From nowhere Logan’s expression changed. Logan nodded, held up his hands as if in surrender and shrugged like it were no big deal. “Sure dude, a guy has got to try. You know how it is?” he asked, with what could only be described as a shit-eating grin.
“I know how it is,” Austin replied.
“I will catch you later, Winter.” Logan acquiesced to the not so subtle dismissal which Austin made for me on my behalf, but before he could leave he had to irritate me further. “Listen baby, when you get rid of this guy.” Thumbing his finger over his massive shoulder toward Austin. “Look me up.”
Before I could say anything, Logan took off in a jog the way he had come. I was more than aggravated as well as mad at myself for not saying more, but as usual, I was tongue-tied from the whole strange encounter.
“Please do not be upset with me,” Austin said softly. He shifted his glance back to my face. He looked like he was studying me, my expression.
Upset with him? That would be wholly impossible.
Austin placed his hands inside the front pockets of his jeans then kicked a stray rock from the sidewalk with the toe of his black booted foot. Leaves in every color of October blew across our feet.
“I hope you didn’t want to go out with him?”
“No, definitely not,” I muttered.
“Good.” Austin said this like we had settled something quite important between us.
“I don’t know why he was acting that way. Logan never speaks to me,” I confessed.
“He wanted you, badly, but he didn’t look like the kind of guy who was going to take no for an answer.”
I felt the heat of my blush then said, “I’m sorry.”
Austin looked surprised. The arch of his brow rose, and his gorgeous blue eyes glittered. “For what?”
“For getting you involved in that whole weird scene with Logan.”
Austin chuckled. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”
“Um….”
“You are wondering what I am doing here?” I nodded my head in agreement unable to speak, but also wondering if I was actually awake. Maybe this whole thing was a strange dream. “I asked Dane about you. He told me where to find you.” Austin gave me a crooked smile as though he were guilty. “This might sound crazy but I needed to see you.”
I was going to ask Dane how to find you, I wanted to say.
“No, not crazy,” I admitted quietly.
The color of his blue-gray eyes rendered me speechless again. They seemed almost deep sapphire this morning. I had to take note of myself quickly to make sure my mouth was not hanging open. Thankfully, it was not. To be standing trout mouthed and drooling would have been more than embarrassing.
“Winter.” He said my name, and I liked it. I watched his eyes flash. His face smoothed. “Miss. Perri….” He started over, now formal, using my last name. “Would you would do me the honor of accompanying me to dinner this evening?”
“Dinner?” I asked, a bit shocked.
“I would very much enjoy your company, so I hope you will say yes.”
“Yes,” I said without any hesitation then wondered if I were too eager.
His brilliant breathtaking smile returned. He ran his fingers through his dark tousled hair saying, “Perfect, I will pick you up at six.”
“Okay…um, you need my dorm information,” I mumbled.
“Oh, I know how to find you.” He interjected quickly. “I will be at your door at six.”
I noticed he seemed quite pleased with himself.
“Um, uh…, I-I.” I was stuttering again. “I was wondering…um, can you tell me where we might be going?” I finally asked.
“I could tell you but.” He had a devilish smile. “Just dress casual and bring a coat. It might snow again and I would not want you to get sick.”
“All right,” I said, wondering why he was being so cryptic. “See you at six then.”
His eyes were smoldering again. I never knew it was possible for eyes to really smolder, thinking it was an expression of passion or something one reads about in romance novels. But his eyes did, they actually smoldered. I decided it really was unfair of him to be able to do that, make his eyes burn into mine. I felt overwhelmed, like the world around me blurred, and he became my world. I felt that pull again.
“Yes, at six.” Austin confirmed, breaking my reverie.
I was so busy thinking about his eyes I never asked him any of the important questions I wanted to know. “Crap!” I uttered.
“What?” Austin asked, looking confused.
“Sorry,” I whispered. I bit at my bottom lip, nervous. “I was just thinking you seem to know a lot about me, but I have no idea about you.”
I smiled, probably a sheepish smile, not wanting him to know I had heard his first name, but I really wanted to know absolutely everything about him.
Austin’s eyes shimmered. The breeze blew long pieces of my hair across my face; he reached out. “May I?”
“Uh… sure.”
His hand brushed the hair away from my face. In doing this, his warm hand softly grazed my cheek. I’m pretty sure my skin ignited, but if not, I know my knees wanted to buckle and my breath seized.
“You have such beautiful hair,” he complimented.
“Um, thanks.” I was such an idiot, breathe I told myself. “I always seem to forget how to speak when I am around you.” Did I just say that? “Uh, um… anyway, I have never asked….”
His face beamed. I lost my train of thought again. I was completely derailed. He laughed, obviously seeing the expression upon my face. His laugh was smooth like his voice, melodious and delicious.
“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “I was not trying to be rude, it is just, I feel I know you already and in truth we have never been properly introduced, have we? My name is Austin Carlyle. I would imagine you would want to know the name of the man who you will be going out with tonight.”
I once again felt the heat of my blush. “I am pleased to meet you, Austin.”
“The pleasure is entirely mine.” He paused. He was looking at me with those eyes. “I know you have places to be, and I don’t want to be responsible for making you late.” My heart skipped a beat. “I will let you go to class. I am guessing class is where you were heading. I will see you tonight.”
That’s right, I was heading to class. I had actually forgotten where I was.
“Yes, tonight,” I replied. I was so overjoyed with the thought I had to reign myself in, however my red hot cheeks gave me away I am sure.
Why do I have to blush like an idiot?
“Rockin’ shirt, Jim Morrison, The Doors,” he commented.
“Um, yeah, thanks…Well, I….”
Winter, you are so mental.
I wanted to make a graceful exit, but I tripped over my own foot when I tried to move. “I’ve got to go, see you,” I spluttered. I pulled myself from his presence, believing I would die of mortification.
I took maybe two steps when I flipped my hair over my shoulder then turned to look at him just once as I left. Holy crap, Austin was still watching me. He was really watching me. My heart pounded. My stomach flipped. I turned away.
Oh my God, Winter!
I jogged into my late entrance into Art History.
Chapter Two
A DATE
My head was spinning all day. It was impossible to concentrate. I had no idea what the professors actually talked about. I remember peering out the window of my Lit class, seeing nothing but sun, hearing nothing of the lecture, and thinking about nothing but Austin. All I could see was the stunning blue-gray color of his eyes. His eyes were extraordinary. I finally made my entrance back into reality when someone hit my shoulder while they were leaving.
“Oh, hey, sorry,” the nondescript person said.
“Um….” I muttered.
I skipped my last class and headed back to my dorm room to get ready for my date. I was going out with the most magnificent man I had ever seen. I knew without do
ubt I was nowhere close to being in Austin’s league. He was gorgeous, GQ male model gorgeous. I was, well, plain.
What the heck did Austin see in me? I imagined standing next to him, and people staring at us wondering the exact same thing I was thinking, but I had no time to waste. No matter how far out of Austin’s league I may be, I was not going to pass up the chance to know him. I glanced at my reflection which was shining back at me from one of the large glass windows in the commons and decided I indeed had a lot of work to do. Not having much sleep, I was a mess, and I had to find something casual but still nice to wear. I ran over the possibilities in my head.
“Winter.” I turned to the sound of my name only to see…Logan.
I closed my eyes and took a breath. I really did not have the time or the patience to deal with Logan.
“Hey, wait up,” he said. I stopped, planted my feet, crossed my arms and waited. I was not going to let this guy bully me or bother me.
“What do you want, Logan?” I asked. He walked around me.
Logan chuckled. “You’re a little hellcat, aren’t you.” It wasn’t a question.
I rolled my eyes. He laughed.
“I’m in a hurry.” I snapped.
“Ah,” he murmured, “in a hurry to see your guard dog?”
“If you are referring to Austin, yes, I am in a hurry to see him.”
“So he wasn’t lying then, you really are going out with him?”
“He was not lying; I’m really going out with him.” I was looking up, way up, so far up that my neck crooked. “Why do you even care?”
Logan moved closer, ominous. I backed up.
“Good question.” He seemed to actually consider for a moment then said, “I don’t know.”
I actually believed him. I doubted he did know. While Logan may ogle girls, I doubted he truly liked the girls he was bedding down enough to care what they thought or even care about them. I got the impression girls were an amusement, a warm body, a play toy to him, interchangeable even, but nothing more. And in comparison to the girls he usually dated, popular cheerleader types with hefty cleavage, long legs, golden locks and pouting lips, I would be nothing to care about.
Logan gave me a look in which I did not like at all. He looked at me as if he wanted to lick me from head to toe. “I guess I thought you and I might—”
“Might what? You never talk to me, you don’t even know me.”
“But I want to know you,” Logan said with a wide toothy shark grin.
“No.” I rebutted then I seemed to snap. “You don’t want to know me, Logan. You may want to screw me, add another notch to that already scratched bed post of yours, but you don’t want to know me. Besides, I don’t go out with jocks. I’m not impressed with your muscles or your daddy’s money, and I don’t screw, so I guess you are just plain out of luck all the way around.”
I may be insane. I was challenging a lion, and everyone knows kittens don’t challenge lions. With one crack of his hand he could break me, but I stood my ground.
Logan gave a bent smile, licking his full lips. “Yep, hellcat,” he confirmed, “I like that, baby.”
“Goodnight, Logan.”
“Logan, Dude!” One of his buddies joined the party. “What are you doing, chasing tail?”
As I walked off, I was privy to Logan’s reply.
“Brian, you see that cute little ass sashaying down the hall?”
“Sure,” Brian said, his voice a low smoker’s rasp. “You going to tap that tonight at the Halloween party?”
“Nope,” Logan answered. “She sees through my shit, doesn’t care about my money, who I am, or even finds me attractive, but I do believe I just met the girl of my dreams.”
“Logan, you are full of shit,” Brian assured. “You don’t give a rat’s ass about that girl.”
Logan laughed but I could not hear his reply.
I was standing inside my closet and staring, what I am sure was rather blankly, at the items hanging and tucked away within my all too overstuffed space. I finally decided on blue jeans with a dark green crewneck sweater. The green was a good choice. It would bring out the green in my eyes or at least I hoped it would.
After tweezing my eyebrows, painting my fingernails a translucent shade of pink, completing a deep facial cleansing, waxing my legs, applying a body scrub, and using the brand new loofah I had bought last week, I took a steaming hot shower to relax my mind and body. It was in the shower when I found I had to laugh at myself. I wondered if I had ever put this much effort into a date before, not that I dated much, knowing the answer was no. After all, I could buff and polish every part of my body but I was, in the end, just me. It did not really get any better. I was plain, non-interesting, somewhat introverted, not fancy or alluring Winter Shae Perri from somewhere Austin probably never heard of. I was a product of a small rural community in Colorado.
I often thought about how I got here. The only reason I was even in New York was due to the scholarship I had received to attend the university. I came on a writing scholarship. A scholarship which can only be attributed to my high school journalism teacher, Mr. Lane. He thought I showed promise, so I left the small town comforts of home two years ago and journeyed to the Big Apple. It was more than a culture shock, but things were looking up. The fact I was going out with Austin tonight was a definite improvement to my solitary existence.
The extra hot shower worked. It seemed to calm my nerves if only for the moment. I took an extra effort with my make-up, actually applying foundation instead of my usual quick dusting of powder. I even pulled out the eyeliner I never used and applied the right shades of eye shadow and blush. My lips shimmered, and my green eyes sparkled. I left my hair down. It flowed over my shoulders and down past the middle of my back. Once I was done with my face and hair I glanced down at my bare feet. I did not have time to paint my toenails, but I decided it would be okay. It was the wrong type of weather for pretty toenails, being hid beneath heavy socks and clumpy winter boots. Speaking of boots, I quickly found my best pair of black leather zip-ups, sat down on the side of my bed, and hurried to place my socks and boots on my feet.
I stood up then twirled to the sound of a knock at my door. Feeling my stomach flutter I straightened my sweater, took in a deep breath then answered the door. There in front of me, he stood. It may sound like a cliché but Austin actually took my breath away.
“Good evening,” he said in his silk ridden tones.
Just breathe.
“Good evening,” I replied.
“You look very nice.” Austin paused for a moment. “No,” he amended. “Not just nice, you are beautiful.”
I felt my face blush, and my ears turned hot. If anyone was beautiful here, it would be him. Austin looked like a Greek god or a perfect sculpture of an ancient masterpiece, but I could not tell him that so I settled for, “You, too.” I laughed nervously. “You look beyond nice as well,” I clarified.
Austin tilted his head slightly. His eyes softened. “Shall we?” he asked, holding out his hand.
I tried to steady my breathing. I made a quick fist at my side. I relaxed my hand before extending it out toward his. It was a little bit shaky.
Jeez Winter, calm down.
“Let’s go,” I said. He took my hand in his. Austin gave me a reassuring squeeze. The feeling of his hand in mine sent a current of pleasure through me which definitely caught me unaware. People just don’t feel this kind of thing in real life. There’s no such thing as sparks, is there? Then I realized…. “Hang on,” I blurted out. I turned around in a rush. In doing so, my hand slipped out of his hand. I grabbed my coat from the hook by the door. “Okay.”
We walked across the parking lot toward a pitch black metallic Porsche. It was perched under one of the large lot lights. I tried not to look shocked when I realized this was indeed his car. Once we reached the shiny automobile, Austin opened up the passenger side door and took my hand again. Austin actually helped me in. He shut the door behind me. I briefly
glanced around the vehicle. It was clear he had money. So he has money. It doesn’t matter.
As if I didn’t already know, I knew my world and his were very different, probably too different. I imagined my world and his were two separate and distinct spheres which were never meant to touch, but regardless, I wanted to know him. I would let down my guard, push back my dislike for wealthy men, and push my sphere into his. I was going to willingly walk into Austin’s world tonight, even if I didn’t belong.
I smiled, unable to hold back the chuckle at our dinner destination.
Austin asked, “You like hotdogs?”
“Yeah,” I replied. “With ketchup, nothing else on my dog.”
He bought me a dog with ketchup, no mustard then bought himself one with the works from the street vendor. Austin turned around to look at me quite serious. “Do you drink the hard stuff?” he asked.
I know I looked confused. “Um….” I muttered incoherently. He snickered.
“Two Cokes,” he told the vender.
I watched Austin pop off the bottle cap to my Coke, handing it to me. His index finger was wrapped around the bottle neck just under the lip.
“Thanks,” I said, taking it and the hotdog.
“You know you really are losing out.” He teased as he took a large bite of his all too oversized hotdog with the mustard and relish dripping off the ends. He swallowed. “If you leave off all the good stuff it’s just not the same.”
I watched Austin, intently. He took another bite. I was entranced, watching how his throat worked as he swallowed. How he folded his napkin. I focused on the movement of his hand while he used the napkin to wipe his sensuous mouth. His eyes, gray, as they sparkled…. Austin truly was a piece of art, a masterpiece of art in motion. He glanced back at me. My breath hitched, actually hitched. I felt a lump in my throat. Austin obviously catching my more than appraising gaze gave me his brightest smile.
“I’m just a ketchup kind of girl,” I admitted, smiling back.
“I’ll remember that.”
We stood on the sidewalk, laughing and talking while people and traffic passed us by. Austin was easy to talk to, attentive, and he paid attention. He didn’t spend his time trying to impress me or dominate the conversation. It was an easy give and take. At one point, he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and nudged me over out of the way of a loud group of what had to be tourists.
Enchanted Page 3
