A Destined Death (3 page)

“What?”

“Yeah, and what was he…twenty-three, twenty-four? Do you think he stole it?”

I giggled into the mirror. “Do you think?”

I knew the necklace couldn’t be real but the thought of someone stealing something to give to a woman was romantic, even if it was wrong. Instinctively, I wondered how I could work that into a story.

“It’s not funny, Elizabeth. If he stole it, you could go to jail. Now do you know him or not?”

“Yes,” I lied. “Fine, I have some classes with him, and he’s rich beyond belief. Happy?”

“No, damn it!” she said, presenting her best distressed pout. “Does he have a brother?”

I smiled at her, widening my eyes innocently. “Only child.”

Mr. Interested’s face played through my dreams that night, and I spent the following day in a haze. I was already a month into the summer college term at Portland State, and that meant a doubled workload, but for the first time in my life, school was the farthest thing from my mind. I couldn’t concentrate on my classes. I had so many questions, but the instructors didn’t hold the answers. At noon, I stepped outside to inhale some fresh air. I hoped to get him off my mind, but being alone only made it worse.

Thunder cracked in the sky, rain poured down, and my only response was:
I wish he’d call me.

Of course, he didn’t have my phone number, and I didn’t even know his name but I wanted to see him again. He was mysterious, a puzzle I needed to solve, and it didn’t hurt that he wasn’t interested in Tina.

Pulling my raincoat around me, I sat down under the overhang and hugged my precious purse to my chest. Precious, because the necklace nestled safely inside. I wanted to have it with me in case he showed up again.

When Tesla’s “Love Song” began to play, I pulled out my cell phone and glanced at the unknown caller display before I said, “Hello.”

“May I see you again, Elizabeth?” the familiar eloquent voice asked.

My stomach muscles constricted, and the air seemed trapped in my lungs when my name rolled out of the phone. It couldn’t be him…could it? “Ahh…uh…who is this?”

“Forgive me, we met yesterday. I called your school, and they said you’d be on lunch break.”

I tried to play it cool through my shock. “Did they also give you my cell phone number?”

“No. That was a bit trickier,” he said with a chuckle. “May I see you again?”

“Yes,” I said hastily. “I only have an hour but if you’re…close.” The phone fell from my hand, and my jaw dropped when he stepped around the corner. 

He wore black jeans, a blue dress shirt, and a smile that bordered sinful. In one gloved hand, he held a black umbrella, in the other, a single red rose that he held out to me. “For you,” he said when I didn’t move.

I closed my suddenly dry mouth and cleared my throat. Questions pummeled my brain, too many to focus on just one. “Thank you,” I managed as I took the rose. I smiled, noting the thorns had been removed.

“I suppose you have a lot of questions.”

“You read my mind.”

He smirked cutely and held out his hand. “Would you care to go for a walk?”

With a nod, I grabbed my phone, jumped to my feet, and slung my purse over my shoulder. The shuffling noise brought the necklace to mind but nothing seemed more important than taking his hand at that moment. When I did, my whole arm tingled.

The umbrella sheltered us from the rain as he led me away from the building. The air smelled fresh, invigorating, and his gorgeous brown eyes gazed into mine with an unhidden interest. I couldn’t think of a more perfect way to spend my lunch hour.

“Tell me about your studies,” he said.

I raised my eyebrows and twisted my face. “You want to talk about school?”

“Most definitely.”

“Well, okay. I’m enrolled in a four-year writing program but I started early, and with all the extra classes I’ve been taking and the summer terms, I think I can do it in two.”

“And after that?”

“After that, I work at a diner every weeknight for six hours and ten on Saturdays. Sundays I reserve for homework.”      

“What about after college? What’s your plan?”

I flashed a clever smile. “Then I’m going to write a novel about all the life I haven’t lived.”

He looked away for a moment, appearing absorbed. When he finally spoke, his face was icy, distant. “This is what you want from your life?”

Intent as he seemed to be about the question, I felt completely disoriented by the change in his demeanor. His expression suggested that he wanted me to say no. “I…I think so. I mean, yes. Of course it is. Why else would I say it?”

“It’s a good plan,” he said, without emotion.

“What about you? I don’t know anything about you.”

He paused and turned to gaze into my eyes for a long time as if he were considering what to tell me. Finally, he said, “Someday I will tell you everything about me. That day is not today.”

“When will I see you again?” I asked, sensing a goodbye.

The smile returned to his face. “Your schedule doesn’t allow you much free time but I should like to meet you for your lunch break every day if the weather permits.”

Excitement washed through my body. “What do you mean, if the weather permits?”

“I have other responsibilities on sunny days, but I am released from them if…it’s raining, for instance.”

“You’re going to make me hope for rain.”

“As do I,” he said, holding my gaze.

Warmth rose to my cheeks. “So what do you do?”

“I operate several nightclubs.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” I thought out loud.

“My work and my responsibilities are two separate things.”

“I see.” I wanted to delve further into the subject but with time ticking away, I decided against it. When his hand tightened on mine, I found the gesture reassuring. “What’s your name?”

“I’m hoping it will come to you.”

“Your name? You’re hoping your name will come to me?” I asked incredulously. “You want me to guess? Like Rumpelstiltskin?”

“No. I want you to know it.”

“So tell me and then I’ll know it,” I said logically.

He chuckled in response and placed the umbrella in my hand. He held my other hand near his mouth. “You must get back now, Elizabeth, but I will count the moments until I see you again.”

A sudden anxiety overtook me at the thought of him leaving. We had time left, but when his cool lips met the top of my hand, I nearly melted into a puddle of mindlessness. I couldn’t think, I could barely breathe when he stepped away from me.

When he rounded the corner, I took several deep breaths and then returned to the school. I sat through the rest of my school day jotting down names on pages of paper instead on concentrating on my classes. I chastised myself for losing my good sense around him. Why hadn’t I asked where he lived, or why the hell he was so interested in me? I’d been so flustered, I even forgot to return his necklace.

****

With a splash of cold water on my face, I finally cleared my thoughts and slipped into my work uniform––black pants and an oversized, pink polo shirt with the diner logo embroidered on the front. When I stepped out into the empty diner, the smell of fried meat greeted me. Pots and pans clattered together in the kitchen as the cooks prepared for the dinner rush.

Brenda met me at the register wearing the same uniform as me, but hers sagged on her model thin body. She handed me an apron and then ran her fingers through her short, blonde hair. “How were your classes?”

I shook my head as I put on the apron. “I barely remember them today.”

“Well, you
are
in college now,” she teased. “I barely remember anything from those years.”

“Don’t you mean months?” I corrected.

Brenda gasped in jest and threw a rag at me. “The fact that I got kicked out after six months just proves how important it is for you to finish. One of us has to make it out of this hole.”

I replaced the rag on the counter. “You can still go back, you know. You’re only twenty.”

Brenda rolled her eyes. “Those college parties were killing me. Besides, my goals have changed. Now, I only want to see my name in the credits of your first bestseller.”

“It’ll be there,” I promised.

It’d been my plan since I was sixteen. I’d worked and saved relentlessly so I would have a nice nest egg built up by the time I received my Creative Writing degree. After that, I would be free to run away and begin my career as a New York Times bestselling author. So far, my essays had landed me enough scholarships for a mostly debt-free ride through school, and the plan was progressing without a hitch. 

My novels would contend with the classics, love stories that shook people and asked them what they were waiting for when love was there, right before their eyes. I smiled, imagining a real romance with Mr. Interested.

“Just don’t let a guy distract you!”

Her words startled me. Kissing and relationships weren’t part of my rigid plan. Once I graduated, I’d have my whole life for that but the man in my head made me want to make an exception for the first time in my life. I wanted to make every allowance in the book, for him…for love...

You’re
g
etting a little ahead of yourself, aren’t you, Elizabeth?

The reminder that I didn’t know his name or much else about him dulled my smile.

When the dinner rush ushered in, I assumed my duties as waitress. I took orders, bussed tables, and delivered food to hungry customers until well into the evening. I was topping off a man’s coffee at a window-side table when I heard my name.

“Elizabeth,” it called like a whisper in my ear.

I looked up to see Mr. Interested leaning against a car outside the window. The sexy smile on his face made my knees go weak, and my heart skipped a beat inside my chest.

“STOP!”

The frantic male voice pulled my eyes down to my hand. Coffee poured out onto the table and seeped onto the bench seat.
There goes my tip.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, sir!” I cleaned up the mess as quickly as I could and ran out to the parking lot only to find no one. That odd sense of longing returned as I stood there alone. 

Brenda stepped behind me and placed a hand on my shoulder. “You okay?”

Puffing out my cheeks, I tried to hide my disappointment. “I’m seeing things.”

“What’s going on with you? I’ve never seen you so…unhinged.”

I sputtered a laugh. “I’d like to know too.”

****

Sunny day after sunny day disheartened me and made the rest of the week suck. He didn’t show up for my lunch breaks but at least my concentration returned, and I caught up on my homework.

On Thursday morning, I dressed in jeans and a bright, red blouse. I’d been wearing red every day because it reminded me of rubies. The more I looked at the necklace––and I did so daily––the more it enticed me. Touching the stones made me feel closer to Mr. Interested. 

With just enough time to catch the 7:00 a.m. bus, I hung my book bag over one shoulder and my purse over the other. As I opened the door, Tina stepped in front of me. Her black clothing reminded me of a burglar but her blue eyes sparkled, her skin glowed, and her silky, blonde hair contrasted the dark color to make her appear even more beautiful. I frowned.

“Where do you think you’re going, Dear Cousin?”

“Ah, school. What are you doing here?”

“No school today. You’re coming with me,” she insisted with a smug grin.

Feeling annoyed, I glanced at my watch and took a breath. “To what do I owe the honor of your presence twice in one year?”

Tina flashed a mischievous smile and seized my backpack before I could respond. She placed the bag inside the house and pulled the door shut. “I’ve made an appointment for you.”

“What do you mean, you made an appointment for me?”

“You’ll see.” Gripping my forearm, she pulled me across the lawn to her blue convertible.