Beautiful Souls (12 page)

    
              Leo walked toward me, and I could see that he held something in his hand. As he drew more near, he began to raise what looked like an old, worn, wooden jewelry box. When he finally stood directly in front of me, his hand pushed the box in my direction.

    
              “What’s this?” I asked.

    
              “This is a gift. I want you to have it.” He began to explain, “Now, before you get too excited, it’s not new.”

    
              Leo raised his other hand, placed it on top of the box lid, then slid it off to reveal what lay waiting for me inside. I gasped at the incredible gift that was held in that old worn wooden box.

    
              “It’s amazing,” I gushed, as my eyes widened at the beauty of the aged, antique- brass key strung into a necklace with shimmering garnet beads lining the chain.

    
              I reached out my hand and picked up the delicate beads, lifting the necklace high into the radiant light of the moon which bounced off the glass beads at every angle. I let the chain slip over my knuckles as the beads shimmered again in the moonlight.

    
              “It’s more beautiful than I can say,” I spoke, as I continued to gaze at my amazing gift.

    
              “I want to explain a little,” Leo started. He took the necklace from my hand and motioned for me to turn around. He unlocked the clasp and lifted the necklace over my head. As he placed the chain along my collarbone, he continued, “This necklace has been passed down through my family for generations. I’m not sure exactly how long, but it’s been something like two hundred years.”

    
              “Oh my, Leo. No,” I began to protest, but he stopped me with a hush.

    
              “My mom knows how close the two of us are, and that we will always have a place in each others’ lives. So, since I don’t have a sister for this necklace to be passed on to, we all agreed that it’s rightful owner should be you.”

    
              I understood Leo’s reasoning, but it was such an uncomfortable feeling to be responsible for someone else's family heirloom. Leo must have been able to read the expression written all over my face, because he responded perfectly to what I was thinking.

    
              “You
are
family, Becca. This necklace belongs with you,” he assured me.

    
              I didn’t know how to respond.  I twirled the smooth glass beads around in my fingers while gratitude rose high in my chest, then overcome with elation I lunged into Leo’s chest, throwing my arms around his neck.

    
              I simply whispered, “Thank you.”

             
Leo didn’t push me away. He hugged me back for what seemed like minutes, then with a brush of his lips against my forehead, he gave me a light kiss. He beamed from ear to ear, obviously pleased by my reaction, and I couldn’t resist planting a tiny kiss on his beautiful smiling lips to reaffirm my gratitude.

    
              Leo led me toward the gymnasium door a few moments later with his arm wrapped around my waist. I savored this special moment between the two of us that I knew I’d remember for the rest of my life. Leo and I had already shared so much over the years, and there was no one else I’d rather make more memories with in the future. At this moment, my life felt very right.

    
              The volume of music increased as we walked closer, and the noise was almost paralyzing as he held the door open for me, and we both slipped inside.

    
              The two of us made our rounds, talking to all of our friends while I also showed off my beautiful new gift to all the girls. They gushed over it, telling me how amazing Leo was for thinking to bring a present. It was a consensus that he was the perfect guy, and at this moment I was inclined to agree.

    
              The next slow song came over the speakers, and I felt a familiar tug grab me from behind, spin me around, and lead me out to the dance floor. When Leo reached an opening in the middle of the gym floor, doused with sparkling party lights from above, he pulled me close which caused my lungs to skip another intake of air. His hand touched the small of my back, guiding me closer to him, and I was losing control all over again, just like the night of our first kiss.

    
              It took every ounce of self-control I could muster to not allow my knees to buckle beneath me and crumble to the floor. I tried so desperately to hide my obvious weakness. I gripped tighter across his firm muscular shoulders, and breathed in his intoxicating scent.

    
              That was a mistake. Inhaling, like I did, sent me into a whirl. I laid my head on his chest to stop the spinning and to give myself a moment to recover and become human again. What was I doing? I was acting like one of those silly, overly turned-on girls I had always rolled my eyes over. I told myself to
‘knock it off and get a grip, it’s only Leo’
. But that was just it. It’s Leo. I pulled his shoulders in even closer as
the thoughts raced through my mind.

    
              Leo rested his chin on the top of my head, and I could feel his breath against my hair. I never wanted to move from this exact spot. We continued to dance in this position for the rest of the song in what felt like our very own world.

    
              The entire night felt perfect as we socialized and danced away the rest of the evening. No part of me doubted that it should have always been like this, and I was certain it should continue to be just this way between us.

    
              Leo drove me home after the dance was over, and when we pulled to a stop in my driveway, he opened the door for me and helped me to the ground.

    
              “So, did you have fun tonight?” he asked, as I admired and fidgeted with the key around my neck.

    
              “Yeah, I did,” I answered happily, gazing into his lustrous eyes shining in the effulgent moonlight.

    
              “So, since you have a gift from me,” he paused, grinning in that way that completely made me swoon. “Now I want something from you.”   

    
              “Oh, really?” I giggled. “What would that be?” I didn’t completely agree with his logic, but I knew he wasn’t being serious so I played along.

    
             
There’s that smile again. Swoon.

    
              “I want you to kiss me like you did last night.”

    
              My face was completely flushed as I leaned in toward him, and he met me halfway.

    
              The kiss was just the same as it had been the night before. I thought I would lose all control over my muscles and not be able to remain standing. Somehow, I fought through my weakening knees to envelop him in my arms just in case I were to falter. Leo deepened the kiss, running his hands lower down my back until I thought it might be possible for me to pass out from pure pleasure. Every inch of skin touched with his ignited in a frenzy of heat and shivers. I never wanted the moment to end.

    
              Leo eventually broke the kiss first, and smiled shamelessly. We both stood, leaning against his truck, attempting to regain our normal breaths, but his expression made me laugh and then he broke out into laughter too. It was amazing to me that it took us so long to get to this point in our relationship which felt so right. All of my happiness was too much for words to possibly express.

    
              He held on to my hand as he walked me to my back door, and we lingered there for a minute while we said our goodbyes.

    
              I knew when I entered the kitchen that I wasn’t going to be able to hide my obvious giddiness from my mom, so I slipped upstairs while she was reading one of her books in the corner of the living room.

    
              “How was the dance?” she called to me when I was about halfway up the staircase.

    
              “Good,” I left it at that and took off, taking the steps two at a time. I needed to escape before I fell under her line of questioning.

    
              Once in my bedroom, I stood in front of my mirror and admired the antique key and necklace with its shimmering glass beads hanging across my chest. It was astonishing.

    
              I loosened the clasp from the back of my neck and placed the necklace in the drawer of my nightstand. I walked across the hall to the bathroom and hopped into the shower. Afterward, I snuggled into my flannel zebra-striped pajama bottoms, threw on a comfortable sweatshirt, and slipped on my fuzzy socks before I walked back across the hall to call it a night.

    
              I climbed into bed and reached over to the nightstand drawer. I wanted to study and admire the necklace just a little more before I went to sleep. I loved holding the smooth beads and feeling the weight of the key. The antique chain dazzled and put me at ease simply by holding it in my hands.

    
              As I held the key in the palm of my hand, admiring its uniqueness and beauty, I couldn’t help but wonder what it had once unlocked. That would probably always remain a mystery.

    
              There was most definitely something special about that old key that evoked mystery. I wondered where it had originated from, who could have possibly held it too over the past couple hundred years, and if whatever it had once unlocked continued to remain hidden.

    
              The mixture of aged metal and glass was breathtaking for sure. The crimson beads strung over an antique brass chain that had tarnished over the years, but was still beautiful nonetheless, only added to its character. The darkened brass key, that rested just above my bosom as I slipped the chain over my head, was rusted and worn but had a story to tell, I was sure.

    
              Who could know the multitude of other hands that have held its delicate design over the centuries past. This key was special, that was clear. It was most definitely real, not just a decorative charm, that much I could tell by the weight of the brass.

    
              I thought back to earlier this evening, when Leo had made me promise to never allow the necklace to leave my possession. He told me it would help protect me from whatever may come my way, and in return I was to protect it and keep it in my possession at all costs. 

    
              I pondered his words as I stroked the key and beads that hung around my neck, draping themselves across my collarbone.  I wondered what Leo could have meant when he said ‘
at all costs’
.

Chapter 5.

Animal Instincts

in-stinct

/’instiNGkt/

Noun

1. An innate, typically fixed pattern of behavior

    in animals in response to certain stimuli.

2. A natural or intuitive way of acting or thinking.

                   The next day was Saturday. Emmy and I went to watch a movie together, then we decided to follow up the show by shopping around the mall for a little while afterward, as I attentively listened to her synopsis of her previous evening.

    
              We decided to grab a bite to eat at the food court, only after our arms had been appropriately bogged down by the huge weight from multiple shopping bags. I fumbled with my bags to arrange them onto a single arm when my phone buzzed with a text from Leo.

    
              wanna meet at the woods?  need me some Becca time!

                 
I couldn’t hide my grin. I texted him back.

    
             
sounds good b there @ 7

    
              I shoved my phone back in my pocket when I realized Emmy had been getting a little annoyed at the intrusion of a boy on our girls’ day out.

    
              “So, what sounds good to eat,” I asked, trying to refocus the both of us back to our girl time.

    
              “Um, how ‘bout pizza?”

    
              “Sounds perfect.”

    
              We both ordered gigantic slices of pepperoni pizza, then we found ourselves a nearby table where we sat and waited patiently for our order.

    
              Emmy continued to talk about various subjects, for instance the movie we had just seen. She asked questions like
“did I think the sequel would be just as good as the first“,
but she always ended up answering all her own questions herself.