The House of Grey- Volume 4 (12 page)

“Umm...can’t say that was what I was expecting you say
,
” began Taris with a slight pout
. A
look of confusion worked
its
way onto
her
otherwise relaxed appearance. “
But I
’
ll help you if I can. What can I
do for you?
”

“I’m in desperate need of your expertise
,
”
b
lurted out Monson.

“I’m not sure where you
’
re going with this
,
Monson.”

He
tried to hold back a nervous laugh
.
“No
,
of course you wouldn’t. It would probably be easier if I just asked
; it
would clear this up a whole
lot
faster than me trying to sit here and explain. I mean honestly, how dumb am I standing around rambling like an idiot when you don’t even know
—
”

“Know what?” asked Taris
,
cutting across his babbling
.
 

“Taris, would you go
to
the
Spring Solstice
with me?”

Holy blue bloody crap! He actually did it
!

If Taris was surprised, then she hid it well.

“Oh Monson, I
—
” began Taris.

“You don’t have to say anything else. I totally understand.” Monson could barely contain his embarrassment and was starting to understand how dumb
a plan
this was. He should have just asked someone
else
at the very least
,
someone
who
would have said yes. What was he thinking?  He might as well finish it properly.

“I
’
m sorry
.
I shouldn’t have asked
.
Casey just thought that
—
” He stopped
and
took a deep breath
.
“I’m really sorry
,
Taris
.
I should go. Thanks for taking the time
.
” 

Monson turned
,
intending to leave silently
,
berating
himself
for caving in to Casey
.  What in the world was he thinking?
Of all the stupid, idiotic ventures
...

  “Wait!” Taris
yelled
in
a
shrill
voice
, catching his hand as he attempted
to walk off. They hung motionless in time, Taris holding onto
his
hand in almost suspended animation. She gave him a little tug, just a little one, applying just enough force to make him turn back towards her. They gazed at each other
,
the soft green
of Taris
’
eyes
and the cloudy blue
-
gray of Monson
’
s
boring into one another. She smiled an
embarrassed smile.  Her next
move
made his knees buckle.

  Taris Green took
his
hand in hers
,
turning it over and resting it on
her
upturned palm.
He
stared
as small
delicate
fingers
caressed
the scarred and cracked tissue of his
hand
, wrist and forearm. Monson felt a
n
overwhelming warm
th
shoot up his arm. 

She
finally spoke
.
“It’s awfully rude to ask someone out and not give them a chance to answer
.
”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean
—
”

Taris touched his lips with one finger
,
silencing him immediately. She brought her hands to his hips as she stepped into him
, her
finger
brushing
under his uniform
and
touching
his
skin. She whispered
.

“Ask me again.”

Monson did so
,
his tone still confused and a little
nervous
. 

Taris smiled seductively as
she tucked
back his hair to expose
his
ear.  Her hand on his neck now, she pulled him closer until her lips were a finger
’
s
breadth
away. She whispered three little words.

“I’d love to.”

Chapter 4
1 - Mirrors

Casey
’
s
shock
was slowly turning to
amusement
.
“You gotta be kidding me
!
Wow, that’s just hot; I totally have goose bumps.  That should
seriously
be in a movie
.
A
s a matter of fact
, remind me to write that down
.”

Monson, Casey
,
Artorius
and both Harrison girls were now up in Monson’s apartment listening intently
. The emotions ranged from Artori
us’ look of slack-jawed
amazement
to Indigo’s scornful scowl. Casey
,
however, was giggling like a schoolgirl.

“I can’t believe you
’
re laughing!” Monson
tried
to keep the desperate tone out of his voice. “Now what the heck I am supposed to do?”

“Go with her
.
” Casey
shrugged.
“
A
nd pray to everything holy that she doesn’t realize how boring you are.”

His nerves already strung very tight
,
Monson almost
p
ounced on Casey. He was half
way out of his seat
when the touch of a small hand instantly pacified him. Monson glanced over his shoulder to see Cyann’s hand
casually
resting near the base of his neck as if it
had fallen
there by accident. He tried to catch her eye,
without success.

Brian
’
s
entrance broke the tension. He stroll
ed
through the sitting area carrying the
dress
clothes
from earlier.

“Brian!” called Monson
,
attempting not to sound
frantic.
“Just the man I wanted to see
.
I need to tell you what happen
ed.
I just asked
—
”

“You just asked Ms. Taris Green to accompany you to the Spring
Solstice
and now you are
‘
freaking out
.
’
”

Brian calmly grabbed various items from atop the bar area.

Monson scowled
.
“
Y
ou seriously drive me insane. How did you know? How do you always know?”

Brian
gave
a small smile
.
“
Master Grey,
I think you are seriously underestimating my eavesdropping ability.”

Everyone stared at him blankly.

Brian
sighed.
“I heard from the other room.”

W
ith that pronouncement
,
he started for the door.

“Brian!” said Monson sharply
.
“
W
here are you going? I need you!”

“Oh
,
do not
worry
.
” Brian winked at him
.
“
Y
ou will soon realize that in the grand scheme of life
this
is merely a blip in your emotional progression.
If you wish, we can
talk
later.  But now
I
must
return
these
clothes.
Ms. Green
is
most likely
going to go with something lighter,
perhaps
a green dress
,
and
I will have to dress you to match.
”

“I can dress myself
,
thank you very much. If you were so concerned with dressing me to match
,
why didn’t you just wait until I actually asked someone?”

“I would have thought that was obvious
.
”

“That’s what I thought
,
” said Casey
over
Monson
,
who was about to lose it
.
“But alas
,
he is a thick one
,
isn’t he?”

“
Well said, Master Kay.
”

“What the heck does that mean?”  Monson shot alternating venomous looks at both Brian and Casey.

“Oh
,
we
cannot
tell you,” said Brian in an exaggeratedly
innocent
voice. “We
would not
want to spoil it for you
.
”

“No
,
of course not
,
” agreed Casey in the same tone
.
 

Monson
resigned himself to the fact that
he had lost this one
.
“You guys suck. Do you know that?”

Casey and Brain just beamed
at him,
clearly pleased with
themselves
. 
But
Brian’s self-indulgence only lasted a moment
.
“
W
ell
,
l
adies and gents
,
I will be off now. I have to make
our
young
hero
look presentable
.
” 

He left
,
leaving an irritated Monson in his wake. 

They sat
there
for a moment until Indigo finally spoke. 

“I don’t know what you
’
re
so
happy about
.
” She glared spitefully at Casey
.
“
Y
ou do realize that now
that
Monson is going with that cow
,
you
’
re the only one here without a date.”

“That cow
?
”
repeated
Casey coolly
.
“
H
ardly
.
I think we
’
ve
already established she is not only
not
a cow but—
”

“A
totally
hot girl... I know
,
I know
!
” interrupted Indigo
.

“I was going to say
a
delightful person
, b
ut that works for me
.
”

Cyann, Artorius
and
Monson
all cringed. Indigo took a deep breath and let it fly.

Monson had seen some really good fights in his life
—well,
on soap operas
—
but when
I
ndigo and Casey got going
,
things really heated up
.

A
lready annoyed with both of them
, he
thought he
would
talk to Cyann
,
who had yet to say a word to him since leaving with Damion earlier that
afternoon
.