Eternal Island (Book 1 in the Eternal Series) (31 page)

“Ow!”

“Oh, my God, Lance. Oh, baby, I’m so sorry. You’re bleeding. Christ, I broke your nose!” Janie cried. “I broke your nose and all I wanted to say was I love you…”

Lance pinched the bridge of his nose to stop the flow with one hand and drew her close with the other.

“Every part of me is yours, Janie, broken or whole. Now, can you help me clean up so I can kiss you until we get so dizzy, neither of us can remember who we are?”

“How clean do you have to be before you can start kissing?”

§ § §

Ariana and Becky stared in awe at Jonah and Abe on the dance floor. They were perfectly synchronized as they danced with sharp, precise moves to a hip-hop song Ariana had never heard before. Every now and then they would do something new, trying to upstage each other, just like one of her favorite movies, “Step Up” or “Stomp the Yard”.

The song was nearing its end and Jonah tried to spin around on his hands, but somewhere in the middle of it he ended up on his assets.

Ariana and Becky busted out with laughter as Abe held out his hand to help him up. At least Jonah was a good sport about it; his grin was huge as he took Abe’s hand. Abe patted him on the back and they made their way back over to the girls. The colored lights bounced around the room and Abe’s head was suddenly bathed in electric blue. Ariana giggled, suddenly reminded of Rainey’s inspired protective spell. She’d have loved to have seen Abe with electric blue hair. She made a mental note to ask Rainey about it later.

“Where’s Rainey? Abe asked as he took the double shot of Jack Ariana offered him.

“Over there, sucking some guy’s face off,” Becky answered.

Abe followed the direction she was pointing and sure enough, Rainey was stuck at the lips to some guy who’d already made it to second base with her. Abe looked a little closer and smiled. “That’s Clive. It’s who she usually hooks up with when she goes out. He’s just a quick fix for her; neither of them want anything serious with each other.”

“Hey, when you told me you could dance, I thought you meant ballroom dances, not battling like Channing Tatum. What’s up with that?” Ariana asked and flashed her perfect smile at him.

Abe chuckled. “I can do it all, honey. Foxtrot, Mambo, Line dances… Even the Macarena!” He switched to his best country accent. “Hell, I can even Two-Step. You care to try it with me, little lady?” Abe held out his hand, palm up to her.

Ariana rolled her eyes and laughed. “We can’t two step to this, it’s Jay-Z.”

He held up his index finger to her, and jogged over to the disk jockey, spoke a few words to him and then came back to her.

“We’re up next.”

Ariana’s expression sobered when she realized he was serious. She had two-stepped a total of three times in her life: twice with Michael – and his dancing usually left her feet black and blue – and the only other time with her dad, when she was twelve.

“Um, Abe… I don’t think I can do this. I haven’t…”

He took her hand and led her to the center of the dance floor. He positioned her body to mirror his, and smiled as the song started playing. Ariana had heard the song long ago, but couldn’t remember its name. It had a good fast beat, which worried her once she realized she wasn’t good at doing the two-step slow, much less fast. Embarrassment colored her cheeks until Abe started leading her across the floor. It was effortless on her part, and she found herself starting to relax and enjoy the dance as they made their way around the floor.

They weren’t the only ones on the dance floor, Ariana noticed after a while. There were at least seven other couples, including Jonah and Becky. Vampires and witches knowing how to two-step, who knew?

Abe watched the expression on her face change from dread and embarrassment to excitement and confidence. God, he loved to watch her smile. For a moment he let his mind imagine what she would look like with fangs. “You’re really good,” he said quickly, to bring himself back to the present.

“Ha, you’re kidding, right?”

“No, you’re a natural at this; it makes me wonder what else you’re good at.”

She blushed and his vampire reactions kicked in; he had to fight back the urge to elongate his fangs.

“I meant dances, Ariana. Now whose thoughts aren’t so clean?” He laughed, making her laugh too. “Do you Salsa?” Without waiting for an answer, he sent her out at arms’ length and twirled her, pulled her back in and sent her back out again in the other direction in another twirl, then swung her behind his back, grabbed her with his other hand and sent her back out to arms’ length again before falling back into the two-step.

Ariana felt a little dizzy. She didn’t know for sure if this was exactly the way the dance went, or if Abe was throwing in a few tricks of his own; she could have sworn there were about four different dances, all mixed together. But it didn’t matter. This was the most fun she’d had in years. She laughed.

“Depends on how easy you can make it for me.”

“I’m not making anything easy for you. Like I said, you’re a natural… and you have a very talented leader.”

“See?” she laughed.

Abe twirled her once more, just because he could tell she liked it and, as the song ended, he dipped her and touched his lips to hers briefly before lifting her back to an upright position. Then he kissed her hand.

“Come on, let’s go get a booth. I’ve got some questions to ask.” He kept her hand in his and guided them to a booth at the back of the club where the music wasn’t as loud. “You want something to drink?”

“Michelob Ultra.”

He waved down a waiter. “I’ll have a double shot of Jack and the lady wants a Michelob Ultra, please.”

“Coming right up, Sir.” The waiter scurried off.

“So… Where are you from? Rainey never told me; I didn’t really give her a chance. I only told her to go get you without delay,” he said with a sly grin.

“Are we playing question for question? Because this conversation is going to get pretty boring if we’re only discussing my life. There isn’t much to tell.”

“We can play that game, if you want. Where are you from?”

“Nowhere, Arkansas. Where are you originally from? There were no States nine hundred fifty four years ago. That was like… back with the dinosaurs and cave men, right?”

“Har, har. I’m guessing that the remark about the dinosaurs was supposed to be a joke implying that I’m old. Very funny, baby girl. I’m from Eastern Europe, originally, but I’ve managed to live in just about every part of this big world. Eternal Island is by far the best. I don’t feel like I have to hide what I am here. I can be myself.”

The waiter set the drinks on the table and made himself scarce. Ariana picked her beer up and sipped it. Abe ran his finger around the rim of his glass, making it sing.

“Where are your parents? I hate to think that I may have snatched you away from a loving mom and dad and friends who are going out of their minds wondering if you are dead or being mistreated by someone. That is the only thing I regret, though not enough to make me think I should have handled things differently.”

“Friends, yes. Family, no. Janie and Lance were my only friends and Michael was my only family. My parents died when I was sixteen. I had to live in a foster home until I finished high school. I was not an honor student. I went to college, but then realized I couldn’t afford to continue studying and live, too. Me and Janie have been best friends since kindergarten. I’ve worked at Mel’s Bar and Grill for the last six years and me and Michael got married in March, last year. That’s about it, Abe. I told you I was boring.”

A cloud of sadness swept over her eyes, and Abe caught it before she could drive it away.

“There is nothing boring about you, Ariana. Something’s bothering you, though. I can see that. You want to tell me about it? Maybe I can help.”

“Nothing you can do, Abe. I’ve just remembered a joke we used to share, me and Janie. My first wedding was such a non-event, I promised her she could be my maid of honor at my next wedding, not that I was expecting to lose Michael… She made me pinky-swear.”

“That sounds serious.”

Ariana smiled. “Yes, it was.” She sighed and continued. “It makes me sad… that she won’t be here… And I worry about sharing this kind of news with her and Lance. I don’t know how they’ll react and it’s important to me that they like you and accept you as the man I’ll spend the rest of my life with. I guess I will find out when I dream walk, later.”

Abe kept quiet for a while.

“Did I upset you?” Ariana worried.

“I was just wondering, with all the powers you possess, if you would be able to take me dream walking with you, so I can meet them and be there to support you. And… if they have nothing to leave behind, they are more than welcome to come live on the island, as your guests… but you know the rules about leaving; I can’t compromise on that. My people’s safety would be at stake. If they decide they want to come, though, you could give them a lift on Wednesday, when you pick up your dress.”

“Wednesday? Pick up my dress?”

“Of course. You can choose whichever dress you like. What? Did you think I’d make you get married in blue jeans and a t-shirt?”

“I haven’t really had a chance to think about it. Where are you sending me?”

“Rainey is taking you to Beverly Hills, California.”

“Seriously? I’ve always wanted to go there.” Ariana looked at her ring. “And I’m gonna have to find a really good wedding present for you.”

Abe laughed. “I have everything I need, Ariana.”

“I believe that. All you have to do is snap your fingers and someone will come running to give you what you want.”

“I wasn’t talking about that. I meant you. You are everything I need, the only thing I truly need in my life – now and ever.” He took her hand. “Now, back to your friends.”

“I’ve already mentioned it to Lance. Not sure what he thought about it, though, he didn’t comment.”

“Was that last night? When you said he didn’t get a chance to say much?” Abe laughed.

“Yeah. I suppose he was a little stunned, at the time. Janie doesn’t really have anyone, either, like me. I guess that’s why we got along so well. But Lance’s parents are still alive – his mom has Alzheimer’s disease and his dad’s a jerk. The only complication would arise if Janie and Lance are…” she cleared her throat, “very close now… And Lance wants to stay there. I guess I couldn’t blame Janie for wanting to stay with him. She does like him a lot, I know. I can ask again, and yes, I would love for you to meet them. We can try it when we go back home.”

She looked up at him to see a smile wide enough to split his face in half. “What? Are you that keen to meet them?”

“You said ‘home’. And I’m ready whenever you are, honey.”

C
HAPTER 46

“Okay, I don’t know how to do this, so we’re just going to wing it and see if it works.” Ariana and Abe sat Indian style, facing each other, holding hands on his bedroom floor. “You need to relax your mind. If it works, everything will go black for a moment, so don’t freak out on me. You will hear a heartbeat, too. It’s theirs. When I came to your dream, it was completely silent.”

“I won’t freak out. Let’s do it. You sure they’re asleep?”

“It should be getting close to sun up there. Oh, no!”

Abe jumped. “What? What?”

“What if their dream is outside, during the day? Will it hurt you, do you think?”

“I dream about being in the sunshine a lot. I’ll be fine, Ariana.”

“Alright. Now… close your eyes and relax. Take me and Abe to Lance’s dream…” Everything went black. Ariana could still feel Abe’s hands in hers. “Are you okay?”

“This is freaking awesome. We’ve got to do this again, sometime. There are a lot of people’s dreams I would love to screw with.”

She squeezed his hands to get his attention. “You hear that soft thumping? That’s his heart. Pretty cool, huh?”

“That’s not my train of thought, but you don’t have to know what I’m thinking.”

“I can’t hear your thoughts here, so you’re safe. I wasn’t able to read Lance or Janie, either, probably because I’m in their head already.”

“Cool, I haven’t been able to get you naked…”

“Shhh, here it comes.”

They both went silent as a bright sunny day appeared before them. Lance and Janie were laying in a hammock together and Ariana got excited for a second, thinking she had killed two birds with one stone, when she remembered Abe’s dream with the made-up Ariana. This Janie was a figment of Lance’s imagination, not the real Janie. She would still have to visit her separately.

Lance and the dream Janie were laughing.

“Hey, Lance. Can I have your attention for a minute? Without distractions?” Ariana nodded towards Janie’s double.

Lance looked up at her and almost fell out of the hammock. “Ariana! I’m so glad you’re here. Have you talked to Janie yet?” The fake Janie dissipated.

“No, not yet. Did you end up giving her cheap flowers anyway?”

He looked confused. “No, why?”

“Someone gave you that broken nose, both your eyes are black.”

“Oh, that. No, that was an accident. She accidentally head butted me.” Lance looked past Ariana to Abe. “Who’s the big guy? I know I didn’t dream him up.”

Ariana sat down in the hammock and Abe walked forward with an outstretched hand. As Lance shook his hand, Abe introduced himself. “Abe Cambridge, nice to finally meet you. I am the reason Ariana was taken away and I am truly sorry, but we are destined…”

“Abe… do you think that, maybe, I can take it from here? Lance won’t understand unless he hears the words from my mouth. Come to think of it, he’s not likely to understand then, either. He was Michael’s best friend.”

Abe nodded and went to stand beside her, facing Lance, who had a confused look on his face.

Ariana stared at her trembling hands and spoke softly to him. “Lance, I know that you probably aren’t going to fully grasp what I’m about to say, but please, for me, I hope you’ll try. I want you to know that Michael came to see me on the island for a couple of days, and before he left for Heaven, he said that this is what he wanted for me.”

“You’ve seen Michael?”