“Uhm, no idea.” I looked at him, helpless.
“What about you coming over here to my side of the table?”
“And why exactly would I do that?” I tried to make my voice sound casual.
“So I can hug you and kiss you and celebrate that I found you,” he glanced at me sheepishly.
“Come and get me,” I teased. And in no more than a second he was right in front of me, pulling me out of the armchair and spinning me against his chest. He looked into my eyes for a moment. “May I?” he asked and slowly touched his lips to mine. I half nodded, half shook my head, not knowing what he meant, but when I felt his warm lips on mine I pressed myself more tightly against his body. He turned around with me, never taking his lips off mine. We landed in my armchair, his knees balancing my weight and I leaned into his arms comfortably. For some reason I didn’t care about what old Noel would be thinking. I was just happy.
I couldn’t tell how long we had been kissing—it seemed like hours—when I heard somebody clear their throat.
I looked up from Adam’s face, my lips still glued to his, and recognized Noel standing there, next to our table.
“If you don’t mind, I would appreciate if you left now,” he said in an apologetic voice.
Did he honestly throw us out because of our kissing? Yeah, sure, it had been a bit heavy, but…
“It’s nearly seven, I have to close,” he continued, the same polite expression on his face. I wasn’t sure if I saw a twinkle in his right eye when he turned and walked away.
Adam heaved me to my feet while standing up and looked at his watch. “So late already.”
I had a glimpse at the window. The rain had almost stopped its apocalyptic fall and the puddles in the street were starting to slowly dry up.
Adam helped me into my jacked, gentleman that he was, and held the door for me after we had paid at the counter. Noel gave us a wide smile as we walked out the door.
“Good luck, kids!” I heard him call in a laughing voice as we were already dancing around the first puddle towards the parking lot.
Ben
I was lying on my bed, my feet curled snuggly under my body and my face buried in my pillow. I pressed it hard into the soft material. It was radiating from every cell in my body: Adam loved me. And I was so much in love with him, that I didn’t trust myself to lift my face from the pillow. I was afraid I would scream out loud, call it from every roof in the whole damn city of Aurora, that I loved him. It was an understatement—I couldn’t really describe these kind of feelings. Nobody had ever made me feel this way.
My thoughts drifted back to the afternoon at Noel’s again. It had been the most amazing day in my existence. I could still smell the coffee, hear the low jazz music and—what was much more important than those memories—I could still feel his mouth on mine and feel his breath on my face, in my mouth.
I slowly lifted my head and turned to lie on my back and let my memories wander…
The rain had been so heavy that the parking lot had been more a lake than solid ground. Adam had held my hand the whole way to my car.
“When can I see you again?” he had asked between two soft kisses, not leaving nearly enough space for my lips to answer. I had torn away from his unbelievably addictive embrace and gripped the sleeves of his jacket.
“Tomorrow,” I had breathed.
He had pulled me back into his arms and rested his face against my hair for a moment, then kissed it. “Time will stretch endlessly, I can feel it already, as I have to let you out of my embrace now.”
I had felt his warm breath in my hair while he had spoken and I had pulled free to kiss him one more time before I had unlocked the car and gotten into the driver’s seat.
“I’ll pick you up after school,” he had called as I started the engine. I had waved back with my free hand, steering the car out of the parking spot with the other.
I had driven home like I had been dazed with an astoundingly beautiful dream. The car had wound around the corner and into the street to my house without my conscious interaction…
That had been a week ago. Time had passed too fast with Adam around every spare minute. I honestly had to find a way of stretching the day to twenty-eight hours, so I could fit all my work load for school and endless time with my gorgeous boyfriend into it. But that wasn’t the way the world worked.
Adam had to study, too, and that also took time away from us—more often than I found bearable. We spent as much time together as possible and every single minute felt like it was going too fast.
I hated it when I had to let him go in the evenings. Sophie couldn’t make any restrictions, I was legally of age, but she eyed us critically each time I was glued to Adam’s face like I’d rather stay there for the rest of my life. And she was right, it was better to keep a bit of distance—for now—at least during the nights, so I would be able to improve my obscene amount of sleep.
Lydia was pleased with the way it had turned out—that Adam and I were together.
Amber on the other hand had been behaving a bit ambivalent since I had told her. I knew that she found him more than desirable, and she let me know time and time again, that she was worrying how serious Adam might—or might not—be with me; that I should be careful that he wouldn’t drop me like a hot potato when he met a college girl who could take my position easily.
Of course, I didn’t tell them anything about Adam’s gifts. If I had they would have freaked out more than I had when he had first told me. I remembered the evening with a smile.
And of course he had told me a lot about how he felt towards me, but I wasn’t fool enough to believe everything blindly. I knew there was a good chance he was taking advantage of my affection. I was careful around him not to feel too much. I always tried to keep my emotions under control, so I wouldn’t be as transparent as everybody else. But whatever I did, how hard I tried, Adam caught me off guard with his breathtaking appearance, his marvellous face, his beautiful eyes, his soft full lips that I missed on mine as soon as he pulled away from our too rare kisses.
I was transparent to him, an open book. He always said he liked that he could see me in more than one way, that he had the emotional information as well. It made my time with him both wonderful and exhausting. The knowledge that somebody could see right through me took some getting used to. He said he couldn’t do it all the time, but I wasn’t sure if I believed him. To me it seemed like he felt everything—especially the things I most wanted to hide: Embarrassment, my wild and irrational longing for his kisses…
I slid to the edge of the bed and changed for the night. I hadn’t seen Adam today and the hours were dragging more than ever. I couldn’t wait to have him here again. He had promised to pick me up tomorrow after lunch. I had pleaded with him to tell me what we were going to do, but he hadn’t told me. “Patience, love,” he had said and pecked me on the cheek before he jogged down the street with Antonio at his heels.
I walked around the room in my nightie pondering my options. Go downstairs and watch TV with Sophie and—most likely—Ian, or go to sleep and hope for the night to be over soon, so I could be with Adam again.
While heading for the bathroom I decided on the second option. Getting some sleep was good. My system needed a rest from the continuous rush of hormones. I grabbed my toothbrush and cleaned my teeth until they felt like polished marble. I flashed a smile into the mirror and nodded to myself, satisfied with my work. I washed my face and dried it.
I moved as slowly as possible to make the time go by.
“Do you think you’ll be out soon?” Sophie knocked at the door.
“I’m nearly finished,” I called back, threw the towel onto a hook and opened the door. “Sorry.” I smiled at her.
“Are you going to bed already?” she asked with a questioning look at my clothes. “It’s only nine.”
“Uhm, yes. I think so.”
Back in my room, I opened the window for a few minutes to let in some fresh air. Waiting for the
air to stream in, I got my bag, pulled out my mp3-player and put on the headphones. Music trickled into my ears, soothing and comforting.
The cool air calmed me. I walked over to the window and inhaled deeply before I closed it and pulled the curtains shut. I lay down on my bed, nestled under the quilt and switched off the light. I turned down the volume of the music a little so I would fall asleep in a little while.
The melody was beautiful. It was one of my favourite pieces of music—Tomaso Albinoni’s Adagio in G Minor. I loved the tension of the strings and the harmony. Usually it made my sad, but tonight it just gave me an incredible feeling of warmth and calm. It wasn’t long until I dozed off and fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.
* * *
It was early when I woke up. I hadn’t moved all night, or if I had I wouldn’t know since I woke up in the same position I had fallen asleep. The headphones were where I had placed them last night—on my head, covering my ears, but they were silent.
The autumn sun was fighting its way through wafts of haze and mist. Only some leaves remained on the trees, the grass was brown and dead by now. It was Sunday. Sunday, the seventeenth of October. It was my nineteenth birthday.
I wasn’t exactly happy about getting older, but I wasn’t as reluctant as other women my age either. Today I was less reluctant than ever, because I had been looking forward to it for a few days. It was not because it was my birthday, it was because I would see him again.
I pulled the headphones off and threw them onto the bedside table. A few minutes later I was under the shower. I washed my hair thoroughly, shaved my legs, brushed my teeth, dried my hair, and finally got dressed.
Today I decided on something more occasion-fitting. I put on deep blue jeans and a dark gray and purple striped blouse. Then I went to my room and pulled open the drawer of the bedside table. Inside lay a slim blue velvety box. I picked it up and opened it carefully. I let the necklace of pearls slide into my hands. I weighed it in my palm for a second and laid the box aside. Then I lifted the shiny white pearls to my throat and clasped them behind my neck. They still fit. Heavy with memories, they lay on my collarbone. They had once been my mother’s, now they were mine. I glanced in the mirror and, for a moment, I saw a similarity.
I didn’t have my mother’s eye color, but the shape was more or less the same. My mouth curved the same way hers had, and I had the same cheekbones—high and wide. I looked at the photograph on my shelf and saw the identical cheekbones on her face. She was older in the picture than I was now, and my father was standing beside her, winding his arms around her and smiling into the camera with his perfect teeth and deep brown eyes.
I coudn’t help remembering the day that the picture had been taken. It had been during the Christmas holidays at my Gran’s place. Sophie and I had been allowed to stay up late, and Gran had told us stories about how they had celebrated when she had been a child. She had died shortly after.
Gran had been a wise person, and very kind. I was sure that my father had gotten his patience and friendly nature from her. I didn’t know my grandpa—nobody did. He had vanished after the first night with my father’s mother. They hadn’t known each other for very long, but she always said ‘Your grandpa was the only man I ever loved—if only for a short time.’ I trusted her to be honest. For all the years that I had known her she had never spoken a bad word about him.
All I knew about him was what my gran had told me. He had been a foreign historian on some research trip. Obviously I hadn’t inherited his talent.
My mom had been a very independent woman, a very caring and full heartedly loving mother. She always sat on my bed at night when I had bad dreams—and I had had a lot of them. She had read stories to me when I had been very young and when I had been a little older, we had invented stories together. I couldn’t imagine a better mother anywhere on the planet.
My dad had adored her so much. I remembered how he looked at her when she smiled, how he seemed to never be able to be angry with her, how he had been so kind and understanding that she had been able to lean on him with all her sorrows. Their relationship seemed to flow so naturally.
The reflection in the mirror looked back at me with big blue-gray eyes. I ran my hands over the fabric of my blouse to straighten it and headed downstairs.
Sophie was lounging on the sofa with Ian, her arms tightly wrapped around his waist, her head resting on his chest and Nigel resting on her lap, purring contently.
“Don’t you ever tell me again, I mustn’t invite boys for an overnight stay,” I muttered under my breath, crossing the room.
“That’s different,” she answered, “Ian and I are a couple.”
I froze, not having expected her to hear my words.
“And Adam is what?” I shook my head, “Some stranger, trying to rob us as soon as I close my eyes and turn my back on him?”
Sophie laughed at my little outburst. “It’s just that you’ve only been together for such a short time. I’m not sure if it will last.” The last few words were so low I wasn’t sure I hadn’t imagined them.
She had no idea. Adam and I were meant to be—sort of. I loved him, so much already that I wasn’t sure if I could live without him ever again. I had taken him with all his supernatural gifts and he loved me with all my normality, my being more ordinary than anyone.
“Happy birthday by the way,” Ian got to his feet, reaching out one hand to congratulate me. I grabbed it without enthusiasm and rolled my eyes. I didn’t like birthdays. Or, to be precise: I didn’t like my birthday. It always reminded me of the times when my parents had still been with us, of the celebrations we had together. It hurt to think back to those days.
“Sorry I’m hanging around your place all the time,” Ian tore me from my thoughts, “but you know, I have to seize what time I might get with her before Sophie changes her mind again.” He winked at me and I had to smile. Sophie shot him a warning look, lifting Nigel up in the air as if she was going to throw him at Ian. A playfully cruel smile curled her lips up at the corners. Nigel hissed, protesting. I could vividly imagine the cat flying through the air and sinking its claws into Ian’s face as it landed there.
“Your present is on the kitchen table,” she said to me. “Congratulations, you’re officially old now.” She grimaced, Nigel back on her stomach, purring violently at the comfortable strokes of her hands. I knew she was thinking more of her own age, which she measured as far beyond old.
I went to the kitchen and saw the big flat present sitting in the middle of the table. It was wrapped in purple paper with a yellow ribbon around it. A bunch of purple fluff was sitting in one corner—big surprise! I had to grin.
I picked the present up and opened it carefully. Inside was a gray paper box. I lifted the lid to have a glimpse at the contents. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Inside, neatly folded, lay a silk gown of an icy blue color. I took it from the box and let it fall against my body. When I looked down I saw how pretty it was.
“Thanks, Sophie!” I called towards the living room while I walked towards the mirror in the front room.
It was more than pretty; it was beautiful. The icy blue brought out the color of my eyes.
“It’s from Ian and me,” she said as she came to stand beside me, the still purring cat folded up in her arms. “And hell yeah, he was right—it does make your eyes beautiful.”
I looked at her appreciative gaze. “Thank you. It’s really wonderful.”
“I thought you might need something for prom,” Ian called from the living room. He had sat back down on the couch, following the TV-show with mild interest.
“Yeah, right!” I called back at him, wondering if Adam would accompany me there. I really wanted to have him with me. Nobody would laugh at me when he was there next to me. I wondered silently what he would look like in a tuxedo, and had to suppress a nervous giggle.
Ian stayed with us for lunch. He told me every single detail about how they had picked the dress out. I was impressed how he had helped
Sophie with the decision about color and cut. It was like he, contrary to my sister, knew more precisely what would fit and what wouldn’t.
Sophie on the other hand had never been any good at birthday presents. Mostly, she bought things she would like to have herself. It had become a repetitively occurring habit at birthdays; buying me something she wanted or needed, and then borrowing it straight away, for I wouldn’t use the present anyway.
The seconds were trickling by unnaturally slow; like they had a semifluid consistency which kept them from passing any faster.
I honestly enjoyed celebrating with my family—or with what was left of it—but still, waiting for Adam seemed to make lunch gray and long. It was almost two o’clock when I finally cleaned up the dishes and sat back down at the kitchen table to wait.
After a few more minutes I finally heard the sound I had been waiting for—the ring of the door bell.
“Claire,” Sophie called from the living room. “Door!”
I didn’t need her reminder. I was already on my feet, sprinting for the front door to open it.
My heart was racing. Before opening the door, I took a deep breath and pulled my hair out of my face with a quick nervous movement. The door swung open easily, and my heart jumped with joy at the sight of Adam standing outside with a wide and tender smile on his lips.
“Hey, love,” he said lightly.
“Hey, Adam,” I answered, utterly perplexed at the perfection of his white teeth flashing behind his lips.
He pulled me into a tight hug and whispered into my ear. “Happy Birthday, Claire.”
I felt his lips brushing my ear as he spoke and a shiver ran down my spine.
“Come in, Adam,” Sophie called over my head.
He pulled away from me and greeted Sophie politely.
“Really sorry, Sophie, but we’ve got to get going. I’m already late.” He shot me a mysterious glance and pulled me towards his car. “Next time. Say hello to Ian,” he called over his shoulder while heading for the passenger door to open it for me.
White (The Wings Trilogy Book 1) Page 13