Hidden Worlds

by Kristie Cook

“Whoa, now you’re annoyed at me for calling you Allie? Can a guy ever get a break?” I tried to keep myself calm, but she didn’t look like herself.

  She shrugged.

  “Seriously, are you okay?”

  “I guess, but this summer has turned into a disaster.” She exhaled loudly. “Jess left and my dad still hasn’t come back. So yeah, great, I get to spend the rest of the summer all alone. Just what I needed.”

  I rested a hand next to her on the couch. “Hey, don’t say you’re alone. Don’t I count for something?”

  She smiled, and a weight lifted. “That’s what I was looking for. It’s going to be okay. But why did Jess leave?”

  “It’s—” She stopped suddenly. “It’s personal.”

  My gut told me it was about Jared, but I decided to leave it. There was no reason to make her talk about something she didn’t want to. “I’ll take that, but on one condition.”

  “What?”

  “Come out with me tonight. I promise I’ll cheer you up.”

  She hesitated, and for a second I worried she’d say no. “Sure, just let me get changed.”

  She’d just walked into her bedroom when I heard another knock. Who else would be coming to her room? I pulled open the door, ready to defend my territory, but I quickly relaxed. It was just room service.

  “Just leave it. Here you go.” I handed the guy a ten, accepted the tray, and closed the door.

  I opened the Styrofoam container and found a large slice of carrot cake complete with the little sugar carrot on top. “You want to eat cake first, or do you want to get changed?”

  “I’m not in the mood for it anymore. You can have it or just put it in the fridge.”

  She disappeared into the bathroom, and I moved the cake from its container onto a plate before putting it in the fridge. I figured it would be a nice surprise for her later that night, or maybe the next morning, depending on when she came home.

  I walked around the suite, noting how clean and orderly it was. Allie was either a neat freak or super organized. I was neither, but I wasn’t a slob. I picked up the e-reader she must have discarded when I came in. I read a few paragraphs and it was either a romance or chic lit or something. The choice surprised me. I would have expected her to be reading something more literary.

  I was about ready to turn on the TV when her cell phone rang. Curious when I saw a guy’s name flash across the screen, I picked it up. “Hello?”

  I heard a sound of something dropping. Allie must have heard me answer. I smiled to myself.

  “Who is this? Is Allie there?” An angry male voice yelled at me from the phone.

  “No, Allie’s not available right now. She’s getting changed.” Both true statements.

  “Who the hell are you?”

  “Who am I? The name’s Levi.” I laughed to myself. This was kind of fun.

  “Tell Allie Toby’s on the phone. Her boyfriend Toby.”

  “Well, hello Toby, but I’m sorry I think Allie would have mentioned a boyfriend before she spent the night at my place. Are you sure you don’t mean ex-boyfriend?” Jess had specifically said she’d sworn off men, so she definitely didn’t have a boyfriend. Either this guy was delusional or he was just so hung up on her he couldn’t accept she’d moved on. I heard her breathing from just inside the door. She hadn’t come out to stop me. Another interesting observation.

  “Go to hell, asshole.”

  “No, I won’t go to hell, but I’ll take a message.” I laughed out loud this time. The call disconnected. “You can come out now. I’m off.”

  She opened the door slowly. “How’d you know I was listening?”

  “I heard you breathing.”

  “You heard me through the door?” She sounded skeptical.

  “You didn’t really think you were fooling me, did you?” Like she couldn’t hear every word I said.

  “Whatever. I can’t believe you answered my phone.”

  “You could have stopped me at any time. Something tells me you have no problem with what I told Toby.” She liked it. She liked that I handled the ex for her. That was a good start.

  “You’re right.”

  “I’m sure I am, but about what exactly?”

  “That I don’t mind what you said. He’s my ex-boyfriend. We broke up a few months ago and he hasn’t really accepted it.”

  Bingo. The situation was easy to read. “I can’t say I blame him.” I took her in. She’d changed into a new tank top, this time with a bra underneath, and a pair of tight dark jeans. Not quite as nice as a short skirt, but when she turned around, I decided the rear view more than made up for it.

  “So, aren’t we going out?” She watched me.

  “Yes, the night awaits.” I held open the door, and we walked out into the hallway. This was our first time going out just the two of us, and anyway you spun it, she was letting me take her out on a date.

  Chapter Nine

  I picked a coffee shop right down the block from the hotel. I went generic, just wanting a quiet place to sit and talk for a while. She was still bummed about her friend leaving, and I needed to change that. We’d start with coffee and then take things from there.

  I led her over to an empty table. “What can I get you?”

  “Oh. Just a coffee.”

  “Room for cream?” She didn’t strike me as a black coffee kind of girl, but then again, she didn’t strike me as one who read romance books either.

  “Nope. I like Splenda in it though.”

  “Okay.” I smiled before going over to the counter to get our drinks. I returned to the table with the coffees. I’d already stirred a sweetener packet in hers. She took a sip before reaching over to grab a second packet of sweetener from the plastic dish.

  I watched her carefully stir the hot coffee. “Two?”

  “I like things sweet.”

  I bet she did. The words “do you like things hard too?” swirled through my head, but I wisely kept them to myself. She might like my flirting, but that kind of comment would probably get me a slap in the face.

  “What really brought you down here this summer?” I’d been trying to figure it out all week. Something wasn’t adding up.

  “What do you mean? Working at the hotel …”

  “That’s what you say, but couldn’t you have gotten a job back home?” Was it all about that Toby guy? Was she running from him?

  “What does it matter?”

  “I’m just trying to figure you out.”

  “Figure me out?” She leaned forward slightly.

  “You have to be the hardest girl to read.”

  She laughed. “I can’t be that hard to read.”

  I laid it all out there. “We have a girl with a few months before leaving for college and instead of staying home to enjoy time with her friends, either bumming around or working some silly part time job, you drive across the country to work at a hotel for a dad who has been here all of one day since you arrived.”

  “Get to the point.” She eyed me suspiciously.

  “Either this is all an elaborate effort to get away from your ex, or you’re running from something else.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not running from anything.”

  Defensive mannerism. I was getting close. “So it’s all Toby?”

  “No, it’s not.”

  “Okay, so what is it?” Something in me needed to know. I needed to know what made this beautiful, infuriating woman tick.

  “Can’t there be a third choice? I wanted to try something new.”

  “Isn’t college trying something new already?” It was definitely a big change from high school, especially if you went away from home.

  “Yes, but that’s different.”

  “Different?” I sipped my coffee.

  “Yeah, I don’t know, it just seemed like an adventure.”

  “An adventure? You’re looking for an adventure, huh? Where do I sign up?” I wriggled an eyebrow at her. Now we were talking. If she want
ed adventure, she’d come to the right place. Owen’s warning words flooded my head, but I ignored them. This felt right. I was showing her my true self. If she wanted to run, she might as well get it over with before I fell harder. Was that possible? Was it possible to want a girl more than I already wanted her?

  She laughed. “Stop. I just mean no one would ever expect me to spend a summer in New Orleans. It’s different and it was so last minute. I actually quit another job at the last second so I could come here.”

  I feigned shock. “What? How could you?”

  “Well, I guess it wasn’t quitting because I didn’t quite start, but I was supposed to be a lifeguard at a local beach. I changed my mind when my dad called to invite me down.”

  “Then I propose a toast.” I lifted my cup.

  “A toast? With coffee?”

  “You can toast with any beverage.”

  “Sure, why not?” She raised her cup. “But what are we toasting?”

  “To Allie’s great adventure.”

  She laughed again as our cups touched and her eyes finally got that twinkle back. I put my cup to my lips and drank the last of my coffee like I was taking a shot. That got her smiling.

  Her phone rang. I hoped it wasn’t that Toby kid again.

  “It’s Jess. Do you mind if I get this?”

  “No, not a problem.” Jess I could handle. Besides, maybe if they talked, Allie would feel better about things. I wanted her in a good mood for the rest of the night.

  She answered. “Hey, are you home?”

  I listened in to the other end of the conversation. I couldn’t catch every word, but I caught enough. “Yeah, I got in about ten minutes ago. I wanted to apologize.”

  “It’s okay. I completely understand.”

  Allie glanced at the door. Another group of customers poured in. They were a rowdy bunch of tourists wearing beads they must have purchased at a store. Why people would spend money on those crappy pieces of plastic I’d never understood.

  “Hey, where are you?” Jess must have heard the crowd.

  “Out getting coffee.” Allie smiled.

  “With who?”

  “Umm, can I call you later?” She looked down at the table.

  Allie pushed the phone tighter against her ear. I tried to hear but the only thing I caught was my name.

  She played with her coffee cup. “Maybe.”

  I stopped trying to listen. I’d heard what I needed to. She disconnected and sat up enough to slide her phone in her back pocket. I realized she hadn’t brought a purse with her that night.

  “Jess made it back?” I decided to pretend I hadn’t heard the conversation for myself.

  “Yeah, she just got home.”

  “Anything else going on?”

  “Nope.”

  “Exciting.”

  She flipped her hair back. “Isn’t it?”

  “How’s the coffee?” I made conversation but really I was planning things out in my head. If I was ready to reveal myself, I had to show her. Telling her would probably just leave her thinking I was crazy or just making it up as a joke. Showing her would be easy enough, but how was I going to handle the fall out if she didn’t take it well? Should I give her some space to think about it, or force her to face it head on? I’d be willing to give her space, although I really hoped she’d shock me and accept what I was without a problem. It was a delusional thought, but I clung to it.

  We talked about traveling and other random stuff for a while, and it was only a little before nine thirty when she finished her coffee. She set down her empty cup. “This was actually fun. Thanks, I needed it.”

  “My pleasure. See, giving me a chance wasn’t so bad, was it?”

  “Hey, don’t read too much into it. We had coffee. End of story.”

  “Does it have to be the end?” I looked her straight in the eye.

  “What else do you have in mind?”

  “Want to meet up with my friends? I bet Hailey will come if she knows you are. I think she has a girl crush on you.” Hailey had asked about her at least five times that week. She’d even texted me. That had given Jared a laugh and Owen a heart attack. He was always afraid Hailey would push me too far. I didn’t care.

  “A girl crush? What are you, like three?”

  “No … it’s just funny. She talks about you almost as much as I do.” Had I said that out loud? I guess telling her I talked about her wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. She already knew how I felt.

  “I think she’s pretty cool too. Definitely different from my other friends.”

  “Different is good, right?” If she liked different, I might be okay.

  “It can be.”

  “Are you up for hanging out more?” I asked it as a question, but I wasn’t taking no for an answer. Now that I’d built up the anticipation, I couldn’t back down.

  “Yeah, okay.”

  I led her through the French Quarter, watching her reaction to everything. She might be used to city life, but New Orleans was something altogether different. Although touristy, the Quarter was still a special place, and I was glad she seemed interested in it. If things were going to work between us, she’d have to start calling New Orleans home. Leaving wasn’t an option for me. I was crown prince, and the throne was in the basement of the Crescent City Hotel.

  She stopped short in front of a dark bar on the corner. I smiled when I saw what got her attention.

  “Wow, are those people seriously dressed up as vampires?” Her eyes were glued on a couple of humans who were holding up a chalice and pretending to drink blood.

  I laughed. “If you think those people are weird, you’d be freaked out by the real thing.”

  “The real thing? Very funny.” She started walking again.

  “What, you don’t think vampires are real?” Here it was. How much did she believe in the legends already?

  “No, and I’m glad they aren’t.”

  “Why? Do they scare you?” I stopped and took her arm so I could turn her to look at me.

  “Does the thought of blood sucking monsters scare me? Hell yes. Who wouldn’t be scared of that?”

  I laughed again. Allie was in for one hell of a surprise. “Trust me, sweetheart, in New Orleans, vampires are the least of your worries.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’m really glad you asked that.”

  Her face paled slightly. “What are you talking about?”

  “You’ll have to wait and see.”

  “Okay, listen, scaring me isn’t a good way to get me interested, so if you have any weird tricks up your sleeve. just shelve them.” She balled her hands into fists. I could tell it wasn’t anger, but nerves that prompted the action.

  “No tricks, hon.” I pulled out my phone and texted Owen. It was still early, but I hoped they’d made it downtown already. The plan was to meet them on my own if things didn’t go anywhere with Allie and to bring her if they did. The part of the plan they didn’t know yet was that I wasn’t waiting.

  You there yet?

  Yeah. Hailey tagged along too. Is it just you?

  No. We’re both coming.

  Cool.

  I’m doing it. There, I’d said it.

  You’re crazy.

  Don’t act surprised.

  I pocketed my phone. “We’re meeting everyone over at Club 360.”

  “What’s that?”

  “The lounge on the top of the World Trade Center down by the river.”

  “Okay, is it a cool view?”

  “Yeah, it’s got a good view.” I laughed again. She had no idea how good of a view she was about to see.

  “You promise you aren’t luring me into some trap?”

  “A trap? No. Let’s just call it a new experience.” The first wave of nerves hit me. Was I really doing this? Was I really taking the chance? Yes. There was no backing down.

  We walked in a comfortable silence, and I held open the door when we arrived. There was a short wait for an elevator, but it wa
s empty when we stepped in. I watched her, trying to hide my nerves.

  The elevator doors opened on the top floor, dumping us out right at the club. I led her through the crowd, noticing that she kept checking out her outfit.

  “Don’t worry, we won’t be here long.” Not that she had to care about being underdressed.

  “Why are we here at all then?”

  “Do you ever stop asking questions?” To handle my nerves, I decided to give her a hard time. That usually worked for both of us.

  “I only ask this many questions when I fear for my well-being.”

  “I assure you that you are in good hands.” I put an arm around her waist, needing her close to me. Her touch reminded me of how important this was. I needed her to know what I really was. She had to accept I wasn’t human, and hopefully she’d like the perks that came with it. I had more to offer her than she could imagine. I spotted my friends. “I see them.”

  The three of them were seated at a small window table. Only Jared had a drink. Owen and Hailey were looking around the room nervously.

  “Allie! I’m so glad you came!” Hailey jumped out of her seat and hugged her. Allie beamed. It seems that the girl crush went both ways.

  Allie smoothed out her tank top, bringing my attention to her stomach. I was sure it was toned and smooth. Picturing her skin helped relax me. “Yeah, I needed a night out.”

  “Where’s your friend?” Jared asked casually.

  “My friend? You mean Jess? She’s back in New York, thanks to you.”

  I was right. It was about Jared.

  Jared gave me a confused look. “She left? What does that have to do with me?”

  “Nothing. Forget I said anything.” Allie slipped into the empty seat next to Hailey.

  “Okay...” Jared shrugged.

  She gazed out the window, and once again, I wanted to know what she was thinking. Was she still upset about Jess? Was she just enjoying the view? The only view I cared about was her.

  My friends watched me carefully. They were trying to see if I was going to chicken out. I still could. I could just ask Allie to dance and then take her home. Theoretically, I could just do it another night, but I wasn’t a quitter. Just like I wasn’t giving up on getting her, I wasn’t backing down on my plans. Hailey asked me the silent question, and I nodded.