The Airel Saga Box Set: Young Adult Paranormal Romance

by Aaron Patterson

  James glanced at me and smiled, but didn’t say anything. Michael slid into the booth and looked at Kim, who then joined me and pushed me in toward the window. I guessed they were joining us. Not like I was having a bad day or anything. Then again, seriously, not like I minded. I just wish I would have known. I was glad for that stick of gum, though. I tried not to chomp it too hard.

  “Mind if we join you guys?” Michael asked, looking at me. Now that you’re already seated. I smiled.

  Kim answered, “Oh, we’d love for you to join us. We just got our food, and … well, I’m sure they can get you a menu.” Kim couldn’t wipe that repellent obsequious smile off her face, and James looked as uncomfortable as I was.

  So now we’re sitting. Greeeaaaat. James and I were trading glances like caged animals. Kim and Michael chatted it up like they were doing a TV interview. My heart was beating faster than I thought possible, and I tried not to think about the only guy in the world who could totally wreck me and who now sat a few feet from me. I could see his eyes sparkle as he talked. I was fascinated by the way he held his coffee mug. Every movement he made was lithe and flawless, like he was a billionaire’s son who spent hours being trained how to hold and drink coffee in the most perfect way. There was certainly something very fine about Michael Alexander. I had to look away and try not to breathe hard. Looking at him was like drinking from some forbidden pool, and I could not get enough, ever.

  “So, Airel.” He said my name. I tried to appear calm and smile, but I felt clumsy. “What are you and Kim up to today?” He gazed into my eyes. It was so weird how familiar he felt to me.

  Don’t just sit there—answer him. I cleared my throat. “We’re going to the mall, and then we thought we might go see a movie.” I was amazed. I talked like a normal girl—no hint of a stutter, no cracking voice. I sounded calm and collected. Yay. “What about you guys? What brings you to our favorite café?”

  “Well, James here offered to show me around. My dad and his dad know each other from high school. I used to play with this guy when we were like, four.” He smiled at James, who finally appeared to be loosening up.

  “Yeah,” James said, “we even got my sister to eat mud one time after we convinced her it was chocolate.” He smacked the table as he laughed, making the forks and knives clink a little. I looked at him, trying to see him from Kim’s point of view. He was shorter than Michael, with dark wavy hair. He would glance at Kim every now and then to see if she was still staring at him. She was, and she was resting her chin in her hands while she did it.

  Kim wasn’t shy. She wasn’t subtle, sensitive, or secretive. She didn’t play the kind of games insecure girls played—no, she played games on her terms, and for fun. She liked James, she wouldn’t hide it, and she wouldn’t apologize for it. “You should so come with us,” she said. “We could use your opinions as guys. It’ll be fun. We’ll show you around.”

  Kim’s big fat mouth. I could have killed her. I wasn’t just terrified—I was something worse than that. I prayed fervently that they would decline her offer. “What happened to girl time?” I muttered to her out of the side of my mouth, but she didn’t hear me. I hoped against hope I would luck out in the end, because what guys wanted to hang out with a couple of girls going shopping?

  Michael smiled and looked at James. I was relieved to see on James’ face a hint of the same horror I was feeling. Michael took a sip from his glass and grinned crookedly. I began to melt, but forced myself to recover quickly.

  “That could be cool,” Michael said. “We wouldn’t mind—right, James?” He elbowed his quarterback friend. “James here isn’t much for conversation, and he’s even worse when it comes to driving. I think it would be nice to hang out with somebody interesting for a change.” James half smiled and looked over his shoulder for the escape hatch.

  I hear ya, buddy. I’m looking for it too. I could stand it no longer. I had to interject. “That is,” I said a little too eagerly, “unless you already have plans. Ya know, like, I don’t know, playing … catch, or … something.” I trailed off, yet again.

  Michael Alexander, brutally handsome, answered my plea with a rejection. “No plans.”

  “Cool,” said Kim, sealing my fate for the day.

  CHAPTER VI

  WE PULLED INTO THE mall parking lot, cruising for a parking space. I hated walking half a mile just to get to the doors. Michael and James followed us, and I saw his big white Chevy disappear from my rearview mirror. I figured Michael had pitched it into the first open spot or even took up like four spaces way out in the middle of nowhere just so his baby wouldn’t get dented or whatever. Typical guy.

  “I can’t believe you just invited them like that. And you think it’s funny. Sure, laugh it up,” I said through gritted teeth.

  “Airel, they’re like the hottest guys in school. Come on, lighten up.”

  I really wanted to harm her right there because I hated being told to lighten up, but I knew I had to drop it or the teasing would only get worse. Soon enough, she’d start in on how short I was, so I changed the subject and brought up James. That worked well. She began talking without breathing. James, James, James.

  They had built the Boise Towne Square Mall in stages over the last twenty years, with the last renovation finishing up not too long ago. It had a much cooler entryway than before—new towers, skylights, and all the old-looking wooden handrails had been replaced by sleek metal and glass. Along with those changes had come some very cool and trendy new stores. Now it felt like we had a real mall, one that had finally entered the present.

  By the time we found our space and parked, the guys had walked up to my car. Kim was rattling on and on about James’ enormous sculpted arms. Michael opened my door for me, scaring me nearly half to death. The poor guy was just trying to be a gentleman, but in my fright I nearly blasted him with the pepper spray keychain my dad forced me to carry around.

  Kim was in full-on flirt mode now, talking at—not with—James.

  Michael was making me nervous, walking by my side as we headed toward the front entrance. James and Kim lagged behind a few feet. We went to the bookstore—my favorite place. I loved to sit there by the window, sipping my coconut latte and reading a good book. I preferred a good thriller and sometimes liked to defer my homework and take a weeknight every once in a while just to be by myself.

  “So, how long have you lived here?” Michael looked at me with those eyes.

  I kept my composure for once and decided that I should make the best of the situation. What choice did I have, anyway? Kim had sabotaged our day. Michael, apparently clueless to her wily ways, was agreeable to the conspiracy against me.

  So I dove in. “I pretty much grew up here. I guess I like it, but I haven’t really lived anywhere else, so how should I know, right?” I pulled on a strand of my hair as I talked. I was very aware that I was doing it and that I only did it when I was nervous. I hated knowing my own habits while being unable to stop them.

  “Cool,” he replied. “I’m the opposite. We move around a lot. My dad’s job takes him all over the country.” He looked at me again and said, “I hope we stay here for a while.” Michael was smooth; he didn’t seem uncomfortable or out of his element at all.

  The thought of him not living in Boise, possibly moving away someday, sent a shock through me. Why should I care? I only just met the guy, and ever since, he’s made me sick—literally. I wondered if this was how love felt when it was real. I wondered if it was always this disruptive and uncomfortable while also being, at the same time, the manifestation of everything I never knew I’d always wanted. If so, then love was impossible. And what business do I have even considering these things?

  I tried to come back down to reality. “What does your dad do?”

  “He’s a private investigator. He handles high-profile cases for some major clients, so he’s out of town a lot. You remember the kidnapping last year? The Smithsons?”

  “Yeah.”

  “They had a
six-year-old daughter who was taken.”

  I shivered. “That would suck.”

  “He found her after the feds had completely given up.”

  “Whoa—that must be kind of cool, in some ways. And bad too, I guess.” I was doing better than when we’d first met, but I still didn’t sound like myself around him. “I think I remember seeing a little about that story on the news.”

  “I guess that makes me famous, huh?”

  I scoffed. “How? Because your dad’s some big shot? I don’t think so.”

  He smiled. “Ouch. I guess you’re right, Airel.”

  I had to remember to breathe when he said my name. “Okay,” I said, clearing my throat, not knowing what else to say. That was the kind of thing I would have trouble getting used to; I had never had feelings this intense for anyone. I distracted myself with more small talk. “So tell me more about your family.”

  I found out his mother had died of cancer, though he was vague on that and I didn’t want to probe on such an awkward issue. But his dad had never remarried and he and Michael were their own little family unit, though his dad, like mine, wasn’t home a whole lot, especially now that Michael was in high school.

  “I’ve lived in Oklahoma, California, Texas, New York, and Chicago, and that’s the short list,” he said. “So far, Boise is the nicest town I’ve ever lived in. The streets are clean, and the buildings are all new. When we were in Oklahoma City, it was like a dump. Dirty rivers, graffiti—and everyone honks at you for no reason when they drive. Chicago’s okay, I guess, but it’s downright filthy, and then there are all the gangs and the crime. You can’t drive down some of those streets—it’s just not safe.” He looked at me again, and I could see the sincerity in his eyes. It was clear that he had seen things that most people in my little town hadn’t seen or even dreamed of. “Everything here in the west is much different, much better.” His eyes lit up as he talked.

  I thought he might have become pretty skilled at forging new friendships because of how he moved around so much, but I also wondered if he’d ever had a deep friendship like I enjoyed with Kim. I thought probably not. Different schools, different places, houses, and cities—being forced to adapt to all of it in stride—I wondered what sort of guy he was underneath it all.

  But I didn’t want to unintentionally trigger another awkward discussion on cancer, so I shut up and just walked with him at my side. That in itself was beyond words. I could feel him there, right next to me, and it was new and different and exciting, and a little dangerous too. Because there are no guarantees. I wanted to tell him everything about myself in that moment, tell him why I had learned to be cautious and guarded and skeptical with people. I wasn’t sure where that impulse toward transparency had come from, so I clamped my lips and did what I was so good at doing: keeping the things that mattered most bottled up inside. I think that was what alarmed me most about Michael Alexander—that I had reacted to him like I had in the first place. I wasn’t supposed to be rattled by guys, cute or not. But he was changing everything.

  We walked aimlessly around the mall, and I went into American Eagle because I liked some of the tops they had on display. Kim dragged James into Vanity after that, so Michael and I were on our own. He was holding up T-shirts and saying, “Airel, this one’s cool” or “Airel, check this one out,” but after a while, all I heard was him saying my name. “Airel ... Airel.”

  My head was swimming. Every time he said my name, I shivered a little. Before I knew it, I was smiling, laughing, and joking with him, completely comfortable. He made me feel like I was the only person in the world.

  We ditched Kim and James. I texted her that we were hungry, and after I got no reply for almost an hour, Michael and I made our way to the food court. I had a craving for orange chicken. Michael instead got in line for a Philly a couple of counters over. I liked that he didn’t just get what I got to be polite or act like we had so much in common.

  As I made my way to meet up with him at an empty table, I was practically guzzling my Dr. Pepper, surprised at how thirsty I was. He joined me and I looked at his lunch. I could tell he’d gotten orange soda to drink. “Orange soda?” I said.

  “Yeah, what’s wrong with that?” he asked as we took our seats.

  “Who still drinks that in high school? What are you, nine?”

  He looked intently at me and said, “Airel, you are the strangest girl I’ve ever met.”

  I froze, because the moment was pretty serious. But I had to break the tension somehow. So I looked him in the eyes, leaned forward, and said, “You haven’t seen anything yet, mister.”

  He laughed, which settled down comfortably into a smile that had become to me a little like my favorite part of my favorite book. He’s flirting with me. I liked that. He was funny and he could hold his own in a conversation with me, and that wasn’t easy to do. Most boys my age couldn’t talk about anything but their high score on a war game, some mindless TV show, or their car.

  When Michael laughed, it was wonderful. It rang out like music across the room. The strong line of his jaw suggested the strength of the man he was becoming, but his eyes flashed with vulnerability and tenderness. It was a disarming combination. I started to giggle, but then he looked at me again—really saw me—and I had a revelation. In his gaze was his whole identity; all of him, there for me to see. That was it. It was a kind of mutual acknowledgement and realization of who we both were as individuals, a meaningful and mystical wordless communion. He did not waver, didn’t blink. He just held my gaze and locked me in. If I’d wanted to look away, I couldn’t have. His blue eyes were like the clean clearness of sky at dawn after a terrible storm.

  “Yeah,” he said, “you’re not like other girls I’ve known. You’re sure of yourself and confident about what you want, but … even so … I think you have absolutely no idea how beautiful you are.”

  If anyone else in the world would have said that to me, I would have pulled a Kim and laughed in their face, and then barfed all over them. Which, as it happens, is more likely than not these days. But when Michael said it, when it was so plain and sincere in his eyes that he believed every bit of it, I had no choice but to submit to the fact that it was truth. He thought I was beautiful.

  CHAPTER VII

  OKAY. I WAS IMPRESSED. Or maybe I was weirded out that Michael spent over four hours shopping with me on the fleeting chance that we might go see a movie together at the end of the day. That was date stuff, not casual friend stuff. There was a big difference.

  Kim and James were off somewhere on their own together and I was sure James was going to kill Michael later for leaving him alone with her. And if Michael was just putting on a face to make me think he was having a good time, he was doing a great job of it.

  I got a text from Kim saying that they were ready to go, and if I was up to it, James wanted to see a movie. Shocker. He’s having fun. One thing I knew about Kim: if people spent enough time around her, they ended up liking her. Poor James was getting an overdose, though, so after today he’d be a hopeless case.

  We met up with the others and walked out of the mall into the bronze light of the late-afternoon sun. It was shaping up to be a nice day, with a few lumbering puffy clouds just hanging around like ancient gods.

  “I think your friend has a thing for James,” Michael said confidentially.

  “Ya think? She’s liked him ever since she first saw him. But he’s the star quarterback and she’s not a cheerleader, so how could it ever work out?” I smirked at him. “I think if it wasn’t for you dragging him along today, he wouldn’t have looked at her twice.” I saw a hint of something in Michael’s eyes. Was it anger? No. Frustration? I couldn’t tell. “It’s funny how things happen.”

  “Airel, he’s a good guy. He’s not like you might think. He’s not your usual jock.”

  His blue eyes turned askance and I wondered what he was really thinking about. As much as I hated being stereotyped, I did it to others pretty easily.

  �
��But yeah,” he said, “Kim is cool. A little gabby.” He gave me a playful glance. “But overall—cool.”

  I smiled and shook my head. “That’s why I love her. She’s her own person. Not like the lifeless drones wearing the latest fashions, talking about nothing but the latest gossip. Nothing says, ‘I’m my own person’ quite as loudly as dressing the same as everybody else, and thinking that just because you’re weird, you’re an individual.”

  “Whoa. Easy,” Michael laughed, holding up both hands in surrender.

  Oops, too deep for a casual day at the mall. “Sorry, I just get worked up about stuff. I have my own ideas about nearly everything. In my experience, that’s kind of a turn-off for guys,” I said, trying not to sound too woeful. “I have a bad habit of over-thinking just about everything. My dad says I’m an ‘old soul,’ whatever that’s supposed to mean.”

  “No, it’s cool, Airel,” Michael said, making me melt a little. “It’s obvious you’re one of a kind.” He smiled.

  I tried to keep breathing normally. Michael was different too. That was clear to me—my sometimes cantankerous old soul and all. I had learned in the past few years that allowing that side of me to have a voice wasn’t exactly the best way to get a guy, because most of them liked to think they were the bigger person in the relationship. I would never hold back just because some underdeveloped boy couldn’t hang. That meant my life was a solo sport, because I wasn’t about to compromise on the stuff that mattered.

  But—it suddenly occurred to me—that was one major reason why Michael was so very different from every other guy I’d met. I was allowed to be different around him. And that just meant that I could be me. It felt like I had awakened to find I had wings, and now I was learning the ecstasy of flight.

  We arrived at the car, Kim and James a little behind us and in their own world, a world where Kim talked and James just listened and nodded. Michael was silent as I unlocked the car door. It was weird; nothing seemed to shock him. I wondered if I could shock him.