by Andy Lewter
I shut my door and sloshed through the soggy ground to a covered area with picnic tables. Being outside with the smell of rain and fresh air was exhilarating. It was exactly what a half-crazy loner like me needed.
I sat down at a creaky, cold metal table and lazily looked around at my surroundings. The rain was coming down steadily in a depressing sort of way. The clouds above were dark and gray.
Despite it looking cold and dreary out, I felt peace here. It was the first time since meeting Nicholas that I was able to fully relax. I leaned over and rested my head on my arms, closed my eyes, and listened to the rainfall and small gusts of wind that swished through the trees.
"Let me guess. You're either homeless or depressed."
I felt a small smile cross my lips. Man, my subconscious did an exceptional job of mimicking his voice.
"Dude — is she dead?"
I frowned. That wasn't his voice.
"I don't know… maybe she's asleep."
Oh crap.
My eyes snapped open to see a blurry Nicholas leaning over me, watching my every move. I shifted my eyes over to where the other voice had come from. I recognized that it was the same guy with blond hair that I saw yesterday at the grocery store.
I sat straight up, trying to remember where I was.
Oh, right. I'm at the park.
"I fell asleep," I said groggily, feeling my cheeks flush — completely mortified that of all the people who could've walked up on me passed out, it had to be Nicholas. I'd die if there was drool on my face.
"We noticed." They both started laughing in unison.
I considered bolting to my car.
"But hey," Nicholas said calmly after they finished their laughing spell. He stepped closer and placed a soft hand on my back. "Since we found you, now you have to hang out with us."
"How — How did you find me?" I still wasn't quite awake — but I was fully aware of his hand resting on my back. It felt warm and electric, even through all my layers of clothing.
"Ahh... that's not what's important my dear." He pulled his hand away, stepped around the picnic table and sat down across from me. "You being here with me is what's important." He glanced over at his friend and pointedly gestured his head toward him. "You being here with us, I mean."
"Excuse him, he was raised by savages — so, I'll go ahead and introduce myself. My name is Azrael, but everyone calls me Ray." He smiled genuinely, holding his hand out.
As I shook his hand, I noticed how his bright blue eyes stood out compared to his pale white skin. But the paleness of his skin is what caught me off guard — it was sort of illuminated, making it look bright. It made his spiky, bleach-blond hair appear darker than it really was.
"Nice to meet you… hey — what time is it?"
Nicholas started chuckling. "How long have you been sleeping?"
"It depends on what time it is."
"It's a quarter to seven," Ray answered after checking his watch.
"How could I have slept that long?" I asked myself out loud, placing an elbow on the table and leaning against my hand. I mentally ticked off the numbers in my head, trying to add all of the hours together.
"Are you feeling okay?" Ray asked me. He stepped closer and leaned down to make eye contact. He placed a heavy hand on my shoulder, pushing down slightly. I saw a faint flash of light behind my eyes and instinctively blinked it away.
A sudden trickling, warm, almost hot feeling was at my shoulders — it felt as if my bloodstream was pumping it through my body. I felt it go down to my arms, then down my stomach and legs — all the way down to my toes.
"I feel — strange. I feel like…" I looked up at Nicholas, and then turned to Ray, who still had his hand on my shoulder. He seemed like he was concentrating hard on something.
"My eyes…" I was seeing shadows and colored spots floating in my peripheral vision — a sudden case of dizziness rushed through me.
And then I blacked out.
****
"Abby… Abby can you hear me?"
I heard Nicholas calling my name. I'm not sure where I was exactly, but I was pretty sure he was holding me — or at least he was close enough to be holding me, and that made me smile. I wondered why he sounded so frantic when he said my name. I wanted to hear him talk again.
"What did you do, you idiot?" he asked.
"Nothing — I just, hey I think she's waking up."
I opened my eyes and immediately felt my world turn. Nicholas was holding me after all. He had such a worried expression that I thought something was seriously wrong, but looking into his eyes made me forget about everything. I studied every feature of his face — his big lush lips, his brilliant copper eyes, the way his tan skin illuminated in the setting sun, his silky dark brown hair and the slight shadow that crossed his face from not shaving that morning — I took it all in.
"Abby, are you okay? How are you feeling?" Nicholas asked softly.
"I feel fine." I was more than fine, actually.
He looked over at the other person that was here.
"Follow me in her car — I'm going to drive her home."
I broke my gaze from his face and peeked over at whomever he had been talking to.
It was Ray… and I was still at the park. Everything came back to me in a rush. I remembered the strange feeling before I passed out and desperately hoped it wasn't another freaky thing happening that I couldn't explain — I'm not sure I could spend another sleepless night trying to figure out the impossible.
Instead, I turned back and faced Nicholas. He was sitting on the damp pavement and held me in his lap, supporting my head with his arm. I felt a magical tingling sensation where his arms held me — it felt warm and blissful. I took in a silent breath of his cologne — musky, spicy and delicious, just like I remembered.
"You bumped your head pretty hard, are you sure you're okay?" Nicholas looked back into my eyes and spoke with an anguished edge to his voice. He raised his hand and gently rubbed the side of my head.
"Ouch…" I winced.
"That's what I thought." Nicholas chuckled slightly.
"I could— "
"No." Nicholas turned, interrupting Ray, "You've done enough."
"Abby, I'm so sorry." There was agony in Ray's voice. I sat up from Nicholas’ grasp so I could see him. He was worried about me, I could tell, but I wasn't sure why he was apologizing.
"It's okay, I'm fine — really," I assured him, and gave him a believable smile. I wasn't sure why, but I liked Ray. "I think I'll just have a headache later — it's nothing."
"I don't know — I heard your head hit the pavement." He let out a fast, short breath. "Do you need anything? I can go and get you some ice if you want…" Ray continued on.
"No, that's okay," I muttered, shaking my head. I could feel the wetness of the concrete starting to seep through my jeans, so I hastily tried to stand up. I wobbled a little and saw shadows and colored spots starting to play around my peripheral vision again — I must've hit my head harder than I thought.
"Oh, no you don't," Nicholas said, sweeping my legs out from under me. He carried me in the direction of my car.
"What are you doing?"
"Helping a damsel in distress, what do you think?" he answered, with a smug grin.
"Good grief," I muttered under my breath, shaking my head. "I can walk just fine, you know."
He slipped his fingers in my jean pocket and pulled out my keys. Somehow, he was able to open my car door without adjusting the weight in his arms. He gently set me down in the passenger seat and buckled my seatbelt.
"Are you going to rock me to sleep, too?" I asked teasingly after I heard the click of my belt.
He glanced up at me and shook his head slightly. "Don't tempt me," he said softly, before closing the door. I hardly had time to gather myself before he opened the driver side door. My heart was about to rocket launch out of my chest.
Ray pulled up behind us in his car. His brows furrowed and his lips were turned down in an
expression of concern.
"He's really worried about you," Nicholas stated matter of fact. "And so am I. Are you sure you're okay?"
I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." I was starting to sound like a broken record.
"When I saw — when I saw you fall…" He took in a breath and waited a moment to continue. "And I wasn't sure if you were okay, I… panicked." He gave a warm smile. It distracted me — it was a smile that could change the world.
I noticed brilliant colors coming in through the car. I peeked out my window and saw the sun starting to descend below the horizon with brilliant yellows and oranges following.
"Huh. I wonder when it stopped raining…" I noted out loud.
Nicholas smiled crookedly and turned his attention back to the road. With a sigh, I gave him directions to my house. I was upset that the drive back to my house was only a couple minutes away.
"You need some ice and pain killer for that bump on your head," Nicholas mentioned as we pulled into the drive.
"Yeah — that's not a bad idea." I felt the egg on my head and winced — it was still there and definitely swollen.
We were still for an awkward moment — just a small moment. I took in a deep breath. I couldn't believe I was about to do this. "So, um… do you have any plans tomorrow?"
"Why?"
I nervously cleared my throat. "Well, I was thinking — since you saved the day again, you know, by driving me home and all… that maybe I could make you dinner tomorrow night?"
He tried to suppress a deep, attractive chuckle — it made my heart flutter. "Depends. What's for dinner?"
"Do you like Mexican food?" I asked.
"Hmm… it happens to be my favorite," he said releasing a sensual smile that sent me straight to the moon.
Chapter 8
The next day I waited for the panic to come, or at least awkwardness. I had never thrown myself out there like that with a guy before, but it seemed like I'd known him my whole life. We had connected automatically, without the time and effort. Talking to him was comfortable — easy as breathing.
Since the rest of the house was immaculate from my cleaning spree yesterday, I spent the entire day focusing on myself. Well, without looking into a mirror. I painted my toes and shaved my legs. I even rummaged through Liv's closet and found a scarlet blouse that fit me nicely — long sleeved, of course.
As expected, my mother had some other bizarre plans for the day and had literally begged me to come with her. I told her that I was meeting up with some friends later — which wasn't a lie, except for the plural part — and that raised a whole new wave of questions. I somehow was able to walk away from her interrogation without mentioning that my 'friends' was named Nicholas.
I had decided that I was going to make fajitas. My mother and Olivia loved it when I cooked, and it was their favorite of all my dishes. I just hoped my secret weapon worked on Nicholas so I could use it to invite him over again.
By the time I paced the house for the hundredth time and made sure that everything was set in its perfect place, I watched the clock tick down to the very last minute before six o'clock.
I was supposed to go pick him up at Ray's house at six but I didn't want to be there right on time. And I especially didn't want to be early. Best to always leave him guessing — or so I've heard.
The thunderstorms continued, but I didn't let them put a damper on my mood as I shielded my face with my hands and climbed in my car. I had the windshield wipers on the highest setting when I shifted my car into park in front of Ray's house. I saw Nicholas watch out of the front window as I pulled up.
He had on a dark pair of jeans and there was a green t-shirt peeking out of his black hooded sweatshirt. I noticed that he didn't shield himself from the rain as he walked nonchalantly toward the car.
He gestured that I scoot over to the passenger side — apparently, he wanted to drive. He opened the door and a huge gust of wind followed him in, filling the car with his cologne.
"How's the head?" he asked, putting both of his hands in front of the heater's blasting air.
"Back to normal, the bump's almost gone." I smiled.
He smiled and shifted the car into drive.
****
"So, what do you do for fun around here?" Nicholas asked, as he sat comfortably at the kitchen table, watching me cut up the vegetables. I was aching to give him all my attention — but I had to focus on what I was doing or I'd get distracted and end up cutting something other than a vegetable — like my finger.
"Um — not much, actually. I like to read sometimes, but I don't mind the peace and quiet."
It took him a few moments to respond. I wondered if he'd heard what I said.
"Huh. I wouldn't have described you as the 'old lady' type. By the looks of you, I'd say you liked sports."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I flipped around and stared at him fiercely. No one had ever described me that way and I was afraid it was part of this new 'muscle-toned me' he was referring to. It was a reality I still wasn't ready to face yet.
He held up his hands up defensively. "It means I think you got a hot bod. You're telling me you don't work out?"
"Oh… well — no, I don't. Not really." I turned around and focused on cutting the vegetables again, hiding my blush. The only workout I did was what was required in weight lifting class — which wasn't much.
"Well, don't tell anyone else you don't work out. They'd probably hate you out of jealousy."
"You're just trying to flatter me for free food." I was happy my back was to him because I couldn't wipe the goofy grin off my face.
He laughed with his deep throaty chuckle — the one that made my heart flutter. It was a contagious sound, and it filled the room, making me feel warm and happy.
"So you tell me Nicholas, what do you do for fun?" I asked him, while I put all the vegetables in the pan to be sautéed. I turned around and leaned against the counter, eyeing him carefully as he spoke.
"Well, that depends on what you consider fun. Unlike you, I have to work out to keep my boyish good looks." He readjusted himself in his chair. "I also practice a lot of martial arts and kick boxing. But I don't expect you to know anything about that…" he said teasingly.
"What, are you training to be the next Jackie Chan?"
He smirked darkly. "Something like that," he noted dryly. He stood up and walked over to the window and peered outside, tilting his face toward the sky. The sky was dark — nearly as dark as night. The rain suddenly picked up hard. Lightning and thunder took turns simultaneously, almost like the storm cloud happened to be passing right over the top of the house.
"Do you like storms?" I asked him thoughtfully. I was now standing next to him by the window, not paying attention to what was going on outside. I focused more on the glow of his tanned skin and the smell of his cologne. It felt like there was something electric between us — like we were both magnets attracting each other.
He cast his eyes down, looking deep into my mine, like he was seeing me for the first time, like he could see right into my soul. He then lifted his hand slowly up to my hair and twirled a small piece around his finger.
My breathing hitched when I realized he was touching me. I never thought the smallest touch could feel so amazing. It was like electricity and the sun and everything wonderful in the world, all in one simple touch. I think he felt it too, because he pulled his hand away looking confused for the tiniest moment.
I stepped back with a small smile. "Dinner's almost ready and you better be hungry. I don't cook for just anyone, you know."
****
After I enjoyed watching Nicholas finish his third helping, I started clearing the table, feeling giddy that my secret weapon was just as affective on him as it was my family.
"Man, if I keep eating your food I'm gonna have to double my workouts to keep from getting fat." He stood up from the table and stretched his back like it would help him digest his food faster.
"Oh, please." I laughed. I started to rin
se off the dishes quickly until I realized that I was supposed to bring him back to Ray's house soon. My heart clenched. I wasn't sure if I liked the fact that I might never see him again.
"Um, so — when are you leaving Newton?" I bit my lip, hoping I didn't sound desperate.
"Whenever I want, really. Maybe in a couple days, I don't really have a set schedule."
I met his eyes as my curiosity peeked. "Aren't you in college? When do classes start again?"
"It's a different kind of school — hard to explain." His expression turned dark. "Hey, look at that… the storm cleared up. Let's go outside and enjoy the weather." He beckoned me with his hand. I had a feeling he was trying to change the subject, but instead I found myself peeking out the window toward the sky.
Huh. He was right. There were rays of sunlight poking through the dark clouds.
"I swear, one minute it's storming like mad and the next it's clearing up like it never happened." I smirked, shaking my head.
We walked out the front door and took a seat on the porch swing. I felt alive and had a strange, warm sensation deep in the bottom of my chest. I realized all of his attention was on me, too.
"Has anyone ever told you—?”
I didn't hear what he said as I studied his features, trying to understand what was happening.
An overpowering feeling struck me. There was a dull burning in my chest, down to the core of my body.
All of my desires just incomparably altered into wanting nothing more than Nicholas. The only thing that mattered to me in this moment was his happiness — even if that meant I couldn't be with him.
I heard the low hum that I was beginning to recognize all too well. I didn't let it take me under, not this time. Instead, I took control of the situation, taking my deep breaths and focusing while I stared at Nicholas, who was also staring at me, feeling his emotion and mine together.
