Soul Seers Complete Set (13 page)

It’s as if she knew I was staring
at her.
 
Suddenly, her head whipped
around in my direction, causing her hair to twirl about her head.
 
We made eye contact.
 
Just the sight of her made me weak in
the knees.

Did I even have the balls to speak
to her?
 
C’mon, Jonah!
 
You’ve been
waiting for this girl for six mother-lovin’ years!
 
Go talk to her already!

Taking a deep breath and composing
myself, I steadily walked toward the clay-covered goddess.

God, I wish I could read her right
now.
 
My mouth was like cotton and my
tongue increased in size with each step I took in her direction.
 
I was seriously going to have issues
talking to her without sounding like a blubbering idiot.

Grabbing a chair from a nearby
wheel, I steadily turned it around and straddled the backrest.
 
My intention was not to look cool, but
to have some sort of brace to lean on so I wouldn’t fall over in pure
apprehension.

She stopped the wheel from
spinning and watched every move I made, not saying a word.
 
The back of her clay-covered hand swept
across her forehead to brush an errant curl from her eyes, shaking ever so
slightly, and smearing just a tiny bit of clay onto her skin.

I reached up in an attempt to wipe
the clay from her brow, but then hesitated.
 
Would she disappear?
 
Was this just my dreams all over again?
 
Every time I got close to her, touched her, tried to speak
to her, she would vanish.
 
I was
certain, if I lost her ever again, my heart would rip in two.
 
I couldn’t lose her again.

Slowly, I dropped my hand and
gripped my knees, wiping my now sweaty palms vigorously on my clay-stained
jeans.

“Are you…” she started to say, but
then wavered.
 
God, her voice was
even more breathtaking than I had ever imagined.

“Am I?” I responded with a smile,
attempting to ease her anxiety.

She grabbed the towel that was
draped across her knee and wiped at the slippery porcelain covering her
hands.
 
Visibly shaking, she tucked
her hair behind her ear and placed her hands back in her lap.

Finally, she spoke again.
 
“Are you… Jonah?”

“I am,” I answered as I gave her a
slight nod.
 
“How did you know?”

“Oh… ahh, Jay mentioned your
name.”

My heart dropped a little at the
realization she only knew me because of her short time here as a member.
 
I don’t know why I thought she knew me
from my dreams.
 
I mean, really,
Jonah.
 
She has no clue who you
are.

“Ahh, yes.
 
Well, let me properly introduce
myself,” I said as I strummed my fingers against the back of the chair.
 
“My name is Jonah Chantrey and I am the
owner of Lavendine.”

A soft gasp left her lips as her
jaw dropped and she sat there, staring at me as if I had two heads.
 
Something was up.
 
But, I still couldn’t read her, or
anyone for that matter.
 
The fact I
was no longer a soul seer was painful and infuriating.

“And you are?” I asked, in an
attempt to get some other reaction from her.
 
I had to know her name.

“Oh.
 
My name is Orella Hugh.
 
But please, call me Ella,” she said as she meekly
outstretched her hand for me to shake.

I just stared at her hand like an
idiot, nervous to attempt contact.
 
So far, I was able to talk to her, I was able to get her name.
 
This very well wasn’t a dream
considering I’ve never gotten this far before.
 
But, if I touched her, would she burst into glittering
flames?
 
Would her beautiful hair
disappear into a lake of midnight blue ripples?
 
Would she float away like a mist in the early morning hours
of spring?

Bashfully, she retracted the hand
she offered me and tucked it between her knees.
 
Shit.
 
Now I’ve
hurt her feelings.

“Orella.
 
Such a beautiful name.
 
And very unique, just like your amethyst eyes.”
 
The words just dribbled out of my mouth
like drool on my pillow.

“My eyes?” she said as she lightly
touched the bottom corner of her right eye with one of her fingers.

“I’m sorry.
 
That was awfully forward of me.
 
They’re just such a unique color and so
striking.”
 
Way to recover,
numbnuts.

A small smile made its way across
her face as she turned her gaze downward.
 
I wanted so badly to reach out, hook my finger beneath her chin, and
make her look at me again with those glittering purple gems.

“You must have a thing for
purple,” she said as she glanced back up to meet my constant stare.

“That I do, Ella.
 
Which makes you perfect,” I said with a
wink.
 
Oh my.
 
I cannot believe I just said that out
loud.
 
She’s going to think I’m some
kind of creep.

“You’re blocking…” she started to
say, but abruptly faltered.

“What?” I responded with surprise.

“Oh, I’m sorry.
 
Nothing,” she assured with a brisk
shake of her head.

Did she think I was blocking
her?
 
Was I blocking?
 
Honestly, I had no idea what the hell
was wrong with me, but I didn’t even know if she was really a soul seer.
 
Yes, I am certain she is Delphina’s
daughter, who was a soul seer when she knew my dad in college.
 
But, does that mean her daughter is
also a soul seer?
 
If she wasn’t—how
did she know about blocking thoughts?
 
I knew I couldn’t read anyone else, but now… now I think no one is able
to read me either.
 
The fact that I
don’t know any other soul seers makes it difficult to prove.

To attempt a change of subject, I
asked, “So, are you enjoying your time here at Lavendine so far?”

With a small nod and absolutely no
eye contact, she said, “Yes, so far.
 
This is only my second day.
 
But, I haven’t thrown on the wheel in quite a few years.
 
I’m worried I don’t quite remember.”

Finally, she looked back up at me
and, at that point, I knew she had my heart.
 
Her eyes were gentile, innocent, and oh-so breathtaking.

“Some say it’s like riding a
bike.
 
Would you like me to work
with you?” I asked, dying for her to accept my offer.

“Oh, I couldn’t ask you to do
that.
 
I’m sure you’re really
busy.”

“Not at all.
 
That’s what I’m here for, Ella,” I
assured her.

“Um, okay,” she said as she bit
her lip, making me nearly convulse on the spot.
 
“As long as I’m not keeping you from anything, then I would
love your help.”
 
With that, she
smiled, nearly taking all the air from my lungs in the process.

“Even more breathtaking in
person,” I muttered, not realizing I spoke aloud.

“Excuse me?” she asked, not
unkindly, but probably because she sincerely didn’t hear me.
 
All the better.
 
I needed to shut my mouth before I
scared her away.

Steadily, I turned my chair around
and scooted right next to her so we sat side by side.

Looking over, I heard her release
a shuttered breath as her eyes fluttered shut, and then opened again, focusing
on my hands nearing her ball of porcelain.
 
I could feel her warm breath hit my face as she steadily
blew out, almost as if she was attempting to gain control of herself.
 
Shoot.
 
I was the one that needed control.

“Ok, press down on the pedal and
get the wheel going at a speed comfortable for you,” I instructed.
 
Hearing the motor of the wheel increase
made the energy in the room intensify, causing a constant buzz of power to
pulse through my veins.
 
I was in
my element and I wanted nothing more than to share my love of art with this
girl.
 
My girl.
 
“Perfect.
 
Now, you nearly have this centered already, you just need to
level it out some to make your initial plunge smooth and uniform.”

“Will you show me?” she asked as she
brushed her fingers along the top of my hand.

She touched me!
 
I know that sounds juvenile to be so
excited over a simple touch.
 
But,
in all my dreams, in all 2200+ dreams, I’ve never been able to touch her.

I hadn’t answered her yet.
 
I was too stunned by this simple touch.

“I’m sorry.
 
You don’t have to show me.
 
I just…”

“Of course, Ella,” I said as I
managed to gain control of my hormones.
 
“I would love to demonstrate.
 
To center and level, I use my body more than I do my arm strength.
 
The best way I can explain it is to
brace your elbow into your side, like this.
 
Then use your body to push the clay while using your fingers
to keep it level.”

As I spoke, I demonstrated, all
the while looking directly into her eyes.
 
She watched my hands as I watched her expressions.
 
She glanced at me and smiled.

“You don’t need to watch what
you’re doing?”

“Why?
 
Am I making you uncomfortable?” I blurted out.
 
Goddamnit!
 
I needed to get control of my brain to mouth breakdown!

“I just… I…” she stuttered and it
made me feel bad.
 
I put her on the
spot like a jackass.
 
Just as I was
about to apologize, she continued.
 
“I’m just wondering what you see.”

She truly was wonderful in every
way.
 
What the hell do I say to
that?
 
I see the girl I’ve dreamed
about my entire adolescence.

“I’m sorry if I’m making you
uncomfortable.
 
I’ve just never
seen someone so beautiful before.
 
I’ll try to keep my eyes on my demo,” I said with a quick wink before looking
down at my hands.
 
Disappointment
already began to writhe beneath my skin at the loss of her beauty.
 
But, I could still smell
her—still feel her leg pressed lightly against mine.
 
That was better than nothing.

“It’s ok.
 
I think it’s kinda neat you can do this
without looking,” she admitted bashfully.

A huge, shit-eating grin spread
across my face as I continued showing her my skills.

“So, once you’re satisfied with
your centering, you want to begin your opening.
 
Make sure you get your sponge wet enough before steadily
opening the center with your finger.
 
A little trick I like to teach is to go in with your left middle finger
and then steady your descent with your right middle finger, keeping the sponge
between your hands for lubrication.”

“You make it sound so sensual,”
she said with barely a whisper.

“It is.
 
Wheel throwing is very sensual,” I said as I fought the urge
to look deep into her eyes.
 
Heck,
I fought the urge to make
her
feel
sensual.
 
“Now, you want to be
careful not to go too far down.
 
You want to leave room for trimming later.
 
Gently, curve your finger toward the outside of your pot and
meet that pressure with your finger on the outside wall.
 
A trick when starting with smaller pots
like this is to keep your thumbs crisscrossed over each other so your hands will
stay braced and steady.
 
Gradually
pull up the sides, keeping the width of the wall as even as possible.
 
Keep doing that until you get your
desired width.
 
Go ahead and try
with what I’ve started.”

“I don’t want to ruin it,” she
said with a little bit of humor in her tone.

“Oh, hell.
 
You won’t ruin it.
 
And if you do, it’s just clay.
 
Dive in, Ella.
 
I’m right here.”

My light humor was awarded with a
trickle of laughter from her lips.
 
The sound of her happiness warmed my insides and made me feel complete.