Fever

by Kailin Gow

  I walk through the gardens, up towards a gazebo set to look out over the small lake in the grounds. It’s all so serene and still. More peaceful than I feel right now. I sit down in the gazebo, looking out and trying to let some of that peace flow through me. I should feel peaceful. It’s over. It’s done. Yet that isn’t how the world works. Not really.

  I hear the light tread of footsteps nearby and look up. Jack’s there. He’s wearing a grey suit that is cut perfectly to emphasize his toned, muscular frame. He stands so elegantly. So perfectly poised. He looks almost exaokssize="+0ctly the way he looked the first time I saw him in his apartment, dressed as a Fader.

  He’s breathtaking. Maybe it’s just not seeing him for a couple of days, or maybe it’s how much I want things to be right between us, but he looks perfect standing there, his features chiseled, those pale, pale eyes, on me. As always with Jack, I can’t even begin to guess at what he’s feeling.

  At least until he moves closer, tilting my head up so that he can kiss me.

  It’s a kiss like coming home. A kiss that I’ve been imagining for almost two days straight now. Jack’s mouth is on mine and it’s all I can do to hold myself back from pulling him down beside me in the gazebo. Jack seems to sense that too, because he puts his hands gently on my shoulders, pulling me to my feet before stepping back.

  “Celes,” he says, “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. I’ve been thinking about my father, and all the regrets he had when my mother passed away. I’ve been thinking about everything we’ve done. I’ve been thinking about you, too.”

  “Jack…”

  “I don’t want any regrets,” Jack says. “We’ve dealt with Hammond and the rest of it, but we have no way of knowing what might be coming tomorrow. If I walk away from you now, I’ll regret that for the rest of my life. We might not get a chance to make it right.”

  “I love you, Jack,” I say.

  “And I love you. I’ve never known a time when I haven’t loved you. We found each other even when we didn’t know who we were. We fell in love again without knowing it. That’s what matters.”

  “I was saying goodbye to Grayson, Jack,” I say. “I was telling him that I love you too much to ever be with him.”

  “I know,” Jack says. “He told me. That’s why I’ve spent most of the last couple of days trying to make this perfect.”

  “You’ve been doing what?” I ask. “I thought you were angry with me. I thought you hated me.”

  “I could never hate you,” Jack promises me. He smiles. “And as for making me angry… well, you’ve managed to do that plenty of times when you’ve put yourself at risk. I haven’t run away from you then, have I?”

  “Then what…” I begin. I think about what he has just said. “What were you making perfect?”

  Jack takes my hand. “We’ve done a lot of things,” he says. “And we’ve bent a lot of rules doing them. I think that one more won’t hurt. I might be your head of security, but I also love you too much to just be an occasional thing for you. We belong together, and I want to be with you completely. Forever.”

  “What are you saying?” I ask Jack breathlessly. I think I know, but I need to hear it from him.

  Jack falls to one knee, taking a box out of his pocket. He opens it to reveal a ring that shines with a fire that matches the one within us.

  “This is where you’ve been the last couple of days?” I ask.

  Jack nods. “Will you marry me, Celes? Will you make me the happiest man in this or any other time?”

  I freeze there as he actually says it. I know what I want, and what I want to say, but right now, getting the words out is hard. It’s hard to say how much I love him. How much I need him. Because words just don’t seem to do it justice right now. Nothing seems to. I stare at Jack’s features. So strong, so handsome. So sure, even in the face of the greatest dangers. The kind of man who could be beside me through anything.

  It’s about more than that too, I realize, as a little of the confidence slips out of Jack’s expression. There are lots of action men out there, but Jack is the one whose sensitive side is there too. He loves me, purely and absolutely. He’d do anything for me. I think back to the times we shared in the apartment together, pretending to be boyfriend and girlfriend. To all the times we’ve spent when bullets haven’t been flying towards us. Those have been the times when I’ve seen the real Jack Simple.

  And I love him.

  “Celes?” Jack says, still down on one knee.

  I reach down, pulling him up and kissing him softly. Gently. I whisper it into his ear, just between the two of us.

  “Yes. Yes, Jack, I’ll marry you.”

  Jack pulls back just enough to slide the ring onto my finger. It’s perfect, a little like Jack. It seems so hard and cold on the outside, yet in just the right light, I can see the fire inside it. It’s beautiful. Though not quite as beautiful as he is. I don’t think anyone is.

  Jack takes me in his arms then. “If we’re going to be together,” he says, “then I don’t think we should waste any more time, do you?”

  I sm ove ile at him. “What exactly do you have in mind, Jack Simple?”

  He answers me with a deep kiss that seems to set my body on fire. That’s good, because it’s pretty much what I had in mind too. To start with, anyway.

  *****

  This concludes the FADE Series. Thank you for taking this ride through FADE with me and with many other readers. I hope you’d enjoyed FADE as much as I enjoyed writing it.

  If you’d enjoyed this series, let me, my publishers, and other readers know by writing a review. Who knows, there may be another book in the future…

  For updates on whether there is a spin-off or more books in the future for FADE, visit KailinGowBooks.com and sign up for new releases.

  A FINAL WORD

  Reasons Why?

  I get asked this all the time, why do you interact with your readers so much?

  1) The answer is simply because I see many of my readers as friends.

  I’m a reader, too, and over the years, I’ve gotten to know some of you through Facebook, Twitter, or even at events I’m participating in. You have read my books, understood the story, and have come to love the characters in these stories as much as I do.

  Over the years, I’ve gotten to know many of my readers. I share your pain when you lose a love one, congratulate you on victories, go through your birthdays and dramas at home and work. So you see, in other words, a lot of my readers have become friends of mine. You read my books, and even understand me like a friend understands a friend.

  2) I know how reading can be time-consuming so I am pretty happy when a reader Facebook me and tells me she just read one of my books and she knows she'll be one of my biggest fans. I can't tell you how i ovtime-ncredibly touched I am when someone tells me this. It literally brings tears to my eyes.

  Not only does this feel incredible, and I am truly honored, but I want my readers to know from the bottom of my heart, this:

  3) You Make Me, an Author, feel Warm and Fuzzy, too!

  When you love my books and even reach out to me to let me know how much you love my books or that it has touched you in some way, and even write a review about it, you can’t imagine how happy that makes me. I’m only human you know. It makes me feel good about what I'm working hard for.

  4) My Readers are Not Only Interesting, but they are Fun, Smart, and Great to Hang Out with!

  So, please don't be a stranger. Come on by and say "Hi" on Twitter, Facebook, or my blogs. And become a Facebook friend of mine and vice versa. I really do want to find out more about you, and consider it a great honor that you're a reader of mine.

  From the bottom of my humble heart:

  THANK YOU!

  You can find me at:

  Blog: http://www.kailingow.wordpress.com

  Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/KailinGowBooks

  Twitter:

  http://twitter.com/kailingow

  mbria">EXCE
RPT FROM

  DESIRE

  By Kailin Gow

  *****************************

  Prologue

  Arcadia, Earth – Year 3010

  Perfection. That was how best to described the day. Blue skies with the hint of lilac and buttercream, fat fluffy white clouds gliding by, added to the beautiful day. It was the perfect way to end a sunny school day. With my hand nestled warmly in Liam’s, I walked at his side, my face tilted up to the sun, my nostrils breathing in the fresh air that smelled like Spring lavenders and fresh linen. The fragrant air made me think of Spring formals, garden parties, and outdoor barbeques. The day could not be more enjoyable if it’d been planned that way. If I had not grown up anywhere else besides the state of Arcadia, I would have thought this was the way it always should be everywhere. I have lived in Arcadia for all my life, and have never known the skies to shine blue and clear otherwise. The only times Arcadia had ever experience dark skies and foul weather was rare indeed. This was just another typical day for a citizen of Arcadia. Perfect like the shiny spotless signpost on the corner of the street ahead was: Main Street, Arcadia.

  School had gone well as usual, tests and exams had been passed with flying colors and the birds chip and chirp, whistling a merry tune. Like every day in Arcadia.

  As we approached Nellie’s Diner, I caught a glimpse of myself in a store window and was pleased with my appearance. My long blonde hair cascaded down my back, freshly brushed and tidy. The lustrous locks with a hint of lavender in them fluttered in the breeze in a way that always made Liam smile, and it all added a bounce to my step. I hardly fuss about my appearance, except to look presentable.

  That morning I’d chosen to wear my pale green smock dress, the one that he always complimented me on.

  “That dress sure does make those hazel eyes of yours pop,” he’d always say.

  I blushed. Always told I was a pretty girl, I never really believed it until Liam and I began dating in high school. At his side I felt beautiful. Was it his striking features that enhanced my sense of beauty or was it simply the look of adoration I saw in his eyes every time he looked at me that made me feel so beautiful? My mother, a single parent, once told me the most important thing about a man was the way he made yowayibru feel. Although there were other suitors besides Liam, he was the one who most made me feel good about myself.

  “How’d you do on your math test?” he asked.

  Though I’d always managed to get good grades, I never failed to get nervous and edgy when test time came around. “I think it went well,” I said, smiling at him and adoring him all the more for the concern he always showed for me.

  “I think I pretty much aced that History exam this morning,” he said with pride.

  He was so handsome, his fair curls so angelic. It never failed to amaze me how sweet, kind and generous he could be. A guy as handsome as Liam could easily break a thousand hearts, yet he was thoughtful and considerate in the way he treated every woman he met, and he was particularly attentive, loving and caring with me.

  “Maybe my Life’s Plan should have been to become a history professor,” he added as he opened the door to the diner, his bright blue eyes twinkling with laughter and amusement.

  I shared his hope and promise, and questioned what my own Life’s Plan would be. With my 18th birthday quickly approaching, I would know all too soon. It was as though I had been waiting all my life to find out what my Life Plan would be. All of us under the age of 18 waited with anxiety and anticipation to find out what our Life’s Plan held: our profession, who we would marry, where we would live, and how many children we would have. It would all be written in our Life’s Plan.

  “Kama! Liam,” Sarah called from across the crowded diner. With her medium-length brown hair held back by a headband that matched her tangerine orange dress, she was easy to spot. “Hey, you love birds, over here.”

  We’d been voted the best-looking couple in school for two years, and some even said we were the most attractive couple in town. I couldn’t count the number of eyes that watched us as we made our way to our table. I was used to standing out, having a natural tint of violet in my hair that came out when the sun highlighted it. It was the kind of color that salons had to mix a variety of colors to achieve. No one else in Arcadia, except for my mother had this, which made me stand out even more, right from childhood when I used to worry about looking different from everyone else. I used to cry about it when I was a little girl, why my hair was naturally different, and why people would stare so much. My mother would tell me that being different was good, and it was a good thing that I stood out.

  As I grew older and less gawky, growing tall and slender with feminine curves, I began to enjoy being different, often taking the time to try out new styles. My mother said my newest style best suited me – long hair with bangs. Some of my classmates hinted at the added degree of elegant glamour my recently fashioned bangs gave me. Others said it flattered my porcelain skin. I could only smile and nod. The attention we received was short of celebrities in a cozy state like Arcadia, and while I hadnd rs, an always felt eyes on me, I’ve felt more scrutinized than ever before. After all, Liam was the son of the most important person here – the Founder and Governor of Arcadia, and Liam would one day become Governor, too.

  It was all flattering, but it was also incredibly embarrassing. I felt watched all the time. Added to this was the expectation that Liam and I would soon marry. The thought both pleased and pressured me. I’d known Liam since I could remember, but the pressure to marry was sometimes difficult to swallow. Mother was around my age when she had me, but I still felt young and like a child. Was I mature enough, ready enough to get married and have a child within the next year or so? If my Life’s Plan was to get married after graduation, then I wanted to do this on my own terms, not by everyone’s expectations.

  “After you.” Liam gestured to the booth.

  “Have you been waiting long?” I asked Sarah as I slid in.

  “Just long enough to down one of these.” She held up a tall, long glass of cherry soda then turned to Liam. “You know, I was thinking, next week we could do the party down by the lake. It’s gorgeous there.”

  “I’m famished. Have you ordered yet?”

  “Two mini burgers with coleslaw and a mammoth burger with fries for Liam.”

  “Thanks,” Liam said, obviously anticipating the great meal to come.

  “So, what do you think?” Sarah asked him.

  “I had thought about that, too. Streamers on the trees, flowers everywhere, and maybe even a live band? Or we could do something elegant and classy at my place. The grounds are beautiful this time of year with everything in bloom.”

  “I think she would really love that.”

  “I just love how you guys go about planning my birthday party as if I wasn’t even there.”

  “It’s as close to a surprise party as we can get. You always guess what we’re up to anyway.” Sarah pointed her straw at me for emphasis.

  “But the night of my birthday is the same as the Arcades last game of the season.”

  “That’s if they make it to the finals.” Liam seemed unconcerned with the turn out of the evening.

  “They always make it,” Sarah added.

  “Evealice. Thn if they do, everybody’s going to want to come celebrate Kama’s birthday.”

  It was just like Liam to be so optimistic. I suddenly thought of the secret wedding plans I had conjured up for us. As annoying as the pressure to marry could sometimes be, the thought that marrying Liam might not be in my Life’s Plan often scared me to death.

  “That’s pushing it a bit, don’t you think?” I knew I was popular at school, but for the student body to skip the Arcades’ victory party for my 18th birthday was not likely to happen. Although I was well-liked, I was also from the Amethyst District, a middle-class neighborhood in Arcadia, and not in league with the most popular kids in school like Liam and Sarah.

  “Look,” Sarah said wit
h finality. “The game is at two, will probably end before five, everyone will celebrate ‘til seven and then they can all slide on over to our party for eight. Voila. It’s all settled and everyone is happy.”

  My thoughts were drifting away from Sarah and the conversation. I tried to concentrate on what she was saying, but at that moment, I felt every sense in my body awaken to something I’d never felt before. It was electric, almost painful. A burning sensation that made my whole body tingled and buzz with intensity. Was this what closing in on my 18th birthday felt like?

  No, it was more than just that. I stared out the window, looking for the source of my sudden distraction. The feeling intensified until the conversation between Sarah and Liam was completely blotted out and all that existed was that strong sensation as though I was being watched.

  “Kama, did you hear what I said?”

  I pulled my gaze away with difficulty and concentrated on Sarah who wove a lilac colored sheet of paper at me

  I knew what it meant and instantly felt that jolt of envy. Having turned 18 a few weeks back, she’d finally received her Life’s Plan.

  “I finally got word from the Committee. Can you believe it? I hold in my hand my Life’s Plan.”

  “And you managed to hold that bit of information back this long?” I said, teasing her.

  “I love you and want this birthday to be special for you, but now that everything is practically settled, we can talk about moi.”

  “So, what does the future hold for toi?” I teased right back.

  Before she could answer, the waitress arrived with our order.

  “Everything looks delicious aks ved ws usual. Thank you,” Sarah said with a quick, polite but dismissive smile. She was eager to tell us about her Life’s Plan, and it showed.