Authors: Angela Carling
Nate stepped out into the chilly night air. Winter in the desert was surprisingly cold, especially after the sun dropped below the horizon, and tonight was no exception. Jennie shivered as she and her date emerged from the back seat of his Mustang not far behind Nate. Jennie’s long, elegant strapless dress left her feeling vulnerable to the chilly night air. Nate noticed her discomfort and quickly wrapped her in his coat as the three of them walked to the door to pick up Aria. Kyler was quick to catch onto his mistake and traded his coat for Nate’s. Jennie accepted the trade but smiled at Nate to acknowledge his gesture. Soon the three friends stood in front of Aria’s door with anticipation.
Aria lived in one the older tract home developments in Palm Springs. Unlike the houses of most of the students at their high school, no golf course surrounded these homes; not even a gate guarded the entrance. Instead, the neighborhood sprang up in clusters of small homes built on large lots in the late 1980s. Nate broke off from the group to step up closer to the door. He felt a little nervous in the glow of the single outdated light fixture. As if he were expected, the door opened almost as soon as he pulled his hand back from knocking. Mrs. Tomassi, a woman in her late forties with thick black hair and intense dark eyes, greeted them from the other side. When she saw Nate, her face lit up with surprise and excitement. Her little girl was finally going to a dance.
“Welcome,” she said with a thick Italian accent as she stepped back, allowing the group to come through the narrow entryway. Grateful for the warmth, the three friends huddled together on a large step just inside the door. From the entry, you could see the majority of the house. A cozy living room painted in muted hues of yellow sat just off to the left of the door and flowing into that were the modest kitchen and dining room. Beyond those two rooms, the rest of the house disappeared into a narrow hall. Somewhere down that hall, Nate could hear Aria moving around.
“Please sit down,” Aria’s mother invited, using simple English. Nate sat on an overstuffed chair near the entry, and Jennie and Kyler found a seat on the matching couch across the room. Once they looked comfortable, she yelled something in Italian down the hall. A minute later Aria emerged from the unlit hallway. Relying on instinctive manners, Nate stood up to greet her. When she stepped into the much brighter light of the living room, all sound and movement came to a halt and all eyes fell on Aria.
For a moment, Nate didn’t recognize her. Her thick unruly dark hair was cut and straightened and was swept up with only a few long locks left free. Her heavy eyebrows were plucked and shaped and the thick glasses were gone, replaced with contacts showing off her brilliant blue eyes and the most luxurious eyelashes Nate had ever seen. Aria took one look at Nate from under them and he could almost hear Kyler salivating behind him. Aria’s usual wardrobe of baggy T-shirts and long shorts was replaced by a shimmering powder blue dress that fell just above her knees. Beneath that, glittering silver sandals accentuated her surprisingly long, naturally tan legs.
Nate felt himself swallow hard as he approached her. He was in love with Jennie, but that didn’t mean he was immune to the enchanting power of a beautiful girl. Besides, he couldn’t have Jennie. There were so many rules making that clear that he’d stopped keeping track of them. Never mind the fact that according to Celeste’s latest warnings, he couldn’t get involved with any girl while on this mission.
He wasn’t planning on getting involved with Aria, but he could look at her and even touch her. There was no rule against that, at least as far as he knew, and at this point, he would take any human touch.
Nate took the few remaining steps to greet her and picked up her hands. Across the room, Jennie cringed at how easily he touched her.
“You look gorgeous,” he spoke close to her ear.
Aria looked up at him beneath those long eyelashes and smiled. “My mom took me to the salon,” she explained almost shyly.
Nate stepped back a little to be sure everyone in the room could hear.
“Well, you look incredible and now everyone at school will know that you are not just smart but beautiful, too.”
Aria smiled and stood up a little straighter. Suddenly, out of the dark hall, Aria’s father emerged with a camera.
“Get together for a photo,” he said to the two couples, also with a noticeable Italian accent.
Kyler stood close to Jennie, and Nate and Aria joined them in front of a blank wall.
“Smile,” her father chirped happily, as he relished in his own daughter’s happiness. Two pictures later, everyone was walking out to the car.
While they drove to the other end of the valley, Jennie was quiet for the first time all night. Nate noticed it immediately. He’d been Jennie’s protector for so long now that he could almost feel her heartbeat sometimes, even when they weren’t together. When he turned a corner, Nate glanced in the rear view mirror to see her face. Her scowl had jealousy written all over it. Nate tried to subdue the human emotions rising up, but it was a noteworthy battle raging on. He hated that she was unhappy, but at the same time he was glad that she was jealous, thrilled that he was not alone in his feelings for her, and at the same time, sickened by the realization that he could never return her affection. He drove, remaining almost as quiet as Jennie, while Kyler and Aria talked back and forth like they were old friends. Before long, they reached the winding road that climbed steadily to the desert floor tram.
As the lower station came into view, everyone became quiet. The tram itself was an engineering feat. A rotating cable car climbed thousands of feet in minutes, and the majestic mountains that acted as a backdrop were equally as impressive. Kyler rode up the mountain every Christmas with his family. Over the years, he had gathered an impressive arsenal of trivia about the tram’s history and he began spouting off facts as they climbed out of the car and made their way across the long asphalt parking lot that steadily ascended to a set of concrete stairs.
“Did you guys know that the tram was first thought of in the 1930s but took until the 1960s to finally be built? Did you also know that it is the largest rotating tram in the world?” No one responded to him. They were all huffing and puffing as they hiked up the hill in their formal clothes. Once they reached the stairs, Kyler stopped talking and let the girls walk in front of him.
“Wow, I’m already out of breath,” Aria said as they ascended the last of the stairs that took them to the lobby.
“You think this is high, wait until we reach the top of the mountain,” Jennie suddenly piped up.
Kyler reached the door first and held it open for the girls to walk through.
Inside, the rustic station was already bursting at the seams with couples. Just by their presence, a rustic room that was designed to lure in tourists suddenly took on a more festive atmosphere. The girls were decked out in lavish gowns, garnished in glittering jewelry, and the boys wore tuxes or suits, sporting freshly washed and combed hair. Jennie and Aria soon mingled into the crowd with their friends while Nate and Kyler went to get their tickets for the tram ride.
Within an hour, they were gliding up the mountain, sharing the large rotating tram with ten other couples. As they climbed, a bright light attached to the bottom of the tram let them watch cactus and scrub oak give way to lush snow-covered pines. All the way up the mountain, Aria stood with her nose pressed to the foggy glass, shivering even with Nate’s coat wrapped around her shoulders for warmth.
“Let’s stop by the restaurant,” Nate suggested as they reached the mountain station. “I’ll get you some coffee to warm you up.”
“Thank you,” Aria replied through chattering teeth.
Once inside the larger lodge, the two couples temporarily went their separate ways. Nate went in search of something warm to drink, and Jennie and Kyler went to take pictures. Soon, Nate brought a steaming cup of coffee over to a large seating area that looked out over the valley. Aria sat in an oversized chair, staring absently out the window at the light snow that was falling.
“This will warm you up,” Nate said as he placed the coffee in her hands.
Aria smiled at him appreciatively. “Thanks,” she replied before taking her first cautious sip.
Nate found himself relaxing as they watched the snow come down. One of his past jobs had been protecting a little girl in Russia. His time there had taught him an appreciation for the beauty of falling snow. The gentle way each flake fluttered down had a mesmerizing quality to it.
He looked across at his date. “I really miss the snow,” he said, thinking aloud more than anything.
“So go outside and enjoy it,” she responded to his lamenting. “I’ll watch from this nice warm room.”
Nate laughed. “I think I will,” he said “You’ll be okay here?”
“Busy sipping,” she said, her typical wit surfacing for the first time that night.
Nate slipped on his coat and found a door in the far corner of the room that led outside. Once the door was open, he realized it led down a little hallway and eventually to small patio guests could stand on to watch the tram dock and unload. Eager to feel the snow, he started down the hallway but stopped short when he heard a familiar voice.
Out on the deck just above the docking bay for the tram, two teenage boys talked in hushed tones.
“Thanks for bringing the stuff,” Jace Stein said to whoever shared the deck with him. “I’ve been so bored.”
Nate knew Jace had a reputation for drug use, especially marijuana. He wondered what they were doing out on the porch. The way he figured it, the last tram just started down the mountain and they had about twenty minutes until the next one arrived, just enough time to light up without being seen. A heavy herbal smell drifted his way, confirming his suspicion.
“Where’s your date?” The other boy asked Jace.
“In the bathroom or something, I don’t know.”
“She’s pretty hot,” he returned.
Nate could imagine Jace’s smug expression as his friend threw out the ultimate compliment. Nate was tired of their pathetic rhetoric. He was just about to turn around and go back inside when Jace’s next words stopped him dead in his tracks.
“Yeah, Zoey’s hot and all that, but she wasn’t my first choice.”
Nate could hear them shuffling in the snow trying to warm themselves up.
“Who would give you a better time than Zoey?” his friend asked.
“Jennie, if I could get her to talk to me.”
Suddenly, Nate felt every muscle in his body tense up and his hands ball reflexively into fists even though he kept them by his sides.
“You want her back?” his friend asked, clearly surprised by his friend’s admission.
“Yeah,” Jace confirmed. “I want to finish what I started.”
“You think she’ll take you back after you cheated on her?”
It was all Nate could do not to run down the short hall and pummel Jace into the wall, but he kept it under control just so that he could hear the rest of the conversation.
Jace sneered. “The problem wasn’t that I cheated on Jennie, it was that I got caught cheating. Besides, I wouldn’t be cheating if she was putting out.”
That was it. That was all Nate could handle. Jace had insulted and belittled Jennie and the rising anger was more than Nate could subdue. He charged down the hall and before Jace even knew what happened he had him pinned up against the wall, holding him by the shirt with one hand. His friend, Jimmy, who Nate now recognized, had been knocked over in the process and was sprawled flat out on the snowy ground, looking up at Nate with a shocked expression.
“I suggest you leave,” Nate said to Jimmy, his words coming out low and angry, more like a growl then a command.
Jimmy scrambled to his feet in the snow but not before he slipped twice trying to get up. As he moved past him, Nate reached out with a foot and pushed him. He stumbled again and then ran inside as soon as he could reach dry ground and get enough traction.
Nate wasn’t worried about Jimmy telling anyone. He was only focused on the fact that Jace was a threat to his best friend, and the girl he loved. As soon as the door closed behind Jimmy, he turned his attention back to Jace, who stood helplessly pinned to the wall despite his best efforts to wiggle out of Nate’s iron grasp.
“Don’t bother,” Nate warned. His normally clear blue eyes had turned dark with anger and his jaw was clenched so tight Jace wondered if Nate would crush his own teeth from the pressure.
Finally, Jace began to see the danger he was in. All he had to do was look at the steep drop on the other side of the patio and feel Nate’s vice-like grip and he could see that Nate was capable of taking his life in seconds. He knew he should be scared of Nate, but the drugs were kicking in and instead he felt relaxed and fearless.
“You stay away from Jennie,” Nate threatened. “She’ll never take you back and I’ll…”
“You don’t have any control over Jennie,” Jace interrupted him. “She does what she wants, and if she wants to, she’ll do me.”
Jace’s words instantly sent a tide of rage flowing through Nate’s body. Never in his life had he felt such intense anger. It was all he could do not to throw Jace over the rail and watch his body hurl to base of the canyon, yet at the same time, his anger was completely contradictory to who he was. He was a protector of life, not a thief of it. His feelings for Jennie once again clouded his judgment. Drawing on pure self-control he forced himself to lower Jace to the ground, but he still kept a strong grip on his chest. Nate met his prisoner’s eyes; they were void of fear, and worst of all they showed no sign of conscience.
“Listen carefully to me, Jace,” he said, his face so close that Nate could smell the garlic from Jace’s dinner on his breath. “You’re right, I can’t control Jennie. She may choose a loser like you, but, if you try to hurt her, I can and will do whatever it takes to protect her.” A small flicker of fear registered in Jace’s eyes, and then he shrugged his shoulders the best he could with them pinned up against the wall and looked away. Nate released his grip and forced himself to step back a little. Recognizing that this was his best chance for escape, Jace inched along the wall until he was a little farther away and then he made a break for the door. Nate wasn’t worried about him telling anyone about their encounter. Jace was so high, Nate would be surprised if Jace would remember it himself in twenty minutes. All he could hope now was that somehow he’d scared him enough to stay away from Jennie.