Aven's Dream (18 page)

“I’ll go with you under one condition.”

“And what might that be?” Will asked with a heart-melting smile.

“You tell me the truth, no omissions. Deal?”

My tone was serious—I wasn’t taking no for an answer. His smile disappeared.

“Yes,” he said, his tone laced with enough regret that I shivered, wondering what he had been keeping from me that could be so terrible.

“Now, can I at least have a hint about our destination? Like what I should wear? Poncho? Rain boots?”

“Swimsuit?” he asked, a smile emerging on his lips again.

I stared at him dumbly before shaking my head, still bewildered. Growing up near the beach, I had spent endless summers swimming in the turquoise waters of Laguna Beach. But I was pretty sure that Oregon’s coast didn’t offer the same swimming opportunities for someone used to seventy-degree water. Getting up, I walked to the dresser and sifted through the drawers until I found a modest one-piece jammed in a back corner.

“Happy now?” I asked.

“Quite,” Will said.

“Mind if I take a shower?”

“Please,” he nodded as he picked up my dishes.

Will whistled for Darcy, who trotted after him, and I watched my dog in shock before collecting some fresh clothes and hurrying to the bathroom. I brushed my teeth while the shower warmed, studying myself again in the mirror. My hair was crazy, but I looked happy—exultant even. My cheeks were flushed, and my eyes were bright. It was such a glaring difference from the day before. I contemplated this shift as I stepped into the shower. I should have been afraid of anyone who had the nerve to sneak into my house in the middle of the night—there was no getting around that. Instead, I felt inescapably drawn to Will despite a nagging sensation that I should stay away from him. How could one person evoke such conflicting emotions?

I showered, taking the time to shave, grateful that Will had at least told me in advance that I would be wearing a swimsuit. As soon as I was dressed, I rushed out of the bathroom with a jolt of adrenaline, expecting Will to have disappeared again. When I walked into my bedroom, I found my puffy coat, which had been in the downstairs closet, lying on my bed. Turning, I found Will watching me from the chair at my desk.

“Storm watching?” I asked, gesturing toward the coat.

“We
will
have a front row seat,” he smiled. “Are you ready?”

I swallowed, a moment’s hesitation sweeping over me.

“What about Darcy?”

My dog looked up from where he was at Will’s feet.

“He’s coming with us,” Will said easily.

“In
your
car?”

The thought of Darcy sliding around on the impeccable leather seats of Will’s car made me cringe.

“Stop worrying,” Will commanded, smiling crookedly at my fretting.

I picked up my coat and walked to my desk where Will sat. The open browser on the computer screen drew my attention to what looked like a newspaper’s site. I was about to read the headline when Will clicked the window shut and turned off the computer. He took my coat—and my bathing suit—and gestured for me to go ahead of him. When we reached the front door, Will stopped and held out my coat for me to slip on.

“Stay here,” Will said.

When he snapped his fingers, Darcy followed him outside into the howling wind, and moments later Will reemerged through the door without Darcy. Wrapping his arm around me as we stepped outside, Will sheltered me from the rain and howling wind. The gusts of wind were so strong that if he had let go, I probably would have fallen flat. I looked around for his car before noticing a black SUV idling at the curb. Will opened the passenger door and lifted me inside before appearing on the driver’s side a moment later.

“I prefer mine, but I thought this would be more suitable.”

I looked in back and saw Darcy secured in the vehicle’s back portion, beyond the back seat. The heater was already blasting hot air, and I gratefully slipped off my bulky jacket and glanced over at Will. He was like a different person than the one who had shown up to dinner on Friday.

“Wait a second. If you didn’t think I was going to wake up and find you in my room, then how did you know to bring this monstrous vehicle?”

“Maybe I was hoping you would find me,” Will said, making my stomach pitch with nerves.

“And maybe you’re lucky I don’t own a stun gun.”

He laughed.

“Okay, so if I hadn’t found you lurking in my room in the middle of the night, what would you be doing right now?” I asked, trying to restrain the smile that was threatening to break out of my smirk.

“I resent the term
lurking
,” Will smiled, casting me a sidelong glance. “And if you hadn’t woken, then I would most likely be outside watching you.”

His admission left me breathless, and I turned to look out the window as the town blurred through the sheets of rain that cascaded around us. I didn’t see a single other vehicle as we traveled—because Will was obviously the only person in a fifty-mile radius crazy enough to drive toward the coast during a hurricane.

Watching him as he drove, I noticed that Will seemed perfectly at ease. He truly was like a different person than the one who had fled my room Friday night. For a brief second, it occurred to me that I had slept all of Friday night, most of Saturday, and all of Saturday night. But it was flu season. When music started playing, I was startled to realize I recognized it. The last time I had heard it was on the radio when I had gone out to lunch with Sean—before Will had even shown up in school.
The Diamond Sea
. It was strange to hear it now, because I never heard it on the radio. Twice in such a short period of time was unlikely. But it was appropriate—because like the song said, I really did feel like I had jumped through the mirror into another world.

Before I could open my mouth to comment, I caught sight of the needle on the speedometer. My eyes flashed to Will. With one hand on the wheel, he barely seemed to notice the road as we headed west, and despite the ceaseless rain and wind, he didn’t seem the least bit concerned that we might go flying into the trees lining the highway.

Will looked over at me as I was white-knuckling the armrest and breathing shallowly. It was silly, and I knew it. I had been on a motorcycle with him—without the comfort of a seatbelt or airbags. On the other hand, how did I know he wasn’t one of those guys who thought he was indestructible? Feeling a subtle shift in the vehicle’s speed, I watched in relief as the needle of the speedometer fell a few notches.

“You’re perfectly safe—from a vehicular standpoint,” he said mildly.

“You don’t consider breaking a hundred miles an hour in the middle of a hurricane dangerous?” I asked, watching the twisty road blur by us.

Will’s eyes flicked to mine again, but he didn’t say anything. With absolutely no idea where we were, I realized he could have been driving out into the middle of nowhere to bury my body. But if that was the case, then he had wasted a lot of time and energy on me up until this point, I reasoned. Another haunting song I had bought after finding it in my dad’s old CD collection came on, and I started to seriously contemplate the whole stalker idea. Soon, the music, the unbroken green of the scenery, and the steady purr of the engine began to lull me to sleep. I was startled when Will spoke again.

“When is your birthday?”

I frowned.

“End of the school year,” I said. “Why?”

“It must be very lonely being as old as you are, trapped in a seventeen-year-old body,” he said before returning his attention to the road.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that you’re older than you appear.”

“Yeah? Well, sometimes I feel like a kindergartener. Half a year shy of legal adulthood, and I hadn’t even kissed a guy until—”

I stopped short and cringed, absolutely horrified by the implication of my statement. Will’s expression was pained as he turned toward me.

“The other night was the first time you had been kissed?”

The shock and regret in his tone made my cheeks burn, and suddenly jumping out of a speeding vehicle didn’t seem like such a bad idea. I bit my lip and didn’t say anything, choosing instead to stare out the window. The miles continued to pass in awkward silence. When I finally stole a cautious glance at Will, his expression remained preoccupied and distant. I wanted to go back in time and erase my confession.

Will took an exit leading north along the coast and continued driving until we had left behind all traces of humanity, which actually didn’t take long at the speed we were traveling. Darcy whined in back, and I realized he hadn’t taken a car trip since my dad and I had driven from California over the summer. I continued to watch the landscape flashing by—because it was better than looking at the guy who was obviously horrified at the thought of being the first to kiss me.

I flinched when the SUV banked abruptly and closed my eyes as we swerved straight for the trees lining the road. By the time I opened my eyes again, I was still alive and we were on a narrow, roughly paved road. Shrouded on either side by towering evergreens, the lane was virtually invisible from the road. There were no structures nearby, only more trees. I wondered briefly if Will was lost, but it seemed unlikely since anyone passing by was almost assured to miss the turnoff we had just taken. Will seemed accustomed to the terrain as he drove—like he had been this way hundreds of times.

We wound through increasingly dense forest before breaking into a clearing. I inhaled when I saw a remarkable house perched on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. At least I assumed it was a house. The structure was massive, the exterior made up almost entirely of glass, which reflected the silver of the cloudy skies above. As we approached, I studied the architecture in awe. The exterior of the building looked like it had been constructed out of the giant steel containers like the ones found in shipping yards. The rest of the home was composed of floor-to-ceiling windows.

Will parked in front of the building and had opened my door before I’d had time to stop gaping in awe. He offered his hand, and when I got out, I saw he had already released Darcy. My dog, excited to be in new surroundings, bounded toward the house. From where I stood, I could see double staircases beyond the glass. The house looked like it was divided into two separate
wings
. The rain pelted me as I continued to stare, and when I didn’t move, Will finally took my hand and propelled me forward. Looking down, I saw he held a cooler in his other hand.

Frowning, I was about to ask him what the cooler was for when he placed his hand on a panel and then leaned forward into what looked kind of like a bank ATM. Turning, I watched as the glass noiselessly slid open. As soon as we stepped inside, the glass doors slid closed behind us. We passed a long black entryway table, and I stopped and watched as Will walked over to what looked like a high-tech security system, complete with a dozen closed-circuit TV monitors.

Soft overhead lights came on as water began flowing through a recessed marble aqueduct that bisected the two sides of the house. An imposing fireplace to our right roared to life, and I saw an opulent white sofa beckoning in front of it.

Looking around, I realized that the room we were in, which seemed to make up most of the downstairs, was large enough to park our entire house in Winters. The floors were a glossy concrete, but there was a large rug in front of the fireplace that looked comfortable enough to sleep on. I stopped gawking long enough to look around and find Will, who was watching me. His expression reminded me of the first night in the park—like he was waiting to see what I would do.

“This is unbelievable,” I gasped as I tried to wrap my mind around what I was seeing.

Will smiled.

“I’m glad you approve.”

I searched his face for evidence of mocking, but there wasn’t a trace of sarcasm in his voice. He seemed genuinely pleased by my astonishment.

“Does this house
belong
to you?” I asked incredulously.

He nodded, his eyes still on me.

“It’s absolutely amazing,” I said, feeling words fail me as I looked around.

There must have been a better description of this house. Daunting. Incredible. Gorgeous. The structure was actually very much like Will himself—indescribable. Right now, Will looked eager, like he wanted to tell me something. Suddenly he flashed a brilliant smile, and I felt dazed as I stared up at him.

“I haven’t shown you the best part,” he said.

He turned and began walking, looking back and gesturing that I should follow him. My head started to clear as I followed him across the expansive downstairs. The temperature of the house was already beginning to warm despite the chilly expanse of glass and concrete floor. Along a far wall, there was an intimidating bookcase lined with an unfathomable collection of books, many of them ancient-looking. It was a peculiar effect in such a modern setting. Past the bookcase, there was another sprawling sofa.

As we approached what I thought must have been the edge of the house, Will paused briefly at another set of glass doors. As they slid open, I stared out at the huge swimming pool, the water’s surface shimmering like glass. The pool’s charcoal-colored bottom seemed infinite. It was beautiful—the opposite of the community pool where I had taken swimming lessons as a little kid.