by M. W. Muse
“And you think this container was the one I found under Lissa’s bed?”
River nodded slowly.
“Um, okay, but what does Anesidora have to do with my family?”
“There are some versions of myths that connect Gaia by way of Demeter to Anesidora. Some say they are the same person, just different interpretations.”
“Hmm…and my mother’s name is Dora. That’s a very good guess.”
River looked grim. “That’s not all. Anesidora has another name she is sometimes referred to.” He looked directly into her eyes. “Some call her Pandora.”
“Pandora?” She gasped. “Pandora’s Box?” As in the Pandora’s Box? The symbol of actions that may seem minor but end up having major consequences. No way. “Are you telling me I opened Pandora’s Box?”
“Yes.”
“It actually exists? I just thought that was—”
“A myth?” River smirked. “Isn’t that what we’ve been dealing with, darlin’?”
He had a point. Then she frowned. “What does it mean?”
River’s jaw ticked. “That we’re in some serious trouble.”
Why couldn’t changing into a goddess be easy?
Chapter Thirteen
She hardly slept last night. Not because she had bad dreams, tried to cope with her new understanding about herself, what Pandora’s Box had to do with anything, or was too excited about seeing Adin—though she was giddy at that thought—She couldn’t sleep because of all the fireworks being prematurely shot. Unfortunately, she couldn’t expect any better sleep tonight since today was the Fourth.
The parade started at nine o’clock this morning, so she knew Adin would be here early. She got out of bed and quickly got ready. She wore cute shorts and a tank top. This was the most skin that Adin would’ve ever seen, but it was hot. Not to mention the fact that this outfit could be a nice little stepping-stone for tomorrow, but she wasn’t sure if anything could prepare him for the bikini.
She pulled her hair up off her neck so that she could stay as cool as possible—the rain from the last two days would make it steamy outside in the heat of the sun. She put on some makeup, hoping it wouldn’t melt off by the end of the day, and then she was ready.
Lissa was off for the holiday, but they weren’t exactly speaking, so she stayed upstairs until she heard the roar of Adin’s Camaro. She ran downstairs and waited patiently by the door until he knocked. She only let him finish one knock before she swung the door open.
He stood there, startled, with his fist in the air to knock on the door again.
“Hi,” she said, and he dropped his hand and laughed. “I waited for you to come to me.”
“Yes, you did,” he said, still tickled.
He was wearing shorts and a light-colored shirt, also prepared for the summer heat.
He looked her up and down and smiled widely.
“You look beautiful!” She knew she wasn’t dressed up, so he must have really missed her as much as she missed him.
He threw his arms around her and hugged her tightly. She put her arms around his neck and kissed him under his jaw.
“I missed you so much,” he whispered in her hair.
“I missed you more,” she teased.
“No way. I missed you more than anyone has ever missed a person before in the history of the world.”
She couldn’t think of a comeback, so she just laughed.
Adin pulled away and took both her hands into his. “Are you ready? Calli’s probably already there. We need to hurry if you want to talk to her before the parade.” He was still very excited.
“Okay,” she said, smiling.
He walked her to his car and then got in. She had her left ankle resting on her right knee. He put his right hand on the side of her left knee. She guessed taking things slowly was working. After he got over the initial shock of a touch, he seemed to handle subsequent times much better.
“How did everything go with your dad?”
Adin rubbed her leg and looked at her. “Fine. Everything’s sorted out.”
“Good,” she said, looking back at him.
“So what did you do while I was away?”
“Hmm…nothing too exciting. I worked Thursday and didn’t do too much yesterday.”
“I wanted to call you so badly last night when I got in, but I didn’t want to wake you,” he confessed.
“Well, I was probably awake. Our neighbors were shooting fireworks at all hours last night. I hardly got any sleep at all.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I hate that your sleep was disturbed,” Adin said, sounding concerned. Then he got a devilish look in his eyes. “Though if I’d known you were awake, I probably would have come over, scaled a tree, and climbed in your window.” He glanced over at her with a smirk.
She snorted. He was definitely full of himself, but it was very adorable.
They got to the park and over to where the floats were gathered for the parade. Adin held her hand as he guided her through the crowds. They found the Oak Grove High School cheerleader’s float, and made their way to it.
“Hey, Calli!” she yelled to get her attention.
Calli turned around and grinned at the sight of Adin and Legacy holding hands.
“Hi, you two,” she said, smiling.
“Hi, Calli,” Adin responded.
“Where’s Zach?” Legacy asked.
“He’s sitting in the stands with some friends of his. I’ll introduce you after the parade.”
“Looks like you got some inspiration for your float,” Adin noted.
She looked it over, and it looked surprisingly familiar.
“Yeah, so we stole some ideas from the senior float. I don’t think too many people will notice,” Calli confessed.
“Calli!” Legacy chided.
“Oh, please! Like no one has ever used a muse before. It just so happened our muse was their float,” Calli said as she pointed to Adin.
They all laughed.
“We’re going to go find a seat. Good luck.”
“Thanks, Legacy.”
Adin held her hand and weaved her through the crowd again to get to the stands. She scanned the bleachers, wondering which guy was Zach, but she had no way of knowing. They sat in the middle and waited for the parade to start. The sun was already beating down on them.
“Crap, I forgot the sunscreen,” Adin said. “I’m going back to the car to get it. Do you want me to get you something to drink while I’m gone?”
“No, don’t worry about that,” she said, shaking her head.
Adin frowned at her response. “I’ll be walking right by the concession area.”
“Okay, some water would be great.”
While Adin was gone, Ellen and Kate walked up. Great. She should have known they’d make an appearance for Calli’s benefit.
“Hi, Legacy,” Kate said.
“Hey,” Ellen said, less enthused.
“Hi, girls. Did you come to watch Calli too?”
Ellen shrugged and Kate said, “Yes.”
They sat down on the bleacher right in front of her, and several minutes of silence passed.
“Where’s Thad and Seth?” she finally asked.
“Around.” Kate shrugged. “Probably breaking up a fight between Alex and Laos again,” she mumbled.
Legacy looked around the bleachers again for any sign of a guy looking in Calli’s direction, but there were just too many people. She was turning back around when Adin started up the bleachers.
“Looks who’s here!” Ellen whispered to Kate, and Legacy fought a smile.
“Oh no. He’s walking this way,” Kate said in disbelief.
“Hi, Kate. Hi, Ellen,” Adin said as he stepped on the bleacher beside them.
“Hi,” they said in unison, and watched as he stepped past them and took his seat next to Legacy. Both of their jaws dropped.
Adin opened the sunscreen, took Legacy’s hand, and squirted some in her palm. He put some in his hand, too, and
they both started rubbing the lotion on their own legs.
“It looks like it’s about to start,” Adin said as he finished.
“Uh-huh,” she mumbled as she kept rubbing the lotion all around her legs. She kept her head down because she knew if she looked up, she wouldn’t be able to keep from looking at Ellen and Kate.
When she finished, she glanced at them as she lifted her head. They both looked shocked, and she half-smiled. Adin had the bottle of lotion ready to squirt more into her palm—he was waiting for her before he continued putting it on himself.
They did their arms next, and Adin finished with his face. Her makeup had sun screen in it, so she left it alone, but put a little on her ears. Since she was in a low-cut tank top, she put the remaining lotion on her exposed chest, neck, and shoulders.
“You should probably put some on your ears,” she said to Adin while she finished rubbing the lotion on her chest.
“Um, okay,” he said, looking away from her to grab the bottle. He wasn’t sly enough not to get caught glancing at where her hands were. Poor thing. Tomorrow would be difficult for him.
When he finished, he put his hand on her knee and turned to face her.
“There’re some stages set up for bands playing this afternoon. Do you want to walk down and watch them?”
She turned to look at him. “Sure.”
She noticed Adin had left a little lotion on his ear, so she reached up and gently started rubbing it in. “What kind of bands are playing?” she asked.
Adin squeezed her knee. “Um…rock, country, and adult contemporary,” he said, but his voice sounded strangled.
She was watching what she was doing on his ear, but the sound of his tone made her look at his face. Oh. He was enjoying her rubbing the lotion in. She hadn’t really thought about it like that. She chuckled.
“Sorry, I was just trying to rub it in for you,” she said, shrugging and dropping her hand.
“No need to be sorry,” he said with a smile.
The parade had started, but she could tell Ellen and Kate’s attention was directed behind them rather than at the parade. They watched as Calli’s float passed, and she skillfully threw candy right at all of them. Legacy watched the rest of the crowd to see who else her BFF specifically threw candy to, but there was no hope. Everyone loved candy, so everyone stood up as the float passed.
When it was over, Adin took her hand and helped her down the bleachers. Once they were free from the crowd, he put his hand around her back, and they went in search of Calli. They didn’t have to look long.
“Hey guys, I need to go change, and I’ll be ready. Meet you at the concession area?” she asked.
“Sounds good.”
Adin and she headed that way, but he left her in front of the food vendors to go put the lotion back in his car. Of course Ellen and Kate would find her there alone.
“What’s the story?” Ellen asked as she walked up to her, leaving Kate trailing behind. So now she wanted to speak to her.
“We’re dating.”
“How long?”
“He asked me out after my birthday.”
Ellen was about to bark another question when her eyes focused behind her. Legacy assumed Adin was walking up.
It was him, because when he reached them, he kissed the back of Legacy’s neck and moved his lips around to her ear as he stepped beside her. She smiled crookedly at Ellen.
“Sorry it took me so long,” he murmured.
Still smiling, she turned to look at him. “That’s okay. I’ve been chatting with Ellen and Kate.”
He flashed his eyes at them and smiled, then he looked back at her. “Are you hungry?” he asked as he wrapped his arms around her waist.
“No, I’m fine.”
“Well, I am. Do you want to come with me to get a snack?”
“Of course,” she said to him, and then turned to Ellen and Kate—who both had their mouths opened. “I’ll see you guys later.”
Adin decided what he wanted to eat, so they got in line at the corndog vendor. “I really don’t care for Ellen,” he said while they were waiting.
“Yeah, I can’t stand her.”
He looked at her incredulously. “Then why are you friends with her?”
“I’m not. Not really. Ellen wants to be Calli’s friend, so she tolerates her. Kate’s not as bad, though. Why don’t you like Ellen? Not that I care. I’m just curious.”
“She’s superficial.”
“And?” That wasn’t a big news flash.
“And I don’t like the way she looks at you.”
“I’m a big girl.”
He looked at her with raised his eyebrows. “Yes, you are.”
And the Ellen and Kate conversation was dropped.
They got Adin’s corndog and found Calli. Zach was already with her. He was very good-looking, and Calli was simply glowing. They did all the introductions and walked around the park. The guys hit it off and played some of the vendor games while she and Calli talked—but not about their dates; the guys were always in earshot. They ate all kinds of junk food, played miniature golf, and enjoyed each other’s company. It was a great day. But very hot.
That afternoon, they walked by all the stages, taking in the different types of music. Legacy liked the rock band best, but Calli was a country music fan. The guys stayed neutral, but she was sure they would’ve sided with their respective dates if it came down to it.
When Calli wanted Legacy to go with her to the ladies room, the guys walked them over and stood outside, which Legacy thought was very sweet of them.
“So what do you think about Zach?” she asked when they got into the restroom.
“I think he’s great. He’s nice, charming, and so very handsome. You picked a great guy, really.”
“He kissed me last night!” she squealed. “I’ve been dying to tell you all day.”
“What?” She was happy for her but a little jealous. Calli hadn’t been seeing Zach as long as she’d been seeing Adin, and Adin hadn’t kissed her yet. Well, not in the way she was waiting for.
“I know. I couldn’t believe it. Legacy, oh my gosh, he is the best kisser! We made out for what seemed like forever.”
“Wow. I’m really happy for you.”
“So is Adin a good kisser?”
“I don’t know,” she mumbled as she washed her hands.
“He hasn’t kissed you yet?”
“Not like that, no. But I think that maybe he might kiss me tomorrow. He’s having a pool party at his house, and I’m hoping my little bikini will push him over that edge.” She giggled.
“I wouldn’t worry about it. I’m sure he’ll kiss you when he’s ready. He’s obviously very taken with you. You should see the way he looks at you.”
“I know. I really like him too.” More than like.
“I think it’s more than that,” Calli said as she fixed her hair.
“It is,” she confessed, not looking at her.
“C’mon. Let’s get back to the guys.” And Legacy was thankful Calli wasn’t going to push for more info.
Adin and Zach were chatting by a tree, waiting on them when they’d come out. They all went to find a seat for the fireworks display.
Adin and Legacy sat on a slight hill, but Zach and Calli went further back, hoping to get a better view. She was glad because now they could enjoy the show alone.
“Are you having fun?” Adin whispered.
“I’m having a great time,” she said, looking at him.
He reached up and stroked her cheek. “Good, I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself,” he murmured.
“Are you having a nice time?”
“I’m always having a nice time when I’m with you.”
Adin stared at her with intense eyes, and her heart started racing. She reached up and gently wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. She did it to distract herself from his gaze, but his lips parted when she touched him, and he started breathing heavily.
The sound of th
e first firework exploding in the sky distracted her from his glorious face, so she looked up to watch the first several explosions of brilliant colors.
“Wow,” she whispered, and turned to Adin to share this with him.
Adin was staring at her. She wasn’t sure if he’d ever looked away. She stayed locked on his gaze, his face glowing with the vibrant colors shooting in the sky. But the sounds of the explosions became muffled by the sound of her heart crashing.
Adin reached up and gently stroked her face. They were both breathing hard. He leaned in slightly, glanced at her lips, and flashed his eyes back at hers.
The voice in her head screamed in excitement. He was finally going to kiss her. Kiss her, kiss her. There was no doubt in her mind. It was already hot out here, but now her body felt overheated as her blood rushed all over in anticipation.
Adin slid his hand from her face to the side of her head, his fingers reaching her hair. He put his other hand on her other cheek, still leaning in. She wet her lips, leaving them parted. He kept his eyes on hers as he moved closer and then slowly closed them as their lips touched.
She could no longer hear the fireworks that she knew were exploding all around them. Adin kissed her so very softly at first, barely touching his tongue to hers. She could feel his hot breath in her mouth, and she tingled all over. As the kiss slowly became more intense, they both started gasping for air; his breath washed over her. She reached up, grabbed his arms, and clutched him closer to her. He tilted his head to the other side, kissing her passionately.
He tasted so good. There was no fantasy that could top this reality. All that mattered to her was that Adin was kissing her, and it was the best experience of her life.
The last firework must have gone off because people were clapping around them.
The intensity of their kiss slowed, though their breathing did not. He gently pulled his lips away and leaned his forehead against hers, leaving his hands on her face. They sat there for several seconds waiting for their breathing to return to normal. She was still clinging to his arms. She felt as if she would fall back if she let go of him. Her body felt so feeble in his gentle embrace.