“Local?”
“Nevada and Southern Cal,” he said. “My mother lives in Texas…she’s bought into the ‘it does nothing but rain’ here like a lot of people, even when I send her pictures of the summers we have.”
“And your dad?”
“Don’t know,” he answered with a shrug. “She says he was good, kind…but that’s all she’ll say. She did a good job being a stand in for a dad…she’s a tomboy kind of girl.”
“She raised a nice son,” Sophie said honestly, sighing and leaning her head against his.
“I’ll let her know you think so,” Nate gathered the distance, moving them to the slow music. Her hair smelled like fresh peaches. “Have you been in this area long?”
“I grew up here.”
“Where do you work?”
“The resort to the south, The WindSwept Narrows? It’s not open yet, but it’s going to be fantastic.”
“You said you’d only been there a short time…where were you before that?”
“A mental institution for almost six years…” She lifted her head to see the odd look on his face and laughed brightly. “I was the admin to the administrator for a state run facility for mental patients, Flynn. Not an inmate.”
“Why did you leave?” He brought his hand up, gently brushing the strands of hair from the end of her glasses.
“I…I couldn’t handle being helpless to help them…” She blinked against the sudden rush of heat to her eyes. “Most of them…are born broken…alcohol, drugs…accidents…I couldn’t take it anymore and decided I had to move to something different.”
“I can’t imagine the dark auras around people like that, especially those put there by the state,” Nate shook his head.
“You can feel it,” she whispered, staring into his eyes. “People don’t believe it, but you can. It was good training for this new position…you have to be authoritative with people like that.” She watched his palm move to pull the strands of hair from her glasses again. “I think we cross beneath a fan…I’m going to get it all cut off in a couple days.”
Nate hadn’t tried to stop the expression on his face.
“You look like you’re in pain,” she said with a laugh, leaning closer. “It’s only hair, Flynn. If I don’t like it, it’ll grow back,” she said with a shrug. “I’ve never understood guys fascination with long hair on females…”
“I can not possibly answer that question without damaging my good guy image,” he answered immediately, his grin crooked. “But I’m positive whatever style you choose, you’ll wear it regally.”
“You should come with a warning label,” she said after a long pause, shaking her head and letting his laughter echo in her mind. “You’re charming and polite…intelligent and articulate and sweet…” She lifted her palm from his shoulder, holding it just off his cheek. “May I?”
“Are you gonna hit me?” His voice full of suspicion.
“No, I am not going to hit you…” her lips pulled into a crooked grin as her palm gently touched the side of his face, caressing along his jaw. “You don’t even shave yet, do you?”
Sophie listened to the long sigh, the pale lashes closed for a quiet minute.
“I didn’t mean to…”
“I’m trying to figure out just how you manage to raise my blood pressure and make me frown at the same time,” he said with a shake of his head, he leaned close to her ear. “Don’t tell anyone, but I’m thirty-three years old, Baroness.”
“Seriously?” She leaned back, brows knit as she studied the strong jaw and high cheeks.
“Afraid you were contributing to the delinquency of a minor?” Nate asked, amusement in his voice.
“The thought had occurred,” she admitted, very aware of the heat in her cheeks. "I am sorry…”
“Don’t be…I’m okay with it,” Nate assured her, his cheek resting against her head. “If I had asked for your phone number…you would have turned me down because of the age thing, wouldn’t you?”
“I don’t know,” she answered quietly. “I want to say I wouldn’t…that what people think about who we spend time shouldn’t matter…but I really don’t want to be known as a cougar.” Sophie wasn’t prepared for the deep laughter, his eyes sparkling when she lifted her head.
“You are delightful,” he told her, his smile bright.
“Are you like that with your friends? People you work with?” She asked curiously.
“Like what?”
“The language…guys seem to have two distinct personalities. One when they’re with co-workers and friends, and another when they’re with girls,” she watched his face as he considered her comment.
“It’s not two personalities,” he led her to a quiet corner, taking a seat and meeting her gaze. “It’s easy to slip into the vernacular of your peers…job speak and slang. You basically have the same personality. I suppose a lot of that depends on whether you have the backbone to stand up for what you believe in, no matter who you’re with at the time. My mom was outgoing and liked sports but she always behaved like a lady…and taught me to treat people with respect, until they earn otherwise.”
Sophie leaned her elbows on the table, her chin resting on her palms. “Why are you alone?”
“I…” Nate was caught off guard momentarily. “Maybe the same reason you are, Baroness. Waiting for the right person to come along.”
“I know why I’m alone…it’s safer,” she said quietly. “There’s a line from an old song about wishing we could be born like horses and sheep, to know where we’re going, to know what we need…humans aren’t that lucky.”
“No one is born afraid…and if something can be learned, it can be unlearned,” Nate leaned back in the chair, watching her expressions.
“Is there anything you won’t talk about?” She asked, surprised at his honesty and openness.
“With you…no…if you want to talk about it, bring it up.” Nate said firmly. “It might take me some time to find the answer, but I’ve nothing to hide.”
“That’s a brave statement.”
“Would you consider this a date?” He saw her lashes blink rapidly, full dark red lips pulled into a tight pucker.
“I…I hadn’t…until just now…”
“We’ve spent almost four hours talking without the stress of a label.”
“Has it been…” she tipped her wrist up and then met the rakish grin with wide eyes. “You’re very easy to be with,” she said after a long silence.
“So are you, Baroness,” Nate stood up and took her palm. “How about another dance?” She nodded and easily moved into his arms, the soft music barely noticed.
Sophie felt one lone tear ease along her cheek when the song ended and she told him it was time for a restroom break. She watched him enter the men’s room before turning and disappearing out into the damp September night. She slid into the waiting car, the door closed and her head back on the seat.
Nate left the restroom, eyes scanning the crowd and coming up empty.
He should have known. He should have seen it in her eyes.
He knew how to contact her. He tipped his wrist up as he headed for his car. It was almost eleven, but it was a Friday night. She usually was online until at least one.
And he was far from tired.
He was angry.
Chapter Three
Sophie entered the large home and went straight to her bedroom, the costume carefully removed and folded to be returned in the morning. She dropped a pink top over her head, stepped into the elastic waisted harem pants and pulled her long legs beneath her in the large office chair. Fingers moved expertly over the keys, logging into her game and selecting the character she wanted to play.
She was in the middle of a quest when she saw her friend log in. They’d been chatting for over five weeks. He was a nice kid, she thought. Having a little teen girl trouble…not that she was the one to giving anyone advice, she mused with a long sigh. She sent him a one word message – chat?
Sophie listened in her headphones, parking her character out of danger.
“Hi…” She greeted her friend with a smile.
“Hello.”
“So how did the date go?” She asked, frowning at his low, flat tone. Very unlike him, she thought. She knew he had been looking forward to the evening for several days. “You don’t sound right…you’re usually cheerful and…and bright.”
“I thought it was going pretty good,” he answered quietly, finding his anger slowly melting. “I’m okay…”
“Uh-oh…what happened?” It was always traumatic when you’re a teenager, she thought.
“Don’t know. She ran…just disappeared on me,” he said flatly.
“Maybe something scared her…it’s not easy to be patient,” she said softly. “I could tell you there are lots of girls out there who would go out with you in a heartbeat…the school is probably full of them.”
“Not interested,” he declared instantly, realizing that no matter the grief, he wasn’t prepared to give up just yet.
“You’re stubborn,” she tsked like a concerned big sister.
“What about you? Did you have a good evening?” Nate leaned back in his chair, hands massaging his neck.
“Yes…” was the soft answer. “Yes, I really did…you would have loved it. Tons of gamer costumes….every sci-fi costume imaginable…it was fantastic.”
“If you had such a good time, why are you home so early?” He pushed.
“Because it’s safe here. When people die here, you can rez them…when they die in real time, you’re just left alone. Each one leaves a little hole in your heart…and after a while…” Sophie shook herself, drawing in a long breath. “Don’t pay attention to me. I’m not really a good source of advice in this area. If she’s the one you want, you’ll find a way to be patient and if she’s the right one for you, she’ll want to explain.”
“You had friends die? A boyfriend?” Nate asked carefully.
“Not a boyfriend. Just friends. After you lose so many, you’re too afraid to let anyone close enough to be called a boyfriend…so you play games and give advice to kids like you who still have courage,” she said with a forced laugh.
“What do you think a girl wants in a guy?”
“Before I answer that…you can’t alter yourself to fit someone. When it’s right, I believe it’ll come naturally.”
“That sounds almost like destiny,” Nate said softly.
“Maybe…anyway…I think we want a friend…with a good sense of humor…if he can make you laugh, it’s the best. And maybe be strong enough to hold you when you need to scream or cry,” she said quietly. “Girls really hate crying…but for some reason…it happens. We like to be defended and protected, but we’d really like to slay our own dragons,” she listened to the laughter on the other end. “You laugh…we girls are complex and filled with confusing ups and downs. If you talk to her the way you talk to me, she doesn’t stand a chance,” Sophie promised.
“You don’t think I have to change to fit her?”
“No. Absolutely not. Always be yourself. I think we evolve when we meet someone we want to be with,” Sophie said thoughtfully. “Maybe you find some courage…or wear different clothes…or listen to new music…differences are just as important as the things you have in common. You change a little, she changes a little. The thing is, you’re happier together than apart. It always has to be a partnership. It can’t be one sided, that isn’t real…”
“You think girls are after a certain type?” Nate tipped up the cold bottle of ale, taking a long swallow and realizing a lot of the anger was fading into something else.
Sophie laughed. “You mean like a jock or…or a brain…I guess, sure, to a certain extent…but it isn’t so much a type we’re looking for…even in school, kids aren’t one dimensional. I like watching baseball but that doesn’t make me a sports fanatic. I think it’s sad that we’re taught so young how to label people, stick them in a box…the pretty girls…the nerds…the poor kids…the rich ones…the vo-tech kids…we never get a chance to find our own box because someone already stuck us in one.”
“Where did you fit?”
“I didn’t…I don’t think I fit much…or I wanted to fit into more places than they would allow,” she said with a quiet laugh. “I guess I resist a lot. Are you going to give up on her?”
“Hell no…you know how long it’s taken for me to talk to her…”
“I guess I still don’t understand why…was she always with other girls?”
“No…usually on her own. I mean, she has friends and I’ve seen her chatting with people. The guys I…” Nate stopped himself to think high school. “Hang out with think she’s stuck up…out of our league…”
“You spent time with her tonight…do you think that? Why do they think that? Was she…did she look at them like…eewww…or say something?” Sophie listened to his laugh.
“No…never said much of anything,” he thought about it. “The usual hello or good morning kind of thing…mostly she just seems off in her own world…lots on her mind, I guess…”
“You only get a little glimpse of a person…it takes a long time before you find out all the things going on in the background…all the stuff that gives us our moods or distracts us. Maybe she has parent trouble or teacher…struggling with a class or something…”
“Lots of unknowns…why didn’t you fit?”
“Huh…too many places to fit…too much wrong with the whole thing. What did you know about this girl before you set your sight on her?”
“Guys are shallow…” He said flatly. “She’s…always got her head down, eyes on a book or notebook…but when she does look up, her eyes are amazing. There’s so much inside them…”
“No…well, maybe…but I was thinking about that tonight…if not for appearance, how would you choose to approach someone to talk to? It was pointed out to me tonight…for some reason, I never gave it much thought.” Sophie shook her head and sighed. “Like it or not, appearance is important, fortunately or not…if you believe in fate and…and beauty being in the eye of the beholder kind of thing, then things should even out with time.”
“Guys approach you ‘cause of what you look like?” Nate had to work to sound casual.
“They don’t know me…so I have to assume it’s why they approach. I don’t know…never thought to ask…usually they have such bad, even crude lines…” She shook her head. “I majored in English and language. There are millions of words available to use…but they don’t have the brain to use them. I guess that’s what would be important to me…a sense of humor and…and spontaneity and the brain to pull it all together.”
“I know some girls with really bad language…”
“I do, too…it’s not how I choose to speak, but…do you share a class with her?”
“Yeah…one…” he thought of their gaming together.
“Then you must have seen or heard something that made you want to approach her…so maybe it isn’t all physical after all.”
“You said you had a good time tonight…why did you sound sad?”
Sophie stared into the darkness outside her patio doors. “Because I think I made a really big mistake,” she said softly.
“Can you fix it?” Nate felt his heart thump.
“I think so…I have to talk to some people I know, but I think I can.” Her voice dropped painfully low. “I hope I can.”
“What made the night fun?” He liked listening to her, but wanted to take away the sadness.
“You know…we talked. And not once did he try and impress me with a…a fancy downtown condo…or the latest car…or his Rolex watch…stuff wasn’t important. He was a nice kid…”
“A kid?” He choked on the swallow he was attempting.
“Well…he said he’s not…he looks like a kid…”
“You don’t believe him? You think he lied to you?”
“I…no…no, I don’t,” she said firmly. “He’s cute…and f
un…”
“Guy advice here…we don’t do well with the whole cute thing.”
Sophie laughed. “Okay…umm...how about sexy?”
“Better. I think you need some fun.”
“I have tons of fun...right here…questing and chatting…and we were working on your love life,” she corrected with a laugh. “So what’s your next move?”
“Track her down and ask her what I did wrong,” he answered simply.
“It might not be you,” she said carefully. “If you didn’t…umm…behave badly, let’s say…”
“I didn’t make a grab at her or…or try and kiss her…nothing like that…”
“Maybe someone else at the dance upset her and she needed to get out of there…be patient. We girls are difficult to understand…we don’t often even understand ourselves. There’s so much external goop messing with your head, then it mixes with the internal goop…”
“Goop?” Came his gurgled laugh.
“It’s a girl technical term,” she said in mock seriousness.
“I appreciate the tutoring.”
“You know your friends won’t understand,” she said carefully.
“Understand what?”
“Why you stop being with them to be with her…or you change your hair or wear different clothes…listen to different music…maybe you need to find out if she’s a gamer girl,” Sophie suggested with a chuckle.
“Turn her into one of the guys?” Nate said, denial in his tone. “I don’t think so. She smells better…” He listened to her laughter. “And has a wider range of topics for discussions…I think we talked about all kinds of things tonight.”
“I game and I’m not one of the guys,” she chided lightly. “I think I smell pretty good, too…girls like scents…candles and soaps…besides, I think it would be grand fun to game with your boyfriend…or girlfriend, in your case,” a small yawn broke free. “I think I’m not into gaming tonight though…and going to bed.”
“Thanks for being here,” Nate said softly. ‘G’night…”
“G’night.”
WindSwept Narrows: #5 Sophie Addison Page 2
