Finding Obscurity (5 page)

Chapter Seven

Men are so frustrating, which is the perfect reason not to let them
get too close. I had two who said the other was dangerous and could not be
trusted. Well, maybe they both were right and I should heed their warnings.
Then again, I couldn’t get Ashton’s crooked grin or Blake’s offer to help me
rope in my freakiness out my mind.

I scratched Jinx behind the ears. “You’re the only male I trust, you
know that?”

He rubbed against my fingers purring away before I changed into my
sweats and a tank, getting ready for bed. I plugged in my cell before heading
to wash my makeup off and brush my teeth. I had just dried my face off when my
phone started ringing.

The caller ID was marked private. “If you think you’re going to get a
cheap thrill, you are sadly mistaken.”

There was a deep, throaty chuckle. “Not that a cheap thrill wouldn’t
end my night perfectly, but it makes me a little sad that you’re giving those
out to everyone but me.”

“Ashton? How did you get my number?”

“I got it from Sam. I hope you don’t mind, and before you yell at him
for giving out your number, understand that I let him know that I found out he
leaked a name from the list. So he was under a little pressure.”

“That little rat bastard. Don’t think I won’t give him any slack for
giving it away. What do you want?” I pulled my hair up on my head in a messy
bun, holding the phone in between my shoulder and ear.

“You left so fast and I wanted to bid you goodnight.”

“Okay. Well… goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Liliana. Be safe.” The phone beeped, showing me he had
ended the call.

I set the phone down and plugged in the charger again. Sam was going
to get it for giving my number out. Ducking under the covers, I flipped off the
on the bedside table lamp. Jinx curled up on the pillow next to me and I was asleep
as soon as I closed my eyes.

I was in a ballroom, dressed in a blue silk gown with a white
corset that was so tight, I could barely breathe. My breasts heaved over the
corset and my arms were capped in bell sleeves. I reached behind to my hair and
noticed it was pulled up with little ringlet curls at the nape of my neck.
Candelabras were lit around the room, casting everything in an eerie glow. A
huge crystal chandelier hung from the center of the room, and the hardwood
floors flickered in the candlelight. An almost creepy classical waltz was
playing, but there was no orchestra to be seen, even though it was coming from
this room.

 
I spun around with my skirt
tails fluttering out, trying to see why I was here in a dream. Usually I dream
of the future but this seemed like it was from a long time ago. It was the
strangest thing I had ever experienced.

When the music picked up in tempo, the candle flames suddenly shot
higher, brightening the space. I turned at the sound of shuffling behind me.
Blake stood there with his hand outstretched, inviting me to dance. He was
dressed in a black tux with coattails, and his blonde hair was slicked back.

I stood there staring at him in confusion. “Why am I dreaming of
you?”

He smiled and gave an elegant bow. “What if I am dreaming and you
showed up in mine?”

“Impossible.”

He tugged me closer and stretched out our hands in front of us. My
other arm was lying in the crook of his in a traditional waltz pose. He began moving,
and I had no choice but to follow him. “Is it? Some say being able to short out
a city block would be impossible. Others would say that seeing the future is
impossible. Is it too much of a stretch to think you could be pulled into
somebody else’s dreams?”

We swirled around the room a few times. I had to count in my head
the different steps to keep up. It had been a long time since I had done any
classical dancing. I looked back up at Blake in uncertainty. “So did you pull
me into this dream?”

“What do you think?”

“Maybe. If what you’re saying is true then why did you bring me in
dressed like this?” I said, looking down at my breasts.

“Isn’t it obvious?” He winked at me. “On the plus side I wanted to
get you alone. Why not when you’re fast asleep?”

“So you’re able to pull people into dreams? How?”

“Another little trick of mine, and before you ask, it’s nothing
like that movie. There is no dream inside a dream. I wasn’t sure you would even
be here. Most people aren’t really conscious and have no memory of the dream. I
think you will, though.” He shrugged. “I also came to warn you about Ashton.
There are things you don’t know about him.”

“Oh, good Lord. Here we go again. He thinks you killed his
brother. Why?”

Blake rolled his eyes. “I didn’t kill his brother. I have no clue
what happened to him, but Ashton thinks I had something to do with his
disappearance, which is ridiculous. What would I gain by going after somebody
like that? I would be hunted to the ends of the Earth if it were true. There was
no proof, so I was safe.”

“Hunted?” I shook my head in confusion.

“Yes. I like staying alive. Look, you need to stay away from
Revive and Ashton.”

“You both keep trying to warn me away from each other. It’s
freaking annoying.”

Blake stopped the dancing, even though the music still played in
the background. He stared down at my lips, and before there was any kissing, I
yanked myself away. Blake sighed and said, “Well, I can see how he thinks I’m
the bad one. I hold one of his prized secrets. You need to stay away from
him.
 
He is not the person you think he
is. Lily, Ashton is…”

I awoke with a start to somebody pounding on the door. Glancing at
the time on my phone, I lay back down with the pillow over my head. It was only
daybreak and I planned on sleeping until at least eleven. The dream really
freaked me out, and I stared at my popcorn ceiling, trying to calm my nerves. I
never knew you could pull somebody into your dreams. It was almost something
from a science fiction movie.

“I’m going to kill them,” I muttered, throwing on a robe. The
knocking only had gotten louder as I cursed them for waking me. “I’m coming.
Don’t get your panties in a bunch.”

Leaning up, I to looked out the peephole and saw a deliveryman. Geez,
they didn’t have to come this early on a Sunday morning. Most people were at
church, but I wasn’t most people. This guy wouldn’t give it up, and reached up
to pound on the door again. I flung the door open before he could knock again.
I know I only had one eye opened, but tried to glare anyway. “What?!”

The man looked at a box in his hands and then up at me. “Ms. Canton?”

I confirmed who I was as he handed me a boxy computer gadget to sign.
After it was signed for, I was handed a red garment-sized box with black ribbon
on it. “Wait!” I said, stopping the man as he turned to leave. “Who is this
from?”

“I just deliver the packages, ma’am.” He shrugged and left.

 
I shut the door and locked my
deadbolts before turning for the kitchen. I set the box on the counter and eyed
it suspiciously as I scooped coffee into the coffeemaker. I listened to the
machine hiss and sputter while staring at the box like a snake would jump out
of the damn thing. Who would send me something? More importantly was how that
person had my address. Sam had been to my apartment once to pick me up. I
wasn’t listed in the phonebook, and my mail was sent to a P.O.
box
because I liked my privacy. Maybe Sam bought me an
outfit to wear but managed keep his mouth shut so I wouldn’t have known to
expect something. Turning the box around on the counter, I inspected it
noticing there wasn’t anything written on the box. The only way the delivery
service knew how to find me was the pretty address tag tied to the ribbon. I
froze when I realized it only had an address and no name. Had the guy seen my
name on his little computer doodad I signed? It had to be how he knew who I
was.

Curious, I started to carefully untie the ribbon and put it aside. I
used my fingernail to break the tape holding the box closed and slid the lid
open. Lying inside was a folded card and something wrapped in tissue paper. I
opened the card first. It was elegantly written by hand and I marveled at the
writing, almost jealous since mine resembled chicken scratches.

Liliana,

Meet me at
Monument Circle at sunset. Wear the dress.

My heart
beat wildly as I wondered how he knew where I lived. I laid the card on the
counter and carefully unwrapped the tissue paper. The most beautiful strapless
red dress lay inside the box. Pulling it out and putting it against my body, I
was impressed. The taffeta material had pleats along the body and up to the
sweetheart neckline. It was tight-fitting, flaring out just past my hips down
to my toes just enough to allow easy movement. If Ashton had gotten my size six
right, I would be surprised. Luckily, I had some high heels that would go with
the dress. After I slipped the dress on, I struggled to zip up the back.
Inspecting myself in the mirror, the dress fit like a second skin. Walking
around the apartment and back to the kitchen, I noticed there was a small box
still inside. I opened it to find a diamond necklace and matching chandelier
earrings. I ran back into the bedroom and tried on the matching set with my mouth
gaping. I was pretty sure these weren’t cubic zirconia.

 
There was another knock on the door and I
checked the peephole before opening the door to Sam. He was standing there with
an astonished look on his face. He grinned after looking me up and down. “You
look stunning. What’s the occasion?”

I shrugged
and he followed me into the kitchen, where I handed him the note from Ashton.

He read
the note with his eyebrows practically to the ceiling before spinning me around
and trying to locate a tag on the back of the dress. “Holy
bejeesus
!
That dress had to cost a fortune. There isn’t even a label anywhere on this
thing. I told you he had a thing for you!”

“Maybe. Do
you think I should go or return the dress?”

“Um, yeah
you should go, dummy! He went out of his way to deliver a dress.” Sam chuckled.
“Aren’t you the least bit curious? I mean, come on, I bet he will have one hell
of a night planned for you.”

“It’s
Sunday, Sam. Honestly, what could we do when most places are closed? You can’t
even buy alcohol on Sundays in Indiana.” I went back towards my bedroom to
change.

Sam
followed me into my room, and when I pointed for him to leave, I got an eye
roll instead. He had a point. It wasn’t like he would be after my body and I
didn’t have the right equipment to attract Sam. He sat on my bed and started to
pet Jinx as I slowly pulled off the dress. “Do you like him?”

“Who?” I
asked as I slipped on my jeans and a bright blue long sleeved T-shirt.

“Silly
girl. Ashton. Who else would I be talking about?”

For a minute
I was afraid he was going to say Blake, and I wasn’t sure what my answer would
have been. Carefully, I put the diamonds back in the box. “I don’t know, Sam.
Sure, he is very good looking, but I just have this feeling that I shouldn’t
date him. Something feels off about the whole thing.”

One thing
is that there is no feeling at all from him to find out if he has any freaky
abilities. Another is that I haven’t dated anyone since high school and it made
me uneasy. Part of me did like him, even though I told myself not to. Then
there was Blake and the dream I had last night.

“Girlfriend,
I know better.” He grinned.

“Oh,
speaking of Ashton. I know you gave him my cell number. What were you thinking?
You could have told him I didn’t have a phone. Did you give him my address,
too?”

His face
flamed with embarrassment. “I had no choice on the phone number and you know
it. Honestly, I have no clue how he got your address. Promise!”

“I won’t
let you live down giving him my number, but I know you didn’t have any other
option.” I shook my head. “I had a weird dream last night.”

“Oh? About
what?” he asked, inspecting a fingernail.

“Blake.” I
sat on the bed next to him.

“Blake?
Are you serious? Now that boy has something for you, too.”

I heard a
deep voice coming from my living room and Sam winced. “Speak of the devil. I
forgot he was waiting in the car.”

Blake
walked into my bedroom with a smile. “Are we having a party in here and I
wasn’t invited?”

I looked
up at him and watched him look at the red dress hanging on the closet door. He
looked questioningly back at me.

“When I
walked in Lily was wearing that magnificent dress. Talk about a shocker to see
her in formalwear, even if she did look absolutely fabulous. It was a gift, or
so she says.” Sam stood up and stretched. He must have read Blake’s weird
expression.

Blake’s
eyes shot to mine. “A gift? From who?”

I was
about to reply but Sam beat me to it. “From Ashton Ryder, of course. He sent
her the dress and invited her out tonight.”

“Is that so?”
Blake asked me with his arms crossed. He looked pissed and I wasn’t sure how I
felt about that. It wasn’t his concern if I had a date. Blake was just mad that
it was with Ashton.

My mind
strayed to the dream and my face flamed. I nodded. “Yes. He invited me out
tonight and got me the dress. It really isn’t your business if I want to go out
with someone. Last I checked, we’re not dating.”

“Meow!”
Sam said in the background with a laugh.

Blake
knitted his brows at me. “True. Are you dating him?”

“No.” I
frowned.

“So you
aren’t taken. Good. Would you like to go out sometime? I understand you have
plans tonight, but maybe we could get dinner one night this week?”

I knew
what he was trying to do as he gave me a lopsided grin, and Sam chuckled. He
figured if he was in the running then he would have some say. He was sadly
mistaken if he thought I would let anyone tell me who I spent time with or what
I did. “Sure. Why not?”

Blake’s
smile grew. “Great. I will call you later tonight then. Did Sam ask you to lunch?”

“Um… no
need to call me later tonight. I will be occupied. And no he didn’t say
anything but I have to catch up on laundry and do some housework, so I won’t be
able to go.”

“Bummer!
Maybe next time. Blake, you ready to eat? I am wasting away to nothing,” Sam
said as I followed the two of them out to the door.

Blake
leaned in and whispered in my ear, making me shiver. “Be very careful tonight
and watch your back. Sweet dreams, Lily.”

They both
waved goodbye before I locked the deadbolts on the door. I leaned my head
against the cold metal of the door and exhaled noisily. I never wanted to have
any friends, and now I have Sam. Then I didn’t picture that anybody would want
me, but now I had two men who were vying for my affections. To make matters worse,
they absolutely hated each other.
When
did I start to care about all of this?

I was no
closer to finding out why I have these crazy-ass abilities. Blake knew
something about others like me, but he hadn’t really given me anything to work
with. He had offered to teach me more about what I could do, but that meant
letting him in. With Blake and Ashton throwing around warnings about each
other, I wasn’t so sure if getting answers from either of them was a smart
idea. Blake had been about to tell me something in the dream last night. What
was it? Oh, probably something stupid, like another warning to keep my
distance.

Grabbing
my laptop, I sat on the couch and checked my email, figuring I could get some
work done and these men off my mind. I had several clients asking for social
media help in creating a portfolio of different ideas for websites and
advertising. Another one of my clients wanted me to go over their financial
forecast to see if I spotted errors. It wasn’t a pretty job, but it paid well.
Plus, working from home had advantages and I only had occasional meetings with
my clients.

I had been
up to my elbows in financial spreadsheets when I noticed there was only an hour
or so to get ready. Reluctantly, I headed towards the bedroom. I quickly
showered and blow-dried my hair before curling it to the side, letting it flow
down my shoulder. I went with dark eyeliner and blue eye shadow this time. I
slipped the dress over my hips before applying my pale lip gloss. The matching
jewelry went on, and I stared at myself in the mirror. I looked pretty damned
good. The dress and blue eye shadow made my hazel eyes pop. Ashton knew what he
was doing when he picked this dress, as it outlined every curve on my lean
body. My stomach was full of butterflies and I put my hand over it, taking a
few deep breaths to try and calm my nerves. I repeated over and over in my head
that I didn’t want anything to do with either of the men. Yet, here I was,
headed out on a date against my better judgment. Slipping on strapped heels, I
petted Jinx, and then headed out the door.