A Protector's Second Chance (Unit Matched #2) (8 page)

Chapter 22

Day 48 of 90

I woke up refreshed and felt like a brand new person. I wasn’t sure if it was because I’d slept through the night with no nightmares, or if it was Oliver and his lips.

The sun was shining bright in the room as I rolled out of bed to get ready. I hummed an absent tune through my shower and getting dressed. As I looked in the mirror, I noticed that my cheeks were rosy, my green eyes were gleaming, and I had a goofy grin on my face.

When I made it downstairs, I assumed that Oliver was already up, but he was nowhere to be found. I decided that he must have still been sleeping.

I strolled into the kitchen and the idea of cooking breakfast for Oliver popped in my head. I had cooked for him before, but I wanted to do something special.

As I started to gather everything, I realized that I couldn’t stop smiling. Last night was very special to me. Actually, ever since I told Oliver about my parents, I’ve felt different. A weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Even though banishment still lingers over my head, having Oliver has helped.

He wasn’t as bad as I’d thought.

“Something smells good.”

I turned to see him leaning against the doorway.

“It’s breakfast,” I smiled.

Oliver smirked. “Need any help?”

“I’m almost done.”

“I’ve got to shower; I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

I nodded and went back to cooking. I wasn’t sure what Oliver would like, so I kept it simple with a ham and cheese omelet, hash browns, and toast. I did know that he didn’t like orange juice, so I fixed him a glass of milk.

I set the table and had plated out food by the time he came back downstairs.

“Wow, this looks delicious,” he glanced over everything.

“I hope it’s good. The hashbrowns are a little darker than golden brown,” I mumbled.

“I’m betting it’s all perfect.” Oliver scooted closer to the table and began to dig into the food. “This is really good. Did Mom teach you this, too?”

I nodded. Mrs. Thomas would come over after school and sometimes we would have breakfast for dinner. Dad hated nights like that, but I enjoyed them.

“I guess you’re working all day, huh?” I tried to hide the disappointment in my voice.

Oliver shook his head. “Actually, I have a surprise for you, but I’m not telling until after breakfast.” He winked.

I rolled my eyes, because I wanted to know now, and he knew it, too. I was going to childishly stomp my foot, but I stopped myself.

Oliver went into detail about his newest client, the demanding one. The client wanted more and more on the website.

“He’s making it look too cluttered and unorganized.”

“You don’t like that, do you?”

He shook his head. “The website is a reflection of my work as much as his.”

I nodded, listening intently to Oliver. I never noticed before how passionate he was about his work. There was a lot I’d never noticed before. It was different now. My eyes were open now, and in front of me was a great guy.

And he was my Matched.

“You okay?”

I smiled at Oliver. “I’m fine. Are you finished?”

He nodded, and together we started to clean up the kitchen. I could tell that we were much more comfortable with each other as, with ease, we finished up our chores.

“Are you ready for your day?”

“Day?” I asked, confused.

Oliver’s smile was wide, and I knew that there was more going on than what he was letting on. “Come on.” He handed me my jacket and helped me slip it on.

He held my hand as we headed out to the vehicle. He had used the remote starter, so we weren’t in the cold long. It was cloudy today, which I didn’t mind. It was still fresh air, and I enjoyed the wintery breeze.

Oliver and I rode I silence into town. My nerves were on edge because I didn’t know what we were doing. I’ve always had mixed feeling about surprises, I think, because I was so nosy, and I hated being left in the dark.

I watched out my window as he pulled into the plaza where we
almost
had dinner the last time we had come into.

“I’m not hungry,” I joked.

“I didn’t think you would be. However, I thought that you would need a day of pampering.” He shut the car off and pointed out the window.

“Pampering?” I followed his finger and in front of me was a salon and spa.

“Your hair is getting long, and I know that you like it short. Plus, I figured you might want a mani-pedi.”

I snorted. “What do you know about mani-pedis?”

Oliver smiled. “My mom says all women need them to keep them sane.”

“She’s correct,” I nodded in agreement.

“Come on.” He jumped out and came over to my side to help me out.

Oliver continued to hold my hand as we walked into the salon. The smell of someone getting their hair dyed was a bit overpowering, but it was a welcoming smell, because I missed getting fixed up.

“May I help you?” a tiny blonde asked from behind the counter.

“Yes, Amaya Thomas has an appointment.” Oliver said very professionally.

My mouth dropped.
Thomas
? My last name was Roberts. I wouldn’t be a Thomas until after our ceremony.
If
we had one.

“Mrs. Thomas, please follow me to your room.” The blonde shined her perfectly bright, white teeth at me.

“I’ll wait out here.” Oliver smiled as I followed the blonde.

I should have been upset because he hadn’t used my last name, but there was something deep down that made me stop. Amaya Thomas had a ring to it that Amaya Roberts didn’t have. I wasn’t that mad about. Honestly, I was more taken aback than anything.

I liked it?

I liked it.

I did.

I liked that Oliver called me Amaya Thomas. I liked that it could have become a possibility at some point. However, I knew it wouldn’t now because of my banishment.

The blonde guided me to a small room that had a table that looked like it belonged in a medical office in the middle of it. There was a small sink and a large cabinet in there, too.

“RJ will be here in a moment to take care of you.”

I nodded as she left. There was soft music playing in the background. It sounded like bad elevator music, a whiny violin.

“Mrs. Thomas?”

A small smile crossed my face at the name, as a tall African American man stepped into the room. He looked like he belonged in the NFL, not in a salon.

“Yes.”

“I’m RJ.” He held out his hand. “I’m taking care of you today. What do you need today?”

“Well, I’ve never been here before so I’m not sure what you offer.”

“If you want it done, I can make it happen,” he chuckled. “Have a seat.”

I sat on the table. “I know I need a haircut and a manicure. You might as well throw in a pedicure, too.”

“Any waxing or massages?”

“Let’s keep the wax on my eyebrows, and no massages.” I narrowed my eyes at him, but kept a humorous tone. I have never had a massage because it would involve getting naked and having a strange person rub on me. It seemed like an oxymoron now considering I was here being punished.

RJ smiled at me again. “Deal. Your husband said that whatever you wanted, you could have. Let’s start with your toes and work our way up. Follow me.”

I walked behind himas he headed down the long hall, but his word
husband
was still in my head. Husband was a title that we didn’t use in Unit. We were Matched, but non-Unit citizens called each other husbands and wives. It sounded very foreign to me. However, my heart still raced at it.

Amaya Thomas.

I bit down on my lip, trying to hold back my smile. I covered my mouth, lightly touching my lips, thinking of Oliver’s mouth on me. I wanted to kiss him this morning, but I didn’t want to do too much too fast.

I put my bare feet into the hot, soothing water and RJ began to work on my feet. I’ve had pedicures in my life, but usually by women. Men don’t touch Unit girls, but I’m a Rule breaker anyway.

I lay my head back in the soft leather chair, and took a deep breath, enjoying the tender touch of RJ’s massive hands. The music was better in this room that held ten pedicure chairs. I was the only one in here right now. I figured that it was because it was still early, and a weekday.

After a pedicure, manicure, eyebrow waxing, and a haircut, I felt like brand new woman again. I knew that Oliver had to be bored to death in the lobby, but RJ said that he was still out there.

I thanked RJ for an amazing job, and he guided me back out to the lobby. There was Oliver, studying his phone, with his serious expression.

“Mr. Thomas,” RJ grabbed his attention.

Oliver’s serious face was replaced with his smile, as he looked me up and down.

“Your wife is done.”

“Thank you.” Oliver stood up and walked over to RJ, shaking his hand. RJ patted my shoulder as he walked away. “You’re beautiful as ever.” Oliver leaned down and whispered in my ear. He kissed my cheek, and I felt my heart race faster.

Oliver released me and went over to the blonde behind the desk.

“Mr. Thomas,” she greeted him again as he handed her his credit card. After Oliver paid, we walked outside into the brisk cold snowy air.

“Did you enjoy yourself?”

“I did, a lot. Thank you, Oliver. I mean it; that was amazing.” I squeezed his hand.

“I’m glad.”

He opened my door, and I jumped in the Escalade. Oliver hopped in and was about to drive away.

“Stop.”

“What is it?” He looked confused.

I unbuckled my seatbelt and practically climbed into his lap.

“Thank you.”

I cupped his face in my hands and kissed him deeply. I pushed my tongue into his mouth, and he moaned at our contact. He had one hand on my thigh and the other around my neck. His hand grasped my thigh tighter, and I knew that I was letting my emotions take over as I released his face and ran my hands down his chest.

“Amaya.” He pulled away. “Not in a parking lot.” His voice was ragged.

“I just wanted to thank you.” I pressed my forehead to his.

“You’re welcome. Let’s go grab some groceries.”

I crawled off his lap and back into my seat, securing myself with the seat belt. Oliver drove us out of the plaza and headed down the road to a large supermarket.

We hold hands as we walked in, shopped, and even checked out. It was comfortable. Oliver even laughed a few times, and I did, too.

This was what being Matched meant.

Chapter 23

Day 52 of 90

“Chris Pine. Need I say more?” I was curled up with Oliver on the couch, watching the newest
Star Trek
movie that had been recently released.

“Spock is cooler.” Oliver ran his hand up and down my back.

The past several days have been the best I’ve ever had. We’ve been a real Matched couple. We’ve joked, teased, and kissed. Oliver had never gone farther than my lips, but I was okay with that. Thaddeus and I had gone too far, too fast so I wanted to enjoy every moment with Oliver.

“I guess Spock has his moments.” I shrugged.

“Do you have a thing for pointed ears?” Oliver’s humorous tone made me giggle.

“Not especially, but I like yours.” I reached up and traced his outer ear.

“My ears?”

“I mean, they’re okay.” I teased.

“I think that I have special ears.” He narrowed his eyes down at me.

“Hhmm…,” I continued to trace them. “They’re nothing like Chris Pine’s, but they’ll do.”

He chuckled, capturing my lips against his. Kissing him was easy. It felt right. It was where I belonged. I wanted to be here with Oliver. I rose up, and was about to straddle his lap, when his phone began to ring. I hadn’t heard that ring tone before. Oliver pulled back from me and reached for the cell that was on the table.

“Graham.” He answered the phone. Oliver listened closely, before closing his eyes, and shaking his head. I couldn’t make out what was happening on the other end of the phone, but Oliver didn’t look happy.

“Yeah, I’m on my way.” He hung up, rubbing his temple.

“Duty calls?” I asked softly, sitting back against the couch.

“I have to go.” I heard the pain in his voice.

“I understand.” I tried to give him a smile, but it was forced. We’d been in our own little world for the past few days, and I didn’t want to think about the real world, yet.

“For the first time, I don’t want to go.” Oliver confessed to me.

“I don’t want you to go, either,” I professed to him.

He kissed me again, before standing up, and heading upstairs. I watched him leave the room, and I already missed him.

What the hell was wrong with me?

I mean, I liked him. A lot. It was obvious. But my heart actually twisted, knowing that he was leaving, and I couldn’t go with him.

I wondered how long he would be gone this time. I silently prayed to Mother Nature that it wouldn’t be long.

“Hey.”

I turned to see Oliver staring at me.

“Are you okay?” He held out his hand and pulled me up from the couch.

“Um,” I shake my head. Would I be able to tell him the feelings that were swarming around my head right now?

“I’ll miss you, too.” He wrapped his arms around me, making me feel safe.

I was shocked that he knew what I was feeling even though I didn’t know how to say it aloud.

“How long this time?” my voice cracked.

“I’ll be back as fast as I can.”

Oliver lifted my chin so that my eyes looked into his. His green eyes weren’t shining like they had before. They looked sad.

“I know,” I pouted.

He softly kissed my lips and a shiver of elation ran through my veins. I caressed his face as he gripped my waist tightly.

“I have to go.” He laid his forehead against mine.

“Okay.” I closed my eyes as he released me and walked out the door. I didn’t open them back up until I heard the Escalade drive away.

My plan for the day had been to sit and watch TV with Oliver and eat an obscene amount of junk food. At least I could still eat the junk food.

I walked into the kitchen as
Star Trek
still played in the background. I reached for a pint of ice cream first and then the cookies.

Oh, I was going to need to eat this now so I could work it off quickly. I curled up on the couch and enjoyed the company of Chris Pine’s smart mouth and Spock’s ears.

Oliver had been gone for two days already and I ached for him. I missed him more than I’d ever thought possible. I wished that I could call him and, at least ask, how he was doing. I wanted to hear his voice.

I rolled out of bed and got ready to start my day. There was nothing major on the agenda. Of course, there never was these days. I worked out, showered, made breakfast, and listened to the surrounding silence.

This was like banishment.

This was how it was going to feel like when my ninety days were up.

I took a deep breath and hoped that I was strong enough to handle this for the rest of my life. I became anxious about what it would be like without Oliver. Even though our first three months of the original decision period had been a mess, the new one had been different. It had started the same, but we had come so far from there.

I slowly picked at my eggs and toast, wishing that I knew what was happening in Unit. Was something bad going on? How were Xaviera and the baby? What about Gia?

I thought about Oliver telling me about her ceremony with Graham. I wondered what she wore. I was sure that it was something pretty. Gia had a great figure, but she never showed it off. She was always hiding behind bulky sweaters and long skirts. Even though Unit girls were allowed to wear pants and modern clothing, as long as they didn’t show too much skin, Gia had opted, more times than not, to wear skirts.

Gia’s twentieth birthday party had been stunning. I was so jealous. It was like a huge ball, the type that you saw in the movies and read about in books. She deserved it though, and she and Graham made a great Matched pair.

I rubbed my temples; everything was spinning in my head like a tornado, my friends, Unit, Oliver, ceremonies, my future; they were all bouncing from one end to the other.

When I opened my eyes, my journals were the only thing staring back at me. They still remained at the end of the table. I hadn’t moved them or touched them since Oliver and I had talked.

I slowly walked over to them. Usually, when I finished writing in one and put it away, I never read them again. I wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was because I didn’t want to relive those memories?

My hands shook as I picked up one of the journals. I thumbed through the pages, seeing my handwriting on the pages. I realized I was about thirteen when I wrote this journal.

My hand writing will be atrocious for the next six to eight weeks. Mom and Dad explained to my teachers that I broke my arm falling out of a tree.

A tree? Really? How unbelievable is that?

The true story was I was three minutes late for training. I had been at Xaviera’s and the Queen had made us lunch. Obviously, I couldn’t be rude and leave, and I was very hungry. However, that made me late.

Mom pushed me up against the wall of the gym. There were no other students there because this was my
special
training time. Mom jabbed me in the ribs first and then my kidneys. When I screamed out in pain and fell to the floor, she stomped on my arm, breaking it.

Of course, Dad started in on me about crying. His motto: Protectors don’t show emotions. I wonder if they understand that I still have feelings. I may be worthless but I still have feelings..

How many more years until I’m eighteen and I can leave?

I instinctively rubbed my lower arm remembering the pain from that break. I continued my training even in a cast. My parents didn’t believe in stopping for any reason. That was one thing my parents were like with all the Protectors. They punished us all.

I flipped through the pages. I read about school, celebrity crushes, and Xaviera and Gia. There were a few pages that brought a smile to my face.

Xaviera, Gia, and I went to the store and pooled our money together to buy a large makeup kit. We rushed back to Xaviera’s house, and we quickly started to figure out what it would look good on us.

Of course, I made Gia look like a 1980’s rock star. I thought she looked great, but she quickly washed it off. Xaviera looked amazing it whatever she put on. I swear she could wear a paper bag and look like she walked off a runway.

Sometimes that makes me jealous. I shouldn’t be jealous of her, but I can’t help it. Xaviera has the perfect life. She’s going to have the perfect Matched, a perfect family, and the perfect future.

What about me? When will I have a happily-ever-after?

How much longer until I will be eighteen?