Kallos (Kallos Series) (24 page)

Ian quickly wraps his arms around Kallos and holds her just as tight. “Well, this is part of your surprise, and I take it you approve,” he whispers in her ear. She smiles because this is the Ian she loves; she nods her approval. “Good there is one more thing, but I want you to be facing me.” Smiling, she looks up at him. He looks down, and she can tell that he is nervous. Then she sees a little red box. She quickly looks up at his face, and he is still looking down. She swears that he is trembling. He opens the little red box and it's a bracelet. It's beautiful, silver with red and white stones. The only red and white she knows are rubies and diamonds. “When I saw this, I thought of you. Can I put it on for you?” She nods.

What harm can it cause if she wears it once? Ian takes it out of the box and puts it on her wrist. It's a perfect fit, most times a bracelet is always too big, but this one is perfect. Now, Kallos can see the problem; she'll never want to take it off. Moving her wrist from side to side and watching it sparkle in the sunlight makes her smile. She looks back up at Ian and her smile widens.

“Ian, this is beautiful.” He smiles at her and takes her hand.

“I’m glad you like it. I was hoping that it wasn’t too much.” He looks down at her wrist. So, that means it’s real. “Do you want to know the meaning?” She looks at Ian, and the confusion must have shown because he starts to laugh. “Well, rubies are known to help with love and passion. And diamonds are known to heighten other gems’ powers. So, I thought that this bracelet is perfect for us. I know that you have to choose between my brother and me, and it won’t be easy for you. But no matter what, I want you to always have a part of me with you.” He turns the bracelet over and there is a diamond with a ruby-shaped heart inside of it.

It reminded her of the rock Apollo gave her. She looks up at Ian, and he is grinning like a fool. “You know that I don’t have to tell him anything; he just knows. I can say that he copied me. I had this bracelet for a while, and he wanted to outdo me.” Kallos burst out laughing; there is no way that a rock could outdo this bracelet. She doesn’t think anything could be more stunning.

“Ian, I love it, and trust me, the rock Apollo gave me, doesn’t come close to this.” She holds up the bracelet, and it is sparkling. He kisses her hand with the new bracelet.

“I’m glad you love it. Now, do you want to get some lunch? Our day is almost over.” He said the last part like it was killing him. Ian stands up and turns away from Kallos. “How much time do we have with you? You know before you choose?” She walks up behind him and puts her hand on his shoulder. He is breaking her heart, and he doesn’t even know it. Maybe he could tell with the necklace, but he isn’t acting like it.

“I don’t know. I know it’s not easy on you or Sean. I’m sorry, Ian; I don’t want to hurt you.” He turns around so fast he almost knocks her over.

“Kallos, you don’t have anything to be sorry for. No one knew that Sean and I were going to be your soul mates. We always knew that it was one of us, but not both. It is hard on us because we have to share you. Sometimes knowing that he is kissing you makes me want to rip his head off.” For a second his eyes changed to his stormy dark blue. “But it has nothing to do with you. I know it’s hard for you, too. You weren’t planning on getting two boyfriends when you moved here, and you did. But knowing that you will choose between Sean and me scares me. I don’t want to lose you when I just found you. I’m the one who should be sorry. Today is supposed to be perfect, and I’m ruining it.” He looks down at his feet, and Kallos puts her hands on his face. He looks at her, and she sees all the hurt on his face.

“It breaks my heart knowing that I’m going to lose one of you. It kills me knowing that I’m going to hurt one of you. Like I said, I don’t know when I will choose, but I know it won’t happen anytime soon. I want to get to know you guys first.” Kallos leans in and kisses Ian. It doesn’t take him long to wrap his arms around her. He pulls her closer so there isn’t any space between them. She wraps her arms around his neck, and he deepens the kiss. When he pulls away, he rests his forehead on hers, and their eyes are even with each other. Smiling at him she says, “I love you, Ian.” He kisses her nose.

“And I love you, Kallos.” Kallos moves her head to his chest, and he just holds her. It feels so nice to be here in his arms and not to worry about her change or have her parents’ questioning looks. She knows they are worried about her and the change, but she isn't a baby. She doesn’t need them watching her like she's going to disappear.

“We should get to Momma’s. I saw on the news that it might snow today.” Kallos doesn’t care about the snow or the cold. All that matter is them and what’s going on now. She does want to try Momma’s, but she doesn’t think food will pull her away from him. Ian starts to laugh. “Beauty, you need food just as much as I do. Trust me, I wish we didn’t have to leave, but we do.”

“I know, but can we stay here a little longer?” Kallos looks up from his chest at him, and he smiles down at her. His smile always gives her butterflies.

“Yes, a little longer. But not much, we have to be back at your house soon.” Kallos isn’t aware that they have a set time to be back. Maybe that is what her dad made Ian agree to in order to take her out. She puts her head back on his chest, and he holds her again. They are only like that for a few minutes before he pulls away. He offers his hand to her and she takes it. “I know, but we have to go now.” They start walking the way they came, and she looks back one last time. This place is so beautiful that it could almost beat Mount Olympus. It doesn’t take them long to get out of the woods; maybe it is because she isn’t blindfolded. They are back in the small park where they had their drinks. She can hear and feel her stomach growl. “I think it’s time to eat.” Ian says as he’s laughing.

“Yeah, I might be a little hungry.” Kallos knows that she is blushing. He pulls them to the sidewalk, and they start to walk towards the restaurant. She's noticing that there are a lot of people out and most of them are teenagers. They walk into Momma’s, and it is crowded.

“Welcome to Momma’s; will you two follow me?” A woman says to them. She had the cutest southern accent. She walks them over to a small table, and it said Ian Hunter. She looks at him and he smiles. “Here are the menus, and your waitress will be over soon to take your drink order.” She winks at Ian and walks away.

“Why did our table have your name on it?” Ian helps Kallos sit down, and then sits in his seat.

“Well, my grandma owns this place. So this is always my table. Usually, I eat alone, but today is special.” He winks at her, and she just shakes her head. Looking down at the menu, it has so many choices. Meat loaf and chicken fried steak are the ones fighting for her attention. She looks up at Ian to find him watching her.

“What?” She asks.

“Nothing, it’s just that you look beautiful when you’re trying to figure out something. Do you need help? I have had everything on this menu here and at home.” Kallos shakes her head because she already knows what she's going to get. A girl that is just a little older than they are walks up to the table. She is wearing black pants, and a tight, red shirt with a nametag that says
Cindy
. Her blond hair is in pigtails, and it curled into ringlets at the ends.

“What would you like to drink?” She manages to get out in between chewing her gum. Ian clears his throat, and she rolls her eyes. When her eyes meet his, she freezes. “Mr. Hunter, I’m sorry I didn’t know it was you.” She must have swallowed her gum because she suddenly isn’t chewing on anything.

“I think that we are ready to order, too.” He looks at Kallos, and she nods. She hasn’t seen this side of him before. “I’ll have the meat loaf meal, with extra gravy. Oh, and a Coke.” She quickly writes it down and then turns to Kallos.

“Um, the same thing please.” She nods and writes it down.

“I’ll be right back with your drinks.” She is almost running away, and Kallos looks back at Ian.

“She seems scared of you.” Kallos observes, and he looks in the area where the waitress vanished.

“The workers here know what my family is. Some think its cool, and others are scared. Cindy is scared to death, and if she didn’t need this job, I’m sure she wouldn’t work here.” Ian looks down at the table, and Kallos reaches across to his hand.

“She has no reason to be scared of you. You are the sweetest man I know. You would never hurt anyone.” He squeezes her hand.

“I did yesterday,” Ian murmurs so low that Kallos almost doesn’t hear him.

“We have talked about this. That wasn’t the real you, and you need to forget about it. I am here, and that is all that matters.” He nods but still looks miserable. Cindy comes back with their drinks; she sets Ian’s down first and then hers. Kallos smiles at her, “Thank you.” But Cindy doesn’t stay long enough to respond.

“Thank you, Ian, for today; it was a lot of fun.” He smiles at her.

“For your first date you mean?”

“No, just being with you. And, for a first date, it isn’t too bad.” Ian starts to laugh, and Kallos sees Cindy bringing their food. Cindy stops moving when she hears him laughing. Ian stops and looks behind him; then he sees what she is looking at. She is moving again and coming toward them. Once again, she set his food down first and then Kallos’. She doesn’t ask if they need anything; she just leaves. The smell from the meat loaf is amazing. Kallos’ mouth is watering, and she looks at Ian who is already eating. He looks at her and grins. The flavor is so good; she can’t explain it, but it's nothing like she has ever tasted before.

“So, it’s a good guess that you like it.” Kallos looks up and glares at him. She has to swallow quickly so she can talk.

“Better than good; it’s amazing.” The meat loaf came with gravy, mashed potatoes, and corn. Everything tasted remarkable, and she wanted more. An older woman stops at their table and Ian lights up. She is taller than Kallos and almost as tall as Ian. She has jet-black hair and baby blue eyes. She is wearing faded jeans and a white shirt that says
Mamma’s
on the left breast. Kallos has only seen Ian light up like this with her, so she wonders who this is. Ian jumps up and Kallos rises next to her chair.

“Grams! What are you doing here?” Ian asks as he is hugging her. She laughs and hugs him back.

“Ian, this is my restaurant. The real question is ‘Who is this beautiful girl you are with?’” She let’s go of Ian and looks at Kallos.

“Gram, this is Kallos. You have seen pictures of her for years.” Gram walks over to where Kallos is standing. She looks Kallos up and down, and then a smile spreads across her face. She pulls Kallos into one of the tightest hugs Kallos has ever had.

“Pictures do not do you justice, Kallos. You are more beautiful in person.” Grams pulls away enough so that she and Kallos could look at one another. It’s still a little weird that Ian and Sean’s family know her so well, and she doesn’t know them at all. “So how did you like my food?” Gram nods her head toward Kallos' empty plate.

“It is amazing Ma'am.” Kallos says and is proud of herself for keeping an even tone.

Ian's grandmother rolls her eyes at Kallos and shakes her head and pointer finger at the same time. “That will not do. You call me Gram. You ARE family.” Then Gram smiles at Kallos and turns around to walk to Ian. “Now, I better get going. I’m going to go see your parents.” She leans in, and Ian kisses her cheek.

“See you later Gram,” he says as she walks away. He looks at Kallos and smiles. “So, now you have met the whole family.” She gives him a little smile and sits back down.

“So I have. And I take it that they all know me.”

“Yes, but we’ve been waiting for you forever.” They don’t say anything else for a few minutes.

“Are you ready to leave?” Kallos looks up at Ian and nods. He gets up first and then comes to help her. She takes his hand and squeezes it. They walk out holding hands. Just before they walk out the door they see Nikki and Karissa. Great just what they need, and their day was going so well. Kallos knows that things happened with Karissa and Ian. Ian stiffens when he sees them.

“Hi, Ian,” Nikki pipes up, and Karissa smiles. Kallos can feel Ian’s whole body tense up, and she is sure that he knows that she isn’t too happy, either.

“Hello, excuse us please,” Ian says as he rushes past them. When they are outside, he leads them to the car. He opens the car door for Kallos and quickly gets in. “I’m sorry about that, Kallos. I thought that we would be out of there before they got here.” She turns to face him.

“What do you mean?”

“They come here every Saturday afternoon and I was hoping that we would be done before they got here. That’s why I wanted to be in Cindy’s section; I knew that she would serve us faster.”

“Ian, its fine. It’s not like we can hide from either of them forever. I don’t know if you have noticed, but this is a small town?” She smiles to reassure him. Seeing Nikki and Karissa isn’t Ian’s fault, and she doesn’t blame him about what happened yesterday. He smiles back, leans in, and kisses her. Even his quick, little kisses take her breath away. Ian starts the car, and they head back toward her house. On the way home, they didn’t talk, and Kallos is fine about that. She is in the mood for some silence and doesn’t know what to say right now. A part of her wanted to know what happened with Nikki and Karissa, but another part of her is yelling at her not to say anything. They pull into the driveway and park; neither of them moved.

“Thank you for today,” Kallos says and looks at him. “I had so much fun and thank you for my bracelet.” Ian looks down at her wrist, and she does the same. The bracelet is catching the sun’s rays in every stone and sparkling back at them.

“I’m glad you had fun. I want to be able to be alone with you more. I know that Sean wants the same thing. Would you be willing to go on more dates with us?” She smiles at him and brings her hand to his face.

“I love one-on-one time. I think alone dates is a great idea.” He smiles and turns his face into her palm to kiss it.

“Good, now we better head inside. I don’t want to make your dad mad on our first date.” She shakes her head at him and opens the door herself. She starts walking to the door when she feels pain exploding through her body. She gasps for air, but she can barely get her breath. Kallos feels strong arms catching her from either side of her. She knows that both of her soul mates are there. She can hear voices but barely can make out what is being said.