by C. R. Jane
"I won't stop being bothered by it until you are my wife, my love. I fear your father is going to marry you off one day to one of these ambassadors you worry so little about," he teased, tapping me on the nose.
"It will never happen," I responded fervently. "We're not only a love match, but we have been fated by the Gods. Not even my father can argue with that. We just need to wait a bit longer, my birthday will be here soon."
Beckham looked down at me intently, seeming to be memorizing my promise.
"Forgive me for worrying my angel. Shall we go for the walk I promised you?" Beckham asked sweetly.
I gave him a peck on the lips and took his hand. As we began to walk I looked behind me, feeling like I had forgotten something. When I looked back, I noticed that a small portion of the roses just past where I had been standing seemed to have withered, something I had never seen in our land. I made a note to tell mother about it.
I jerked forward, stepping away from Beckham's touch, blindsided by the image I had just seen. Now was not the time for me to be daydreaming, although it had seemed more than that. Like what I had experienced before the show when I had fainted, and what I had just experienced while I had been on the dance floor with Mason and Beckham, the images I had just seen seemed more like a memory than anything else. I was confident though that I had never been to wherever I was in my dream, and I certainly had never met Beckham before today. Curious.
"Everything all right, Eva?" asked Beckham, sounding concerned at the abrupt way I had pulled away from him.
"Yes, sorry, I thought I felt something on my leg," I said lamely.
I still did not want to look at him. I felt overwhelmed at what I had just seen, and the feelings it had brought to the surface. In whatever I had been seeing, Beckham had been mine, as familiar to me as one could ever be. I touched my lips, almost surprised that they weren't swollen from the kiss he had given me. My cheeks flushed involuntarily.
"Eva," Beckham said softly, stepping beside me so that he was in my line of sight. "Why do I feel like I have known you my whole existence? Tell me you feel this…this whatever it is between us. I feel like you've returned to me, although I don't know where you went. I…"
Whatever he had been about to say was stopped by a voice calling out my name. Mason was walking towards us from the mansion, strands of his long hair whipping in the breeze, his shirt sticking to his chest, outlining his perfect pecs and six pack. He had taken off his suit. I knew that he hated being dressed up, he had complained enough in the limo about the "monkey suit" he was wearing. He was looking delicious in a fitted white v-neck tee and black jeans.
I looked back at Beckham, so beautiful in his own right. More silver than gold under the light of the moon, he was still wearing the slim fitted grey suit he had worn to the show. Both would inspire any woman to immediate devotion. My heart fluttered in my chest. I really was falling for both of them. And then there was Damon…
"You two okay?" Mason asked, looking between Beckham and myself. "Vanessa is looking for you Beck, she seems in a mood so I would approach cautiously," he joked.
Beckham gave a small grin.
"Yes, I should be getting back to the party. You are going to stay at my place tonight right? I know you don't want to drive all the way back to your place tonight since it's already so late."
"I had rented a hotel room right near the show, but I guess I wasn't thinking about how far away the after-parties would be," Mason answered sheepishly. "I guess it makes sense to go to your place."
"Good," answered Beckham, pleased. "Let's leave soon, these people are exhausting," he said, walking backwards back towards the party, looking somewhat longingly at me before turning away.
Mason was quiet, staring out at the black waves, deep in thought.
"Beckham's been one of my best friends since almost before I can remember existing," he said quietly, still not looking at me. "I would give him almost anything. But if he wants you, I'm not going down without a fight."
He finally turned to look at me, a question in his eyes. I didn't say anything. Instead I took his hand and kissed it softly, laying his palm against my cheek and savoring its warmth. Mason dropped the subject and pulled me into his arms. We stood there quietly for several minutes, both staring out into the water, each lost in our thoughts.
Chapter 5
(Beckham)
My stomach was in knots. More of the strange images featuring Eva had floated through my head throughout the night. I was old enough, had experienced enough, not to believe in coincidences anymore. I knew these images meant something, that they possibly could be real memories, I just didn't know when they were coming from. Unlike Mason and Damon, I didn't know what I was, only that I seemed to be immortal since I had been hanging out with them for a few hundred years now. The only power I had seemed to exhibit was one of persuasion. It differed from person to person, but for the most part I could convince anyone to do anything I wanted. It even worked on Mason and Damon, although I had made a vow to never use it on them after they had been furious at me after I made them pretend to be chickens once in front of some beautiful nymphs.
I tried to search my memory for any point in time that seemed to be missing, but there didn't seem to be any gaping moments absent that I could find. I knew I could never voluntarily forget someone like Eva so there had to be something more at play. She already felt indispensable to me, like she was a part of my body that I could not live without. I sighed as I walked up the back deck stairs, up to the party. My head ached…and so did my heart. Of course Mason and I would fall in love for the first time in our existence, and it would be with the same woman. We usually didn't even have the same tastes in women. I had never contemplated this being an actual problem. I felt guilty. I already knew that Eva would be worth throwing away eons of friendship to have her, but I hoped that wouldn't be the price.
Vanessa was waiting for me by the back entrance into the party.
"Where were you?" she asked. "I've been looking for you everywhere."
I sighed and pulled a hand through my hair. "Just taking a breather from the party," I answered with what I hoped looked like a nonchalant shrug. "You know how I am about these things."
She nodded. She did know. I had been taking her to these events off and on for at least three years, and she knew I never enjoyed myself. Vanessa looked past me, out to the water. I knew she would see Mason and Eva still out there. She frowned when she did.
"Beckham…you had said you wanted to have a talk with me tonight about us," she said slowly.
I let out a sigh. I had wanted to avoid this conversation. I'm just glad we hadn't had the original talk I had planned at the beginning of the night, before I had met Eva, because then this would have been even worse. "Vanessa…I care about you…" I began.
"Stop, Beckham," she said softly, tears gathering in her eyes. "You were actually going to give us a chance weren't you? But then you met her."
I didn't know what to say, and my silence must have said enough. She put a hand on my face, seeming to be memorizing it. "Vanessa, I still value our friendship immensely. I don't want to lose that." I said meaningfully.
"Beckham. I can't be friends with you anymore, at least not for a long time. It hurts too much. I've been living for the moments I've been able to see you for the last three years. I haven't dated. I haven't even been able to look at another man. Please just do this for me. If you can't love me, please just leave me alone. But I should warn you…a girl like Eva is going to break your heart."
I stared down at her and finally pulled her into a hug, brushing her forehead with my lips. Vanessa had been there for me for all the craziness of my career and had been a good friend. But Eva…I knew with my whole heart that she would eventually become my everything. I would lose everything at the chance to be with her if I had to.
; Vanessa stood on her tippy-toes and kissed me on the side of the mouth before turning to leave. Knowing what I needed to do, I pulled Vanessa to me so that she was facing me, and looked in her eyes.
"Vanessa. You are no longer going to have romantic feelings for me, and from this moment on I will not even be a thought to you. You will forget that we were ever friends. You will return to your home and feel at peace."
I didn't want to add the part about forgetting we were ever friends, but I felt that it was safer than running the risk she would continue to want to hang out with me and would fall back in love with me. I watched as Vanessa's pupils dilated.
She looked confused for a moment before shaking her head and looking up at me with confusion.
"Sorry, I must be a little bit drunker than I thought. Hope I didn't bump into you too hard," she said.
"No problem, it's a crowded room in here."
She looked at me for another moment before smiling and saying "Bye!" in a friendly voice. I watched her walk away, a little bit of sadness welling up inside of me at losing such a good friend.
Mason and Eva had just walked up the stairs after Vanessa left. "Ready to go?" I asked them. Mason looked a little upset and Eva looked pensive.
"Let's go," answered Mason gruffly.
We went to find Tommy to say goodbye. He whispered something in Eva's ear that made her blush before Mason pulled her away from him, giving Tommy a clap on the back before walking away. I saluted Tommy and turned to walk away as well.
"Beckham," said Tommy, calling after me.
I turned to look at him in question.
"She's not a girl you let slip away," he said.
For someone who seemed drunk ninety-nine percent of the time, I couldn't deny that he knew what he was talking about. I nodded my head and headed out after Mason and Eva to where the limo waited for us.
Chapter 6
(Eva)
Beckham's house was exactly what I would have picked for myself…you know, if I had millions of dollars at my disposal. His home looked like it belonged more in the Hamptons than Malibu. Beckham called it a "beach cottage" but it was almost 7,000 square feet. It was made out of white stone and dark brown wood beams, and it had a huge lap pool with an accompanying pool house. It took up a few acres of the beach, giving Beckham the privacy he wanted when he wasn't on location. Everything was white inside with light grey ash wood floors.
I stared around in amazement. Every place I went to in my strange new world was better than the one before. There was a moment of awkwardness when Beckham asked where I was sleeping. Mason looked at me with hopeful eyes, but I just couldn't stay the night with him, especially in Beckham's home. My skin felt electrified from the continual touching both had done all throughout the night. I had gone from unwanted touches from Mr. Anderson that disgusted me, to having three men that lit my soul on fire touch me constantly.
I felt overwhelmed after the visions that I kept seeing, or whatever they were, and needed some time alone to go over everything. Mason looked disappointed but gave me a sweet kiss before letting Beckham show me to a guest bedroom.
The bedroom that Beckham brought me to looked like something out of every girl's fantasy. There was a giant gold mirrored headboard on a king size bed, covered by a lacey white duvet cover.
"This doesn't look like a man's room," I laughed as Beckham showed me around.
He flushed.
"My designer made a few bedrooms that would appeal to a more feminine taste," he explained.
There was a giant window seat with a fluffy white cushion and gold pillows that looked out towards the ocean. There were black and white cursive quotes in gold and black frames all around the room. My favorite one was a quote from Helen Keller that read "Life is a daring adventure or nothing at all." The room was utter perfection.
He showed me an ensuite bathroom with a large separate tub and another fancy shower that had so many knobs, I wouldn't know what to do with it. I oohed and ahhed at everything he showed me until we were done with the tour, and Beckham was hovering by the door.
"Thank you for letting us stay here," I said awkwardly. "Your home is perfect in every way."
Beckham glowed, as if I had given him a huge compliment.
"Can I get a good night hug?" he asked charmingly. His hair was ruffled, and his eyes looked tired, but he still looked so, so sexy. I stepped into his embrace, basking in his scent of pine and musk, a scent that seemed so familiar to me like everything else about Beckham. I felt him kiss the top of my head and take a deep breath, as if he was absorbing my scent as well. I pulled away, afraid that I would have another one of those strange visions, and smiled at him. He stared at me for a second before slipping out the entryway and shutting the heavy wooden door behind him. I took a deep breath, and let out a sigh. Having the attention of these men was so overwhelming.
Beckham had a drawer that was filled with various products that fit the potential needs of any woman. I examined the various bottles and tins looking for anything that seemed familiar. After washing my makeup off with some face soap I had found, I changed into the pair of boxers and an oversized shirt Mason had lent me to sleep in. I crawled into the large bed and sighed. It was the most amazing bed I had ever encountered. My dorm bed was obviously a huge step up from the army cot the Andersons had me sleeping on for years, but this bed was the most comfortable thing I had ever experienced. Feeling like I was sleeping on a cloud, combined with the excitement of the day and night, I drifted off to sleep almost immediately. As soon as I closed my eyes I dreamed.
I was over the moon after my afternoon with Beckham. He was the sweetest, most wonderful man in the whole world, and I couldn't wait to start my life with him. I ran into the Queen's suite where a servant had said my mother was, so I could tell her all about it. I felt the change in the air as soon as I stepped through the entryway.
The mood was somber, and everyone was uncharacteristically whispering. One thing about my mother was that she exuded vitality. She was the life of every party, every room, every conversation. People loved my mother, Queen Eibhleann, and for good reason. She was beautiful, with golden hair and porcelain skin. She had the same amethyst colored eyes as the queens in our line always did. Everyone said that I looked just like her, but I didn't think so. To me, mother was the loveliest, most perfect being that ever existed, and I was so glad that we lived forever so that I would never lose her. I walked back to my parent's chambers, wondering why everyone was acting so strange.
My mother's chambers were all white with accents of lavender and gold that closely resembled her features. My mother was laying in my parent's enormous bed, her hand strewn across her eyes, a wet silk cloth across her forehead.
"Mother?" I asked inquiringly before crawling into the bed to lay close to her.
My parents had waited a few thousand years to have me as my mother had struggled to conceive as all our people had as of late. We had always had a close bond, and she never let me forget that I had been a priceless gift from the Gods. She moved her head to look at me, her beautiful eyes looking tired and dull.
"Hello my love," she said.
"Are you all right? It isn't like you to be in bed so early in the afternoon," I asked.
"I've been feeling weak the past few weeks. It's nothing to worry about. I'm sure I will feel better with a little rest. There has been much to deal with in the kingdom as of late," she told me.
"Can I help with anything?" I asked.
Mother was very firm that I be brought into the kingdom's affairs slowly. Her mother had passed away suddenly and mother always talked about how she would never forget how stressful and terrible it was to have so much responsibility and power at such a young age. Although I had heard whispers from others in the court about the power I was already displaying, one that rivaled my mother'
s already, she had allowed my progression as a ruler to evolve naturally. I was tutored and listened in on certain meetings, but I was still allowed a lot more freedom than father felt I should have. But he never won any conversations about me. The power in the land was with the queen, and no queen had ever been as powerful as my mother.
"No my sweet," she replied. "I will let you know if the time comes when I need you to take on more responsibility. Now enough about that, I can tell you have been with Beckham because you are absolutely radiant. Tell me all about it."
Mother loved hearing about Beckham and I since she wasn't living her own love story. Mother and father had not been a fated match, and though they seemed to get along well, I could always feel an air of unhappiness around her when when her marriage was brought up. My father, King Gealtaire, had been the son of a regent in the summer realm, one of the powerful provinces to the east. When my grandmother passed so suddenly, the kingdom had been in an upheaval as my mother was still so young. Mother's advisors had begged her to agree to marry someone who would strengthen her reign. Mother had agreed for the sake of the kingdom. Father was older than her, and provided an air of stability to her image. Although she seemed to have made the best of their union as she and my father had managed to be married peacefully for thousands of years, I wondered if she ever regretted it. I couldn't imagine not being with Beckham. I shook my head at my thoughts and eagerly went into the events of the afternoon, pushing the worry aside for now. We lived forever. That wasn't going to change now. Everything would be fine.
I awoke the next morning still wrapped in the sensation of the love that I had felt radiating from the beautiful woman in my dream. I laid in bed for awhile, staring out the window at the waves crashing against the shore, going over all of the dreams I had been having lately, and the…visions. Vision seemed to be the only word that could describe what I had seen yesterday around Beckham.