MIDNIGHT DIVINE (The Helio Trilogy Book 1) (11 page)

“Mother,” Jack whines, and
she gives me a knowing smile.

Heat rushes to my cheeks as
I begin to blush.
He tells her about me?
“It’s very nice to meet you as
well, Ms. Roe.”

“Would you mind playing for
me one more time?” she requests.

“Sure.” I trail back to the
bench and sit down. Jack leads Ms. Roe by the arm to a high back chair adjacent
from
the
piano
and stands beside her.

I ready my hands above the
keys and begin to play one of my favorite classics by Erik Satie. It's an easy
piece I know I won't mess up with my nervousness. The room fills with the
cascading sounds from the piano while the setting sun shines through the
windows and permeates the room. The very air appears to glisten. I begin the
introduction of the piece—a sotto voce, largo tempo—and play the slow,
progressive crescendo. The cascade of notes are a flowing river. Music
saturates the air, the room, the house. Sound and light fuse together
invisibly, but quite palpably.

Evelyn closes her eyes in
reflection while Jack smiles at this new discovery I had been keeping from him.
I know the piece well and had played it countless times before. I love the flow
and calm of it. It soaks me with a sense of wellbeing and harmony that I hope
can make Ms. Roe feel the same way. I hold the last notes with my eyes closed,
reveling in the emotions it elicits.

I glance to Evelyn and Jack
for their reactions. Ms. Roe opens her eyes and gives a tender applaud. Jack
joins her display of appreciation.

“Thank you.” My cheeks warm
as I
close the fallboard
.

“Lovely, dear,” Ms. Roe
approves.

“You surprise me again,
Sunshine.” Jack's eyes twinkle, and I bow my head to shy away from the
complement.

“I feel pleasingly well
today. Ivy, would you join us for dinner?” Ms. Roe doesn’t look to Jack for his
approval, but I can see the surprise in his expression.

“I would love to.”

“Wonderful. Jack?” She
turns to him, “How would you feel about accommodating us with your excellent
culinary skills?”

“No problem.” Jack reaches
for her hand to help her stand, and I follow them into the kitchen. Jake pours
us two glasses of iced tea, and we sit at the kitchen table to visit while he
prepares dinner for us.

“So, dear… Where did you
learn to play so grand?” Evelyn inquires.

“My
adoptive
parents had me take lessons for a few years when I
was eight. I haven’t played again until I came to Red Meadow University. It’s a
requirement for my music degree. I didn’t realize how much I'd missed it until
I had to take classes again. Do you play?” I see Jack from the corner of my eye
turn his attention to me.

“Not as often as I like,”
she admits. “So, you are pursuing a degree in music?” I
nod
. “What do you plan to do with a music degree?”

I contemplate a moment.
“You know, I’m not sure. Honestly, it’s just something I enjoy, and when it
came time to pick a major, I didn’t want to sit through countless boring
lectures and spend my weekend’s writing papers. I started playing guitar for an
all-girl rock band. I enjoy writing music. Maybe I’ll pursue entertainment.”

“Well, I don’t think you
missed the mark by choosing music. You are clearly very talented.” Ms. Roe's
easy to talk to, and she doesn’t seem as ill as Jack had mentioned. I wonder if
it's just a show she's putting on for me to save face.

Jack turns our conversation
as he tosses a salad together on the marble island, “We took the horses out
this morning for some exercise. Maximus took a liking to Ivy pretty fast.”

Evelyn looks at me with raised
eyebrows, “And you ride as well?”

I glance down to the glass
of iced tea in my hands with timid embarrassment at the majority of hobbies I
compiled growing up in California, “Yes, ma’am.”

She reaches out and places
a hand over my wrist. I meet her kind eyes. “You’re going to fit in quite well
around here.”

Jack sets the table and
serves us delicious smoked salmon, steamed asparagus, and Waldorf salad. As we
eat, Evelyn provides us with historical stories of music, predominantly in her
favorite era; The Birth of the Blues. We’re laughing and enjoying each other’s
company when Jack surprises me by holding my hand on the table. His mother
notices his blatant display of affection, and the apples of her cheeks rise
with the crinkle of her bright eyes. I genuinely adore Evelyn. She's warm,
inviting, smart, witty, and composes herself with the grace and charm I imagine
seeing in royalty.

Our dinner leaves me with a
sense of welcome belonging, lifting my spirits. Jack helps his mother back to
her room
down
the hall
on the first floor as I clear the table and
rinse all of the dishes. I'm loading the dishwasher when Jack wraps his arms
around my waist from behind and places a supple kiss on my neck. The spot
tingles after his lips leave my skin, and I twist around to drape my arms over
his shoulders. My fingers play with the hair on the back of his head as his
eyes bore into mine.

“You’re amazing,” he
whispers. I raise to the tip of my toes to match his height the best I can and
lean into his hard chest, pulling him closer. Our lips part, enveloping each
other as our tongues swirl around, slow and sensual. We part, and his hands rub
up and down the length
s
of my arms. He
smirks at the goosebumps covering them.

“It seems we’re learning a
lot about each other lately. I didn’t know you could cook. It was superb.” My
compliment draws a closed grin from him, accentuating his dimples.

“I get it from my mother,”
he professes, taking a step back from me and leaning against the island behind
him.

I lean back against the
sink, mirroring him to put some space between us to cool off. “Your mom's
great. I really like her.”

“She likes
you.” I smile at his assumption. “I’ve never brought a
girl home before, let alone introduced anyone to her. I’m glad she could meet
you though.” His last statement hangs open for me to interpret, and I
understand he's glad she had a chance to meet me before she passes away from
her illness. My heart sinks in my chest
with
the thought of
him—as well as
the world—losing someone as sweet as Evelyn. Jack
stands, and we both ascend the stairs to our respective rooms.

This is getting dangerous
Jack. We’ve only known each other a few weeks, and I’m already falling for you…
hard. Whatever I am, I hope it doesn’t come between us.

Monday morning, Jack drives
us to campus. My first class is Music History. The only thing I don’t like
about Music History is the quarter mile hill I have to take to get there at a
thirty degree incline.
Best part of my fucking day,
I think with loathing.
Jack parks in an open space close to the bottom of the hill. His first class is
in the Criminal Justice building, which happens to be next to the Music
building. After spending time at Jack's estate, I understand why he chose his
major, as he and his family have already trained to be protectors.

We step out of the car and
start walking to the base of the hill, hand in hand. There's moisture in the
air, and the sky is gray with promises of rain. Although, I can’t stop myself
smiling with the giddiness of being with Jack, I loathe the trudge before me.
“God, I hate this hill. I would rather walk clear across to the other side of
campus to avoid the back entrance to the music building.”

Jack pulls me to a stop and
steps in front of me. “Hop on. I’ll carry you up,” he gestures for me to jump
on his back. I love his childish flirtation. I pull my other strap to my
backpack on and jump on his back. Jack’s whole body is hard as rock and doesn't
waver with the momentum of my jump. I know he’ll have no problem carrying me
up. I wrap my arms around his neck, overlapping my forearms across his chest as
he squeezes my thighs to him. Without warning, he sprints up the malicious
incline with ease. I laugh and giggle all the way to the top, bobbing up and
down with his stride. People stare at us as Jack sets me back down on my feet.
I'm surprised his breathing isn’t labored in the slightest bit.

He takes my hand and pulls
me close to him. I look up to meet his gaze, and he bends his head down to kiss
me. We've been doing that a lot. We can’t seem to get enough of each other.
Being with Jack makes me feel lighter and carefree. All of my stress and
brooding evaporates when we're together. I'm a new person. I'm invigorated and
find our relationship giving me the creative drive I've been looking for to
write music. New songs began pouring out of me every day.

Walking to the doors of the
building, I notice people staring at me and snickering behind their hands to
each other’s ears.
Whatever.

“Will I see you for lunch?”
he hints.

“Um. Actually, I promised
Alice I would meet her at the coffee shop. Do you want to meet us there?”

“Sure. I’ll grab Eric too.
Bye, Sunshine.” Jack kisses my forehead, before he leaves for his own class.
Most of the students are still watching me and giving me the stink eye. I have
no idea what's going on to make them look at me this way.
What’s with
everyone?

gh

Alice is waiting for me on
the back deck of the coffee shop with my favorite coffee when I arrive. I'm
relieved to see Trey isn’t working. “Hey, stranger!” She stands and hugs me.

I kiss her cheek. “Hey!” I
sit down and light a cigarette. I want to tell her about Jack and me, but I
know what her reaction will be. I can’t keep the disgusting grin or
uncontrollable blushing off of my face.

“What’s up with
you
? What are you so happy about?”
she remarks.

“Um. Nothing.” I try to
calm myself down. “Jack’s going to meet us. Do you mind?”

“Uh huh. Yeah. That’s cool.
Eric's on his way too.” She squints at me with suspicion. “How's it going at
Jack’s?”

“Good…Great… He’s a lot
different than I thought he was.” I hesitate in contemplation of how much I
should share with her and continue, “We kissed.” I can’t help myself, and I
know she’ll see the new way Jack and I act together when he shows up.

Alice sits bolt right and
leans over the table. “Shut up!” she yells.

I chuckle. “A lot.” We
laugh. “I think we’re a ‘thing’ now,” I admit.

“Really? What happened to
Trey? I thought you were
going to start
seeing him.”

“Um…Trey and I couldn’t get
on the same level. He wanted things I wasn’t willing to give him. Know what I
mean?”

“Yeah…Um…About
that..." She cringes, shrinking back into her seat.

“What?”

“Well, Trey sort of told
everyone you freaked out on him at the party. There are rumors already
spreading that you had sex with him in the bathroom at the party… That you
freaked out afterwards, and you’re trying to claim he raped you,” her words
fade into a mumble.

“What!” I shout. “You have
got to be kidding me! I never slept with Trey! And
he's
the one who
threw
me
into a wall at the party and tried to rape
me
! Jack was
there! He saw me head-butt Trey to get away from him!”

“I know. I know. I know
you. I didn’t believe anything people were saying.”

“No wonder everyone's
giving me dirty looks.”

Alice nods her head. “Good
riddance. Trey's
so
beneath you.” She smiles at me again. “So… You and
Jack?”

“I really like him, Alice.
He makes me feel different. Alive. I don’t have to hide who I am with him. I
can be myself. And, oh my God, is he a good kisser.” My voice trails off.

“I happy for you, Ivy. You
deserve to be happy. Jack’s a really good guy.”

“Ladies,” Jack greets us
with Eric following behind him. They both bend down to kiss us before sitting
down. “Are you finished for the day?” Jack
asks
.

“Yeah.”

“Hey. Why don’t you guys
come out tomorrow? We could go swimming,” Jack suggests
to
our friends.

“
Hell, yeah
!” Eric cheers.

“Do you want us to bring
out some pizza and beer?” Alice is excited and already planning ahead.

“That’s cool.” Jack holds
my hand under the table, and he squeezes it in excitement.

Our Fearsome Foursome chats
for an hour at the coffee house. I'm delighted by the emotions that come with
feeling like a whole different person.
How much more will I be able to take
before I explode from glee
? I feel as if my whole body's glowing. I'm a
caterpillar on the verge of bursting out of my cocoon.
What are you doing to
me, Jack?
I sense the temperature drop all of a sudden and shudder.

“You ok?” Jack inquires to
my shiver.

“Yeah. It’s just about to
rain.” As if on cue, the sky rumbles in the distance. Everyone glances up to
the darkening sky above us and back to me in question.

“How did you do that? Are
you psychic?” Eric jokes.

My face pales, and I look
over at Jack. “We better get out of here before we get soaked,” Jack saves me
from my anxiety.

We say our goodbyes, and
our Fearsome Foursome parts ways. Jack had driven to the coffee shop, so we hop
in the Skyline parked out front. He holds my hand as we cruise home. I glance
over at his beautiful features, wondering how I managed to fall so hard so
fast. He senses my gaze and kisses my fingertips. “What’s on your mind,
Sunshine?”

“Nothing.” I can’t help the
impish grin on my face, and I turn to look out of my window as light raindrops
begin to decorate it erratically.

“Doesn’t look like
nothing,” he observes my reflection in the side mirror.

I let out a small sigh.
“Jack? Why me?”

He
searches
my eyes, “What do you mean?”

The sprinkling from the sky
turns into a downpour, and the clatter of heavy raindrops make it harder to
hear each other. I speak up, “You could have anyone you want. Girls are putty
in your hands. Why me?”

Jack wrinkles his nose at
my statement, then a smile spreads across his face. “The night I first saw you
at the race, I had to come over and talk to you. I couldn’t keep my eyes off of
you. There was a gravity pulling me to you. You tried to ignore me. You were
such a smart ass.” He chuckles, shaking his head. “It threw me off. Most people
look at me like I’m either their savior or their ending. You were different. When
you looked at me, I was drawn to you even more. It was like the tingling
sensation you get when your foot falls asleep. Know what I mean?” I nod and
squeeze his hand. “And your eyes. I’ve never seen anything like them before. One
green and one violet…”

“I was a bitch to you
though,” I remind him.

“That’s when I knew you
would be different. Someone who would see me for who I am. Someone who wouldn’t
put up with anyone’s crap.” He kisses the top of my hand in his.

“That’s because I thought
you were an egotistical ass.” I laugh. “And I’m pretty sure I could beat you on
the track. The thought’s crossed my mind, just to take you down a notch.” I
grin at him.

Jack laughs, and there’s a
clear amusement in his shining eyes. “Oh yeah?” I nod my head, trying to keep
from snickering.

He stops at the gate and
rolls his window down to punch in the access code as rain pours in through the
opening. The gate opens at its gradual pace, and Jack rolls his window back up.
This is going to suck. We’re going to get soaked.
“Can I leave my bag in
your car? I don’t want it getting wet. I’ll come down and get it when the rain
lets up.”

“Yeah.” Jack parks in the
cul-de-sac and shuts the car off. He jumps out with the grace of a panther
pouncing on its prey and comes to open my door for me as I unbuckle my seatbelt
to make a dash for it.

Running to the porch, I'm
not prepared for the gravel of the cul-de-sac to be as slick as it is. My feet
come out from under me. I squeeze my eyes shut, ready for the impact as I fall
backwards, and Jack catches me before I hit the ground. I open my eyes in
disbelief. His eyes pierce my soul, and time seems to stop. We’re frozen in
time, like dancers in a choreographed dip. The torrential downpour hammers the
ground around us and clinks off of our cars with its own musical symphony.

Jack’s mouth devours my own
with a passion I've never experienced before. My blood burns inside of me, and
the staccato of my heart thuds in my ears. He pulls me back up to my feet
without parting from my lips, and I lose all self-control. With uncontrollable
passion, Jack leads me backwards until I'm pushed against the car. I let out a
soft
humph
as my back hits the passenger door. Jack moves his mouth to
my neck, and I tilt my head to give him better access. His lips trail kisses
down my throat, back up my jaw, and to my mouth. I entangle my fingers in his
hair and knock off his hat. He picks me up, and I wrap my legs around his
waist. His hips press against me, and I can’t remember the last time I had been
this turned on or wanted someone this much.

This is too much. It’s too
fast. But, God, I want him! I can’t yet. It’s too soon.
Jack’s hand slips under the back of my shirt, and I
pull my mouth from his. “Jack?” I breathe. He pulls back to look me in the
eyes. “We should slow down.”

Recognition comes over his
gaze as he holds me between the steel of the car and the steel of his body.
“You’re right.” He lets my legs slide down so I can stand, and he takes a step
back. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me.” I witness his eyes change
from dark forest green to their normal bright green crystals.
Must have
something to do with what he is.

“We’re just going to have
to practice a little more restraint,” I smile at him.

Jack nods his head and
takes my hand, “Let’s get cleaned up.”

We trail water drops
through the house and leave each other to change clothes in our separate
bedrooms. I tie my hair into a ponytail and walk out of the bathroom to pull
back the curtains covering the French doors to reveal the balcony. I stand at
the glass doors with my arms crossed over my chest, watching the storm outside.

Jack. It’s all happening so
fast. I’ve never felt this way with anyone… for anyone.
Moments of kissing in the rain flood my mind. I close
my eyes and lean my forehead against the cool glass.
I know it’s illogical
to feel this way. We’ve only known each other a short time. I
—

Thunder booms and rattles
the glass, interrupting my thoughts. I open my eyes and stand up straight.
Light
ening
flashes before me, and I jump, temporarily blinded.
My pupils readjust to the light of the room, and then the lights flicker out. I
spin around, and my eyes are forced to adapt to the darkness. Jack’s silhouette
stands in my doorway.

“Lights are out,” he
comments.

“Yeah?” I smart off.

He walks to the fireplace.
“I’ll get a small fire going so you can have some light. The house stays pretty
cold, so it shouldn’t get too hot in here.”

“Ok.” I help him place the
wood inside the hearth.

“I’m going to go check on
my mother. I’ll be back and bring what candles I can find.” The fire crackles
to life, lighting our faces in an orange glow.

“Do you want some help?” I
feel worried for his mother as well.

“It’s ok. I’ll be really
quick.” Jack disappears and leaves my door open behind him.