*****
Three Weeks Before…
The bright sun pierced my eyes and I squinted as I let my body recover from the jarring feeling of being sucked through a really narrow tunnel. I took a few deep breaths to stretch my lungs and then opened my eyes. I was back in the alley I hid in to jump back. I looked up and saw the sun directly overhead. I knew it was midday. I needed to know the exact time and date. I hadn’t been focusing and I didn’t time how long I let the rip in created charge up. The longer the charge, the farther back or forward I jump. It was an inexact measure but I was much better now at it than I had been in the past.
It was still cold so I couldn’t have gone that far back. I jogged up to the street and rounded the corner. The sports bar was just opening. One of the bartenders was wiping down the storefront outside. I walked up to him and smiled politely.
“Hey, can you tell me the time and date?” I asked him plainly and he glanced at me before he pulled his phone from his pocket.
“Yeah it’s noon on the dot, November eleventh.” The bartender went back to wiping down the glass and I wondered how I would ask him the year without freaking him out.
“Hey uh, you guys gonna show the Nets—Celtic game here?” I asked innocently enough and the bartender looked at me as if I was stupid.
“Of course we are man. We’re in the heart of Brooklyn. But that game is like three weeks away. What, did you place a bet on it or something? My boss don’t like to have bookies in the bar.”
I held my hands up innocently. I said, “Just wondering is all. You have a nice day.” I nodded my head to him before I walked off down the street. Great, how was I going to find Melina in a city as huge as this one with nothing but her first name? It wasn’t like I could jump forward again because I might overshoot and she could be dead in that instance. I just had to wait it out and hope for the best. If worst came to worst, I’d simply camp out on that damn sidewalk and wait for her to happen by again. I sighed heavily. For the time being I would simply come by that spot where the accident took place every day around the time I saw her that night, and wait until I found her again.
I started walking towards the nearest subway. I had an apartment in the city for when I time jumped, so that I wouldn’t bump into myself, and I kept careful document of the times that I stayed in each one so I wouldn’t overlap.
I took the C train to Fourth Street and then caught a cab into Midtown, where my apartment building was. There I’d sync my phone with the date and time and I’d be able to regroup. Gathering that much energy to break through time wiped me out more than simple jumping through a shortcut in space did. I hardly remembered the doorman greeting me or the elevator ride up to the top floor. All I remembered was finally collapsing onto the soft couch cushions in my living room and knocking out.
* * *
When I opened my eyes the room was dark. I bolted upright and hurried into the kitchen to look at the time on the stove. I sighed with relief, as it was only six in the evening. I still had time to get to the bar in Brooklyn and wait for Melina to walk by. I shrugged off my coat and tossed it over the back of the couch. I went over to the clipboard on the fridge. My last visit was a month ago; there hadn’t been any recent entries so I was clear to stay.
I quickly showered and then dressed in a green turtleneck and jeans with a pair of brown boots. As I combed through my curly hair while in the closet I quickly changed the date and time on my phone. Since it was difficult to jump back considerable lengths of time in the past I usually kept it recent. I had houses and apartments all over the globe and only just thought to dedicate a few to when I time traveled. Especially after what happened that one time…I couldn’t chance messing with the whole butterfly effect thing too much. I checked myself in the mirror. My hair was the same shoulder length curly brown locks that they always were. My jaw just as square, brow just as intense. My nose had that familiar little crook in it from when I got into a bar fight in Istanbul.
I ran my hand over the day-old stubble on my jaw and chin and decided to shave the next day. I needed to find Melina.
*****
I didn’t go into the bar, I simply stood outside and leaned against the brick wall. My eyes met the face of every person that passed by and they were especially sensitive to any hint of fiery red hair. It was already nearing midnight and I was losing confidence that I would find her that way. Just as I was getting ready to turn tail and head home, I saw her. She was crossing the street and heading towards me. Her head was down so she didn’t notice me staring at her.
“Excuse me…is your name Melina?” I asked when she got close enough to hear me. Melina’s head snapped up and her eyes widened as if she recognized me. They were so much bluer up close.
“Yes…who are you?” she asked suspiciously, though her voice was beautiful and musical sounding. After all I was the stranger who knew her name and approached her on the street.
“I’m Caleb. We, ah, met briefly at the…” my mind moved at a thousand miles an hour as I tried like hell to think of a general venue where we could have met. Melina captured her bottom lip in between her teeth and she studied me a moment. I had become completely distracted by the small gesture.
“I think I’ve seen you before, yeah. You always get coffee at the bagel shop on Madison right?” my eyes widened. She was right. I always went to get bagels at O’s, they had the best damn lox in Manhattan.
“Yeah, yeah I do. You go all the way out to Madison for bagels?” I asked her and she smiled.
“I work at the Lincoln Center so I pass by it every morning on the way to work.” I rocked back on my heels as I slipped my hands into my pockets. I tried to appear causal.
“So what brings you all the way out to Brooklyn?” I asked her conversationally and she smirked.
“Visiting a friend, what about you?” I wondered if this friend was a guy.
“I’m kind of fond of this sports bar so I come here for a drink every so often,” I said, evasively. Melina nodded and she looked like she was getting ready to make up some excuse to leave. “Um, so I know you’re going to visit a friend and stuff. I’d really like to…maybe go out with you sometime?” I asked hopefully. Melina kept chewing on her lip and then she shrugged as if to say, ‘why not.’
“Sure, that would be great. Let me give you my number and then we can set something up,” I handed her my phone and she quickly programmed her number. I couldn’t believe this was already turning out to be an easy save. I must have jumped back to the past just in time before she died in the present. The cycle wouldn’t repeat itself, I could still save her! She handed me back my phone. She registered the glee in my eyes, and gave me a lopsided smile. She even had a dimple in her left cheek.
“Are you on your way to see your friend now?” I asked her. Her expression wavered. I didn’t want to come on too strong and scare her away, but I didn’t want her to slip through my fingers.
“Well no actually I’m heading back home now. I usually catch the train into Midtown,” she said. My eyes widened.
“You take the subway this late at night?” I asked. Melina looked at me with that lopsided smile again and she chuckled.
“Well I have for years that I’ve lived in the city. Trust me I know how to look out for myself,” Melina said with amusement in her voice.
“Well…would you mind if I maybe accompanied you? I live in Midtown as well,” I said and Melina hesitated as she studied my face and then nodded slowly.
“Sure I guess, why not?” she said with a smile. I breathed a small sigh of relief. I just had to make sure I didn’t come across as some weirdo who wanted to follow her home or something.
“Great. So how long have you lived in the city?” I asked curiously. She smirked up at me as we walked down the street together. I walked on her left side, closest to the street just in case.
“Long enough to call it home I guess. So pretty much my whole life.” I smiled at her corny joke and she grinned. “How about you? I know a true New
York accent when I hear one.”
I chuckled and ran my hand through my hair. “Yeah I grew up in the city as well. I travel a lot nowadays though, but I haven’t gotten tired of New York yet.”
Melina nodded thoughtfully and she bit her lip. We both paused, a bit awkwardly, while thinking of something else to talk about.
“So I know of this really great pastry shop that’s open late and has amazing hot chocolate,” I said. Melina smiled up at me as if I knew her deepest secret.
“I love hot chocolate that would be awesome.”
I smiled, and relaxed a bit as we headed to the nearest subway station.
*****
Melina was amazing. I hadn’t imagined that we would get along so great, but we did. When I brought her to Grandma’s Inn on Fifth Ave she nearly melted as soon as we stepped through the door.
“It smells amazing in here. It smells like chocolate heaven,” she said.
I laughed and then took her hand on a whim and led her to the display cases near the order counter.
“There’s a Nutella filled croissant here that’s amazing with the hot chocolate,” I suggested, and she looked up at me with childlike excitement. I ordered two croissants and two hot chocolates and then we found a seat outside. Melina took a sip of the hot chocolate and she moaned in pleasure. My jeans felt tight as my cock stiffened in reaction to her.
“Whatever fate brought us together, so that you could bring me to this hot chocolate, I’m extremely thankful for it,” she said. I laughed and she giggled. It didn’t help the tightness of my jeans any, but I was grateful for the beautiful sound nonetheless. She had no idea what ‘fate’ brought us to that point.
She said, “So I told you a lot about myself on the train ride, but didn’t hear enough about you. What do you do for a living?”
“Well I restore old historical houses and buildings all over the world. I went to school for architecture and specialized in restoring old homes first here in the US, and it sort of just grew from there,” I said. I was actually telling the truth, except about how I traveled from country to country. I had no need to take a plane.
“Wow, that’s incredible. You must know a lot about different cultures then,” Melina said. She seemed intrigued and I smiled.
“I do, I have to learn the history behind each house or building being restored in order to get certain details right. I could take you to each house or each building and tell you the story behind it, why it got destroyed or fell into such disrepair,” I said. Melina smiled. I could take her to each one, but I have never told anyone about my ability, not even my parents, to whom I’ve given hints before bot not told outright. I don’t know how people would take it; more importantly I don’t want to end up like some lab rat.
Melina said, “With the ballet we usually perform in the city, only a few times a year do we go to different locations within the country. Then outside of the ballet I’ve only ever been to the Bahamas on a cruise.”
Something inside of me jumped at the chance to show her the world. But I needed to hold back. I had to make sure she lived past the Nets game three weeks away, and then maybe I could fully tell her about my real life.
“So does this count as us going out? Or can I still call you for a date tomorrow?” I said. I gave her my best charming smile and she giggled.
“Yes you can call me definitely. I want to hear all about your adventures,” she said with sincerity. That Friday night was turning out to be a pretty good one.
“Well I do have quite a few stories to tell,” I said. Melina listened, fascinated as I told her about the time I was in Japan restoring an old tea house that had been destroyed from a siege held by warring samurai.
“Wow, that’s just crazy, so you were able to restore, perfectly, a tea house that had been nearly burnt to the ground?” she asked incredulously, and I nodded.
“I worked with a couple other Japanese architects and historians. We pored over some ancient architectural plans to familiarize ourselves with the period. It’s usually how a job goes when the building is practically a pile of rubble.” I said and Melina smiled.
“You know, you’re the first guy I’ve met in a while who is actually genuine. You wouldn’t believe how many guys I meet who lie about their jobs in some way just to get me to bed or something,” I quirked my eyebrow at her to hide the spike of guilt I was feeling. I was lying to her about who I was, by omission.
“I can understand why they would. You’re a beautiful woman and in this city it’s always a race. Usually women won’t give a guy the time of day if he seems to be struggling to pay rent.”
Melina blushed at my compliment and I couldn’t get over how sweet she looked with the touch of pink to her cheeks. I reached out and caressed her cheek and then froze when she did. She hadn’t been expecting me to touch her and of course this made me look like some idiot who was only looking to get her into bed. I was moving too fast.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know…why I just did that,” I said lamely and Melina laughed at me.
“You’re so cute Caleb. It’s fine, I’m not weirded out or anything,” I breathed a sigh of relief and then realized she called me cute.
“Cute? Just cute? Not hot, or gorgeous at least?” I teased her and her laugh turned into a giggle.
“Well maybe you are hot and a little gorgeous, wouldn’t want to blow your head up completely,” she said, giving a minx-like smile. I chuckled. I was definitely in trouble. Melina seemed like the perfect woman.
*****
After our hot chocolate I set up our next date, then walked Melina home.
We’d ended up talking for hours about all sorts of things. It was nice having someone to tell my stories to; usually I only stayed with women for one night to scratch an itch. Then I was on to my next adventure. It was turning out to be different with Melina. Especially as we simply dated and talked for two weeks without my so much as kissing her.
I made sure I saw her every day though. We’d go for coffee in the morning and dinner at night, or lunch when she went to Brooklyn. I was beginning to wonder about this friend she kept visiting there. She’d always shy away from the subject whenever her trips to Brooklyn came up. Each time it did all I wanted to do was tell her that her that she would die on one of her trips there. In fact the more time I spent with her the more I wanted to tell her, just warn her outright. But that wouldn’t do any good. I was sure I’d mess with something cosmic if I told Melina about her own future death.
The Nets game was only a week away now and every day I grew more anxious. Melina and I were walking back to her place after having dinner and she kept looking up at me with odd expressions. As if maybe she was expecting something from me, but I had no idea what she wanted.
“You seem anxious Caleb. Are you all right?” Melina asked with curious concern in her blue eyes. I took a deep breath and then simply nodded.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m alright. I’m just keyed up today is all,” I said. Melina gave me that look I think all women learn by the time puberty hits. She knew I was full of it.
“Can I ask you a question?” Melina said abruptly. I thought she was going to grill me about my mood and was glad she didn’t.
“Sure, what’s up?” I asked her. She tilted her head at me slightly.
“Why haven’t you kissed me yet?”
I stopped walking in the middle of the cold busy sidewalk and Melina stopped as well. She faced me with an expectant expression.
“Well…I didn’t want to come on too strongly,” I said, and she rolled her eyes.
“Just because I sometimes complain about other guys doesn’t mean you’re one of them. I like you,” she said. My heart picked up its pace in my chest as a smile broke out across my face. I’d had feelings for Melina from the first second I laid eyes on her. I was treading lightly because I didn’t want to scare her away for one, because I needed to save her life, and two because…well because I was falling for her. I just couldn’t tell her all of that.
; “You do? Are you sure?” I asked with a teasing lilt to my voice.
“Yeah I’m sure. I’m positive, now are you going to make me beg?” I smiled and then pulled her close. My arms wrapped around her waist and I lowered my mouth to hers. I heard her small intake of breath before my lips pressed against hers. Melina’s arms slid around my neck and I held her tighter against me as our lips moved against each other’s slowly. The rest of the world around us melted away and all I knew was Melina.
She broke the kiss and then gazed up at me with a small smile before she took my hand and then led me in the direction of her apartment building. We were only a block away from it. Before long, we were riding the elevator up to the twentieth floor. We walked down the hall to apartment D. She unlocked the door and pulled me inside. She flipped on the lights and I glanced around. Her place was open concept with the living room bleeding into the dining room and the kitchen open to both. There was a hallway through the kitchen that must have led to the rest of the apartment.
“So this is my place, I get it for pretty much a steal. My brother is a real estate agent and he hooked me up,” Melina said while she removed her coat and scarf. I shrugged out of my coat as well and pulled the beanie off of my head.
“It’s really nice. So you live alone?” I asked her and she nodded. I was sure I’d asked her if she had roommates at some point, but I had to admit I was a bit nervous. I knew exactly why I was in her apartment; I knew what she wanted. Melina put our coats away in the closet next to the front door and I walked over to the couch to have a seat.
Two Wolves For Lizette Page 14