Fated Dreams (Book One In The Affinity series)

by Christina Smith

  The doors swung open, revealing Lucas. “Are you scaring her, Dad?” He laughed softly, having heard what had been said.

  Nick winked at me. “She looks tough, she can take it.”

  “Dad, don’t put her on the spot,” Lucas said, then looked at me. “You don’t have to come over if you don’t want to.”

  “No, that’s okay, it will be fun. I’d love to.”

  “Great. So have you met everybody?”

  “No. But she will,” Karen said, and then proceeded to introduce me to the staff that was there, only I didn’t remember any of their names. Like an elephant in a glass shop, I felt out of place. Every time I moved, I seemed to be in someone’s way.

  “And this is our temporary dishwasher,” Karen said, clearly oblivious to my discomfort. We stopped in front of an enormous double sink. There was a tall guy standing in front of it washing pots. I only saw his back, but I had an idea who he was. He turned around and scowled at me.

  “Logan, I want you to apologize to Sarah and get rid of that snarly look on your face. You’re doing dishes because of your behavior, not hers!” She didn’t yell at him, but her voice was so firm Logan smoothed his features.

  “I’m sorry if I scared you, Sarah. It won’t happen again.” For a second he actually looked sincere, making me think there was a side of him he didn’t show anyone.

  “It’s all right, Logan, I hope we can forget about it and start fresh,” I replied sincerely. Since I was dating his brother, we would have to get along. I also hoped that by saying this he wouldn’t retaliate.

  His eyes lit up for a second, then changed to indifference. “Whatever,” he said with a shrug, turning back to his pots.

  I turned around when Lucas took my hand.

  “Mom, I’m taking a quick break. Lisa, will you tell Emma that Sarah will be out in a minute?” he asked the hostess, who was walking out to the dining room.

  “Sure” she said, before slipping through the doors.

  He pulled me into a small pantry, wrapped his arms around me, and whispered in my ear. “I’m glad you came to visit me.” His hot breath on my cheek sent chills through my body. He lowered his lips to touch mine for a very gentle kiss, which deepened gradually.

  The door swung open. Logan stood in the doorway staring at us as we both turned to face him.

  “Mom, Lucas and Sarah are making out in the pantry!” he said loudly, picking up a box of what looked like powdered dish soap.

  His mom walked by the open door. “That’s nice, dear.”

  When he shut the door, our eyes locked, and we started to laugh.

  “I’m looking forward to next weekend, how about you?” he asked after our laughter subsided. I just nodded, breathless by his proximity. “Am I making you nervous?” he whispered. I nodded again. “Good.” He leaned down to kiss me. I lifted my hands up to slip my fingers through his hair as his lips parted, taking us to a new level. I was lost in the kiss. But one thought suddenly popped in my head—Emma.

  I drew back, out of breath and shaking.

  “What’s wrong?” he whispered.

  “I hate to leave, but you have to get back to work, and I should get back to Emma.”

  He nodded his head. “You’re so responsible.” He poked the end of my nose with his finger.

  “I know, and I hate it.”

  His hand slipped into mine and together we walked out to the dining room. He kissed my knuckles before letting my hand drop. “I’ll come over around three o’clock.”

  “Great.” I waved at him and then made my way through the now busy restaurant to my table.

  “You ready?” I asked Emma.

  She was finished with her salad and stood up beside me. “Yep. Derrick ordered the tickets and booked us adjoining rooms.”

  We waved to Lisa on our way out.

  Chapter Fourteen

  A Peaceful Afternoon

  The house was quiet when I stepped inside after Emma dropped me off. “Hello,” I yelled, walking into the kitchen. I saw a note on the island and picked it up. It was from my mom, explaining that she, Dad, and Alex went out for some shopping and dinner.

  As I ascended the stairs to my bedroom, I texted Lucas, telling him to come up to my room, no one was home. Since the house was so quiet, I popped in a CD, turned the volume to low, and fell onto my bed with a book.

  I must have fallen asleep, though, because the next thing I knew, I was opening my eyes, feeling groggy. I could hear the sound of shuffling papers in the corner of my room. Startled, I spun my head towards the noise…I wasn’t alone. But instead of panicking, I felt a thrill of excitement. Lucas sat at my desk bent over a notebook, scribbling quickly with a pen. A throw blanket, which had been on the couch earlier, covered me up to my shoulders, and the book was lying on the nightstand with my bookmark holding my place. I didn’t remember doing any of this. “Did you cover me up?” I asked.

  He jumped, and whirled around to look at me.

  I laughed.

  “God you scared me, I thought you were sleeping.” He was laughing now.

  “I was. I just woke up. Did you do this?” I asked again, lifting up the blanket.

  “Yes, you looked comfortable, I didn’t want to wake you, and you looked cold.” He closed his textbook and swiveled in the chair. “I was going to lie down with you, but for one thing, I haven’t finished my homework yet. I thought I could get it done while you slept. And I didn’t know when your parents were coming home.”

  I grinned, leaning up against my headboard. “Did you finish your homework?”

  He nodded. “Almost.”

  “My parents won’t be home until after supper, we have the place to ourselves.”

  “In that case.” He whipped his pen onto the desk and stood up. “I’m finished. Move over.” He jumped onto the bed, making me and the pillows bounce. I giggled as he wrapped me in his arms.

  We fell silent, listening to the wind outside blow the tree branches against the windows, and the sounds of each other breathing. We stayed like that for some time, lying comfortably in each other’s arms.

  “What time is it?” I asked him when the sky outside turned dark gray. I hadn’t spoken in a while, so my voice sounded extra loud in the quiet room.

  He glanced at the clock beside him. “Four o’clock. Do you want to go out for dinner before the movie?”

  “We have leftovers I could heat up. My mom made lasagna last night.”

  “Sounds great.”

  We grew quiet again. I was comfortable and still a little groggy from my nap.

  “So what did you think of my father?” he asked. His voice was soft and peaceful.

  “He’s a charmer. I like your mother too, she’s very nice.”

  “They loved you. Even Logan was on good behavior. I hope he keeps it up until Wednesday when you come over for dinner.”

  I laughed, remembering our time in the pantry when Logan caught us. “How do you think he’ll act tomorrow at school?”

  His hands rubbed my arm, gently. “Do you mean, will he give you a hard time?”

  I nodded.

  “No, he won’t, I already had a talk with him, and told him you had nothing to do with telling Mom.”

  My eyes widened. “That’s all you said?”

  A short rumble of laughter vibrated in his chest. “There might have been a threat in there as well, but don’t worry about it.”

  I couldn’t help but worry. Logan was famous for his ill treatment of our school mates. But I couldn’t think about that now, there was nothing I could do about it anyway. I’d have my answers soon enough. In order to change the subject from his twin, I asked, “What have Andy and Kyle been up to this weekend? Weren’t you supposed to go to a party with them?”

  He leaned above me, tracing my arm with his finger. My skin tingled under his touch. “Yes, but I’d much rather be with you,” he murmured. “So now that we’re together, do you mind if we eat lunch with you guys?”

  “You’re a package de
al, aren’t you?”

  “Yep, just like you, Derrick and Emma.”

  I chuckled at the thought of our once cozy threesome, now growing. “I would love for you to sit with us.”

  I turned to face him, brushing my lips against his. It was meant to be a quick one, but he held my head to keep me from pulling away. He kissed me softly, ending it by lying back on the bed and tucking me into the crook of his shoulder. He sighed happily. “I could stay like this all day. I’m so comfortable with you, Katie.” His voice was soft, so I could have misunderstood, but I was sure I hadn’t.

  I sucked in a breath. “What did you call me?” Afraid to move, I left my head resting on his shoulder, staring at my cream-colored wall.

  “Sarah. Why, what do you think I said?” His tone was normal; maybe I had heard wrong.

  “Nothing,” I mumbled, listening to his heartbeat. Had I imagined the name? I was sure I heard him say it. I looked up at him; he was smiling warmly at me.

  “Did you have a dream last night when we fell asleep on the couch?”

  He arched a brow. “Not that I remember. Why?”

  Was this Katie thing all in my mind? “No reason.” I laid my head back down on his chest. Was I hearing things now? But what about my dreams, they were definitely real. Had I been thinking about them, and misunderstood him?

  My stomach growled, interrupting my chaotic thoughts; thankfully, Lucas didn’t seem to notice. “I’m hungry, let’s go down and eat.” I sat up, tossing the throw blanket off me.

  “No. I never want to leave. I’m so comfortable,” he whined.

  “Fine then, I get all the lasagna.” I climbed off the bed and took off running out the door. I heard his footsteps behind me.

  Thick, strong arms wrapped around me just as I reached the stairs. “You know, I could just pick you up and carry you back into the bedroom,” he whispered, nuzzling the back of my neck, causing goose bumps to break out along my skin.

  “Yes, you could, but I’m hungry.” My voice came out in a whisper.

  “Fine.” He let me go and took my hand, walking down the stairs beside me.

  In the kitchen, I took out the lasagna and placed it in the oven to reheat. Then I took out half of an Italian loaf, and garlic butter. Lucas cut the bread into pieces while I buttered it. When we were finished, we put the pieces on a pan in the oven with the lasagna.

  As we waited for our dinner, we hung out in the living room, watching TV. The smell of garlic and tomato sauce drifted out of the kitchen.

  When the oven timer went off, I stood up to get our food.

  We ate in the dining room, with the sound of a game show still playing on the TV. “This is good, your mom could work for my dad,” Lucas mumbled between bites.

  “I’ll tell her you approve. So tell me about growing up as a twin. Was it annoying when people couldn’t tell you apart?”

  “Sometimes, but the worst was when you thought I was Logan.”

  “What, are you serious? I had never seen you without your glasses, how was I supposed to know.”

  “I didn’t say it made sense, just that it bothered me. I had real feelings for you, and you thought I was my brother. It was a major blow to my ego.”

  “Don’t worry too much; I was relieved that it turned out to be you.”

  “Why?”

  Feeling embarrassed about the real reason, I decided to lie. “Isn’t it obvious, it’s Logan we’re talking about.”

  His eyes narrowed, assessing me. “What are you not telling me?”

  I raised my eyebrows in an attempt to appear innocent. “Nothing.”

  He paused, holding his fork midair, and grinned. “I don’t believe you.”

  I shook my head, taking another bite.

  “Oh, you’re going to have to tell me, or I’ll get it out of you somehow,” he threatened with a playful smile.

  I shook my head. “Nope, sorry.” I bit my lip, trying to keep a straight face.

  He stood up, and slowly walked toward me.

  I got up quickly, my chair falling to the floor, and took off running. I knew what he was going to do. He caught me as I ran into the living room and started to tickle me until I screamed. “Fine, I’ll tell you,” I gasped between shrills of laughter.

  I was breathless when he let me go. I straightened and took a few deep breaths; man, I hated being tickled. He stood in front of me, with a wide grin on his face. I really wanted to wipe it off, but I was afraid if I tried, he would do it again. Now that he knew my weak spot, I was afraid he’d use it.

  “When you stood in my line, I was in a bad mood. I didn’t sleep well the night before, and I hated working concession. So when I thought it was Logan, I was annoyed. But I did notice that he looked better, he was dressed casual, and I liked his hair. I remember being upset with myself for thinking it.”

  “You really thought I was better looking than Logan?”

  “Well, you are twins. But yeah, I did, and I was thankful when it was you that I thought that about, and not him.”

  He took the few steps between us and wrapped his arms around me. “For some reason, I’m drawn to you, and I’ve wanted you here in my arms for a long time.”

  His mood shifted from playful to intense emotion in a blink of an eye, leaving me breathless. I pulled away, not sure how to react to his extreme mood change, and led him back to the table, where we finished our meal.

  We pulled into the parking lot outside the theater, an hour later. Walking hand in hand through the lot, I suddenly remembered being followed here last night. I tightened my grip on his hand, glancing around to make sure no one was hovering anywhere in a hooded sweatshirt.

  “Are you okay, what’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” His eyes were full of concern.

  “I’m fine, just a little cold,” I lied. When we reached the building, I tried not to make it obvious how thankful I was to be out of the parking lot.

  He opened the heavy glass door for me, and we wandered over to the line that was formed in front of the ticket booth. Lucas was telling me about the rest of his shift at the restaurant when I noticed Stephanie Brown in line ahead of us.

  “Oh crap,” I mumbled quietly, looking at the floor. I wasn’t in the mood for an argument with her.

  “What?” He stopped mid-sentence, and glanced around to see what I was talking about.

  “See that girl up ahead with the blond hair?” I nodded in her direction without looking up.

  “Yeah, what about her?” he asked, looking in her direction.

  “Don’t look at her!” I pulled his face back toward me. “I went to school with her my first year. I’ll tell you the rest when we get inside.”

  “Okay,” he said, looking confused.

  We moved up in line and saw Stephanie walking away. She was with the puppets, Tara and Trudy, and they were giggling like a couple of hyenas. Considering they were a year older than me, I wondered if they would ever grow up.

  I felt relief when the trio disappeared into another theater.

  We slipped into a dark room across the hall.

  “How about here?” Lucas asked me, motioning to a couple of seats in the back.

  “Perfect.”

  “So what was all of that about, with that girl?” He gestured with his thumb to the door after we took our seats.

  I sighed. “Did you know I went to a private school, my first year?” I asked, turning to face him. He nodded, and I continued. “Well, her name is Stephanie, and she considered herself the queen of the school. She bossed people around, and they listened to her. After a week of being the new kid, this guy came to my table where I sat alone at lunch one day, and welcomed me.”

  “That was nice of him.”

  “It was, and I appreciated it. But after he left, I noticed Stephanie staring at me. The next day no one would talk to me. I didn’t think much about it since I was new. But it continued for about a week. Ryan, that was his name, came over again and explained that she had told everyone to ignore
me because we had talked. They used to go out, and she still liked him.”

  His eyes widened. “Why would anyone listen to her?”

  “That’s what I asked. Apparently, she’s from an old rich powerful family, and they still have connections. Anyway, I told him that I didn’t care what she did, and after that we started hanging out, but only as friends.

  “A few months later she asked me over for a sleepover. I knew it was weird, but I was hoping she would finally let people speak to me if I went.” I paused to catch my breath. His face looked serious, like he was anticipating something unpleasant. “We went up to her room, and she started to ask odd questions. Then she pulled out a huge pair of scissors. Her friends held me down while she cut my hair.”

  “She cut your hair? What a bitch!”

  I smiled at him, appreciating his reaction. “My mom took me the next day to a salon and had it styled, and I never returned to that school. I still keep in touch with Ryan every once in a while, but I’d just rather forget my time there.”

  He gave me a thoughtful look. “I’m sorry you went through that, Sarah.” He leaned in to kiss me. “Is that why you’re worried about Logan?”

  I simply nodded, hoping to end the conversation.

  “Don’t worry, I’m here now, no one will mess with you.” He wrapped his arm around me, and in the safety of his strong arms, I believed him.

  The lights went down, and the movie started. It was good. I enjoyed watching it with Lucas, holding his hand.

  When it was over, I was thankful we were able to duck out without seeing Stephanie and her friends again.

  Lucas dropped me off outside my house, and after a long kiss, I waved goodbye and let myself in. The house was quiet and dark. The only light came from the small bulb above the stove. The smell of garlic still lingered in the kitchen.

  It was after eleven; everybody must have gone to bed. I tiptoed up the stairs so I wouldn’t wake anyone.

  The sound of Alex’s music playing quietly told me that he was still awake. When I walked past his room I heard the clicking of computer keys.

  I knew that the excitement I felt over Lucas would keep me awake, so I crawled under my covers with Pride and Prejudice—I still hadn’t finished it for school—and fell into the world of fancy balls and corsets as Mr. Darcy admitted to Elizabeth how he felt for the first time. I loved this book, but when the words started to blur, I closed it with a sigh, turned off my light, and waited for sleep to take me.