Pulse of Heroes (42 page)

Here goes nothing, Michelle thought to
herself, and made her entrance looking every inch a siren from the
silent movie era. Elliot stood up immediately, but this time he
didn’t have to fake anything. He was thoroughly blown away by the
beautiful woman who now stood in front of him. Sexy and classy the
same time. Elliot was now gazing at the woman he had seen inside
Michelle way back when she had fallen off the wall and ended up at
his feet, later yelling at him, ‘this is not the end of this, you
know,’ after it was she who had been the one trespassing on the
school grounds in the first place. Back then it was only a fleeting
image, but now he knew he had seen it right because she was once
again in front of him. Michelle’s father gave Elliot a look that
could kill and told him that he could close his mouth now because
his daughter was not a meal. Elliot actually jumped a little as the
harsh comment woke him from his thoughts.

“Oh, Dad,” Michelle laughed. Elliot handed
her a small corsage, a spray of nearly black roses with a few deep
red ones in-between. Michelle’s mother commented on the
sophistication of the colors and Elliot didn’t miss a beat, telling
her that his mom had helped him pick them out. Smooth... that
definitely earned points with the parents, Michelle thought to
herself. Who is this Elliot, really, she asked herself as she
admired his perfect features beneath his sleeked hair?

It was time to go. Michelle and Elliot said
their goodbyes and walked out the door, but not before Michelle’s
father emphasized that his daughter was to be home not a minute
past 1:00 AM. Outside, Michelle gave Elliot an approving smile.
Just as he was about to help her into the Explorer, Michelle’s
mother called out to them from the front door. The two of them
looked back at her and immediately heard the snap of the
camera.

“Michelle, if you keep staring at me like
that without saying anything I’m going to crash the car,” Elliot
smirked. But Michelle couldn’t take her eyes off him for the entire
trip to the restaurant. She found herself once again mesmerized by
his looks. He was entirely unbelievably beautiful and she wondered
which artist had carved him out to look like that? It just wasn’t
fair to anyone else, especially not her. No human could ever
possess what Elliot did. There was something ethereal about him.
She couldn’t put her finger on what it was exactly. But Michelle
had noticed something else that afternoon. With his hair slicked
away from his face and his back straight and secure in his dark
tuxedo, it was the first time she had gotten to see Elliot the
man.

“Who are you?” she asked, and Elliot laughed
from deep inside his lungs. He knew that Michelle was beginning to
see more in him than just a good-looking young guy, because he had
been gradually revealing himself to her depending on how confident
he was that she could handle him. But not all the layers had been
peeled away. He had many more. Some stuck to him like a second skin
and he couldn’t tell they were there anymore. The more lives he
lived, the more complex he became, and not all for the good. He had
made plenty of mistakes and had acted in plenty of bad scenes. He
wondered if specific situations dictated who he was, or was he
always the same person while everything else changed around him? He
turned to look at Michelle who was still waiting for some magical
answer.

“I’m me. Who else should I be?”

Elliot took the next exit, and drove through
the small towns, finally heading upwards along a very steep unpaved
road that had Michelle clutching his arm in fear. It looked like a
private driveway, until the road revealed a picturesque Basque
restaurant at the top of the hill, with large windows overlooking
the entire valley. Elliot helped Michelle out of the car.

“Don’t move” he said, taking a step back to
look at her and letting out a whistle. “You have no idea how
beautiful you are,” he said, then pulled her from her waist for a
gentle kiss, as he had no intention of making a mess out of the
masterpiece in front of him.

While finishing dessert, Elliot leaned across
the table and gently lifted Michelle’s gold chain towards him so he
could look at it closely. She told him that her brother Toby had
bought the necklace for her when he was only sixteen and that she
had loved it ever since. Elliot was touched by the closeness that
Michelle shared with her brother. He had always wondered what it
would feel like to have a sibling, someone so close to him that his
own existence would feel incomplete without him or her. He asked
Michelle if she wouldn’t mind taking off the chain so he could get
a better look.

“Sixteen?” Elliot looked at the diamond and
smiled. Michelle nodded with enthusiasm, while Elliot reached into
his pocket and took out a small folded fabric, handing it to her
across the table.

“I thought maybe you would like this to go
with your dress.” Michelle looked at Elliot, unsure. He motioned
her to go ahead and unwrap the little bundle. Michelle’s hands
shook with excitement, so much so that the object slid accidentally
out onto the table. It appeared to be a necklace made of large
round iridescent black pearls.

“This is so beautiful. Are they real pearls?”
she asked.

“They are. Rare black ones. I harvested them
myself.” Elliot loved the way Michelle’s face was glowing at that
moment.

“I would be proud to wear them tonight,” she
said, her eyes twinkling with pride.

“Not just tonight. Whenever you want. It’s a
gift. I have had these for so many years that I forgot all about
them until I saw you in this dress. If you look closely, you will
see they have shades of deep purple mixed in with the grays and
blacks, just like that fabric.” Michelle was at a loss for words
and told him that it was too much. She couldn’t really keep
something so precious. In a serious voice, Elliot asked her to hand
him the necklace back and she feared that she had offended him.
When he got up from his seat without saying a word, she felt her
heart in her throat. But instead of saying anything, Elliot walked
around the table to where she sat and gently draped the pearls
around her neck. They felt smooth and sensual against her skin.

“Turn around, let me see you,” he said,
tugging at the back of her chair. Michelle stood and turned to face
him, still feeling a little uncomfortable. “You are a work of art,
you know,” he said stretching his hand out for her to grab.

The evening was warm and balmy and the sun
was just about to set behind the western hills. On the way to the
car, Elliot noticed a bead of sweat rolling from the back of
Michelle’s neck and down the middle of her back.

“You’re hot?” he asked her, and Michelle told
him that she was a bit warm since the dress was tight, and all the
makeup she was wearing didn’t help. Elliot looked back towards the
restaurant and noticed an elderly couple emerging. He took
Michelle’s hand and led her towards the rear of the parking lot. He
then hopped over the low chain link fence onto the dirt ravine.
Before Michelle could protest he simply picked her up from her
waist, pulled her over the fence, and began carrying her down the
hill in his arms. Michelle squealed and laughed, asking him what he
was doing, but he didn’t answer. Once Elliot was satisfied that
they were well hidden from view, he set Michelle back on her
feet.

“Now what?” Michelle asked him, fixing her
hair. Suddenly Elliot’s eyes changed color and became bright and
his entire expression turned serious. Michelle wasn’t sure if she
should worry, but before she had a chance to ask him if he was all
right she was engulfed by a soft gentle breeze that encircled her
entire body and made her hair gently blow this way and that.

“You look like a goddess coming down the
mountain,” Elliot said, his eyes still blazing in blues and greens.
He turned his attention to something to the left of Michelle. “No,
not a goddess yet. Close your eyes.” Elliot motioned his hand back
and forth from Michelle to a small band of fireflies that he
spotted a little ways up the hill. By the time he told Michelle to
open her eyes, the glowing creatures were caught in the breeze that
still encircled her. “Now you definitely look like a goddess,”
Elliot stated proudly. Michelle looked around her in amazement. She
had never seen a more beautiful thing in her life. She raised her
arms and spun around on her feet. Elliot felt how ecstatic Michelle
was, and to see her like that made him feel wonderfully happy.
Happy? He couldn’t remember the last time that word purely
described his state of mind. Michelle didn’t want to step out of
the fantasy that Elliot had created for her, but she wanted him
close by. She reached out for him and he stepped into her glowing
circle, which then engulfed them both as they held one another.

“Elliot,” Michelle said, holding him tightly
with her cheek against his jacket. She lifted her face to gaze into
his eyes. “I think…” She couldn’t say it. She buried her face in
his chest. Elliot lifted Michelle’s face to his and kissed her
again. His eyes were still brightly lit and Michelle felt them
piercing her soul. Elliot knew exactly what Michelle wanted to say,
but he wasn’t going to make her if she wasn’t ready. If she did say
it, he knew it would be coming from the purest and most hidden
secret place within her heart. He had gone and done it again, and
he was excited just as much as he was nervous. Michelle was also
very tense and she couldn’t understand why her mouth and lips were
not behaving normally. Every time she tried to speak they shook
uncontrollably. It was as if they had forgotten how to talk, how to
form sound. Why was she so scared she thought, feeling almost
embarrassed by her silence? Then it all came out in one breath,
like a sneeze or a hiccup. She looked up at the most beautiful face
she had ever seen and just blurted it out, “I love you.”

By the time Michelle and Elliot arrived at
the Prom, the chemistry between them was heavy with static and
intensity. After Michelle had bared her heart to him, she had only
half expected him to do the same, yet she was still disappointed
when Elliot told her that he felt the same way, rather than voice
his own feelings. He had said just enough, and he knew it, but
nothing else came out of him, even though he made an attempt to say
something more.

Elliot held Michelle’s hand all the way to
the hotel, and when she saw the familiar faces milling about from
outside the lobby’s heavy glass doors, she felt strangely
disconnected from the entire scene. She wasn’t sure if she really
wanted to be there anymore. She looked to Elliot for
encouragement.

“You ok?” he asked her.

“We don’t really have to go in. I feel bad
dragging you here,” she said apprehensively.

In all honesty, Elliot would have loved to
just turn around and walk away from the charade, but he had
promised her and he would never backtrack on his words.

“How about we just go in for a little while
and if you still want to leave we will,” he suggested, squeezing
her hand. Michelle’s grasp tightened around Elliot’s fingers. She
was nervous, but she wasn’t sure why. The impeccably dressed older
doorman at the top of the stairs smiled at Michelle with approval
and held the door open, ushering them both inside. He complimented
Michelle, telling her that her dress was exquisite. Elliot smiled
proudly, although Michelle was taken aback by all the positive
attention she felt as soon as she entered the hall.

The room was grand, with large crystal
chandeliers hanging from amazingly high ceilings. The air smelled
of perfume and freshly cut flowers and the lights were dimmed to a
golden yellow, giving the room the effect of a candlelit ambiance.
Everywhere, girls sashayed in their dresses while their
well-dressed dates walked extra straight in their stiff suits. When
other girls caught glimpses of Elliot, Michelle saw them react in
exactly the same way that she had when she first laid eyes on him.
Elliot ignored the staring eyes. He was used to it and had no
interest in fluffing his ego. His main concern was Michelle, and he
demonstrated that by putting his hand around her or whispering in
her ear every so often. Naturally, Michelle compared herself to the
other girls, looking for the validation that she fit in, at least
from the outside. Some of the girls did wear long gowns, but they
were in bright blues, pinks and reds, and none had the
sophistication of hers. Other girls’ skirts were so short that they
managed to shock even Michelle. They wanted attention and
definitely got it. Elliot wondered what Michelle was so mesmerized
by, so he followed her gaze to a cluster of guys surrounding one
girl in a bright yellow mini-dress that was riding so high up her
thighs that it looked like a fancy shirt. And to make the garment
even more provocative, it had two slits that exposed the girl’s
hips almost up to her waist. Michelle was surprised to feel
Elliot’s lips on the back of her neck, and she grabbed his arms
from behind as he pulled her closer to him. Michelle couldn’t have
asked for a better response.

“There will always be women like that around.
They think that their only way of attracting attention is through
displaying their sex. Remember how I told you that humans are more
than just animals? She, over there, is reducing herself to an
animal level, and all she’s attracting is the animal part of those
boys.” Michelle looked at Elliot in surprise. How did he know how
to say just the right thing at exactly the right time? “You are so
much more beautiful than her. You’re a goddess, remember?” He
kissed her hand. Someone called Michelle’s name and she looked up
to see Anna and Marcus making their way across the room. Elliot and
Marcus exchanged greetings while the girls complimented one another
on their gowns. Then the girls left Elliot and Marcus behind to
rendezvous with Samantha for an expedition to the ladies’ room.
Rachael was already in there and it felt like a small private
party.