by Anne Violet
“Where were you?” she asked, puttering around the kitchen, trying to find an excuse to be in there.
“I met a really nice guy at school named Christian. We were hanging out at his house. It’s not far from here. It’s the big white house near Saltar’s, kind of rundown.”
She nodded her head at this, and looked like she wanted to ask more questions but didn’t know what to start with. She really was out of practice. I thought I better head her off at the pass.
“Mom,” I said hesitantly, “I think I saw Nicolas today at school watching me in the parking lot.”
“What!” she loudly exclaimed and took a concerned step towards me.
Oh lord, what had I done? I was so not in the mood for drama tonight. Which unfortunately was one of her great gifts-or more accurately curse.
“The guy was far away so I can’t be positive, but I am having Tina ask around to see if anyone knows if he’s back.”
She looked back at her friends and then at me. She sighed, “let me know if we need to file a restraining order.”
I looked at her like she was deranged. “Of course.”
I wondered how she could even doubt it. Glad that awkward conversation was over, I hurried to my room to spend some time with the other man of my life. It looked like he had been quite the hellion while I was gone. Eyeliners that had been on my vanity were spread across the floor, the tassels on my curtain tiebacks were now just scraggly threads and some of my pillows looked a lot worse for wear. He was lucky he was so damn cute. Curled in a tight little gray ball on my bed, I nudged him over and lay down next to him. So content it was ridiculous, I fell asleep instantly.
CHAPTER 5
Sunday morning I woke up insanely late since Saturday night’s dance performance had gone longer than I thought it would. The Indian bridal party my troupe and I performed for invited us to stay and celebrate. None of us wanted to leave--those Indians really know how to party. And the money I had made was sorely needed for new clothes and more airbrush ink. I glanced over at my alarm clock. Crap! If I didn’t get out of the house in about fifteen minutes I would be late for Christian’s soccer game. As Cody chased his ball around the room I quickly considered my look for the day. Since the field next to Pioneer Middle School, where they were playing soccer, wasn’t too far away, I could walk there instead of ride. I decided to wear a short little white cotton dress and I would do minimal makeup and a classic sort of ponytail. I even took the diamond stud out of my nose. I smiled at my reflection. I barely recognized myself, aside from the flaming red hair; I no longer looked like punk rock Barbie- instead I looked like naughty Catholic school girl Barbie. I wondered what Christian would think.
I decided to bring Cody with me and was glad my mom had the foresight to buy a leash and tiny harness for him. Unfortunately, just getting the harness on him was an exercise in frustration. He wiggled and flopped over on his back and did basically anything that could make the job impossible. After what seemed like an eternity, it was finally on and I gently tugged on the leash to get him to walk which seemed to be his cue to flop over on top of the leash and start gnawing on it. Giving up on the notion I would be lucky enough to have a dog-like cat, I picked him up, grabbed my bag that I had packed with a towel and other random supplies for both of us and headed out the door. It looked like mom must have already left for the day, which was probably a blessing since I was sure she would try to talk me out of taking Cody with me.
All the way there Cody protested with loud meows and pushing his little paws against me in an attempt to get down. The claws actually came out every time he saw a bird that looked appetizing. I was ridiculously relieved when I finally got to the field and I could put Cody down; I laid out my towel and set down my bag which I tied his leash to. I smiled at how the grass was almost as tall as he was. He seemed perfectly content romping through the flowers and weeds. Looking out over the field I eventually found Christian, his back to me, in some sort of huddle with the guys. I almost didn’t recognize him in shorts, t-shirt and baseball cap which covered up a good part of his dark hair. I glanced around the field; it seemed I was the only girlfriend who had deigned to show up. I almost blushed when I turned back towards the knot of guys and noticed that they were looking and pointing at me. I watched as Christian finally located me and a big smile spread across his face. And I couldn’t do a thing to stop my answering one.
My eyes feasted on him possessively as he loped over to me. There was something about Christian in casual wear that just made me want to cuddle with him like crazy. He stopped about a foot away from me and looked me over.
“You look almost a little too innocent for your own good,” he sighed, the warmth in his eyes leaving me no doubt as to what he meant.
I raised a brow at him, “Keep it up and we won’t be staying,” I playfully murmured.
Closing the distance between us, he wrapped his arms around my waist, hugged me and gave me a quick kiss on the lips, not nearly enough to tantalize me though. It occurred to me then that he was a pretty private person. He wasn’t one of those guys that wanted to show off or needed to prove his possession. I respected him even more for it and decided not to tease him as I originally had planned, or… I would try not to.
He drew away, keeping one arm around me, his face bent towards mine, as he turned in the direction of the guys warming up. “They wanted to come and meet you but I threatened their lives if they took one step near you.”
I heard the laugh in his voice and smiled. “That would have been ok.”
He looked at me incredulous, “ah-- no it wouldn’t have,” he laughed.
I pulled away from his arm and put my hands on my hips. “Are you telling me I am not supposed to talk to them all day?”
He laughed at my pathetic attempt to look angry. I loved how I could make him laugh. He was completely relaxed, his happiness reflecting deeply in his dark brown eyes. “Some of them I wouldn’t trust around my own grandmother.”
I burst out laughing. “You’ll have a chance to talk to them at the barbeque tonight. I am sure they will tell you a ton of reasons why you should dump me and give them a chance.”
He didn’t look too worried-- actually he was almost a little too confident. Feeling a little wicked. I looked over at the guys stretching and pretended to admire a tall blond guy. “Well…I guess a couple might have potential,” I mused.
Only to find myself snatched up into his arms and he kissed me a little more demandingly this time. When he finally pulled away, he wound his fingers through my ponytail, caressing the strands and then slowly released them, looking back into my eyes.
“Please behave yourself.”
I rose up and kissed his adorable nose and found myself assuring him, “of course.”
His body suddenly jerked away from me in surprise and uncomprehending the reason, I followed his gaze as he looked down to find Cody on the ground staring up at him. He was walking in-between his legs brushing his tiny tail around Christian’s leg. Christian looked at me like I was insane for bringing him but bent down and started petting him. Cody reveled in the attention, lifting his tiny head so Christian could scratch under his chin. My heart melted as I watched him being so gentle with my baby cat. Oh god, I think I am falling in love with him.
“You know, there really is something special about him. When he looks at you—it’s not like an animal looking at you but like a person. You know what I mean.”
“I thought I was the only one that thought that,” I said softly.
When Christian looked back up at me, the expression on his face happy and content, I vowed again to do whatever in my power to bring him that everyday. For a moment we just stared at each other and then--I felt the mood change. It felt like the whole world shook and suddenly everything I thought I knew about my life, my priorities was gone. To be replaced by something more powerful… a new bond that would surpass all others. I felt my heart being bound to his like a physical thing. It was so strong that I feared the
pain that I would feel, should anything ever break it.
“Christian!”
We both kind of jumped when one of the guys yelled for him to come out to the field. He picked up Cody and handed him to me. His eyes as they met mine were a little hazy, like he was having difficulty too, processing what had just happened. I wondered if he had felt it as strongly as I had or had felt it at all. He patted Cody on the head one last time.
“Keep an eye on him. I don’t want him to get hurt by a stray ball. I will do what I can to keep it out of the area.”
I was horrified, I hadn’t thought of that. What kind of cat mother was I? “Maybe I should take him back home.”
“Don’t worry, I will protect you both,” he said and chucked me lightly under the chin and ran out to the field.
Smiling and enjoying the view of him running, I thought that we both probably needed some time apart to absorb what was happening between us. Even with Nicolas, whom I had truly really cared about, it had been nothing compared to this. My feelings for Christian were growing so fast and powerful it was almost frightening. Thinking of Nicolas, I took a quick glance around but I didn’t see anyone of concern. Not that there weren’t any places to hide, there was swamp land just off to the right side of the field but I didn’t feel that sick sensation I had felt on Friday.
Abruptly there was a roar of appreciation on the field, I glanced back over to find Christian on the ground, he was looking back at me smiling but as he realized I obviously hadn’t been paying attention, it faded. I had a feeling he had just lived up to his word and saved Cody and I from being smacked by a stray soccer ball and he knew I had missed it. I tried to erase the worry that had probably still been on my face but I wasn’t sure that I fooled him. In appreciation, I smiled and attempted to clap my hands while still holding Cody, but I had a feeling he would question me on it later. As they resumed play, I lay down on the towel and placed Cody protectively behind my body, hoping he could be satisfied with the lawn and whatever bugs existed back there. Not wanting to lose cool girlfriend points, I diligently watched every minute of the game from that point on. I wasn’t an expert but from what I could tell, Christian wasn’t the best player but he made up for that with pure passion and focus. He was just so ridiculously beautiful no matter what he was doing. I was completely infatuated.
Eventually they called a break and Christian ran over to his car and grabbed a cooler and brought it over to Cody and me. I felt pretty guilty that I was pulling him away from his friends. I got up in preparation to pack and move to where they were.
“What are you doing?” He asked confused.
“I can move over to where everyone else is. I don’t want to seem unfriendly.”
He smirked at this. “They’ll get over it. I didn’t make enough for everyone.”
I couldn’t keep the excitement out of my voice, “you cooked today? What did you make?”
He laughed at me and sat cross legged on the towel, being careful to not squash Cody, who was now bored with the lawn and wanted to see what we were up to. Christian reached up, grabbed my arm, pulled me down to the towel too, and started pulling his Tupperware out of the cooler. He revealed a homemade potato salad, chicken salad sandwiches and some kind of gourmet chips that were amazing.
He seemed amused by how I devoured his food; his mouth was quirking up at the corners. “I take it your mom doesn’t cook much either. What do you eat when I am not providing for you?”
“Spaghettios, hot dogs and oatmeal,” I laughed and shrugged.
He looked completely disgusted but he was still so insanely cute. He really was a good cook too. I wondered if I could talk him into bringing me lunch at school.
“Alexis,” he sounded serious. Here it comes… “What were you thinking about earlier?”
He looked at me pointedly, daring me to pretend that I didn’t know to what he was referring. I looked away from him. I really didn’t want to tell him but I didn’t believe in lying either.
“Nicolas,” I sighed. When I looked back I saw jealously flash across his face just before reality hit and he realized how stupid that was. I smiled in understanding.
“I am not going to let anything happen to you,” he stated, his eyes hard and intent. “Honestly, it isn’t so much me I am worried about.”
He stared at me for a moment like he was considering his next words. His eyes kind of shuttered like he was hiding something from me. Finally he looked away, out over the field. “I can take care of myself.”
It took all the self control I had not to shudder a little. The way he said it was like --he knew it for a fact. That it had been tested and he had come out the victor, but was almost sorry for the knowledge? I felt confused. I trusted my intuition and there was no inkling that he would be a danger to me or anyone else. Maybe he had fought some bullies in the past or something. Remembering my vow to keep him happy and content always, I decided a change in topic was definitely in order. I leaned over and placed a soft kiss on his cheek which seemed to help pull him from wherever he was.
“Christian, what plans do you have for after graduation?” I asked while grabbing seconds of his delicious potato salad. He looked surprised by this particular change of topic but he smiled and relaxed which was my goal in the first place.
His eyes regarded mine warmly, “I don’t know, I wasn’t planning on going to college, not to sound cocky, but I don’t really need to. I’ve been selling my paintings since I was about 15 years old. My finances are already secure for life pretty much. What about you?”
I was stunned. No college? My whole family was college graduates. It was drilled in since birth. “Um,” I was still caught a little off guard. “I am planning on going to a well known photography college in Santa Barbara.”
“Really? I love that town. They have some great subjects for painting, although it is hard to go wrong in California.”
I smiled in response. “My feelings exactly.”
As I admired him sprawled out on my towel, I considered how to ask my next question. I didn’t want to scare him off but it might be better off to know what to expect than get my hopes up. “So… you would possibly consider moving back to Cali?” I asked, as casually and offhand as I could. His brown eyes were soft as they looked at me.
“Yes, I would consider it,” he murmured and leaned in towards me.
My eyes dropped to his perfect lips as I met him halfway. As always his lips were warm and I melted into them. And I forgot that we were out in the open on a field, that Cody was sniffing at our plates deciding what was palatable to him, and the fact that some of his friends had noticed our absorption and were yelling at us ‘to get a room’. At last he pulled away, I don’t think I could have, and packed everything up again. I rubbed my stomach. “That was so good, thank you.”
He smiled, “I have a feeling I am all that stands between you and malnutrition.”
I practically choked on a laugh. “Hey, I said I eat oatmeal. That’s good for your heart right?”
He laughed and patted me on the head like I was a toddler and jogged away to drop off the cooler at his car. I glanced down as Cody butted his head against my arm and peered up at me like he was trying to tell me something. His golden eyes in the afternoon sunlight were so bright they were almost blinding.
“Do you want some food and water?” I asked him, petting his little head.
I pulled out his food and water bowls and filled them up. I must have guessed right since he devoured both. Completely content now, he curled up his little body as close to me as possible and took one of his many catnaps of the day, his loud purring filling the air.
When their game recommenced, I pulled out my camera and started taking shots of their game, more pictures of Cody sleeping, and even some great shots of the Olympic Mountain range that could be seen clearly from the field. My eyes couldn’t seem to help themselves though, they always returned to Christian.
While I watched him a slight throbbing started in my temples again.
Not as bad as the other day but enough to notice. Without even meaning to, I started to tense up and fight it. Even so, a hazy image started to appear and probably out of curiosity more than anything else, I focused in on it. As I relaxed and concentrated, the image cleared and the headache started to dissipate. I saw him again as I had in my dream the other day. Balled up, his hands clutching his head like it was about to explode. I felt a little sick at the look of pain on his face. Forcing myself to look away, I noticed new details. It looked like he was in a forest and from the lack of light filtering through the trees it was maybe sunset. I could hear yelling. It sounded like two adults, a male and female. Their words were indistinct but the tenor of their voices was horrible, vicious. They sounded more like crazed animals than human. Intuition whispered in my mind that the adults were Christian’s parents. But why would they be wasting time arguing when it was so obvious that Christian was in such pain. He looked like he needed to go to a hospital. I tried to look around and see his parents but it was like being slammed against a wall, the vision wouldn’t shift.
The feeling of something soft grazing my hands jerked me out of the vision. I glanced down to find Cody settling in my lap, staring up at me solemnly. I physically gave myself a little shake. I could hear how fast my heart was beating and how loud my breathing had become. I couldn’t lie to myself. I had just had a vision…
Is that what the headaches were from, a precursor of a vision? As I rolled the idea around and started to accept the possibility, other questions flooded my mind. Was my grandmother right? Was I being given these visions for a reason? If so, how could I help Christian with something that had happened years ago? I had been staring somewhat blindly at Cody while I had been thinking, and so luckily I noticed when his ears rotated around and he turned his head towards the field. Glancing over I noticed the game seemed to be over and Christian was just turning to come our way. I quickly cleared my expression before he saw us.