It’s like we’re on our own planet…in our own miraculous Garden of Eden.
Kieron takes the poles and net from me and sets them on the ground. He opens his bag and shakes out a large blanket. Then he sits down on one side of it, stretches out his legs and angles his face to the sky.
I slowly stroll through the field, losing myself in the fragrant flowers and the hum of the waterfall. Up here, I feel far removed from all the craziness below. I can pretend that all my problems, stresses and worries don’t really exist. Right here, in this magical place with Kieron, everything can be perfect.
After a while, I again turn my gaze to his still form. Like a wondrous element of nature’s beauty, he stares peacefully at the river, looking as content as a lizard sunning itself on a warm rock.
I make my way back to him and take a seat on the blanket. “Now what?” I ask. He said he wanted to talk, but so far he isn’t saying much.
He turns to me, a smile on his face. “Now, we fish.”
******
My feelings for Kieron must have some magical hold over me, because even the disgusting act of hooking bait and the mundane act of sitting by water holding a pole is absolutely thrilling with him by my side.
Soon after dropping my line in the water I feel a gentle tug. Kieron shows me how to reel in my catch, and for a moment I’m proud of my accomplishment. But when the poor fish struggles to breathe, fighting for its life, I feel bad and throw it back in the river where it belongs. Kieron teases me for being a softie, as he reels in one of his own and sets it on the ground beside him.
“Do you know what these are named?” I ask him.
“Rainbow Trout.”
I raise an eyebrow and give him a knowing look. “Yes, but that’s just their common name. Their scientific name is Oncorhynchus mykiss.”
He leans his face to mine and flashes a mischievous smile. “I only understand the ‘my kiss’ part,” he says, raising his eyebrow flirtatiously.
I give a nervous laugh and look away, cursing my fair complexion that I’m positive is turning bright pink.
“This is fun,” I say, trying to change the subject. “I wish I could come up here more often.”
He leans back on one arm. “Who says you can’t?”
I sigh. “Well, because, you know…we’re supposed to be in school. And since I always have to be home before dark it wouldn’t really leave me much time...”
“Why do you always have to be home before dark?” He peeks at me from the corner of his eye; his voice smooth, sexy, and the slightest bit amused.
Here we go. I take a deep breath and recite my well-rehearsed lie. “Tatiana is completely blind. Since it’s just me and her I’m the only one who can take care of her. She doesn’t like to be alone at night.”
He nods, and a moment later asks, “But how would she know?”
“Huh?”
“If she’s blind…how would your grandmother know if it’s dark or not?” This time I’m positive I hear amusement in his voice.
My pulse quickens as I grit my teeth and stare out at the river. This is exactly why I can’t ever have normal friendships or relationships. People get nosy.
“Me being home by dark isn’t for her, it’s for me. I hate wearing a watch and lose track of time easily. But my grandma is elderly and likes to eat dinner early and go to sleep. So I make it a rule to be home well before then so that I can take care of her.” The lie comes easily, as I’ve used it countless times before. This doesn’t make me feel any better, though. Just once I wish I could have an honest conversation with someone.
He pauses, as if sensing my discomfort. “Okay, I understand. I promise to have you home in time,” he says quietly, fiddling with his fishing pole.
“But I enjoy being here. Even if our reason for not being at school today is such an awful one…” I say, trying to steer the conversation away from me.
“Why do you do it? Go to school?”
So much for that idea. “Well, because I have to. I promised Tatiana I’d graduate.”
“Why does she want you to go?”
“Well,” I hesitate, slightly unnerved by his odd questions, “because whose parents or guardian wouldn’t want their child to at least finish high school? I mean, I know we’re a small town, but we’re not that hillbilly.”
He laughs. “No, that’s not what I meant. I mean, what does she want you to get from it? Education? Friends? Social skills? A diploma for her wall?”
“Oh. I, uh… she just wants me to have a normal life like everyone else, I guess.”
“And how’s that working out for you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Is it working? Are you having a normal life like everyone else?”
“I dunno. I guess so,” I whisper, my heart pounding.
“I see. And is that what you want? To be normal? Is that what makes you happy?”
The corners my mouth turn down as I stare at the ripples in the water. How can I talk to him without sounding like a complete nut-job? My initial impulse is to lie. Say everything is great. I love school, have fantastic friends, am eagerly looking forward to college in the fall, and already have a sorority picked out.
But as I turn my head and look into his eyes, I hear myself speaking only the truth. “For me, school has been nothing but an experiment in torture for the past five years. I don’t learn anything there, and if it was possible to actually die of boredom, they’d have to bury me every day.” My eyes shift down, unable to meet his gaze. “I don’t really have any friends. A few acquaintances, but no one I’m really close to. Everyone thinks I’m weird and stuck-up and anti-social. The teachers all hate me. They think I’m throwing away my future just because I don’t want to go to Harvard or Yale. I despise everything about it, and if it wasn’t for Tatiana I would’ve happily dropped out long ago.”
“And done what?” he asks gently, unfazed by my admission.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, what would you do with yourself? Get a job at the mall? Watch soap operas all day? Get married and have babies? Join the Peace Corps…or maybe the circus?”
Despite my anxiety, I chuckle. “I don’t know…I haven’t really thought about it…it’s not even an option, so why bother?”
He grins and runs his hand absently through his dark hair. “Well, what about for fun? What do you like to do when you’re not suffering the excruciating agony of the world of academia?”
“I hang out by myself in the woods a lot…” Ugh, even I know how weird that sounds. “I spend time with Tatiana,” I add hurriedly. “I like reading, especially poetry. I like learning things on my own…especially anything to do with sciences. I’m teaching myself to speak French and Italian. Also how to play the guitar… I like to watch old movies, especially the ones filmed in black and white…” God, I sound even lamer breaking it down like that. I wish I could’ve listed Lucky’s resume; She wouldn’t come across as prime candidate for Freaky Nerd-Geek of the Year.
“What about at night after your grandmother has gone to sleep?”
“What do you mean? I don’t do anything. Why do you ask?” I hope I don’t sound as nervous as I feel. Where is he going with these questions?
His eyes narrow. “It’s just…you mentioned how she goes to bed early. I was just wondering how you spend your evenings, if you get lonely or bored being all by yourself. Do you ever go out?”
I gulp and look away. “No…not really. Just take care of stuff and turn in kinda early myself. I’m not really a night owl.”
He’s quiet. I hold my breath.
“That’s too bad,” he finally says.
“Why?”
“I was hoping we could hang out one night. Do something fun.”
I briefly close my eyes and clench my jaw. “Sorry. I really wish I could, but I can’t. I promised Tatiana I’d always stay home in case she ever needs me for anything.”
Kieron thinks about this for a moment. “Well, then. Maybe I can v
isit you at your house…we can make it a Blockbuster night or something. They have great deals on the older movies,” he says with an impish grin.
He has me backed into a corner. With a sickened heart, I know my perfect time with Kieron is over. I’d have to be a colossal idiot not to recognize it, and I’m an even bigger one for ever thinking something could’ve happened between us the first place.
“I’m sorry…she doesn’t allow me to have any visitors,” I whisper.
Oh, how badly I want to freeze time…to stop the natural progression of our conversation which inevitably leads to him getting up and walking away, realizing he’s totally wasting his time with me…that I really am the weird, anti-social freak that everyone says I am. How stupid of me to think for even one second that things might be different with him. Stupid stupid stupid!
“Okay, then.”
“Okay, what?” I brace myself for his rejection.
“If the daytime is the only time I can see you and spend time with you, then daytime it is.”
He shifts closer to me. My heart threatens to leap from my chest. I lick my lips nervously and hold my breath, waiting…
Just as he leans in to me, his arm suddenly jerks and his head swivels, followed by the sound of his surprised laughter.
“Whoa, got a live one here.” He stands up and begins wrestling with his pole which is bending almost to the point of breaking.
I jump up and move over to avoid getting wet as Kieron steps into the water to wrestle his catch. As I take a step back, my foot hits a slick stone, and before I know it, my leg shoots out from under me. I scramble to regain my balance, but it’s too late. Splash! The freezing spray swims up my nostrils as I face plant in the cold water.
“Liora! Are you okay?” Kieron jams the end of his pole in a deep hole in the ground and hurries over to me.
No, I am so far from okay it’s not even funny. Kill me now before I die of humiliation!
I nod, wiping wet hair away from my face and spitting out the water. “I’m fine, just slipped. No big deal.” No. Not a big deal at all. I’m just sitting here looking like a giant jackass covered in algae is all. Don’t mind me.
“Are you sure?” he asks, concerned. He grabs both of my hands and helps me to my feet.
“I’m fine, just wet.” I look down at my soggy sweatshirt and jeans. Then I look at his beautiful, horrified face.
And then I start laughing.
Once I start I can’t stop, and soon Kieron is laughing, too. We laugh until tears run from our eyes, and I start to hiccup. I fetch a bottled water from the cooler and sip it while he turns his attention back to the river. Within a minute, he’s reeling in the giant trout.
He sets it down and eyes me appraisingly. “Stay here, I’ll be back in a jiff.”
Before I have a chance to ask him where he’s going, he sprints off in the direction we came from. I watch the fish flop beside me, still alive. Without thinking I toss it back in the water.
A few minutes later Kieron returns, his arms laden with clothing. “What’s this?” I ask.
“A clean towel and some sweats for you to change into.”
I take the towel and blot my face and hair. He hands me a black and red hoodie and matching pants. “Ummm…” I laugh holding up the large sweatshirt.
“Yeah, they might be a bit big on you. But better than sitting around in wet jeans.”
He’s right about that. The cold denim is already molding to my thighs.
“Thanks,” I say, looking around for a place to change. I consider going behind the trees, but the ones closest to us are pretty spread apart and won’t provide me with much privacy. The denser patches are much farther away.
“It’s okay, you can change here,” Kieron says, noticing my dilemma. “I’ll turn my back and cover my face. A perfect gentleman, I promise.”
I hesitate only a brief moment before nodding. I don’t want to walk far in my sticky pants. And I’m feeling chilly. Kieron immediately turns his whole body away and, as promised, places his hands over his face. I wait a few more seconds to make sure he’s not going to peek. When I feel confident he won’t, I quickly remove my nappy sweatshirt. As I replace it with his large, soft one, I get a whiff of his musky scent. I feel warmer already.
But I can’t take off my jeans until I remove my boots. My fingers are trembling so much that getting the laces untied proves to be a challenge. “Just a minute more,” I call out, so he doesn’t turn around.
“Take your time,” he says.
I know my jitters aren’t just from being cold. It’s from being in this unbelievably surreal situation. I can’t wrap my head around the fact that here I am, getting practically naked, with Kieron standing just a few feet away. Never in a million years would I have imagined my day ending up like this. In a billion years…
Kieron remains true to his word, not once turning until I manage to peel off the mud-encrusted denim and slip into the softness of his sweatpants. I have to fold over the waist and roll it down a few times, but now I’m comfortable and cozy.
“Okay, I’m done,” I say.
He turns back around and runs his gaze up and down the length of my body. “Better?”
“Much.”
“That looks really good on you.”
I grimace, knowing that can’t possibly be true. The bulky sweatshirt is easily three times too large for my small frame, and I look like I’m wearing clown pants.
“I mean it,” he says, walking back to me. “I like seeing you in my clothes. It’s…sexy.” He raises a mischievous eyebrow at the last word, and I quickly turn my head back toward the river.
“So how come you just happened to have spare clothes and a dry towel with you? It’s almost like you were expecting me to practically drown today.”
“I always keep a towel in the truck. Comes in handy. The sweats were for later, to wear jogging.”
“Oh. Sorry.”
“For what?”
“I didn’t mean to mess up your plans.”
His eyes twinkle and he grins. “I think my plans took a turn for the better.” He pauses and glances down at his collection of fish. “I see we have an escapee…”
“Sorry,” I repeat, giving him a guilty look.
“I’m not.”
******
Finally, Kieron decides we’ve caught enough fish. Correction, he’s caught enough, as all of mine have been returned to the water. He grabs the tackle box and pulls out some knives, laying them on a small board. Then he expertly builds a fire inside a nearby rock pit.
“You might not like this part too much, best if you go down to the waterfall for a bit,” he suggests.
“Oh, please. I’m not that big a wimp. I can take it,” I scoff, positioning myself to watch him work.
He shrugs. “Suit yourself. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
He gracefully removes his sweater, revealing his sculpted, bronzed torso. My heart quickens, and my jaw actually drops. But I immediately snap it shut when he glances at me.
“Cleaning fish can get sort of messy. Don’t want to stink later.” He smiles and winks. I just nod dumbly, too in awe of his chiseled abdomen and ripped arms to be the slightest bit bothered by the gory decapitation and subsequent gutting of our soon-to-be lunch.
A few minutes later he’s putting the trout in a metal pan over the fire. Then he takes out the rest of the food from his cooler. “How did you just happen to have all this in there?” I ask as I snack on some of the grapes and sliced cheeses.
“This was the lunch I’d packed.” he says, nibbling on some cornbread
“This is so good,” I say between mouthfuls. “I don’t even really like fish, but this tastes amazing.”
“It’s ‘cause it’s so fresh. That’s the trick. Nothing store bought or restaurant prepared will ever come close.”
I could really care less what I’m eating right now, because Kieron still hasn’t put his sweater back on. So I’m far more interested in appreciating his
smoking hot body than the quality of our food. But I need something safe to talk about before something really embarrassing comes out of my mouth. Watching him move wearing only his loose fitting jeans and hiking boots, eating the food he’d caught and prepared…it’s so damn sexy I could be eating mouthfuls of dirt and wouldn’t notice.
“It’s really good,” I murmur and steal another peek. But this time his eyes catch mine and I see a devilish gleam. I quickly look away, embarrassed to be caught so blatantly checking him out.
We clean up our lunch and wander over to sit by the waterfall overlooking the valley. Much to my dismay, Kieron has put his sweater back on, but sitting so close to him is consolation enough.
We sit in comfortable silence, lost in our own thoughts. But I can sense he is holding something back from me. So many times he seems to want to say something, but stops himself at the last second. Other people do that with me a lot, so I’m used to it. But when Kieron does it, it hurts. I want so much to be able to talk with him about anything.
But it’s pretty hard to have an honest conversation with someone when it’s based on a lie.
And that’s what this is. A lie. All of it. It’s a lie because he thinks I’m someone I’m not. It’s a lie, because it wouldn’t even cross his mind to consider that the world he knows is really a lie…that there really are creatures that go bump in the night, and yes, monsters really do exist.
And…that one of them is sitting right here beside him.
After a long silence, Kieron finally speaks. “Liora, I have a confession to make.”
Chapter 10. Liora
“That sounds ominous,” I say, my heart speeding up.
He raises an eyebrow and bites his lower lip. “Well, I guess it depends on how you look at it. You might not really like me after you hear what I have to say.”
“What is it?”
He takes a deep breath and stares straight ahead. I look at him curiously, waiting for him to say something…anything. But his face is hard and he remains silent. Whatever he needs to say I wish he’d just spit it out already. The suspense is killing me.
“I wasn’t entirely honest with you earlier. I wasn’t going to say anything, but I think I should just come clean so I can stop feeling like I’ve deceived you.”
The Complete Demonblood Saga Page 12