Protected (Book 1 in the Ariya Adams trilogy) (11 page)

The door opened and more members of the team trickled in. Riley grabbed my hand to help me off the
couch, and then went off to mingle.

I hadn’t seen James arrive yet. M
aybe I should just see if he had a partner. It wouldn’t hurt to ask. It’s such a simple question. It was nothing big, no big deal. I headed out to the balcony for some air. Leaning over the railing and taking in one last deep breath, I had just about bucked up the courage to go back in and look for James when I heard someone start talking to me.

“Hey, I was looking for you.”

I turned, but knew the voice before I had to actually confirm it with my eyes. It was James. He sported another black t-shirt, loose, but not loose enough to hide the perfect layout of muscle going on underneath. He was looking for me?

“Sorry, I just needed some air.” I smiled.

“Yeah, it gets crowded at these things. We just win too much, I guess. Riley says the fan base has grown.” He shrugged and started grinning.

“Yes, that is defin
itely the problem, all that winning. Did you need something?”

“Yes. Well, yes.” He looked a bit like he was struggling with something. I frowned for a moment
, but he started back up. “Riley mentioned that I needed to find a partner for the costume party he is having. I wasn’t sure if you would consider having me as a partner or if you already had a plan, but I’d like to pair up with someone I know. I figured I’d check with you first in case you had no plans, and then we could figure something out.”

Well, w
ell, well. Maybe those rules I was pretending to follow really were working. Here was James making a move. Well, sort of. He was standing in front of me, wanting to be my partner for a costume party. Granted, it wasn’t really a date since everyone had to pair off, but it was something to do together. And, he wanted to be partnered with
me
.

“
Yeah, sure, that would be fun. Did you have anything in mind?”

“I’m not so good at costume parties. I hear you are quite good at it
, though. Your reputation precedes you, so I guess that I can leave it in your capable hands.” He smirked at me.

“Well
, I’ll do my best to live up to that expectation. I’m going to head back in – it’s freezing out here.”

“After you.”
He waved his hand by. I thought that was going to be it, but we continued to spend time together the rest of the night evening. We started trying to plan out fun ideas.

“H
ockey player and cheerleader?” he asked.

“Oh man, Riley would love that. I think we can do better
, though. Plus your hockey outfit wouldn’t be a costume for you. Besides, I’d go all out and make you wear your skates and everything. That wouldn’t be comfortable to walk around in all night,” I teased.

“I like wearing my skates. It’s freeing.”

“I wouldn’t know, that’s all you guys.”

“Wouldn’t know about skates? Have
you never been?” He looked at me, shocked. Why was that a surprise?

“Nope, never.”

“Your best friends play hockey and you watch every week, but you’ve never ice skated? This has to change.”

I laughed at his shock. “There isn’t anywhere to learn. Riley meant to ta
ke me, but things kept coming up. Plus, we don’t live near a rink.”

“Ariya, there’s a whole hockey stadium
. What do you mean there is no rink? That’s it. We’re going this week. We’ll sneak in through the locker room.”

“It’s locked up after practice and
games, James.” My eyes widened.

“The girl who waltzes around in the woods by hers
elf is afraid of a little after-hours skate? I don’t believe it.” I shook my head at him, trying to hide the smile creeping over my face.

“A
ll right, all right. Just tell me when.”

His
grin was overwhelming and my knees buckled slightly. Oh my gosh, this would be extremely embarrassing if he could actually see the effect he was having on me.

Before I knew it
, the night was over. People had started trickling out because it had gotten pretty late. Once I was alone, I was still excited, so I started trying to plan the perfect costume. There was a part of me that felt like I was being silly, acting this way over something so small. Then again, it had been a painfully long time since I felt so great about a guy. Who cares if it’s silly? There go my emotions. They were all over the place. It was hard to anticipate when they would strike, which made it hard to get a grip.

Again
, I blamed it on disrupted sleep from jerking awake and wrote it off.
I’m supposed to be able to be giddy about this stuff
. I quickly dismissed my train of thought, vowing again to stop over thinking every little thing and to just enjoy the moment.

I went to bed that night making a mental checklist of options and reminded myself to get with Caroline first thing in the morning to go over my ideas.

I woke up the next day
, frantic to gab with Caroline. She’d be happy since she’d been begging me for some juicy information anyway. I ran into the living room and knocked on her door. A sleepy, groggy, and a bit hungover-looking Caroline answered the door.

“Please tell me
it’s past 7.”

I glanced at the wall. It was 7:03
am.

“Of course!”
I said. “Guess what?”

“What? I need coffee
. You want some?”

“Yes. James and I are Halloween partners! AND he is
going to take me ice skating.”

I couldn’t hide the excitement in my voice. I
let all the giddiness bubble out. I was like a teenager who’d just been asked out to prom by the hottest guy at school.

“Ahhh.”
I giggled as I danced around for a minute, completely thrilled.

“Really?
That’s awesome, Ariya. So, what are you going to be? And don’t tell me you weren’t up all night thinking about it.” She started bustling around the kitchen, getting her barista skills ready to go on our coffee.

“Of course I thought about it!
I’m competitive with this thing anyways, but now I have to come up with something great so that James is impressed. Have you forgotten how this wooing thing works now that you and Nick are happily tucked away in your ever after?” She just stood shaking her head.

“You’re lucky I love you or I would
punch you for that comment. Wooing. Please! I’m an independent woman and I don’t
woo
.”

“A
ll right, all right. The number one thing I have is Gatsby and Daisy? He can wear a suit. I can wear a flapper dress. It’ll be the Roaring 20’s. Old, fashionable, and did I mention he’d be in a suit?”

Caroline was look
ing at me like I was losing it.

“You’re emotions a
re seriously starting to give me whiplash.”

She was right
, of course. I was high, and then low, a lot more than was normal. When I was tired, I was exhausted. When I was sad, I had been inconsolable. Now, I was happy and was probably coming off as a lunatic. I needed to try to get more rest.

“I know, I’m sorry.
I’m just so excited. It’s been two months and James finally wants to hang out again.”

“You guys hang out every other day in class.” She poured out two cups of coffee, one for her
, and a larger one for me. I love coffee.

She hesitated when she handed it to me, “You know you don’t need this
, right?”

I snatched it away from her
, grinning. “It’s not the same, hanging out in class. We just talk casually. Really, we aren’t talking about anything. We catch the other looking over and then turn away. This has to be a breakthrough event. I know I sound like I’m thirteen, but just pretend there is something to be happy about here. You’re the one who has been pushing this from the beginning!”

“You got it.” She turned away from me
, and then turned back around with an overly-obnoxious smile on her face. “Oh my gosh I can’t believe he asked! He is so sexy.”

She started fanning herself. Just to spite her
, I said I didn’t need her coffee, that I was awake enough, and headed to get dressed for a run.

I told James my idea
during our
next class together and he seemed to like it, which was a plus for me.

“I’ve always loved the 20’s. There was style everywhere. People wanted to see and b
e seen. It was quite romantic. You’ll look great in a flapper dress, too. They were fun and people were optimistic about everything. They had a blind spot to the Depression going on. It was fascinating.”

“I didn’t know you liked history so much.
You sound like you were there,” I said, in awe of his tangent. He just smiled to himself at my comment.

“So
, where are we getting these costumes?” he asked.

“Leave that to me. I'm the pro
, remember?” I nudged his arm, getting a bit cocky and just wanting to touch him in some way.
Breathe, Ariya,
I reminded myself.

I focused all my attention on gathering the supplies for our costumes that week. Since I was a tiny bit behind, I worked extra hard to pull everything together. By the end of the week, I had a suit for James, a cane, and a top hat. For me, a black dress, pearls, a black bob wig, and a long, slender, black cigarette holder to carry around with me. We were set. I told James I had everything and he was surprised.

“You got that together in less than a week. You really
are
good at this stuff!”

The party was Saturday at Riley’s. James offered to pick
up his stuff at the apartment after lunch.

“Would you want to spend some time togethe
r tonight? Since I’m swinging by anyway. I think Nick was planning on taking Caroline to the movies or something, so you might need company. We don’t have a game tonight, and that means we can sneak in and get you on the ice.”

“Sure!” I chimed in
, excited to finally get to skate.

Who was I kidding
? I was excited about spending time with James. I stared at him a bit more in class when I could sneak in glances. The more he talked to me, the more I thought that the way he spoke didn’t match the body of a twenty-some year old. It was almost like he’d catch himself and try to speak like the rest of the guys. I couldn’t put my finger on it. When he would try to say things in slang, it sounded wrong. Strange.

We went our separate ways after class
. He said he’d be over at dinnertime since we’d be hanging out. I got home and told Caroline.

“O
oh, la la! Good thing Nick and I have a date.”

“
Yeah, he mentioned that to me. He and Nick must be getting close if he knows your date schedule. Now, be home by midnight, young lady,” I nagged.

For a brief moment, Caroline
seemed a bit put off when I said that James had mentioned her date, but she shook off whatever bad feeling it was that had come over her. Was she annoyed Nick had connected so well with everyone? Maybe she was unsure about him being close to other people when their relationship was so new? I’m sure she wasn’t. That must make her happy. He liked her friends, which was always important to Caroline. I must have imagined the look that crossed her face.

Caroline and Nick left
, and ten minutes later, I heard a knock on the door. I opened it and found James standing there, holding a bag.

“I have food. I hope that’s okay
!” he smiled as I ushered him in.

“Of course it is! Now I feel spoiled.”

“I’m not the best cook, but I haven’t done it in awhile and thought it might be fun.”

“Well
, I can’t cook. I can bake, but cooking, I’m not the best.”

“I can teach you. We’ll have a lesson
, and then we can head to the rink. You’ll feel quite accomplished,” he teased.

“A
ll right. Let me wash up.”

We headed to the kitchen and I washed my hands while James set out the groceries. He was making some kind of chicken. I turned towards him and asked what we needed. He rattled off some pots and
pans and I got everything out.

“Okay, now what?”

He grinned, which made me smile in return. He started mixing things together, telling me to stir here or there. I’d try to chime in and ask smart questions, or at least questions I thought were smart.

“Is
the oven preheated?” he asked.

“Oh,
yeah. The light is on. We’re good.”

“Then I’ll throw this in
, and in 45 minutes, prepare to be stunned.”

I started grabbing things and cleaning up while James
picked two wine glasses out of our cupboard and poured some for us both. I had already set out plates, so he grabbed them and took them to the living room. He was so domestic. Maybe he was trying to show off.

I was having fun and noticed the more time we spent together
, the more relaxed I felt. Don’t get me wrong, the man made my knees weak, but I felt almost comfortable when we talked. It was like we were old friends all of a sudden, and it was a good feeling. Something had just changed in me, and I was able to act like a normal woman and not a teenager on her first date. Finally, something I was doing felt
normal
amid all of the emotions senior year had brought on.

The food was delicious and I complemented the chef. “What are you planning on doing after college? I know you asked me
, but I never asked you,” I said.

“Oh, well
, I’m not quite sure yet. General Business is just to get a degree. I’m not sure what I will do after. I like watching out for people, so maybe something in law enforcement.” He seemed to have his guard up again, even though he was answering freely. His eyes betrayed that he was hiding something.

“That’s cool. What does your d
ad do?” I figured if he didn’t want to talk about himself, he’d change the subject.

“Marik, that’s his name.
He’s in law enforcement himself, actually.” He was stiff at the mention of his father.

“Marik?”
I asked, not having heard that name before.

“It’s Polish. W
e’re from Poland originally,” he answered.

“
Well, I’m sure he’s proud, then, that you want to follow in his footsteps.” I smiled, trying to figure out what had made him tense in this conversation.

James’ features clouded for a moment. “He’s a difficult man. He’s
near perfect at his job and he thinks I’ll take a long time to get to where he is.”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll prove him wrong.” I tried smiling at him again. “So you guys aren’t close then?”

He looked over at me. “No, we aren’t. He’s tough and keeps himself secluded. He tends to only point out the flaws in people instead of encouraging them. The job is never done.”

“I’m sorry,” I said quietly. “But
, I’m sure you will prove him wrong,” I said again.

“Thanks
, Ariya.” He smiled briefly. “He’s actually the opposite of you. You seem to always see the good in things.” He put his hand on mine for a minute, but quickly pulled away. “At least, that’s how people describe you.”

“What was your mom like? Maybe your d
ad just misses her.” I wasn’t sure if bringing up his mom was crossing a line. He had mentioned that she had died when he was young. I don’t know what made me think it was okay to ask that. Darn it for feeling comfortable and wanting him to open up! I prayed hard that he wasn’t offended.

“She was warm and caring. She took care of us. She tried so hard. Since my father and I
were both protecting,” he paused, narrowed his eyes for a moment and continued, “protecting and serving the community, you know, with his law enforcement job, she tried extra hard to look out for us when we were home. It always felt like my dad was too preoccupied with the job to notice her. When she died though, he took it hard and I got away from living in their house for a little while.”

“You ran away?” I asked
, shocked. I was also surprised that he’d be out working with his dad at a young age. Maybe he had an internship or something.

“Yes, to my grandfather
’s. It wasn’t really running away. He lived less than a mile from us. I stayed there instead of my own home, and since then my dad and I have been distant.”

“I’
m so sorry. I didn’t mean to…” He interrupted me.

“Ariya, don’t apologize for asking questions. It’s in your nature to worry about people. I don’t mind.”

I smiled a small smile. He stood up and took the plates into the kitchen, then brought back a refilled glass of wine.

“Ready to go?” he asked
after I finished my drink. I nodded, enthusiastically.

James drove us to the stadi
um. It would only have been a fifteen-minute walk or so, but it had gotten so cold out, I didn’t mind the drive. He had a nice car, too. Hmmm, he lived on Shab Row, drove a nice car. I wondered again if he came from money. Not that it mattered, but he was so reserved and not at all snobby like I would have imagined someone wealthy to be.

We hopped ou
t of the car behind the stadium. James barely had to pick the lock to get us in. I felt like we were trespassing. And, we actually were, but at least we weren’t going to break anything. The door opened and we slowly snuck through the darkness of the boy’s locker room. James was pulling my hand, guiding me. I had no idea how he had no trouble seeing. It was pitch black.

“Wait here.” I jumped as his breath tickled my ear. Thankfully
, we were in the dark, so the blush on my face was easy to hide.

I heard him walk away and I
knew I was alone. It was quiet in the large vast blackness. I assumed we were out of the locker rooms, but I wasn’t sure. Lights came on and I saw I was right in front of the gate that led onto the ice. James appeared moments later, smiling and carrying a pair of skates for me.