooper drawled to Rowan. Rowan snorted.

  “What do you mean?” I asked before I could stop myself. “Shouldn’t you be thanking us for the cookies?”

  “Ha, good one! No, I meant for getting rid of Emelie. She’s always had a thing for Rowan and doesn’t take too kindly to his girlfriends.”

  “Girlfriends, huh?” I took a sip of my cider to mask the sudden burst of annoyance I felt. “I suppose he’s got a lot of them?”

  “Oh yeah, he’s always got someone chasing after him, I mean just last week he–”

  “Can it, Coop. You’re making me look bad.”

  “Oh! Right. Sorry,” he said to Rowan. Then he turned right back to me and continued, “It’s not his fault, he’s just way too nice, you know? All the chicks in my grade are totally gaga for him now that he’s a big bad senior.”

  “Oh, so you’re a junior then?”

  “Yeah, Holly is our resident cradle robber,” Rowan teased.

  Cooper rolled his eyes. “As if. No girl can resist this…” He pointed to his well-defined chest and flexed his pecs beach lifter style, making us all crack up.

  “Anyway, as I was saying, girls take advantage of Rowan all the time. He just doesn’t know how to say no. That’s why I’m going to ask you right now…Just what exactly are your intentions towards our Rowan?”

  I sputtered, shocked, and spit out the cider I had just drank.

  “Dude, you are such an ass!” Rowan laughed and punched Cooper in the arm. “Siri, I swear, I don’t go out that much, and I’m not dating anyone right now.”

  “Whatever you say, Casanova,” I replied.

  Cooper nodded at me in approval. “I like this one, Rowan. You may keep her.”

  “Oh my God. I can’t take any more of this. Siri, you want to swim?”

  “Yeah, sure.” I stood up and started taking off my shorts. Suddenly, I heard a whoop from above and looked out over the water. Emelie swung out on the rope swing high over the pool and let go, doing a dive into water below. “Wow, cool!” I said, and pulled my shirt up over my head. When my head emerged, I made eye contact with Rowan.

  He looked at me, his eyes slowly taking in all of me, and said, “Yeah. Wow.” Realizing he was referring to me, and not the dive, I sucked my bottom lip and glanced away. I felt a hot flush creep up my entire body, and was pretty sure I was blushing again.

  “Okay, last one in’s a rotten egg!” I shouted and cannonballed into the water. I emerged right next to Holly and Emelie.

  “Hey. Awesome dive,” I told Emelie.

  “Yeah, thanks, no biggie. I’ve been coming here for years with Rowan, so I know what I’m doing.” She flicked her hair over the shoulder that was closest to me, conveniently getting water all over my face. Holly disappeared from view as Cooper swam up behind her and pulled her under.

  “What is it with those two?” I asked.

  “Oh, them? Madly in love, together for the last two years. Totally boring, right?”

  “Um, right.” Having never had a serious boyfriend, I couldn’t imagine being bored with being in love. Being in love for two years? A luxury I’d never dreamed of with my nomadic lifestyle. I looked around for Rowan and saw him climbing out of the water, hand over hand, up the rope swing. His wet muscles bulged and glistened in the afternoon sun. When he got up halfway he started pumping his body, getting the rope to swing back and forth. He grinned over at us and yelled “Look out below!” as he leaped into the water right next to us. He came up behind me and wrapped his arm around my waist, sending a flurry of butterflies through me.

  “Your turn, Siri. Most people swim the rope over to the rocks and swing out holding onto the fourth knot.” He pointed over at an outcrop of rocks under the bridge.

  “Aw, come on, Rowan. Don’t pressure her. She might be scared.” Emelie looked at me with a false smile of concern on her face.

  I laughed. “No worries. I’m not too afraid of heights.” I swam over to the rope, grabbed on and scrambled up. Years of boxing and training had given me the upper body strength most girls lacked, and I was lean enough that this type of climbing was cake. When I got to the top knot, I flashed a brilliant smile down at Emelie. I started pumping to get the swing moving. The moment I had enough momentum, I let go and pushed off backward, sending my body into a tight spin. I could hear the guys cheering and yelling as I came out of a flawless double back somersault and entered the water. Swimming under the dark pool to come up between Rowan and Emelie, I shook the water gently out of my hair. A little retribution for Emelie’s earlier hair flicking.

  “That was awesome!”

  “Where’d you learn to dive like that?”

  “Falls Olympics, here we come!”

  Everybody was smiling at me, except Emelie who muttered, “showoff,” under her breath. I suppressed a grin and shrugged.

  “We swam a lot at the Y in Tucson. Not much else to do there when it’s 110F outside for half the year. Beat jogging, that’s for sure.”

  Rowan laughed, came closer and tucked a wet curl behind my ear. “You are amazing, Serious.” He gazed at me, looking pretty serious himself. Then he tapped a finger on my nose and said, “And you need some serious sunblock. You’r
e already turning pink. Come on, let’s get you protected and then you can show us some more of your awesome skills.”

  For once, I felt grateful for my fair skin. Because I knew I was already wearing sunscreen, and the pink in my cheeks had nothing to do with the warm September sun, and everything to do with Rowan’s midnight eyes. I followed him out of the water and sat down, hiding my embarrassment behind a sip of cider. He rummaged through his backpack for a minute and then tossed me a small bottle of lotion. “Here, my mom always makes me bring this, though this is the first time I think I’ve used it.”

  I hastily smoothed some over my face, shoulders and upper chest. Then I stretched out my legs and leaned back to relax. Emelie joined us and grabbed the bottle. “Rowan, I don’t think I got my back this morning. Can you put some on me?”

  “Sure thing.” I watched Rowan oblige her. While he was busy at task, she winked at me. When he finished, he put the bottle away, grabbed some cookies, and came to lie down next to me, resting his head against my thigh. This was all new territory for me, I wasn’t used to a guy being so attentive. Or interested. Or anything. Emelie looked totally put out, so I decided to be nice and refrain from winking back at her.

  “Ah,” Rowan sighed, popping a cooking in his mouth, “snack time!”

  I turned my attention to him, and had to fight an intense urge to run my fingers through his hair. Would that be creepy? Too forward? I totally did not get what to do in this kind of situation. Rowan was so relaxed. He acted like he’d known me forever, like we were old friends. Oh god, what if this was how he treated all the girls? I resolved not to fall straight into his arms.

  I would. Not. Play with his hair. I wouldn’t.

  A few tiny drops of water tinged with blue from the dye in his hair shimmered on my thigh. Pretty.

  I looked back at his hair, his face. Oh. He was looking right at me. With his pretty eyes. Dammit. I looked away from his eyes, down his face to his lips.

  “Want one?” they moved. He had such nice teeth. Nice lips.

  “Huh?” What? Was I caught? Did he know what I was thinking?

  “A cookie. Do you want one?” His lips smiled upside down at me, and I dragged my eyes back up to meet his.

  “Yes! Um, sure.” He handed me one and I looked back out over the water while I chewed.

  We sat there quietly for a few minutes, just soaking in the sun, eating and relaxing. After a while we went back in the water and swam some more. Emelie spent most of her time near Holly, ignoring me, which I was totally fine with. We all took turns showing off our best dives until the sun went behind the trees and the air took on a chill.

  “Must be past seven! Mom’s made lasagna tonight, I hope there are leftovers.” Cooper groaned. He got out of the water and started packing up. We all did the same and hiked back to our cars as a group. Holly and Emelie got in a blue Mazda RX-7 and Cooper hopped in an old Wrangler with no doors.

  “See you tomorrow!” Holly called to me out her window as Emelie peeled out into the dirt road, kicking up a ton of dust.

  Rowan opened the truck door for me again and waited for me to get in, closing it gently once I did. He walked around to his side, giving me a chance to watch him move without anyone knowing this time. His tee shirt fit him just right, damp and sticking in a few key places to show off his muscles as he moved. His skin had a healthy glow to it after the day of sun and swimming, and his wet hair was a mess, sticking out in several directions. He was gorgeous. I looked out my window as he got to the door and climbed in.

  He spent a minute putting in a new CD. The engine started, and we pulled out slowly into the road. Queen’s “You’re my best friend” played on the stereo while we drove in silence. I looked out the window the whole time, watching the sun set behind the hills. Gorgeous pinks laced through blue in the sky. Venus twinkled on the horizon, a pin of light in the deep indigo and I thought of Rowan’s eyes.

  I made sure to keep my gaze out the window, sure that if I looked at him now I would embarrass myself beyond redemption. Probably with some drool or something. Ugh.

  The drive to my house seemed a lot shorter than I remembered, and when the truck stopped I felt a twinge of disappointment that the day was ending.

  The engine turned off, and I turned to Rowan. He was opening his door, getting out of the car. He came around and opened my side, leaning in to grab my back pack. Then he turned to me, held out his hand and said “Milady?”

  I laughed and put my hand in his, letting him help me out of the car. He handed me my pack. The porch light was still on, and my mom’s car was gone. “I guess my mom’s not home yet.”

  “Sweet, I’ve passed the first test!”

  “First test?” I asked.

  “Yeah, you know. On the quest to win the princess’s heart, the knight must pass several tests. Impress the queen, defeat the dragon, rescue the damsel, and save the kingdom.”

  “Aw, you’re so cute!” I laughed. “You think you could rescue me?”

  “Sure, yeah, or at least fight by your side. Remember, me, the karate kid? But at least I have won favor with your queen, returning you home before the clock strikes.” He grinned at me as he led me up the stairs to the porch, still holding me by the hand.

  We got to the door and stopped. I dropped his hand and started going through my pack to find my keys. “So, um, thanks for the introduction to the falls today,” I started awkwardly as I searched the bag. “I had a really great time.” I felt the keys and grabbed them. Shifting my bag back onto my shoulder, I looked up at him.

  He was just staring at me with a bemused expression on his face.

  “Um, so…”

  “Remember what I said about this being a date, Siri?”

  “Yeah?” I bit my lip, wondering if this was the part where he told me it wasn’t.

  “Yeah. Well, it was.” And he lowered his head to mine, so close our foreheads almost touched. “Okay?”

  His voice was so low it sent a rumbling through my solar plexus. I got the feeling he wasn’t just asking if I understood him. It felt more like he was asking permission.

  “Okay,” I whispered.

  He lowered his head the rest of the way, and gently touched his lips to mine. I’d never been kissed before, other than a few embarrassing middle school spin the bottle forays. Certainly never kissed by someone I liked. And never kissed by someone on a date. Oh, I’d been on a few dates throughout high school, but they had always ended with me rushing into house and evading the awkwardness, or with the boy and I just winding up as friends. I’d never been on a date that turned out…Well. This was turning out well. His lips seared into mine. I sighed with the pleasure of it and ran my hands up over his arms, reveling in the feel of his strength. I murmured appreciatively beneath his lips. A low growl came from his throat and he reached around my waist, pulling me closer and deepening our kiss. It was amazing. I felt like I was coming home and flying to outer space all at once. I ran one hand through the damp hair at his neck and clutched him closer. He smelled like sweet lemons and oranges and I felt like I could never get enough. He seemed to feel the same as he ran his hands through my damp hair.

  God, why hadn’t I kissed any of my other dates? What had I been thinking? What had I been missing? But I knew. I knew I hadn’t missed anything, because I hadn’t met anyone like him before. No one that lit me on fire this way. No one that made me feel home this way.

  I don’t know how long we kissed for. A dog started barking in the distance, and seemed to pull Rowan out of the trance we were both in. He pulled back, still gripping my waist.

  “Okay.” He said, his voice lower than usual. I breathed in his amazing scent and smiled up at him.

  “Okay.” I breathed in again.

  He started to lean in for another kiss, and I eagerly went up on my toes to meet him. Halfway there, his phone rang in his pocket, The Adams Family theme song blasting out.

  “Sorry, it’s my parents.” He took a step back and answered his phone. I heard
a high voice on the other end, and it didn’t sound happy. “Yeah mom, fine, sorry. I’ll be home soon. Yeah, I know. Fine.” He hung up.

  “Sorry about that. My mom…she’s a bit high strung sometimes. She’s mad that I’m not home yet, she knows I have homework to do still.” He leaned in and gave me a quick kiss on lips, followed by another on my forehead. “I’ll see you tomorrow at school, yeah?”

  “Alright.” I smiled. “Tomorrow.”

  “Go on in,” he nudged me. “I can’t leave until my princess is safely ensconced within her castle, you know.”

  I laughed, and unlocked the door. “Great, am I safe now?” I asked from inside the threshold.

  “For tonight,” he leered suggestively at me and I giggled.

  “All right, get out of here, you.”

  He laughed and hopped down the stairs to his truck.

  I shut the door and leaned against it, listening to his truck roar to life and drive away. My heart was hammering in my chest. Oh, I was so not safe. Not from him. And it was so good.

  Chapter 10