Magnetic (New Adult Contemporary Romance)

by Bray, Ayr

  And try again he did on Thursday, then the following Tuesday and Thursday, and then the following lectures the week after those. Mark’s persistence at first was annoying to Samantha, but then at some point it turned cute. He started off each class begging her for a date, and then closing it with one last attempt just hoping she would say yes.

  “At some point this is going to get old, me asking, and you rejecting every day.”

  “Perhaps, although it’s not old yet.” Samantha teased. It had been a whole month since her disastrous date with Darren, and although she still thought about him constantly she had regained some of her playful nature.

  “You know, your original argument of not knowing me is no longer valid. We’ve known each other three weeks now.”

  “Hardly, you’ve sat next to me in class, talked to me a few minutes before and a few minutes after. I think we’ve known each other less than an hour, collectively.”

  “Oh come on, you can’t be serious, the two hours of lecture each week count also. We are up to at least six hours of lecture and one hour of extracurricular. That’s a total of seven hours. Plus, doesn’t persistence count for something?”

  She did have to give him that, he was determined. Looking slyly at his face out of the corner of her eye she accepted. “I guess when you put it that way it sounds pretty reasonable. Sure, I’ll go on a date with you.”

  “You’ll go? YES!” he said, then with no shame whatsoever he shouted amongst the crowded pathways between the buildings, “Samantha finally agreed to go on a date with me.”

  Mortification spread across her features.

  “Great, I’ll pick you up tomorrow. Can you text me your address?”

  Samantha grabbed her phone out of her back pocket, punched in his number and texted her address to him. Rather than being excited for her date, her heart sunk at the realization of how easy she had just been given a method to contact Mark. Why couldn’t Darren have asked her to text him? Why couldn’t she have been smart enough to love him when she still had a chance?

  Mark saw her face fall as soon as she hit the send button on her phone, he didn’t know what caused it, but he didn’t care, she had finally accepted his date. He had a perfect spot all picked out to take her.

  Mark was punctual in his arrival at her apartment, in fact, he was ten minutes early, and she had to scramble to finish accessorizing her outfit before opening the door.

  “You’re early,” she scolded as she opened the door for him.

  “I wanted to make sure that you didn’t decide to stand me up at the last minute.”

  “I would never do that to you. If I hadn't planned on coming, I wouldn't have accepted, or at the very least, texted you that an emergency came up.” Samantha reached for her jacket and wallet and followed Mark out the door. He strode ahead of her and hastily got into his little hatchback car.

  Samantha stood next to her door for a moment until he yelled, “It’s open,” from inside the car. Her heart longed for Darren. Opening the door she looked down where he was wiping food crumbs off the seat and throwing empty energy drink cans into the back.

  “Sorry about that, I guess I should have cleaned out my car, but honestly it didn’t cross my mind.”

  “It’s alright,” she said as she sat down on the seat, keeping her hands in her lap so that she didn’t touch anything nasty. As he backed down the drive, she couldn’t help but compare his car to Darren’s jeep. Darren’s jeep had been clean, and best of all, he didn’t even know she would be in it. It was obvious that he valued his vehicle and regularly cleaned it. Mark’s probably hadn’t been cleaned out since the day he bought it. The car smelled like left over food and dirty clothes, Samantha wanted to gag.

  Luckily the drive to the far side of the campus wasn’t long and soon Mark parked his car in the parking lot of the church on the corner of The Ave and NE Pacific Street. Stepping out of his car Samantha breathed deeply the fresh, crisp fall air. September had gone, and October was in full force, red, orange, and yellow leaves littering the ground in a rainbow of fall colors. Mark called to her from around the front of the car. “Over here.” They walked about a block down the Burke-Gilman Trail until they reached the University Planetarium. Mark reached for her hand as he opened the door for her.

  The empty feeling of her hand in his didn’t go unnoticed by Samantha. She longed for the spark that she had felt just being near Darren. She yearned for the sensations that he invoked though every fiber of her being at the mere thought of him holding her hand. Her face flushed as she thought about Darren.

  Mark noticed her heightened color and attributed it to the fact that he had reached for her hand. He was excited that she was beginning to feel for him what he had felt for her this past month. Samantha noticed his attentions turned towards her and longed to direct them elsewhere. She loosened her hand in his, expecting him to let go, but he didn’t.

  “Where are we?” she inquired.

  “The campus planetarium.”

  “I’ve never been to a planetarium, though I have always wanted to,” Samantha said nervously.

  “You’re in for a treat then.” They walked around the building, looking at the artwork and photographs of planets and the night sky. Samantha enjoyed all of it, the uniqueness of their location appealing to her, some of the scenes even bringing back memories of sitting on her front porch, back home, looking at the stars against the pitch-black sky. Part of her yearned to be home, to be where it got dark. When she arrived in Seattle she thought it a novelty that the sky never darkened because of the hustle and bustle of the city lights, but now that she had been here more than a month she missed the stars. The missed the ebony night sky.

  Touring the building took less than thirty minutes, Mark had held her hand the entire time and the only sensation that she could remember was his palms getting sweaty. Samantha longed to pull her hand free, but she didn’t want to offend him.

  “Well, are you ready to go into the actual planetarium?” Mark asked as he guided her towards the door into the dark room.

  “Yes,” she said with a genuine smile of interest. She may not be interested in him, but she was truly enjoying the location and planned to come back again when she could peruse the room a little more leisurely.

  Dropping her hand he opened the door and guided her inside with his hand resting on the small of her back. Samantha instinctively arched away from his touch, unable to let his hands linger where Darren’s once had.

  As they entered the planetarium it was flooded with light, and then as the door closed behind them it was again drenched in darkness. Samantha paused, waiting for her eyes to adjust, and then twisted her head every which way to take in the sight around her. She had read that the university had partnered with Microsoft to enhance the resolution of the projected images, but nothing prepared her for the sight she witnessed. She actually sighed at the majestic view around her, she was in heaven.

  Darren Riggs had been irritated when the planetarium doors had opened to admit a couple. He had felt particularly on edge the past few weeks, unable to shake Samantha from his memory. He just didn’t understand it, he’d only known her one day, but that’s all it took; one day, half a day if he admitted it to himself. She was the only woman he was attracted to. A month before he could have asked out any number of women on a date or entered into a relationship with quite a few that he had once considered attractive, but not now, not after meeting Samantha. The worst part about it was that the more he pinned away for her the more frustrating the situation became. Everywhere he went women were offering him their numbers, asking him to call. They waited for him after class, caught him exiting the library, even stood outside the men’s locker-room waiting for him to change after his workouts, all so that they could try to get a date with him.

  He knew it wasn’t any different from the other advances he had received from women ever since high school, but for some reason they now felt hollow, fake, insincere. He wanted Samantha, and no substitution would do
.

  He had dialed her number so many times he lost count, always clearing the screen before hitting the send button. He wanted to talk to her, but couldn’t handle another rejection.

  The two who entered looked around, but didn’t see him reclined in the charcoal gray seats, in the back corner of the dark room, they thought they were alone. His experience had taught him that most people came and went from the planetarium in just a few short minutes, unless they were lovers, and then you had to be careful that you announced yourself before everyone was embarrassed. As long as these two kept their hands to themselves and their clothes on, he was sure he could wait them out and return to the solitude of the room.

  “Oh Mark, this place is beautiful.” Darren froze when he heard the voice that had been burned into his mind for a month now. He craned his neck to see, to prove that it was her. His breath caught in his chest when she saw her, standing there even more beautiful than the day he met her. The man she was with had his hand on the small of her back, it took every ounce of control not to pounce on the man and beat his face in for touching his woman.

  They sat in the seats and continued to take in the majestic view of the room, neither one of them saying a word. Darren sat up in his chair and watched them. Though the room was dark, his eyes were well adjusted, and the stars and constellations upon the screen provided a soft glow that drenched the two within his view. Samantha sat with her hands folded in her lap while the man she had called Mark draped his arm across the back of her chair and shoulders. Darren thought he saw her stiffen under his attentions, but he couldn’t be sure. At least she hadn’t melted into Mark as she had him, he wasn’t sure he was strong enough to watch that.

  Mark began to play with her hair, trace his fingers over the shape of her ear, and then placed his hand upon her thigh. Darren tensed as he watched every move they made, his heart leapt with joy as Samantha pushed him away, and then with horror at her situation.

  “No, Mark! I don’t think so; I’m not ready for your full attentions.”

  “Sammannthaa,” he crooned, “this isn’t my full attention, this is just a get to know you attention.”

  “Well I think we need to go back to the indifferent acquaintance attentions.”

  “We are way past that. Plus, there’s no turning back.” Mark continued to stroke her thigh, and leaned in to kiss her neck.

  “Mark, we are not past that, and yes, we can turn back.” Samantha leaned away from him. His breath on her neck set her on the verge of panic.

  “I’ve waited for weeks to convince you to go out with me, I’ve picked the most romantic and secluded spot I know of, and by God there is no going back now.” Mark reached out and grabbed the back of her head with his hand and pulled her to him in a demanding kiss. His other hand grabbed at her shirt, pulling it up.

  Darren was already on his feet poised to take action when Samantha struggled against him, freeing her arm and then balled up her fist and punched him across the face. Darren took a few steps forward and paused. He didn’t want to attract attention to himself, but there was no way he would let this man hurt her. If she left with him, he would stop her. If she left alone, he would follow her until he was sure she made it home and then buck up his courage to call her. Had the two been together, as he knew they should be, she never would have been in this situation. Rather, she would be there with him, in the safety of his arms.

  Darren’s mind raced back to the present when he heard Samantha scream, “Don’t you ever touch me again, Mark. I mean it.”

  “You mean it huh? Just like you meant it when you kept telling me no for a date? Well where are you now? Oh yeah, you’re on a date with me.”

  “Against my better judgment, you can rest assured I won’t make that mistake twice.”

  “Well, as you can see I always get what I want, and since I want you, there’s no way you can get away from me. Plus, I already know where you live.”

  Terror, dread, and fear coursed through her. He was right, he knew where she lived. She would have to leave, call up her dad and go back to Ritzville, this very night, if only she could make it through this unharmed. Pulling her cell phone from her pocket she pressed and held the two, speed dial to her father.

  Mark grabbed the phone from her hands, threw it to the ground, and stomped the heel of his shoe into it just as she heard her father’s voice pick up the line, “Hey sweetie, what’s up?”

  Darren had witnessed more than enough. Anger against Mark, and fear for Samantha was blinding all rational thought, he jumped over the seats and ran to her side, sweeping her behind him, he stood between the love of his life and the danger in front of her.

  Samantha had no idea another person was in the room, relief flooded her when the man stepped between her and Mark. His body was familiar, one she had seen in her dreams every night for the past month, but she couldn’t trust herself, she had often conjured up visions of him when she wanted him most, just to be disappointed when it turned out not to be him.

  “The lady said she wants you to leave.” Samantha froze at the sound of his voice. She wasn’t just seeing him, now she was hearing him also.

  “Yeah, well who asked you?”

  “You did when you didn’t leave her alone, she did when she punched you, and you asked again when you took her phone from her hands and destroyed it under your foot.”

  Darren and Mark were nearly identical in height, but Darren had the stature of a man not to be messed with. It wasn’t surprising when Mark backed down.

  “Fine, come on Samantha I’ll take you home.”

  Darren couldn’t see her, but from the look on Mark’s face, she wasn’t agreeing with him.

  “No, I’ll get home myself.”

  “Whatever Samantha, let me just take you home. What are you going to do, walk?”

  “No, I’ll take her home.” Darren stated.

  By now Samantha had realized it was him, and despite the turmoil that they had experienced, she wasn’t shy about clinging to the back of his shirt as she cowered behind him.

  “Like hell you will, she knows you even less than she knows me. It took me weeks to convince her that she knew me well enough to go on this date. There’s no way she’ll leave with you.”

  “A lot of good getting to know you did her. I think she’s better off leaving with a stranger, than with you.” Turning towards Samantha he asked, “Would you prefer that he takes you home, or will you go with me?”

  “You!” There was no doubt in her response; she would go to the end of the Earth with Darren if he asked her to.

  “There you have it; she would rather that I see her home. You can leave now.”

  Mark just stood there, a glare of disgust on his face for both the man in front of him and for Samantha. “You’ll be sorry Samantha, I’ll …” Mark’s voice caught as Darren grabbed him by the throat and squeezed.

  “Or you’ll what? God help me if you come near her again, I will kill you. Do you hear me? Damned the consequences, I will kill you.” Darren let go of his throat as he threw him towards the door. “Get out, NOW!”

  Both Darren and Samantha watched Mark ran out the door. When the last sliver of light was shut out, Samantha collapsed on the floor behind Darren. Tears, unseen in the dark, streamed down her face, and she choked on her uncontrollable sobs. Darren sat on the floor next to her and pulled her into his lap, Samantha melted into his body, exactly as he had feared she would do with Mark. Darren encased her in his arms, holding her tight, rocking her as he let her drown the front of his shirt with her tears. Her delicate hands gripped fist-fulls of his shirt, her lifeline to safety. He continued to rock, the swaying of their bodies soothing her soul.

  “Shh, you’re alright now, I am here. Don’t worry, he’s gone, he can’t hurt you.” Darren whispered into her hair. His heart broke with each of her tortured sobs. Finally, her crying began to wane, and she tried to sit up. Darren just held her close, his hand reaching up and stroking her silky hair, beckoning her to rest back into hi
m. Neither of them said a word, Darren just held her close, occasionally brushing his lips across the top of her head when he thought she couldn’t feel it.

  Samantha could feel everything though. Not all of her tears were for the fear that Mark had invoked, though most of them were. No, some of her tears were for the joy she felt at finding Darren. She could feel his hands wrapped around her as she sat on his lap. Every so often, he would rub a hand down her back, or over her shoulders to promote additional support. She felt him dip his head to kiss the top of her's. Samantha looked up into his eyes, the same dark pools of passion that she had been dreaming about. She was desperate for him to kiss her. It was the only way to wipe away the harsh memories of her horrific night.

  Darren paused, his eyes roaming her lips. He was a dying man in the desert sands, and her lips were his water. He was desperate to drink from her. To press his lips against her’s as they had in the Seattle parking lot, but he couldn’t. He didn’t want to scare her; she’d been through too much already tonight.

  “Samantha, who were you calling before he took your phone?”

  “My dad, I wasn’t sure what else to do.”

  “Here, you better use my phone and give him a call. He’s probably going to be worried sick.” Darren reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He handed it to her.

  Samantha dialed her father’s number and spoke to him, their conversation was long. When Mark had crushed her phone, it had continued to work for a little bit, he had heard some of what had gone on and he was worried sick. He wanted her to call the police, wanted her to come home, back to Ritzville where he could protect her.

  “Samantha, I think you need to come home. Either that or we need to get him arrested and put in jail. I don’t like that you’re home alone, not with him roaming around knowing where you live.”

  “Dad, the police can’t do anything. Nothing happened, I told you, another guy I know showed up and got rid of him. I can’t drive back to Ritzville tonight, it’s too late, and after all that has taken place I just don’t have the energy. Maybe tomorrow.”