Forever Young (12 page)

Saturday came quickly which meant dorm confinement for me. So I indulged myself by sleeping in. There was no point in getting up as I had nothing spectacular to do. It was depressing knowing that all of my classmates would be at the beach, hanging out and having fun. Emerson and Justas volunteered to stay behind with me, but no way was I going to cut into their chance to spend a day at the beach. I insisted they go and they reluctantly agreed.

My sleeping in, however, was cut short by a loud knocking on the door. I assumed it was Justas and Emerson, refusing to leave me to my confinement. I stumbled out of bed and groggily lurched to the door. My clock said it was almost 8:00 a.m.

Opening it up, I flushed when I saw Caiden there. If it was possible, he looked even more gorgeous than the last time I saw him though he was in nothing more than athletic shorts, a t-shirt and running shoes. I immediately realized I was in nothing but a t-shirt and my underwear. I slammed the door back in his face and called out, "Just a minute."

I ran back to my bedroom and grabbed a robe, throwing it on. I was so embarrassed. I didn't think twice about opening the door the way I was dressed because I thought it was just Emerson and Justas. I mean, Emerson was a girl, and Justas wouldn't look twice at me in my underwear. But to be caught like that in front of Caiden was beyond mortifying...and maybe just a tad exciting. I saw him quickly rake his gaze down me before I shut the door on him.

Fully covered, I opened the door back up. Caiden had a mischievous grin in place.

"Nice pajamas." I went crimson from head to toe. "Get dressed. We have places to go."

"I can't. I'm restricted to the dorm."

"No. You're restricted to the dorm unless you have classes or training. We are going to do training."

"Really?" That was exciting. Not just the prospect of spending time with Caiden, but I had been dying to do something more than classroom learning.

"Yup. Shake a leg."

I quickly dressed in a pair of yoga pants and a sports bra top, an outfit I was assured by the sales lady when I went clothes shopping was standard attire for our training classes. Still, I glanced down at my bare stomach with a little hesitation. I didn't know if I would ever get comfortable with showing my body.

I shook my head at myself.
Grow up, Charlie.
I quickly washed my face and brushed my teeth. Pulling my hair up into a long pony tail, I grabbed my socks and tennis shoes and headed out.

Caiden took me to the gymnasium that was in the building beside my dorm. I watched as he pulled training mats out and laid them across the wooden floor. I couldn't help admire the way he moved. He was athletic, yet graceful with no wasted movements. Efficiency personified. Sexy efficiency.

When he was finished, he turned to me. "Let's try some self-defense moves. Moves that will help you get out of a hold should a daimon happen to get its hands on you."

We moved to the middle of the mats and Caiden came to stand behind me. He moved up close and I could smell his body wash. He smelled clean and crisp, like freshly laundered sheets. I had to stifle an inner groan and I silently willed my butterflies to stay still.

"Now, if you are attacked from behind, most daimons are going to try to restrain your arms." He demonstrated by wrapping his arms around me tight, pinning my own down to my side. His body was pressed up against me and I could feel his warm breath on my neck. I involuntarily shivered and I swear I heard his breath take a sharp inhale.

His voice was gruffer when he said, "Now try to break my hold."

I immediately brought my arms out, trying to break his grip. He was like iron around me. I then started to try to struggle, throwing my torso left and right. It was like trying to break out of a steel trap. After several seconds of struggling, I was out of breath and hadn't managed to move his arms one bit. He let go and I turned to look at him.

"It's impossible. I'm not strong enough," I said with frustration.

"Wrong. What did I tell you when we first met? Nothing is impossible in Semper Terra."

"But I don't have your strength." I hoped that didn't sound whiny. It felt whiny.

"That’s true...you don't. Although your strength here in Semper Terra is far improved over what you had in the First Dimension, as a man, I'm always going to be stronger than you. Some daimons...stronger yet. But you have other skills. What about leverage? Balance? Smarts?"

I looked at him skeptically.

"All you need to do, Charlie, is figure out your opponent's weakness. What about me grabbing you from behind exposed a weakness?"

There was not one thing I could think about that would put Caiden in a category of weakness. "I don't know. You're taller than me, stronger than me, have more muscles than me. I'm the one that has all the weakness."

"You said I'm taller than you. Is there anything about my height that you could exploit?"

I thought about it a minute. Thinking of the way my body compared to his when he was standing behind me, I took note that my head came just below his chin. I might be able to use that. "Okay, let's try it again."

I turned around and Caiden wrapped his arms around me again. When he squeezed tight, I started struggling. I could his sense his frustration with me for trying the same thing. I struggled for a few seconds more, then I let my body go complete lax. I started to slump to the ground and I felt his arms relax around me marginally in surprise. The minute I felt a loosening of his hold, I pushed up hard with my legs, bringing the top of my head up under his chin. I heard a satisfying crack and his arms released me as he stumbled backward.
Ouch!
I didn't take into account that would hurt my head. I rubbed it gingerly as I turned to look at Caiden.

He was standing there rubbing his own chin looking at me in surprise. Then his face split into a wide grin. "That was excellent." I puffed up under his praise, trying to ignore the pain in my head.

After that, Caiden taught me how to break out of a variety of holds. Some I managed to master, others were really hard. I found that, as a girl, and someone that was going to be much smaller than most daimons I would battle, leverage was always going to be the key for me to escape.

After a few hours, Caiden said, "Okay, let's try this last move one more time and then we'll call it a day."

I nodded. I was soaked in sweat and my muscles ached all over. Caiden was teaching me to avoid a front end rush by an attacker. I was not able to get the hang of it and he was able to capture me time and time again. I blew a discouraged breath out and got in a defensive stance as Caiden faced me, readying to attack.

Without warning he lunged. I waited until he was just a breath away and attempted a quick side step. It wasn't quick enough, and Caiden easily laid his shoulder into my stomach. His arms wrapped around me and we went crashing to the mat.

I landed on my back with Caiden on top of me. The only thing that stopped me from being completely flattened by the fall was that Caiden stuck his arms out at the last minute to cushion the blow. Still, he came to rest on top of me, his body lying flush on top of mine. My breath left my lungs in a rush, but not because of his weight, but because our bodies were pressed together. I could feel his warmth touching every part of me and my pulse went through the roof. I looked into his eyes and I swear they turned a deeper shade of green. I watched as his gaze left mine and his eyes traveled slowly to my lips.

Time seemed to freeze and I held my breath. Would he kiss me? I wanted him to and I tried hard to exert mind control over him so that he would lower his head. After several seconds, minutes, hours...I'm not sure...Caiden leaned his face down to me but he did nothing more than rub his nose alongside of mine.

"What am I going to do with you?" he murmured softly.

Kiss me! Please!

Instead, Caiden lifted off of me and helped me from the floor. My hand involuntarily came up, caressing my lips that had been oh so close to his. I was looking at the ground, lost in the fantasy of what almost just happened.

He put his hand under my chin and lifted my eyes up to his. "Penny for your thoughts?"

I didn't respond, still in a daze. Caiden's expression turned to concern. "I don't think I've ever rendered someone speechless before by a near kiss experience."

Aha!
He admitted that he had thought about kissing me. That brought me somewhat out of my daze.

"I wouldn't know. Justas is the only one that has kissed me," I muttered, thinking of the wet smack he had given me yesterday after I had been stabbed.

"Justas kissed you?" I flinched at the anger in his words. "I thought he was gay."

"Yes. Gay. He is I mean." Caiden visibly relaxed.

"So you're okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

But I wasn't. Every minute I spent with Caiden was dragging me deeper under his spell. If I wasn't careful, I could very well become lost in him.

The next few weeks of my dorm confinement actually flew by. I was so busy with my classes and First Dimension studies, plus additional training with Caiden, I didn't have time to mourn the loss of my freedom. And truth be told, I would rather train with Caiden then lay on a beach with my friends.
Pretty pathetic, I know.

Within just a few weeks, I had actually become pretty proficient in the self-defense skills that Caiden taught me. In addition, I was learning a ton of offensive attack skills in my Hand-to-Hand Combat class. I had taken some Shotokan Karate classes at a local YMCA for a few years after my parents' death, partly because I felt insecure, and partly because I never wanted to be left unable to defend myself. It was amazing how those skills transferred to the moves I was learning at the Academy and I found myself able to take some of the larger guys in my class. Between Caiden's training and my classes, I was practically a walking bruise most of the time. Luckily, they always healed pretty quickly.

The best times were after our weekend training sessions. Caiden would often eat lunch or dinner with me. We would talk about ordinary things and we started to develop an actual friendship. We never got into a situation again where he might kiss me, and I found myself constantly looking for opportunities to be closer to him. But he maintained a casual distance from me for the most part, and I can honestly say that I didn't like it. There were times when I would catch him looking at me, with heat in his eyes, and I was sure he was thinking about kissing as much as I was.

I was lost in a fantasy about Caiden kissing me as I was walking to the gymnasium for a training session with him. As I approached the open doors, I heard voices coming from inside. I immediately recognized Sarah's voice and came to a halt outside of the doors. From my angle, I was hidden by the door but could see through the crack in the door jamb. Sarah was standing in front of Caiden, very close, with both hands lying on his chest.

"Come on, Caiden. You and I used to mean so much to each other."

I was stunned. That meant they obviously had a relationship in the past. I couldn't see Caiden's expression but I could see well enough when he took her hands and removed them. I let out a small sigh of relief.

"That was a very long time ago, Sarah." I cringed over the gentleness I heard in his tone, my relief starting to vanish.

"But we could have it again, I know it. I'm perfectly happy here in Semper Terra now. I've lived my Second Life. And you must know how sorry I am for what I did to you."

My eyebrows raised on their own accord. Sarah had been through her Second Life? I wondered how old she was and what she had done with her life in the First Dimension. Having a Second Life would explain the age difference between them. And what did she do to him that had her apologizing?

"I'm sorry, Sarah. It's not going to happen." Again, softness in the way he was letting her down. It angered me that he needed to be gentle with that viper.

Whether it was an act of desperation, I don't know, but I watched horrified as Sarah flung her arms around Caiden and plastered her body against his. Her voice was husky when she said, "I bet if you gave me half a chance, I could change your mind."

Caiden grabbed Sarah's arms and pushed her gently away from him. "Dammit, Sarah. I said no. It's over. We are over. We had our chance and it didn't work. Why can't you get that through your head?"

I did my happy dance in my mind that his tone was now angry and frustrated.

"What is it?" she hissed with venom in her voice. "Are you so infatuated with that little orphan, Charlie that you can't see a real woman standing in front of you?"

"What I feel for Charlie is none of your business," Caiden said through clenched teeth.

He felt something for me?
Happy dance, happy dance.

"Of course, it's my business. She's a student and you are a mentor. It's my business if one of my mentors messes with one of my students."

"That's where you're wrong, Sarah." I noted that Caiden's voice had changed to one of frustrated patience. "I am not your mentor. I am a mentor. Mentors are not employed by the Academy in any way, shape or fashion for the work we do with the students. It's strictly voluntary. Therefore, it is none of your business what I may or may not have with one of your students. If you want to decline my mentoring services, then by all means, do so."

This was news to me. I had thought a mentor and instructor was basically the same thing. To hear that Caiden was not actually affiliated with the Academy suddenly caused exhilaration to rush through me. The teacher-student barrier that I had been worried about no longer existed. And Caiden even appeared willing to give up being a mentor if that was a bar to his feelings for me. I was getting a lot of the information I had been dying to know. Even if it was done by eavesdropping.

Sarah waited a moment and then turned on her heel, calling over her shoulder. "You better watch out for your pet, Caiden. First chance I get, she's out of here."

I scrambled backward when I saw Sarah headed my way. Looking around frantically, I saw a janitor's closet across the hall and hurled my body into it, softly shutting the door just before Sarah came out of the gym. I could hear the
clack, clack
of her shoes echoing as she walked down the hall and away from me. I waited another good five minutes before I felt safe enough to open the door. As I softly turned the handle and eased the door open, I stepped out into the hallway and looked toward the gym.

To my horror, Caiden was standing by the doors, leaning up against the wall, with this arms folded across his chest. He was smirking at me. "Lurk much?"

I cringed with mortification. "I'm sorry. I heard Sarah in there and—I don't know—I just didn't want to her to see me. We both know she doesn't like me very much."

Caiden laughed. "That's an understatement. So, did you hear everything?"

I nodded in shame. I was totally busted with my eavesdropping. "I'm really sorry. I'm too curious for my own good."

"It's okay." I peeked up at him and he did have a genuine smile on his face. "How about we start training?"

I followed Caiden into the gym. I knew I should concentrate on the training, but I couldn't let go of the conversation that I overheard. After Caiden managed to throw me to the mats for the third time in a row, he sighed in frustration as I jumped up. He pointed to the floor. "Sit. And spit it out. What do you want to know?"

"Huh?"

"You're not concentrating and I can only assume you are still thinking about the conversation you overheard between me and Sarah. So...spit it out. What's bothering you?"

I think my face turned the color of a fire engine, so great was my embarrassment. It was truly scary how well he could read me. Or maybe he was a mind reader? Still, he was offering me free reign with my questions, so I jumped right in. "Um...so...you and Sarah had a relationship?"

He looked me right in the eyes. "Sarah and I were together a long, long time ago. So long ago, it honestly is a dim memory for me. But we were close...in love I guess you'd say. But it wasn't strong enough to last and we went our separate ways."

I thought I heard some bitterness in his voice but I wasn't sure.

"She clearly still has feelings for you," I pointed out.

I was so very worried about that and my insides were wringing with jealousy. Which was ridiculous because Caiden was nothing more than a friend to me. Despite how much I wished for something more.

"Maybe. The only thing you need to know is I don't feel for her anymore and I have no intention of ever starting anything back up with her. I'm truly sorry if she hopes for more."

Caiden said those words with absolute certainty and I believed him. I felt a rush of relief that there truly were no residual feelings for Sarah. What, if any, his feelings for me were remained to be seen. He told Sarah it was none of her business what those feelings may be. He had said it so adamantly, I was afraid to inquire about it.

"Charlie...you look like you have something else on your mind."

Oh, to hell with it. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. "You told Sarah that it was none of her business what your feelings were for me."

"That's right."

"I'm wondering if it's any of my business," I said with a sheepish look on my face. "Seeing as how those feelings are about me."

The corners of Caiden's mouth lifted and he stepped up to me. Tucking his hand under my chin, he lifted my face so my eyes were meeting his. I loved when he did that. It was his way of telling me what he was about to say was important and that he wanted my full attention. "I told you before, Charlie. I like you...probably too much."

My voice was small, barely a whisper. "You make it sound like a bad thing."

"No," he said quietly, releasing his hold and letting his hand drop to his side. "Not bad. It's just overwhelming, particularly because we haven't known each other long."

I thought about that and could relate. My feelings for Caiden were strong and they had built so fast. Could you trust something like that? Were we feeling intense attraction to each other, or was there something deeper?

"I feel the same. Overwhelmed that is." My eyes dropped to the ground. I hoped by admitting that, I wasn't turning him off or scaring him. I had no experience with matters of the heart so I was flying by the seat of my pants.

Caiden used his hand to lift my face again and force my eyes from the ground. His jade eyes held me captive and I saw that he felt something deeper. It was there written on his face. "I tell you what. How about after you get off of dorm confinement, I take you on a real date? And let's see if we can figure out what we have going on. Okay?"

A date? I couldn't believe it. My face broke out into the widest of smiles and I watched as Caiden's breath caught and his eyes widened. "You have the most beautiful smile I've ever seen," he said with awe. "I take that is a yes to my request to take you on a date?"

"That's a definite yes."