Wilder: The Guardian Series (3 page)

“What are you doing throwing rocks at my window at this time
of night? You scared me to death!”

“I’m sorry Cel, I was trying to call you on the walkie-talkie
for the past half hour and you weren’t responding.”

“Have you ever heard of a cell phone?”

“It went to voicemail so I came over instead.”

“Okay, what was so important?” she asked impatiently, but
Brian’s attention was focused elsewhere.

 
“Whoa, that is a
huge bird up there,” he said pointing.

Celeste followed his finger, squinting to make out the figure
in the tree.

“Is that a falcon?” her stomach churned nervously at the
thought.

“I don’t know, maybe,” he said. “Yeah, now that you mention
it, it does kind of look like a hawk or a falcon or something.”

“Let’s try and get a closer look.” Celeste approached the
tree cautiously, but Brian stopped her.

“Wait, I can go grab binoculars from my room.”

“You own binoculars?” she asked incredulously. Celeste looked
up at the sight line from his room to hers and took a couple steps back.
“Please tell me you do not look into my room with your binoculars!”

 
“Look, it’s not
like that Cel, I swear. I worry about you sometimes,
that’s
all. I know you are home alone a lot so I wanted to keep an eye on you,” he
said while awkwardly looking down at his feet.

“Literally, I guess.” She could see he was embarrassed.
“Whatever Brian, I can’t deal with this right now. It’s late and I have to get
some sleep. This scary bird thing has me on edge. I think I saw the same one
the other night too, and I had a nightmare about it. Just promise me you’ll
stop being weird and watching me through binoculars!”

Celeste gave him a good-natured punch in the stomach and
turned towards her front door.

“Hey Brian, wait, what did you want to talk to me about?”

Brian paused, already half way across the yard. “Oh nothing,
don’t worry about it. It’s late like you said.”

Celeste glanced up into the oak tree before hurrying back
inside her house. As she settled back into bed, she couldn’t help but think
about the unusual bird and hoped she wouldn’t have another nightmare.

“Look, I’m really sorry about last night,” said Brian as he
ran up to Celeste in the cafeteria the next day at school.

Celeste could barely hear him over the boisterous talking and
clatter of lunch trays as their classmates enjoyed the thirty-minute respite
from class.

“It’s fine, I’m over it,” said Celeste, “I know you thought
you were being protective and what not, I get it.”

Placing his warm hand on Celeste’s, his face grew serious and
he said, “You know I really care about you, right?” She looked down at his
large hand covering hers protectively then quickly looked away, surprised by
his admission.

 
“Am I
interrupting something?” asked Natalie as she sat down next to Brian.

“Nope!” they said in unison. Celeste pulled her hand away
awkwardly, hoping Natalie hadn’t noticed.

“I
gotta
get to class,” said Brian,
“but I’ll see you girls tonight.” As he walked out, Celeste caught a lingering
glance back at her.

“Is everything okay?” asked Natalie.

“Oh yeah, everything’s fine. I can’t wait for the party
tonight actually. Thanks for the invite.”

“No
prob
! I think it will be really
good for you. And who knows, maybe you and this mysterious guy will hit it off
– that is if Brian lets you out of his sight.” Natalie gave her a
mischievous grin.

“Huh? Oh… no it’s not
like
that with
Brian and me. We’re just good friends.”

“Oh yeah? Are you sure about that?”

“Yes totally! You know we’ve known each other since we were
practically in diapers. He’s like a brother to me. I could never think of him
romantically, Nat.”

“I don’t know, I mean he’s changed quite a bit since you two
were in diapers. He’s gotten totally hot—don’t tell me you don’t notice?
He’s definitely got a six-pack under that shirt from all the working out for
basketball and wrestling. And the way he looks at you sometimes with those
bright green eyes, it seems more than friendly to me.”

Celeste briefly thought about the night before and the
binocular fiasco, but she quickly pushed it out of her mind. “No way Nat, and
sure I’m not blind. I can see that he’s cute, but it’s just not like that with
us.”

“Okay, well if you don’t want him then he’s mine!” laughed
Natalie.

Later that night as Celeste rummaged through her closet for
something to wear to the party, she couldn’t help but think about what Natalie
had said about Brian. She had to be wrong: Celeste never noticed Brian looking
at her in any special way. They were just friends, best friends, and she
couldn’t imagine it any other way. She finished off her outfit with her
favorite necklace – a simple gold chain with three intertwined gold
hearts, a present from her dad on her tenth birthday. Her dad had said it
symbolized their family, the three of them, together forever. She felt the
familiar twinge of loss, but pushed it away. She gazed critically at her
reflection in the mirror, she always felt her hazel eyes were drab and she
wished her button nose would perk up a bit at the end. Sighing, she added a bit
of chocolate mousse eyeliner and a dab of cotton candy lip-gloss and heard
Brian’s car horn outside. She grabbed her purse, patted Rocky affectionately on
the head and rushed out.

There had to have been at least a hundred people at Dani
Lynn’s party. Some were crammed into her apartment while the majority spilled
out into the courtyard of her apartment complex.
 
As Celeste walked in, the loud, drunk
bodies packed into every corner overwhelmed her. She felt an indescribable urge
to run back to the car, but Natalie caught sight of her and Brian before she
could make her escape.

“I’m so glad you guys made it!” said Natalie accompanied by
two pretty girls. “You know Jessica, and this is her sister Dani Lynn.”

Celeste nodded and Brian threw Dani a charming grin.

“Come on in guys, the keg’s in the back. I have to go do some
damage control downstairs,” said Dani as she rushed by.

Celeste looked over at Brian who was staring in the direction
Dani had run off to. She noticed how striking Dani had become since her high
school days, and obviously Brian had too. She had always been pretty, but now
she had a certain alluring quality she never had before.
  

“Okay so Dani pointed Nico Constantin out to me, Celeste. Let’s
go introduce ourselves,” said Natalie, grabbing Celeste’s arm excitedly.

“Who’s Nico Constantin?” asked Brian returning his focus to
the conversation.

“Oh you know, the mysterious stranger Celeste bumped into at
the library over the weekend.”

Celeste noticed Brian’s face tense up, but he coolly shrugged
it off. “Nope never heard of him.” He looked at her disapprovingly.

“Oh yeah, I guess it must have slipped my mind.”

“Well, I’m going to grab a beer. You girls want something?”
asked Brian.

“Sure!” the girls said in unison.

As soon as Brian walked away, Natalie hurried Celeste over to
the cramped kitchen. She pointed at the back corner of the apartment where a
tall dark-haired boy was talking to a group of giggling girls.

“Look, is that your mystery man?”

“I’m not sure,” answered Celeste trying to get a look over
the crowd on her tiptoes. “He has his back to us so I can’t see his face.”

“Well get over there Celeste! It looks like you’re going to
have to get in line to talk to him. Look at all of those girls all over him!”

Celeste’s heart was pounding as she stared at the dark-haired
stranger from across the room. “I don’t know about this Natalie. What am I
supposed to say? ‘Uh, hi, I’m the girl who bumped into you in the library, nice
to meet you’?”

 
“Who cares? Just
get over there! Come on, I’ll go with you,” Natalie said, pulling Celeste by
the arm.

The girls made their way over to the other side of the
apartment, weaving through the dense crowd of college kids and stopping just a
few feet away from their target.

“I can’t do this,” said Celeste, stopping in her tracks.

“There’s no backing out now,” said Natalie as she squirmed
through the crowd with Celeste in tow and tapped Nico on the shoulder. He
turned around with a stunning smile and Celeste found herself face to face with
him.

“Well hello ladies, how can I help you?” he asked, warmth
exuding from his voice.

Both girls were silent for a moment as they stared in
appreciation of this gorgeous and impeccably dressed young man. His aqua button-down
shirt was meticulously ironed, and his midnight blue designer jeans seemed
custom made. He was
tall,
his black hair neatly gelled
back, with matching dark eyes and a teasing grin that would melt any girl’s
heart.

“That’s not him!” whispered Celeste under her breath.

“Oh hi,” said Natalie, “we just wanted to introduce
ourselves, my name is Natalie Meadows and this is Celeste Wilder.”

Celeste nervously twirled a golden curl around her finger.
Nico observed both girls, his interest clearly piqued.

“We are Dani Lynn’s friends and she asked us to check up on
you since you’re new in town. She’s been too busy running around trying to make
sure she’s the perfect hostess.”

 
“Well that is
very kind of you, ladies. I am Nico Constantin. It’s a pleasure to meet you
Natalie, and you Celeste,” he said. He took Celeste’s hand, and he could feel
her pulse quicken as he bent his head to kiss it. He felt exhilarated.

Brian appeared out of nowhere as Natalie and Celeste sat
mesmerized and too thunderstruck to say a word.

“Hi, Nico, right? I’m Brian,” he interjected.

“Hello Brian, nice to meet you,” he said, extending his hand.

“That’s quite a grip you got there,” commented Brian,
grimacing slightly but not letting go.

“You do as well, my friend. Let me guess – you’re a
wrestler?” asked Nico.

“Yeah, actually I am. How’d you know?”

“I used to wrestle in high school myself. We should have a go
one day.”

Brian eyed him cautiously. “Yeah, sure.”

“You know, I must say that everyone in Oak Bluffs is so
friendly and welcoming. I think that I am really going to like it here.”

Natalie finally found her tongue and asked, “So why are you
here in Oak Bluffs?”

“My brother and I had been living in New York City for the
past couple years, and he just graduated from college. We were looking for a
change of pace after the hustle and bustle of the city. We had an uncle that
lived here many years ago, and we visited him once when we were young. It
seemed like a quaint and quiet town so we came on a whim. I’m not much for
academics, but my brother insisted I get my degree, so I enrolled at the
community college and here we are,” explained Nico.

“Your brother?” asked Celeste trying to keep the excitement
out of her voice. Natalie threw her a conspiratorial glance.

“Yes, my brother Roman. It’s just the two of us here. We got
an apartment on the other side of campus.”

That must have been
who
I met!
 
There was a definite resemblance between
the two brothers now that she looked more closely at him. Nico was a bit
shorter and leaner than the brother she met at the library. But they both had
the jet-black hair, olive skin, and incredible looks.

 
“So where’s your
brother tonight, Nico?” asked Natalie.

“He’s not one for these kinds of affairs. I’d have to drag
him out of the house kicking and screaming.”

“Oh, too bad,” she said, with a devious glance at Celeste.

“So Celeste, you said your last name was Wilder? I’ve met a
couple of Wilders in my day, mostly in Germany,” said Nico.

“Yeah, that’s actually where my family is from originally,
but I don’t know any of my relatives over there.”

“Well, who knows, maybe I’ve met some of your distant
relatives,” Nico said with a half smile. He paused momentarily, reminiscing
about a time long ago, but quickly recovered. “Germany really is a beautiful
country. I’d love to show you pictures from my travels there someday.”

“Oh sure, sounds fun,” said Celeste, drawn to his warm smile.

Natalie grabbed Brian by the arm. “Let’s go get refills on
these drinks.” She turned back and gave Celeste an encouraging look as she
walked away.

“So, you said you’ve been to Germany?” Celeste asked,
suddenly alone with the attractive stranger.

“Yes, I spent four years there at a boarding school in Berlin
while my brother was in London attending university the first time around.”

 
Celeste was soon
captivated by all of Nico’s stories of Oktoberfest in Munich, wild nights in
Ibiza, strolling the Champs Elysees in Paris, gondola rides in Venice, and so
much more. It appeared as though Nico had already lived an entire lifetime of
adventures, a seemingly impossible feat for someone so young.

“I’ve always dreamed of traveling around the world. I wanted
to backpack across Europe the summer of my senior year, which is in a couple of
weeks now. I’m pretty sure that that won’t be happening.”

“Why not? You never know what may happen or how your life can
change in the blink of an eye.”

Celeste knew how true that was. Her life had completely
changed when her father had died. Unexpectedly, Nico took her hand and led her
out to the balcony. The party had started to die down now, and they were
finally able to get a seat outside.

“It’s such a beautiful night out, don’t you think Celeste?” he
asked.