The sun was just about to dip below the horizon and the dining hall was flooded with amber light through its large wall of windows. The effect made every blonde in the room look slightly red headed, making me feel like their queen.
That’s when I spotted him. Daniel was sitting a little closer than usual tonight. He was only a few tables away. How had he slipped in so close without my noticing? As our eyes met, he unexpectedly smiled for a moment and then just as unexpectedly he returned to his usual emotionless expression. I silently laughed to myself, I couldn’t help it. He really was the strangest guy I’d ever encountered in my short life.
He could tell I’d laughed at him and wasn’t sure what to make of it. He looked puzzled for a moment, then looked down at his tray, smiling to himself as he shook his head back and forth.
I think we were having our first conversation. A silent one, but still …
Tabitha saw my distracted face and watched me for a moment, long enough to follow my gaze as it fell back on Daniel. At that moment he looked back up and smiled my way again. Not a big full face smile, but more with his eyes. They wore a soft expression that made him look devastatingly handsome, momentarily causing him to lose his usual thoroughly intimidating manner.
As I blushed a deep crimson, I picked up my soda, taking a long drink as a distraction.
“Is Daniel flirting with you?” Tabitha whispered to me in disbelief.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I muttered.
I was having a hard time wiping the smile off my face so I purposefully hid behind my glass again.
“Well, I don’t know …”
Her voice trailed off as she glanced back at Daniel who was now taking a bite of something. Then she shifted her gaze back at me. Shrugging my shoulders, I turned to quickly reenter the conversation with the boys and hoped she’d drop her bone.
A few minutes later I stole a look over my shoulder but Daniel’s chair was now empty. I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later. From my observations, it seemed to happen to every female he came across eventually. He’d finally succeeded, whether trying to or not, in turning me into nothing but a big female. It left me to wonder if he’d done it on purpose, or did he even realize the power he held in those blue eyes of his.
After dinner, I headed back to Capen Hall. My plan was to settle into bed with my books and read my homework chapters from Psych. It was pretty dry stuff and I had a feeling it was going to put me to sleep. I figured I might as well use it to good use and already be in bed with the alarm set for the morning just in case.
As I was about to climb into bed and curl up, the phone rang. Polite as always, it was Darcy warning me that she would be home late tonight. She didn’t want to scare me when the door opened after midnight. Last time, I’d almost knocked her front teeth out. I think she’d learned her lesson about surprising me. Although she could be overwhelming at times, I was beginning to miss seeing her more often. It did tend to get lonely in the room without her.
Putting the receiver back on the phone, I walked over to the window to close the curtains. Before I did, I peeked through the blinds to see if there was a moon tonight. As I did, I caught a glimpse of someone standing under the large elm tree in front of our room. I could see legs and a torso clearly, but the head was hidden behind the leaves. From the general build I guessed it was a man. He stood motionless leaning against the trunk with his back to me. He must have been looking at something out in the quad. A gust of wind blew the branches just enough to distinguish his partial profile. For a moment it almost looked like Daniel.
“Daniel?” I said to myself. “What on earth?”
Just then the body attached to the obscured head moved an inch as if reacting to something. A moment later I heard some giggling students as they approached on the walkway that circled the quad below. Daniel, or whoever it was, saw them coming and quickly walked out of my line of sight into the full cover of the trees. I continued to watch through my created peep hole in the blind for a while, but whoever it had been didn’t come back that I could see. Boy, I really was more paranoid than I thought. Shaking my head to myself, I closed the curtain, then making sure the window was locked, I curled up in bed with my books.
I woke in the morning against something hard. My eyes still closed, I reached over and felt the edge of the text book I was unsuccessfully snuggling up with. I wish I could say it was the first time this had happened, but it wasn’t. Once again, my text book and I made strange bedfellows.
After a quick shower and a breakfast of fruit loops, I was out the door and off to Art History. I had to admit, I was more than curious to see what would happen in class today. How would Daniel react to me? Would he give me the cold, hard looks he usually did when scanning the class for victims, or would I see something different today?
To be honest, I wasn’t sure what I hoped for. Daniel was extremely attractive, no doubt about it, but something about him also scared me. Like any man of mystery, there was an unknown element about him. I couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to make him the way he was, a completely closed off person who seemed to avoid most social interaction.
Strangely enough, he seemed to draw out this long dormant nurturing part of me that wanted to wrap my arms around him and protect him, which was most unusual for someone like me. I was never one for nurturing instincts. But I think the larger part of me wanted to run from him. In the end, evasion seemed like my best form of self-defense. It was confusing to say the least and from what I’d managed to observe, I think he had this effect on most women. Confusion, that is. Whatever the reason, I tended to think he was completely unaware of it – or perhaps more likely he just didn’t care.
Tabitha and I filed into class with the usual crowd of students, most of which were still yawning, wishing they were still snuggled up in bed. By now the novelty of the new school year had worn off and the tedium was beginning to set in for most of them.
Today was indeed different. Daniel didn’t look at me at all. Not a grimace, or a smile, or even a stray glance. Tabitha and I sat almost directly dead center of the hall, so the only explanation I could conceive was that he was purposely not looking at me. My original assessment of him was proving more and more correct. He was a very strange guy, much more of a mystery than your average man and to me they all seemed pretty enigmatic.
As always class was more than interesting. His lectures, as were the Professor’s before him, were amazing to listen to. Not only because of his vast knowledge of the subject, but also because of his evident passion for it.
When class ended, Tabitha and I started talking about our plans for the weekend. She was going home to see her parents and do laundry. With Mike also going home, and Ryan having soccer practice all weekend, it seemed I was going to be left all alone for the first time. As we gathered up our books I told her I’d been thinking about doing an abbreviated hiking trip on the trails we’d traversed last weekend. The weather was supposed to be nice and I didn’t fancy staring at the walls for two days straight. At least this would keep me busy on Saturday and I could spend some time in the library on Sunday.
It sounded like a good plan and she was kind enough to give me some pointers for a solo trip into the woods. She even said she would mark a map for me. She was sure I could handle it alone, but said she’d feel better if she gave me a map marked with landmarks and my route all laid out. It was sweet that she cared. That seemed to be her basic nature as a person.
We parted at the exit doors of the hall, and when she headed off towards the gym, I started in the direction of my drawing class.
Deciding to take the route that would keep me outside the longest, I got off the sidewalk and started across the grassy area between the buildings. My classroom being conveniently located in the rear of the large building, I headed around to take the long way to the back door.
A moment later I heard “Miss Donnelly?” coming from behind me.
As I turned, I saw Daniel striding up next to me, his arms
full of papers and a few books. A small, almost uncomfortable smile appeared at the corners of his mouth as I faced him.
“I think you can call me Sara,” I said before I realized the words were out of my mouth.
Gees, hold back the sarcasm, Donnelly. He’s your teacher after all.
“If you prefer,” he replied in a silky tone I hadn’t heard him use before. “I just wanted to check to make sure you were alright. I know you said you weren’t injured yesterday, but you were definitely shaken after … the incident.”
Instinctually I looked down at my uninjured leg.
“Thank you,” I answered. “I’m fine. I probably should have asked you if you were alright. I mean, I did kind of knock you into the bushes pretty hard.”
He tried to hide a chuckle, but did a poor job of it.
“Is that funny?” I asked a little annoyed at his response. I mean, I did save his life. Didn’t I?
He quickly changed his tone back to his usual serious one.
“No, it’s not,” he answered, but I could tell he was lying. “I’m fine. I was just surprised. I didn’t see you coming and that’s … a little odd for me. Not much takes me by surprise.”
“That must be nice. Pretty much everything takes me by surprise,” I said, another hint of sarcasm leaking out.
“Well, I’m glad not everything does, otherwise you might be dead right now.”
Uncomfortable under his intense gaze, I started walking again.
“I need to keep walking if I’m not going to be late for class,” I suddenly wanted to end our conversation.
For whatever reason, he fell into step with me as I continued down the lawn.
“Mind if I walk with you for a few minutes?” he asked, but it seemed pretty obvious he was going to no matter what I answered. “So what do you like to do when you’re not pushing people into shrubbery?” he asked, peering over at me from under a fallen lock of his sandy hair.
“Not much. I study a lot; spend a lot of time in the library. I also like to go hiking.”
Against my better judgment, I stole a glance at him. He was watching me, waiting for me to continue.
“I went hiking for the first time last weekend with a bunch of friends. I think I’ll go again this Saturday by myself.”
Why was I telling him this?
“Is that wise? You don’t know the woods around here that well yet. It’s very beautiful, yes, but it’s also very easy to lose your way.”
I snorted and shook my head.
“I have a pretty good sense of direction. Between that, my map and my compass, I think I’ll be alright,” I said confidently.
A low Humm was his only response.
I stopped and turned his way.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing. It’s just that – well, you kind of saved my life. I don’t know how I feel about letting you wander off into the forest all by yourself.”
He sounded genuinely concerned, which made it hard for me to feel like what he’d said wasn’t also a little bit sexist and condescending. Which it was.
“What if you fell and really got hurt? You could die of exposure before someone found you.”
I didn’t answer. I guess that was a valid point, but I didn’t want to admit it.
“I wonder …” he said, his voice trailing off.
“What?”
“Well, I was just wondering if you’d consider amending your plans a little.”
He was hinting at something, I could tell. But not wanting to give him the satisfaction of asking what it was, I just tilted my head slightly which he must have taken as an indication to continue.
“Would you perhaps do me the honor of allowing me to accompany you?”
I stood there silently for a moment. I wasn’t expecting this. Did I want to be alone with him in the wilderness where there were no witnesses? No, that wasn’t it, yet something kept me from answering him right away.
“I assure you, I know the hills around here like the back of my hand. There is no chance of getting lost with me along.” He again used those soft silky tones that could calm a charging bull.
“That would be alright.”
I heard the words come out of my lips but couldn’t believe I’d said them. I expected him to smile in response but as I spoke his expression didn’t alter. If anything, it darkened slightly.
We continued walking again. Why had I agreed so quickly? This really puzzled me. After all, he was basically a stranger. A really strange stranger from what I’d seen. It seemed somewhat incomprehensible to me that, although I felt uncomfortable around him, for some reason, I didn’t feel in danger from him. I think that was the reason I didn’t try to get out of my acceptance. Although I had a sneaking suspicion I would regret it later on.
When I stopped at the back entrance to the building, he immediately opened the door for me. Then as I started to walk in he said “I’ll pick you up behind your dorm at seven on Saturday.”
Remembering my manners, I turned to say goodbye, but he was already gone. Looking down at where his shadow had been, I paused for a long moment. What was it about him that put me so on edge? There was some quality about Daniel that was hard to describe, but it was almost like he had the stink of death on him. Not a physical smell, but more like an emotional state. He fascinated me, when intellectually I knew I should have been repulsed by him.
How could you be so attracted to someone who equally repulsed you? Deep down I knew it wasn’t so much his superficial looks that attracted me. If anything, they made me feel small because I knew he was so much better looking than I was. Then what was it that drew me to him? He was terse, rough edged, passionate and unfriendly, even bordering on hostile at times. Yet, I was drawn to him on some deep elemental level I’d never experienced before. And although I was reluctant to admit it, that frightened me.
The next few days were difficult. Some small voice inside me said not to tell my friends about my new plans. I didn’t know how they would react and quite frankly I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be talked out of them or not. When I was with them, I did my best to avoid the subject and managed to evade outright lying, but I still felt guilty for committing the sin of omission. Tabitha would be stunned into silence. Mike would be shocked because I think he really did think Daniel was gay. Ryan would probably just sit there and pout angrily. And Ben? Well, I hadn’t seen Ben since the incident, but I think he would seriously council me against it. I kept thinking about the look they’d exchanged as we’d walked away from the bushes. What had that been about anyway?
Friday night rolled around before I realized it. For a change of pace, Ryan, Tabitha and I had made plans to go hit some of the local hot spots in New Paltz for the evening. This wouldn’t take long as, picturesque as New Paltz was; it was still a bit of a one horse town. Mike had already left for the weekend, but Tabitha, who hated to drive at night, was leaving early in the morning. As we all had plans to get up early, we wouldn’t be making an especially late night of it. But I think each of us had things on our minds and thought a change of scenery would be the best distraction.
I actually hadn’t seen much of town yet, having only ventured into it a few times on quick shopping trips. Now the library, I was intimately acquainted with. Sad, I know. But as beautiful a campus as NPU was, after a long week, it felt somewhat confining and we all wanted to stretch our legs away from the now overly familiar sights of campus.
We started with dinner at the College Diner instead of the normalcy of the dining hall. As we ordered our food, I glanced around and strangely realized I was looking for Daniel. He had continued to sit near us for dinner every night over the past week, but had never made a move that indicated he might want to join us or talk to me again.
I’d found myself wanting him to have company at his table nestled in the shadows. He always looked so alone and I had to constantly fight the urge to get up and go join him. Openly talking to him would mean my plans for tomorrow would be out of the
bag and I wasn’t ready for that. Of course, Tabitha would ask why I’d gone to him and I wouldn’t be able to lie to her. Was he sitting in the dining hall right now wondering where I was? Part of me desperately wanted to know.
Oh, get over yourself, Donnelly. He’s only going with you out of some misguided sense of obligation or pity.
After dinner we went to P & G’s. It was a tavern located at the top of Main Street as it started to descend downward in the series of book stores, restaurants, local bars and interesting shops that made up the center of town. We ordered a few drinks and played darts for a while, but once the rowdy after hour’s crowd started to stumble in around ten o’clock, we figured it was time to go and headed home. Ryan didn’t seem that clingy tonight. It was a nice change of pace. I really should at least try to like him. So cute, so nice. It must be me who had something wrong with her. I mean, why wouldn’t I like him? What more was I looking for? Maybe I’d figure out what that was someday. I think maybe I’d be happier when I did.
As my alarm sounded at 6:15, I wished for the millionth time that God had made me more of a morning person. It must be nice to wake up and want to get out of bed. I wouldn’t know, it had never happened to me. Thankfully, I’d already packed my backpack the night before. It sat on the floor, stuffed with granola bars and water along with the map Tabitha had marked for me, my trusty compass and a few other odds and ends I thought I might want to bring along.
I’d really packed as if Daniel wasn’t going to show. It all seemed too unreal. He was drop dead gorgeous and well … I certainly wasn’t. He couldn’t seriously have any romantic designs on me, not with all those beautiful girls continually circling him like hawks. Surely his recent attentions towards me were out of some misguided sense of gratitude. But even that baffled me.
The Purity of Blood: Volume I Page 8
