Enchanter (7 page)

“What, you’re giving me lessons in etiquette now?”

“That’s because you don’t have any.”

“You’re one to talk.”

Brandon’s eyebrows shot up.

“When have I ever been rude to you?”

I pushed the chair I was sitting on under the table and took
the four steps that would bring us face to face – or in our case face to neck.
“Remember Tuesday morning, when you nearly knocked me down? I didn’t exactly
hear you apologize for that.”

“So, I have to apologize because you’re clumsy?”

I was about to give the biggest bitch fit demonstration to
have ever been witnessed by mankind, but then I caught the glimmer of amusement
in his eyes and I understood he was deliberately annoying me so I caught myself
before all kinds of unholy words slipped out of my mouth.

“As much as I would like to kill you right now,” it took a
lot for me to speak without cursing at him, but I somehow managed, “I have
another class to get to. So, give me my phone back!” I demanded angrily.

His pale blue eyes seemed to have gotten bigger as he stared
down at me.

“Sure.” He leaned forward some and I thought he intended to
grab my cell from his pocket but when his face came within inches of mine, I
realized that was not his intention at all. “When you learn how to say please
and thank you.”

With that, he marched out of the classroom.

Stunned, I could only stand there and gape at his huge back
as it walked away from me.
Did he really just take my phone and run off with
it?

“Leah—”

Ignoring Sonya’s presence next to me, I hurried after
Brandon before he could escape inside his next classroom. As usual, the hallway
was crowded, but my eyes immediately spotted the back of his head as it bobbed
away. Since I already knew where he was headed, I followed.

Fortunately for me, I caught up to him before he could
ascend the stairs and as soon as I reached him, I pulled on his long-sleeved
arm and he paused with his foot on the first step. He turned his head sideways to
look at me.

“My phone?”

He did not react to my words, but it was obvious my hand on
his arm was making him uncomfortable.

“You have no right to take it.”

“And you have no right to treat me like a dog.” So far,
declaring war on a much more commanding human than me was not turning out as I had
wanted it to. Brandon had years upon years of developing an absolutely forceful
demeanor. Whereas I was simply annoying and not the least bit threatening. So
if he did find me amusing, it was entirely my fault.

“I didn’t—”

“In fact, I could safely say that a pet of yours would be
treated better than how you treat me, wouldn’t it?”

“Well, that’s because they wouldn’t annoy me as much as you
do.”

“And you’re the greatest, most delightful person to have
ever crossed this earth.” It was clear to me that he was trying to make fun of
me, but hell, when you see a man that size so angry, you kind of lose your
nerve after a few seconds.

“No, I’m not. But you are certainly no picnic either,” I
murmured, although, by his expression, I knew he heard me. “Just give me my
phone so I can get out of your hair.”

“No.”

“Brandon, I’m running late for my next class.”

“Ask me nicely then.”

When did we turn into five-year-olds?

“NO!” My outburst caught the attention of the people going
up and down the stairs next to us and they immediately turned to stare.

“You’re building an audience.”

Realizing that he was right, I turned toward the spectators
and flashed them with a big, fat, and very fake smile. For a few seconds they
just watched us, but eventually, since they could not tell what was going on,
they moved on.

Brandon chose that moment to reach out and pull me to a corner
of the staircase where we stayed until everyone else completely disappeared
from sight. As we waited for the hallways to be emptied before continuing on
with our senseless discussion, I took notice of something about Brandon that I had
not before. Aside from how good he smelled and how big he was, he was also good
looking. Sure, if anyone ever asked me I would never openly admit to it, but I could
not deny that he was by all means handsome, in his own way.

I might not go as far as saying he was gorgeous, but he was
not ugly, either.

His hand on my back sent chills up and down my spine. Even
though the limb holding me near his body never moved, I became painfully aware
of it nonetheless. The nearness between us made for a very awkward moment. But,
to his credit, Brandon said nothing and even turned his attention away from me,
to watching the many people traveling up and down the staircase as I took to
ogling him.

When I lowered my gaze from his face to his neck, I caught a
flash of what appeared to be a black smear on the front of his neck. I had no
idea what it could be, but when I tried to pull myself up on the tips of my
feet so that I could take another look, he backed away from me, nearly causing
me to fall forward.

“We can stand here all day, but unless you utter the right
words you’re not getting this.” Before I even became aware that we were
completely alone, he pulled out my phone from his pocket and flashed it before
me.

“Why are you doing this?” I asked.

“I get no respect from you, so you get none from me,
remember?”

Dammit, how could I forget that?

“This is ridiculous, Brandon.”

“It may be to you, but that’s a rule I live by now.”

“So you intimidate people to make them leave you alone?”

“I don’t intimidate anyone. Unlike your friends, I’m not a
bully.”

“You have the body for it.”

“And I don’t use it to beat on others who are smaller or to
get what I want.”

“Okay, okay, you’ve made your point.”

“Apparently not,” his eyes traveled down my face like a soft
caress, making me feel as if he had just touched me, “since you keep thinking
that because you yell at me I’m going to give you what you want. That doesn’t
work with me, Leah.”

There was no way I could win against him. Even though I
could scream and make the campus’s officials force Brandon to return my cell,
that would only prove that I’m nothing but a big, whiny princess.

“All right, fine. You win. I’m sorry for snapping at you.”

His smirk made me want to laugh.

“You were nice enough to bother with saving my phone from a
fatal catastrophe, twice, and I acted like a complete jerk. I’m sorry for that.”
Even though he tried to conceal it, I could still tell he was holding back a smile.
“Now, can I
please
have my phone back?”

He seemed satisfied when I emphasized the word “please.”

Brandon stood before me without saying a word for what
seemed an eternity. And while he stared at me as if it was the first time he had
ever seen me, I fought the urge to twist like a worm speared by a fishing hook.
His eyes were so intense that it was hard not to feel uncomfortable when being
observed by them.

After what seemed hours rather than a few seconds, Brandon
marched toward me and offered me my cellphone. Since I had no idea whether or
not he was messing with me, I hesitated as I reached out for it. Thankfully, he
was not playing any more games and he rewarded my efforts with handing my cell
back.

As soon as I took it from him, Brandon leaned in, until a
space of a couple of inches separated our faces, and said, “Now, was that so
hard?”

My entire body reacted as if he had actually caressed me,
humming all over with an intensity that I had never felt before. For the first
time in my life, I was physically affected by a guy, and the fact that Brandon
was the one to bring my body into a fully alert mode bothered me.

“You have no idea,” I responded to his question, although by
this point we were both distracted away from our conversation.

This is nuts! What the hell is wrong with me?

“Tell me, Leah,” his handsome face got even closer, his lips
hovered over mine like a bad omen, “what would you do if I kissed you right
now?”

The thought of Brandon’s lips on mine nearly caused my knees
to buckle.

First the world, then my friends, and now my body turns
against me.

“Would you fight me, Leah?”

I don’t want him to kiss me! I don’t want him to kiss me!
I don’t want him to kiss me!

Even when my head kept repeating that sentence over and over
again, I watched Brandon’s lips, waiting to see if they would finally touch
mine.

“You wouldn’t dare.” My words were barely above a whisper.

“You’re right. I wouldn’t.”

That certainly broke the magic of the moment.

“I am? I mean, I’m right? Really?”
Boy, I sound
desperate.

“Yes, unless you wanted to I would never do it. So I suggest
that since we have to tolerate our presence for a few weeks, we should learn to
get along. Because I don’t know about you, but I’m a little old to be playing
these games.”

I nodded because there was nothing else I could do.

“You’re right,.” I admitted.

“I’m surprised you said that without wincing.”

“What?”

“Admitting that I’m right.” With him so close, how could I wince?
And even if I did, would he be able to see it? Considering that his gaze seemed
to be focus on my lips, I could not help but wonder.

If he wanted to kiss me, he could have, because I was
completely alone and at his mercy. There was no way I could fight him off and
even if he tried something, I was not entirely sure that I would immediately
reject him. What scared me the most, aside from his imposing frame, was the
fact that I had no idea whether or not I wanted him to try to make a move on
me. I was very confused, and having him so close, with his lips literally
inches away, I was having trouble keeping from moving forward to test what a
kiss from Brandon Morris felt like.

However, Brandon was not one to take what had not been
offered. So, instead of doing what any other guy under the same circumstance would
have done, he backed off and awarded me with some breathing space, which by
then I desperately needed.

“I have to go,” was all he said before he marched up the
stairs, without even glancing back at me.

In total disbelief and downright scared of myself for the
thoughts my mind conjured up while he was standing in front of me, I shook my
head and walked toward the staircase, sat on the first step, and held my
cellphone in both hands while I tried to come up with a logical explanation for
how I had reacted to Brandon.

I’m really losing it. I mean, that explains my behavior,
because only if I was going crazy, or had already lost my marbles, would I
actually consider kissing him.

“Are you okay?” The sound of Sonya’s voice brought me out of
my stupor. I looked up to see her standing near the entrance of the stairwell.

“He just gets under my skin,” I muttered.

“I think he gets under everybody’s skin.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” I smiled and gestured for her to take a
seat next to me. “What made you run out here?”

“When I saw you run out after him I thought I would never
see you again,” she said, half-joking.

“He’s not the type of guy who would hurt a woman.” At least
I hoped that was true. I was good at making him angry, so I did not want to
assume he would not run me over one night while I walked home from work.

“I think you’re right.” Her response surprised me and she must
have noticed it, because she shrugged before taking a seat next to me. “But I
still think you should stay away from him, Leah.”

“Why?” I asked.

“He’s… I... just don’t know how to explain it.”

“You need to be a little more open-minded.”

“Why? Because I don’t trust easily?”

“Correction, you don’t trust Brandon.”

“Okay, maybe I don’t, but that’s because he’s a little
spooky.”

In order to avoid another hour-long discussion on Brandon
and how much she feared him, I stood and reached for my purse.

“He’s harmless, so don’t worry so much about me.”

“Okay.” She obviously did not want to talk about him either,
because she did not say another word in reference to Mr. Morris the rest of the
day.

****

At the end of a six-hour shift at the restaurant where I
worked as a waitress, I hurried out the front doors and started my normal
commute to my apartment complex a few blocks down the same road. Fridays and
Saturdays were my usual days off, but my boss had called late that afternoon to
ask me to fill in for another waitress who had car trouble. Not having anything
else going on in my predictable life, I put on my uniform and headed out to
work for a few hours. Besides, the extra money would come in handy.

Having completed my shift, I walked out of the restaurant
feeling tired and extremely uneasy. For some reason, the feeling that something
was wrong assailed me almost as soon as I set foot outside. Usually, the walk
back home took about seven minutes, the majority of which was relatively quiet
and uneventful.

The fact that there were several houses and commerce
buildings in between the restaurant and my home was beneficial for me because there
were plenty of places that could provide potential witnesses should anything
happen to me. Walking anywhere alone at night was scary enough, and having to
do it in a completely isolated place could be not only unnerving, but
potentially dangerous as well.

The street a few feet away was usually filled with cars, so
I was in plain view most times. Except when I came across the small, dark alleyway
two blocks from my house. In all the years I had shared an apartment with Matt,
there had never been any incidents involving said ally, but I still carried a
bottle of pepper spray in my hand in case I happened upon anyone looking to
either mug or kidnap me, or worse.