Element, Part 1 (6 page)

She pushed away. “I’m sorry Ryan. I can’t…I just can’t do
this right now.”

“What?” He looked at her with confusion.

She covered her mouth and without saying a word she turned
and ran off the dance floor.

Chapter 3:  A Leap of Faith

Staring into the mirror, Natalie watched the sweat collect
on her temples. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. Slowly, she
reopened them. Her face burned with heat and chill bumps ran down her arms. She
braced herself, holding onto the sides of the clear glass basin. When she
reached for the faucet, her left hand vanished into thin air. Immediately, she
looked at her right hand.  She gasped and stumbled a few steps back, pressing
up against the bathroom door. She could see through the flesh of her skin.

“What in the—” she held both hands in front of her face.
Fear consumed every part of her and the walls seemed to be closing in, trapping
her. Gradually, her arms withered away and her flesh evaporated into the air.
Her body began to feel lighter and lighter until it completely disappeared.
Even though she could not see her body she felt the space she occupied. Panic
rose up through her causing her heart to beat rapidly.

“No…no… no! Somebody help me … please!”

Natalie shot straight up from the bed. Her breathing was
ragged and her head swayed back and forth. Her clothes clung to her body,
drenched in sweat. She held up her hands in front of her. She sighed, “Oh thank
God. What a horrible dream.”
She examined the rest of her body, making
sure everything was visible.

A sense of relief settled in and her heart relaxed. The
sunlight shined brightly through the wall of windows in the guest bedroom of
her aunt’s condo and she wondered how long she had slept. She rummaged through
the Egyptian cotton sheets for her cell phone. Checking her phone, she saw that
she had several missed calls and text messages from Lise and another number she
didn’t recognize. Before she had a chance to read them her phone rang. Even
though she didn’t feel like talking to Lise, she took the call.

“Hello.”  Natalie cleared her throat a few times.

“Nat? Thank God you answered. Where are you? I’ve been
calling and texting you all night. What happened to you?”

“Lise, calm down. I’m fine.”

“I’m sorry about last night. I don’t know what got into me.
I didn’t mean to be so rude.”

“Forget about it.” Natalie shook her head. She had no idea
why Lise had acted that way with her in front of Ryan and Sal. It seemed unlike
her because she always showed concern for Natalie, eager to help with any
problems.

“Where are you?”

“I stayed at Sharon’s last night.” Natalie ran her fingers
through her matted hair, wondering how it got so messed up.

“Why did you leave? What happened? Ryan said you got upset
and ran off the dance floor. I looked for you for over an hour.” Lise breathed
heavily, like she was walking or running.

“I’m sorry, I had to go.” Natalie sighed. She heard Lise
still breathing heavily. “What are you doing? Why are you breathing so hard?”

“I’m on the treadmill. Can you believe it?”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, come to find out Sal likes to exercise too. Enough
about me, tell me what happened? Did Tony upset you that bad or did Ryan do
something?”

Natalie didn’t feel like talking about what happened between
her and Ryan. She needed to think through everything first before saying
anything to Lise. “No, I’ll tell you about it later. I’m going to shower and
then I’ll be back at the dorm.”

“Do you want me to come and pick you up?” She heard a couple
of beeps in the background followed by Lise taking several deep breaths.

Natalie thought about it for a second. Even though she had
on a t-shirt and shorts she found in one of Sharon’s dresser drawers, she would
rather have her own clothes. “Sure. Can you bring me some clothes too? I really
don’t want to go back to the dorm wearing the dress I had on last night. You
know how that looks.”

“Yeah, unfortunately I do. I just finished exercising, so I’ll
be there shortly. What unit does she live in again?”

“Unit 2405. Hey Lise, thanks.”

“Don’t worry about it. That’s what friends are for,
remember?”

Natalie smiled. “I know, see you in a bit.”

She hung up her cell phone and set it down next to her. What
happened last night? She had never reacted that way to a guy before, not even
with Tony. Especially one she didn’t even know that well. She always thought through
her actions before reacting, considering all the consequences. There was
something about being with him that made her lose complete control.

She slumped down into the bed and closed her eyes, recalling
the feelings that overcame her when they were talking and dancing. She pulled
up the covers over her mouth, hiding the smile and giggles she couldn’t keep
in. Ryan made her nervous but at the same time she found comfort in his arms.
How could that be?

Carefully, she traced back through her mind and tried to remember
what had happened. When she licked her dry and cracked lips, she tasted salt; the
salt that once outlined Ryan’s full lips. She touched them and recalled the
passionate and intense kiss they shared.  Shivers ran through her body from
head to toe. Despite the incredible kiss they shared, a strike of pain to her
heart told her she did the right thing by pulling away and running out the
door.

Natalie tried to ignore that voice telling her not to get
involved with him. For some reason she couldn’t stop thinking about him.  She knew
she had to stop this from going any further. Getting hurt again was not an
option.  Besides, school took priority over everything and falling for Ryan
would only mean one thing, disaster. However, she couldn’t deny her feelings
and wondered if Ryan felt the same thing too.

***

Natalie packed her clothes into her duffle bag. “Are you
sure you don’t want to come home with me?”

Lise shook her head. “No, that’s okay. I’m going to stay
here and hang out.”

“I’m sorry you can’t go home.” Natalie continued to gather
her things, anxious to get on the road to see her family. She had two weeks off
before summer classes and the start of her internship.

“It’s okay. My mom is so busy with her job, traveling and stuff…
it wouldn’t be worth the flight or drive home.” Lise, an only child with
divorced parents, didn’t have much family. She rarely talked to her father and
hadn’t seen him in years. Her mother worked constantly and made her social life
a priority, kind of like Natalie’s Aunt Sharon. The fourteen hour drive to
Atlanta made going home for the weekend impossible and her mother had never
visited Lise since she started college. That made Natalie grateful for her
family, even though they sometimes drove her crazy.

“I’ll be back next Wednesday. So you won’t be by yourself
too long.”

Lise stood in front of the mirror, fixing her makeup. “Oh,
you don’t have to worry about me. I can hang out with Macie, even though I
don’t care to. Besides, I’m sure I’ll be hanging out with Sal, since he’s not
going home either.”

Natalie looked at Lise through the mirror. “That’s why you
don’t want to go home with me. Do yourself a favor and take this slow.”

“I know. Besides, he’s not that type of guy.” Her voice had
a hint of disappointment.

Natalie narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean?”

“He actually didn’t want to have sex with me. Can you believe
it?” Lise laughed, but Natalie could hear the bitterness and knew that it upset
her. Lise tossed a make-up brush in her cosmetic bag and shrugged it off, like
it was no big deal.

“That’s good. I mean… take your time, get to know him.” She
wanted to tell her to wait because even when you think you know someone really
well, you don’t.

“Maybe he’s gay?”

Natalie shook her head. “I don’t think so. I didn’t get that
vibe.”

Lise started working on her hair, teasing it and pinning it
to the side with bobby clips. “Yeah, me either. However, I never had a guy turn
me down.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t try so hard.” Natalie gathered her
dirty clothes and stuffed them into her laundry bag.

“What?” Lise’s voice sounded irritated.
“What I’m trying to say is don’t be the aggressor. You’re the girl. Girls
shouldn’t be trying to seduce guys for sex.” Natalie turned around, avoiding
further eye contact with Lise. Talks likes this made her uncomfortable.

Lise started laughing. “Since when did you become my mother?
Or Dr. Phil? Not to be rude or anything, but you’re no expert.”

Luckily, Natalie didn’t take offense to her comment. She
preferred not being an expert on this subject. She sat down on the edge of her
bed. “Sorry. I’m trying to prevent you from getting hurt, like I did.”  She
thought Tony was the right guy and hated that she gave herself to him.

“No offense Nat, but I’m tougher than you. Besides, sex is
just sex. It’s no big deal. Not to mention, I can’t resist when it comes to
Sal. He’s damn hot.” Lise turned back around to examine herself in the mirror.
“Do you think he will continue to refuse me?”

Natalie shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know.” They
definitely didn’t agree when it came to sex. She hated to think it, but one day
Lise would get hurt and maybe then she’d have more respect for herself. Until
then she would be Lise, always learning the hard way. “So, are you on your way
to hang out with Sal?”

“Yep. We’re going to the movies.” Lise stopped teasing her
hair. “Hey, why don’t you and Ryan go to the movies with us? We can go on a
double date.”

“No. I told you. I’m not going out with Ryan. I can’t get
involved with him.” Natalie gathered her things and doubled-checked to make
sure she had everything.

“I don’t know why you keep ignoring his calls and text messages.
The guy felt really bad about what happened on the dance floor. Which sounded
like nothing, based on what both of you told me.”

Natalie picked up her cell phone. She saw that she had four
text messages and two missed phone calls from him. She really wanted to talk to
him but refused to give in to her desires. She would only get hurt again.

“He likes you a lot, Nat.”

“How do you know that?” She looked up from her phone.

“Oh, ummm….” Lise stuck her head in her closet.

“Lise, why do you keep interfering after I already told you
I don’t want to go out with him? First, you gave him my number without asking
me and now you’re trying to plan a double date for us. I still can’t believe
you called and told him I was okay without asking me if I wanted him to know.”
Natalie took a deep breath and pressed her lips together. She didn’t want to
say anything she would later regret.

“I’m sorry. He was really worried about you and when I
couldn’t find you or get a hold of you, he asked for your number so I gave it
to him. Besides, Sal told me that Ryan said he couldn’t stop thinking about
you.” Lise pulled her head out of the closet. “You’re not supposed to know that
and neither am I. Ryan apparently told Sal in confidence.”

Natalie’s heart rate automatically doubled. Was he really
thinking about her the way she was thinking about him? Surely not. Giddiness
swept across her. She fell back on her bed, holding the phone close to her
chest. She glanced over at Lise. “Seriously?”

“Yeah. I don’t know why you keep pretending you don’t like
him. I can see it all over your face.”

Natalie covered her face with her pillow. A few seconds later
she tossed the pillow to the side. “Is it that obvious?”

“Uh, yeah. I know that jerk really hurt you but Ryan seems
like a good guy.”

Natalie smirked. “They always do.”

“You need to call him. Besides, he’s freakin’ hot too.”

Natalie narrowed her eyes at Lise. She wouldn’t put it past
her to try and hit on Ryan.

“Don’t worry, I already know what you’re thinking and he’s
not my type. He’s a little too country for me. Besides, I think fate brought
you two together. I mean what a coincidence that you two ran into each other
here?”

Natalie thought about what Lise said. Was it fate? Or
another heartbreak waiting to happen? The phone rang, interrupting her
thoughts. She glanced at the number on the screen. It took her a whole second
to realize that number belonged to Ryan. A rush of adrenaline hit and her body
tingled with excitement. Without thinking, she hit the answer key.

“Hello?” She quickly searched her mind for something to say.
Her body tensed with fear and her head spun.

“
e
He..llo, Natalie? It’s
me, Ryan. Ryan Garrett.” Instantly, her body wilted at the sound of his rugged
voice.

“Hi.”

“Thanks for taking my call. I’m not trying to stalk you or
anything. I...ummm…just ummm….wanted to apologize for any inappropriate
behavior the other night. I don’t know what got into me.”

“It’s okay. It’s my fault, not yours.” She searched for the
right words but her mind was blank.

“No, it’s not all your fault. I’m guilty too.”

“I guess we are both to blame to a certain extent.” Natalie
noticed Lise looking at her.

“Who’s that?” Lise whispered.

Natalie ignored her and kept her attention on Ryan.

“I didn’t mean to upset you to the point where you had to
run off. I went after you but I couldn’t find you. That’s when I told Lise and
Sal, and we all went looking for you. I’m not sure if she told you that. I
asked for your number and she gave it to me. I hope you don’t mind.” Ryan cleared
his throat.

“Yes, she told me. I’m sorry I ran out on you Ryan—”

“OMG! Are you talking to Ryan?” Lise blurted out.

Natalie covered the phone with her hand and motioned for
Lise to go away. Lise held up her hands, waiting for an answer so Natalie nodded,
confirming her question. Lise smiled and winked, and then went back to getting
dressed.