Amaranth (7 page)

He spoke frantically now, and I began to sweat, anxious from
his
anxiety. Desperate to ease his discomfort, I
turned my eyes toward the sidewalk.

“I mean, I feel like I’ve known you forever, even that day I
met you in Paris. Something happened then. I love how you bear your thoughts in
your eyes, how you’re transparent. Yet you’re so elusive, hard to catch--” He
finally exhaled. “And I want to be the one to catch you.” Loosening his grip on
my hands, he slowly lifted my arm, slid the shirtsleeve up. “Whoever he is . . .
I know he hurt you.”

I pulled away, loosened the sleeve to cover the bruised
skin, ashamed. I looked away, but he pulled my face closer to his. “He’s scum
of the earth. The one back in Seattle, too. Neither one of them deserve you.”

“How did you know?” I asked softly, wondering how obvious it
was.

“Lucky guess.” He wiped a tear that formed in the corner of
my eye. “Was that him on the phone? The one who did this to you?”

I nodded my head, looked down.

“I just want you to know that I’ll wait for you. However
long you need. And that I’m here when you’re ready to talk about it.”

I hesitated, then peered up at him and reached out to pull
his arms around me. I’d tell him about Andrew later. For now, I focused on the
gift being offered to me. He held me tight, placed his head over mine and ran
his fingers through my hair. “I guess this means we’re good?” He laughed,
uncertain.

“Yeah.” I buried my head into his neck, wrapped my arms
around his waist. “We’re good.” I breathed in his scent and exhaled. His depth
only seemed to draw me farther into the recesses of his being, and I was more
than ready to dive into its very core.

The four of us were silent in Gavin’s
Maserati
,
a somber mood filling the cramped space. In the last week, we’d all returned to
Cafe Des Amis several times, went fishing and kayaking, and watched about a
thousand movies, including all of Gavin’s favorite Hitchcock flicks. Before I
was ready, it was time for Audrey to go back to Seattle, and I wasn’t the only
one feeling the weight of her pending departure.

Gabe and Audrey sat in the backseat, her suitcase piled on
Gabe’s lap, ready to sentence her back to Seattle. Helping her pack that
morning, I tried convincing her to leave the Pacific Northwest and come live in
the gator-infested swamps to be closer to Gabe and me. She rejected the idea,
as I’d suspected she would. Then she gave me hell for retracting my promise to
go to the police when she left. I reminded her that Andrew had forgotten about
our date anyway, and that he hadn’t called since the night at Café Des Amis.
Both true. I added that things would be safer now that Gavin was around, too,
and that seemed to finally mollify her.

From the backseat, Gabe complained, “This thing doesn’t have
much room,
Gav
. We should’ve taken my truck instead.”

“Deal with it,” Gavin snapped back. “Camille and I are going
out after we drop Audrey off. I’d kind of like to have my ride with me, if you
don’t mind.”

“God you guys, don’t hold back the enthusiasm or anything.
Lighten up,” Audrey said, oddly upbeat considering the circumstances.

“How are you
possibly
in a
good mood right now?” Gabe scrunched his face, looking annoyed.

 
She sighed. “Well
excuse
me, but I’d prefer to actually
enjoy
our last few minutes together instead of sulking
about it.”

I raised my eyebrows at Gavin, then at Gabe. “She has a
point, guys. Can we cool it with the dramatics? Please?”

“Thanks, Cam,” she said. “Put these boys in their place.
Man, and guys say
we’re
the drama queens?”

I laughed, happily agreeing.

“Call it what you want,” Gavin said, “but you ought to be
glad we’re the way we are. Like with that guy at the restaurant last week.”

She chuckled. “I believe that’s called over-
protective
, not over-
dramatic
.”

“Whatever, babe,” Gavin said, propping his hand on the
armrest between us. “You have no idea what kind of scum these guys are,
checking you out. It’s disgusting. We don’t have to guess what they’re thinking
when they’re staring you girls down, believe me.”

I placed my hand on his arm and gave him a smile. He smiled
and then shifted his eyes back to the road, but I saw anger in his balled-up
fist as it moved to rest on the shifter. Maybe Audrey
had
hit a nerve. Maybe these guys were too sensitive. I glanced out the window,
realizing I already missed my best friend.

From the airport, Gavin and I drove Gabe back to his place,
then decided to grab dinner out on the way to my house. We made our way toward
Saint
Martinville
with the windows rolled down,
Breaking Benjamin blasting through the speakers. “For the record,” I called
out, “this is one of the best songs ever. Great medicine.”

He turned the volume down as the song ended. “I always
thought so. Quite epic.”

I nodded, relieved to have him to myself after the commotion
from Audrey’s departure. I watched as we passed
aphotic
waves of a sugarcane field swaying gracefully, the night breeze pushing them
into motion, luring me in.

Gavin remained quiet, his eyes on the dark stretch of road
in front of us. I subtly examined him as he drove, loving the expression that
swept over him whenever he stumbled off into thought. My curiosity burned,
thirsty to know what he was thinking behind those dark chocolate eyes. His
poker face gave no hints.

I felt the car slowing, then he glanced into the rearview
mirror and gently steered the car off to the side of the road, putting it in to
park. The only sound now was of crickets outside.

I shifted my body in my seat and looked around, confused.
All I could see around us was the field and some trees, along with a
breathtaking number of stars above us. The moon was full against the dark sky.
The humidity began to suffocate me, but the silence that now filled the car
demanded my attention.

“What’s wrong?” I practically whispered.

He sat casually in the driver’s seat and placed one arm on
the armrest, then turned to look at me. “Do you always have to know what I’m
thinking? I thought you were so good with silence.” He flashed his signature
killer smile. “Please do explain.”

“It’s different. I don’t know.
Your
silence makes me uncomfortable. But in a good way. I mean, I want to know what
you’re thinking. All the time. I don’t feel that way around other people. And
you don’t exactly wear your emotions on your sleeve.”

“I don’t?”

“No.” I paused. “But you reveal a lot when you’re thinking.”

He didn’t break his stare, just motioned with his hands for
me to continue.

I shrugged. “I mean, your silence says a lot. I can see you
processing your thousands of thoughts ... see you analyzing them. But I can’t
see the thoughts
themselves
. It makes me
curious. Makes it harder to be quiet with you. I constantly want to hear you.”
I realized I was rambling, so I waited for him to respond.

“That sounds like it’s frustrating for you,” he said.
“Especially since I told you that
your
thoughts
are transparent to me.”

“To say the least.” I laughed.

“If it makes you feel any better, I only meant I can see
you’re genuine. It’s proof that you act and think exactly as you feel. And I
like that.” He reached out in the darkness, and I felt him take my hand.

“Okay, but ... why did you stop again?”

“You’re relentless.”

“You’re dodging.”

“Well if you really
must
know, seeing you get all worked up about that song made me think about how
crazy I am about you, that’s all.” He leaned toward me across the armrest,
lifted his head slightly to peer at me, his faint smile making an inexcusable
assault on my lungs. “And just think, it’s only a twenty-first-century rock
band. What would you say if we listened to Mozart or Beethoven? I don’t know if
I could handle an outburst of
that
proportion.”

“You wouldn’t have to.” I swallowed nervously, suddenly
aware of his intention. “Beethoven? That expression of love can’t be
verbalized.”

I knew it was coming, but his face being this close to mine
was something I hadn’t had time to get used to. Each time his skin had touched
mine before now, in even the minutest of ways, I became faint. Now the
proximity of his mouth was making my heart pound straight out of my chest. I
had never felt this way about anyone. It terrified me.

“You’re right,” he declared, nodding. “It’s only felt.” He
leaned in farther, placed his hand on the side of my face, pulling me toward
him. I didn’t flinch, as I so often did when Andrew touched me. Instead, I
welcomed him. I was fiercely aware that the instant his mouth touched mine, I
was no longer my own. He would love me or break me, the choice was his.

He slid his hand underneath my hair around the back of my
neck. His fingertips glided over my skin, giving me goose bumps. Nope,
definitely not the same chills Andrew gave me.

“Breathe, Camille,” he whispered. “I won’t bite.” He
chuckled softly. “But I
would
like to kiss you.”

I let a small breath escape my unreliable lungs as I nodded.
The soft collision of his lips on mine shocked me with a jolt of pure
electricity. My thought of a moment before had been correct. There would be no
more war permitted in my mind’s battlefield, for I had surrendered to being
made his immortal captive.

Our lips parted and I lifted my hand to graze my fingers
across the scar on his forehead. Looking into his eyes, my fresh existence
inhaled, desperate for its first breath of air.

“Camille? You all right?” He sounded winded. No words yet.

“Camille. Talk to me. Are you all right love?” He looked concerned
now.

Still nothing.

“Camille?” He grasped the sides of my face.

Finally, an alien on a new planet, I made my attempt at
communication with the beautiful creature in front of me. “
What
are you?” I gasped, my eyes locked on his.

“Uh ...
excuse me
? What?” His
look of concern turned to confusion.

“No human being can possibly have this effect on someone,” I
repeated, still fascinated with my new discovery. “What
are
you?”

He backed away slowly, leaned back in the driver’s seat.
“Camille, I didn’t know kissing you would ...” He hesitated at my smile, took a
deep breath. “I mean, I didn’t know a human being could have that effect
either.” He leaned back toward me, relaxed again. “You have no idea how good
this feels.”

I laughed, more comfortable now with my foreign
acquaintance. “Believe me, you couldn’t possibly be more surprised than me
right now.”

“Don’t you
dare
make me pump
you for details, Camille Hart.”

Laughing, I put Audrey on speakerphone so I could rummage
through my closet for something to wear. Over the past few days, she’d left
massive numbers of frantic phone messages, checking up on me as promised. I
finally called her back, and now she was doing what she did best, talking my
ear off.

“It’s about
time
he kissed
you,” she said. “I was beginning to wonder if the guy was a monk or something.
Come on, how was it? What did he say? What did he do? Give me
something
.”

My bruises had faded at last. I pulled my spaghetti-strapped
burgundy red dress that came to my knees off the hanger, pleased I could wear
it again. I wedged my feet into some black heels and held the dress up in the
mirror, making sure they complemented the dress. “I can’t really explain it....
It was like ...”

“Amazing? Earth shattering? Intoxicating?”

“All of the above, but ... more like an out-of-body
experience. If that’s what one feels like, anyway. More than the average rush
you get when you have your first kiss with someone you’re attracted to,
ya
know?”

“No, but continue.”

The dress went onto the bed and I swept my hair into a messy
up-do, sticking bobby pins randomly as I spoke. “Sobering. Sort of
metaphysical. It was so different. And my feelings for him are
different
. How was it kissing Gabe?”

“Well ... nothing to that extent, I guess. But powerful.
I’ve never felt about anyone else the way I do about him.”

“That’s what I mean about Gavin. Incomparable. And he has
this strange pull on me, like I naturally gravitate toward him.” I shoved the
last bobby pin into the pile of hair and started slipping into the dress. “So
the minute he kissed me, I just felt completely centered.”

“Give me a visual,” she said.

I dropped the hanger onto the bed and followed it. “I need
to go finish getting ready, we’re going out to some kind of dinner theatre.”

“Oh, fine,” she whined. “Call me later tonight. Full report,
I mean it!”

I pushed myself up off the bed, headed to the vanity to do
my makeup. “I’ll try, but don’t wait up. I might be tired and crash the minute
I walk in the door. Gavin’s always insisting I need to get more sleep.”

“Before midnight isn’t
that
late for you.”

“What makes you think I’ll be home before midnight?”

“Because. Gavin and Gabe never keep us out past midnight.”

I blinked, hesitating with my lipstick in hand “Huh. Yeah, I
guess you’re right.”

“Whatever. Just call me when you can, then. Everything else
is okay though, right? No word from the monster?”

I sighed loudly, picked up my mascara. “Yes, I am fine. I
swear. Nothing from him at all, he’s history. Promise.”