“Hey, Shad!” A blond, long-haired upperclassmen called in an alluring tone—or one she tried to make alluring. She looked stunning in her blood red dress and with her hair in soft curls down her back.
“Hi, Jaz. This is Emma, my date,” Shad returned, moving his hand to touch my back and pushing me forward. I had somehow ended up behind him.
“Hi, Emma. It is nice to meet you,” she glared at me.
“I was wondering if you could spare me a dance, Shad,” she asked in a sultry voice. Gosh, some girls will do anything, huh. This Jaz girl was on my hit list—one that I possibly just then created—but still, yuck! I wanted to smack that pretty smile off of her face. Calm down, Emma—that thought popped into my head at the perfect time because I was about to smack her.
“I am all Emma’s this evening—and, hopefully, every evening,” he clarified, again with his stone, stoic face.
“What?” She pouted.
“She is my date,” Shad said, pulling me very protectively beside him. He leaned down and touched my nose with his and smiled so big that it sent a fire into my belly.
“Oh—” she finally relented. Shad didn’t look away from me.
“Well, I better get my date on the dance floor before the song ends. Excuse us.”
I was awestruck; I did not speak as Shad moved his face away from mine and led me onto the dance floor.
“Marry me,” I said, still in a daze. I felt my body grow overly warm, and I moved away from Shad then.
He chuckled.
Did I just say that out loud?
“I send a girl away, and you want to get married?” His eyebrow raised. “I should talk to other girls around you more often.”
“You seem to—really to, um—to know what you’re doing,” I whispered with a gulp.
“Well, I am practiced in diplomacy skills,” he whispered in my ear, his breath, caressed my skin, sending thrills and shivers through me. I felt as if the electricity between us would cause me to burst—to explode.
“Well, thanks back there. It was very chivalrous of you.”
“Anytime, I do not like it when people make you feel uncomfortable.” He gave me a small smile, as he pulled me along with ease onto the dance floor. One of his hands held my waist, and I felt the familiar electric charge of it. His other hand was in my hand. I placed my free hand on his shoulder, resting near his tie, and I could smell the scent of him. The song I made swirled around us as I took it all in. As I stood there, swaying in his arms, so close, I didn’t want him to ever let me go. He smelled like mint and springtime and new life, and yet—all guy. His scent was making it hard to focus. I looked around the room to regain some composure. My classmates were simply swaying to the music, back and forth, but Shad seemed to make us float. He pulled me to him closer, and he led me around the entire dance floor. I was breathless as the song ended, but soon, a new one began, and I didn’t know how long we had danced. I only knew that I was in his arms, and his golden eyes were watching me, and his arms were around me, and I was in heaven—surely the stars had granted my wishes, and I was in heaven then. Eventually, Shad led us off of the dance floor to get a drink.
“I didn’t know that you could dance. Is this another hobby, perhaps?” I asked as Shad led me to the side of the room with our drinks.
“Oh, yes. My mother made me take lessons. I hated them back then, but I guess they did come in handy after all. She told me that one day I would thank her.” He pulled a few fingers through his hair. I ached to know more about him. He led us outside for a bit, to get some air.
We reached a bench, and I sat down and looked at Shad. “I didn’t know if I would like this whole thing,” I admitted, running a hand down the dress.
“So, how do you like it so far?” he asked.
“I like it.”
He smiled and said, “Me too.”
We sat there for a while, and eventually, his fingers brushed against my wrist, sending bolts of electric shocks through me. He caressed my wrist and then my palm with his fingers, ever so delicately. I thought I would combust from the thrill of it. His hand found mine, and he interlocked his fingers with my fingers. I love holding your hand, I thought, squeezing his hand tight.
“I like holding your hand, too,” Shad agreed, looking up at the stars. Did I say that thought out loud? I was surprised that he had said the very words I had just been thinking. He always seemed to know how I was feeling.
“Yeah,” I returned, watching his face. He turned to me then and smiled. “My dad used to talk about the stars a lot,” I noted, getting lost in the sky. “He told me that he thought there were other galaxies out there just like ours, with people on them, just like us.”
“I can believe that,” Shad agreed.
“That would be amazing.”
“The stars make me sad most of the time. I cannot look at them anymore for too long,” Shad whispered.
“Why?”
“They remind me of home, of the people I have lost.”
“Your family?” I asked, looking at him. He nodded. We were silent for a few minutes, and it was nice to sit there together, only the music in my mind, a soft melody floating between us.
“I like being around you,” he continued. He moved his face so that my eyes were locked onto his: my green eyes on his golden eyes. The song in my mind and soul played loudly then like it always did when Shad was around me. I felt like I could have listened to the music playing between us forever. Is this what falling in love is like? Is love, all of these feelings and emotions, and songs in my head? Do I love him? No, I can’t love him, that would be crazy, right?
“I like being around you, too,” I agreed with a fragile smile. He reached out to touch my face. His hand caressed my cheek, and I thought the world had started to spin faster.
“I have something for you,” he said in a whisper, as if—as if someone heard him, the gift would break. I remained silent as he moved his fingers away from my face and let go of my hand. The emptiness that I felt without his touch was something I hated. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small velvet bag. He untied the knot in the drawstring and shook out the contents of the bag into his palm. There, on a long, golden chain, was a beautiful crystal. It was clear and cut beautifully, which caused it to sparkle like crazy even in the dim lights of the night.
“What is this?” I exclaimed, almost breathless.
“Your homecoming gift,” he said as if that was an obvious fact. “Turn around, I will put it on you.” I did as he said, and his fingers moved my hair away from my back, his fingertips brushing my neck as he brushed my hair onto my shoulder. He lifted the chain over my head and placed it around my neck. As I touched the crystal, I felt a small jolt, as if it held some power. It was warm, but that was probably because it had been inside his pocket. I felt it again—the small little jolt, and looked down at it, and I told myself that it must have been a little shock of static. Yes, that made sense. This is a normal, not a jolting, neckless.
“Is this from the creek?” I asked, surprised.
“No, but it is a crystal,” he said with a smile. “It looks good on you.”
“Thank you,” I returned, still in awe. “You did not have to get me anything,” I continued quickly.
“I know, but I wanted to give this to you. I have wanted to give this to you for a long time.” We had been outside for a while, and I could hear the sounds of a slow song coming on. “Would you like to dance?” he asked, standing up, fixing his jacket, and stuffing the little velvet bag into his pocket again.
“Sure,” I stood, and he took my hand in his. We walked into the gym, and he pulled me right into his arms, close. As we danced, I placed my head on his chest. He led me about the dance floor, slowly, and I was able to see all the other couples in the room. Everyone was kissing, it seemed to me. I felt a tinge of sadness because I wished I could be kissing Shad right then, too. I was falling for him, and I was falling for him hard. I moved my head from his chest and looked at hi
m. He smiled down at me and brushed his nose with mine. Being so close to him clouded my judgement, and I quickly stood on my tiptoes to close the distance between our lips. He was too quick and pulled back before our lips could meet. I dropped my gaze, hiding the shame that was washing over my face in a bright crimson.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Shad. I seriously wasn’t even thinking. This song and all these people dancing, I think it got to my head.” I wanted to scream at myself out loud; someone needed to dump a cold bucket of water over my head. He lifted up my chin so our eyes could meet.
“No sorry necessary, but this isn’t the ideal location for a first kiss, now is it? I can do a lot better than that.” His face held a different emotion, one that I had not seen before. Is it desire? His eyes were so close to mine, and I wanted to drown in them. Seriously, I was losing my mind.
“So you think we are going to have one of those?” I asked softly.
“Possibly,” he answered looking away from me.
“We are friends, right, Shad—even though I just tried to kiss you?” I asked, hoping he would disagree.
“Yes, Emma, I will always want to be your friend,” his voice was so low and deep.
Um, excuse me? I really needed to lay down. I was going to pass out and also cry because I wanted so much more than friendship with him. “Shad I—”
He touched a finger to my lips. “Let’s get out of here.”
I only nodded.
He pulled me along as we moved through the many distracted couples and out of the gym. We walked through the school at an incredibly fast pace. Shad opened his car door for me and then closed it after I got in. Once buckled, he sped off.
“Why are you in such a hurry?” I laughed.
“No hurry,” he said, leaning back in his seat and finding my hand.
I think I am falling for you! Kiss me! I need you to kiss me now, please—before I fall off the face of the earth! But, I am so scared of you. If I let myself fall in love with you, what if you leave me, too, like my parents, or even become distant like Ryker is now? Was that love? People care about you, and you them, but it never really lasts? If I had been more brave, I would have actually spoken some of my feelings, and my thoughts out loud, but I wasn’t.
He sat there, looking at the steering wheel, while stopped at a red light.
“Are you okay?” I asked, looking at him, confused.
“What?” he returned, shaking his head. “Oh, yes, I am fine.” The light turned green, and as we drove to my house, it was still dead silent between us. The conversation we had at the dance was becoming more and more like a dream to me, instead of a reality. I pulled at the crystal on the necklace he had gifted to me, and I felt a little more confident that he, at the very least, liked me.
He parked outside of my house and put his keys into his pocket. As we made our way up my driveway, before we reached the porch steps, he pulled me into his arms and gave me a hug. We stood there for a moment, our hearts beating as one, and his song played in my head. It was soft, and was so faint that I could barely hear it. As I hummed along with it in my head, it grew louder.
He lifted up my chin so that I was looking at him, and he smiled a very wide smile. His eyes were so golden and so full of what seemed to be warmth and light and happiness, I wanted it.
“You are not what I thought you would be like,” he said.
“What?”
“Nothing,” he added, pulling away quickly and taking my hand.
If he liked me, which it really seemed like he did, why hadn’t he kissed me yet? Was he waiting for some perfect moment? Because hello, now is pretty perfect. Kiss me, you idiot! I screamed in my head.
As we reached the front steps of my house and then walked up them slowly, our conversation stopped. This is it—either he is going to kiss me here on my porch tonight, or tonight is not the night. I stood in front of him and looked at my feet.
“So, I guess I will see you at school tomorrow?” I finally broke the silence, looking at him. He had let go of my hand and had both hands behind his back.
“Tomorrow is Sunday,” he said with his big grin.
“Oh, yeah, Monday, I mean,” I corrected myself, feeling like the biggest idiot in the universe; he really had a way of making me frazzled.
“Monday sounds good,” he agreed, walking a little closer to me. He touched my arm, trailing his fingers down my skin, leaving goosebumps in their wake until he reached my wrist. He lifted my wrist to his lips and kissed the inside of my soft flesh there. Electric fire burned within me. He kissed my palm and each finger. I felt my breath catch as I noticed his eyes were staring at my face. My face must have been bright red, and I was grateful for the cover of night. His lips pulled away from my fingers as he gave me a knee-buckling smirk that sent my insides boiling. Who on Earth is this boy? He pulled me to him and wrapped his arms around me, this time lifting me off of my feet as he held me tightly to him, our bodies flush together.
He pulled away slowly. “I really had a great time tonight with you, Emma.” That signature playful smirk was on face.
“Me, too,” I gulped like an idiot.
“Goodnight.” He then stepped away from me and turned away. I watched him as he walked away. I felt my heart, and I felt it crack. It wasn’t right. That was not how the night was supposed to end, and it couldn’t be. I wanted him. I wanted everything he was. I needed him. It was as if with every touch, he made me his— more and more. I heard the faint song again in my head, and I mentally blasted it so loud that I hoped to drown out my disappointment that our night together was over. I moved my gaze from his back and turned to unlock my door. Suddenly, I heard pounding steps, and before I could fully turn around to see what the noise was, Shad had me pushed against my front door ever so quickly and softly. He held me there, panting. His eyes were pure golden, with a hunger that I felt within me. I needed Shad. Could he possibly feel the same about me?
“I should go.” he said as if he were trying to convince himself that leaving was the right choice. But a smile crept over his lips ever so slowly. He ran his nose against mine, our breath mingling together. I couldn't speak even if I wanted to. I was under his spell. He kissed my cheek softly, and I felt something in my tummy doing flips. He trailed soft kisses from my cheek to the corner of my mouth. “Oh, worlds, you are so soft.” His lips stilled as he moved away for a moment. “Please, Emma, tell me to go,” he begged, looking into my eyes.
The only thing I could do was move my head, shaking it, “no.”
“Please, Emma, I need to leave—oh, Ancients, help me—” he whispered, kissing my chin, and while I didn’t really know what he was saying exactly, I felt as if he were having some sort of struggle deciding whether or not to be this close to me. But it was okay, it was what I wanted—didn’t he know that? He had to want it, too.
“Please, Shad, don’t ask me that, when all I want is for you to stay here.”
He grinned a mischievous grin then and moved to my ear. “I can’t. I am so sorry,” his voice was low and husky as he spoke. He pulled away from me, his arms removing me from the door slowly. I didn't like where he was going—away from me. I shoved my hand to the tie he wore and tugged hard. Surprise filled his face as his nose came an inch from mine.
“I dare you,” I challenged him with fire in my eyes. No way was I letting him play with me in that way without getting my first real kiss.
“You dare me, huh?” he chuckled the most attractive sound I’d ever heard.
“Yes,” I whispered.
“You don’t know what you are asking.” Suddenly, I was against the door, and hungrily and passionately, we looked at each other. The tension that pooled over the surface overflowed, and we both could not be contained. He kissed my forehead, my nose, avoiding my mouth, and I wanted to scream in irritation, but his kisses made me feel like I was floating, and I didn’t want him to stop until he reached my lips.
“I should not be doing this, Emma.” His eyes were darker, and he looked into my
eyes as if he wanted me to stop him, pleading and begging me to stop him. Why would I ever do that, I thought. He had both hands on either side of my head against the door. He panted, looking at me with eyes that held so much more than longing and desire. The darker golden color was melting me with each moment. They locked on mine. We breathed the same air. For a moment my head was spinning. I felt elated, pure joy running through me. This was it, the moment I had been waiting for, my first kiss—our first kiss. But before I could close my eyes and feel his lips against my own, he pulled away from me.
“Emma, there is something I need to tell you.”
I slipped down the door as he stepped away from me. His back was facing me, and I was a little frightened at what he was going to say. “This isn’t exactly easy to say—” He shook his head, “worlds,” he seemed to curse. “They know I have tried a dozen times, too.” I didn’t know what he was talking about, but I was silent, listening, waiting for him to let the words pour out of him, if that was what he needed. “I tried the other night, but I couldn’t find the words. I can never find the words here.” He shook his head. “I have gone over this conversation a dozen times in my head.” He turned back around and looked at me. “So I am not going to use words, Emma.” He walked to me, and I heard the song in my mind and in my soul once again—the song I had made up. I felt it pulse, speed up, and then slow down, which was just like the other night. I looked at him.
“So you feel that, hear it?” he whispered, touching my waist.
“What?” I asked.
“The music—the song between us.”
I gasped. He could hear it, too? That isn’t something I made up in my head? “You can hear it?” I asked, amazed.
The Heir: A YA Fantasy Romance (The Heir Series: Book 1) Page 20