7 Breaking through.

Chapter 7

A ringing phone shrilled through my train of thoughts bringing me back to reality.

Lis was already up and grabbing my phone from the side table. “Unknown.” She muttered.

I felt my pulse jump with expectation and dread as I took the phone from her extended arm.

And I watched her as she moped to the kitchen probably to make a snack after hitting the “pause” button on the laptop.

I’m called by few people, so few I have all their contacts memorized. Since Audrey didn’t do one man twice, there were no boyfriends and no calls the next morning from cocky boys from last night.

According to her, why would she stick on one man when there is more cake to ravish out there? So an unknown number calling me is a bit puzzling. For a minute I considered letting the call go straight to voicemail but curiosity will kill Lilia, so I took the call.

“Hello, this is Lilia” I introduced half professionally, half friendly by my professional name, or rather my pen name as an author, since the person on the other end could be anyone.

“Hello,” came a voice after seconds of silence, a velvet deep voice. “Amare” the voice added. I bite my lower lip anticipating. Who might it be that call me by my personal name? I did recognize that voice but I wasn’t taking chances.

“It’s me, Alarcus.”

Holy golly!

The same crippling nervousness I keep projecting towards him started bubbling inside me. My eyes went pans on my head and my tongue felt like injected with anesthesia.

“Ooh sir, MacQuinn, I mean…” I stuttered, which I realized, I was doing often these days. I just can’t manage to not embarrass myself, can I? I internally cried. I’m such a fish, oh my goddess!

“I just wanted to talk to you. How is everything?” I can almost picture his soft smile which would display his straight, shiny teeth plastered on his lips as he asked this.

Okay, Amare back to earth, he asked a question.

“Pfft” Audrey scoffed. Thanks Audrey, you are such a useless friend. “What the…”

“Yeah, MacQuinn.” I almost shouted quickly avoiding a fight with my inner self. Running to the kitchen, I pointed a finger at the phone showing Liz who was currently making coffee that there was a special call. She immediately dropped everything and ran over as I put the phone on loud speaker.

Please Lord don’t let Alarcus hear the commotion otherwise, I would die of embarrassment.

“I would have done better than asking on phone but you prefer privacy, isn’t it so Amare?” I had figured that he is the type that values privacy. Which I liked about him. Points there.

‘What do I say’ I mouthed to Lis asking for help but the traitor gestured back telling me to hurry and answer excitement steaming in her big brown eyes.

Okay, pull yourself together Amare.

“Well yes, especially at night” I answered.

It may be old fashioned but sitting on the deck of my house at night. While enjoying a cup of tea and the soft night breeze, smelling in amazing scents of flowers in garden surrounding the deck and losing myself in the twinkling stars is my favorite scenario. So I like my peace at night.

I heard Alarcus chuckling at the other end of the line and Liz snorted loudly.

Bitch gave us out.

Alarcus probably got us now if he didn’t before. Just let me die.

I kicked her rear rightly telling her to shut up. Then suddenly realizing how that sounded too, I chuckled dryly letting the urge to explain myself drown.

“Sorry about that.” I muttered in the phone instead. I had invited a third part in a room he created.

“I don’t mind. Your friend with you?” he interjected softly.

“Yeah, Liza.” I informed in case he had forgotten.

I got a husky hum from the other side before he continued, “I’ve been wondering how you were doing for a hundred years but now that you’re here I can’t seem to ask?” he chuckled dryly, probably trying to lighten up. He didn’t know me in all those years though, guess I am starting to get answers for my questions. Maybe he really cares about Audrey only. Maybe I am really going to slip into trouble unnoticed, nobody caring.

Shaking my head from the depressing thoughts, I answered his question “well, we are doing fine.” I attempted to lift the phone to my ear but Liz couldn’t let me so I put it back down. He probably got that, again.

“Your friend still around?” he asked casually, confirming my doubts.

“Yeah, uhm, you know…” I shot Liz a look which said ‘you are dead after this.’ She landed me in one embarrassing moment.

“How is she?” he sounded cool about the exasperating lack of privacy in here. Thanks goodness.

I was about to answer but Liz beat me to it.

“More than good. Thank you!” Liz squealed, realizing how out of manner she sounded, she covered her mouth gaping at me sheepishly.

We kept chatting and by the time we said goodbye, Liz had long resigned to bed.

After the phone conversation with MacQuinn, I went to bed feeling relieved and collected. Even in my dreams I saw Erica’s and Sam’s smiley faces.

****************

Thursday, the next day I didn’t communicate with Alarcus. And Audrey didn’t really like the absence of attention. Just one day and she was about to take control herself and contact him. But that seemed like a whole new level of desperation to me, so no.

Waking up on Friday felt like waking up in a frozen palace. Like seriously, it was dark outside, very cold and the cute little flakes were still falling innocently! A little after noon, I was in the kitchen peeling fruits when I received a call from Alarcus.

“Oh, he remembers that I am here!” Audrey had said and added something like after so long. There is a difference between we are and I am, we are means a team but I am means that everyone is on her own, at the worst one might be against another. I tried to ignore that, but it stung way too much. Nevertheless, I told her that her lack of patience was dehydrating and that princes tend to have piles of things to do.

Next thing I knew, a glass sitting at the kitchen counter broke, on its own accord, or more like exploded sending shades of glass flying everywhere accompanied by the water that occupied the glass. I flinched as the screeching sound eat away at my brain. A pissed Audrey plus my talkative self, and her powers, or magic whatever you want to call it, was a train doomed for fall.

Okay, no talking back. That is a familiar rule but would I be Amare if I kept my attitude in check? Probably no. Receiving warnings like this one is my daily dose of happiness, not the sarcasm.

The first call had by now went to a missed call but he called again and I answered at the first ring since I was already holding the phone.

“Hello.” I had answered the phone sounding a shell to my own ears.

“Hey there, is everything okay?” he had acquired gently, suddenly too soft for my liking or it might have been the fact that I was pissed. When I answered with a short “I am.”, he went on “So, let’s meet.”

Huh? I might or might not have mumbled that out loud. I was pissed and being dumb but whatever.

“Let’s have dinner.”

“Dinner?” I uttered. Oh could I sound anymore stupid?

“Yes. Dinner.”

“Together?”

Yeah. Ended up being dinner together.

And it was nice, like super nice. The restaurant was gorgeous. Every corner had golden-colored candle holders holding candles which burned with a soft glisten on them, three chandeliers hang from the ceiling washing the room in its light, not too much light but enough to give a room a sexy twinkle.

And the man who sat in front of me across the table, completely at ease, was practically glowing.

Of course I couldn’t define myself as at easy then, I was nervous as hell.

But Alarcus seemed to really have set out for a mission, the motion being to know each other better.

He would ask me a single question and I would blabber on and on about my life style nervously. If he asked a question, I would just toss it back to him because I was too distract, both by the charming, handsome man in front of me and the nervousness in my own veins to think of anything in particular.

When I asked him where he lived in Alaska, he said;

“I don’t live in Alaska.” Eh?

“When I’m not at the palace in Germany, which I rarely do, I live in Portland.”

I stared at him until one thick eyebrow was raised at me inquiringly.

Someone would kill to live in a palace, let alone to be a prince, he has that chance, so how come he’s rarely there? And what is he doing in Alaska? As if seeing the wheels turning in my head, he let out a spine shriving chuckle. He had such a hot chuckle, deep and fluid.

“I had a meeting over here, to re-establish borders. Some vampires had invaded the territories of wolves.” He answered shrugging casually. I am convinced that this man could read minds. That or he was too observant.

When I asked where he was staying, he said they had a home here in Alaska. ‘They’ as in him and his friends. He had then smiled his panty dropping smile and continued “It’s not like I’m leaving without you.”

Oh! Okay?

I was stroke speechless, unable to form a response or at least a statement to that. Was he joking? Because last time I checked, I was the hardest person to live with let alone getting along with.

If he didn’t know all that, well then, he was about to.

While eating dinner, a blonde hottie had come sashaying among tables and a man or two had turned following her steps, she was really hot in her waitressing uniform, the black skirt reaching mid-thighs was okay but her boobs was about to spill out of a white shirt she had on, which had the two top buttons open revealing her breast cleavage.

She stopped at our table her hip popped out to the side, towards Alarcus as she handed him the receipt. I straightened in my chair muscles tensing. That scene was all too familiar.

She had then let go of the receipt and run her fingers on the back of his hand subtly but suggestively. I watched a very familiar feeling boiling in my chest as her red painted nails grazed their way up his arm taking the sleeves of his black dress shirt with them.

Alarcus had raised an eyebrow at the action but his face didn’t let out anything else. It must feel really good to have that kind of calmness with you.

He didn’t do anything about it, or at least he didn’t get to react and that annoyed me to no end. I could feel my smile giving away to a tight face.

“Kill her, hit her or whatever to get her hand off him.” Audrey had ordered. Kill her. Something done casually to her but not to me. I couldn’t do that. Instead, I felt myself go through the familiar door to the damned land as a sharp pain pierced through my mind. Audrey, was out herself.

I heard manicured nails of my left hand drumming slowly on the table. Simultaneously, I felt my head being raised on the elbow of the other.

“Hey.” Audrey had called, the server turned to me as if she had noticed me for the first time since coming here.

“How is work?” Audrey questioned eyeing the restaurant aimlessly. It was a lame question but the waitress seemed to get the message as she scoffed rightly under her breath. Audrey flied to her feet, took the strawberry smoothie which was half full and pulled the drink on the waitress’s doll face.

The blonde shrieked in surprise her hands flaring up to hold her face.

She stepped back taken off guard and when she recovered, almost too quickly for Audrey’s liking, she glared at my tenant through fake eyelashes, her face twisted up in anger. She looked ugly right now and that soothed Audrey nerves, inviting her to do more damage.

Then Audrey had fixed her with a look until her glare wavered. The hottie, now drenched in my smoothie, turned on her heels and stomped away.

After a moment Audrey teared her stare from doll-face and sat back in her chair. She turned to Alarcus and when her gaze bored into his eyes, my breath count.

Alarcus was watching us his face blank. He was speechless, a hey-that-was-you? kind of speechless.

I didn’t know if I should be happy about that or not, however, speechless isn’t the same as disappointment, what my father look at me with in these kind of situation, or disbelief, what my friends project.

Still, I had felt it when my face, now Audrey’s face, broke into a smile. “Sorry about that. The drink.” Audrey apologized sounding completely sorry not sorry.

And I could feel it as I came back, I had saw it on his face that he had seen that I was back, as Audrey handed me control.

You know how it feels to awaken from a coma? It feels like a second chance. It feels like coming back to life. At least to me, that’s how it feels to me.

I immediately looked away from him.

“Sorry about that?” Wow. Now that was really lame.

But I was really sorry, for the drink on his expensive shirt and the whole situation.

This is bad, very bad, like really bad. It is enough that even I can’t understand what is happening to me but it is another thing when someone else witnesses this side of me, excluding my friends since they have already seen this, because I hate this side of me.

There went the only comfort I was holding onto. The blondie might even get her ass fired, while she didn’t have the best of manners she might have been hunting for money.

The rest of the date as he had decided we call it, since no unrelated man and woman just went for dinner, I felt like there was needles pricking at my skin.

Alarcus had drove me home in his black Audi. When we reached my house, before I got out of the car he took my phone and typed down in it.

“That’s my other number.” He said handing my Samsung back, “I felt like giving it to you just in case. You can call me anytime.” I thanked him, and made a promise I wasn’t sure I was going to keep;

“I’ll give you a call.” And by the way his brow rose subtly, he guessed it too.

Then he told me that I should be ready for his visit sooner or later. I have gaped at him dumbfounded. Who just came at a person’s house not once but twice uninvited? But he didn’t let me turn him down, not like I was going to. After telling me goodnight and to be careful since a storm was likely on its way he drove away leaving me at the steps of my house.

Obnoxious prince.

No matter what shit that just went down, that was the most beautiful date I’ve ever had in my whole life. Screw Audrey’s flings.