He comes over and sits next to me. “I think I am going to have to get you some bed guards so you won’t fall out of bed little girl.” He was smiling at me. Jerk.
I stuck my tongue out at him. “Whatever.” I pushed him with all I had hoping to push him off the bed. I didn’t succeed though. He started laughing at my failed attempt. “So what are you doing today?” I changed the subject.
“I’m thinking about hitting the gym, going grocery shopping, then probably just hanging out. You?”
I thought about it for a few seconds. “No plans, although I think hitting the gym sounds good, and you know I like to go grocery shopping with you. You always just buy junk.” He could live off of Oreos and Mountain Dew, I swear.
“Okay, get ready then.” He smacked my leg as he got up and sauntered out. I got up and dressed in some yoga pants, and a workout top.
“Where are my running shoes?” I muttered to myself. I needed to organize my closet. My shoes were thrown everywhere in here.
“AH HA!” I pulled them out triumphantly. I finished getting dressed and headed out towards the kitchen.
Leander was ready to go when I got out there. I opened the fridge and grabbed some drinks for us.
“Ready?” he asked as I grabbed my iPod and ear buds off the counter.
“Let’s do it!” I said enthusiastically. I actually enjoyed working out. It felt liberating.
We took the stairs down to the ground level instead of the elevator, which is only 3 floors but still, it’s a warm up.
Our apartment complex had a nice gym, gardens, a pool, and a little art gallery. I loved it. The gym was a little busy as usual as we walk in. “I’m gonna start off with some weights,” he said to me as he walked off. We don’t actually work out together usually unless I needed a spotter. I made my way to the treadmill. It’s almost like hitting the pavement but I don’t like running around town so much. I put my ear buds in and hit shuffle on my iPod as I started the machine. It started slow and slowly built up to the pace I set it for.
Upbeat music was blaring in my ears; my thighs were feeling the burn, and I was starting to sweat a little. Heaven.
Thirty minutes later, I decided it was time to get off. I glanced around and Leander was going at it with the weights still. I walked over and joined him. He just looked at me and winked as I grabbed some fifteen pound free weights. I started doing some bicep curls and rows. After about an hour of working out, I felt good. I headed over to the heavy bag and did a round of punches and kicks to give my workout its last little hurrah.
“Don’t forget to protect your face.” I stopped punching the bag and turned towards the voice. A really handsome man stood next to me.
“Excuse me?” I asked him as I took my ear buds out.
He nodded towards the bag. “When you are punching, you need to always remember to protect your face. When sparing with someone you don’t want them to get a free shot at those beautiful eyes of yours.”
I felt my already flushed face blush. This guy was cute. He had brown hair with pretty golden colored eyes. He definitely worked out a lot. His body was glistening from working out. I realized I was just staring at him. “Uh, thanks.” What was it with me and not being the most eloquent around hot men?
“Do you live in the apartment complex or just working out with your boyfriend?” he nodded towards Leander, who seems to be watching my little chat with this stranger while running on the treadmill.
I giggled; this guy wasn’t so subtle with wanting to know if I had a boyfriend. “I live here.” I answered.
He just smiled at me. “So, he is your boyfriend then. You are too pretty to be single.”
Oh this guy was good. “No, he isn’t my boyfriend; he is my roommate, though.” I gave him a bone. This felt innocent enough flirting with him. Not like the all-consuming tornado that is Tristan. Tristan! I might have a date with him on Monday if he calls me and I am flirting with this guy. I am such a floozy.
“My name is Orion.” He stuck out his hand. I looked at it for a moment and then found my manners.
“Thalia.” I placed my hand in his and shook it.
“Thalia.” He seemed to enjoy saying my name. “It was nice meeting you. Maybe I will see you around.” He kept his huge smile and let go of my hand. He seemed pretty nice.
“Maybe.” I left him with that as I turned around and walked towards Leander.
“Who was that?” he asked.
I looked back at Orion, who gave us wave. “His name is Orion and he was just saying hello.”
Leander just shrugs. “Ready to go?” he asks.
“Yep, I need a shower.” We turned and made our way up the stairs to the apartment.
We go our separate ways to take a shower. He has a bathroom attached to his room. Bastard. But he was in the apartment first, so he can have it.
After feeling so fresh and so clean I got ready for the day. Before heading out I inspected myself in the mirror to make sure I looked cute. My shorts made my butt look awesome. My hair was surprisingly being nice in a ponytail and my blue shirt hugged me in all the right spots. My cute wedges made my legs look miles long. I nodded my head in approval and went to write up a grocery list.
“Leander, put that back!” God, it’s like having a child in the grocery store. I make him put ice cream drum sticks back.
“You’re going to make me get fat if you get all of that!” I scowl at him. He just pouts as he sticks the box back into the fridge. I sigh and keep walking with the cart. I try to keep us somewhat healthy, but he tempts me with such good stuff. “What do you want for lunch?” I ask him.
He ponders for a minute. “OH! How about grilled cheeses! You make such good grilled cheeses.”
It’s hard to say no sometimes. He got me by putting his best begging face on. “All right, let’s grab the stuff to make it.” He did a little fist pump in the air and walked towards the aisle with the cheese.
We checked out our groceries and headed towards his Land Rover. “Shit! I forgot to grab something, I’ll be right back.” He unlocked the doors and ran back inside. I started loading our bags into his vehicle when someone grabbed me and pushed me into the side of the car.
I turned my head around to see some guy I didn’t recognize. “Get the fuck off me!” I yelled.
There wasn’t anybody close by. He didn’t speak. I heard the click of a gun. My mind cut off.
Somehow, I don’t know how, but I turned into a freaking ninja. I slammed my head into his. He was knocked back and I spun around and kicked him in the gut. When he came at me with the gun pointed at my head I moved so fast to the side and grabbed his hand, pulled him close to knee him in the groin. I did a quick jerk to his wrist making the gun fall out. I got a good grip on his wrist and threw him over my body.
“How the hell am I doing this?” I asked myself out loud. The guy was lying on the ground, not moving. I slowly walk around to see his face. His eyes are scary, they were glowing red.
“Holy shit!”
I looked around and surprisingly there was still no one around. I lookedtowards the doors of store to see Leander coming out. I yelled out to him for help. His eyes turned dangerous and he took off into a full sprint towards me.
The attacker spat at me, spoke in another language and then passed out. His language sounded familiar. I couldn’t figure out why though. What the hell was happening to me?
As soon as Leander was close I ran into his arms, sobbing. He crushed me to his body. “It’s ok, it’s ok,” he soothed me. He pulled me back slightly. “I’m going to call 911 ok?” I nodded. He called the police and then went back to holding me.
The police and ambulance arrived five minutes later. I was still very shook up, but I managed to tell the story to the police about how this man attacked me. They found his gun that I knocked to the ground. I just nodded when they complimented me on my defense skills. I had no idea how I did that. I had never been in a fight in my life, nor had I taken any classes. It was like something in my subconsciou
s took over.
They scooped the guy up off the ground and carted him off to jail. Hopefully without bail. “Let’s go home,” Leander said as he took me towards the car. He opened the door and helped me in.
Once we got home I went into my room, changed into some comfy sweat pants and a big shirt of Leander’s I stole. I just wanted to curl up on the couch. Sadly, Leander wouldn’t let that happen right away. He said that I still had to make him grilled cheese, no excuses. I needed to not think for at least a little bit so I made us lunch, which was awesome.
Then we settled on the couch and did a Scrubs marathon. J.D. and Turk made me forget the incident of the day until it was time to go to sleep.
“No falling out of bed tonight, okay, dove?” Leander teased me. I just smacked him on the shoulder and went to bed. I was a little nervous falling asleep. I really didn’t want to have a freaky dream or dream about what happened today. I slowly drifted off.
Chapter 7
“You may start, Thalia,” my father said to me. I gripped the handle of my kopis and pointed the heavy blade towards my opponent. I pulled my shield close to my body, ready for an attack. The man came at me with his kopis. I blocked it with my shield and came back at him with a swing of my own. He blocked it with his shield. My boots dug into the dirt as we went back and forth.
My chiton robes were slit on the side of my thigh, showing more leg than I would like. I faked an attack to the right and came at him with my shield to the left. He fell to the ground, and I brought my sword within inches of his chest.
“Well done, Thalia. You are doing so well beautiful.”
My father always called me beautiful. I dropped my sword and shield and walked over to him. He held out his arms for me. I loved my father.
“She is magnificent, Stelios.” I backed out of my father’s embrace and bowed to Alexander. He was one of my father’s greatest friends.
“Thank you, my old friend.” My father just smiled at me, then to Alexander.
“I would like to invite you both to the festival at the necropolis tonight. Can I expect you there?”
I looked to my father. He nodded and spoke. “Of course Alexander, it would be our pleasure.” Alexander nodded his head and then walked off towards his necropolis.
I turned back to my father. “I think we should go get you ready, beautiful. We can’t have you looking like you just came from battle.” His white hair was curled and cut short today. His robes barely had any dirt on them and his eyes had lines around them from his age. But his brown eyes were soft and full of love. He raised his hand and I gracefully accept it into my own as we walked back home.
I glanced at myself after I had been showered and dressed. I wanted to look my best; I wouldn’t want to dishonor my father.
My linen sheath dress,or a kalasiris to the locals here in Memphis, Egypt called it, was hugging my waist. Although it showed the swells of my breasts more than I would normally approve of, I didn’t want to disappoint.
My hand maidens placed a decadent necklace adorned with turquoise and jewels plated in gold around my neck. My long light brown hair was down reaching towards my naval. My maidens placed a beautiful golden head dress upon my head. I had to say that these Egyptians really knew how to dress.
I rose to my feet as my father knocked on my door. “We must leave. Are you ready?” I turned to him. His eyes filled with happiness. “You are a jewel of the Nile, my daughter.”
I woke up from the strangest dream I have ever had. I was actually in ancient Egypt. It was beautiful. I felt a strange wetness on my face. I lifted my hands up and realized there were tears on my face. Why? The dream was so real. I rolled over and just stared at my room.
God, yesterday must have really traumatized me if I was coming up with dreams like that. Although, I’m glad it was a good dream versus a nightmare. I’m okay with that.
I reached over and grabbed my phone to check the time. There was a missed text message from Tristan. I’m not even going to lie to myself about the fact that I felt all giddy on the inside. I opened the message.
It’s Monday Beautiful.
He called me beautiful! Then I sighed to myself. “I am such a loser,” I muttered aloud. I was turning into this pathetic little girl who got giddy every time this man talked to her. I needed to gain some kind of control.
Indeed it is Sir.
There! I was showing him a little indifference but not seeming like I was blowing him off. I looked at the time. Geez, it was eight-thirty in the morning. What time did he text me? Twelve a.m.?!
Really! I don’t even want to think about what he was doing at twelve a.m. I decided to get up and go to the bathroom. If he was up that late there was no way he would be up now to reply.
As soon as I came back into my room, I saw the little light blinking on my phone from a missed text. I took a deep breath and walked to it instead of sprinting towards my bed like I really wanted to.
I do believe you wanted to see me today. Be ready tonight at 7 p.m. MAM. Dress comfortably.
I see. Well, what if I had plans then? I wanted to tell him exactly that, that I was busy. I’m not sure why I wanted to find ways not to see him. He seemed like a genuinely good guy. I needed to stop fighting it and take a leap of faith. I’m not sure where I would end up, but I needed to give it a shot.
See you then. Wait where are we meeting???
I’ll pick you up from your apartment, beautiful.
Ok.
Yeah, I didn’t want to ruin whatever it was by saying something bad so I just set my phone down and got dressed for work.
The day flew by as my excitement grew. I was bursting at the seams trying to figure out what Tristan had planned. I practically ran out the doors to my car and flew home.
As soon as I got to my apartment, I scurried off to my room and got ready. I changed my nice work dress into a pair of nice pleated shorts and a cute short sleeve shirt. I kept my hair down, and retouched my makeup. I found my flip flops at the back of the closet and then did a once over in the mirror before I headed out to the front of my building. I looked at my phone and it showed it was a few minutes away from seven. I was so excited.
I glanced at the time again, reading 7 o’clock. I looked around and an all-black motorcycle pulled up in front of my building. Not those little crotch rocket ones either; this one oozed pure man. I felt those familiar feelings Tristan was near. It must be him.
Sure enough, the man on the motorcycle got up and took off his helmet. I feel like I have been living with one lung since I saw him and now I can fully breathe.
His black hair was messy but so, so sexy. He was wearing a pair of black cargo shorts and a grey shirt. I licked my lips while looking him over. He looked delicious.
“I’m glad you like what you see.” My gaze flew up to his. Those dark grey eyes pierced me. He was amused with my perusal. I blushed at the intensity I saw in him.
He walked over to me and placed his hand in mine as he brought it to his lips. My eyes fluttered when his lips touched me. I was drawn to him like nothing else, like my soul was literally trying to leave my body and go to his.
“Hello, beautiful,” he said against my skin. Shivers ran down my body. I felt feverish. Images of him and me rolling around together, intertwined flashed through my head again.
“Er, hi,” was all I was able to get out with him touching me.
He chuckled and let my hand go. “So I hope you are ready for some adventure.”
I shivered and tried to shake out of his spell. “Uh, Yeah, I am. Where are we going?” I asked.
He just winked. “It’s a surprise.”
I tried to contain the cheesy smile that was starting to creep up my face. “Ok, are we going on that?” I pointed towards his motorcycle. I haven’t ever been on one, so I was a little nervous.
He glanced at the bike then back at me with that stupid, adorable smirk on his face. “Never ridden on a bike be
fore?”
I shook my head nervously. “Nope.” I mustered up some bravery and put a smile on my face. “I guess there is a first time for everything.” I said as I walked by him towards the bike. I heard him chuckle behind me.
“So how do I get on this thing?” I asked. Should I just hop on and swing a leg over?
“Well first, we need to protect that pretty head of yours,” he said as he held out a helmet, and helped me put it on. He swung a leg over the bike and sat down. He patted the spot behind him.
Oh boy. This was going to be snug. I knew at least enough to know that I was going to be squished up against this man’s incredibly sex-oozing, panty-melting body.
“Okkay.” I swung my left leg over the bike and sat down.
“Scoot up,” he said and I did. “Now, wrap your arms around my waist.” I did as he said. “Hold on.” He started the engine and took off.
My eyes closed and I was gripping him with my arms and legs for dear life. “Open your eyes, Thalia.” I felt a feeling of safety flow from him to me. I slowly opened my eyes.
Seeing Boston up close like this was amazing. All of the lights flashing by. It was beautiful. I squeezed my arms around him even tighter, just enjoying being with him.
A few minutes later, we were pulling into a marina on the Boston Harbor. My face scrunched up in confusion. What were we doing here? He wasn’t some serial killer who was going to make me swim with the fishes, was he? Somehow I blurted that out without thinking.
He chuckled as he pulled the bike to a stop and put the kick stand down. “Sorry I gave up killing a long time ago.” My face turned to stone as my eyes were bugging out of my head. He laughed.
“I’m kidding, seriously Thalia, you are as safe as you will ever be with me.” He got up and ran his knuckles softly across my jaw. “I won’t let anything happen to you.” He was so intense. I was starting to get used to it. I know I should be freaking out he is this… possessive. But I wasn’t. I felt as safe as he was telling me I was.
“Okay, so what are we doing here?” I ask him curiously. He smiled and held his hand out for mine, which I took, as he helped me off of the bike. He continued to grab my hand as he led me towards the boats. I huffed with a mix of excitement and annoyance. I wanted to know why we were here.
Weighing of the Heart (Volume 1) Page 4