Element, Part 1 (11 page)

He lifted her chin and stared into her eyes. “You are so
beautiful, Natalie.” His hand glided down her hair to her arm sending chills
all over her body.

She gazed into his bloodshot red eyes. “Even with all this
dirt on me?”

Ryan nodded. “Yes, beautiful. Dirt or no dirt, you’re
gorgeous to me no matter what.”

Either he was crazy for thinking she looked good sporting
the UT burnt orange dirt all over her body or somehow her beauty blinded him.
Regardless, he knew the right words to speak. “Oh Ryan, you are a sweetheart.”

He picked up her hand from his chest and brushed his lips
across the top of it. She closed her eyes, savoring the touch of his dry lips
against her scorched skin. She wanted to feel his lips against hers. Glide her
body against his bare skin. The demand of his touch focused her mind on one
mission and one mission only, she wanted him. Then she remembered they both
agreed to take it slow and get to know one another. What was wrong with her? She
didn’t want to have sex with him. She barely knew him and it went against all
her rules. Why couldn’t she control her emotions? She convinced herself that it
had to be the near death experience driving them closer together.

Ryan tightened his arm around her waist and pressed his body
firmly against hers. He released her hand and then cupped her cheek. The warmth
of his breath spread across her face, inviting her lips to meet his. She moved in
toward him, moistening her lips with her tongue. Her heart drummed in her ear
and her lips quivered waiting to surrender to his call.

A loud thud sounded, calling their attention away from one
another. The barn door swung open, allowing a ray of light to shine directly
upon them. They pulled away, and used their hands to shield their sensitive
eyes from the blinding light.

“Thank God, y’all are safe. That was one heck of a storm.”
Lance walked in rambling on and on. They stood looking at him, but neither one spoke
a word.

His eyes darted back and forth between them and he cleared
his throat. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to… ummm.”

“Yeah, we didn’t think we would make it.” Ryan drew Natalie
close to him. “But we are safe.”

She looked up at Ryan, “Yes, I’m safe now, safe in your arms.”

Chapter 5:  Unexplainable Changes

“You’re glowing. Don’t deny it. You spent the weekend with
Ryan, didn’t you?” Lise glanced up from her text book, eyeing Natalie.

Natalie fumbled to unpack her clothes from her bags, avoiding
her friend’s gaze. “What?”

“You can’t play dumb with me. I see it written all over your
face.” Lise motioned with her finger and then went back to reading her book.

Natalie finally looked up. She pressed her lips together,
trying to conceal her happiness. It was no use. Her lips parted into a wide
smile.  “Not the entire weekend, only Saturday.”

“I knew it.” Lise shut her textbook and tossed it to the
side. “Why didn’t you text me back?” She sprang up off her bed and rushed to
Natalie’s side.

“Sorry, I got side tracked.” Natalie shrugged and then
walked over to the bathroom to put up her toiletries.

Lise followed her around the room. “Tell me all about it?
Did you sleep with him?”

“What? No… of course not.” Natalie continued to put her
things away, still avoiding any direct face contact with Lise.

“Oh man.” Lise pouted and sat down on her bed. “Nat, please
tell me you at least made out.”

Natalie walked out of the bathroom. “Ummm, no Lise we
didn’t.”

“Then why do you keep smiling?” Lise pounded her hands into
the mattress.

Natalie turned around, trying to hide her happiness. Nonchalantly,
like she didn’t know her friend was dying for information, she dumped a bag of
clean clothes on the bed and began to fold them. She knew Lise would hound her
until she told her every last detail.

“Nat, tell me.”

Natalie tossed the pair of socks in her hands to the side
and fell back on the pile of clothes.  “Because I had another near death
experience and it was wonderful.” She crossed her hands over her heart and closed
her eyes. Thoughts of Ryan flooded her mind. Even though the dust storm scared
her to death, she didn’t regret the time they spent together. She could still smell
him, taste him, and feel him.

“What? You had…I’m confused. You’re happy because you almost
died, again?”

Natalie opened her eyes and focused in on what Lise said.
She sat up. “No. I mean, yes. I did have another near death experience but it
ended quite well.”

Lise smiled.  “I guess so, because you’re still alive and
smiling like he rocked your world.”

She giggled. “Let me explain. We went horseback riding on
his ranch—”

“He invited you over to his house? His parent’s place?”

Natalie narrowed her eyes at Lise, warning her to stop.
“Yes. Can I finish?”

“Sorry.” Lise chewed on her lower lip.

“What? Go ahead, Lise.” Natalie got up and then scooted over
the pile of clothes, clearing a spot on the bed to sit down.

“He must really like you. If a guy invites you over to meet
his parents—”

“Wait. I didn’t say that. His parents weren’t home. I did
meet his brother and his brother’s family.”

“Still. Okay, you met half of his family… which means he
must really like you.” Lise’s voice escalated. She did a happy dance staying
seated and for a moment she acted like her world had been rocked.

Natalie shook her head, unable to understand how everything
excited Lise. “I guess if you say so. Anyhow, we went riding and there was a
horrible dust storm. Violent.”

“OMG! Seriously?”

Natalie put her finger to her lips, instructing Lise to stay
quiet and let her finish. Lise pretended to zip her mouth close.

“Yes, a horrible storm. I honestly thought that I might die.
She shivered, recalling how the thick clouds of dust surrounded her and blinded
her sight. We got separated. Eventually we both found our way back to a barn.”

Lise smiled. “Let me guess. I know what happened next.” She
grabbed a small bed pillow and held it tightly to her chest.

“Not what you think. It was intense. He held me, caressed
me, and told me I was beautiful. I got to bury my face against his bare
muscular chest. Boy, does he have muscles. Whoa.” Natalie fanned herself. “Let
me think what else.”

Lise practically cried over the story. “You two kissed and
it was wonderful.”

Natalie sighed. “Actually, no. We didn’t.”

“No? You didn’t kiss?” Her smile quickly turned into a
frown.

“No. We were about to when his brother threw open the barn
doors.”

“Oh that sucks. Why didn’t you tell him to take a hike?”

“Lise, his brother needed to know if we were safe.”

“Oh well.” She grabbed her cell phone and started messing
with it. “Why didn’t you guys hang out the rest of the weekend?” 

  “The storm caused a lot of damage to the ranch. Since his
parents were out of town, he and his brother had to fix fences and tend to
injured animals. They even lost a baby calf.”

“Gosh.” Lise muttered, not paying much attention to what she
said.

“Did you hear me? An animal died, Lise.” Natalie spoke
slowly, emphasizing each word.

Lise looked up from her cell phone. “Oh wow, that is bad. I
wonder why you keep getting caught up in these weird storms.”

“I don’t know. It is ironic.” Natalie reached over to her
pile of laundry and grabbed a shirt. She took her time, folding it nice and
neat. “We chatted and texted the rest of the weekend. He was supposed to follow
me back today but decided to stay home until Friday.”

“I’m glad things are turning out well for you two.”

Natalie sighed. “I can only hope. So, did you get to hang
out with Sal?”

“Yeah, pretty much, until he left to go home on Thursday
with Ryan. We got to know each other really well.”

“Lise.” Natalie turned around and narrowed her eyes at her.

“No, I told you, he’s not like that. I mean, we did make
out, but all our clothes stayed on.” She rolled her eyes and then drifted back
to her phone.

“Good for you! Getting to know each other is important.”

Lise shrugged her shoulders. “Yeah, I guess. I can’t wait
for him to come back.”

“And I can’t wait for Ryan to come back either.”

***

“Thanks for the movie and dinner. I’ve wanted to come here,
just haven’t made the time.” Natalie looked at Ryan and let out an alluring smile.

“You’re welcome. So what did ya think about the movie?” He
dug his hands in his short pockets and bit down on his bottom lip. He felt a
little apprehensive about the conversation he needed to have with her.

“I liked it. However, I didn’t expect for it to end that
way.”

“Yeah, me either.” He opened the truck door for her.  When he
walked around to the driver’s side, thousands of thoughts attacked his mind. He
balled up his hands into a fist and clenched his teeth. His brother’s voice
rang loudly in his head,
“Don’t be scared, just tell ’er the truth. If she
doesn’t understand then she’s not the girl for ya.”

He took a deep breath, got in his truck and started it. He
smiled at her. She had to be the most beautiful girl ever. Her flawless skin shimmered
like satin and she wore the right amount of make-up that gave her that sexy
sultry look. Her lips glistened with a light shade of gloss, which made them
irresistible. He had to force himself to look away; otherwise he knew he would
steal a kiss from her.

“It’s only 7:30 p.m.  Do you want me to take you back to the
dorm or can I show you one of my favorite places?” He held his breath waiting
for her response.

She pressed her lips together, not saying a word. After a
few seconds, she turned to him and said, “Take me to your favorite place.”

He exhaled. “All right… I will.” He reached up and opened
the sunroof to his black Chevrolet Avalanche and drove off. He scanned through
the radio searching for the right tune.

“Can you leave it there?” Natalie reached for the radio.

“You like this song?” Ryan shot a quick look at her.

“Yeah, I do.”

“Sweet.” He had no idea that she even liked country music.
They had more in common than he thought.

“What else do you listen to?” She asked.

“Oh, everything I guess. Dance music, some rock, Latin
ballads which are my mom’s favorite, and some Christian music. I play the
guitar at our church whenever I’m home. I guess you can say I’ve learned to
appreciate all types of music.”

 “That’s cool. I didn’t know you played the guitar.” The
wind blew through Natalie’s hair and she struggled to keep it out of her face.
He couldn’t help but notice how sexy she looked with windblown hair.

“Yeah, I’ve been playing since I was ten. Do you want me to
close the sunroof?” He held his hand up to the button.

“No, that’s okay. The wind feels great. We haven’t had a
nice breeze like this in a while.”

“You got that right. It’s been pretty hot and muggy.”

A strong gust of wind wisped through the sunroof and into
her hair, filling the truck with a fruity floral smell. He inhaled, taking in her
sweet scent. It gave him a shiver. He continued watching her out of the corner
of his eye as she pulled her hair to the side. It took everything for him not
to reach over and stroke her hair. He longed to run his fingers through her
silky dark brown tresses. 

He shook his head, trying to clear his mind. “What about
you? What else do you listen to?”

“Dance music too, anything top 40, and country.  I admit I
don’t ever listen to Christian music, not that anything is wrong with it. I do
sing along when I go to church.”

“That’s okay. At least we like a lot of the same type of
music.” Ryan cleared his throat. “So do you know how to two-step? I know you
can salsa dance.”

“Kind of. Okay, don’t make fun of me but my senior year I
took a dance class at school. I guess because everyone was into that show,
what’s it called…Dancing With The Stars, they decided to offer it. Anyhow, I
learned several types of dances. I’m not that good. You’ve seen firsthand.”

He let out a laugh. “Seriously? I wish they would’ve had
that class my senior year. I’ve always wanted to take ballroom dancing. In
fact, I thought about signing up for it here. Hey, why don’t we take it
together, in the fall?”

Natalie’s head turned quickly in his direction. “Seriously?”

“Yeah, c’mon it’ll be fun.”

“I’ll think about it.” She stared out through the window.

“Do you always have to think about everything?” He made his
voice light, trying to not sound rude.

Her head spun around. “Yeah, I do. Is that a problem?” He
noticed the slight elevation in her voice.

“No. Not all. Just asking.”

Damn!
He didn’t mean to offend her and hoped he
didn’t make her mad. He felt more comfortable around her but knew he needed to
be careful on how he asked questions. He tended to blurt things out without
thinking about them first. The last thing he wanted to do was to upset her. For
some reason, being around her caused his mind to go a little haywire.

Casually, he reached over and placed his hand on top of
hers. He patted it lightly. “That’s why I like you. You’re different from me.”
He let his hand remain on top of hers while keeping his eyes on the road. He
loved the softness of her skin against his rough hands.

“Really? What else do you like about me?” Her voice sounded
alluring rather than inquisitive.

He tapped his finger against the steering wheel. His face
felt hot and his mind raced with a million thoughts.  “Ummm…let’s see… you’re
beautiful, smart, kind, thoughtful, and very analytical.” He glanced over at
her, praying he said the right thing.

She leaned her head against her shoulders, acting shy.
“Thanks. So you like that I’m a nerdy type of girl?”