Enchant Me (7 page)

“How about I just call him that when you’re
not home?” she called from the kitchen. 

That got on my nerves. “How about
you--not?”

I hated to think it, but I was glad to see
that she was grabbing an orange, her purse and heading back out the
door. “Alright, honey, I will see you later.”

“Going to the gym?”

“Yes and other things,” she replied evasively
while closing the door. 

She must be meeting a man. I couldn’t imagine
any other reason why she would be so vague. Ever since my dad had
divorced her years ago, she had been alternatively men crazy and
scared of commitment. Every time she started to care about a man,
she would find some little thing wrong with him and break it off.
When I had attempted to point that out to her, we got into a huge
fight and ever since it was like there was an insurmountable wall
between us. Sighing I turned back to Cody. He was gone! I
leapt off the floor and started searching.

“Cody!” I yelled, like he was an errant
child.

A series of pathetic mews came from behind
the bookcase. I bent down and saw his sad little golden eyes
peering at me. Somehow he had wedged himself between the wall and
shelf unit and thought he couldn’t get out. “You little
idiot.”

I lifted him away and pressed him against my
face which got me a little soft paw pressing against my nose in
displeasure. At least his nails were sheathed. That was a good
sign. I put him in my room and closed the door. In a smaller room
at least it should be easier to find him. Putting his litter box in
the laundry room, I brought his toys and bowls into my bedroom. I
couldn’t see him again but by the snuffling sounds, I guessed he
was underneath my bed. Reminding myself of the mountain of
homework I had, I pulled my school bag over and sat on the floor
and started to work. Even though Cody was a distraction, just like
Christian he was one I was happy to have. 

While I worked he would every so often come
up to me and butt his fuzzy little head against my hand. He was so
small that when I patted his head it would bob up and down. He was
so adorable that I couldn’t resist quickly picking him up, giving
him the fastest kiss possible, and setting him back down again
before he could protest. Eventually the floor started to get
uncomfortable, so I finally moved up to my daybed. Cody started to
cry then. I immediately looked over to see if he had somehow hurt
himself but he was just staring forlornly up at me and I realized
he wanted to be up with me. I reached down, picked him up and
then deposited him on the bed. Where he promptly circled a couple
times and then settled into a ball and fell swiftly to sleep.
Quietly, I edged off the bed and grabbed my camera. I took a
picture of him from every angle. I couldn’t wait until he woke up
again and I could take more to show off to my friends. I hope
Christian likes cats. I thought about what he had called me
yesterday. I think he does. 

Through the afternoon and evening Cody seemed
to be interested in everything I did. Whether it was homework,
cooking or dancing, he followed me everywhere I went. The dancing
part was sketchy though. Being constantly underfoot, he barely
avoided being squashed a couple of times. I probably had a
hundred pictures of him before nightfall; Cody playing with a
string; Cody chewing on my shoes; more of Cody napping. That night
I went to sleep with the sound of soft purring in my ears and I
dreamed…of a beautiful, shadowy, dark man standing next to a fire
with a grey kitten in his arms. It was lovely. 

CHAPTER 4

I woke up the next morning to the feeling of
a slight, warm, weight pressing down on me, a soft vibration
reverberating through my chest. Popping open my eyes, I found Cody
staring up at me, quite comfortably relaxed on my ribcage, purring
away like crazy. Giving him a quick kiss and pat, I put him down on
the ground, figuring he wouldn’t think he could get down by
himself, and wandered over to my closet. Since skirts weren’t
really conducive to motor cycle riding, that was out. I wanted
something sexy, something that would totally floor
Christian…Following an unsuccessful search of what clothes were
left on hangers, I then dropped down on my knees and tore through
the other nights rejects still on the floor. It took a couple
minutes but I eventually found exactly what I needed. Christian,
watch out.

After I had gotten to school and headed to my
first period math class, I wondered if I would be able to catch
Christian at his second period class or if I would have to wait
until lunch to tell him about Cody. Maybe he could come after
school to meet him. Apparently, I wasn’t going to have to wait at
all. Leaning against some lockers across from my classroom and
looking sexy in a white button up shirt that showed off his slight
tan and dark features, I watched fascinated as his eyes
possessively traveled from my head to my toes and back up again. I
almost forgot what I wanted to tell him. Practically skipping up to
him, I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and then started to
rummage in my bag for my camera. Only to be scooped up in his arms
and pressed close. 

“Good morning Alexis,” he murmured in my ear,
brushing a quick kiss across my lips. Oh. Apparently my
greeting had been a little too casual for his liking. I smiled
inwardly.

“Good morning,” I breathed. “I had a great
time Saturday.”

“Me too,” he agreed while releasing me.

I could feel all the looks we were getting
but since I was sure they were mostly jealous, I ignored it. “Guess
what my grandmother gave me yesterday?”

He smiled at my obvious excitement.
“What?”

“A kitten, a British Shorthair to be
exact.”

“What is that?”

“I will show you, if you can come to my house
after school.”

“Sure. It’s just, during lunch I have to work
on a project for science since the equipment I need is here, so I
won’t be able to see you until after school. Should we meet at your
bike then and I will follow you to your house?”

“Yeah, that’s fine. I probably shouldn’t miss
lunch with my friends two days in a row or they will disown
me.”

“We can’t have that.”

The bell rang then and we both skittered off
to our classes. I vowed to pay more attention in class. I
wasn’t going to get accepted at the Brooks Institute for
Photography in Santa Barbara with bad grades. As much as I loved
Steilacoom I couldn’t wait to move to Santa Barbara. It was so
sunny and warm. The architecture of the old buildings, the gardens
and flowers, everything was so beautiful. I wondered for the first
time what Christian’s plans were for after graduation.

At lunch I brought Tina and Becca up to date
on the latest with Christian, leaving out the naughty bits. I
didn’t need them to go into a fit of giggles every time he was
near. That would be embarrassing.

“Hey guys, I gotta go. That hot new sophomore
Rick just came in,” Becca announced grabbing her tray and heading
over to him. “You don’t mind do you?” She called back to us; not
even bothering to turn around.

“Isn’t that called cradle robbing,” I called
after her.

When I turned around I expected to see Tina
laughing or smiling, or something like that. But she seemed to be
off in her own little world, the lunch that her mom prepared for
her sitting uneaten. She seemed more intent on pleating her napkin
in so many ways it was almost an art form. “Spill,” I
demanded.

She pursed her lips for a moment then sighed
and caved in. “I’m worried about my mom.”

“Why, what’s wrong with Tracy?” I asked
suddenly concerned.

 “Her arthritis is really acting up. I
don’t know how much longer it would be good for her to keep working
as a housekeeper.” She paused for a moment like she needed to gird
herself for whatever she was going to say next. “Maybe I should
just go straight to work instead of going to college so I can help
her out and she could cut back her hours.”

My jaw dropped. “Say what! Don’t you dare,
Tracy would never forgive you. She’s worked so hard just to be able
to send you to college. Hell, I would never forgive you either. You
just need to build up her confidence. She can find another job. I’m
sure there are plenty of desk jobs she can do and probably make the
same amount of money.”

Tina smiled and nodded, already that great
brain was turning over possibilities. Crisis averted. Deciding
a change in topic was necessary, I showed Tina my pictures of Cody
and she made me promise to let her come by later in the week to see
him. When the bell finally rang in sixth period, I could
barely conceal my eagerness to get out to my bike. Michelle watched
me, amused as I scurried out.

I felt bad as I caught a glimpse of Jim’s
face as he held the door for me, sad but resigned. Every time
I saw him I felt guilty. I needed to set him up with someone. It
didn’t seem like there was any attraction between him and Michelle,
so that hookup wasn’t going to work. Suddenly I had an inspired
thought. Maybe Tina would be a good match for him. The more I
thought about it the more sure I was. Both of them were family
orientated, hard working, and brilliant. His goal of going into
politics would mesh well with Tina’s career as a doctor. I would
have to cook up some kind of scheme to introduce them without it
feeling like a blind date. This evening I would put some thought
into it. 

Christian was already waiting in his car next
to my bike, revving his engine like he was going to race me,
looking at me devilishly. I flashed him a quick smile. I wish--but
we did live in Steilacoom so that was out. I also didn’t want to
abuse his male pride because there was no chance of him
winning. When we pulled up to my house and parked, he got out
looking bemused.

I walked up to him wondering what he was
thinking. “What?”

“I just expected something different,” he
replied, looking at me like I was some conundrum that he hadn’t
figured out yet. 

I shrugged. I did love this cottage in this
sweet little town. “I suppose you think I should be in some up-town
artist loft, maybe living in New York or something?”

His lips quirked up, “Something like
that.”

Entering the house and quickly closing the
door behind us, I put my school bag down and started searching for
Cody. While calling his name I looked under the couch, behind the
book shelf and in the laundry room. Finally I looked in my bedroom
and of course there he was, perfectly content, sleeping on my
daybed. It looked like he had shredded a good bit of my comforter
to get up there. Motioning for Christian to follow me, I
tip-toed over and gently sat next to Cody. I watched Christian as
his eyes went gentle and he softly brushed his hand along Cody’s
body. 

“He’s perfect isn’t he?” I whispered.

 “He’s pretty cute. Is this my
competition for your heart?” he asked, head tilted to the side,
charming me with his eyes. 

“Yeah, I am afraid you might have your work
cut out for you,” I teased. 

Before I knew what happened, he lifted me up
off the bed and rolled me onto the floor, pinning me with his body.
“We’ll just have to see about that, won’t we?”

I watched as his eyes started to darken and I
forgot about Cody and everything else. Seeing that he had my
undivided attention now, he looked around my room. “It looks
like Pier One threw up in here doesn’t it?” I asked referring to
the Asian, Indian, Moroccan theme I had going. I had throw pillows
in every color all throughout the room, a deep blue sari over my
bed and pierced metal lanterns for lighting. 

“Yes,” he laughed, “but I like it. It suits
you, very bohemian.” He looked back down at me and I felt my
insides flutter at the intensity of his gaze. “It looks like some
sheik’s harem.”

I studied what I considered to be the most
perfect masculine face, as he fanned out my hair around me,
wrapping my curls around his fingers and then releasing them. I
realized he was creating some picture of me in his mind. “Are you
painting me right now?”

He glanced back down in my eyes, surprised
and smiled. “How did you know?”

“It’s kind of obvious. I think you consider
me your pose-able Barbie,” I laughed. 

He gently drew a hand through my hair, then
down my face and carefully around the diamond stud in my nose.
“Punk rock Barbie, maybe”

I slowly smiled but not with humor. With his
cologne wafting around me and his wonderful, heavy body pressing me
into the floor, my brain was emptying of everything but the crazy
attraction I felt with him. I drifted my hands up his marvelous
biceps, over his shoulders until I reached his neck. I curled my
fingers into his dark hair, lightly caressing the nape of his
neck.

His eyes were smoldering as he looked down at
me. I could almost feel the explosion of heat between us. His
hands drifted down to grasp my hips and I could feel them
tightening and relaxing like he couldn’t decide what to do. I
understood more than he would ever know. I didn’t want to rush too
fast into things either but sometimes it was damn difficult to keep
that in mind. 

Luckily it was at that moment Cody decided to
make his presence known. Bravely leaping off the bed, he had the
great misfortune of landing on Christian’s back. As he started to
fall off to the side, he dug his nails into Christian’s shirt--and
back. Both cat and man yowled. I started laughing so
hysterically that I was rolling around on the floor while both
males eyed me like it was my fault.

Deciding it would be in my best interest to
appease both of them. I gave Cody a quick pat and went into the
bathroom for some antiseptic for Christian’s back. I worried a
little that Christian might hold a grudge against Cody. I was sure
that had hurt pretty badly. But when I got back Christian had Cody
in his lap slowly stroking him from head to toe; apparently all had
been forgiven.