Amethyst - Book One of the Guardian Series

by Heather Bowhay

  “Like the murders across the border?”

  “Something like that, but it’s sooo much more involved. I don’t want you to worry right now. Everything’s fine; I promise. Soon enough, you’ll know everything there is to know.” I was quiet for a long time, and she said, “Lexi? Are you still there?”

  “Yeah, I’m here,” I muttered. “Just confused and honestly, a little pissed off.”

  “I know. I’m sorry,” she said. “Can you wait this out?”

  “It’s not like you’ve given me a lot of options here,” I said with exasperation. “But I will expect the whole truth, no sugar-coating or leaving out details.”

  “Of course, and I promise it will be worth the wait and you’ll want to join us,” she said.

  After our conversation, I felt completely drained. A big part of me dreaded finding out their secrets, while another part of me couldn’t wait to be part of it. While I’d been talking with Jessica, I’d received a text from Ash: Lexi – I’m expecting U at band practice 2nite. B there!

  That was the first I’d heard from him since our trip to Blanchard Mountain. Damn he was imperious! I shook my head. Despite any negative thoughts I might have about him, at least Ash was the one person I’d met in Bellingham whom I could count on to be normal. Just the fact that I considered Ash normal seemed hysterical. Watching his band practice was just the deterrent I needed.

  A couple hours later, Ally, Ben, and I found ourselves standing in front of an old Victorian house on Holly Street. The house was painted in accordance with tradition, decorated in three different colors to embellish the architectural details; deep purple, light lavender, and stark white. The house’s structural design was beautiful, with high pointed peaks and shingles arranged in a decorative pattern. Cutaway bay windows and columns added to its charm, but the paint was chipping, and boards were hanging loose – a dead giveaway it was a college rental.

  Climbing the steps to an elaborate front porch, we found two beat up old couches. Yet another sign it was occupied by students. Blocked with plywood, the door itself wasn’t visible, but a big note tacked to one of the planks read: Use Kitchen Door. Under the words an arrow pointed left. We walked around the house, wading through giant dandelions while trying to avoid killer thistles with one inch thorns. Obviously, gardening was not a priority. Not that I’d expect as much from five guys living in a bachelor pad.

  Kai greeted us eagerly at the kitchen door and ushered us into the house. The high ceilings made the room feel bigger than it was. “Sorry ‘bout the mess. Just ignore it and follow me.” He swiped away any worries with a wave of his hand.

  Exchanging disgusted looks, Ally plugged her nose, and I screwed up my face. The sink was piled high. Every inch of countertop was plastered with milk-stained glasses, dirty silverware, scummy dishes, empty beer bottles, and old pizza boxes. I snickered and nudged Ally when I spotted a Costco sized supply of paper plates on a rickety kitchen table – a table in which one broken leg was being stabilized by a stack of magazines.

  Kai showed us into a living room jam-packed with couches. Giant windows with tic-tac-toe grids allowed tons of natural light into the room but drew attention to the scratched wood floors. On our left, we found everyone gathered in another huge room at the bottom of a winding staircase. Band equipment was crowded into a tight circle at the center of the room, and a couple guys were setting up ladders.

  Kai introduced us to his girlfriend Laney, his brother Noa, Noa’s girlfriend Anya, his roommate Matt, Matt’s girlfriend Rachel, and to his final roommate Patrick, who he informed us was currently single and on the open market.

  “You’re gonna have to give us time to keep all your names straight,” I said.

  “Already got ‘em down,” Ben said proudly as he pointed to each person, calling out their names.

  “You’re awesome,” Rachel said wide-eyed.

  “Careful, it’ll just go to his head,” Ally commented with a smile.

  “Where’s Ash?” I asked, scanning their faces.

  Noa positioned his ladder against the wall and said, “Not home yet.”

  “As usual,” Laney griped.

  “Yeah,” Kai laughed, “he rarely makes it in time to help set up, but he promised he’d be back in time for practice.”

  We spent several minutes talking and joking around. The band members were pretty boisterous, and the girls much quieter, with the exception of Kai’s girlfriend Laney. She held her own and shot gibes right back at the guys. She looked of Hawaiian descent with her tanned skin, black hair, and ebony eyes. Everyone was dressed casual in jeans and t-shirts; my kind of crowd. Noa thanked us for coming early to help out.

  “The idea,” Matt said motioning to both rooms, “is to soundproof all the walls before we set up for practice. Then the house will be ready for the party tomorrow night.”

  “Lexi?” Laney said. “Will you help me collect pillows from upstairs while everyone else gets started down here?”

  “Sure,” I said eagerly and followed her up the walnut staircase.

  “We tape pillows and couch cushions to all the walls and windows in the band room and living room,” she explained. “They make perfect insulating material, and the neighbors have yet to complain about loud music. Usually,” she laughed and shot me a knowing look, “it’s the obnoxious, drunk people who hang out in the yard that the neighbors gripe about.”

  We went from bedroom to bedroom collecting small rugs and pillows, while everyone else worked downstairs on assembling them against the walls with some serious duct tape. We stepped into the fifth bedroom at the back end of the upper floor, and I was surprised to find it sparkling clean.

  “This is Ash’s room,” Laney said contemptuously. “You’ll find he’s very organized in his personal space. But this is about the only place he’s so orderly. In the rest of his life he’s sporadic, chaotic, and infuriating.”

  “Wow, I’m amazed,” I muttered, also noting he was not high on her list of favorite people.

  She smiled adroitly and reached to open a closet door in the back of his room. “Since he has this huge bonus closet, we keep all the extra pillows we’ve picked up from Value Village and The Goodwill in here.”

  While she dug pillows out of the closet and handed them to me, I surveyed his room with interest. His slanted, wood ceilings were covered with posters of music artists, like Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, and Zeppelin. A couple mattresses thrown on the floor comprised his bed, and an elaborate multi-media center sat against one wall. One corner of the room held a tall rack with hundreds of CD’s, and in another sat four different electric guitars resting safely on stands. I wondered if the spiral notebooks stacked precariously on a small desk contained his written music and lyrics.

  “Okay, I think this is it,” Laney said and heaved out two more pillows before slamming the closet door. She slapped her hands together and brushed off her yellow shirt.

  We made a couple trips to the top of the stairs and tossed the last of the pillows over the banister before joining everyone on the main floor. After about an hour and a half, we had the house set up. We piled most of the, now cushionless, couches on the front porch, so there would be plenty of standing room during the party. But for us current spectators, we left two couches facing the band room.

  As if on cue, Ash strolled in just as the band members began tuning their instruments. He pulled off his green helmet, shook out his long hair, and inspected the sound-proofing job we’d done. He tapped his helmet with one hand and said, “Not bad, not bad. I might have done the windows a little differently, but hey, whatever works.”

  “Oh give it up pretty boy,” Kai called out.

  Noa gave him a vicious smile and said, “Yeah you worthless, no good piece of s---! Go grab your guitar and let’s hit it.” Ash gave him the finger, and we all laughed at their exchange.

  With a lot of hand rolling and a showy bow, Ash acknowledged all of us on the couches. “Glad I could provide you all with some pre-show ent
ertainment.” He spotted me and ambled over in his usual confident stride.Reaching out, he tilted my chin and said, “I see you got my message.” Shaking my head loose, I shrugged, but he narrowed his eyes and continued, “Good thing too…”

  I snorted and studied his stubbly face. “It’s obvious you think too highly of yourself, or you would have been here helping. My advice to you,” I jabbed him in the chest, “is to show up early and do more than your share of the work next time, because there was some talk of finding a new lead singer,” I said smugly, trying not to crack a smile.

  His eyebrows twitched, and he pressed his lips together. “Sounds like you’re on your game today. Should be fun.” He motioned towards the guys and smiled wildly. “These guys love me; they wouldn’t think of dumping me.”

  Several snorts erupted from the band room. “Don’t be so sure about that,” Noa called out.

  “So, you got any requests?” He looked me straight in the eye. “I’m here to please.” He smiled wickedly and winked, but I rolled my eyes to show I was not amused. “I’m talkin’ about song requests, of course.” His strange green and hazel-spotted eyes danced. He brushed a finger along my cheek before strolling casually towards the stairs, not bothering to wait for my response.

  “Yo Ash,” I said loudly when he reached the third step. I don’t know what came over me, but I felt the need to rattle him or at least to even the score. Then again, maybe I simply wanted to beat him at his own game for once. He halted in his tracks and looked at me suspiciously. I think he was surprised at my audacity to call him out in front of an audience – and we had everyone’s undivided attention. I studied my fingernails with feigned interest, just to keep him waiting a bit longer. Walking the razor’s edge with him was dangerous; understanding why I did it, was another matter completely. In my best slow and sultry voice I said, “As a matter of fact, I do have a request.”

  “Yeah?” he said hesitantly, raising one brow. The way his mouth hung slightly open, I knew I had him hooked.

  “While I find your black and white guitar smooth and shiny…” his eyes rounded as he came to the realization I’d been in his room long enough to study his personal possessions. “I think…” I sat down on the edge of the couch and tapped my finger against my lips, “tonight I’m feeling partial to your blood red, Fender Stratocaster. There’s just something more pleasing, no, more provocative about its sleek, sexy body…”

  I let my last words hang in the air and was greatly rewarded when his jaw dropped and he grabbed the handrail. Sputtering, he was unable to generate a snappy retort and instead shook his head and tromped up the stairs. Appalled at myself, I covered my mouth and gasped. The guys were whistling and giving each other high-fives. The girls were looking at me like I was insane, and Ben and Ally were laughing their heads off.

  “Way to go Lexi,” Matt said, and I gave him a conspiratorial wink. While we’d been soundproofing the house, I’d talked with Matt quite extensively about Ash’s guitars. During our discussion, he’d given me valuable information. Little had I known that short chat would yield such powerful ammunition. All was good though; Ash was due for a fumble.

  Still, I needed to tread carefully. Our flirtatious friendship was about all I could handle with him. My emotions and feelings were so mixed up. Candid, opinionated, and adventurous Ash, who wasn’t afraid to voice his opinion, always made me laugh. Fascinating and impenetrable Jason, who kept his feelings boxed away and who had some sort of big secret, one which involved Madison, always sent my heart racing…

  Loud booms from the bass reverberated around the room as the amplifier kicked in, and my thoughts diverted to the music. The band started with a serious oldie: Thin Lizzy’s Jailbreak. Listening to the band was awesome; they had great chemistry and sounded good together. They played with enthusiasm and Ash moved all over the place – standing next to Noa for awhile and then Patrick. They performed more oldies with some of my favorite’s being Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven, Guns N’ Roses’ Sweet Child o’ Mine, and my all time favorite, AC-DC’s You Shook Me All Night Long.

  The music was deafening, and I loved every minute of it. Ash’s voice belted out the hard-core rock-n-roll songs, and he subdued his vocal cords for the time-honored slow songs. With his tight-fitting, expensive jeans, luminous eyes, and haunting voice, it was hard not to find this lead singer extremely attractive. Every time he made eye contact with me, I blushed. What girl wouldn’t be mesmerized by the singer of a live band?

  Listening to their original songs was exciting. The lyrics were thoughtful and the sounds their instruments made were unique, without a lot of repetitive notes. After an hour or so, they took turns entertaining us with individual solos. Matt’s fingers were blazingly fast on his guitar, Kai ripped the drums apart, and Noa and Patrick performed an awesome duet with the bass guitar and keyboards. Ash just sat back and rocked out while the others played. After a few more group songs, they decided to take a break while Laney and Rachel made a pizza run. As everyone started heading towards the front porch to cool down, I rose off the couch to follow, but Ash asked me to hang out for a couple more minutes.

  “I have a song I’d like to play for you; I’m positive you’ll like this one,” he said with a shrewd smile. Sitting casually on a barstool, with one foot resting on the ground and the other on the cross bars, he strummed a few notes on his red guitar. Glancing up, he winked and then focused on his guitar strings. Instantly, I recognized the song Always With Me, Always With You, a Satriani guitar solo. I stared in amazement. When no one else was home, I cranked that song on Ben’s stereo system full blast. I couldn’t believe Ash had chosen it.

  When he finished, he set the guitar down gently and strolled towards me. He didn’t stop until he was extremely close. With his face only inches from mine, I had a hard time controlling my breathing. I finally managed to ask, “Did you know that song was one of my favorites?”

  A deliberate smile parted his lips. “I guessed,” he said in a low, shifty voice.

  Drawing in a sharp breath, I quipped, “No you didn’t.”

  With my heart pounding and my fingers nervously tracing the edge of the couch, I could actually feel the blood pulsating through my veins. Jessica would have been proud of my inner awareness at that moment. Too bad I couldn’t feel my Essence flowing. No doubt it was streaming with intensity.

  He inched closer and said in a low voice, “Some of us stoop so low as to snoop through other people’s rooms,” he drew his eyebrows in, “and others of us just listen to personal iPods that happen to be lying around.”

  “Huh?” I murmured, because I didn’t have the will power to question or challenge him at that moment. I was distracted by his nearness and the fact that I could feel his breath on my face.

  In a velvet smooth voice he said, “You’re still single.” Even though it was more of a statement than a question, I nodded slightly and was keenly aware his lips were dangerously close to mine. I could smell him – the sweat on his body from playing and singing in the hot room mixed with an intoxicating scent, an expensive men’s cologne, no doubt. It rendered me dizzy. I needed fresh air; I needed to go outside – to escape.

  He tipped his head and brushed his lips against mine, lightly, barely touching, teasing me as if with a soft, silken feather. I stood completely still, and rather than closing my eyes, a normal reaction, I opened them even wider and stared directly into his gleaming hazel-green ones. Involuntarily, I shuddered, and my lips moved against his. But his mouth curled into a wicked grin, and he withdrew. The contact had been so brief; I didn’t think I could even consider it a kiss.

  He took a small step backwards and traced my lips with his finger, pressing harder than he had with his lips. In an edgy voice he said, “Wonder if that qualifies as pleasing or provocative?” With a shrug, he winked and started for the door.

  “How about more like impertinent? Or insolent? And maybe…” I started to say with fire in my tone, but he whipped around, reached for my arm, and hauled me
towards him.

  “How about no more fancy words,” he said and crushed his lips against mine.

  Completely taken off guard, I squirmed in his arms, but he gripped me tighter. His hands slid down my back, sending a stream of shock waves through my body. I trembled as his hands advanced down the small of my back. His fingertips stopped precariously low on my waistline. When he began nibbling on my lips, my mouth parted in astonishment, and I gasped. Warmth flooded through my body as he crushed his lips against mine. With smoldering eyes, he returned my gaze and seized the opportunity to assault my mouth with his tongue. I whimpered once, and my eyelids snapped shut.

  He pushed me against the wall with his body, one hand caressing my face, the other grasping my head and tugging on my hair. Hot, flustered, and caught in the moment, I relinquished to his compelling touch and consented when his tongue connected with mine. With our lips pressed together, our tongues fought frantically as if starved for pleasure. I wrapped my arms around him and surrendered to his demands. His body was solid, strong, and pressing into mine with hot intensity. He kissed me fervently, for how long I don’t know, but I responded with unabashed need. When we broke apart my body wavered. I was breathless, exhausted from being so completely dominated.

  Shamefully though, when I opened my eyes and found the ones staring back at me were hazel-green, not aqua-marine, I felt a wave of disappointment. That’s when guilt washed over me. Guilt because I was thinking about Jason when I’d just kissed Ash. And even though the kiss had been audacious just like Ash, and I’d thoroughly enjoyed it, I was still thinking of Jason. It’s not like the excitement and energy wasn’t there with Ash; he just wasn’t Jason. Could I even give Ash a fair shot if Jason was in my life? I only hoped Ash couldn’t read my emotions.