Two minutes ago he has been serenading me, with a song so bitter sweet that it stirred emotions that confused the hell out of me, sending me running in the other direction. He was a stranger to me. Yet there was something oddly familiar about him and not just because I had met him earlier. I wasn’t exactly sure what it was, but I was positive I had never seen him before in my life; nobody could for get those ice blue eyes, or beautiful face.
I was completely lost, in my own little world, that I hadn’t noticed the expression on his face change. He had pulled his head back, and he was watching me with narrowed eyes. I didn’t know what my own expression looked like, but he looked as if he was having a hard time trying to decipher my reactions. The confusion didn’t last long, and he was distracted by the hair teasing my cheek. His hand came up and he took the strand between his fingers, rubbing them over the silky strands, before tucking it behind my ear. He let his fingers trail down the side of my neck, and then curving his fingers, so the backs of them were moving down my throat. I suppressed the urge to swallow, but I had no doubt that he could feel my pulse racing.
Flash!
He dropped his hand away, squeezing his eyes closed, and I could feel his fist pressing into the wall against my side. He suddenly looked very tired and…guilty maybe. I wanted to touch his face, smooth away the lines that had him looking distressed, but I was afraid to move. Afraid that I would freak him out, and he would be the one to bolt this time.
He let out a sigh and rested his forehead against mine. There didn’t seem to be any shortage on the invisible sparks that we produced between us. His face was so close to mine, that I wouldn’t have to tilt my head much, to feel his lips over mine. I realized that I was staring at his mouth and I quickly looked up. My only other option was to look away, and in truth that really wasn’t an option. But the look on his face made my stomach flip and my lips parted on their own.
He was tempting me, and I was losing the battle. I made a weak attempt to move away from him, so I could at least say that I tried, even if I it was a half-hearted attempt. I pushed myself tighter against the wall, but he wasn’t discouraged by my failed effort, and his body adjusted to the shift in position. We were like magnets pulling toward each other, and he seemed to be having some kind of internal struggle with that fact. It was hard wanting to move away from him, it was like being torn in two.
I suddenly had the tiniest bit of doubt. Maybe I was completely wrong about the situation. I didn’t want to be the cause of the frown that was not planted on his face. The tiny booth didn’t seem big enough for the two of us anymore. I opened my mouth, my body already in the process of pulling away, and I hoped to come up with some excuse that wouldn’t cause my voice to quiver.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered avoiding all eye contact. “I-” I dropped my head, not really knowing what to say. I was feeling so many different things right now, but disappointment seemed to overwhelm everything else.
“Sara?”
I knew he was waiting for me too look at him, but I couldn’t.
“Hmmm?” I said, without looking up. My attention was fixed on the fibers of his shirt.
“Look at me…please?” he said softly.
His gentle coaxing was completely unfair!
“I can’t.” I whispered, and closed my eyes.
“Let me help you.” He teased. I felt the soft skin of his fingers as they caressed the curve of my throat, until they were directly under my chin. I swallowed hard as he ran his fingers over my soft skin a few times, before I felt the slight pressure as he lifted my face toward his.
My eyes were still closed, and even though they begged me to open, I wrestled over control to keep them shut. I wanted to look at him, I wanted to get lost in his eyes, and I wanted to feel the warmth of his smile over every inch of me, but my intense attraction to him scared the hell out of me. I didn’t have a better plan than to stand there, stubbornly, with my eyes closed until…until what? He gave up and left me alone?
The decision was taken from me.
I felt the feather like touch over the lids of my eyes, and I could feel the trail of sparks down the line of my nose and over my temples. My whole face was tingling, and I didn’t know if the sensations had come from his fingertips or the smooth skin of his lips. The urge to know won over my restraint, and my eyes flickered open. His face was so close to mine, he took my breath away.
“What are you sorry for?” he asked, his breath fanning over my face and I took pleasure in his sent. I took a steady breath before I answered him.
What was I sorry for? I thought. Everything.
“I have a boyfriend. This isn’t fair to him.” I finally said.
He nodded and seemed to think that over.
“You haven’t done anything,” he said rationally. “Yet.” He added.
I flushed. “Haven’t I?”
“Oh believe me, if you had, you wouldn’t have to ask.” He smiled.
“I don’t know why…” I stopped, not ready to admit to him that I was reacting toward him the way I was.
“What?” He urged.
I shook my head. “I should go.”
“Is that your signature line?” he laughed, and I shivered.
“My friend, we fought, and I know she saw your…performance. I have to find her, and try to explain everything.”
“And how do you plan to do that?” he asked.
I shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know. I’ll probably have to lie.” I said bitterly. “It’s my specialty these days.
“What have you had to lie about?” He asked.
Careful Sara, I warned myself. I could feel myself wanting to give into his soft questioning, and I wanted so badly to tell someone what I was going through. I wanted to tell him.
“I don’t…I don’t want to have to lie to you too.” I answered honestly. “So please don’t ask me to.” I looked at him, hoping he would hear the pleading in my voice and let it go.
“I won’t.” He said simply, and I breathed a sigh of relief. “Sometimes lying is in the best interest for those we care about.”
I could feel his muscle tense at his words, and the sparks flew deep inside his eyes. “Your eyes, they’re doing it again.”
He laughed. “What are they doing?”
I leaned in closer to him, to study the blue depths of his eyes, and they ignited. I gasped and pulled back. His body followed mine, like it didn’t have any choice.
“Nothing.” I said, not wanting to ruin the moment with my crazy notions.
“Coward.” He teased.
“Now look who is name-calling.” I gave his chest a little shove, and ignored the burning impression the touch left me with.
I looked up quickly for some sign that he felt it too, but the only evidence was the flash in his eyes.
“My apologies.” He said seriously
I held my breath when I saw him moving in closer toward me. I was frozen in place, waiting for the moment I knew was coming.
I thought about what his lips would feel like over mine, what he would taste like against my tongue. I watched as his face got closer, and I could feel the pounding of my heart throughout my entire body. I remembered what the few simple touches between us had felt like, and I wondered if I would be engulfed in blue flames when he finally kissed me. The slow, agonizing anticipation that was building up inside of me was pure torture, and I waited desperately until our lips finally connected.
“Sara.” He whispered my name, and I closed my eyes at the silky sound of his voice. When I opened them again he was inches from my face, and I just wanted to grab him to me to end the agony.
I could hear the sizzle all around us, and I wondered if we could actually generate an electrical fire. The sound got louder, and I could feel the voltaic currents running through the booth. I glanced around franticly. He seemed to catch on too, and we both glanced up in time to see the lights glow brightly before bursting into little pieces.
He was quicker than I was, and he had h
is body shielding mine, covering my face from the shards of glass that erupted around us. I let out a small scream, as the computer screen began to sizzle and smoke. The screen cracked from the heat, and I knew it was going to go up in flames any minute. Before I knew what was happening, he was pulling me out of the booth as the smoke from the computer surrounded us.
We flew through the curtain just seconds before the screen burst into flames, catching the inside of the booth on fire. The black curtain caught the flames, and the fire began to burn away the fibers of the material.
I was pulled inside the protection of his chest, and I could feel his heart pounding under my ear. He had me wrapped up in the safety of his arms as he stared at the burning photo booth. I was suddenly aware of the curious and shocked crowd that had gathered around us and the flaming booth. There were murmurs all around us, as people tried to speculate what had happened. I could hear the worried chatter as a couple of people asked if we were okay. I realized I was still hidden inside his warmth, and I backed away slowly.
He looked at me for the first time since he had pulled me from the small explosion. He looked almost sad, and disappointed, and I could completely relate those feelings.
Security was there quickly putting out the fire. Three of them had small fire extinguisher, and were frantically trying to pull the pins free. When they finally managed to deploy the extinguishers, the air around us was filled with white powder as it exploded from the cans, slowly putting out the fire.
I felt a delicate caress over the back of my hand. I looked up immediately, but the white fog blurred my vision. I waved at the smoke, but he was already gone. I immediately felt removed from everything that was happening around me, as I searched for his face among the crowd, but I knew it was too late.
Someone was trying to get my attention.
“Miss? Miss? Are you alright?” I blinked a few times, until I realized it was one of the security guys talking to me.
“Uh yeah…yes, I’m fine.” I managed to get out.
“What happened here?”
I tried to pay attention to him. I frowned as I thought about the fire, and wondered if we had actually caused it.
“I don’t know,” I said “I was taking pictures and it…it just started to spark. Before I knew it, it was on fire.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked, looking at me doubtfully. “Do I need to call anyone for you? Maybe you should go to the hospital just to make sure you’re okay?”
I was shaking my head before he had finished.
“No, honestly I’m fine.” Now that was my signature line. I was anything, but fine. “I’m here with a friend. She can get me home.”
Elizabeth had perfect timing. No sooner had the words escaped my mouth, than I heard her shouting through the crowd, as she squeezed her way through the crowd.
“Sara? Oh my god, SARA! Are you okay? What happened?” she asked frantically, as she pulled me into a hug.
I rolled my eyes toward the security guy, and pretended to be bothered over Elli’s reaction to the situation. He nodded his head once, before returning to the fire. Elizabethwas pulling me away from the crowd, and the burnt booth, by my arm when I remembered something.
“Hold on.” I said, pulling my arm free of her grasp.
I walked over to the guard. “Excuse me,” I said, and waited for him to turn around. ‘The pictures? Were the pictures okay?” I asked, and eyed the slot they would have dropped out of, seeing that there was little to no damage to the metal pocket.
“I’m sorry Miss, but we didn’t see any pictures. The booth probably caught fire before it could register them.” He shrugged. “You be careful now.” He said turning away again.
I walked back toward Elizabeth, who looked at me questioningly.
“What’s wrong?” She asked.
I shook my head. “Nothing.” I smiled, hoping to convince her.
I looked back at the booth; maybe they hadn’t had a chance to print before the computer crashed. I thought we had been standing there a good 10 minutes after the last snap, which should have been plenty of time to develop the photos, but maybe I was mistaken.
“What happened back there?” She asked again.
I gave a slight shrug. “I don’t know. I was inside the booth, taking pictures, and before I knew it there were sparks. Some guy pulled me out before it could explode in my face.”
Out of my entire explanation, the part she focused on was “Some guy?” she asked, her voice rising.
“Yeah I don’t know who he was.” Which wasn’t a total lie.
“Would this happen to be the same guy who nearly knocked your socks off while serenading you?”
Damn, she had seen.
“Well first off, he did not knock my socks off,”
No. he had done something else entirely different to me.
“And he was not serenading me.”
At least I didn’t think he was. Could the song really have been meant for me?
“Well it looked like he was. He was pretty dreamy. Have you ever seen him before?” she tried to sound nonchalant, but I knew better.
I smiled at her. “You’re a goof ball. No I’ve never seen him before. He was just some guy, and he was gone before I could even thank him for his help.”
“You mean you didn’t get to say ‘thank you’? Or get his name?” she asked, surprised.
It hit me then that I hadn’t gotten his name. How had I not asked him his name, both times? I thought outrageously to myself. What if I never saw him again? What if he was only here for the festival, and he was on his way out of town as we spoke? I tried not to let despair wash over me or have a complete meltdown in front of Elizabeth. I would save that for when I was at home, and could take my bad mood out on Andres.
“Listen Elli,” I started, pulling her to a stop, “I’m really sorry about earlier-”
She was shaking her head, and interrupting me, before I could finish my apology. “No Sara, I’m sorry-“
“But you have nothing to be sorry about.” I interrupted her. “I shouldn’t have freaked out like that. It was stupid and I’m sorry!”
She smiled and pulled me into a tight hug. “I promise no more ‘interventions´ behind your back. You were right; we should have just come to you in the first place.”
“Thank you,” I said. ”Please just believe me, when I say that everything will be fine.”
“I will, I just hope you know you can come to me with anything. You know I will always be there for you. I think it goes without saying, but you’re my best friend.”
I smiled into her hair and suppressed my tears. “Of course I know that.”
We pulled apart, and laughed at our ridiculously sappy moment.
“Do you want to go home?” She asked.
“Do you mind? I’m kind of tired.” I answered, and covered a yawn.
“Of course not, I’m sure Andres will probably want to know about this. I can’t believe that caught on fire, while you were in it!” She freaked.
I groaned. “I don’t want to make it a big deal. Really I’m fine.”
“You should still tell him, he might hear it from someone else.”
Flagstaff wasn’t a small town, but Andres still knew a lot of people, and those people had been at the festival.
“Ugh, your right. Alright let’s go then.”
She smiled triumphantly, and laced her arm through mine. “Of course I’m right silly. Are you going to tell Scott?”
“About the Fire? Probably, like you said he might hear it from someone else.”
“And the boy?”
“What’s to tell about that? He was just some boy.” Yeah right! “I’m sure I will though.”
“Okay.” she left it at that.
I was glad she let it go, but I was more then glad that we had worked everything out. All was back to normal, because if only this, I needed something normal in my life.
I just wish I could shake the feeling that something bad was abou
t to happen.
I waved at Elizabeth, as she pulled out of the drive way.
I took a deep breath, and my hand hovered over the door knob for a few seconds. before I finally twisted the knob and pushed the door open just enough so that I could slip through and dash up the stairs, before Andres heard me. I planned on telling him, but I planned on doing it when I was ready. I hated feeling like I was acting like a brat, but I was angry.
I turned around and shut the door softly, trying to make as little noise as possible. and I turned for the steps thinking I had made an easy getaway, when I was pulled up short by Andres deep voice.
“Sara?” he called, from just inside the dining room and I could hear the chair move as he got up.
Grrr, that man could hear a feather drop.
“Yeah?”
I stood there the attitude already settling into my muscles as I got ready to face off with him. I didn’t turn around, as I heard him stop and lean against the wall.
“George called me. He said there was a fire at the festival and that you were involved?” He asked, and I wondered how he could make it sound like an accusation while also sounding concerned.
“I wasn’t involved,” I spat at him over my shoulder, before finally looking at him. I knew he was probably thinking that I was acting out. “The photo booth I was in, caught on fire while I was still inside.”
His posture stiffened, and he pushed away from the wall coming closer toward me “What?! Are you okay? How did it catch on fire?”
I shrugged. “Bad wiring maybe, old machine, cheap computer? Take your pick.” I said, and climbed another step.
“Was there anyone around?” He asked, folding his arms over his chest.
I stopped. I was so close. I looked at him annoyed. “You mean besides the hundreds of people at the festival? Yeah there were people around.”
Flutter (The Discover Series) Page 22