by Wendy Cole
It was as if he’d vanished. That was until I got back to my dorm.
The minute I opened my door, I was greeted by a lazy looking Brady. He was sprawled out across my bed, hands behind his head, and when I walked in, he gave me a proud smile. “See? I told you I wouldn’t mess with you.”
“You’re in my bed,” I pointed out in an annoyed tone. “You didn’t even last a day.”
Brady’s smile dulled to a smirk. “I warned you I’d be back. I’m not here to pester you. I’m here to take you out.”
“I don’t want to go out.”
He held up a hand. “This isn’t some cheeseburger at the cholesterol king. This is strictly professional. You need to understand the world better if you expect to be able to watch out for yourself.”
“I understand the world well enough.”
“Ah, but you don’t.” He stood and sauntered towards me. “You haven’t even seen all of it.” He was close, too close. I could feel that electric pulse, the vibration, the pull. Why did I have to react this way? Why?
“Stop doing that!” I said, taking a step back.
Brady’s brows lifted. “Do what?”
“Whatever freaky magic you’re using! It’s disturbing. I don’t like it.”
His eyes held a knowing look that only confirmed my suspicions. “I’m not doing anything, Sweetheart. Whatever you feel right now, is all you.” He filled the gap and wrapped his large hand around my bicep. “Come with me.”
I didn’t fight him. I don’t know why, but I didn’t. Instead, I let myself be guided. Brady turned me ever so gently then slowly began to lead me towards…the closet?
“What are you doing?” I asked, trying and failing to pull away.
“This is how we get to where we’re going.”
I gave him a flat look. “I am not going into a closet with you. I’m not sure about you genies, but we humans use those for clothes,” I spoke each word pointedly to ensure it made it past that thick magical skull of his.
“How boring.” He smirked, his eyes dancing once again. “We use them for magic.” Then in a move so fast I couldn’t blink, Brady yanked me inside and pressed me tight against his chest. “Are you ready?”
“N—”
Bright blue filled the darkness, blinding me once again, and I was falling. This time, a scream managed to make its way past my lungs, but it only lasted a moment before Brady’s hand ran along my spine, and a deep sense of calm fell over me. “You’re safe,” he reassured, his voice right against my ear.
I squinted my eyes shut tight and clung to him. When we landed, grass crunched at my feet. At a distance, birds chirped. Eventually, Brady let go, and I opened my eyes.
A scene, unlike any Hollywood flick could produce, welcomed me.
I stumbled, then caught my balance and spun around. It was the world, only it wasn’t. Everything, the trees, the birds flying through the sky, the grass beneath my feet, was color. Light. Bright as a neon sign. Purples, greens, reds, and blues. Every color imaginable and some I’d never seen. Each tree held its own; each insect could be easily set apart. I’d been transported to the inside of a Christmas bulb. I took it all in, mouth opened in wonder. It encompassed me with beauty.
“It’s amazing, isn’t it,” Brady murmured beside me, and I turned to find him standing there. Only, it wasn’t the man I was used to seeing. I could tell it was him, I could make out his face, his clothes, every detail, but all of it was composed of that same electric blue I’d found within his eyes.
“You’re blue!”
Brady laughed, deep and throatily. “Yes, Sweetheart. Look at yourself.”
It was then that I noticed that, I too, was composed entirely of bright golden yellow. “Holy shit! I’m fucking yellow!”
Brady laughed louder. “Yes, you are.” His laugh seemed to fizzle out as he sobered. “You’re beautiful.”
I looked up at his tone. He was staring at me intently, his eyes roaming, drinking me in. “This,” he finally spoke, looking away and waving an arm outward. “Is the ether-realm. Everything you see here exists in your world. This is just another plain of that existence.” He reached down and plucked a blade of grass from the ground. “In your world, this is green, physical. But here, this single blade shines orange. It is its aura. Here, we don’t merely see the outer edges of a being, but it’s core.”
I stared at it, then looked around again. “So, you mean, my core is yellow?” I thought about it. “That’s fucking priceless.”
Brady took a step forward but didn’t move to touch me. “What’s wrong with yellow?” he asked softly.
“Yellow? As in scared? Makes perfect fucking sense.” I let out a dry laugh.
Brady moved even closer. “Yellow doesn’t mean scared, Sweetheart. Yellow is joy. It’s light.” He stroked my cheek. “Yellow is the color of happiness.”
I would have scoffed, but his touch had robbed me of any and all sense. I stared up at that handsome face, that glowing electric blue. “You’re blue,” I managed to say. “What does blue mean?”
“It means,” he lowered his face to level with mine. “That I’m great in bed.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
I stared into those dancing blue eyes as his answer slowly made its way past the fog in my brain.
That little shit!
I shoved him.
Brady stumbled backward with a chuckle. “Okay. Enough talk,” he said as he lunged forward and unceremoniously threw me over his shoulder.
A screech left my throat. “What are you doing?” I shouted, beating against his back. “Let me down!” I kicked my legs, fighting and failing to wiggle free.
“There’s still so much to show you!” Brady called out.
“I can walk!” I continued to beat away at him, but he didn’t even flinch. I was like a fly buzzing around a jackass’s…well…ass, and I had a perfect view of said ass, and it was…damn him! “Put me down!”
“Almost there, Sweetheart. Just a little further.”
“Put me down, now!” I screamed. “I swear, Brady! If you don’t put me down right this second—”
“We’re here!” He cut me off
Here? He’d walked maybe twenty feet! “Good! Then let go of me, dammit!”
“Are you sure?” he sang. “I rather like this position.” His heavy palm came hard and swift against my backside.
I screeched again. “You mother– Put me down!”
“As you wish.” He released me, only not in the way I’d imagined. I wasn’t slowly lowered but dropped. My feet didn’t gently reach the earth, but instead, my entire body made a splash as I was engulfed in bright neon purple water.
I scrambled to the surface and heaved a breath. “What the fuck!” I glared at him.
Brady stood on the bank, doubled over in his laughter. “What? You don’t like it?”
“I hate you!” I screamed. “You are such an asshole!”
Brady’s smile dulled, and his expression grew grim. “I was only playing. I didn’t mean to make you mad. Here, I’m sorry.” He held his hand out to help me.
Begrudgingly, I trudged forward and accepted the offer. He lifted me up easily enough, and I was just about to get a foothold on the bank when I was once again falling backward into the murky abyss.
I spluttered as I stood.
His laughter reached a new height. “Your face!” he guffawed. “Ah, that’s priceless.”
I watched him through narrowed eyes. He was such a dick. Always. Here I stood, once again, his human joke. An idea struck me, and instead of trying to get out again, I slowly made my way backward into the deeper water. Two can play this game, genie.
“You’re such a jerk!” I yelled again once the water reached above my navel. “I don’t know why–AH!” I pulled myself under as if something had jerked me away, and through the murk, I heard him call out.
“Amelia!” Another splash much larger than mine hit the water, and only a moment later, I was once again wrapped up in a large pair of
far too sexy arms. He pulled me above the surface, then palmed each side of my face. “Are you okay?” His eyes ran over me, wide and wild, checking for injuries.
“Something grabbed me,” I said in as scared a voice as I could, and believe me, I had experience in such things. “It pulled me under. This is your fault.”
Brady held me tighter. “I’m sorry. God! I’m so sorry.” He scanned the water. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you now.”
Something gripped my ass, hard, and I let out a yelp.
Brady looked down at me with wide, not so innocent, eyes. “What is it? Did it try to grab you again?”
I gave him a flat look. “You did that.”
He gasped in the fakest outrage I’d ever had the dissatisfaction of witnessing. “Sweetheart! I would never.” It happened again, and my traitorous brain’s reaction was to move away from it, which ultimately meant me moving closer to much more dangerous areas.
“Stop it!” I smacked his chest. His naked chest. “Where is your shirt?!” I tried to pull away, but Brady gripped me tighter, lifting me up and wrapping my legs around his waist.
His head fell back, and a booming laugh once again filtered out of his chest. He spun us around, then his eyes met mine. “This is fun, huh?”
“No!” But my chest was full of stupid flutters. His face when he laughed like that, combined with the feel of his bare skin beneath my hands and my most intimate parts so close to his…it was unfair. I was losing it. The pull grew and strengthened until it became a physical thing, like gravity. “Why?” I breathed as my traitorous body changed course and fought to get closer.
Brady’s smile fell, and his grip tightened. The feeling electrified and pulsed, like a tether between us. My heartbeat drummed within my chest as we stood silently gazing at one another. There was no playfulness to Brady’s dark look. His arms held me close. I could feel each time his chest rose and fell, the beat of his heart. It, too, was racing. Each thud matched the pace of mine, and each beat seemed to resonate with some deep part of me.
“Why what, Sweetheart?” His voice was deeper, rough.
It took a moment for me to respond. My hands instinctively ran over his shoulder blades, the lines of his bare back. I’d never felt so tempted. I’d never been this close to a man before, and I had no idea what it was I really wanted. “Why do I—”
He leaned forward, lowering his face until his lips were less than a breath from mine. “Why do you what?” as he spoke, his breath fanned my face, cool and minty.
I stared at his lips, and some deep part of myself urged me forward. It whispered, like a demon on my shoulder, tempting me to fill the gap, to taste. Before I could think past the fog, I gave in and closed the gap, connecting us in a kiss softer than the touch of butterfly wings.
A growl left his chest, and the sound sent a shock through my entire body. Brady’s grip tightened as he took control, his tongue dipping into my mouth and turning my innocent taste into something devouring.
I didn’t fight back, couldn’t have even if I tried. It was too nice, too intense, too tempting. I matched his urgency with my own, but couldn’t keep up.
Brady’s left hand gripped my thigh, holding me in place as his other traveled upwards to entangle into my hair. I fought back, but not for an end. I didn’t want an end. Who would ever want an end to this? More. I wanted more.
My nails dug into his shoulders and pulled as I caught his bottom lip between my teeth.
Brady hummed low and deep inside his throat, and his hand moved to grip my face. “I’ve waited so long to hold you like this,” he said. I tried to close the gap he’d created, to kiss him again, but he held me in place as his eyes roamed over my features. He kissed one cheek, then the other, then my nose, then once more upon my lips, soft and sweet.
“Brady,” I breathed. It sounded like a plea.
His eyes glittered. “What, Amelia? What do you want?”
I didn’t want. I needed. My legs flexed as I fought to get closer to him, and his hand held my face when I tried once again to lean forward.
“No, Sweetheart. You have to say it. I can’t if you don’t ask me…out loud.”
My mouth opened but no sound came. The gears within my mind turned as I tried to articulate what it was I wanted. What did I want? The more I pictured it, our position, other possible positions…
My cheeks grew hot, and my chest seized, only not from passion. Mortification. Confusion.
What the fuck am I doing!
“Let me down.” My voice shook.
Brady stiffened, and I watched the bone along his jaw tighten and jump, but he didn’t argue. Slowly, painfully slow, he lowered me down into the water until I was standing on my own, then in a flash, he was back on the bank. I stood in place for a long drawn out moment, trying to understand what had happened to me. I’d been so…eager. What had possessed me? What had come over me?
Brady kept his back turned as he pulled his discarded shirt over his head. His body was stiff, his motions robotic. I swallowed hard and started to wade my way toward him. For as beautiful as this world was, I needed to get out of it, to go back to my dorm, somewhere I could think clearly.
The water splashed when I pulled myself onto the bank, and Brady stiffened more at the sound. He didn’t turn. He didn’t look at me. Instead, he kept his back to me, and murmured in a low strained voice, “Let’s get you dry.” The minute he spoke the words, his hand flicked and it was like I’d never gone into the lake at all.
His shoulders heaved before he turned and finally faced me. “You ready, Sweetheart? I’ll take you home now.”
I nodded, and he opened his arms. I stared at the invitation for only a moment’s pause before I entered the embrace that had almost cost me my soul.
Brady wrapped me tightly to his chest, then leaned his face down to my ear. “I want you to know,” he whispered. “I didn’t plan that.”
Then the world was once again turned to light, and within a breath, I was plopped onto my mattress, inside my dorm room, alone.
CHAPTER TWENTY
The rest of that day and well into the evening, my mind raced. A multitude of emotions floated through my mind like leaves in a windstorm, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t seem to grasp hold of one long enough to properly analyze it. I could only focus on the pull, the gravity. It was the wind that carried the others and with each whip it made, images resurfaced—Brady’s grip, the feel of him so close to me, his lips on mine, that electric current. It swept me away and stole the breath from my lungs.
Then, there were Brady’s words: I want you to know. I didn’t plan that.
He’d stopped and brought me back. He’d moved away the moment I asked even though we both knew it wasn’t what I’d truly wanted. He could have had me. I was no match. One more touch, one more kiss, and I’d have been done for.
Despite this, I didn’t trust him. How could I? History didn’t lie, and I couldn’t set aside years of torment just because my hormones reacted to his new appearance. It had to be a trick. Magic. He was obviously using some freaky genie voodoo on me.
Lord knows how long I stayed in bed going over the same thoughts, coming to the same conclusions, before Red came strolling through the door.
“There you are!” she said as she walked over and dropped at least ten shopping bags onto the end of her bed. “You missed it. I went shopping.”
I looked at the pile, then back at her. What a shame. “Did you have fun?” I didn’t listen to her response. It was an automatic question, one of those asked simply to be polite. Instead, my thoughts drifted back to the lake, to him.
The bed dipped as Red took a seat beside my outstretched form and pulled my attention back to her. “What’s wrong, Boo Kitty?” She pushed my mess of hair away from my face. “Is it the demon?”
I groaned. “He’s not a fucking demon.”
Red’s eyebrows lifted. “You said he.”
“It! It’s not a demon!”
She bit her lip, th
en focused her attention on her newly painted nails. “Okay. If it’s not a demon, what the hell is it?”
My lips set into a flat line as I gave her a long, steady look. Should I tell her? Should I involve her? Well, she was pretty involved already.
Red waited patiently, but the suddenly vacant look on her face led me to believe she was a million miles away. What went on inside that mind of hers? I could imagine it bounced around more than five kids on a trampoline.
Whatever. Fuck it. Might as well. “He’s a genie.”
Red’s attention snapped back into focus. “Like Aladdin?” She scrambled closer, which was saying something given the lack of space to begin with. “Like, wishes and shit? Can you get me a sexy demon? Wish me a sexy demon, best friend!”
“No! Not like that!” I shoved her back. “Like the evil kind that just scare the hell out of you one minute, then use pervert magic on you the next!”
Red’s eyebrows rose as she stared at me. “Pervert magic?”
I groaned again. “I don’t want to talk about it!”
“Okay! Fine! Food! You need food. Food always makes me feel better.” She jumped up and grabbed my arm.
I didn’t have a chance to catch myself before she pulled and I was sent unceremoniously crashing to the floor.
Red’s hand flew to her mouth. “Oh shit!” I could hear the humor in her words, practically feel her battle not to laugh. “I’m sorry! I thought you—I didn’t think you’d fall.”
I shot her a glare that I maintained until standing. “Makes sense,” I said dryly.
She grinned sheepishly. “Someone’s hangry. I’ll make it up to you. Everyone is over at Big Al’s Burgers. It’s right on campus.”
The minute she mentioned food, my stomach let out a loud, gurgling growl, and I had to agree with it. I nodded, letting the anger fade. I wasn’t angry at her. I was angry at Brady, at my life and my traitorous body.
Red led the way. We walked, and it ended up only being a few blocks away, inside a strip mall I hadn’t even known was there. Big Al’s was spelled out in white overtop the door, and inside was a mismatch of old furniture, every grandma’s knick-knacks, and a variety of paintings, each one equipped with one of those little neon price tag stickers.