Forever Young (7 page)

Caiden clasped Dane around his neck. "Well, let's go celebrate."

And it was indeed a celebration. We all met up at Café Syreni. By midnight, most of the field trials were done and everyone had a chance to get healed up and changed into their party clothes. Happily, no deaths were reported from that night and all Plebes returned a little battered and bruised, but ready to throw down. The restaurant area was closed for the night and all of the tables were pushed to the perimeter of the room to create a dance floor. A DJ was pumping out the most popular music from the American Billboards, which kind of surprised me. I guess I had assumed they all grooved to ukuleles and island music or something.

The girls were dressed to kill in short skirts and halter tops. The guys kept with the casual beach mode wearing shorts and flip flops, but some decided to "dress up" their look by wearing Polo shirts. I was disgustingly self-conscious in my jeans, t-shirt and Converse sneakers. I had never been the type to care what I wore or what others thought about what I wore but for some reason tonight, I felt like a clod and a complete outcast.

Before long, the alcohol was flowing and the kids were getting rowdy. I was absolutely amazed that the instructors from the Academy were there as well, watching teenagers drink alcohol and party. I would have to remember to ask Caiden about that. Clearly, the social norms here were a lot different than in the First Dimension.

Sitting by myself at a corner table, I felt like there was a spotlight on me practically screaming, "Look at the loser girl that no one will talk to." I was so self-conscious that I started wondering if I could work the elevator back to New York. I was saved from my thoughts when Dane walked up and sat down beside me.

"Hey, Charlie. Are you enjoying the party?" He took a long swig from a bottle of beer in his hand.

I gave a tiny smile. "Sure. It's nice."

I had to admit he looked amazing. He was wearing blue shorts with a white polo shirt that set off his incredible tan that I had not really noticed earlier. His hair had a casually messy look, as if it had been windblown then settled into the perfect GQ style. His blue eyes were warm and full of laughter. He had to be riding high after his sweet victory tonight.

"Can I get you a beer or something?"

"Noooo thanks. I tried one earlier and let's just say we won't be dating anymore."

"Come on, Charlie! You’ve got to party with us." I had the feeling that Dane had put a few beers away already. He had that dopey look on his face that I had seen other people get when they drank too much. It was kinda cute on him though. And after tonight's ass kicking of the Morstyte daimon, he deserved it.

"I'm sorry, Dane. I just...don't really drink. But hey, you were really fantastic tonight. You moved out there like you were born to do this."

Dane's smile lit up like a million watts and his cheeks were slightly red. "Really? Gee. Thanks. I mean, that's really nice of you to say." He seemed caught off guard by my comment. If I were to guess, I'd say Dane probably had not been given many compliments in his life. Kinda like me and that made me like him all the more. I could definitely see me being friends with this guy. And that's saying a lot coming from a girl that had not had a legitimate friend since she was thirteen years old.

"Well, I mean it. You were really great."

Dane was about to say something else, but a girl walked up to our table. She was strikingly beautiful with golden blonde hair and light blue eyes. Her makeup was applied to perfection, showcasing flawless features. She was wearing a white halter dress that was cut so high, I knew she wouldn't be bending over to pick anything up. The four inch white sandals she wore made her seem impossibly tall. She was the epitome of female perfection and I felt even dowdier standing in the realm of her brilliance.

"Dane," she practically whined. "Come and dance with me. You promised you would over an hour ago."

"I will, Payton. Chill out. But I want you to meet someone first. This is Charlie Wright. Charlie...this is Payton Daugherty. Payton is going to be a Plebe in the upcoming class. We went to high school together in the First Dimension."

Payton looked over at me and eyed me from head to toe. She had a slight smirk on her face. "Nice outfit."

My cheeks flamed hot. My normal reaction would have been to clobber her, but I had had a long day and was tired. I didn't have it in me to even get angry. Just embarrassed as I was reminded what a complete and utter fool I was.

Dane stood up and grabbed her by the hand. "Gosh. You can be such a bitch sometimes, Payton."

She just laughed and didn't even look chagrined by Dane's redress.

Dane turned to me with an apologetic look on his face. "Well, it was nice seeing you Charlie."

I watched as Dane led Payton over to the dance floor. The music fortuitously slowed and they swayed back and forth together. Dane had an angry look on his face and it looked like he was telling her off. Payton, on the other hand, just fixed him with a bland smile. I think his words were going in one ear and going straight out the other. I bet there was nothing in between to slow them down.

It did cross my mind to wonder if Dane and Payton were dating. By the way Payton was trying to snuggle as close to Dane as she could, I was pretty sure they were. I was amazed at how snotty she was as I had never really dealt with something like that in high school. I guess being the resident bad-ass at my high school stopped all of the popular girls from turning their venom on me. It certainly didn't feel good to be looked down upon for the way I was dressed.

     Before I could dwell on her snub any further, a figure moved in front of me and then took the seat that Dane had just vacated. My butterflies started doing a hip-hop number in my stomach when I saw it was Caiden. I was relieved to see a friendly face.

"Having fun," he asked.

"Sure," I answered brightly.

"Liar."

I held my hands up in surrender and tried to look chagrined. "Caught me."

Caiden gave out a bark of laughter and took a sip of the beer in his hand. "So, what do you think about the Alliance after watching the field trials?"

I was prepared for this question. I had been thinking about it pretty much non-stop after Dane had defeated the Morstyte daimon. Until about fifteen minutes ago, I was torn about what to do. But then I remembered some of the things Dr. Tinesdale said to me that afternoon in his office.

He had told me just before I left that no matter what I did, I was destined for great things. Well, that in and of itself didn't sway my decision, but it certainly made me confident about the choice I would make. But before that, he told me he didn't think I was meant to be there. He had said, "...this is not the place for you." That meant he believed I should be here. That is ultimately what made my choice. Dr. Tinesdale knew me well and he was someone I looked up to immensely. He was the closest thing I had to a father figure and I trusted his wisdom.

"I've given it a lot of thought. And I want to do it...join the Alliance."

Caiden nodded his head with a knowing smile. "I thought you would say that. Would you like a celebratory drink?"

"Nope. How about a high five instead?"

Caiden laughed and raised his hand to me. "I can do that."

I slapped his hand with mine and grinned. Then something caught Caiden's attention just over my right shoulder and his laugh instantly died. I saw his muscles tense and his lips settled into a grim line. His eyes were heated.

I looked over my shoulder to see what had caught Caiden's attention and saw a man walking through the front door. And not just any man...but a flashy, pimped out dude with a beautiful girl on each arm. He was probably twenty-five years old and wearing a bright white suit with a hot pink t-shirt underneath. He reminded me of the cops on that old show,
Miami Vice
. I remembered my parents had the boxed DVD set of all the seasons.

As if the white suit and pink shirt weren't enough, he topped his ensemble off with a white fedora hat and several gold chains around his neck. Seriously! Who wore a fedora? Well, Justin Timberlake, but he was the only person alive that could pull that off. I almost chuckled out loud over his appearance but I remembered that something about this man had put Caiden on edge and the laugh faltered.

Caiden stood up abruptly from the table and walked toward the man. His body was tense and there was menace pouring off of him in waves. Coming to a stop in front of him, Caiden towered over the guy. I stood up and walked closer so I could hear what was going on.

I approached behind him and I heard Caiden say, "...is a private party so you'll have to leave."

The man gave a taunting laugh. "Have you been demoted to bar security now, Caiden? Come on...I just want to have one drink with my lady friends here before we retire to the
Jolly Roger
."

Jolly Roger? I bet anything that was the luxury yacht out in the bay.

"Sorry," Caiden gritted out. "But as I said, this is a private party. I'm afraid you'll have to leave."

The man ignored Caiden and looked directly at me. My cheeks flamed now that I was the focus of his attention. I didn't want Caiden to think I was eavesdropping...even though that is exactly what I had been doing.

"My, my, my...and who is this stunning creature?" The guy fairly purred those words and it made my skin crawl.

Caiden turned to see me behind him. Unfortunately, the minute Caiden's attention was gone, the man skirted by him and came to stand directly in front of me. I stared at him with a hard look on my face. If Caiden didn't like him, then I didn't like him.

"You're eyes," he murmured. "They are stunning. They remind me of...well, never mind." The look in his eyes had gone from that of a sleazy predator to something that was more soft and reminiscent. The man was strange but I had to admit, slightly intriguing.

He said nothing else but instead reached out to touch my hair. What is it with people wanting to touch my hair? It's just hair for cripes sake!

As he extended his hand out, I gasped when I saw that it was a prosthetic. It looked to be made of a combination of metal and flesh colored plastic.

But that hand never made it to my hair. Caiden's hand shot out and locked around the man's wrist. He gave him a slight push backward and it was then that I noticed the music had stopped and everyone was staring. The man, however, was completely non-phased. He merely laughed at Caiden.

"Someone's a little proprietary, aren't we?"

"Leave. Now. Or I will make you leave. And trust me when I say you will not enjoy the experience." Caiden said those words with such controlled fury, the hair raised up on the back of my neck. If Caiden had talked to me like that, I would be running away as fast as I could. Instead, the man's laughter died and a steely look of hatred formed in his eyes.

"You and me boy...there will be a day of reckoning."

Caiden stared back at him with equal resolve but calmly replied, "So be it."

The man gave me one last curious look and walked out the door, his bimbos trailing behind. Caiden watched until the man made his way down the steps. I let out a loud breath, just now realizing I must have been holding it in.

"Are you okay?"

I nodded my head. "Who was that?"

"No one you need to be concerned with. Come on...it's late and you need to get some sleep. We start working on arrangements tomorrow to get you moved over to the Academy."

Caiden took my hand and let me out of the Café, butterflies working overtime at his touch. I followed him across the beach, up the stairs and back toward his house.

Holy crap!
I was going to stay at his house? As we walked up the staircase, he must have read my mind.

"You can take the bed and I'll sleep on the couch."

When we reached his property, I watched as Caiden opened all of the panels again on the front of his house, letting in the soothing night breeze. I suddenly realized I was really, really tired. Today had been the most fantastic day of my life and it had completely sapped my energy.

Caiden went to one of his dresser drawers and pulled it open. He took out some clothes and handed them to me. I looked down at a t-shirt and a pair of his athletic shorts. He pointed to a door I had not noticed before just to the side of his bed.

"The bathroom is through that door."

I flushed with embarrassment. This seemed so intimate...wearing his clothes. Still, I didn't relish the thought of wearing jeans to bed so I mumbled a thank you and headed into the bathroom to change. His clothes swamped me and the only saving grace was the fact the shorts had a drawstring that I could tie to hold them up. I was dying to brush my teeth but I had to settle for using some of his toothpaste on my finger to scrub as best as I could. I didn't hesitate though to use his hairbrush that was lying on the counter and ran it through my hair.

Ready for bed, I exited the bathroom. All of the lights were out except for a small lamp near the bed. Caiden had changed into a pair of shorts as well but had taken his shirt off. He was actually looking down at his hands, fiddling with an alarm clock. And oh my gosh, I was completely stunned at the beauty of his body.

His chest was well defined and his stomach muscles were ripped. I could tell his shoulders were wide before, but with his shirt off I could see just how well formed his upper arms were. He looked like he could bench press a truck. Caiden heard me come out of the bathroom and looked up. A shock of hair was still hanging down over his forehead and it made him look boyishly charming.

"Hop in bed Charlie. I've set the alarm for us to get up early."

Caiden set the alarm clock down and turned away from me to walk to the couch. On his lower back, I saw an intricate tattoo design that ran just above the waistband of his shorts. Well, I saw that after I took a few seconds to admire the muscles rippling hello to me.

"What's that on your lower back?"

"That's my infinity brand. You'll get one too before you go into battle. It's infused with the magic of Semper Terra so you can access it in the First Dimension. Now, get in bed and get to sleep." He gave a huge yawn as if to emphasize his last point.