Elemental Awakened by Helen Scott
11
Tessa
I had gone through just about every piece of clothing in my closet. Nothing looked good. Nothing said first date sexy but not too sexy, smart and low-maintenance, unless I changed into my jeans and T-shirt once more. I refused to allow myself to do that though. This was a date, the first I had been on in a very long time.
Dres… Just thinking his name sent a flock of butterflies flitting through my stomach. Out of the three of them, he’d been the last one I expected to ask me on a date, not that I expected any of them to ask me out. We hadn’t exactly bonded the way Finn and I had, and Griff had seemed more interested and easygoing than Dres did, but he was the one who’d asked. The three of them all looked like models, and even though Dres and I had barely begun to get to know each other, I couldn’t help but say yes. He was just as drool worthy as Finn and Griff, just in a different way. I shook my head, trying to rid myself of nerves that had begun to plague me out of nowhere. Well, not nowhere. I knew exactly where they came from.
I didn’t date. It was why the fact that I’d agreed to it had surprised me. Plus, most guys were never all that interested in me, but the ones that were had always been a little too interested, a little too pushy or too controlling. Dres didn’t seem like the type, but then, first dates were often just showing our best qualities to one another, hoping that we impressed the other so that when they see our quirks and annoying habits, they will like us enough to stick around. In my case, I also had to add the baggage. I mean, I knew everyone had baggage, but not everyone had a mother who’d lost her mind and tried to burn the devil out of her own child.
As I slipped my drawing glove on, the one that just covered my pinky finger, ring finger, and palm before fastening around my wrist, I hoped it didn’t look too weird with the rest of my outfit. The deep, garnet colored sweater dress hugged my curves, especially with the tighter band of ribbing that went around my waist. The over the knee boots, which had been my splurge purchase when I graduated, showed just enough leg between their tops and the bottom of the dress that I felt sexy without overdoing it.
I added a black long-sleeved coat that hit at just the same length as the dress, grabbed my purse, and was ready to go. I’d even put on some light makeup and done my hair. Admittedly, that was just making it stay straight instead of returning to its naturally wavy form, but still, I’d put in effort, dammit, and I felt good. It felt like something was missing though, so I added a long necklace that came down over the high neckline of the dress. There. Much better. My mind laughed at me, wondering why I was putting in so much effort when as soon as Dres saw that I was a little crazy, he’d probably back away without making eye contact. Though, a small part of me was hopeful that after everything that had happened with Brok, no matter how much of it was real, he’d accept me as I was and not think I was crazy.
I couldn’t not try though, not with someone who I was actually attracted to, which in and of itself was a minor miracle. Linda thought it was a defense mechanism that I kept people at arm’s length or didn’t even find most guys attractive. Really, I did everything I could so I didn’t get hurt over and over again when friendships and relationships ended because the other person couldn’t handle my need to draw or my emotional baggage.
Before I could get any more worked up, my phone buzzed, letting me know it was time for me to head out if I was to meet Dres at the crossroads. I knew it was only a couple minutes from my place, but I hated when people kept me waiting, so being late was one of my pet peeves. I grabbed my purse and my mini notebook, stuffing it in as I grabbed my phone and keys and left.
Taking my notebook was partially paranoia on my part, but I’d been sketching the dragons for a long time now. If I saw one while I was out, then I was going to have to make some excuse to sketch it or I would start acting like an addict getting withdrawal symptoms, which was definitely not sexy.
The heels of my boots clicked a steady, efficient rhythm on the sidewalk as I made my way down the street. Usually, I was a no-nonsense walker, keeping my head held high, but I could swear I felt eyes on me as I made my way toward Dres, which had me looking over my shoulder and glancing around, expecting another attack to come at any moment. My heart hammered in my chest as though my ribs were the only thing keeping it in place.
When I saw the back of a dark head of hair waiting for me by the street sign, I breathed a sigh of relief before silently berating myself for letting a few weird, random incidents make me feel unsafe. I mean, sure, I had weirdly hallucinated a man turning to dust in my apartment, but that couldn’t have really happened. Someone would have come looking for Brok if it had happened, right? I just wished I knew what actually happened. It was another reason why I’d agreed to go on a date with Dres—I was hoping I could get the truth out of him.
Before my mind could spiral any further out of control, Dres was in front of me, his thick ebony hair styled in a way that had it looking artfully disheveled, while his scruff was neatly trimmed. The dark, espresso colored eyes smiled down at me, even though there was no obvious smile on the man’s face. If I’d seen him from a greater distance, I might have even been intimidated. As it was, my nerves outweighed any intimidation, especially when I felt his eyes travel up and down my body.
“Tessa, you look stunning,” he said with a tip of his head.
“You don’t look so bad yourself,” I said with a smile as I took in the deep plum color of his button-down that was tucked neatly into his dark jeans and the shiny black shoes that peaked out from under the hem of his almost too long jeans. He looked sexy as hell, and all I wanted to do was run my fingers through his hair, tangling the strands around my skin to see if they were as soft as they looked.
“Shall we?” he asked, extending his arm to me.
I took it, my hand sliding against the silky material of his shirt as the warmth radiated off him, chasing away the chill of the autumn afternoon. “Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” I asked, glancing up at him through my lashes.
“It’s a surprise,” he replied, grinning down at me. While the smile reached his eyes and made them crinkle in the corners, I couldn’t help but notice a tension to the way he held himself, which made my nerves come flooding back.
We walked down the street, turning and heading away from the area that had the most restaurants, bars, cafés, and other eateries near campus, which surprised me. Two turns later though, and I realized we were walking back to the house he shared with Finn and Griff. It wasn’t so much that I minded as I didn’t want to make things awkward between the guys. The three of them had been flirting with me, and I knew there was chemistry between each of them and me, whether or not I believed what I’d been seeing recently.
“Your place?” I asked as we neared the stone steps that led up to their front porch.
“I thought I’d cook, since it’s one of my favorite things to do. I’ve got some bourbon glazed chops and a nice salad, along with some dessert, if you’re good.”
“If I’m good?” I snorted. It wasn’t like we’d been dating a while and he was teasing me, which made me wonder exactly what his intentions were. Was he cooking me dinner because he thought it would make for an easier one-night stand? If so, the man was going to be sorely disappointed. I didn’t do one-night stands. It wasn’t that I had anything against them, I just enjoyed sex more when it was with someone I knew.
He stopped and tugged gently on my arm, so I turned to face him. His espresso eyes blazed down into mine as he said, “I didn’t mean anything by it. I apologize. I honestly don’t expect anything from you tonight other than your opinion on my cooking, but if you really don’t want to, then you don’t have to give me that either. I was just trying to do something nice.”
“I appreciate that. I guess I was just taken off guard. No worries though, I can’t wait to critique your chop roasting skills, if that’s what you do with chops, I mean. Honestly, I don’t know much about cooking. I can make some damn fine pizza bites, some mac and cheese, and maybe even some eggs on toast if you’re really good.” I winked at him as I threw his own line back at him and got a chuckle in return, which sent a thrill of desire through me.
He opened the door and held it for me like a gentleman. I wandered in and took a look around. I hadn’t really paid much attention before, being too wrapped up in my own thoughts to see what their place was like.
To the left, a worn brown leather couch lined one wall opposite a huge flat screen TV. On each side of the screen were bookcases filled not only with movies, but books as well, something that was less common for guys my age. A gaming console or two hid under the surface the TV rested on, and a variety of controllers and remotes sat on the barely holding together coffee table.
To the right was a large, round kitchen table. It sat in the middle of the open space before the kitchen proper. The wood veneer of the table was peeling at the edge in places, and the white paint on the cabinets had chipped away at the corners. Overall, the place looked lived in, homey.
I knew just from the state of the cabinets that it was off-campus housing. The university kept everything clean, but they didn’t repair between tenants unless absolutely necessary. From what I could see, it was definitely not necessary, and the university hadn’t deemed it necessary for a while and probably wouldn’t even when these guys moved out.
“May I?” Dres held his hand out for my coat and purse, which I handed over. He stashed them on a freestanding old-school coatrack that was snuggled in the corner before whirling away into the kitchen. He’d evidently left things cooking while he came to meet me.
“Please, have a seat,” he said over his shoulder as he stirred something in a pot on the stove. A delicious aroma came wafting toward me, and my stomach growled unceremoniously.
Dres turned from the stove and brought a basket of rolls over to me, along with a container of what looked like whipped butter. “Griffin made those just for you,” he said as he turned back to the stove.
Conflicting emotions swamped me. I wanted to preen at the attention I was receiving, even from a man who wasn’t there, and yet I was on a date with his friend. I shouldn’t want both of them, or all of them, to want me. That was just selfish. “Oh, thanks,” I said, unsure what other reaction to vocalize.
I tore into the fluffy clouds of what I’d thought was just normal bread, but it was so light and delicate that I felt guilty eating it. Well, almost. “So, are you in school?” I asked, hoping to discover more about the third of the trio of friends that I knew the least about.
“No, I’m here on a research project,” Dres said, waving his hand to one side. “Quite boring really.”
“You must find it somewhat interesting if you’re pursuing it?” I pushed, hoping he’d tell me more about it.
“Well, yeah, but that’s like saying I’m sure you find the different materials you work with for your art interesting. They aren’t the goal—the goal is the end result. Unfortunately, I’m stuck researching the materials for a while.”
“Fair enough,” I said, unsure how to take being brushed off like that. I couldn’t help feeling like there was something there, just under the surface, that was fascinating, but that Dres was doing everything he could to distract me from it. Within moments, he was distracting me further though by putting a salad in front of me that looked so fresh and delicious, it made my mouth water. Bright bursts of color were mixed into the green leaves from peppers, carrots, and other vegetables that I wasn’t sure what they were just by looking at them.
The two of us sat down to eat, and for a while, there was just silence between us. I didn’t know what more to ask him when he seemed so unwilling to share, and he appeared to be working up the courage to ask something. I was willing to bet money it was about my glove. Part of me wanted to just volunteer the information, but the rest of me screamed and wanted to clutch my hand to my chest, hiding it from sight.
“Can I ask about the glove, or is that off limits?” Dres skewered me with his intense eyes. The dark in them seemed to grow until I felt like he could see into the very depths of my soul.
I sighed. “Well, since you asked either way, I suppose I can tell you. I hope it doesn’t change your opinion of me though.” I paused and mentally kicked myself for that last bit. If it did change his opinion of me, then he was a jerk and I didn’t need him in my life. I took a deep breath and pulled the fastening open and slipped the glove off from around my wrist and hand, revealing the scarred skin and almost disfigured fingers that lay underneath. “I was burned when I was a child, and this is the result. In my profession, most people overlook the weird glove that I wear, since I draw on a tablet a lot of the time, so it just makes things easier than having to constantly explain.” I shrugged.
“What happened?”
“Uh, my mother was convinced my birthmark was a sign from the devil, so she burned it off me.” The words rushed out, cold and detached, just like my emotions should’ve been by now. Yet the betrayal of my mother hurting me, of her disfiguring me for life, always made my chest tighten with grief.
“I’m so sorry,” he said as he reached for my hand.
I withdrew the burned one and hid it under the table, still uncomfortable having it exposed, but I took his hand with my unmarred one. As soon as we connected skin to skin, I felt like I was flying, almost like vertigo, but more somehow. The air in the room seemed to rush over my skin, setting each hair on end until goosebumps covered my arms and legs, and my ring warmed like it did around the dragons. I almost looked around for one but stopped myself just in time.
As soon as Dres let go, it stopped, and I was stuck just staring at him, jaw dropped while he flushed and looked embarrassed. What the hell did he have to be embarrassed about? My body had just acted like a tornado sucked me up and spit me out. I definitely felt like, somehow, I’d taken a trip to Oz. My only question was, what on earth had just happened?
