Intrigue (30 page)

He left with a smoldering invitation, “Any time you want to
try
to bend or break me, I’m waiting.” Then, he left with a nod to Rafe.

I grinded my teeth at his audacity, but my stupid stomach also flipped. I looked at Rafe showing my frustration. “Don’t ask. Can we take off now? I really don’t think I can concentrate on my DUA work.”

Rafe seemed apprehensive about my meeting with Apollo, but he had me out the door before he grilled me. “So should I be worried that you are going to fall for Apollo’s charm soon?” Rafe inquired in a teasing but worried manner.

I tilted my head to try to analyze if Rafe was really insecure, “I don’t think Apollo has any charm. What he does have in abundance is intensity. Does the dude ever just relax or even crack a smile?”

He threw me his impish grin again as he replied, “A sense of humor is not apart of his many good qualities, and he does have many.”

“It’s like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders. He also seems to think that it is a given that we will have a relationship when I become his Muse. Tell me that I won’t turn out like Mr. Johnny-No-Fun if I’m his Muse.”

He laughed as he drew my hand to his mouth and kissed it. “His soul will not take over your mind, emotions, and personality traits.”

“So what is affected by
the soul
I might have within me?”

“You will just feel more attuned to the Olympian. Your senses will become more heightened and your instincts, agility, speed, and strength will ramp up as well. You will age at a slower rate. You will be more difficult to hurt, and you will heal more easily.”

“Wow. I always
wanted
to be Wonder Woman—now is my chance,” I snarked.

He winked at me and teased. “Sorry, sweetheart. You can’t hold a candle to Wonder Woman without the boots and lasso.
Although
I think I could find that costume somewhere, so I could judge for sure.”

It was my turn to laugh and tell him to keep his eyes on the road and his dirty thoughts to himself. Unfortunately, he was pulling into my driveway much too soon, and my carefree time with him was at an end. I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek before I bolted out the door. However, just before I shut the door he asked if he could pick me up tomorrow morning since we had class after school. I smiled at him and agreed. Dr. A was right. The boys were not going to let me out of their sight until they thought I was on board with their plan. And, I was going to have to lull them into feeling that I was ok with Plan A.

It was one of dad’s overnight shifts at the fire station, so it was just me and mom tonight. Luckily, she was exhausted from her 12-hour shift, so she seemed satisfied with a brief explanation of my day. Plus, she seemed ecstatic that I was going to call and chat with Thrace. So with minimum fuss, I got to head upstairs to call Dr. A from my home phone before I updated Thrace. I was surprised that when I talked to Dr. A that he had already been prepped on the plan. He thought their plan was a good one with the exception of giving the Graces three more innocent victims to exploit. With Dr. A’s recon data, I schemed up an even more ingenious plan that would not put anyone else in harm’s way--well, except me.

Plan B for Team Calli worked like this:

4.Then, we drive the guys around all night so the Graces would have to separate. Thrace would be taken to a location on our turf, so Aglaea wouldn’t have back up—increasing my chances of survival dramatically.

5.When she found us, I would fight her. If she bit me, problem solved. If she tried to kill me, I would tell her that I am a Muse while Team Calli moved in with back-up weapons.

6.Next, they would bring Justin to our secret location. Rinse and repeat until all three Graces were dealt with.

Dr. A was scouting the alternative locations that would be the best strategic positions for the fight. Two plans. Two choices. Too many lives at stake to make the wrong decision. Too many “What ifs” and “If onlys” to sort out.

My next call was to Thrace. I let him know that we were starting to find out some valuable intel on the group that was messing with him. “Thrace, I need to know about what time you usually black out on Saturdays.”

He paused and finally said, “It happens anywhere between 9 and 10pm.”

“Well, now that you have your guardian she-devil on duty that won’t happen anymore.”

“You mean guardian angel. I realize true second chances are rare, and right now I don’t even deserve one. So after you save my eyas, I will concentrate on being the best friend that you deserve and letting the chips fall where they may.”

Chapter 24: Housekeepers and Cooks

Just when I wanted things to slow down, time actually sped up. And Rafe was everywhere. Every car ride, every class, every study hall, every extracurricular activity. He would have followed me into the bathroom if he could have gotten away with it. In study hall on Tuesday, I finally had to tell him to give me some space. “You are aware that you are totally hovering right? It’s like you are constantly waiting for me to bolt. You need to relax and back off a little.”

His eyes twinkled with amusement and a little smile played across his lips as he replied, “Call me a tad bit overprotective, but I feel like the threats of my world are closing in on us, and I want to make sure you are protected.”

“Fine, but you gotta give me some more space. And frankly, I am less worried about the threat of Thrace’s harpies and more worried that you are just going to hand me over to Apollo. If you are equals, what is the deal?”

His amusement faded in an instant, and he became serious for once as he entwined our hands on top of the library table. “I defer to him when it comes to you because you are most likely his Muse and that relationship must be honored. However, I would
never
give you up unless you asked me to.”

“I wouldn’t anticipate that happening especially for Mr. Johnny-No-Fun. Promise me that I won’t be doing the intense squint soon.”

He laughed in a low voice and winked at me in his light-hearted way as he assured me, “I promise no overabundance of squinting. I don’t even think your eyes could squint like that for any amount of time.”

“Now I am going to ask for an act of faith on your part. I want Thrace to drive me to and from class tonight. And as a reward for your trust, I will allow you to drop by this evening by way of the back door and hang out. My dad is on shift tonight, and my mom has her book club, so all will be clear from 7 to 9.”

His hand grabbed a strand of my hair and played with the tip of it as he pondered something. “I will give you one better. I will skip class tonight and Thursday, so you can have your space, and I can coordinate with Apollo. Of course, this is only if I get a real date night on Friday. This includes officially meeting your parents, Calli. As much as I adore being your boy toy, I think it is time you updated my status.”

I groaned and looked down at our hands, “Rafe, I would like to keep you on the down low status, so I won’t be constantly interrogated by my parents. The first month that I date anyone is constant drama with them.” I, however, added with a flirty gaze when I looked up, “although I do like you as a boy toy.”

“Time to go Prime Time drama, darling. You gonna take my deal or would you like me to hover a bit more?”

“You don’t think I have enough drama heading my way? I need to add in parental drama?”

“Parental drama will take your mind off the other drama, and you will not have any drama when it comes to the rescue. We will take care of that,” he said in a stern manner.

“You don’t think me sitting, waiting, and doing nothing is going to be at all stressful when my boy toys are in harms way? I’m sorry, have we met before,” I said with a slightly raised voice, which I immediately regretted, but luckily no one was paying attention to our table.

“Crunch time, Calli.”

“Fine. I will take the deal. But if something happens to a hair on your perfectly tousled head, or if Thrace has one bruise on him, there
will
be flockin hell to pay. Got it?”

A smile lit his face and the twinkle in his eyes was back and threatening to turn me into mush. “Understandment. And if you weren’t so totally against PDA, I would definitely be rewarding you for your good behavior.”

I caught Thrace in the hall outside his next class and asked for a ride to karate. He seemed surprised and pleased. I told him that I would meet him by his car after school. Unfortunately, Jazz and Key caught the exchange and thought I had lost my mind.

Jazz questioned, “I thought things were starting to get interesting with Rafe. What gives?”

“Rafe has to skip class this week, and I thought it was about time to mend some fences before Rafe and I go out on our first date.”

Key looked at me suspiciously and inquired, “What haven’t you told us, girlfriend?”

I sighed deeply and confessed, “Rafe has finally convinced me to go on a date with him on Friday, and he has demanded to meet my parents and everything.”

Jazz and Key both squealed at the same time causing most of the remaining students in the hall to look our way. Luckily for me the bell rang, and we all had to book it to our next class.

In journalism, Thrace seemed agitated and wanted more information about the harpies, the plan, and the mystery people that were suppose to help him. I dodged, weaved, and evaded like it was my job. Karate class was less awkward with less tension since Rafe was not around. Thrace immediately filled in Rafe’s place next to me. It almost felt like old times as Thrace and I walked to his car to head home. The memories of previous car rides with Thrace were starting to suffocate me, and I needed to bolt.

I went inside and immediately ran upstairs to grab a shower before Rafe would arrive to hang out. I got ready quickly as I mentally tried to decide what one wears while hanging out with a Greek god. Would normal teenage hanging out stuff bore him? I started to get really nervous and panic started to set in just as I heard the doorbell ring.

Of course, it was exactly 7pm, and he was right on time. I answered the door like a nervous wreck and barely got out, “Hey and Welcome” without tripping over my words. Flock, I’m a geek.

Rafe seemed to sense my nerves and gave me an amused smile, “You promised me a tour, if I recall.”

I gave him the downstairs tour and started to babble and blush. “The house is a point of contention between my parents. Mom fell in love with Rosendale Park’s tree-lined streets and this Tudor-style house. Dad thinks the neighborhood was too fancy, some of the neighbors really put on airs, and old houses are money pits. I think he didn’t like it that her salary was paying for most of it.”

His gaze practically scorched me as he backed me against the kitchen island and placed one hand on my blushing face. His other hand entwined in mine as he whispered, “I don’t want your blood, Calli. Never that. I just want permission to kiss you.”

I swallowed loudly as I nodded my head. I was sooooo out of my league. His kiss was sweet and electrifying. Although he cut it short, he sent shockwaves to my toes.

I finally heard him say, “Now, I’m hungry. And, I think I should probably cook. My guess is your idea of cooking has something to do with Spaghetti O’s and the microwave.”

I looked up at him and remarked, “What’s wrong with Spaghetti O’s? It’s practically its own food group.”

“Exactly. And that food group would be processed foods from a can. Let me get the lay of the land, and I will let you know what I’m cooking.”

I laughed as I watched him look in every cabinet and drawer in the kitchen, “What exactly are you looking for? I can at least point you in the right direction.”

He finally looked at me when he was done with his inspection and said, “I think we will do baked pasta. I don’t have enough time to make my own sauce, so unfortunately, we will have to go with Prego.” He started to pull out the ingredients he needed. He gave me some small tasks to keep me out of his way. He threw the timer on for 30 minutes for both the pasta and homemade garlic bread.

I told him that Thrace wanted to drive me to school on Thursday as well as to practice. “I suppose I can be reasonable since I get Date Night on Friday.”

We debated once again on the logic of planning two stressful events on two days in a row. Rafe finally said he couldn’t compromise on Friday because he needed my curfew to be later for our First Date activities. My stomach flipped as I stuttered, “Ok. Exactly what do you have in mind?”

Rafe’s eyes twinkled and his grin was wicked as he huskily promised, “A night you will never forget.”

I think I literally jumped out of my chair as the timer for the oven went off. Rafe laughed at me and went to take care of our dinner. He brought me over a plate, but he actually made me try the pasta from his plate. It was delicious.