The stairs that led them up to the VIP area, the very stairs that we were all sat right next to. That"s why RJ had been so happy about our positioning. She had known that they would have to walk right by us to get there. Ok, not so calm now. But as if to make matters worse, Jack was having his own rebellious feelings towards them and got up swiftly, declaring, "I think I"ve had enough of the theatrics, I"m getting a drink!" and left, leaving me exposed in full view of anyone who walked by. With the crowd parting in front of us, we would now have a clear view of the Dravens, almost like being in front of the stage at a concert. RJ gasped in delight and Lanie sighed with content. I on the other hand, had stopped breathing!
Because there, in front of me, now stood Dominic Draven.
I was like a small, helpless woodland animal caught in headlights. I knew it was dangerous but still I had to look. I tried to tear my eyes away from the most perfect being I had ever seen. He couldn"t be human, he was just too perfect, like a Greek G.o.d sent to torture me for my sins. I think if Air Force One had landed on top of the building I still wouldn"t have noticed!
It was as if we were the only two people in the room. It struck me with so many feelings at once that it felt as though Zeus himself had hit me with a lightning bolt and now all I felt was electricity coursing through my body. I was suddenly aware that I was staring and hoped that no one noticed. Not that I think this was an issue, not with Dominic Draven around. I could now understand what all the fuss was about. He had a sort of magnetic pull to him, something unnatural but soothing at the same time.
He was ahead of all the rest so I knew he was the one in charge. A little further back there were two men that caught my eye, one of which was gargantuan. He was a flipping giant! The crowd didn"t stare at him and there was no wonder as his face was just as intimidating as his size. He had deep coloured skin like leather that had seen too much sun over the years and it was full of what looked like potholes. Maybe from a severe case of smallpox I wondered. Of course being the size of a seven foot wrestler I doubted many questioned their origins.
The man on his other side was tall and athletic looking. With very white blonde, straight hair that you could just see under his overhanging black hood which concealed most of his face. But I could have sworn that I noticed what looked like tattoos down one cheek. Then he came closer and it soon became hard to miss given the startling difference between the whitest skin of an albino and the ink that featured down one side. I don"t know why but he reminded me of the white knight on a chess board being taken over by the dark side.
Behind these men that looked like guards there were two other men, one dressed in a j.a.panese robe who had kind features, with raven black hair slicked back and a sharp point to his chin and cheek bones that spoke of a n.o.bility lacing his blood line. He stood next to another man who was all light next to his dark. He was the most angelic of them all but had eyes that suggested otherwise. They were like black ice with a cruel harsh glint to them. His skin was almost luminescent, even in this low lighting it glowed as if he had just spent the day basking in the sun"s rays. His hair was cut short creating a halo of tight golden curls, reminding me of an antique doll. His face however was set in a firm line of both arrogance and pride.
But all these were insignificant factors, shadows in the background, behind the G.o.d that stood in front of them. They moved according to the way their master moved, scanning the crowd for anything unexpected. He was slowly approaching now and looked straight on as if oblivious to everyone. All the girls (and some guys) had the same look imprinted on those eager faces. They all wanted to be seen by those seductive eyes of his, to be noticed.... Everyone except me!
I looked down at the table now trying to resist the urge to look again, but I knew he was getting closer as I could feel my heart rate going through the roof. It was RJ that made me fail my objective.
"He"s looking this way!" She whispered through half closed lips. Then I did the unthinkable. I looked up at him, meeting his eyes that, amazingly, were also staring back at me. Arctic. Black. Consuming. If I thought my heart rate was going crazy before, now I thought I was going to go into a cardiac arrest! He wouldn"t move his intense stare from my face and I blushed every shade of red in the spectrum.
He had paused in front of our table and the bodyguards behind him looked just as confused as the rest of the spectators did. I could almost hear RJ hyperventilating. He looked the pinnacle of dominance, standing there with all the club"s eyes behind him watching his every move. Like waiting for a mythological warrior to issue his first command to his armies. Although with his ma.s.sive body, dressed in a black designer suit, he looked more like a modern version of a warrior, maybe "commander of the night" would be more fitting. There was just something so unnerving about him...no, not only unnerving but nearing unearthly. As if somehow he didn"t belong to this world.
The whole club seemed to be at a standstill, my heart included. It was as if he was searching for something in my eyes but came up empty. Then his expression turned un-amused and he frowned pulling his eyebrows together. This released his hold on me and I finally lowered my face and turned my back to him to hide my shame. I could still feel his presence as though he had somehow buried his essence under my skin. I couldn"t help but scratch at my scars that started to burn under layers of clothing. I don"t know how I knew but I could feel his eyes taking in my movements like I was his prey. Then something snapped. A link being broken. I noticed RJ"s eyes following him and then they turned to me, indicating that they were no longer in sight. I could finally breathe.
"What was all that about?" RJ was now on a mission. She eyed me curiously and then looked back at Lanie for back up.
"Yeah, what was that? Did he know you? Did you recognize him?" Lanie said now joining in the Spanish inquisition.
"No!" I said a bit too abruptly, like it had hit a nerve. But then my mind went into overload, when she had said "Did you recognize him?" that was the nerve that had hit.....I did recognize him! That"s the reason I had the reaction when I saw him. He was the man from my dreams. The dreams I was now starting to flow back into with a crashing wave. Yes, they were all so clear now, so clear in fact that it was hard to think of them as just dreams. They had seemed so real but why did I forget about them. And more importantly why was a man, who I had never seen before tonight, the exact same man that I had been so vividly dreaming about the last couple of days?
The girls didn"t look convinced but neither did the guys for that matter.
"Well, the way he was staring at you, maybe he knows you." RJ shot Drew a look and he shrugged his shoulders replying "what?" to her dirty look.
"What did I miss?" Jack said as he came back holding a tray full of drinks.
"You will never guess what happened!" Chaz said in a high pitched voice trying to mimic one of the girls.
"Oh, please tell me this was finally the year that he tripped and fell on his rich a.s.s!" he said raising his hand to the top of his head. I moved closer round to give him room as he resumed his place back next to me.
"Sorry dude, guess again"
"Oh I don"t know, some girl flashed him to get his attention and even then, I doubt he would have looked, he"s probably gay," he said with a wicked smile. I just stayed quiet, still embarra.s.sed from the memory. My mind doing ten to the dozen.
"No flashing needed, he took a fancy to Kaz though, couldn"t stop staring at her." Ok I was going purple now and had to get away from everyone staring at me and it wasn"t just my table, it seemed like the entire club!
"I ...I gotta go to the bathroom!" Was all I could manage. I felt like I was going to be sick. I know it was a silly reaction to have but I couldn"t help it. I just needed to get out of there. I pushed my way through the Gothic Draven fans over to the bathrooms. I knew the direction as Jack had pointed to them in reply to my rude exit. I saw the neon sign glowing like a beacon as it was near the bar on the same side of the wall as the entrance.
Once inside I could feel myself calming down like the air in here was clearer. There was no one in there apart from the refection of myself staring back at me. Horror struck. I looked terrible. No worse than terrible, I looked ill. I was so pale and my eyes looked almost black. I felt so ashamed, no wonder he was staring at me. He probably thought of me as riff-raff. Wondering what a plain, fragile little thing was doing in his club!
I ran into the cubicle not being able to stop what was coming next as I threw up the one bottle of Corona that I had consumed. Thankfully I heard the door open when I had finished. It sounded like two girls and no guessing who they were chatting about.
"And oh my G.o.d did you see his body, he gets finer every year. What I wouldn"t do to have a night alone with that man!"
"Tell me about it, now there"s a man that I bet has good equipment, if you know what I mean!" A girl"s giggle followed.
"Yeah and I bet he knows how to use it!"
"Yeah baby!" They both giggled again stupidly like superficial teenagers. I found myself angry at them being so vulgar towards him. I was just about to leave when I heard more.
"Yeah but did you see that girl he was staring at... urgh." The silly cow then made a gagging noise. I was furious even though I was in the same frame of mind just a moment ago but still, it wasn"t the nicest thing to hear.
"I know she wasn"t at all pretty, nice skin I suppose but way too pale."
"It was just make-up, I bet my life on it." Well I sure hoped that this girl didn"t get into any unforeseen accidents on the way home on account of my skin type! I thought angrily to myself.
"Well I bet he was only staring because he couldn"t believe she got in his club, and if we would have been sitting there we probably would be in the VIP area now!" Oh G.o.d, it was getting worse. Now they were deranged!
"We are going to have to come earlier next time and try for those seats."
"Yeah then he won"t have to be put through that sight again!" They giggled again only this time making high-pitched squeals. My blood boiled as I walked out of the cubicle head held high. I knew that they were young from the sound of their undeveloped conversation but they were practically kids. They were applying lip gloss when they saw me, then their faces dropped.
I washed my hands that were shaking slightly in anger and dried them. Once I had finished I made my way to the door but just before I left I turned to say my piece.
"Oh and by the way, he might not be into pale and plain but I"m pretty sure he"s definitely not into kids, so why don"t you two run off home before you miss Hannah Montana!" And I walked out with the biggest smile on my face, leaving them with their mouths still hung open. As I walked back with an everlasting grin on my face I looked up to stifle a laugh and noticed a pair of eyes that were watching me in amus.e.m.e.nt themselves.
I could see the VIP area clearly from back here and it looked full of people. But it was strange, as not one person had gone up the stairs after them. Maybe there was another entrance to it, one for the "special guests." These little factors were irrelevant compared to the statue of a man staring back at me now, just as he had before. He wasn"t as clear up there, in the low light, but I could have sworn I had seen him smile. The faint glint of white as he showed his teeth flashed momentarily. He was so d.a.m.n enigmatic. I stopped smiling and put my head down determined not to look again as I hurried back to my seat.
The rest of the night went quickly and without any more incidents. Jack insisted on staying with me while I waited for Frank. The others were going on to Drew"s house but as I was getting picked up and didn"t want Frank having to wait up for me any longer, I declined the offer.
"Are you sure? I could drive you home. I"ve only had one beer." Jack said with a hopeful look in his eye. "I"ll behave," he added with a mischievous grin.
"Thanks, but Frank"s probably on his way now... rain check?" I said hoping he wouldn"t take it the wrong way. I mean maybe before, at a different time, I would have really gone for someone like Jack. He was really convivial. That happy go lucky nature that was infectious. You couldn"t help but smile around him. But I didn"t want him to get the wrong idea. How could I get it across that I just didn"t date. Maybe I could hint to RJ about the whole "not dating" rule. But what was I saying, I was being conceited enough to believe he wanted to be more than just friends. He was just a nice guy, plain and simple.
"Ok, ok I give in, but how would you like to meet up and I will show the big bright lights of our small town?" I raised my eyebrow and said "bright lights?"
"Oh yeah, there"s one really bright street lamp on 5th, no really, you should see it, Vegas has nothing on us baby!" I laughed and he smiled down at me sweetly, his hair flopping over his eyes. He was really tall, I hadn"t really noticed in the club. But he had long legs that met a wide chest that went out in a v shape from his waist. He wore jeans that were ripped at the knee and a t-shirt with an Iron Maiden picture on it, underneath a combat style jacket.
"I will have to get your number off RJ, so next time we can arrange for me to pick you up and take you home again, that way you don"t have to wait here in the cold. We don"t want that pretty skin of yours to get any paler!" I blushed as always and smiled not knowing how to respond.
"Or I could just keep embarra.s.sing you, that seems to put some colour in those cheeks," he said laughing and then nudged me, trying to get me to smile.
"I can wait on my own if you"re cold, I feel bad you waiting with me like this," I said trying not to offend him.
"Plus they"re going to be waiting for you at Drew"s." I added, trying to sound light hearted.
"Are you kidding, I don"t mind waiting with you, besides RJ and Drew are probably just brawling around on the floor, which I"ve seen a hundred and one times before and trust me when I say I would much prefer being here with you." I blushed again, hoping he didn"t notice.
"Brawling?" I said trying to imagine the two of them, "The Goth and the Geek" going at each other.
"Yeah, and I would put my money on RJ any day, she fights dirty, at least that"s the way I taught her to fight!" He gave me a wink as the penny finally dropped. He"d been teasing me.
"You shouldn"t tease gullible people, it"s against the law," I teased back.
"Oh, but where"s the fun in that!" Then he rubbed his hands together and blew into them. I couldn"t help but feel guilty.
"Are you sure you don"t want to go, I"ll be fine, the clubs not even closed yet and the doormen are only over there." I said pointing over my shoulder.
"I think I"ll survive, plus if I get frost bite you can nurse me back to health. I would be expecting first cla.s.s heath care though, sponge baths included." He was in front of me now and he poked me gently in the ribs. I, of course being very ticklish giggled and to my embarra.s.sment snorted a little as well. I stepped back as a wicked grin spread across his face and he held out his finger threatening to do it again.
"What an adorable sound you just made," he said mocking me but trying very hard not to laugh. Just then Frank"s car came into view and Jack nodded as if to ask, "if that was him".
"Well that"s me, but thank you for waiting with me, it"s been ...amusing," I said smirking back at him. I went to turn but instead he just said "oh come here," and wrapped his big arms around me in a bear hug, he whispered down into my ear, "It was very nice meeting you Keira," and then let go and walked away, waving over his shoulder. I composed myself and got in the car a bit red faced. Frank turned to me and said, "Boy, kid, you sure do make friends quick!" The fact that he called me kid made me smile.
"So how was it?" He said as he pulled away nodding briefly towards the doormen.
"It was good, everyone was really nice," I noticed his lips curved into a mocking smile.
"Yeah I got that, he seemed very friendly," he teased just like a big brother would.
"It"s not like that!" I said getting defensive.
"Sure, sure, I"ll say no more but I"m warning you, your sister might grill you when you get home."
"What, she stayed up?" This was bad, she would want every minor detail about the whole evening and unless I could convince Frank not to mention "the Jack thing" then I was screwed! She would push it and push it until I repeated every word he"d ever said to me.
"Umm... Fr..an..k" I said in my sweetest voice dragging out his name.
"Y-y-e-e-s-s" he said doing the same.
"Could we kind of...not mention the whole Jack thing to Libby?" He raised his eyes and a cunning smile crept across his lips.
"Oh its Jack is it?" d.a.m.n! I tried the puppy dog eyed thing and then Yes! I knew it would work. His features turn to putty in defeat.
"Ok, ok, I promise, not a word." This is why I loved Frank, when it came to Libby we were on the same page, the less she knew the better it was for her. Well for us more like. G.o.d love him!
"Thanks, only I would never hear the end of it." He was on the main road now and I knew there wasn"t much further to go.
"No, neither would I. She"s still having a go at me for getting you that job. Speaking of which did you see Jerry?" I smiled thinking of it, Frank had rang him to let him know I was going to be there and must have given him a description of me because at the end of the night Jerry the Manager, had come over to introduce himself.
He also asked if I could start earlier due to the Dravens" unexpected early arrival. The place had been packed tonight and there didn"t seem to be enough bar staff. I told him that wasn"t a problem and he looked thrilled. Added to that, he also looked tired and worn down. I wasn"t surprised with the night he must have had.
"Yeah he did, thanks for that. He asked if I could do a small shift, starting tomorrow."
"That"s great but..." he shifted slightly in his seat, looking uncomfortable.
"But...?"
"But Libby is going to have kittens, I try and tell her that she worries too much about you but she can"t be reasoned with," he said looking sympathetic to my cause.
"I know but I can handle it. Her heart"s in the right place." I didn"t like where the conversation was leading so I quickly changed it.
"So was the game on tonight?" Knowing that this would be enough to carry me home for the rest of the journey, only needing to make "umm" and "ah" noises in response.
Of course it worked.
Chapter 8 First Night.
When I had agreed to start work early I had been glad for something to do. There were only so many times I could sort out my room and I think Libby was sick of me moving furniture around. It was something I always did whenever I was restless, and unfortunately I hadn"t grown out of the annoying habit. In the summer holidays I used to do it so often that I could never find stuff.
RJ had rung me to give me the low down on what everyone thought about me, and she was happy to report that I was a success, especially with her brother. I winced at the thought.
"Yeah he wouldn"t shut up about you last night at Drew"s, I think my big bro has a bit of a crush!" she said laughing as though she had been teasing him about it all day.
"Oh, I think...I think he"s just being nice," I tried but this didn"t sway her efforts.
"Trust me, there is being nice and THERE"S BEING NICE!" And thankfully she left it at that, going on for the rest of the conversation about the drummer. The band last night had been surprisingly good. RJ had only dragged me up once for the last song. She pushed her way to the front to make goo-goo eyes at the guy. It had worked as she got his number, much to Chaz"s dismay.
We had arranged to meet up for the fresher"s day and travel together, which I was more than happy about. Her brother Jack was already starting his third year, so he was going to show us around. He was majoring in engineering, confessing to me last night that he was good with his hands. I felt a lot more at ease going with someone I knew and I was starting to feel really good about being here. I was generally an optimistic person by nature but I had to admit I hadn"t been optimistic about anything for a long time. I could feel myself lifting. My bad memories were not yet in the past but clouded and faded somehow. It was like it was all coming together. So when I rang my mother with my weekly call she could sense the change.
"You sound...cheery. Are you having fun over there? Is Libby taking care of you?" I don"t know why she asked me this last question, as she knew more often than not I was the one taking care of Libby. But I explained what I had been up to and described new friends, new sights, and well my new life in full. She beamed on the other side of the phone. I thought at one point she would start crying with happiness. By the end of the phone call I had a big cloud of guilt hanging over my head. I should have behaved better before now. It was unfair to have put my family through so much. Well at least I sounded happy now and for a change I wasn"t faking it.
I said my goodbyes and I love you"s and I promised to email more and let her know how I got on at my first day of work. Then it hit me. The nerves. The thought of going back there made my palms sweaty again. I don"t know why.... well ok, that wasn"t entirely true. I was pretty sure I would be more at ease if the Dravens weren"t there. What was it about that man that had my body in knots? He was just so intimidating! And of course there were the dreams to explain. I mean how can a man who I had never laid eyes on before end up being so real? I had tossed and turned over these very questions all last night. And the feeling of dread filled my mind once more. Every time I tried to just shrug it off and put it down to nothing it just crept its way back in to my mind like a little bug munching away at my brain.
I had just finished getting ready by the time Libby got home. I didn"t know what felt worse, the idea of work or having to hide my nerves from my over sensitive sister.
"How was work?" I tried to sound light hearted but think I over did it.
"Fine!" By the way she answered I would say it was anything but.
"What"s wrong?" my tone was unconvinced.
"We"ll it"s this b.l.o.o.d.y hopeless girl on the front desk, she is utterly useless! She sent a major important client to the wrong floor and had him waiting there for over an hour, I couldn"t believe it...I just couldn"t believe it!" she threw her hands up in the air in a dramatic fashion. I suppressed a smile at her little tantrum.
"Oh dear, I bet that didn"t go down well."
"No... it b.l.o.o.d.y well didn"t!" She stomped into the kitchen and banged her black leather handbag on the table making me jump.
"Sorry," she said with a half-smile.
"How about some tea, I have the pot brewing?" Knowing she couldn"t resist, I got a mug down ready for her. At least this was keeping her mind off me and thankfully Frank said he would drive me there.
"Oh yes please! What are you dressed up for?" b.u.g.g.e.r! I knew I couldn"t get away with it for long, bring on lecture time!