Soulmated

by Shaila Patel

  “Uh, I … ” Lucky glanced up at me and gave me a sheepish grin. “Give me a minute, Liam?”

  “Sure.” I kissed the side of her head and moved several feet away, but that was as far as I’d be going.

  Jack pulled her aside so her back was to me. Judging by his emotions and body language, he wasn’t pleased with what Lucky was telling him. He rubbed his fingers over his mouth, barely containing his anger. I couldn’t help but clench my hands and ready my stance, as if I might be needing to pull her out of danger at any minute. Even though my head knew he wasn’t angry with Lucky, my instincts wouldn’t stand down. Each time he’d glance over her shoulder in my direction, my hackles would rise. When he put his hand on her shoulder, I thought I’d explode. I took several deep breaths to relax.

  Lucky’s shoulders slumped under Jack’s little lecture, and when her head bobbed in a gentle roll, I knew she was rolling her eyes at him.

  I focused on the ripples of her irritation … and her affection. She truly saw Jack as a brother, but when he hugged her, he had my jealousy erupting in a way that wouldn’t be listening to logic.

  She finally left Jack, and I let out a long, relieved breath.

  “I’ll call you before we come get you tonight,” Jack called out. He waved and headed toward study hall.

  Once we took our seats in the auditorium, their hug kept flashing through my mind. I couldn’t clear my thoughts. Two weeks ago, I’d never have said I’d be the jealous type, but then again, I’d never thought my world was upside down either—until Lucky righted it.

  “You’re mad,” she said.

  “I’m fine.” I hadn’t meant to snap, but it was all I could do to control my thoughts.

  “Liar.” She raised an eyebrow and waited for me to elaborate.

  We still had a few minutes before the bell rang, and I truly didn’t want to be thinking about Jack. “Did your mum say anything about me after I left last night?”

  “Well, she was definitely dazed by your disarming smile.”

  “Was she now?” I sensed a bit of sadness from her like an ebbing tide. “What else aren’t you telling me?” A pang of concern shot through me. I hadn’t thought about what might have been going on after I’d left.

  “Oh, not much.” Lucky’s eyes followed her classmates as they took their seats. Her apprehension made me feel like I was jumping into snake-infested waters. She didn’t say more, and I didn’t push.

  There was so much more to her relationship with her mum than I’d realized, and I wanted to know about it all. A small seed of worry was also burrowing into my heart. What would her mum do if she found out about us? Would she try to keep Lucky from me? Judging by the suspicion I’d sensed from Mrs. Kapadia last night, we faced a Herculean battle, but I couldn’t be worrying about that now. I needed to be getting us joined first—as soon as possible. Da hadn’t rung us from DC, so I’d assumed he’d found nothing useful. I rolled my neck, reminding myself to stop borrowing tomorrow’s worries. I rummaged through my bag for my schoolwork.

  Lucky leaned over the arm between us and watched me. “You know he’s like a brother to me?”

  I grunted. What am I? A caveman now?

  “You’re jealous,” she said.

  “Will you be telling me now why Chloe bothers you so much?”

  A flash of pain crossed her face. She sat back and brought her bag into her lap. “She and her friends are just so prissy and … smug.” She kept her concentration on getting her drama scripts out of her bag.

  “Mm-hmm.” I leaned over the arm like she had. “You’re the one who’s jealous.”

  She scowled. “I am not.”

  “Every time she’s heading for me, you run off.”

  “Because she irritates me.” Her eyes would’ve shot off sparks if they could. She put down her bag and stood to join her group in the front corner of the auditorium.

  I grabbed her hand, and lowered my voice. “I’m jealous of every bloody second Jack gets to spend with you, and when he’s messing about with you … ” She sat, her gaze locked onto mine. “I go stark ravers. When he’s looking at you, I want to gouge out those eyes of his, and when he makes you laugh, I’m left feeling like I failed you.” She switched to watching my thumb stroke the back of her hand. “So, yeah, I’m bloody jealous. But I trust you. These feelings are new to me, Lucky. I … ”

  She glanced over to Mr. Truman at the far end of the auditorium before leaning in. Her lips met mine in a soft kiss, and she nuzzled her nose against mine. “I’ve been jealous too. Every minute you spend with Chloe feels like I’m being stabbed in the heart. Every word you say to her, every look you give her, every time you walk with her … ” She chewed the inside of her cheek, deciding something. She pulled back a bit and lifted her chin. “They’re supposed to be for me, with me.”

  I smiled at her possessiveness. “It’s all yours, mo shíorghrá, that I am.” I felt her love for me, and I sent her mine back.

  The bell rang. I leaned in for another kiss, but she stood, waving her script in my face. “Sorry. Group time.” She gave me a devious smile. “I’m sure the teacher won’t appreciate the I-was-being-kissed excuse if I’m late, especially since you’re not really supposed to be here.”

  “I could always leave.”

  She froze, then knelt down, and looked up into my eyes. “You wouldn’t, would you?”

  “Not unless my mot wants me gone.” She gave me a questioning look, and I kissed her before answering. “Mot means girlfriend.”

  A shy smile spread across her face, driving me wild. “I’ll go ask her.” She jumped out of reach before I could kiss her again. Her happiness crested and crashed around me over and over.

  I sank into my seat. “You’re killing me.”

  She turned back and laughed. I watched as she joined her group, feeling even that small distance between us deep in my chest. Tonight at the party, I’d be telling her how much I loved her. She was fast becoming more important to me than air. Every cell in my body wanted to join with her, but I needed to know how I could do that. Hell, I’d do anything to make it happen.

  Over the past few nights, a growing sense of urgency had been tormenting me. Being away from Lucky was what I’d imagine suffering a withdrawal was like, and a gnawing need to protect her had me imagining all sorts of terrors happening when I wasn’t near enough. Not being able to help her yesterday had just made it worse. I was feeling tossed around in a rip current.

  I let out a slow deep breath, put in my earbuds, and played Ed Sheeran’s “Photograph” on my mobile. I saw I’d missed a text earlier from Elder Brennan.

  It chilled my blood.

  Brennan: Gagliardi bought travel agency in Cary last week

  CHAPTER 30

  Lucky

  We got to Salvio’s and met Shiney’s new beau, Matthew. She was right. He was cute, in an adorable, Bible-study kind of way. He was slightly taller than she was, wore a sweater vest, and had her same dark skin tone. His eyes twinkled when he looked at her, making Shiney melt into his side. I couldn’t help but smile at how happy she was.

  I pulled her to the back hallway by the restrooms while Jack and Matthew ordered our pizza and drinks at the counter. “He’s perfect, Shiney.”

  She mouthed out a silent squeal of delight, and I hugged her, complimenting her on her denim dress.

  She pointed to my outfit. “By the way, very hot.”

  “Green is Liam’s favorite color.” I shrugged, feeling my cheeks heat.

  “That’s so not predictable coming from the Irish boy.” She snorted. “Oh, I didn’t want to ask in front of dorkus in the car, but is it official? Are you and Liam finally dating?” She raised an eyebrow and cocked her head. “You were, um, touching him today.”

  I bit my lip and smiled. This time Shiney squealed out loud and squeezed me till I couldn’t breathe.

  “Okay, so let me see this outfit.” She spun me around twice. I wore a Chinese-inspired
crop top with a Mandarin collar and dark, low rise jeans. Thank God they had spandex in them, or I’d never be able to do our drill team routine. The top had an oval cutout that revealed my shoulder blades. I couldn’t stop smiling when I thought about Liam seeing the outfit.

  Shiney grinned. “So does your mom even know you have this? I can’t imagine she’d go for the bare midriff and bare back.”

  “What? It’s like some of my Indian choli sets.”

  She raised her eyebrow again. “Is that why you wore those?” She pointed to a slew of Indian bangles on my arms. “Trying to make it look like an Indian outfit?”

  “Okay, fine. No, she doesn’t know I have this, Miss Smarty-pants. That’s why I have a cardigan in the car.”

  “I knew it.” She burst out laughing. “Liam is going to love it, even if your outfit is nationality challenged. He can’t take his eyes off you anyway, so I guess it doesn’t matter.”

  As much as I loved Shiney, I wanted to scarf down dinner and leave. I felt like something big was going to happen tonight, and I’d been buzzing all day. With a tug of her arm, I led her back to the brightly lit restaurant and shoved her into a booth.

  Jack and I soon said our farewells, and I told Shiney we’d pick her up at ten. Matthew was fidgeting quite a bit, and I got the impression he was impatient for us to leave too. Either that, or it was another hallucination.

  “So, uh, you and Liam were chummy again today.” Jack gave me a pointed look before the light turned green and he pressed the gas.

  I sighed. He’d caught on that something was wrong on Labor Day and had wheedled out a few details from Shiney. All he knew was that Liam had dated Indian girls who looked like me, and that I didn’t trust him. Jack had been encouraging me to follow my instincts all week. He obviously didn’t like where they were leading me.

  We sat in silence for the next few miles. I appreciated his looking out for me, but how could I explain what I was going through? He’d think I was being swayed by my feelings. Maybe I was.

  “It’ll be all right, Jack.”

  He shook his head and hit the brake a little too hard at the next red light. “If you say so.”

  By the time we got to the twins’ country club, Justin, our amateur DJ, had already started the music, and the dance floor was filling up. A bank of windows at the far end overlooked the golf course. The walls were paneled in walnut with detailed wainscoting and large sconces sticking out like arms held upward. Two massive, iron chandeliers with at least three rows of shaded bulbs hung from a coffered ceiling. The lights had been dimmed and were accented by Justin’s rotating colored lights.

  The air-conditioning was set extremely low thanks to Caitlyn’s aversion to sweating, and since I wouldn’t be wearing my cardigan, I needed to warm up fast. Jack split off to the back room by the refreshments, and I joined some of the drill team girls near the dance floor. I couldn’t see Liam anywhere, but somehow I sensed he was there. A prickling sensation ran over my skin, and the air seemed charged, as if it were waiting for us to connect.

  Caitlyn came jumping over. She pointed at her watch. “It’s time.”

  Justin announced the drill team and me, and when Caitlyn turned to blow him a kiss, I found Liam standing right next to the turntables. His gaze roamed up and down my body while he rubbed the back of his neck. I twirled around for his benefit and saw his lips form an O. It took all of my energy to keep from hyperventilating under my first boyfriend’s approving look.

  Good luck, he mouthed over the pounding bass.

  As our music started, we fell into place and began our routine. Letting loose and feeling the music in my bones made me forget everything—Liam, Mom, early graduation, medical school, arranged marriages—everything.

  I channeled my energy through each movement, feeling acutely aware of being alive, of being connected to something outside of myself. As our steps became more vigorous and animated, hoots and hollers from the surrounding crowd amped the vibe and fed something inside me. The noise drew people from the other rooms and created an electrifying energy around us. Our team’s movements aligned perfectly, and my happiness exploded outward. The crowd roared, and I felt the warm breeze that reminded me of Liam. I’d reached my happy place, as Daddy used to call it—where the outside world didn’t exist, but somehow became a part of me when I danced.

  As we wrapped up the routine, Justin’s voice came over the speakers and asked for a round of applause for the last sequence. A huge smile stretched across my face.

  As the music changed and our routine ended, we broke off into groups to dance as the crowd joined in. Caitlyn gave me a hug, and we started grooving to the next song. I scanned the room for Liam, hoping he’d join me. When I didn’t see him, I turned to Caitlyn to tell her I’d be back. Before I could say anything, Justin’s voice broke over the song as he was blending the next track in.

  “This one’s for my girls, Caitlyn and the exotic Laxshmi.”

  I perched my hands on my hips and glared at him.

  He smirked, wiggling his eyebrows. A remix of Calvin Harris’ “I Feel So Close” began, and Caitlyn and I cheered in unison. The entire energy on the dance floor changed as more bodies packed in. Our arms were in the air and our hips began to grind to the beat. I was about to turn to find Liam when he came up behind me and synced his hips to mine. I didn’t have to look. My body would’ve known that tingling anywhere. His left hand rested on my bare waist and the other was up in the air next to mine. I turned my head, giving him my profile.

  He kissed me behind my ear. “How you feel in my arms … love it.”

  I leaned my head back and smiled. He smelled as good as he had the first day of school when I’d bashed my head against the lockers. If I’d thought then I’d be grinding with him at this party, I would’ve diagnosed myself with a concussion.

  He traced his fingers over my raised arm, following it down the side of my body, all the way to my waist, where his hand lay warm against my skin. He smoothed his palms over my hips and back up to my waist. The tingling sensation trailed along. He curved his body perfectly around mine and matched my movements as if he knew my next move before I did. No matter how many different rhythms I threw at him, he kept up.

  He reached across my waist and spun me to face him, melding us together. We rolled our hips in unison, our faces inches apart. His eyes never left mine, and they told me everything my mind, my heart, and my body had ever wanted to hear. It was as if his soul was talking to me.

  The music changed again, and Kaskade’s “Eyes” came on, as if Fate had read my thoughts.

  I gently pushed off to dance in front of him. He held one of my hands, giving me freedom to move but keeping me close. He never lost eye contact, but I couldn’t have moved my gaze away from him even if I’d wanted to. He looked incredible in his untucked black shirt and tousled hair. It screamed confidence, masculinity, and—ugh—sex appeal.

  I giggled. Good little Indian girls weren’t supposed to think like that. Yeah right.

  The top few buttons and his cuffs were undone, and when my hands were on his chest, the material felt silky soft. The sleeves were taut around his biceps and shoulders, like they were part of his skin.

  He was tailored for my eyes.

  When the tempo changed, I held my other arm out, inviting him to join me. He moved into me like the last piece of a puzzle and locked me against him. His body was hot, but not hot enough. I yearned for something more—almost painfully—and it made me feel helpless and impatient. The center of my chest burned.

  What is this?

  I opened my mouth and closed it. What could I say that wouldn’t sound certifiable?

  He kissed me and then moved to my ear so I could hear above the music. “Shh, mo shíorghrá. I’m feeling it as well.”

  Just like that, I relaxed. I was in his arms, and I didn’t have to worry.

  He rested his forehead against mine and we swayed to the music. Closing my eyes at his tou
ch, I brushed my lips against his. The rhythm of our bodies synced so well it was effortless. There would never be another dance partner who could make me as happy as I was right then.

  This is freedom.

  Liam and I danced in our own little world for the next hour before we decided to take a break. We were both thirsty, and as the dance floor grew more crowded, it’d become harder to move. He led me to the back room, lit only by tea light candles on long rows of skirted tables, and grabbed two water bottles from one of the ice-filled basins. The room was probably used for private dinner parties, and it was the perfect size for the small, soft-drinks bar and basins of water bottles. Behind the bar, I could see a glass-enclosed room with wall-to-wall wine racks and a table for eight.

  I followed him into one of the secluded corners. Down here, Liam and I cast the only shadows on the wall. A few couples were scattered nearby, making out in the relative privacy of the dim lighting. He sat on one of the tables, leaning back on one hand, and I stood against his knee guzzling the ice-cold water.

  He eventually pulled me in between his parted legs and held me from behind. I turned my head to give him my profile again, and he kissed me behind my ear, tickling me with his cold lips and hot breath. It was fire and ice together, and it made my stomach clench. He slid his hand across my bare midriff and turned me slowly. The tingling tightened around my chest, but it also made me feel like dancing in fire.

  “I loved dancing with you,” he said. “Remind me to get you a fake ID. I want to take you dancing more often. You felt so free.”

  A fake ID? How would I get out of the house? Could I sneak back in without waking Mom? Liam chuckled for some reason and stroked my cheek. None of that seemed to matter anymore. I was with him. Anything was possible.

  “Do you have a fake ID?” I asked.

  “Thanks to my brother.”

  He traced my lips with his thumb, and I tucked my hand beneath his shirt collar, resting it on his muscular shoulder. It didn’t feel like enough. I craved more contact, as if I’d be sick without it. He gave me a deep kiss, making me hum. The tingling spread like warm syrup, barely letting me catch my breath, but before it became too intense, he stopped. His shoulder heaved under my hand.