by Brandi Bell
My face burned bright red, damn Elias. He either just saved me or destroyed me, I couldn’t decide which. Looking around, the car windows were steamed up so I guess he was being literal. “Ok, I'm headed in to shower,” I said, unable to meet his eyes.
Grady followed me out of the car, “Don’t be embarrassed, Jade. There’s nothing wrong with being attracted to each other. You don’t have to hide from me.”
I realized for the first time in my life, this was true. I quit trying to date guys in high school unable to explain Ruby to them. Grady could be a chance to explore the side of me I have kept locked up tight until now. “You’re right, Grady, but this is all new to me. I’ve had to hide half of myself for a long time. I’ve never had the guts to tell people about Ruby, like she told you guys about me, so I haven’t had much experience with men,” I admitted.
“It’s ok, Jade. I’m physically attracted to you, yes, but I'm also attracted to your mind. We’ve been getting along well, don’t you think? I’m willing to wait, I’ll never rush you,” Grady replied.
My heart melted a little bit. How did this man that I just met three days ago already know to say all the things I needed to hear? Ruby’s latest adventure may have been the best thing that has happened to me in a long while, but we won’t tell her that. Her head is big enough already.
Grady and I kissed again and it was just as amazing as the first kiss. I hated to pull away, but I knew I needed to get showered for Ruby, and Grady should be getting ready as well.
I smiled so big my cheeks hurt, but I couldn’t quit. That feeling was entirely new. The shower couldn’t wait any longer, so I gave in and got Ruby ready for her night.
Chapter 3
After opening my eyes, I didn’t recognize my surroundings again. There was someone I didn’t know laying beside me. I zapped him a bit and screamed. Grady opened the curtain, then it dawned on me the strange man was Felix. That was why the zap didn’t affect him. He was dead to the world at that moment. Now I knew he was a made vampire instead of born. Born vampires could stay awake during the day, but sunlight was very uncomfortable for them so they usually avoided it. Made vampires went into a deep sleep when the sun came up and didn’t start waking until close to sunset. It’s an odd difference between the two types, but who could explain magic or the paranormal.
It made me wonder if anyone else on the bus was more than they seemed. I would have to ask when we were all together again, just to make sure the air was cleared.
There was a note pinned to the bra Ruby was wearing. I was getting very tired of these Ruby notes.
Jade,
I figured you might want to meet Felix. Surprise!! He won’t ever be awake at the same time as you. Was that too mean? Nah, you can take it big girl! Just think, you would still be in that boring town sitting in your boring shop if it wasn’t for me.
XOXO
Damnit, she drove me nuts. This was my payback for not getting home on time the other night. You’d have thought that I would’ve seen it coming. I headed to the shower to wash off the creepy feeling I got from waking up next to a stranger.
I emerged clean and dressed to find the always thoughtful Grady had a hot cup ready for me, as well as breakfast too.
“You are spoiling me, Grady, I won’t know what to do with myself when this tour is over.” I said, then stood on my tiptoes to steal a kiss.
“Who said I won’t keep spoiling you when the tour’s over?” Grady whispered in my ear. It sent shivers down my back. It made me want to read my cards to see what was in my probable future. Then I remembered my cards were back home, with the rest of my stuff Ruby didn’t grab for me.
“So where are we headed next?” I asked between bites.
“We’re on our way to Orlando, for three nights of shows and two extra nights of rest,” Grady answered.
“Wow five nights in the same place, that will be interesting. When did we leave Raleigh?” I wondered aloud.
“Not until five this morning when Ruby and the other guys got back,” Grady answered. “We should be there no later than two this afternoon.”
After we finished eating breakfast, I decided to download another book to keep me occupied. I found one about a half demon who was kidnapped as a child, then rescued only to have to keep watch to avoid from being kidnapped again. Her uncle sent her to be protected by a group of protectors. I was hoping it was a bunch of hunky men that she falls in love with. Hey! A girl’s gotta have her fantasies, I thought to myself.
I lounged back and read about Mercy and her protectors. A few hours later Elias popped in, “Lunch time.” I about jumped out of my skin. One minute I felt like I was in a nightclub standing off against demons, and the next I was back on a bus.
Elias made BLTs for lunch. While we sat and ate I decided to ask my questions, “So you all know what Ruby and I each are, how about you guys? Any paranormal, just human?” I asked. I was really curious about Grady’s response since witches on average lived at least twice a normal human's lifespan.
“I’m a wolf shifter,” Elias proudly said. “And before you ask, no we'lln’t ruled by the moon. I just get antsy if I don’t change for a long time.”
Liam looked up a bit shyly, “I’m just a measly human among supernaturals.”
“I’m a witch. I figured Ruby already mentioned what we were since she told us about you being a witch, or I would’ve said something already,” Grady said with a sheepish grin.
It excited me to learn Grady was a witch as well, and I was glad to know what the assortment was on the bus. It was really an assortment of people. It was nice knowing what background everyone came from.
The guys decided to put in a movie after lunch so I headed back to the bedroom to go through my spell supplies. I hoped I didn’t need any of them, but wanted to be prepared. I put together a few common spells just in case they were needed. I made a couple for healing, some self defense to carry, a vampire bite antidote since we had a human on the bus with two vampires. I decided I would go ahead and give it to him just in case.
“Hey, Liam, you got a sec?” I yelled to the front of the bus.
“Do you need something?” He asked, after he stuck his head in the door to my room.
“Um, I just wanted to give you this vampire bite antidote. Not saying anyone would bite you, but if you did get bit and didn’t want to be like Felix this would keep you from changing…” I said awkwardly.
“That is nice of you, thank you,” he blushed, “People don’t think about me that often. I’m just the human at the back.” Then he walked off.
I wasn’t sure if I embarrassed him or put him on the spot so I decided to leave it. It was after one o’clock so I knew we were getting close to Orlando and I was getting excited. There was enough money in my account to go to Disney and Universal Studios and I really wanted to see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I wanted to save that for a full day since we were spending the next five nights here.
I went back out to the sitting room to see what everyone was doing. Grady looked up from his Kindle when I came into the room and smiled. “Want to go on an adventure into an upside down house today?”
“Um sure?” I said, a bit confused.
“Good. I'm dragging these two along as well,” Grady smiled.
“What is so adventurous about an upside down house?’ I asked.
“It’s a surprise,”Grady replied, and all three of us groaned. I had a hard time with surprises because I had control issues. My goal was to stay quiet and just wait and see what was going to happen. We pulled up in front of a hotel in Orlando and at first I was more excited to sleep in a bed and take a long bath.
“Are we really getting to stay in the hotel? Not that I‘ll get to sleep there, but a bathtub?” I squealed.
“Yup, no sense being stuck on a bus for five nights when we'lln’t moving,” Elias answered.
I ran back and packed a bag for me and one for Ruby, figuring if she doesn’t like what I packed she can run back to the bus a
nd get it tonight when she’s in control. And people wonder why I have control issues, I thought. I finished packing stuff up and headed to the hotel behind the guys. I got my keycard and we were off. I opened my door to a massive king sized bed, huge bathroom with a separate walk in shower and jetted tub. I wasn’t sure that I wanted to leave the hotel and go to an upside down house with the promise of a hot soak. I decided it was best to go since I agreed. I could make them stop at a Lush for some bath bombs to make it even better.
There was a knock at my door. I grabbed my phone and card and slipped them in my pocket. Grady stood on the other side of the door, and as soon as I opened it he grabbed me up in a hug and kissed me. “I’ve been waiting all day for a chance to do that,” he told me.
“Why did you wait all day?” I asked, really curious.
“Well you woke up next to Felix and were so embarrassed when Elias knocked on the window, I was trying not to make that worse for you,” he admitted.
I leaned back in to kiss him for just how sweet he was. I longed to kiss him again, ever since the night before, but was too nervous to initiate it myself. He pulled away before I was ready, with a chuckle, “The other guys are waiting downstairs, come on this will be fun.”
“Do you think we can stop at Lush for some bath bombs after?” I said smiling at him.
“Of course, sweetheart,” he replied.
We made it downstairs and got in the car to head to Grady’s upside down house. When we pulled up, damned if it was literally upside down. We walked inside and it was really awesome. There were so many things to do. We spent the day interacting with the exhibits. There was a bed of nails to lay on, and a theater roller coaster simulator. There were too many things to name. The rope course was Grady’s favorite. I decided the roller coaster simulator was mine. We ended our time there with laser tag.
We were all laughs and smiles when we left the attraction. When we got outside, I got a strange tingling up my back, like I was being watched. I looked around to find the source but I couldn’t find anyone. I tried to shake it off, but my mom always taught me to trust my intuition.
“What’s wrong?” Grady asks, as he grabs my hand.
“I felt like someone was watching me, but I don’t see anyone. My gut is still saying something isn’t right,” I said.
“Maybe it’s someone who knows Mz Hyde,” Elias said. “We’re on a national tour for a reason, Jade.”
“Yeah maybe. Time for Lush?” I asked to change the subject. Elias and Liam groaned. “Whoops, did we forget to tell you about the detour on the way back? I already know what I want so it won't take too long boys.”
Grady just laughed while they looked very uncomfortable in the backseat. I ran into Lush to get my bath bombs while the guys waited in the car. For good measure grabbed a few for Ruby as well.
We made it back to the hotel in time for me to write Ruby a note and get laid down and that was about it. I explained that I brought in clothes and the rest were in the bus in case she didn’t want what I grabbed. Also that I grabbed bath bombs for her as well to use in the nice soaking tub in the suite.
Chapter 4
I woke up on the softest bed I have ever felt. Not sure if I actually wanted to get up or not, I rolled over. Then I heard a knock at the door. Looking down I did a quick check to make sure I was dressed. Thankfully I was wearing my pajamas. Ruby must have thought I would stay in bed. There was a note on the nightstand, but it would have to wait until I answered the door. I looked out the peephole and it was Grady with two coffees. I let him in and told him just a minute and ran into the bathroom to get ready. I pulled my hair into a bun, changed my clothes and brushed my teeth really fast while he was waiting. I came out of the bathroom with a huge smile on my face. This was a nice wake up call.
“I thought you’d like some coffee, and wanted to see if you’d like to go to an amusement park today?” Grady said, as he swept me into a hug.
“That’s a great idea, I just need to see what Ruby has to say, then we can go,” I replied, before kissing him.
After a nice heavy make out session Grady pulled back. “Although this is super fun and I wouldn’t mind staying here, I figured if we'll going out we’d want to make the most of the day.”
I groaned, but agreed with him. I grabbed my coffee and sat down to read Ruby’s letter.
Jade,
What’s up bitch?!? Thanks for the bath bombs, wish I could say I would’ve done the same for you, but we both know I wouldn’t have. I hear you and Grady have hit it off, are you fucking yet? I know you’re fuddy duddy so I trust you to hang out with my guys, but hands off or I’ll make you regret it. Oh, when we were at the club last night it felt like someone was staring at me and it wasn’t friendly. Watch our back today.
XOXO
I sighed, not sure why all of the sudden she wanted to start communicating, it was like pulling teeth back home. I could only pin it down to she’s worried I would move in on her guys, but I only had eyes for Grady. It did worry me she experienced the same sensation of being watched I had. I decided I’d do a quick protection spell before we left just to feel better.
“Which park are we going to?” I asked Grady.
“A little bird told me you loved Harry Potter, so I figured we could start there and explore the rest of Universal if we’ve time,” He said.
I squealed, a bad habit I know, then jumped in his arms and gave him a long deep kiss. I finally broke away, “What are we waiting for? There’s a whole world to discover today!”
Grady laughed, “This will be our first official date, if you’ll agree to be my date that is.”
“Wha, um I’d love too,” I managed to spit out tongue tied. The flutters were so strong I could hardly think clearly. I was so excited he wanted to date me. Me the boring Jade, not the exciting Ruby. He also took the time to find out where I’d love to go. I was hooked, line and sinker. I had fallen, but not ready to tell him how far.
We arrived at the amusement park and I was so excited. We got the passes that allowed us to take the Hogwarts train back and forth. We got to experience every aspect of the world, I loved every moment of it. We spent all day at the park, going through the shops and riding the rides. Although I ended up spending more money than I had expected, I left with a lot of Ravenclaw gear. That’s the house that pottermore put me in. I was disappointed that I wouldn’t be able to see the nighttime light show, but it was never something that could happen in my life. It made me wonder if there was a spell I could ever make to allow me one night to see what it would be like, but that wouldn’t be fair to Ruby.
We got back to the hotel room with enough time for me to soak in the tub. I watched the bath bomb fizz and settled in to relax. I hoped Ruby wouldn’t mind waking up in the tub because I stayed until sunset.
Awareness surrounded me and I was in pain. My skin was on fire. Damn, I didn’t realize it yesterday, but I got burned in the sun. Looks like a day of aloe and a cold shower. I got up and took my cold shower, that still stung, then called down to the lobby to see if they sold aloe at the hotel. Luck was on my side, and room service said they’d deliver the aloe to my room.
My hotel phone rang, “Hello? Hello.” All I heard was deep breathing so I hung up. That was creepy. The phone rang again. “Hello!” I said a bit more forcefully, since I thought it was the deep breather again.
“Hello to you too beautiful. I’m red as a tomato so I think I’m going to stay in today, but if you want to explore, you can come get the keys from me,” Grady said.
“We really should’ve exchanged numbers by now, sorry for snapping when I answered. I had a really creepy call a minute ago,” I explained. “I’m burned too. I just ordered a bottle of aloe from room service and even forgot to order coffee.”
“Well, would you mind company for breakfast? I’ll rub you down with aloe if you rub me down?” Grady offered.
“Sounds good to me. I’ll order breakfast and you can come to my room?” I suggested.
“I’ll be there in a few.” Grady hung up.
Well that’s one way to end a call I thought. Short and sweet and no goodbyes. I picked up the phone again to order room service, this time coffee and breakfast for the both of us. I’d forgotten to ask him what he wanted to eat, so I just ordered a variety of things so we could both pick and choose what we each wanted. After I hung up I hurried and got dressed in a loose purple spaghetti strap summer dress. Then I got out my supplies for my spell so I could help the aloe heal our burns faster.
I heard a knock at the door, it was Grady, the poor man was red as a lobster. Thankfully room service was not far behind him.
I asked Grady, “Food or aloe first?”
Grady replied, “Aloe please!”
I smiled at him as I grabbed the aloe to mix with my spell mixture. Once it was mixed I started with his poor bald head. I knew he’d get instant lasting relief because of the spell. He sighed as I worked my way down his neck and arms where he was reddest. Then I rubbed his legs down and it was my turn.
Grady started at the back of my neck and lightly rubbed the aloe in, it was soothing and sensual at the same time. Every where he touched he took the pain away and left a tingle of desire in its place. Too quickly, it was over.
We chatted while we ate our breakfast and drank our coffee.
“Even though my skin feels better, I’m not tempting the Florida sun to burn me to a crisp. I’m staying in today. How about you?” Grady asked.
“Same. I’m just glad I could help the aloe along so we wouldn’t be healing for days.” I answered. “You want to watch a movie or something? I see they have a nice selection of pay per view.”
“Sure, then I think I'm going to hit the gym downstairs. Now that the pain is gone it would be a good time to catch up,” Grady replied.
We sat on the couch and looked through the pay per view list and tried to find something we’d both like. We ended up watching The Avengers. Well we watched part of it, in between some steamy make out sessions. I wasn’t quite ready to freely give myself, but the sexual tension was torturous.