Dark Dreams

by Kristie K. Shafer

  Chapter Eight

 

 

  Rani

  “Who do you think this belongs to?” I asked, pulling the tooth out of my pocket.

  “Oh my God, Rani! Put that nasty thing away,” Kelly said with a look of disgust. “I plan on eating at this table.”

  I looked at it one more time and then slipped it back into my pocket.

  “I just want to forget what we thought we saw,” Kelly said, looking nervously around the café. “What if Tyler was telling the truth? There could be people looking for us right now.”

  I sighed. “You’re being paranoid. I’m sure there is a logical explanation for all of this.”

  “The hell I am. I’ve seen movies like this before, and it’s always the people who are trying to be helpful that end up being slashed into itty bitty pieces.”

  I laughed out loud. Kelly had quite the imagination and her stories usually ended up with someone ending up in itty bitty pieces.

  “Fine, we can talk about this later,” I conceded. “Let's order something to eat. I am starving.”

  The waitress came by; we both ordered iced coffees and a tuna sandwich, to share. They had the best food in town and my mouth watered as I thought about sinking my teeth into the sandwich.

  As I handed the waitress my menu and looked around the café, I noticed him. He was by far the hottest man I’d ever seen, with blonde hair pulled into a ponytail and the bluest of eyes. His lips were a pale pink and looked totally kissable.

  “Earth to Rani,” Kelly said, snapping her fingers in my face, ruining the moment of where I was just about to undress him with my eyes.

  “What are you staring at?” she asked, looking over her shoulder. Then, she must have spotted what had me damn near in a trance.

  “Whoa!” she said, turning back to me. She giggled. “Mama likes.”

  I feigned innocence. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  Her eyes widened. “Bullshit! That man over there is the hottest piece of man meat that has ever graced this town. Don't pretend for one minute that you didn’t notice him. I ain’t that stupid.”

  I snorted.

  “Here you go, ladies,” said the waitress, putting our tuna fish sandwich on the table. She handed us two plates. “You need anything else?”

  “No, thank you,” we both answered in unison.

  “Mm…” said Kelly, as she took her first bite. “This taste as good as he looks.”

  “You are so wrong,” I said, smiling and shaking my head at her.

  We sat in silence and finished the tuna sandwich

  I sat back in the chair, savoring my last bite, and without realizing it, my gaze immediately went to the hot blonde man. This time, to my surprise, he was looking right back at me.

  He smiled and I could feel the heat rising to my cheeks. I quickly averted my eyes and tried to focus on Kelly who happened to be staring at me.

  Busted!

  “For God's sake, girl, just go over there and say hello,” Kelly said impatiently.

  “Are you nuts? He looks like a freakin' movie star,” I whispered.

  “You are really living up to your name, Chicken,” Kelly teased and then stood up. “I will be right back,” she said, walking away.

  I watched in horror as she approached the blonde-haired stranger.

  What the hell is she up to?

  Kelly then took a seat at his table. I could not hear what she was saying to him, but midway through the conversation I saw him look up at me.

  OH, MY GOD! I am going to KILL her.

  I slid down lower into my chair, just hoping the ground would swallow me up. Instead, I found, to my horror, that both of them were heading toward me.

  Oh crap… oh crap… oh crap…

  “Rani, this is Phil,” Kelly said, smiling at me. “And Phil, this is Rani.”

  “Nice to meet you, Rani,” he said, extending his hand.

  Oh, my God, his voice sounded just as hot as he looked. Deep and smooth.

  “Nice to meet you, Phil,” I replied, shaking his hand. To my surprise, my voice sounded much calmer than I felt. On the inside, I was squealing like a five- year-old who’d just received a pony.

  “Here,” Kelly said, pulling out her chair. “Sit down, and keep Rani company for a minute. I have to make a call. Be right back,” she said smiling wickedly at me.

  You red-haired little devil, I am so going to get you back.

  “So,” Phil began. “Your friend tells me you both are graduating next month. Have you thought about what college you’re going to?”

  College? College? Who the hell cares about college?!

  The only thing that was on my mind was the fact the hottest man I’d ever seen was talking to me.

  “Umm, yeah,” I responded, trying to sound normal “I am going to the U of M.”

  “That's a great school,” he said, giving me a killer smile that almost made me melt right there and then.

  I nodded. “Yeah, my parents are pretty happy that I was accepted. So, do you go to college?” I asked, interested in learning everything about him. Every time he smiled at me, my pulse shot up and I had to stop myself from gaping.

  “I graduated last year,” he answered.

  I took a sip of my iced-coffee. “So that means you are out in the real world, huh?”

  “Yep, and let me tell you… it's not at all what it’s cracked up to be,” he said through a soft laugh.

  Just then, Kelly came back to the table.

  “Well,” Phil said standing up. “I should be on my way.”

  Oh crap, please don't go!

  I was surprised that this man had provoked such a feeling of desire in me. I‘d never met anyone like him, and it sucked that just as quickly as he’d entered my life, he’d be gone.

  “Rani,” said Phil, looking at me. “If it’s not too forward, I would love to get your number and get the chance to see you again.”

  Um… yeah! You can have my number and whatever else you want!

  “That would be nice,” I answered and then wrote down my number on a napkin.

  He grabbed it and put in his pocket. “Great to meet you both,” he said. “And Rani, I will call you soon.”

  “Sounds great, nice meeting you, too,” I said, smiling.

  We both watched as he walked away.

  “Now that, my friend, is what you call a nice ass!” Kelly said in husky voice.

  I gave her a light punch on the arm as we grabbed our stuff to leave.

  She elbowed me in the side. “Hey, you’re welcome!”

  I just shook my head.

  The next few days I felt like I was in limbo. Not only had I not heard from Tyler, but Phil never called, either. I kept looking at my phone every five minutes to see if I’d missed his call, but there was nothing. It had been too good to be true.

  Why would a man like him even be interested in me?

  I figured that he thought I was just a kid, one who was still in high school. It was kind of how I felt anyway - a silly girl with a crush.

  About a week later, I decided to go out for a walk. It was finally beginning to feel like spring, even though it was already the end of May. My thoughts drifted to Tyler and his disappearance. I wondered where he was and if he was okay. I was confused and more than a little hurt that he hadn't bothered to call and explain what was really happening. Kelly and I had both decided that we were not going to tell anyone about the dirt and teeth we’d found, even though it had totally freaked us out. We weren't sure what it was all about, and we didn’t want to get into trouble for sneaking into Tyler’s house.

  On my way home, I felt my back pocket buzz. I pulled out my phone and looked at the caller I.D. Unknown.

  “Hello?”

  “Hi, is this Rani?”

  I knew immediately who it was; I would remember his voice forever. “Yes, it is.”

  “Hi, it's Phil, remember me?”

  Remember you? No not a
t all… you’re just the only thing I have thought about since the day at the coffee shop. “Of course I do. How are you?”

  “Good, I was wondering if you’d like to get together tomorrow night? Maybe dinner and a movie?”

  YES, YES, YES!!!! How about now??

  “Sure, sounds good,” I said, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

  “Would you like me to pick you up?”

  It was then that I remembered - I had to meet with my guidance counselor tomorrow after school and wasn’t sure how long it would last. “Why don't we meet at Les Mexicano's at six o’clock? Does that work for you?” I asked hopefully

  He paused. “It sure does.”

  I smiled. “Great!”

  “Okay then, I’ll see you tomorrow, Rani.”

  “Great, see you then.”

  “Bye.”

  I slid the phone back into my pocket and practically skipped home, I was just so excited.

  The next day at school seemed to drag on and on. The only thing I could think about was seeing Phil. Visions of his smile and those blue eyes flashed through my head all day, giving me butterflies.

  Later that afternoon, the meeting with my counselor went much longer than anticipated. As Mrs. Sloan spoke, I watched as the clock tick closer to five.

  “Rani?” she repeated, snapping me back into reality. “Do you have any questions for me?”

  “Nope,” I answered, just wanting to get out of there.

  She handed me a brochure of classes that I needed to take during my first year at the U. of M. “Alright,” she said, “looks we are done here then.”

  “Thank you so much for your help, Mrs. Sloan, I really do appreciate it,” I said, tucking the brochure into my backpack.

  “You’re welcome. Good luck next fall.”

  “Thanks.”

  I left her office and drove home quickly. Fortunately, my parents had let me take their car, knowing I had an appointment with Mrs. Sloan.

  “Hey, sweetie,” my mom called out from the kitchen as I walked in the door. “How was your day?”

  “It was good,” I answered, running up the stairs.

  I was brushing out my hair when she knocked on the door.

  “Hey, you took off so quickly,” she said. “What’s the rush?”

  I had not told my parents about the date with Phil, They’d have asked me a million questions that would have exhausted me. What's his name? What do his parents do? Is he a good student? Where did you meet him? What are you doing? When will you be home? Is he a safe driver?

  “Um, I promised Kelly I would go over and help her with a composition paper that’s due on Monday,” I lied. As much as I hated lying to her, sometimes it was just easier than having to with the assault of questions she’d hurl at me.

  “That is so nice of you,” she said, smiling at me “You are such a good friend.”

  My insides did a flip-flop from the guilt. I really hated not telling her the truth. “Thanks, Mom,” I replied as I finished my hair. “Is it OK if I use the car again?” I asked. “I am not sure how long I’ll be at Kelly's”

  “Sure, your dad and I were just going to hang around the house tonight.”

  “Thank you,” I said and went over and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

  She went back downstairs as I finished getting ready.

  What the hell was I going to wear?

  I wanted to wear something that was cute, but not like I was trying too hard. In the end, I decided on a pair of skinny jeans, with cute new wedges that I’d just purchased. I added a simple black shirt and threw on a silver necklace. Checking out my reflection in the mirror, I smiled. Hmmm, I looked pretty good.

  I left my room and ran downstairs, calling out, “Bye, Mom,” as I got to the front door. “See you later.”

  “Goodbye!”

  Crap, I was going to be late, I thought, glancing at the clock on the dashboard.

  Five minutes to six.

  I pushed down a little harder on the accelerator and prayed that there were no cops behind me.

  When I got to the restaurant, I quickly found a parking spot, pulled down the visor, and swiped on a fresh coat of lip gloss, while making sure that my hair was smooth and in place. Then, I quickly got out of the car and entered the restaurant.

  As I stepped inside, I looked around in the waiting area, but did not see him anywhere. I started thinking that maybe he’d left already, thinking that I had stood him up, since it was past six. But, to my delight, I saw him at a nearby booth waving me over. Smiling, I walked towards him.

  Oh, my God, he looks even hotter than I remember.

  “I hope you don't mind,” he said, standing up to greet me. “I grabbed us a booth already.”

  “Not at all,” I answered, unable to quit grinning.

  We both sat back down and immediately I felt the heat rising deep inside of my belly. My body had never physically responded like that to anyone, and it took me by surprise.

  “I hope you like Mexican food,” I said, looking over the menu. “I probably should have asked you, yesterday, when I recommended this place.”

  “I love it,” he replied, smiling at me. “It’s one of my favorites.”

  The waitress came over and took our order. I asked for the chicken taco salad, but to my surprise Phil did not order anything.

  “I thought you said you liked Mexican food?” I asked, frowning.

  “I do, I do.” he said reassuringly. “But, I totally forgot that I’d had a dentist appointment early tomorrow. They want me to fast, just in case they have to put me under. Root canal.”

  “Ohhhh, ouch,” I grimaced. “No fun. Well, I’m going to feel bad eating in front of you.”

  “No worries,” he replied. “I had a big lunch that filled me up.”

  “Well, that’s good.” He definitely had a way of making me feel at ease, which I found very comforting.

  “So, Phil,” I asked, grabbing a chip from the basket the waitress had brought to the table. “What do you do for a living?”

  “Right now, I work with my dad at his research facility.”

  “What kind of research do you do there?” I asked, interested in learning everything I could about the man.

  “Well,” he said sheepishly. “What I do is kind of boring. I just write codes for their software.”

  Writes codes? He is hot and smart! Ding, Ding, Ding, looks like we have a winner, folks! “That is not boring at all!”

  He smiled.

  When my food arrived, I felt a little weird eating in front of him, but Phil reassured me several times that he was perfectly fine. Then, as I picked at my food, we had a casual conversation and I could feel myself growing more and more attracted to him with every passing minute.

  “What about your family?” I asked, completely enthralled by him.

  He explained that his mother had passed away during childbirth, and that he had a condo in a building that his father owned, in Minneapolis.

  After we finished dinner, or at least when I finished dinner, we decided to hit the local theater to check out what movies were playing.

  “Let's take my car,” he insisted as we walked out to the parking lot. “I can bring you back here once the movie is finished.”

  I agreed and then followed him through the parking lot until he stopped at his car. It was a sleek, black Audi Spyder.

  Wow, even his car was hot! I thought, admiring it.

  I didn't know much about cars, but I could certainly tell that this one was not cheap.

  He opened the doors and we both slid in.

  I sighed in approval as my butt hit the leather. It had to have been the softest I’d ever felt.

  “Any particular movie you want to see?” I asked Phil while catching a look at his profile. That man does not have a bad angle.

  “Nope,” he replied, smiling at me. Ladies choice.”

  His grin sent a shiver down my spine. What I wanted to do was stop the car and hop onto
his lap, the exact same way that Kelly had done to Wade. I envisioned his lips on mine, and his hands all over my body.

  I groaned inwardly. Oh great, now I am a nympho. One date and I was ready to turn in my V card.

  Although I had not intended on being a virgin this long, I’d wanted to wait until I was truly in love, which was unlike most of my girlfriends. The majority of them had done the deed, just to get it over with, saying they did not want to enter college a virgin. I normally couldn’t have cared less about being a one, but there was something about Phil that stirred something deep inside of me.

  When we arrived at the theater, I picked out a Matt Damon movie, figuring it would have both action and romance. There was no need to punish the guy with a total chick flick.

  As we walked by the concession stand, he offered to buy me popcorn and soda, but I declined. I wasn’t about to torture him into watching me eat, when he had to have been starving.

  We found a seat in the back; the lights went down and the movie started. I noticed that we were both sharing the same armrest, and soon I could feel the heat radiating between us.

  Did he feel it, too?

  To my surprise, he reached over and grabbed my hand, placing it inside of his.

  I tried watching the movie, but all I could really think about was my hand in his. It felt so small in his large, soft one and after a while, I began to wonder how it would feel on my breasts. Then, before I knew, the credits rolled and they turned on the lights.

  “That was really good,” said Phil, looking over at me. “Did you like it?”

  “I loved it,” I lied. I really had not been paying attention to the movie.

  “Good.”

  When drove back to the restaurant, I was bummed that his car was a manual transmission, making it impossible for us to hold hands again. I saw the sign of the restaurant and was even more disappointed that our evening had come to an end. I pointed out my car in the lot and he parked next to it.

  “So, here we are,” he said, stopping next to mine.

  “Yep, here we are,” I answered back, surprised by the sultry tone in my voice.

  Phil reached over and gently guided my face toward his. First, he gave me a soft kiss and I noticed that his lips were even softer than they’d looked. Soon, his kiss deepened, becoming more demanding, which made my nipples instantly harden. He reached up with his hands and ran his fingers through my hair.

  “Oh, my God, Rani” he whispered breathlessly in my ear. “You are so sexy.”

  No one had ever told me that I was sexy before, and I loved hearing it from Phil.

  He began kissing my neck and ears, making my insides feel wobbly, like Jell-O. With each kiss, I could feel small electrical charges shoot through my system, all landing directly in the junction between my legs.

  We gradually pulled away from each other, needing to catch our breaths.

  “I want to see you again,” he said huskily.

  Still breathless, I just nodded my head.

  Smiling, he gave me another kiss and told me that he’d call me tomorrow, after his dentist appointment.

  “Okay,” I replied, although I was dreading the thought of leaving him. I just wanted to stay with him all night.