by Lana Melyan
“Hurt you how?”
“I don’t know. But if they’re right, then I’m in trouble, Connie. Because I don’t think I can stay away from him. And just like you, I don’t care either. My day is blank without him. I don’t know if he has any feelings for me. Maybe to him it’s just flirting, or momentarily weakness, but he makes me feel loved, and wanted, and safe. He makes me happy. Who could say no to that?”
“Then maybe you shouldn’t. But just in case, like you said before, remember, there’s a whole world full of—”
“Yeah, I keep saying it to myself, but it’s not working. I’m afraid that me and you—we are stuck with our special editions.”
My phone lit up with a notification. It was a message from Nathan.
Let’s have dinner.
I scoffed.
“Is that him?” asked Connie.
I nodded and typed the answer.
Are you cooking again?
Nope. At a restaurant.
What’s the occasion?
Me being hungry around seven o’clock. And I thought you might be too.
Weren’t we going to practice today?
Sorry, but I’m not in town.
Where are you?
I’m in New Orleans.
Huh?
Don’t worry, I’ll be in time.
Are you drunk?
Not right now. Just a little hungover. But by 7 I’ll be as good as new.
Nathan, get some sleep.
I’ll sleep on the plane. Pick you up at 6.30.
I didn’t say yes.
Please? Pretty please?
Ask me later, after you wake up.
Thank you.
I sat staring at the phone.
“What is it?” asked Connie.
“He’s in New Orleans.” I looked up at her. “He wants to have dinner.”
“He wants you to have dinner with him in New Orleans?” Her eyebrows jumped up.
“What? Nooo.” I rolled my eyes. “Here. At a restaurant. Connie, I don’t know what to do. Do you think I should go?”
“Why the hell not?”
“Because I’m really confused. If he doesn’t want anything to happen between us, why is he pulling me closer?”
“I have no idea. But maybe you’ll find out at dinner. Or, after it,” she said with a sly smile. “Nicky, one way or another, you have to stay together. You two have a mission to fulfill.”
“I know.”
“Do you wanna go?”
“Yeees,” I said with annoyance.
“Then go. Just say Carpe diem, and go.” She grinned.
8
The doorbell rang. Standing in front of the mirror, I threw a last glance at my amethyst-colored, fitted dress, which I thought looked pretty good with my long dark hair, then checked out my high heel shoes and went downstairs.
My heart skipped a beat when I looked at Nathan, standing in the doorway. He looked stunning in his gray pants, a black shirt matching his black eyes, and a black, expensive-looking coat.
His look lingered on me for a second, then he smiled and looked at Gran, standing next to the door. I was holding my coat in my hand, and he stepped inside to help me put it on.
“Don’t you two look dashing,” Gran smirked, then cleared her throat.
“Bree, this isn’t a date.” Nathan glanced at her. “She’ll be home by eleven. We have a few things to discuss, and it’s just a friendly dinner.”
“Speak for yourself,” I threw at him indifferently. “I have a knife in my bag. So this could all end very bloody.” I walked out the door and glanced back. “Bye, Gran.”
Once the two of us were in the car, Nathan took my hand.
“You look smashing,” he said quietly.
I met his tender look.
“You too,” I said, squeezing his fingers.
We drove across town, and he finally stopped the car in front of a charming, two-story building.
“I hope you like French cuisine.” He beamed.
“I hope so too. I guess we’ll see.”
He got out of the car, walked around it, then opened my door and offered me his hand.
And in that moment, behind his young façade, I saw this breathtaking, mature man. The way he moved, the way he looked at me, made a pleasant shiver run down my spine. He knew how to treat a woman, how to be gallant without slighting her independence but instead emphasizing her power, making her feel special.
“Reservation for two. For Nathan Cain,” he said to the maitre d’.
I had never been to this restaurant, and I was pleasantly surprised. The place was stylish, and the muffled lights and candles on the tables made it look comfortable and inviting.
“I really feel like your friend right now,” I said sarcastically after we ordered.
“What?” He grinned. “Friends can’t have dinner in a cozy, dark restaurant?”
“Okay.” I gazed at him. “I have a friendly question for you. What were you doing in New Orleans?”
“It was nothing. I just needed to see someone.”
“That doesn’t seem like nothing to me. It must be something urgent if you had to take off in the middle of the night.”
He rested his elbow on the table, and supporting his chin with his thumb rubbed his upper lip.
“I needed to meet an old friend who I hoped would have a medicine to heal this crack in the part of my brain responsible for my sense of moral obligations.”
I shook my head.
“Do you have an explanatory dictionary that comes with it? Oh, wait, I have one in my bag, right next to my knife. It says you went all the way to New Orleans to get drunk.”
“I suppose not bickering two days in a row is too much to ask for us,” he chuckled.
“Did your friend help you? Did the medicine work?”
“No,” he sighed. “It didn’t.”
I could feel there was more to this story, but as our dinner was served, I thought maybe I could be nicer at least while we were eating.
I couldn’t have wine at this public place, so he didn’t order any for himself either. We talked about the food, which was delicious, but some things on the plate remained a mystery to me, and Nathan telling me their French names only made them more mysterious.
To our mutual surprise, the dinner went well, and I didn’t pull out my knife even once.
The whole way back he drove with his hand next to mine in my lap, stroking it with his fingers or running his fingers through mine. I caught my breath every time he glanced at me.
When we arrived to our street, he slowed down a few houses away from mine and stopped the car under the trees. I didn’t ask why.
Keeping his distance, he ran his hand under my hair and the tips of his fingers down my neck. I turned to him, and slowly moved my gaze from his eyes down to his lips. And as much as I wanted him to kiss me, the moment he moved forward, I put my hand on his chest, stopping him.
“You didn’t answer my question,” I said quietly. “Why did you go to New Orleans?”
“I answered. I said I needed to see a friend,” he said, looking away.
I threw the door open and got out of the car. He got out too, slamming the door, and in the next second he was standing in front of me. He pushed one hand into his pocket and put the other one on the top of the car, blocking my way. I leaned back on the door.
“It was the friend who was supposed to check out the area. Everything is normal for the time being. Brian and Sam can go home.”
“So that’s why you went?” I glared at him. “You went to check if the area was safe so you could send him back?”
“Nicky, don’t get mad. I’m not sending him anywhere. I’m going to tell Brian, and Brian will decide what to do. But to be honest, we need Brian there. And Sam can’t stay if Brian leaves.”
“So you’re saying this has nothing to do with what happened yesterday?”
“It does. But not the way you think.” He clenched his teeth. “Listen, he’s a young, good looking, smart
guy. What did you expect? Of course it drives me crazy the way he looks at you, and the fact that he spends much more time with you than I do. And yesterday he was trying to . . . I was agitated, and I just took off. If I knew you liked him, I would never stand in your way.” Suddenly his look became cautious. “Do you? Do you like him?”
I stared at him. “How can you ask me that? If I liked him, why would I be here, with you?”
“Because I asked you out, and he didn’t?”
“Who said he didn’t?”
“Did he now?” He rolled his eyes.
“I’m sorry, did I upset you?” I said, making a naive face. I pushed him away. “It’s okay, you can fly back to New Orleans. Drink some more.”
The moment I turned to walk away, he grabbed my arm and pulled me back.
“Please, don’t leave angry.” He glanced at his watch. “It’s nearly eleven, and we don’t have much time.”
“I do. It’s you who keeps making promises to Gran, using her as a safety belt, so you won’t fall out of your moral—sorry, what did you call it?—while we drive around.”
“Nicky, stop it.” He ran his hand under my coat and laid it on my waist. “Can we just kiss and make up?”
“It depends. Are you still jealous?”
His eyes moved down to my lips.
“I have to do this.” He put his free hand around my neck and leaned in.
“If you do, I’ll tell Gran you broke your—”
He kissed me, and my hands ran up his chest.
“I’ll risk it,” he whispered against my lips.
Oh God, that voice again. And those lips. My heart is going to break my ribs.
His hand moved up my back, pulling me closer. My legs went weak.
“Okay,” I breathed out, and all on their own, my fingers slid up his neck and sank into his hair. “Just hold me tight.”
9
“Nate . . . eethan,” I pulled back. “We’re violating the curfew.”
He glanced at his watch. I turned it toward me. It was 11:18.
“It’s okay,” he said quietly, sliding his thumb over my lips. “I’m the one whose death she’s planning right now. You’re safe.”
I snuck my hands under his coat, locked them behind his back and drew my face to his for a last kiss.
Next time we looked at the watch, it was 11:36.
“I should go,” I said, stepping away from him. “I don’t want Gran sitting up half the night because of me.” I walked backward toward the house.
“Where are you going?” he grabbed my hand and pulled me back. “I should drive you.”
“Nathan, the house is right behind me. I’m sure I can walk fifty feet.”
He held me in his arms for another few seconds.
Oh God, those eyes. Stop looking at me like that, or I will never leave.
“She’s waiting for a car, the same one you left in,” he said, his eyes still locked at mine. “If you walk home, it’ll alarm her. She’ll come up with a hundred different versions of me mistreating you.”
“Okay, let’s drive.”
We got in the car, and two seconds later he stopped it in front of my house.
The kitchen light was on.
He pushed open his door.
“Maybe you shouldn’t come out.”
“I can’t miss my own execution. Wait a minute, did you just call me a coward?”
“How can I? You sacrificed your safety belt for a kiss.”
Chortling, he shook his head.
We walked to the door. Gran came forward from the kitchen when I opened it. She glanced at the both of us, and before we could say anything, she headed to the stairs to the second floor.
“You didn’t need to start your car for that, Nathan.” She turned her back on us and climbed up. “It could have reached the house if you’d just kicked it in the bumper.”
My jaw dropped. I stared at Nathan, who was suppressing his laughter.
“Gran? How did you know?”
She held up her phone.
“God, I’m stupid.” I rolled my eyes. “She has me on her friend finder.”
We stepped back on the porch, and he wrapped me in his arms.
“Nathan, I swear, If I wake up tomorrow and find out that you’re somewhere in Alaska, then you better stay there.”
“Sleep tight, Nicky Callahan,” he whispered. “I’m not going anywhere. You’re not going to get rid of me so easily.”
And after one long kiss, he turned around and went to his car.
I half opened Gran’s bedroom door and stuck my head in through the gap. She was already in bed with an open book in her hands. I walked in and lay down next to her.
“Gran, I’m sorry,” I said, staring up at the ceiling. “Are you angry with me?”
“I’m not.” She closed the book and put it under the lamp on her bedside table. “The two of you were glowing like new coins. It means you had a good time, and I’m not going to ruin it because you were late.”
“Gran, I feel so happy, but at the same time I feel bad.”
“What do you mean?”
“Mom and Dad, they predicted this, and they wanted me to stay away from him. But I can’t. And now I feel like I’m disappointing them.”
“You’re not, stop being silly. They would understand.”
“You think so?”
“Honey,” she said quietly. “Love isn’t something you can control. I know, been there myself. Besides, it’s those happy moments that help us to go on with our lives.”
“When I’m with him I feel so safe, but I think they were afraid he might hurt me somehow.”
“They were worried, and it’s understandable. First of all, because of the age difference. Plus, he’s immortal and you’re not. That’s the hardest part.”
“I know.” I sighed heavily. “But there’s still time. Who knows what might happen in four years?”
I remembered Connie’s words. We’ll face the problems when they knock on the door.
“True. But for now, you also have to remember that he had a very long life before he met you, and he has a past, which we’re not going to talk about, because some things he has to tell you himself, and some you might learn the hard way, bumping into them. The question is, are you ready for that?”
“Yes. I am. If he cares about me, and he keeps proving that he does, he won’t hurt me. At least not intentionally. Things might happen, but they can happen to anyone, and you can’t reject happiness you have today because you’re afraid of what might happen tomorrow. And even if he’s done some things in his past, he’s had a long life to learn from his mistakes and change. Right?” I looked up at her.
“You know, honey, the way he looked at you today when you came down the stairs, I think he has changed.”
Smiling, I pushed myself under her arm.
“I love you, Gran.”
“I love you too, honey.” She kissed my forehead.
I knew she was extremely worried, and it made me appreciate her support even more.
10
Something woke me up. Thinking that it might be my phone, I picked it up. But there was nothing there.
It was 8:12 a.m. and it was quiet. The street was still asleep.
Maybe it was a dream that woke me up? I tried to remember what I’d been dreaming about. Nothing. There was no dream.
Then I felt that familiar vibe. I got up and looked outside. Nathan was standing with his hands in his pockets, leaning on his car. I opened the window.
“Did you just use magic to wake me up?” I stared at him.
“Get down, sleepy head,” he beamed. “Hogwarts is waiting for you.”
I couldn’t suppress the smile.
“You couldn’t just say you missed me?”
“I was going to say much more than that, but I can’t, Bree is watching me.”
The front door opened.
“For God’s sake, Nathan.” I heard Gran’s voice. “Get inside. It’s Sunday, let people sleep.�
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I chortled. “I’m sure she has coffee. Go have some while I take a shower.”
It took me about twenty minutes to shower, do my hair, and apply a little makeup. Then I put on my jeans and a blouse and grabbed my jacket from the armchair. When I left the room I heard Nathan’s low, serious voice coming from the kitchen. I stopped.
“She still has a lot to learn. She’ll remain vulnerable even with her powers if she doesn’t know how to protect herself, how to fight back or block a spell.”
“I agree,” sighed Gran.
I took a few steps, then I heard Gran’s voice and stopped again.
“Nathan,” she said quietly, “I’m so scared. I think I’m putting her in danger. I mean, my being here.”
“So am I. We can’t all leave her.”
“But what if they find me? They didn’t look too hard before because they knew they had Vincent, and they had a plan, but now, with him gone—”
“Bree, it’s been eighteen years. Let’s hope they believe you are gone too.”
My heart sank, but ready to put a smile on, and trying to be as loud as I can, I went down the stairs.
“There’s our girl,” Nathan said in now-cheerful voice.
After we got into the car, he drove past a couple of houses, then hit the brakes and pulled me into his arms.
“You can say it now,” I said. “Those things you wanted to say.”
“Oh no. It’s too late for that. Now I’m just gonna do them.”
I laughed while he kissed my neck.
We arrived at the woods, and he led me to a small clearing.
“This will do,” he said, looking around. “There are plenty of leaves on the ground, on the trees. and you can use them to recreate the spell you did at the cabin.”
He pulled me to his chest and brushed his lips against mine. My eyelids slid down, and a quiet moan escaped my lungs.
“This is something to get you started,” he whispered into my ear, then pulled back. “Ready?”
“I was ready long before that,” I said, gazing at him. “But thank you for the boost.”
He smirked.
I raised my hands. Then I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and forced my energy into my palms. I turned them slightly. A few seconds later, a spurt of wind glided over my face and slipped into my hair, making it fly around my face. When I opened my eyes, I saw the yellow and red leaves swirling above and around us. Then I lowered my hands. While the leaves kept flying, I walked to Nathan and kissed him.
