Shaping Destiny (3 page)

The mystery’s man’s kind
voice and handsome face appeared in my mind. He’d saved my life,
and even carried me off the hard ground to check for injuries. He
told me I wouldn’t understand but to trust him and not tell
anyone.

I shook my head. “I saw .
. . ”

He’d made me feel
something that was unexplainable. When I’d opened my eyes to reveal
him looking down at me, he’d felt familiar. Even though my brain
didn’t trust him, every other part of my body did. I had to go
along with what he told me, at least for now.

“I saw nothing, and it was
so quiet. I expected the campus to still be busy. I went to cross
the road, and it was so wet I slipped and hit my head. I’m
surprised this is all I got.” I walked past Jared, hoping to move
on with something different. “Oh, and my phone is still in my room.
Sorry. I must have left it.”

Did I really just lie to
Jared?
I would have never thought even in
my wildest dreams that I would tell Jared anything but the truth.
But there was no time to backtrack even if I wanted to.
What have I done?

“Well you seem OK, but if
you hit your head you should really see a doctor.” Jared followed
right behind.

“No, that’s not necessary;
I’ll just grab Tylenol and be as good as new.”

Jared seemed to accept my
lie that a bump on the head would heal on its own.

We practiced our ballroom
routine for a while and visited with my roommates most of the
afternoon.

“Do you want to go out for
dinner tonight?” Jared asked me.

“Yes, that would be
great.”

“Mexican?”

“You know me too
well.”

I grabbed my dirt-streaked
coat, and Jared put on his brown one. He held my hand as we walked
to his truck, and let go only to open the door for me.

“The biggest hangout place
is the Mexican restaurant.” Jared started the truck.

“And how do you know this
already?” I had a sideways grin, knowing his outgoingness and
socialization gave him the information.

“It’s the talk of the
town. Everyone knows about it.” Sarcasm filled his tone, followed
by a dashing smile.

His smile only brought
back memories.

***

We’d known each other
since we were babies. We’d been at the same schools, played on the
same playgrounds, and, when we were old enough, driven everywhere
that our small town had to offer together. It was just in the last
part of our sophomore year of high school that we became more than
friends. It was the last dance of the school year and he asked me
to go with him, and I couldn’t think of anyone else I would rather
go with.

Going to the dance was the
best date of my life. Jared didn’t get his beautiful truck until
his senior year, so when he needed to drive somewhere he would use
his parents’ Buick Century. It was a comfortable car, but that is
all I could say for it. He drove up to my ranch-style log house and
walked up to the door in his black suit and blue tie that matched
my dress. I’m not the type to keep a man waiting or be fashionably
late, so I got to the door before my father did and yanked it
open.

It wasn’t long before my
dad had slipped in front of me and faced Jared with those concerned
eyes that all parents give to the boy that’s taking out their
daughter. My parents had always been concerned about boys and
wanted to meet every boy I knew. So when I’d actually started
dating, they went overboard.

My dad had met Jared many
times before, but I guess the whole dating thing got him a little
wound up.

“Dad,” I said, “It’s
Jared. Can you please let him in?”

He stared into Jared’s
eyes for what seemed like minutes. He wasn’t a man of many words,
but you knew what he was feeling a lot of the time. Dad was a
chubby man, but claimed it was all muscle. He passed along his dark
eyes and hair to me, but although I had those aspects of my father,
most people thought I looked like my petite and beautiful
mother.

“Hmm,” Dad said. He inched
his way to the side but kept his eye on us. Jared put a corsage on
my wrist, and I pinned a flower onto his jacket.

I looked toward my dad and
said, “So, Dad, I’ll be home when the dance is over.”

He finally spoke up.
“Wait, when is that? You know your curfew is midnight.” He sounded
a little on edge.

Then Jared cut in. “I’ll
have her home by twelve, Mr. Hawk. Don’t worry.”

Dad nodded and gave the
look that told me he better see me walk in those doors not a minute
past midnight.

Dad was really a big, soft
teddy bear, but when I looked back at my memories I was glad that
Jared had been the only man I’d brought home.

When Dad nodded, that was
our sign to leave. Jared and I walked out onto the wood porch that
wrapped around my home. He took my hand as we walked down the steps
to his car. Just like a gentleman, he opened my door for me and
waited to see if I had my dress out of the way. He hurried around
to the driver’s seat and gave me his big smile that always made my
cheeks heat up.

“You ready, cutie?” he
asked.

Cutie is the name he
always called me, like honey or sweetheart. I’ve always loved it
when Jared calls me cutie. It’s like he is giving me a compliment
every time he speaks to me.

The dance was held at the
gym in our high school. Balloons were up and streamers were
hung.

Jared and I had been
dancing together since our freshman year on the ballroom dance
team, but everything had always been choreographed. It was
refreshing to get out on the dance floor and really dance. Music
played, lights flashed, and people circled around us. It was a
fairy tale come true and the best first date ever.

Time always flew when
Jared and I were together, and it was midnight before we knew it.
As we pulled up to my small home, the lights were shining through
the front windows. Jared walked me to my door and gave me a kiss
good-bye on the cheek.

“Jared!” a spunky boy
called over when we walked into the restaurant. “What’s up, man? Is
this not awesome or what? Come let me introduce you to the
gang.”

My one eyebrow raised in
question toward Jared. “The gang?”

The inside was decorated
with sombreros, and the walls were lined with lights shaped like
chili peppers. The booth seats and chairs were red and the
tabletops were beige. Karaoke was playing in the corner, and the
music and lighting gave it a nightclub feel.

“Jared, you know Mark.”
Jared and Mark shared a quick nod, and introductions continued from
left to right. “And this is Dawson, Greg, and Meg. And for your
lovely lady, I’m Steve.” He bowed toward me with a hand on his
chest.

“Hey guys, I’m Jared, and
this is my girlfriend, Leah. Your buddy Steve and Mark here talk
about this place all the time. We’re in trig together.”

“I am not the only one who
has an obsession,” Steve said with a wink. “Leah is the talk of the
whole class.”

Blush filled my cheeks,
but Jared didn’t leave that comment hanging for long. “Just in case
you want to embrace me further, we’ll grab the booth behind you.”
Jared patted his friend on his shoulder.

The whole table, along
with me, started to laugh as we took our seats.

“Hi, I’m Joan, and I’ll be
your waitress.” She handed us menus, water, and chips and salsa.
“Do you need a minute to look at the menus?”

Jared put his menu on top
of mine. “No, we know what we want. Two enchilada dinners with rice
and beans, please.”

“All right, I’ll have that
right out for you.”

I sat there quietly and
smiled at Jared.

“What?”

“Nothing, it’s just
amazing that you didn’t ask me what I wanted to eat.”

He looked worried. “Did
you want something else?” He started to rise from his seat. “I can
get the waitress back. It’s not too late.”

“No, no. It’s not that. If
I were to order for myself I would’ve ordered the same thing. It’s
just funny that you know that.”

Jared relaxed and put his
hand over the table to hold mine.

“So tell me, Leah. Have
you seen any more of that creep guy?”

My heart skipped a beat
and my palms started to sweat instantly. Butterflies filled my
whole being. I knew exactly who he was asking about. I’d lied to
Jared once already. Could I do it again?

“Leah, you’re shaking. Are
you OK?” Jared put both of his cool hands over my one.

“Oh, umm . . . I . . . I
need to go to the restroom. I’ll be right back.”

What was wrong with me? I
made it to the restroom, grateful that no one was at the sinks.
Turning on the water, the cold felt so good to my hands. I saw my
reflection in the mirror and noticed my neck and cheeks flushed. It
felt overheated. Or was it hot flashes?

I’m
overreacting
.
There is nothing wrong with me, I’m fine. Just calm down and
breathe and everything will be fine.
I’m
just panicking, that’s all. It’s because I’m lying to Jared, that’s
all it is. And I guess I have some crazy attraction to a stranger .
. . and I was attacked today.

“Ah!” I slammed my hands
down on the sink, releasing my frustration. I realized then I
wasn’t alone.

“Miss, are you
OK?”

Now I felt stupid. “Yes,
fine, sorry.” I walked out of the bathroom. Running away from
Jared’s question only led me to run away from my embarrassment in
the restroom.

The front door of the
restaurant was close to the restrooms, and I went through it to get
some fresh air and to cool down. A rush of breeze passed me as I
walked down the side of the building.

“You know you shouldn’t be
out here in the dark all by yourself.” The smooth, kind voice that
I secretly hoped to hear again filled my senses.

I jumped back in surprise.
I continued to step back slowly as if I were escaping a wild
animal.

“
Why are you here? I did
what you asked. I haven’t told anyone, I promise.”

He looked wounded. “I’m
not going to hurt you, Leah. I’m glad you haven’t told anyone, but
that’s not why I’m here.”

“Then why are you
following me?”

He ran his hand through
his dark hair. “I just wanted to make sure you were OK, after what
happened this morning.”

My overheated body had
cooled, but my brain had not. “How did you know where I’d
be?”

He looked up, took in a
deep breath, and turned his head to the doors. “Please remember,
I’m not here to hurt you. I have to go.”

“Who are you?” I yelled
after him.

“Leah?” Jared said behind
me.

Startled, I turned
quickly. “I . . . I’m sorry. I just needed to get some fresh air. I
had this weird wave of sickness come over me.”

“Steve told me he saw you
leave. Are you feeling better?” He put his hand on my
arm.

“Yeah, the air did me
good.”

“Our food is at our table
now, if you feel up to eating.”

My stomach growled,
reminding me of dinner. “I’m ready. Starving.” I placed a hand on
my stomach as we walked back into the restaurant.

“We didn’t mean to scare
you away,” Steve said as we passed his booth to sit in
ours.

“It wasn’t that. I just
needed some air.”

“Yeah, Jared can be a
handful. I would need some air too if I were you.” He laughed at
his own joke. “But kidding aside, you are going to love the
food!”

Our food sat in front of
us, and it smelled wonderful.

“Thanks. So is this your
second year at college?” I asked Steve while his other friends held
their own conversation and Jared and I started our food.

“Yuppier. Has Jared said
nothing about me?”

“Sorry, man,” Jared
sarcastically said. “It must have slipped my mind,”

“Yeah I bet. You just
wanted to keep this lovely lady to yourself.”

“You’re right, you’ve got
me.”

“Hey Steve, the karaoke is
open. Go sing for us.” His friend Meg yelled over to get his
attention. His other friend cheered him on until his name chanted
over and over between our two tables.

“Steve! Steve!
Steve!”

“All right, all
right!”

Clapping and shouting
encouraged him further. Jared and I finished up our food as Steve
sang.

“You ready to go?” Jared
asked.

I plugged my ears from the
terrible singing and started to laugh. “Yeah I’m ready. Next time
you see Steve, tell him he needs singing lessons.”

“No kidding!”

We got up, grabbed our
jackets, and waved good-bye to our new friends. Jared turned and
gave Steve a thumbs-up and a “good job” expression. As we exited
the restaurant doors we both burst out laughing.