I impatiently waited for the elevator and almost jumped out of my skin when the doors opened only to have him staring back at me with his sparkling green eyes.
“Ok, how did you know what floor I was on and which elevator to take? That is a bit creepy.” I lied. Nothing he did could possibly be creepy.
“I figured by the time you pushed the button, I could be on the same elevator. I get bored easily.” His eyes caught mine and did not let go. My cheeks began burning up again. I hoped he didn’t notice. I couldn’t bear to let go of his gaze.
“So, where are we off to in the village that sleeps by midnight? Unless we are clubbing it?” I giggled, stepping into the elevator, realizing that his presence was, once again, overwhelming. I wished I had the phone between us. There was no way he was going to find this endearing.
“I’m not actually into the whole clubbing thing. Hope you aren’t disappointed,” His words were music to my ears, “I thought we could go to the Mallard Lounge at the Fairmont. Do you know it?”
“Yeah, that’s a great spot.” I wanted to tell him I knew it well and almost bought a residence at the Fairmont, but that would probably open up too much conversation since I’m a waitress and shouldn’t be able to afford such a place. My residence at the Westin was hard enough to explain.
As the elevator opened to the lobby level, he wrapped his arms around my shoulders and guided me out. Right before me stood his sister and her fiancé. I tried to stop myself from freezing in place. A family affair, that’s better for safety. Things were looking up. The red flags started to diminish, unless Karen was right about the hikers needing to be taken down by a group. Looking at these people, I knew that was an absurd thought and followed his lead.
“Man, Athen! I can’t believe you were able to find her. That really sucks.” I looked up at the man I could now call Athen, and he saw the confusion in my eyes.
“Finding you doesn’t suck, losing the bet he placed with me sucks. He owes me $100 cuz he said I wouldn’t be able to jump on the right elevator to find you. Obviously, he was wrong,” He hugged and kissed me on top of my head as if I had been declared his long ago, “You are my good luck charm already.”
We walked towards the lobby exit, and I gazed at the many couples coming in to retreat up to their rooms, and for the first time ever, I wasn’t looking at them with envy. Even if this was a fleeting moment, at least I was experiencing it for once, and I was going to eat it up as much as I could, every morsel of it. As the doors opened, the cold air blasted my face, and I reached for my hood, secretly hoping that my movement wouldn’t make him drop his hold on me. Instead he squeezed even tighter. I was in heaven.
While walking next to Athen, I saw how happy his sister and her fiancé were. Holding each other tight, only letting go to grab the occasional fistful of snow and throw it at each other. I wondered what on earth had made me so jittery earlier. They all seem like such a sweet and fun loving unit - something that I had yearned for as long as I could remember. It made me feel a little silly for how I behaved earlier. As if Athen could sense my feelings, he wrapped his other arm around me.
“You look cold.” He pulled me even closer. I looked up at him, noticing how much taller he was than I. The top of my head came only to his chin. My hood fell off, and I didn’t care. I was secretly hoping for another kiss on the top of my head.
“So, I gathered that she is your sister, and he is her fiancé, but I don’t know their names, and I only know yours because your future brother-in-law called you by it.” I took a deep breath in and kept going, “I want to set the record straight and tell you that this is unlike anything I have ever done before. That being said, you better fill me in on a few facts before I start to listen to the red flags I see waving in my head right now and decide to go lock myself in my room.” I started to slow my pace as the words left me, wishing a little that I could take them back.
We were almost to the middle of the village, about fifteen minutes away from the Fairmont. He stopped immediately as did his sister, turning to look at me. He grabbed my face gently with both of his hands. I looked up at him, melting a little and wishing I hadn’t attempted to lay down the law because I knew in my heart everything would be fine. For some reason, it already was. His eyes were piercing, full of concern, looking at me with an otherworldly sense, reminding me briefly of my dreams. He almost looked sheepish for a split second.
“Ana, you are so right. Someday my behavior will make complete sense. I keep jumping ahead of myself. I was so worried you wouldn’t come out tonight, and I completely got caught up in everything. My sister’s name is Aurelia, but we all call her Arie. Her fiancé is Cyril.”
“Ok, that’s a good start. So where are you guys from, and how long will you be here?”
Arie piped in next, “Well, our main residence is a tad outside of Seattle in Kingston. However, we recently purchased a residence at the Fairmont, which we are super excited about. So it’s safe to say that we’ll be here for a very long time. Now let’s keep walking so we don’t all become ice blocks.” She looked at me with her calming, almond-shaped green eyes as Athen grabbed my hand. For now, that was all the explanation I needed. I belonged with this family for the evening, and I was going to enjoy it even if I had to let them go tomorrow and wake up from my wonderful dream.
We arrived at the Mallard Lounge, and I realized it was still pretty active. Apparently, because I went home to sleep every night, it didn’t mean everyone else in the village did too. I followed the group to a table in the back corner that looked especially cozy. I hoped I wouldn’t let anyone down with my lack of conversational skills. I always loved this place, with the wooden walls and dark lighting. The room was so inviting. As we were getting all settled, I noticed a look between Arie and Athen that sent shivers down my spine, not because I was scared, but because I almost could sense what they were thinking, and it was about me.
“Well, Ana, how long have you lived in Whistler?” Cyril began the questioning that I felt might last a very long time.
“I’ve lived here a couple of years. I moved here right out of high school, and I’ve been a server at the restaurant since. It’s a pretty consistent job, and I can leave it once my shift is over. Carl, the owner, is very kind and has been very flexible.”
“Have you lived in your condo long?” Arie asked.
“Guys, let’s not interrogate her,” Athen piped up, “I’m sure she has many questions, too, but is being polite.” He looked at me and winked. All of a sudden, I didn’t care if all I did tonight was answer questions. I didn’t want this night to be over. I looked around the table and felt at home. Something I had never experienced when hanging out with other people that I could remember. Even my friend Karen, who was as close to a friend as I could get, didn’t give me this comfort level.
Our drinks came one after the other, and the words came spilling out. I couldn’t tell if it was the two greyhounds I had, or if there was a real connection. I was leaning back watching these people. They seemed so out of my reach. They were so put together. I couldn’t understand what I was doing here. I was definitely the black sheep.
They were intrigued with everything I had to say. It seemed truly genuine, unexplainable, but genuine. At times, though, there seemed to be a suggestion that they knew what my answers were going to be before I did. I also knew that was impossible, but that was the sense of it. We covered everything imaginable in conversation. I was filled in on Athen’s college stint, Aries’ favorite hobby, which was pottery. Actually, shopping was her favorite hobby, but pottery was a close second. They also covered their favorite places in Seattle to hang out. I tried to keep up with the pace adding in what I could about my life but certainly dancing around certain other aspects, like the lack of family and friends, or my ability to afford the condo I live in.
“I hate to mention this, but I should probably start to walk Ana home. It is pretty late, and
I want her to be ready for our day tomorrow.” Athen placed his hand on my knee, which sent a shot through my leg. I looked up at him thinking that maybe this was all a wonderful dream to replace all of the many nightmares until Arie interrupted my thoughts.
“That sounds like a good idea. I’m pretty tired from my day on the slopes anyway. Do you really want to walk her back? She could stay in our extra bedroom.” Arie sounded so excited, but I then detected a slight edge of worry in her voice. I didn’t want to offend her, but the thought completely terrified me - plus I had Matilda to get back to. Thankfully, Athen must have picked up on it.
“I don’t mind walking her home. It will give us time to talk about things more privately.” Once his words reached me, I was enthralled and invigorated for a whole new set of conversations. He smiled and grabbed my hand to help me up from our comfortable seats. As I sprung to my feet, I noticed Arie gazing at a guy two tables away who almost seemed to be glaring at me, though I knew that was ridiculous and brushed it off.
“Not to worry, man. We’ll get the check.” Cyrus ribbed Athen once more bringing me back to reality.
“Thanks. See ya in the morning. I’m sure you two will be sound asleep by the time I get in.”
I could only hope, I thought to myself. I saw Athen nod his head at Cyril towards the direction of the glaring man, but I shrugged it off. I said my goodbyes to my new friends as Athen and I walked out of the lounge. My heart started beating a little faster again. The thought of being alone with him filled me with happiness. I looked over at him, and he was adjusting his grey knit cap. He looked sensational with his black wool coat, worn blue jeans, and the shiniest black shoes that seemed to work on him.
As we were headed to the door, I caught the evil stare of the man lurking a few feet away from me, and it hit me. He had made an appearance in one of my dreams. It wasn’t a good one either. I was avoiding his eyes, afraid of what I might see. I could feel myself begin to get clammy and hoped that I wasn’t starting down the slippery slope of paranoia, especially at a time like this. I tried to bring myself back to reality, turning my attention to Athen, hoping for something to pop into my head to start a conversation. As Athen’s eyes caught mine, I saw a look of concern. I was sure it had to do with the stranger. I noticed him give the creep one last glance before he took hold of my hand, letting a calming sense of security wash through my body. I wasn’t going to ruin tonight. I was going to stay in the moment, which when looking into Athen’s eyes was not a hard thing to do. The butterflies returned, and I was eternally grateful. I was safe in his presence.
I couldn’t believe that, for whatever reason, I was the lucky one to spend time with him tonight. He looked over at me with his dazzling, green eyes and half-smirk, shaking his head while opening the door that led out to the village. It really seemed like he was reading my mind when he did that. The blast of cold air reminded me to move as I floated through the door out to the village pathway. We walked at a nice pace. I tried to stop as many times as I could justify, adjusting my shoes or whatever else I could think of to make the night go on for that much longer. I was hoping he hadn’t caught on. I’m sure he did, which would be one more reason why he would never call me again, too desperate. The snow had pretty much stopped by the time we got back to my condo. I hoped it would start again for the ski season’s sake. We approached the automatic doors in the lobby leaving my heart to sink as I realized that this was the end to the night.
Athen grabbed my hand as I tried to dodge out of the sensors way that kept opening and closing the doors. He pulled me towards him swiftly making me fall right into his arms. A wave of embarrassment began to hit, realizing he probably never meant for that to happen. But as I tried to release myself, his arms wrapped around me tighter. It was such a firm embrace, and he didn’t let go. I looked up at him, as he moved his lips closer to my ear, which sent shivers through me.
“Make sure you get a good amount of sleep,” Athen murmured. “We’ll meet in the center of the village at 9:00 am.” His breath gently grazed my hair as he backed away and turned quietly towards his walk home. I stood staring at him for as long as I could justify. Taking a deep breath in and mustering the strength to head in, I spun on my heels and glided through the doors daydreaming about his fingers touching mine and his lips so near my own. This would be a hard night.
The Watchers Trilogy: Awakening Page 6