Sweet Harmony

by A. M. Evanston

  As she put on her golden heels, somebody knocked on her door. Since it was six o'clock, it had to have been Jaiden. She straightened up. Hopefully, she wouldn't look like a little kid playing dress up. She blew a hair out of her face and then opened her door.

  When Jaiden laid eyes on her, his jaw dropped and he froze. She knew dressing up didn't suit her. The guy was so repulsed he couldn't even speak.

  "Does it look that weird?" She glanced down at herself.

  Darn it. Why did she think she could handle this? Dresses and makeup were way out of her range of abilities.

  "You don't look weird." Jaiden finally had the sense to close his mouth. "You're gorgeous."

  Even she was getting a little flustered. Suddenly, it was hard to think of adequate things to say. She opened and shut her mouth several times but didn't speak.

  "Here." Jaiden came to her rescue and handed her a package.

  When she opened it, she saw an orchid corsage. The flower was beautiful. Long white petals extended outward, going from the faintest pink to the purest white.

  "This is amazing." Okay, she definitely couldn't look him in the eye now.

  She pulled out the flower and discovered it was a wrist corsage. It fit easily without any discomfort. Still flustered, she examined the flower in the light.

  "I was going to buy you a gold one, but I couldn't find an orchid in that color," Jaiden said.

  "How did you know orchids are my favorite?"

  "Well, they're going to be the flower of choice at our wedding, so I kind of figured…" Jaiden winked at her.

  Oh. Right. She'd mentioned orchids yesterday during their fake wedding discussion. She had to admit she was blushing a little—okay, a lot—as Jaiden grabbed her arm and escorted her from her room. On the way down the stairs, girls made eye contact with her and gaped. She was certain it was because she looked ridiculous. With her jaw clenching, she touched her hair to make sure the bun was still in place. It was.

  Jaiden must have realized her discomfort because he chuckled and said, "You really do look gorgeous."

  "I don't know…" If only she was allowed to go to a dance in a karate uniform.

  "You really do."

  After Jaiden reached the exit of the dorm, he opened the door for her and escorted her outside. Once in the fresh air, he took her hand.

  "Where are we going?" she asked as they walked to the parking lot.

  "It's a surprise," Jaiden said.

  She wasn't sure how she felt about surprises. When she was fourteen, her dad had thrown her a surprise birthday party. She'd ended up breaking her uncle's nose when he jumped out at her. Still she doubted that Jaiden was going to have people come leaping out at her from dark corners.

  As she chewed her bottom lip, Jaiden escorted her to a white Ferrari. She paused only for a moment to reflect on how expensive such a vehicle was before reaching for the handle to open the door.

  "No." Jaiden grabbed her wrist. "Please let me open the door for you. It's a date, after all."

  When Jaiden opened the door for her, she climbed in and smoothed down her dress. Jaiden climbed in the car too and jammed the key into the ignition. The vehicle roared to life. She found herself gripping the dashboard, prepared for Daniel's lightning fast approach to the road. She'd forgotten that Daniel and Jaiden were opposites. Instead of moving too quick, Jaiden moved too slow. He drove out of the parking lot and headed onto the street going five under the speed limit. It left her wanting to put the pedal to the metal for him. She forced herself to look away from the MPH gauge.

  "Have you been to many dances?" she asked.

  "Only two." Jaiden shrugged. "Daniel doesn't normally go, so I always hung back with him."

  "He's going now." She was surprised at the ferocity that coursed through her veins.

  "He told me." Jaiden nodded, not picking up on her frustration. "He's taking Allison Ankudinov."

  Even Annamarie recognized the last name.

  "Isn't her dad a Russian movie star?" he asked.

  "Yep." Jaiden nodded. "And her mom is a model from Poland."

  That's why she's so gorgeous, she thought, awed. The girl had high cheek bones and dark, haunting eyes. In the looks department, she and Allison weren't even comparable. She pinched herself in punishment hard enough to make her eyes water. She was not jealous. She refused to be. Wanting Daniel was like asking for a bad flu. It wasn't worth it.

  She grumbled under her breath as Jaiden took a right turn and pulled into a parking lot.

  "We're here," Jaiden said.

  When she looked up, all thoughts of Daniel were pushed from her mind. They'd arrived at an abandoned building with aged brick walls. It didn't look dangerous per say, but it didn't scream, "Hey, come in and have a cup of tea!" either.

  "What is this place?" She wasn't sure she wanted to get out of the car.

  "It's my secret hideout," he said. "This is where I go whenever I need to think."

  Jaiden climbed out of the car. It took her a moment to jump out too.

  "Please come with me," Jaiden said, offering her his hand.

  When she met Jaiden's earnest gaze, it was obvious how much he wanted her to come in. She realized he was offering her a piece of himself as much as he was his hand. If there is anyone in that building that shouldn't be, then I can kick his butt, she thought, teeth grinding. There's no reason to be nervous about going inside. She could handle an abandoned building. Heck, she might even like it. She grabbed Jaiden's hand. The guy led her toward the front door.

  "Is it locked?" She doubted the owner would just let people in and out as they pleased.

  "There's a trick to getting inside." Jaiden winked. "Test the knob."

  She twisted the knob. The door wouldn't budge.

  "It's locked," she said.

  "Watch and learn."

  Jaiden rammed his shoulder against the frame. The door crashed open.

  "The frame is weak," Jaiden said. "You could twist the knob all day if you wanted. The trick is to use force."

  "This is illegal." She grinned. Yeah, she feared getting in trouble a little, but she doubted sneaking into an abandoned apartment building was such a big deal. "I'm surprised at you. You never struck me as the rebellious type."

  "Daniel actually discovered this place," Jaiden said. "He thought it would be fun to go inside. Gavin and I followed him in, but Daniel decided it was too dusty and left right away. I decided to clean it up and kept coming back without telling him. I figure as long as I don't do any damage to the building I should be okay. The police have never even driven by here while I was inside."

  "Well, show me around." Now that there was rebellion involved, she was having fun.

  Jaiden led her into the hall and then shut the door behind them. The walls were covered in inch deep dust. Cobwebs hung from the ceiling. She saw a spider skitter across the wall and barely concealed a yelp. Even she was a little scared of spiders.

  "It needs a little work." Or at least a good dose of insecticide.

  "I only cleaned up the third floor." Jaiden's eyes crinkled in worry. "I'll bring you up there."

  Jaiden pulled her up the flight of stairs. The second floor was just as unclean as the first. The paint on the walls was fading. The floor was scratched up. She could barely see the painting of a woman at the end of the hall because it was so covered with dust. Even though she was in no way a fair damsel, her lungs tickled and she coughed into her hand. Jaiden led her up the next flight of stairs quickly.

  Entering the third floor was like journeying from the underworld to heaven. The moment she entered the hall, she saw clean—though still scratched—wooden floors, dusted furniture, and sparkling windows. She could tell that the walls had once been painted auburn but had faded with time. The fact she was someplace that held so many memories was magical to her. She could see why Jaiden liked it.

  "Sorry I dragged you through the dirt." Jaiden looked her up and down. "I should have warned you about that."

  She shru
gged.

  "Dirt doesn't bother me." Though her lungs thought otherwise.

  "Which is one of the many reasons why I like you." Jaiden wrapped an arm around her waist.

  This was one of the few times she could ever remember feeling uncomfortable around Jaiden. His hand, tucked against her sensitive hip, made her uneasy. He was too close. She had to fight her most basic instinct to knee him in the groin. Forcing a smile on her face, she stepped out of reach of his arm.

  "What's next?" she asked.

  "Next is dinner," Jaiden said.

  "Dinner? Here?" If Jaiden said they were going to be feasting on rat, she was leaving.

  "Like I said, this is my go-to place," Jaiden said. "I started buying enough stuff to fill up the third floor apartment. Nothing big, but good enough to make it livable."

  Jaiden pulled her into the open room at the end of the hall. She looked around a spacious, two-room apartment. A large window revealed a park. Two beanbag chairs sat around a small table.

  "I don't have a stove or anything because there isn't any power, but I wanted to make you dinner." Jaiden led her over to a beanbag chair. "I had to get a little creative with the recipes, but I hope you like what I made."

  Nobody, not even her parents, had gone to such trouble for her before. She wasn't sure what he'd prepared, but she was certain she'd like it because of his efforts. Was thank you enough in a situation like this? She was worse at dating than she was at playing the flute. It was her well-informed opinion that they should teach a course on boys at school. Luckily, Jaiden didn't appear to need a response. He squeezed her shoulder and padded over to the kitchen. He came back with a tray laden with food.

  "Crackers with pimento cheese dip." He pointed at a bowl of orange dip. "I also have turkey and feta sandwiches, olive tapenade, and horseradish stuffed red tomatoes."

  Okay, now she was even more awed. "When did you have the time to make all this food?"

  "Let's just say that I didn't sleep too well last night." Jaiden shrugged.

  "You didn't have to put in so much effort." His attentiveness was making her feel awkward instead of pleased.

  "You're worth it." Jaiden paused. "And if you're impressed by all this, just wait until you see dessert."

  ****

  Annamarie groaned and sat deeper into her beanbag chair. Her stomach was bursting. For the first time ever, she was grateful she had speedy quick metabolism. All of Jaiden's dishes had been perfectly flavored and completely unforgettable. She still had the taste of dessert—chocolate covered strawberries—in her mouth. No restaurant could have done a better job, with or without a stove.

  "If you don't make it as an artist or as a musician, then you could definitely try your hand at being a chef," she said. "Everything was delicious."

  "You're just seeing the finished product after much trial and error." Jaiden laughed. "During my first try, I put too much salt in the olive tapenade and overused the horseradish in the horseradish stuffed tomatoes. If I had served you my first batch, you'd take back those words."

  "The dinner was still amazing," she said.

  She let out a contented sigh.

  "I suppose so." Jaiden shrugged, oblivious to how amazing he really was.

  "Thanks again for taking me here," she said.

  She could now understand why Jaiden had set up his own private place inside an abandoned building. At school, people were running down the hall and playing loud music all the time. Right now it was just her and Jaiden. She stretched out, shutting her eyes and enjoying the silence as her stomach digested her food. Some time passed before Jaiden cleared his throat.

  "I know you seem to be enjoying yourself, but if we don't head back now, we're going to be late for the dance," he said.

  It couldn't have been nine o'clock already!

  "Are you serious?" She checked her cell phone. It was eight forty-five. "Oh man. I guess we really do have to go."

  Jaiden stood up and offered her his hand. It had become natural for her to take it.

  "It's okay." Jaiden squeezed her fingers. "I'll take you here again. Or you could just come anytime you want, since I've shared my secret with you."

  "Why did you decide to show me this place to begin with?" She knew that this wasn't just a building to him. It was his place of solace.

  "Because you've become somebody important to me." As Jaiden walked down the stairs, he stopped looking at her and stared at his feet. "I can't believe you've only been at the school for a couple of weeks. It feels like I've always known you."

  "Thank you, Jaiden." It was all she could say. The awkward feeling was back, keeping her from getting a grip on appropriate thoughts.

  "Annamarie…" Jaiden forced her to a stop on the third stair down. "I know I've said this before, but I like you a lot. Do you understand what I mean?"

  This was too much. She couldn't deal with her own emotions, let alone Jaiden's. When his eyes met hers, she wasn't sure what to say. He'd shared his feelings with her when asking her to the dance, but now he was beginning to expect more—and she wasn't sure she could give him that.

  "We're going to be late," she said. "Can we talk about this later?"

  Even though Jaiden's eyes clouded with disappointment, he nodded. He led her down the rest of the stairs. Once he took her out to the car, he held open the door for her. After she climbed inside, she stared out the window. Jaiden sat in the driver's seat and jammed the key in the ignition. The atmosphere was heavy.

  Jaiden, why did you have to bring up your feelings again now? We were having so much fun. When Jaiden pulled into the parking lot of the school, she climbed out of the car without Jaiden opening the door for her. The guy leaned against the hood.

  "You were supposed to wait for me," he said.

  "I can open a door." She knew it was a nice gesture to have the door opened for her, but she didn't like to wait in the car. "Let's just focus on having fun now, okay?"

  So basically, no more emotional splurges that leave me feeling like I'm drowning in discomfort…

  "Okay." Jaiden nodded.

  She walked up to Jaiden and threaded her arm through his.

  When she walked to the school, she was aware of the glances being thrown her away. She ignored them all and was silent until they made it to the performance hall where the dance was held. After she stepped inside, she gasped.

  The sight of the large room stuffed full of glistering girls in puffy dresses was enough to drive even Jaiden's emotional words from her mind. The room wasn't as glamorous as anything she'd seen on TV, but it was still beautiful. A group of violinists from class played music for students to dance to. Streamers hung from the ceiling and cascaded over the whole room.

  She bobbed on her toes. "This is so exciting. Look how well everyone can dance."

  "Do you like to dance?" He glanced at her.

  She nodded.

  Her mom and dad had dragged her kicking and screaming to ballroom dance classes. Even as a ten-year-old, she'd liked the idea of kicking butt way more than she did the idea of gliding around the room like a butterfly. Still when she'd entered class and had gotten to twirl without being yelled at, she'd seen the merits of dancing. She hadn't had a real opportunity to do it in a long time.

  "Dance with me." She led him in the direction of the dance floor.

  For whatever reason, Jaiden started laughing.

  "What's so funny?" She released him.

  "You have to do everything your way, don't you?" He snorted.

  "I suppose so." She decided to take that as a compliment. "So are you going to dance with me or aren't you?"

  "Ms. Chadwick, I would love to dance with you." Jaiden nodded.

  "Ugh. Please never call me Ms. Chadwick." She shivered.

  "Why?"

  "Because my tutor used to call me that." She wrinkled her nose. "Ms. Chadwick, don't chew gum in class. Ms. Chadwick, don't punch Yuri. Ms. Chadwick, don't light your pants on fire."

  "You can light your pants on fire?" His e
yes widened.

  "You'd be surprised what you can do with a loose thread and a lighter," she said.

  The two of them reached the dance floor. Jaiden, still muttering about her pants, wrapped an arm around her waist. She grabbed his hand. It took the utmost concentration for her to follow, not to lead. That was the only problem she had with dancing. Still after a few minutes she'd become accustomed to Jaiden taking the reins and she shut her eyes as she relaxed. She took another step to the right—dancing was so fun—but was jolted from her position by someone grabbing her arm. Her eyes flew open.

  It was Daniel with Allison by his side. When she looked into Daniel's eyes, she saw a startling amount of frustration in him. When she'd traveled to Italy, she'd watch the blue waters of the ocean churn in a storm. His eyes were the exact same color as the water then. She wasn't afraid of him, though. In fact, the sight of him standing with beautiful Allison made her want to fight him head-on. Keep calm, she told herself. I refuse to be jealous. She buried her teeth into her bottom lip so hard the flesh ached.

  The problem was Allison looked good with Daniel. Her black hair trickled down to the small of her back. She wore a dress of dark red that hugged her slender but still curvy figure. Her eyes, like Daniel's, were a bright blue. This girl matched him, she realized. They fit together perfectly, golden Greek god paired with a celestial, dark-haired beauty. If the two of them had any children, they'd have immaculate features.

  "What's the matter with you?" Jaiden asked, elbowing her in the ribs.

  She woke up. What was she thinking? This was Daniel. She should be glad this gorgeous girl was taking up his time so he'd spend less of it harassing her.

  "What's the big idea?" Annamarie asked, catching her stride. "We were in the middle of a dance and you interrupted us."