The library was just a few minutes’ drive from my house. I pulled into the parking lot, grabbed my bag and walked the short distance to the library entrance. I guess you could call me an über-geek. I know the librarian by name, I come here so often. Most of my classmates use the library at school. Hardly anyone reads just for the pure joy of reading, unless it is Cosmo or Seventeen or Twilight. The library expanded last year though, installing a row of computers and offering free internet access in one hour increments. If anyone my age was at the library today it was likely that they were there to surf the internet without the ever watchful eyes of their parents. Since I already knew what I wanted I quickly located my books and headed for the checkout counter.
Miss Grantham was in her usual spot behind her desk. Jennifer Grantham was not your stereotypical librarian. She was young. In her late twenties I would guess and very girl next door pretty. With a little effort she could be extremely hot. Everyone knew that she followed a guy from Little Rock to Fayetteville and when he broke her heart she got in the car and drove north. She didn’t make it very far. Her head gasket blew on the outskirts of town. Jeffery Greene, the town’s only mechanic, towed her car to his shop and started repairs. She didn’t leave when her car was fixed though. Most people would have. That’s how small Pineville is. I think she started dating Jeffery.
“Good morning Alexa. Did you find everything you needed?” She asked with a smile as she stood from her desk and walked the short distance to the counter.
“Yes thank you Miss Grantham. I have a reference book here. Can I please have a copy of pages 112-147?”
“Sure thing; I’ll be back in just a moment.” She took the large reference book and headed to the back room to make the copies. The library still charged 10 cents a copy, but since the copier would always break down due to misuse, the staff moved it behind the counter. When I say staff I mean Miss Grantham.
While she was busy I looked again through my stack of books. I like to think of myself as well read. Really, I just like to read so I usually check out 6 or 7 books at a time. This month I have Persuasion, a collection of poems by Emily Dickenson as well as Robert Frost, Wuthering Heights, Dracula the Bram Stoker version, and because I do crave an undying love and romance despite what Mom thinks The Notebook. With a sigh I looked up from my selections and glanced around the library. As usual there weren’t many people there. A mom with her three kids, were pulling a huge selection of children’s books off the shelves. Well her children were pulling them off; she was frantically trying to put them back. A few people were sitting at the row of computers. I recognized Jason Stephenson from my History class. He gave a half -hearted wave and held up our textbook. At least he acknowledged my presence.
With an answering nod – I pointed to Miss Grantham at the copier. I had twisted around in my perusal of the library so that my back was to the main entrance at this point. When the familiar tingle made its way across my neck, I took a deep breath and turned, expecting to see nothing like the last time. Instead, someone was walking through the glass door.
Whoever it was, he immediately looked out of place. His highly polished shoes and crisp suit would have blended in better at a high-profile corporate office in someplace like Chicago or New York. He was tall, definitely over six feet. I would have had to look up to meet his eyes if he were standing next to me. The tailored cut of his suit spoke of wealth and couldn’t hide the fact that he was well built, while not being overly muscled. His skin was pale white along with his hair. It looked like marble, and I had to wonder if it felt as smooth and cold as it looked. Compared with his polished clothes, his hair was rugged, almost sloppy, but it worked for him. His eyes were hidden behind a pair of dark designer sunglasses. He was younger than I initially thought, almost my age. It was more evident as he came closer. With his pale skin,hair and glasses, I assumed that he was an albino and wore the glasses to protect his light sensitive eyes, common with that disorder (see, I am an über-geek or I wouldn’t have known that). It was because of that assumption that I gave an involuntary but no less inaudible gasp of surprise when he removed his glasses to reveal the most startling blue eyes I had ever seen. They were the clear blue of the ocean and ringed with dark sooty lashes.
He must have heard my slight intake of breath because at that moment he turned his eyes toward me. As soon as our gazes met I felt an immediate connection. In fact I was somewhat surprised when sparks didn’t literally fly back and forth like when you see a static electricity demonstration. He was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Now that he was close enough I could tell that the top three buttons on his shirt were open and, as he brushed his hair away from his eyes the shirt gapped to reveal a glimpse of a tribal like tattoo over his heart. The markings only added to his beauty.
He boldly returned my stare, never breaking eye contact as he continued to walk toward the checkout counter. The electric intensity of his presence only intensified as he stopped less than a foot away from me. He was close enough to touch and my fingers ached to feel his alabaster skin. My arm actually started to rise of its own accord. Trying to cover it up I did a short little wave like I was greeting an acquaintance instead of a complete stranger. He smiled at me then. A sultry half smile like he knew I was struggling to keep my hands off of him, and something deep within me began to kindle as heat and awareness spread throughout my limbs. On some level of my subconscious I felt like I recognized him.
“Good morning,” he said to me in a deeply masculine voice. He had the kind of voice that was so rich and luxurious that he could read technical instruction manuals out loud and make them sound sexy. I couldn’t trust myself to say anything that resembled a greeting. With my luck it would sound like a toddler’s mumbled hewo. After a few minutes I did manage to squeak out a hello, followed by what I was sure to be a most unattractive shade of red blossoming across my cheeks.
His grin widened and just when I was afraid I would really have to speak to him, Miss Grantham returned.
“Here you go Alexa. It will be $3.50 for the copies, and the latest Southern Vampire series came in a few days ago. I have the copy you reserved for you as well,” she said handing me the copies and adding the book to my pile.
“Thank you,” I managed to whisper.
Long graceful fingers reached out and picked up the novel by Charlaine Harris, “Do you like vampires, or just vampire books?” the stranger asked me.
“Well, I like all kinds of books.”
“But I think you especially like vampire books,” he remarked as he moved to pick up Dracula as well.
His arm brushed across mine as he was reaching. He smelled like the outdoors, earthy green and fresh all at the same time. I found myself taking a deep breath before answering his question.
“Not all vampire books are the same. Some are better than others. In this one, I like the story of the hometown girl who felt like an outsider,” I pointed to the Harris novel and then pointed to the Stoker one in his other hand, “in this one I like that despite how Dracula is portrayed as a monster, a creation of evil, Mina still sees him for someone who just wants to be loved.”
“Have you ever met a vampire?”
“No, of course not; they aren’t really real,” I smiled.
“Why couldn’t they be?”
I paused for a moment before answering, “I guess anything is possible,” and before I could stop myself I blurted out, “Are you a vampire?”
He smiled and turned his full gaze on me again. Immediately my heart did a little flip flop and landed in my stomach.
“No. I am not a vampire. My name is Cerus,” he said, extending his hand.
“Nice to meet you.”
I reached out to shake the hand he offered me. This time there was an actually jolt of electricity that passed between us. So much so that I dropped
Cerus’ hand and jumped back. Cerus didn’t look startled or offended. I wondered if he had felt the same jolt that I had. Instead he gathered my books and offered them to me. I hadn’t introduced myself and worried that he would think I was rude, I blushed. I could feel the heat on my face and neck.
“Thank you,” I said taking the books from him, “My name is Alexa.”
“I know.”
Okay, I thought to myself, does he know that because he heard Miss Grantham or because he is the most perfect beautiful stalker that I would gladly climb in the back of a van for? Suddenly all the feelings of unease and paranoia I had been feeling in the past 24 hours came back to me.
“I have to go to work now. It was nice meeting you Cerus. Thank you for the copies Miss Grantham,” and with that I quickly walked to the door. I was halfway outside when I heard his soft whisper behind me.
“I will see you again Alexa.”
It was so soft and so close I could swear that he was right behind me. It wasn’t a question though. Looking over my shoulder I could see that he was still at the counter talking to Miss Grantham. As if he knew I was looking, Cerus turned around and briefly met my gaze. Once again I felt the tingle across my neck and heat spreading through me. As quickly as it started it was over as he turned his attention back to the librarian.
Rushing to my car I threw my books in the back, scattering the copies across the seat and onto the floor. My tires spun on the gravel as I sped off to work. After I had been driving for a few minutes I felt my heart beat return to normal.
“What in the world was that?” I yelled to my car, “Seriously, what just happened?” I was nervous, excited, and completely confused all at the same time. All I wanted to do was get home and hide in the folds of my comforter while I tried to figure it out. Who and what was Cerus? He was too beautiful, too wild, and too young to be just a businessman. There was definitely more to him than he portrayed and I was determined to find out what that was. While I didn’t feel like he would hurt me, the fact that he knew who I was before I could tell him made me feel uncomfortable. Not to mention the fact that I felt like I knew him already. Whispering out loud I asked myself, “Cerus. What are you?”
Unfortunately, I still had to go to work. Fortunately working at the Fotohut doesn’t require that much concentration. I don’t actually process any film. People drop it off and pick up their pictures and negatives in a couple of days. I also don’t have to be there to receive the processed film. The UPS guy simply drops it in the overnight bin. All I do is alphabetize the processed film when I get there, and put the undeveloped rolls in collection envelopes when they are dropped off. Customers pay when they pick up their pictures. It wasn’t really a hard job at all. It was better than flipping burgers at least. I made a little more than minimum wage, but since my only real expense was gas I didn’t really mind it.
I was still pondering on my encounter with Cerus when it came time to close. I quickly wrote up the deposit for the day, prepared the dropped off film for shipping, grabbed both, and headed to my car. The bank was just across the parking lot. I pulled up to the curb and jumped out to drop the money in the overnight deposit. Next I drove a few blocks to the post office. UPS had a drop box outside, so I didn’t even have to get out of my car. Just drive up, drop off, and drive away. In a few minutes I’m home.
A few years ago Dad bought a boat. It took my spot in the garage. He did say that I could park in the driveway, but in addition to all its other faults, my car leaks oil. Dad is kind of a neat freak so to save his sanity, and the driveway, I park on the street. It doesn’t bother me. Secretly I long for one of two things to happen. First that another driver doesn’t see my car and hits it causing irreversible damage and allowing me to get a new car. Second that someone will steal it. Both scenarios are highly unlikely. When I pull up to the curb it is no surprise to see Sam’s little blue Honda Accord sitting in the driveway. I gathered my things and headed across the grass to the front door.
“Hey Mom!I’m home!” I shouted while kicking the door closed behind me.
“We’re in here!” came an answering shout from the kitchen.
The scene that greeted me was pretty typical. Mom was busy finishing up the cooking while Dad and Sam were setting the table. Sam’s dad wasn’t in the picture, and his mom worked a lot so Sam ate dinner (really any meal) at our house.
“Hey Lex, are you ready to hike tomorrow?” Sam asked
“Sure thing just got to finish some homework tonight.”
“Want some help?”
What I really wanted help with was figuring out Cerus, but I didn’t want to go into details in front of Mom and Dad. I was really confused and I didn’t really want to talk about what I was feeling with Sam either. So I did what any one would do, pretend everything was normal.
“Sure. It’s just World History.”
“So Sam,” Richard started to comment, “Nancy thinks that you and Lexi should start dating.”
“Dad!” I was mortified.
“Uh, no,” replied Sam.
“Thanks a lot! Geez Sam why not just say that I’m repulsive,” I said it like I was joking, but deep down, I felt like it was true.
“It’s not like that at all Lex, believe me.”
“What?” Nancy and I asked together.
Now it was Sam’s turn to get flustered, “Don’t get me wrong, you are definitely hot, and I love you, but not like that. You’re my best friend, but I think of you more like a sister than a girlfriend.”
“Aww, you think I’m hot? You are such a good friend and I love you too,” I smiled at him.
“Yep, that’s me. Sam the friend, and as flattered as I am that you consider me good enough for Lex, that’s all I want to be.”
“See honey, I told you so,” Richard finished with a smug smile on his face.
The rest of the meal passed with just the normal end of day conversation.
How was your day?
How was work?
What are your plans for tomorrow?
Pretty soon the dishes were being cleared and Sam and I were tromping up the stairs to my room.
“Leave the door open!” Dad reminded me. That was their rule whenever I had boys over. Which was funny because the only boy I ever had in my room was Sam, and didn’t we just confirm that nothing would happen between us?
I sighed and hollered back, “Okay!”
Once we reached my room I threw my books on the bed and seated myself at my desk. Sam plopped in the bean bag and turned on the little television set I had gotten last Christmas.
“Are you really going to do homework?” he asked me.
“Sam, you should know by now that I always do what I say I am going to do.”
“Is it going to take very long?”
“Thirty minutes tops. It’s already mostly finished. Why?”
“Because I asked Bethany Scott to prom and I wanted to talk to you about doubling with us,” he finished quickly, making a point not to look at me as he continued to endlessly flip cable channels.
“Wait a minute! You asked Bethany Scott to the prom?!” stressing my point until Sam began to blush, “Sam! You asked Bethany Scott to the prom!”
“Well yeah. I’ve been helping her with her chemistry all year and the other day I just sort of asked her.”
“And?”
“And, she said yes, so now we’re going to prom.”
All thoughts of my history report were gone. Suddenly, I felt very alone. I was glad Sam was going, I really was. It’s just that I had already pictured us having a movie marathon that night while we each grumbled on our apparent singleness. Now, not only was that not going to happen, but I couldn’t see myself asking anyone
to go with me. I guess I seem a little old fashioned because I wanted a guy to ask me out, not the other way around. Sam must have looked up and seen my feelings on my face.
“Come on Lex. There has to be at least one guy at school you’d want to go with.”
There wasn’t though and that was part of the problem. My thoughts turned to a pair of startling blue eyes and white shaggy hair.
“No. No, there’s no one at school.”
“Well we have time to think about it. I’m sure we can come up with a solution.”
“Sure, sure,” I quietly replied. Sam wanted a solution. I was the other part of the problem. Turning around I clicked on my desk lamp, switched on the monitor and made a show of ruffling through the copies I had gotten that morning. Once again my thoughts betrayed me and I turned my attention back to Cerus. Opening my hand slowly, I looked down at my palm, half expecting to see some sort of mark left from when we touched. I could easily picture him in formal wear. He would be like James Bond personified. Cool, calm, suave and debonair. The fantasy of every woman within a 25 mile radius comes to life. It was silly really. There was no way he could want someone as average as me. Besides, I doubted if I was ever going to see him again, despite what he had whispered to me.
“Hey Lex? Are you just going to sit there all night or are you going to do your homework?”
“I’m thinking.”
Sam’s question pulled me out of my daze and with a sigh I began to work on my report. Well, I tried to anyway. My thoughts were otherwise occupied with visions of Cerus in a tuxedo. It was then that I decided to just turn in my paper as it was. In order to keep up the appearance of working I began to research another topic entirely. Google Cerus and you get 410,000 results. Since I wasn’t looking for a company or a blood pathogen I gave up.
Earth Child (Romance Novels of The Fae Realm) Page 2
