Ominous Love (9 page)

I punch the air with my fist. That'll give
Seal something to think about. But now, it's dinner time. I hop off the bed and
head to the kitchen. Seal isn't in the kitchen or lounge room, so I tap on his
bedroom door.

“Come in,” he hollers.

Turning the handle, I peek in. He's sitting
on his bed, resting his elbows on his knees. He's changed into my father's
pyjamas, but his eyelids are swollen as if he's been crying. Maybe he's worried
what ‘Miss Beautiful’ will say when he goes back to her, especially if she
finds out about me.

I give him a half smile. “Dinner's ready, you
must be hungry.”

He shrugs. “I guess so.”

“Okay, come and sit at the table.” I walk
back to the kitchen and take the plates out of the oven. As I place them on the
mats, Seal sits down and stares at the flickering candles. After selecting a
song on my iPad, I sit opposite him and sprinkle parmesan cheese on my pasta,
but as Guy Sebastian starts singing,
Battle
Scars,
I nearly burst into tears. I blink them away and offer the bowl to
Seal.

As he spoons the cheese onto his food, he
watches me twirling spaghetti around my fork, but when he twirls his, it drops
from his fork and plops onto his plate. Scowling, he chops it with his knife
and eats it with his spoon.

Holding my mouth, I chuckle. “Haven't you
tried spaghetti before?”

He smiles. “Well, of course I've seen it, but
I never had the inkling to try it.”

“I can make you something else if you like.”

“No thanks, it's really delicious, especially
with the savoury mince and cheese.” As he sips the sparkling cranberry juice, the
flames from the candles reflect in his eyes, making them even more dazzling.

I sigh with yearning. “Do you like cranberry
juice? I can get you some wine if you prefer.”

He shakes his head. “No, this is fine, Elo …
Elle.”

Holding my crystal glass, I roll my eyes. “It's
okay, you can call me Eloise. I'll get over you, don't worry.”

He raises a brow.
“Really?
Is that why you're trying to free my inhibitions by offering me alcohol?”

My face grows hot. “No, I was just being a
good host. Anyway, you haven't told me your real name. What is it?”

“Nathaniel, but you can call me Nathan.”

I lean on my elbows. “Okay, Nathan, but what's
your surname?”

“Burns.”

“Hmm, Nathaniel Burns.” I twirl another
string of spaghetti and say, “Well, I’m still calling you Seal.”

He looks at his hands. “Suit yourself, Elle.”

Ignoring his rebuff, I continue eating my
dinner. At least I know his real name. Now I can do a web search, and who
knows, I might find out if he's married.

We finish our food in silence, and I look at
the clock. I've only got an hour to get ready for the party. I collect the
dirty plates and carry them to the sink.

“Leave them, I'll wash them. You cooked a
wonderful meal, Elle.”

Leaning on the sink, I stare out the window.
If I stay near him much longer, who knows what I'll do. I hand him a tea towel.
“Okay, Seal. The dishes are all yours. I'm off to have a shower.”

“It's Nathan.”

Heading out the kitchen, I look over my
shoulder. “You're no more Nathan, than I am Elle.” As soon as I'm in the
bathroom, I lock the door and let out a long breath. Life is cruel sometimes. I
want Seal, but I know his wife or girlfriend must be worried about him. I wish
he'd tell me why he ended up here though, and why she's so far away. Maybe she
ran off with another man. My spirits lift for a second. I can only hope. After
tossing my clothes into the linen basket, I hop in the shower and wash my hair.

After wrapping my long hair into a white fluffy
towel, I dry myself and put on my robe. As I brush my teeth and moisturise my
face, I can't help worrying what sort of a night I'll have with Tom. What was I
thinking? I grab my hairdryer out of the drawer and pad out to my bedroom.

Seal passes me on his way to his room, his
head buried in a book. Craning my neck, I try to see what book it is, but he
hides it behind his back. How strange. Frowning, I go into my room and close
the door. I search for my tight black jeans and wriggle into them. Then browsing
through my wardrobe, I pick out a bright red pullover and put it on. Perfect. I
pull the sticking plaster off my forehead and gently dab on some foundation to
hide the wound. Then I comb my lashes with heaps of black mascara and paint my
lips and nails bright red to match my jumper. As I glance at the clock, I
realise I have twenty-minutes before Tom turns up. After blow-drying my hair, I
pile it high on top of my head and clip it with a silver comb. Perfect.

Looking at myself in the mirror, I smile. I
look much older with my hair done up, but knowing Tom, he'll soon have it in a
tangled mess. I decide to stay away from him once we get to the party. I've no
intensions of putting up with his shenanigans. Plus I'll have more fun with my
girlfriends. I know Brooke and Ruby will be there because they'd never miss one
of Richie's parties. I'm sure one of them will give me a lift home.

As I spray perfume on my wrists and neck, I
hear a car pull up near the house. Shoot
.
My heart leaps to my throat, and as I slip into my black, knee boots I wonder
what Seal and Tom will say to each other.

When the doorbell rings, my stomach does
somersaults. It's not as if I want to go out, and definitely not with Tom. I
just want to stay here and melt into Seal's arms as we listen to music like we
planned. But I know in my heart if I stay home tonight, that's what will
happen. Seal couldn't look at me the way he does if he didn't have feelings for
me. Could he? Oh, what would I know, I'm just a hot-blooded ignorant
sixteen-year-old. Plus Seal is committed to ‘Miss, or Mrs Beautiful’, and surely
I don't want to be responsible for stealing someone else's guy, do I? I tap my
teeth with my fingernail. So why am I trying to make Seal jealous by going out
with a bozo like Tom?

Hearing voices coming down the hall, I
freeze. Darn it. Why did I leave that message on Tom's phone? I could tell him
I've decided not to go, but then he'd think Seal talked me out of it. Oh what
have I got Seal into? I smack my forehead. ‘Ouch. That friggin hurt.” I look at
my hand and it’s covered with blood.

Someone taps on my door, but I'm can't bring
myself to answer it. I feel nauseous and I'm going to be sick. As I dab my head
with a tissue, the door knob turns and Seal walks in. He takes one look at me
and his mouth drops open.

Chapter Eleven

I gaze up at Seal and my heart dances. He's
looks so cute in my dad's pyjamas. The top is undone displaying his wide
muscular chest, and the pants, oh my goodness, they're barely staying on his deliciously
slim hips. Without thinking, I lick my lips. He must have seen me ogling him
because he's gone bright red and he's hitching up his pants.

Shaking his head, he closes the door and
walks towards me. “Tom's here,” he whispers. “He said you phoned him and asked
him to take you out. Please tell me you didn't so I can order him to leave.”

Biting my lip, I stare up at him. Crap, don't
tell me they're going to fight again. If they do it'll be my fault. I wanted to
make Seal jealous, but I should have thought of the consequences.

“Eloise, answer me.”

“Oh, I'm Eloise now?”

He glances up at the ceiling as if he's
annoyed. “Don't play games, just answer me.”

“Okay, I did ring him, but why do you care?”

His runs his hand through his hair, an
exasperated look on his face. “Why? You know what he's like.” He looks at my
clothes and frowns. “And why would you go out with him dressed like that?”

“Dressed like what? You sound like my
father.” I stand up and shrug into my black denim jacket.

He grabs my shoulders and glares at me. “Eloise,
your father's not here, and if he was, I'm sure he wouldn't let you go out with
Tom. How old is he anyway?”

“Seventeen, why?”

“I don't think your father would like you getting
in his car. What if he drinks or takes drugs? And why have you put all that
paint on your face?”

I pull away from him. “Well, my father isn't
here and you're only a kid yourself. By the way, now you know who you are, how
old are you?”

He takes my hand. “My age doesn't matter, Eloise,
but your safety
does
. Now please, go and tell Tom
you're not going out with him tonight, or ever.”

My heat skips with longing. I so want to stay
with Seal, but who knows what will happen if I do. I grab my purse. “I have to
go, but I'll be back before midnight. There's heaps of DVD’s in the cabinet, or
you could read and listen to music, oh and help yourself to anything in the
kitchen.”

He holds my face between his hands, forcing
me to look at him. “Eloise, I'm begging you not to go. Tom isn't trustworthy,
and midnight? I doubt your parents would let you stay out that late.”

His thumbs are touching my face sending
shivers down my spine. I don't want to give into temptation, so I pull his arms
away. “Well, my parents aren't here, are they?”

Seal’s brows knit together. “Eloise, you head
is bleeding again. You can’t go out like that. Let me fix it for you.”

I dab it with my tissue. “It’s okay. I don’t
want you to fix it.”

Tom shouts from the lounge room. “Elle, are
you coming, or not? And what're you doing in there with your naked cousin?”

Oh shit. That's all I need, Tom to start
trouble. “I have to go, Seal.”

He drops his arms and clenches his fists. “No,
Eloise, I can't let you.”

I push past him. “You can't stop me, Sea …”
He abruptly takes me in his arms and stares into my eyes, mesmerising me, but
instead of kissing me, he roughly releases me and sits on the bed with his head
in his hands. “Okay, go.”

My heart aches. No one should hurt this bad. I'm
stunned, breathless, and confused. He obviously loves Miss Beautiful and I'm
just an annoying temptation, someone to feed his ego. I sigh. I'd better get
out of here before I change my mind and attack him with kisses. I run out of my
bedroom, close the door, and dash to the lounge room.

Tom is standing with his hands stuffed in his
jeans pockets, his head cocked, and his hair falling across his forehead. Looking
me up-and-down, he whistles. “Wow, you look hot tonight, babe.”

I give him a half smile. “Thanks.”

He grabs me around the waist and pouts. “What
were you doing in your bedroom with him? Was he watching you dress?”

I jab him in the ribs. “Don't be so rude. I
was already dressed. We were just chatting and making plans.”

“Plans?”
He raises a brow.

I roll my eyes. “Yes, plans on when he's
going home.”

He stares at me. “Okay, but you better not be
kissing cousins.”

My face flushes like a furnace. “Don't be
ridiculous, Tom.” I pull away from him. “Come on, I'm ready, let's go.”

He takes my hand, and as we head out to his
car, I look sideways at him. He's sort of cute and he never used to disrespect
me. I don't know what's come over him lately, but maybe I shouldn't be so hard
on him. After all, I'm experiencing the dramas of my own teenage hormones, so I
should try and understand Tom's behaviour a bit more. I blow out a big breath.
He'd better keep his hands to himself tonight though, or else. Hopefully my
friends will be at the party and I can chill out with them for a while and
forget about boy stuff.

As Tom opens the passenger door, I notice
Seal staring out the front room window, but he's not watching me, he's
glowering at Tom. My stomach jerks and I hop in the car to avoid his eyes. My
phone beeps with a message and I'm glad of the distraction.
Great.
It's from Brooke. She’s already at the party with Ruby and Francesca. I sigh
with relief, knowing I won't have to hang around with Tom all night, though
he's being so nice at the moment and I don't mind his company. He pats my knee.
“Okay, Elle, let's go.”

As he hits the gas I look back at Seal. He's holding
his head again. What's his problem? He can't have it both ways. I sigh,
wondering if he feels the same way about Tom as I feel about Miss Beautiful.

Tom presses his foot hard on the accelerator.
“What're you deep in thought about?”

I glare at him.
“Nothing,
but you'd better stop speeding or you'll attract the police and get booked.
Plus we could have an accident. You're still on your P's, you know.”

He hits the brakes and slows down. “Okay, babe,
anything for you.”

For some reason, when he calls me babe, it
gets under my skin, but when Seal says it, I melt. Not fair, why can't it be
the other way around?

Tom nudges me with his elbow. “What's your
cousin doing tonight? Posing in front of the mirror?”

“Oh, give it a break, Tom.” I roll my eyes. “Seal
isn't anything like you think. He's not vain, he's quite humble.”