Dreamwalker (3 page)

Even after the walk home and some coffee, I couldn’t shake the dream. Just thinking about him sent a repeated shiver up my spine. He was so yummy and I couldn’t get the taste of his lips on mine out of my head. It was such a bizarre dream towards the end. The herbs and symbol above the door were just creepy.

Even so, I couldn’t seem to push him out of my mind. I knew I should talk to Autumn about it, but I was not quite ready for one of her mystic lectures that I usually tuned out. I showered and dressed while the whole time I was fascinated by my dream.

All I wanted to do was crawl under my covers and melt into another dream of him. Everything else was a blur as I made my way out of my apartment and back into town.

I headed into the music shop, dreading the encounter. As I expected, Pete was there the second I opened the door to the music store and shut it behind me.

His hair looked unkempt and his eyes were red rimmed. It was clear he had worked himself to near death in my absence. I wince when his fiery eyes met mine.

“
Great of you to grace me with your presence, princess, can I see you in the back?”

Trying to ignore the staring eyes of the few customers perusing the music inside the store, I nodded solemnly. I followed Pete in silence, letting the office door slide closed behind me. Judging by his stormy expression, this was not going to go well.

“
Pete, I am so sorry. I should have called,” I started before he cut me off.

“
Save it. Three unexcused absences are grounds for immediate dismissal. I can’t accommodate every whim my employees feel they deserve. This is a business, Ms. Kennedy. Please leave your keys on the desk and I will escort you out,” he said without an ounce of hesitation.

I reluctantly do as he asked and let him guide me out the store. All I got from him was a “Good Luck, Ms. Kennedy,” before he was shutting the door behind me. I was standing there, outside the store, wondering what to do now. I had enough saved for a few months but I definitely needed to find another job sooner rather than later.

I took a deep breath and sighed. I guess I could head down to the Green Vixen and visit Autumn. Then again, I was not in the mood to go into detail about my disastrous encounter with Pete right now.

That was when I saw him across the street. He was just standing there, his hands in his pockets while people passed by all around him. His steely grey eyes met mine and he displayed that crooked smile from my dream, his blond hair messy and disheveled.

Stunned, I ran across the street without a single thought. Cars honked and seemed like distant noise outside of my train of focus. I had to meet him, this man that sent butterflies through me at every thought of him.

To my dismay, once I made it across the street and through the mass of tourists, he was gone. Turning every direction frantically, I scanned the sidewalks. Nothing, it was as if he just disappeared.

I was about to dismiss the entire thing as a figment of my imagination when I lowered my gaze and something caught my eye. Upon a closer look, I realized that it was a small tarnished silver coin. Before anyone else could spot it, I rushed forward and scooped up the small metal remnant.

It was unlike any coin I had seen before. The front was embossed with an unfamiliar symbol and the back had three letters in cursive engraved into the surface reading
JIT
.

I became more curious at the thought of the coin belonging to him. I could feel in my bones that it was his and the pull of energy from it was unsettling. I shoved it in my pocket and vowed to get Autumn’s opinion on it later.

With a heavy heart, I headed home. Trying to pass the time, I curled up on the soft leather couch and enveloped myself in my warm soft red blanket. I couldn’t stop thinking about him and soon I was drifting into another blissful sleep. When I woke, I was disappointed to find that I had no dreams. I had nothing. Maybe I lost the dream and it was just a fluke.

Even so, all I could think about was him and the strange coin found in his wake. I looked at the clock and was frustrated when I saw I still had an hour until Autumn got off work. I grabbed a murder mystery paperback off the bookshelf and settled into the couch once again.

The book was a small distraction to pass the time, but I was still dying to ask Autumn about the coin. It was nearly nine-thirty when I heard a knock on my door. I jumped up and answered it in anticipation.

“
Noel, hey you, why are you at home? I went by the music store, but you had already closed up and it was dark,” she said.

“
Come on in. I am going to make some tea. I think a hot cup of chai is definitely calling to me. Work went crazy, Pete fired me and I feel all weird and lethargic,” I said.

“
Sorry to hear you couldn’t work things out with Pete. He always has been a real pain in the ass. You feel weird? Are you getting sick? Maybe I need to switch your chai tea with an immune herbal infused tea,” Autumn suggested.

“
No, I am sure I am just tired. A good night’s rest is all I need, provided I don’t dream about him again.”

“
Still thinking about that? He must be hot! I wish I had dreams like that. I always have the ones where I eat a hamburger and then an angry cow chases me through a field until I trip. Then I wake up. Good thing I don’t eat hamburgers,” Autumn gushed.

“
It is so bizarre. I swear I saw him earlier outside the store. I ran out the door but he was already gone. But I did find this strange coin on the ground right afterwards,” I said pulling the silver disc from my pocket and placing it in Autumns’ palm.

As soon as her eyes settled on the coin, she stopped dead in her tracks and plopped down on the couch. Her blue eyes went wide and somber as they reached my green ones. I can tell this wasn’t necessarily a good sign. Autumn was rarely this dismal.

“
Noel, this is serious. Are you sure this came from him?”

Suddenly alarmed by Autumn’s lack of humor, I responded. “It had to be. I saw him, but he was gone when I reached that spot. All I found was this and there wasn’t anyone else nearby.”

“
Let’s rationalize this. It could have just been on the street before he even walked by. You don’t really know that this came from him exactly. It could just be a coincidence.”

I didn’t like her logic and was quick to protest. “Umm, no I don’t think so in the least. The fact that he is actually real is not a coincidence, so neither is this. Autumn, I know what I saw and it was him.”

A few beats passed as Autumn appeared to be gathering her composure. She didn’t meet my eyes but instead observed the night outside my window, stars twinkling in the clear night.

“
This is a charm. It has a protection sigil on the front. The letters on the back must be his. This is serious stuff. The use of this kind of magic suggests that he is involved in something dangerous.”

I was not sure how to respond to that. It was not at all what I was thinking. Then again, Autumn would know. Her obsession with all things mystical was extreme and a topic I usually avoided.

Despite our friendship, that was the one subject we agreed to disagree about. She had her beliefs and I had mine. We kept those parts of our life separate from our friendship and things usually went on without a hitch.

Knowing this was her expertise didn’t make the information any easier to swallow. I was not sure if I even believed her, but it didn’t make me want him any less. If anything, I was all the more curious to meet him.

“
So this is a protection charm? Does this mean it will keep me safe?”

Autumn sighed, and then composed a response. “It was obviously crafted for him, but yes it would act as protection to anyone who bears it if they have a connection to him. At this point, it wouldn’t hurt for you to hold on to it.”

“
Oh that reminds me,” she continued, dismissing the subject and handing me back the coin.

“
Augustine Jordan is opening his bar tomorrow night. We promised him weeks ago that we would be there, and so we will. I will meet you at your place at eight. And don’t even think of bailing. He is great and I think he and I might hook up, I hope.”

I raised an eyebrow and looked at Autumn. “It would be about time! You two have been dancing around each other for months. It’s tiring to watch, frankly. I guess that means you have sufficiently guilted me into it.”

“
Perfect!” Autumn exclaimed, clapping her hands together in excitement. “Oh and you better look sexy. I think you deserve a little fun too. You may have been dumped, but you are by no means dead.”

“
Yeah, yeah, I won’t embarrass you.”

As we reached the end of our conversation, Autumn gave me a hug. “Get some rest. I hope you feel better and I will see you tomorrow night,” she said. Then she continued up the stairs toward her own apartment.

Once I was alone inside, I locked my new deadbolt and made myself a cup of tea. Suddenly, my drooping eyelids were very noticeable. Sipping the last of my tea, I took off my top, bra and jeans. Quietly, I slid into bed and wrapped the thick down comforter around my almost naked body.

As I curled up in bed, the world faded away. Then I saw him. His grey eyes were penetrating mine and my heart skipped a beat. I unconsciously licked my lips in anticipation. A smile warmed his face and he reached out. He placed his hands on my waist, pulling me to him.

It felt like electricity flowing from his fingertips, charging me at his touch. Breathing more rapidly, I felt so alive. My lips met his and we kissed with a need that tore through my entire being.

I wanted this man. This man that I had never met yet I knew existed. He awoke things buried deep inside me and I craved every ounce of him. All I could think of as we kissed was how incredibly perfect he appeared to be. He was sexy and mysterious and I couldn’t split my thoughts from him.

I slid my hands up his bare chest and pulled myself closer. Our bare skin was pressed together. I wrapped my arms around his neck as we continued kissing. Then he had my chin in his hand and tilted my face to the side, nibbling at my ear.

He began kissing my neck and moved toward my collarbone and I gasped in pleasure and anticipation. I ran my hands across his back and enveloped myself in nothing but him. My eyes slid closed and I pulled my hands down to unbutton his pants.

Then he pulled away and whispered in my ear, sending goose pimples down my flesh at the contact. “Keep the coin at all times, just in case I can’t always be there to protect you from what is coming.”

“
Wait, I need to know who you are,” I asked desperately needing to know him.

“
Someone you can trust,” he said ominously.

I frowned at this, but he just sighed. He brushed my fallen brown hair softly away from my face and gently tucked it behind my ear. He left a tender kiss on my forehead and broke away from me before I could protest.

Confused, I opened my eyes to see him leaving that same doorway as before. I was once again in a circle and the door had a symbol above it that I didn’t recognize. The molten red candles blew out with a sudden gust of wind and then everything went dark.

I bolted upright in bed and sighed with disappointment. Sunlight was peaking in through the blinds and there were no signs of my mystery guy. Yet, as I bit my lip, the faint taste of tang remained.

A chill ran up my spine as the cool crisp October morning hit my bare flesh. Letting out a small yelp as the cold enveloped me; I rushed into the bathroom and hastily started a hot shower.

The smell of jasmine and vanilla soon engulfed me as I washed my hair and let the remainder of the shampoo drain away. I closed my eyes and instantly my mind replayed the sexually charged encounter with the incredibly hot man of my dreams, whom still remained a mystery.

I decided that these hot dreams were leaving me sexually frustrated and in need of a real man, even if just for the night. Autumn was right, tonight was a good idea. I decided to do this right, and make all the men drool. I was on the market for the first time in three years and could use some attention.

I pulled on a faded pair of jeans and a soft floral tee. I slipped on my chucks and pulled my hair into a fast ponytail. With a new sense of determination, I dug out my emergency credit card from it’s hard to reach hiding place in the back of the closet and slid it into my back pocket. Then I grabbed my purse and locked the door.

Thirty seconds later I was upstairs, knocking on Autumn’s door impatiently. Finally, I heard some rustling and the door opened.

Autumn looked sleepy and confused. “Nells, what the hell, people are trying to sleep. Is the building on fire?”

“
Sorry, no. I need your help,” I said as I pushed past Autumn and plopped down on her sofa.

Autumn rubbed the sleep from her eyes and shut the door. “Okay, what’s up? This better be good. Depriving people of sleep is bad karma.”

“
Ha ha, you were right, tonight is a good idea. I need my best friend to help me find the perfect outfit if I am going to do this,” I insisted as I pulled out the credit card and waved it in front of Autumn.

Autumn’s eyes went wide. “Your emergency card, wow, you are a woman on a mission. What gives?” suspicion thick in her voice.