Gifted Connections 01

by S M Olivier

  Chapter 22

  I didn’t expect Drake to be waiting for me when I got out of class. Since he was in college no uniform was required, but he dressed up so much more than all the other guys I had seen today on the college side of campus. He was dressed in a pair of khakis and a green plaid button up. I noticed all the guys seemed to dress nicely when they weren’t around the house.

  He was right outside the performing arts building and had no less than five girls surrounding him. I could see by the way he continually looked at his feet then wildly around and rubbed the back of his neck that he was uncomfortable. The way the girls kept casually touching him and emitting fake laughter, made it clear they were trying to flirt with him.

  I made a towards him and pushed my way to the middle, linking my arm through his. “Hey, waiting on me?”

  I didn’t know if he was, but I suspected it. It seemed to do the trick as some of the girls backed up.

  He gave me a crooked little grin, relief clearly evident in his eyes. “I was. I was wondering if you wanted to start working today? If you’re too tired it’s no big deal.”

  I had totally forgotten that I was going to try working at Remy’s on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I didn’t really have any plans to do anything tonight. I had already completed my AP English Literature, calculus, and physics homework in class.

  I smiled up at him. “Sure, are you allowed in my dorm? I need to change. Any uniform required?”

  He looked at the girls, who were still hovering, uncomfortably. “Yes, curfew for the opposite gender is ten o’clock. Nice meeting you girls.” He waved.

  One of the more brazen girls placed a slip of paper in his pocket. “Call me,” she said, running her hands down the front of his shirt.

  He turned red around the ears, mumbled something, and started pushing his way towards the dorms.

  “You okay?” I teased.

  He grimaced. “Girls used to bother me when I was dating Rose, but it was never this bad. I’ve had so many girls approach me today.”

  I started laughing. “I’m sorry, but you do know that you are an attractive, smart man, don’t you? It’s bound to happen.”

  “And- and that doesn’t bother you?” he said uncertainly.

  I shook my head. “I mean, do I like it…no.” I was surprised by my admission. “But what can I do about it? Like I said, all of you guys are attractive, you draw attention wherever you go and it’s no surprise. Heck, I watched a video today and every one of you made it on there. You guys are somewhat famous. I can’t control that. I can only control how I handle it.” I lowered my voice. “You guys are my connections. I know no matter how many girls want to touch you, kiss you, hold you, want to be with you, it’s me that you’re connected to and they can’t change that. Heck even if we wanted to, we couldn’t.”

  He gave me a warm smile and grabbed my hand, gently squeezed it. He linked our fingers and we walked all the way to my dorm that way.

  There were eight dorms for the females and mine was located at the end on the right. We took the elevator to the top floor and I removed my key from my new messenger bag. I opened the door, unsure whether Jemmy had dropped my bags off or not. She already let me know that study hall was the last class of the day for her, and most of the time she found an excuse to leave early.

  I was surprised to see that Rachel was already on her side of the room at her desk.

  She looked up when we entered, looking pointedly at our joined hands. “Hey,” she said casually.

  “Hey,” I replied. “Rachel, this is Drake. Drake, this is Rachel. She’s in my performing arts class.” I explained, trying to not make it awkward.

  “Nice to meet you,” Drake said politely.

  “I know who you are,” Rachel informed him. “Nice meeting you too.” Then she turned and looked at me. “So, is this going to be an everyday thing? Bringing a guy up here? Because if-”

  I cut her off. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. If I had known you were my roommate, I would have let you know. We’ll only be here a moment. If you give me your number, I’ll text you next time.”

  She started smiling, “Overreact much? I was just going to say if you are going to bring a guy over, next time make sure he brings a friend. Preferably an older guy. Like college boy here.”

  “I’ll see what I can do,” I snickered as I turned and saw that my bag had been left on my bed. “I think Jemmy and Rachel are going to hit it off nicely.” I looked over at Drake who was looking red once more. “Do you mind if I quickly unpack? I can be quick, and you never did tell me what I should wear.”

  “Great! One Jemmy is enough,” he joked. “Wear something comfortable. He’s hoping for help with the new one, so we’re going to head out there. It’s about a half hour away from here.”

  “Sounds good,” I smiled. The idea of not actually working with customers today sounded great.

  I quickly put my clothes away, and then I turned back to Rachel. “Do you want to give me your cell number? Just in case I want to bring friends over, I don’t want to bother your studying or anything else you might have going on.”

  An undecipherable look crossed her face. “I don’t have one.” She shrugged. “Not all of us come from money. You won’t be bothering me. I go to school, I come back here. That’s it.”

  I paused at the underlying hostility in her voice, but I knew her hostility was a way to hide her pain. I had been there. I might not know her whole story, but I sensed it. It would explain why she was in gifts class with me at her age. She must have just transferred here on a scholarship.

  I was surprised Drake was the first one to speak up. “So, if you’re not doing anything right now, we’re going to my brother’s spot, he owns a restaurant. We’re putting some stuff together tonight. He’ll pay you.”

  She looked at him suspiciously. “Why? I’ve been all over this place looking for a job and no one will hire a sixteen, almost seventeen-year-old.”

  He shrugged, his ears turning red once more. “Well, we could use the extra hands and it would be good for Blake to get to know her roommate more.”

  I knew better. Drake had a good heart and the idea of a broken girl, sitting by herself, was too much for him to bear. It had bothered me, but I was in no position to offer her the opportunity.

  She looked suspiciously at us. “Does your brother really need help?”

  “Yes,” Drake said.

  She stared at him awhile longer. “Are you treating me like a charity case?”

  His ears turned red, but he replied, “No.”

  Her eyes narrowed, but then she shrugged. “Okay. I’ll get dressed really quick.”

  When she went into the bathroom, I mouthed, “Thank you.” He was such a softy.

  My mouth dropped open as we pulled up into a freshly paved parking lot that was surrounded by older warehouses and in the middle of it all, was the restaurant. Which apparently had been a warehouse at one point too. It looked like this was once an industrial town, but it was now being revamped.

  The sign above the door was a simple η with the word We above it and the number 7 below it. I looked at Drake, but he shook his head like he didn’t want to talk about it.

  We went inside, and I immediately fell in love with the ambiance. Exposed beams and tall floor-to-ceiling windows pay homage to what it once was. Two rows of benches sat on both sides of the waiting area, across from each other. A hostess stand separated the two. An expansive bar took up the right side of the large area, and booths lined the left of the room. Straight back to the left were double swinging doors, which I assumed was the kitchen. To the right, there was a decent-sized stage. In the middle of the room, several boxes were stacked high. Construction workers milled around everywhere installing lights, grouting tile in the restrooms, and finishing several other projects. Men behind the bar looked preoccupied with installing lines for the taps. It was controlled chaos.

  Remy came through the double doors, deep in conversation with a man in a fla
nnel shirt with the sleeves rolled up on his forearms, jeans that had seen better days, a pencil tucked behind his ear, and a clip board in his hands, furiously scribbling as he listened to Remy.

  “Remington Murphy,” Rachel breathed in awe.

  “How-,” I began but stopped. She would have known him from the videos.

  Rachel had a sarcastic humor as I found out on the drive here. She had been witty and seemed to like to tease Drake. I liked her.

  “Please, tell me he’s single,” she looked up at me hopefully.

  I felt a sharp pang in my chest of jealously and I told myself I had to get a grip. He was my connected, but I had already told them they didn’t have to stay true to me. “Isn’t he a bit old for you,” I tried to laugh instead.

  She sighed. “The age of consent is sixteen and I consent! If not, I’ll wait,” she shrugged.

  Drake laughed at her eagerness.

  Remy saw us at that point and headed our way. I could feel his eyes look me up and down as if he was ensuring I was in one piece. “Drake, Blake, and this must be Rachel,” Remy said warmly.

  I guess he had a charming and polite side when he wanted to. He wasn’t his normal broody, somewhat uncommunicative self.

  “Yes, I’m Rachel,” Rachel quickly shot out her hand. “And I’m single, very single.”

  A small smile was on the curve of his lips and he seemed a little confused at her words. “Well, okay, nice to meet you, very single Rachel.”

  Drake chuckled quietly at my side. “So, how can we help you?”

  “You girls ever use a drill?” Remy asked as he went over to the pile of boxes.

  We both nodded.

  “Great,” Remy said. “Can you start assembling these tables?”

  “Sure,” we both said in unison and got to work.

  I tried to hide my winces of pain, but eventually the guys had noticed. They had gone to work carrying boxes of liquor out to the bar and unloading them into the cabinets.

  “What’s wrong?” Remy frowned as he headed over to me, as Rachel and I carried another table over to the designated areas.

  I brushed my hair out of my eyes, “Nothing,” I said offhandedly.

  He looked at me with narrowed eyes and crossed his arms over his broad chest.

  “She had her first day of physical education,” Rachel stated with a wicked grin my way.

  “Why didn’t you tell Noah?” Remy asked exasperatedly.

  “We could have seen him before we came here,” Drake added taking his glasses off to clean them.

  I sighed. “Honestly, I forgot. I’m sore, but you forgot that I’m used to pain,” I tried to joke, but neither one of them seemed to be amused.

  “Must be nice to have a healer at your beck and call,” Rachel muttered. “They’re worse than my older brother’s,” she added with a tilt of her lips. “It’s as if…” she trailed off and looked at all three of us suspiciously.

  “Brother’s huh?” I asked truly interested and trying to distract her musings.

  She was a hard worker and together we had knocked out a lot of the boxes of tables. The boxes were quickly emptied and piled next to the front doors.

  “Nope, not talking,” she said shaking her head. Clearly, the topic was off limits.

  I sighed. She was a hard nut to crack. One minute she was outgoing and engaging, and the next she was quiet and pensive. “Let’s get back to these tables, we’re almost done,” I said to her, walking to our assembling area. “I’ll see Noah when I get back to the dorm.” I promised the boys as I walked back to the tables.

  “I’ll have him meet us at the dorms,” Drake said.

  “Okay,” I said uncomfortably. They really needed to stop acting so protective of me.

  Remy really liked Rachel’s work ethic and offered her a job helping at the new location every time Drake and I went there, and when there was nothing left for her there a position at the restaurant right off campus. She could catch a trolley there when she began working there.

  She had gladly accepted, especially after Remy handed her two hundred dollars for the six hours of work we did that day. I told him to give my money to Will. He knew he wasn’t going to win this battle after our stare down.

  I was pleasantly surprised when he hugged me goodbye. It had only been a few days since I had seen him, but I already missed his touch and the way he played with my hair. I promised to be back on Wednesday.

  Rachel thanked Drake for the ride back to the dorm and I leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek. “See you later?”

  He smiled and squeezed my hand. “You know it.”

  I got out of the car and followed Rachel to our dorm. I was pleasantly surprised to see Noah waiting for me in the lobby.

  “You are in need of my services,” Noah asked with an impish leer.

  Rachel giggled, and I rolled my eyes. “Let’s go, sweet talker,” I told him as we walked towards the elevators, There were a lot of students still milling around, and I didn’t need them to see that I was too weak to handle a little pain.

  Some people called out to Noah as we passed. He took it in stride, obviously used to the attention.

  “Congrats on getting into the music program,” Noah murmured as we entered the elevator, he draped an arm around my shoulders and squeezed me close. Rachel looked at us with a raised eyebrow, and I could see her wheels turning once more. I would have to tell the guys to be more discreet with their attention to me.

  “Thank you,” I beamed at him, wincing slightly as his body jostled against mine when the elevator car jolted to a stop.

  Noah frowned, noticing my look. “What happened?”

  “Phys ed and we busted our tails at We 7,” I explained as we walked to my room.

  He nodded. “I’m sure you could have told Remy you weren’t ready to start today.”

  I shrugged. “It was no big deal, plus I need to pay Will back.”

  He sighed, obviously thinking I was being ridiculous for insisting on paying Will back, when it was clear he was well off and what ‘little’ money he spent on me wasn’t anything to him.

  Rachel grabbed her towel when we got back into the room. “I’m going to jump in the shower. If you want to join me you can,” Rachel winked at Noah.

  I barked out a laugh at her forwardness. Noah, for once, looked dumbfounded for a moment. Then he gave her a crooked smile. “As tempting as that is, I have some homework to finish tonight.”

  She gave him a saucy grin and closed the door behind her.

  He looked at her closed door and then at me. He cleared his throat. “Interesting roommate.”

  I shrugged and smiled. “She reminds me of Jemmy.”

  He laughed and nodded. “Now tell me where it hurts and if you want to strip down, I won’t complain,” he winked at me.

  I made a tsking sound. “I’m sure Stacey wouldn’t like that,” I teased him, but internally I was still fighting the urge to tell him how much his relationship with her was hindering my ability to get to know him and want to make a connection with him.

  I walked to my closet and turned my back to him, slipping off my shirt and sliding on a tank top and then stripped off my jeans. Not caring that I stood in a tank top and boy shorts. I shrugged, it was somewhat modest, and I was going to bed soon anyways.

  When I turned, I saw the appreciation and chagrin in his eyes. “I’m trying to give you time, love,” he said as he came closer.

  I sighed and pointed to my thighs and calves. “I know, and I really do appreciate it, but Will seems to think these connections should be made sooner than later.”

  His hands skimmed over my thighs and calves and I sighed in relief as I felt the warmth seep in and the pain leave. Somehow, I knew he was touching me a little more than necessary.

  “Where else?” he asked softly. I pointed to my upper chest and arms. “I realize that, but you’ve made two connections and you have four more to go…so. I don’t love her,” he stated firmly, and I believed him. “The truth is,”
he lowered his voice, “I have a high drive and you’re not ready for that…yet.”

  I blinked at him in shock and gaped at him, not knowing how to respond to him.

  His healing hands skimmed my arms and chest, intentionally brushing against my breasts. I inhaled sharply at his touch, my back arching towards his hands.

  He gave me a knowing smile and dropped a kiss on my nose. “See ya later, love.”

  I don’t know what triggered them, or why they began, but tonight, I was locked in a nightmare. Tom was back, and he was pushing me around once more. His nasty paws pushing my dress up. He wasn’t alone. The other men that had touched me inappropriately or made me touch them were with him. They watched, waiting for their turn.

  I tried to wake up but I couldn’t. The nightmare continued. I felt frozen in place as Ella stood in the corner crying. She shouldn’t be seeing this. I took her, with the help of Will, away from that life. Hopefully, her memories would fade one day, and she wouldn’t even remember the things she had seen.

  My panic was rising, and I was yelling at myself to wake up. I couldn’t.

  I vaguely heard a knock in the distance. I heard a murmuring of voices and I felt a warm body wrap around mine. My body relaxed. The nightmares receded.

  “Sleep, honey, sleep,” I heard Jax murmur in my head and I did.

  When I woke the next morning, I felt more tired than I did before I fell asleep. My body felt off and sluggish. My pillow smelled like Jax and I was highly confused. Had I dreamed him coming to me, or had he been there?

  I sat up and jumped when I saw Rachel sitting on the bottom of my bed.

  “You’re an elevated level gifted, aren’t you?” she asked calmly.

  I contemplated lying to her, but somehow, I knew it was futile. I had probably said or did something in my sleep and she had seen or heard me.

  I wiped my face wearily. “Yeah.”

  She nodded, seemingly satisfied. “You have connections, more than one, and you know who they are.”