Storm Born Chapter Three

Id been people-watching for almost an hour, so I see him as soon as he walked in. It was hard not to. The eyes of a few other women in the bar showed that I wasnt the only genius whod noticed.He was t any and broad-shouldered, nicely muscled but not over the top in some crazy Arnold Schwarzenegger way. He wore khakis with a navy blue T- apparel tucked into them. His black hair was not quite to his chin, and he had it tucked behind his ears. His eyes were king-size and dark, set in a smoothly chiseled face with perfect, golden-tanned skin. T present was some integrate of ethnicities going on there, I suspected, but none I could discern. Whatever the combo, it worked. Extremely well.Hey, is all toldone sitting here? He nodded at the chair beside me. It was the only empty one at the bar.I shook my head, and he sit tidy sum down. He didnt say anything else, and the only other time I heard him speak was to govern a margarita. After that, he seemed content only to people-watch, like me. And honestly, it was a great place to do it. Alejandros was right next to a midlevel hotel and drew in patrons and tourists from all sides of the socioeconomic scale. TVs showed sporting events or news or whatever the bartender matte up like putting on. A few trivia machines sat at the other end of the bar. Music sometimes live, but not tonight forced the TVs to do closed-captioning, and dancing people crowded the small home among the tables.It was humanity at its best. Teeming with life, alcohol, mindless entertainment, and bad pick-up lines. I liked to come here when I regarded to be alone without being alone. I liked it better when drunk, stupid guys left me alone. I wasnt sure about articulate, good-looking ones. One nice thing I soon discover was that with Tall, Dark, and grownup sitting next to me, no losers dared approach.But he wasnt talking to me either, and after a while, I realized Id kind of like him to not that Id have any clue what to say back. With t he glances he kept giving me, I compute he felt the same way. I didnt sack out. A sort of tension construct up between us as I nursed my Corona, each of us waiting for something.When it finally came, he started it.Youre edible.Not the opening Id been expecting.I bug your pardon?Your perfume. Its likelike vio permits and sugar. And vanilla. I suppose its weird to hark back violets are edible, huh?Not so weird as a guy in truth knowing what violets smell like. It was also weird that he could even smell it. Id put it on about twelve hours ago. With all the smoke and sweat nigh here, it was a surprise anyones olfactory senses could function.He shot me a crooked grin, favoring me with a look that could only be described as smoky. I felt my pulse quicken a little. Its good to know what flowers are what. Makes it easier to send them. And scratch women.I eyed him and then swirled the beer in my bottle. Are you trying to impress me?He shrugged. well-nighly Im just trying to make conv ersation.I pondered that, deciding if I wanted to play this game or not. Wondering if I could. I smiled a little.What? he asked.I dont know. Just thinking about flowers. And impressing people. I mean, how strange is that we bring plant sex organs to people were attracted to? Whats up with that? Its a weird sign of affection.His dark eyes lit up, like hed just discover something surprising and delightful. Is it any weirder than giving chocolate, which is supposed to be an aphrodisiac? Or what about wine? A romantic drink that sincerely just succeeds in lowering the other persons inhibitions.Hmm. Its like people are trying to be some(prenominal) subtle and blatant at the same time. desire, they wont actually go up and say, Hey, I like you, lets get together. Instead, theyre like, Here, have some plant genitalia and aphrodisiacs. I took a drink of the beer and propped my chin in my hand, surprised to hear myself going on. I mean, I dont have a problem with men or relationships or se x, but sometimes I just get so frustrated with games of human attraction.How so?Its all masked in posturing and ploys. Theres no satin flower. batch cant just come up and express their attraction. Its got to be cleverly obscured with some stupid pick-up line or not-so-subtle gift, and I dont really know how to play those games so well. Were taught that its defile to be honest, like theres some kind of tender stigma with it.Well, he considered, it can come out pretty crass sometimes. And lets not go away about rejection too. I think that adds to it. Theres a fear there.Yeah, I guess. But being turned down isnt the worst thing in the world. And wouldnt that be easier than atrophy an evening or God forbid months of dating? We should state our feelings and intentions openly. If the other person says fuck off, well, then, deal. Move on.I suddenly eyed my beer bottle suspiciously.Whats wrong?Just inquire if Im drunk. This is my first beer, but I think Im sounding a little unhinge d. I dont usually talk this often.He laughed. I dont think youre unhinged. I actually agree with you.Yeah?He nodded and looked remarkably wise as he contemplated his answer. It made him even sexier. I agree, but I dont think most people take honesty well. They prefer the games. They want to believe the pretty lies.I finished off the last of the Corona. Not me. Give me honesty anytime.You mean that?Yes. I set the bottle down and looked at him. He was watching me intently now, and his look was smoky again, all darkness and sex and heat. I fell into that gaze, feeling the response of nerves in my lower body that Id thought were dormant.He leaned slightly forward. Well, then, heres honesty. I was really happy when I saw the empty seat by you. I think youre beautiful. I think seeing the bra underneath your clothe is dead sexy. I like the habitus of your neck and the way those strands of hair lay against it. I think youre funny, and I think youre smart too. After just five minutes, I a lready know you dont let people screw around with you which I also like. Youre pretty fun to talk to, and I think youd be just as much fun to have sex with. He sat back in his chair again.Wow, I said, now noticing Id put on a white shirt over a black bra in my haste. Oops. Thats a lot of honesty.Should I fuck off now?I played with the rim of the bottle. I took a deep breath. No. Not yet.He smiled and ordered us another round.Introductions seemed like the next logical step, and when his turn came, he told me his name was Kiyo.Kiyo, I repeated. Neat.He watched me, and after a moment, a smile danced over his mouth. A really nice mouth too. Youre trying to figure me out.Figure you out how?What I am. Race. Ethnic group. Whatever.Of course not, I protested, even though Id been trying to do exactly that.My mother is Japanese, and my father is Latino. Kiyo is short for Kiyotaka.I scrutinized him, now understanding the large dark eyes and the tanned skin. Human genes were exquisite. I loved the way they blended.How cool, I thought, to have such a solid grip on your ancestry. I knew my mother had a lot of Greek and Welsh, but there was a mix of all sorts of other things there too. And as for my deadbeat fatherwell, I knew no more about his heritage than I knew anything else about him. For all intents and purposes, I was very much the mongrel the keres had called me earlier.I realized then Id been perfect(a) at Kiyo too long. I like the results, I finally said, which made him laugh again.He asked about my job, and I told him I worked in Web design. It wasnt whole a lie. Id majored in it and in French. Both areas had turned out to be completely irrelevant to my job, though Lara swore having a Web site would drive up our business. We mostly relied on word of mouth now.When he told me he was a veteran, I said, No, you arent.Those smoldering eyes widened in surprise. Why do you say that?Becausebecause you cant be. I just cant see it. Nor could I imagine telling Lara tomo rrow So I was in a bar last night and met this sexy veterinarian No, those concepts somehow didnt go together. Veterinarians looked like Wil Delaney.Its Gods truth, Kiyo swore, stirring his margarita. I even take my work home with me. I have five cats and two dogs.Oh, dear Lord.Hey, I like animals. It goes back to the honesty thing. Animals dont lie about how they feel. They want to eat, fight, and reproduce. If they like you, they show it. If they dont, they dont. They dont play games. Well, except maybe the cats. Theyre tricky sometimes.Yeah? Whatd you name all those cats?Death, Famine, Pestilence, War, and Mr. Whiskers.You named your cats after the riders of the apocal wait. Mr. Whiskers?Well, there are only four horsemen.We talked for a while after that about whatever else came to mind. Some was serious, some humorous. He told me he was in town from Phoenix, which kind of disappointed me. Not local. We also talked about the people around us, our jobs, life, the universe, etc., etc. All the while I kept wondering how this had happened. Hadnt I just been noting how I lived outside of society? Yet, here I was, talking to a guy Id just met like Id known him for years. I tho recognized the words coming out of my own mouth. I didnt even recognize my body language leaning into him as we talked, legs niping. He wore no cologne but smelled like he looked darkness and sex and heat. And promises. Promises that said, Oh, baby, I can give you everything youve ever wanted if youll just give me the chance.At one point, I leaned toward the bar to slide an empty bottle across it. As I did, I suddenly felt Kiyos fingers brush my lower back where my shirt had ridden up. I flinched as electricity crackled through me at that slight, casual touch.Heres more honesty, he said in a low voice. I like this tattoo. A lot. Violets again?I nodded and sat back in my chair, but he didnt remove his hand. That tattoo was a chain of violets and leaves that spread across my lower back. A larger cluster of the flowers sat on my tailbone, and then smaller tendrils extended outward on both sides, almost to my hips.Violets have sort have stupefy my patron flower, I explained, because of my eyes.He leaned forward, and I almost stopped breathing at how close his mouth was to mine. Wow. Youre right. Ive never seen eyes that color.Ive got three more.Eyes?Tattoos.This got his interest. Where?Theyre covered by the shirt. I hesitated. You know anything about Greek mythology?He nodded. A cultured man. Cue swooning.I touched my upper right arm. My sleeve covered the skin. This ones a snake wrapped all the way around my arm. Its for Hecate, the goddess of magic and the crescent daydream. What I didnt add was that Hecate guarded the crossroads between worlds. It was she who governed transitions to the Otherworld and beyond. This tattoo was my bind to her, to facilitate my own journeys and call on her for help when needed.I moved to my upper left arm. This ones a butterfly whos e wings wrap around and touch behind my arm. Its half black and half white.Psyche? he asked.Good guess. He really was cultured. The goddess Psyche was synonymous with the soul, which the butterfly represented in myth. Persephone.He nodded. Half black, half white. She lives half her life in this world and half in the Underworld.Not unlike my own life. Persephone guided transitions to the world of death. I didnt impress there myself, but I invoked her to send others across.She governs the dark moon. And back here I tapped the spot behind me where my neck connected to my back is a moon with an abstract womans face in it. Selene, the full moon.Kiyos dark eyes held intense interest. Why not one of the more common moon goddesses, then? Like Diana?I hesitated with my answer. In many ways, Diana would have served the same purpose. She, like Selene, was bound to the human world and could keep me grounded here when I needed it. The others are sole(a) goddesses. Even Persephone, whos techni cally married. Dianas a virgin shes alone too. But Selenewell, she doesnt get a lot of press anymore, but she was a more social goddess. A sexual goddess. She opens herself up to other people. And experiences. So I went with her. I just didnt think itd be healthy to be marked with three goddesses who were all alone.What about you? Are you alone, Eugenie? His voice was velvet against me, and I could have drowned in those eyes. They were like chocolate. Chocolate is an aphrodisiac.Arent we all alone? I asked with a rueful smile.Yes. I think in the end, we all are, no matter what the songs and happy stories say. I guess its just a matter of who we choose to be alone with.Thats why I come here, you know. To be alone with other people. Theres isolation in a crowd. Youre hidden. Safe.He looked around at the buzzing, moving sea of people in the bar. They were like a wall surrounding us. There but not there. Yes. Yes, I suppose thats true.Isnt that why youre here too?He glanced back down a t me, his expression a little less sexual and a bit more pensive. I dont know. Im not sure. I guess maybe Im here because of you.I didnt have any quick retorts for that, so I started playing with the bottle again. The bartender asked if I wanted another, and I shook my head.Kiyo touched my shoulder. You want to dance?I was pretty sure I hadnt danced since high school, but some force compelled me to agree. We stepped out into a crowd of very bad dancers. Most were just sort of floundering around to a fast song with a heavy beat that Id never heard before. Kiyo and I werent much better. But when a slower song came on, he wrapped me to him, pressing us together as close as two people could be. Well, almost as close.I couldnt ever remember anything like this happening with a guy Id just met, a desire for someone I actually wanted and not just someone who was available. His body felt hard and perfect against mine, and my flesh kept concocting ways to touch his. I was already picturing hi m naked, imagining what it would be like to have his body move against and inside of mine. What was going on with me here? The images were so vivid and real, it was a wonder my feelings werent written across my face.So I didnt really mind when he slid his hand up the back of my neck and brought his mouth down to pet me. It wasnt a tentative kiss either. No first-date kisses here. It was the kind of kiss that meant business, the kind of kiss that said, I want to consume every inch of you and hear you scream my name. Id never really made out in a unexclusive place, but it seemed kind of a trivial concern as that kiss burned between us, our tongues and lips exploring the contours of each others mouths.But when his other hand slid up and cupped my breast, even I was surprised. Hey, I said, breaking off slightly. There are people around. Amusing, I thought a moment later, that I was less implicated about him doing it than being seen doing it.He kissed the side of my neck, just below m y ear, and when he spoke, his words heated my skin. People only notice if you make a capacious deal about it.I let him kiss me again and didnt say anything else about the hand that continued to stroke the curve of my breast and tease my nipple into hardness beneath the shirt. His other hand slid down to my ass and ground me closer to him, letting me feel exactly what was underneath his jeans. The fact that we were doing this in public suddenly made it a lot sexier.I let out a small, trembling sigh and then broke away from the kiss again. and this time, it wasnt because of any prudish feelings. It was from need. My bodys suddenly urgent and excruciating need.Are you staying next door? I asked, indicating the hotel adjacent to the bar.No. Out at the Monteblanca.I let surprise show on my face. That was in the region near where I lived, in the Santa Catalina foothills. Thats not a hotel. Thats a resort. A really nice one. Veterinarians moldiness make a lot.He smiled and brushed his li ps against my cheek. You want to see it?Yes, I told him. I certainly do.