Eternal Starling (Emblem of Eternity Trilogy) (11 page)

Emil noticed my expression. “What are you thinking about?” he asked, breaking me from my thoughts.

“Nothing,” I lied.

He could tell. “You can be honest with me. What is it?”

How was I supposed to say this? I had to know though, even if this was only a rebound relationship, I had to have this question answered. “Well, I was . . . wondering.” His eyes searched my face waiting for a question. “Why me?” I asked. “Of all the girls you could have kissed, why did you choose me?”

He laughed and grinned. “You’ll think I’m crazy,” he said.

Clearly, he didn’t know I’d recently dated a lunatic. “Try me.”

He took a deep breath. “When I saw you standing in the College Center today, I felt . . . pulled to you.” He looked at me to see how I was handling his idea of metaphysics. “Once our eyes met, I had to be near you. Everyone else in the building disappeared. All I saw was you.”

I reminded myself to breathe.

He pulled into my driveway, parking the car. He turned toward me, looking deep into my eyes again and I couldn’t move. “I wanted to kiss you more than I’ve wanted anything in a very long time.” He smiled slowly. “I wasn’t disappointed.”

I was still for a moment as Emil cut the engine. “I felt something similar for you. I saw you and couldn’t look away.”

He reached over and wrapped his fingers through mine. “You have no idea how happy I am to hear that,” he admitted.

I squeezed our intertwined hands and smiled. “So, we’re dating.”

He nodded. “We should probably get to know each other a little better.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “That would be good.”

“Do you like playing pool?” he asked.

I wrinkled my nose. “I like it. I’m not very good at it,” I confessed, “but I enjoy playing.”

“By the time we’re done, you’ll be an expert,” he said. “We can play whenever we have a break between classes.”

I didn’t think about how much I was going to embarrass myself. The thought of spending more time with him and watching him lean over the pool table was too hard to pass up. “That sounds good.”

He grinned, his teeth bright white in the darkness. We got out of the car and Emil walked me to my front porch.

“Thanks for spending the day with me,” I said. “I needed that.”

He held my gaze as he brushed a piece of hair blowing in the breeze away from my face. “I’m so glad I found you, Evie.” He leaned down, illuminated in the porch light, and sweetly kissed me. This kiss didn’t have the same edge that had been there earlier today, it was gentle, but still exciting, and the feeling of warmth on my back flared. “It’s late, I should go,” he said, though his hand lingering on my cheek made it clear he didn’t want to leave.

I nodded, taking my keys from my purse. He waited for me to open the door and smiled as he walked away. I watched Emil’s bright white headlights as he pulled out of the driveway. When he was gone, I locked the door, leaning my back against it. Looking up at the ceiling, I smiled, wondering what I had gotten myself into, and excited about what was ahead.

Chapter 8

The next morning, I drove to school thinking about the previous day and night with Emil. I pulled into the parking lot and grabbed my bag. I was locking my car when I heard a cat-call whistle from across the parking lot. I turned at the sound and saw Emil approaching me. He walked up and put his arms around my waist. “Hey sexy, I missed you.”

I smiled and couldn’t stop thinking that I could definitely get used to this. “Hey yourself,” I said.

He turned toward my car, his gaze appreciative. “N-i-i-i-ce,” he said. “Is that a ‘66 GT Mustang?”

I raised my eyebrows, he knew his classic cars. “Yeah, I restored it.” I said, forgetting that he hadn’t seen my car—since I just met him yesterday.

He was impressed. “You’ll have to give me a ride in it,” he said. “How do you still have a license? I bet this car is a cop magnet.”

“I had to get a radar detector,” I grinned. “My dad was so proud of my first ticket, he framed it.”

Emil laughed. “I think I’d like your dad.” We started walking.

“When do your classes start?” I asked.

“At ten. How about you?”

“Ten,” I answered.

“When do you finish today?”

“I have a break for lunch at one. I’m done at three.”

“I finish at two-thirty,” he said. “Do you want to meet me after your three o’clock class and get started on those pool lessons?”

I grinned, remembering how he’d looked playing yesterday. “Absolutely.”

Emil walked me to the building I had class in, then left for his own class. It was difficult to concentrate on school stuff when I wanted to be with Emil, but finally my classes were finished. I walked into the College Center and Emil jumped off the couch, his lips curving seductively when he saw me. He grabbed two pool cues, handing me one. I put my backpack down and followed his lead, covering the end of the cue in blue chalk.

“So, do you know the rules?” he asked.

I leaned against the table. “Yeah. You use the stick to hit the white ball, and hope the white ball hits another ball into a hole. But you don’t want the white ball to go in the holes, and the black ball needs to stay out of all the holes until the end of the game.”

He laughed. “At least you have the basics. Why don’t you take the solid balls for this game and I’ll take the stripes. You only want to aim for the solids and get them in the pockets—or holes—as you call them.” I seemed to be amusing him.

“Okay,” I said. Aside from goofing off at the arcade when I was growing up, I didn’t have much pool playing experience. I took the cue, holding it between my fingers like a cigarette. I lined the cue up with the white ball using my left hand to guide it and my right hand to move it back and forth like I’d seen people do on TV. My attempt at trying to break the triangle of balls was a disaster. Instead of hitting the ball in the middle like I planned, I hit the table hard, scratching the green cloth. The cue went under the white ball, sending it sailing into the air, past the carpet the pool table sat on, and onto the tile floor, with a loud thumping noise.

I saw Emil chuckle as everyone on the first floor of the building turned to see the cause of the commotion. Emil walked over and picked up the stray ball. “Let’s try again,” he said, putting the white ball back on the table. “This time, with a little less aggression.” The corners of his mouth were still quirked into a smile.

I glared at him, embarrassed and annoyed. I was only playing this stupid game to be closer to him; he didn’t have to mock me. He sensed I wasn’t having fun and gave me some tips for how to aim my cue. My second attempt was much more successful and I was actually able to break the balls, though they didn’t roll far.

It was Emil’s turn and I could tell he was holding back so I wouldn’t feel bad. We talked while we played. He asked about my family, friends, and life in Montana. The conversation seemed eerily familiar—like the one I’d had with Alex early in the summer.

As we played, I couldn’t help but notice the light glint off the ring he was wearing. The metal had been braided together, the black and silver interwoven. I wondered about it and decided to ask. “I like your ring, what kind of metal is it?”

He studied the table, deciding on his next shot. “It’s mostly white gold.”

I nodded. “The design is cool. I’ve never seen one like it.”

“It’s different,” he agreed, leaning down.

I could get an accused murderer to give me more detail than Emil. “Most guys don’t wear rings,” I led, trying to get him to tell me why he had it on. He lined up his cue and took a shot instead. When he was finished I asked, “Does it have some special significance?”

He stood, watching me steadily. “It’s symbolic. I never take it off.”

“Huh.” I braced my pool cue against the floor and leaned against it. “Symbolic of what?”

The corners of his mouth twitched in amusement. “Of my past and my family.”

Finally! Some personal information. “Where did you grow up?” I asked.

He hit a striped orange ball into a pocket. “I’ve lived all over the place,” he answered, lining up his next shot.

“Were your parents in the military or something?”

He took his shot, hit it into the pocket, and looked up at me. “No, the family business took us all over the world.”

Emil wasn’t giving me much to work with, but I forged ahead anyway. Growing up in a small town had made me a pro at being nosy. “Where does your family live now?”

“You like to ask questions,” he observed.

“I thought the point of playing pool was to get to know each other. I’m sure your family will see our kiss on YouTube. I’d like to know something about them too. Plus, I answered all
your
questions.”

He leaned over the table again and hit another striped ball, but the ball missed the pocket by a couple of inches. Emil might not have wanted to answer my questions, but he didn’t seem uncomfortable with them either. One thing I was finding out about Emil was that he rarely lost control of his emotions. He stood and watched me as he held his cue. “My mom had a difficult labor and died when I was born,” he said. “My dad died when I was eighteen. I have one brother, but he lives out of the country.”

Now I felt like a jerk for asking. “I’m so sorry,” I said.

“Don’t be. It happened a long time ago.”

“Eighteen isn’t that long ago,” I said. “You’re only twenty-one right?”

Emil drew his lips back like he’d been caught saying something he shouldn’t. “It was a long time for me. Plus, my dad and I didn’t get along well. I didn’t have much of a connection to him, so his death wasn’t hard for me to deal with.”

“Oh,” I said, not knowing what else to say.

Emil pointed to a purple ball on the table. “This ball is right next to the middle pocket. If you hit it a little off-center, the ball will roll in.”

I hit the ball like he told me to and it rolled slowly into the hole. He pointed out another shot for me to take. I wouldn’t ever be an ESPN billiards champion, but with Emil’s help, I might not give unsuspecting students concussions with the cue ball. We talked and flirted while we played for a couple of hours. After we were done, he walked me to my car.

“Same time tomorrow?” he asked.

I mentally checked my schedule. “I’ll be done at four,” I said.

“I’ll meet you at the pool table.” He stepped back so I could open the car door.

I got in and rolled the window down. Emil stared at me, a look of desire on his face. I attributed his expression to appreciation for my car. He whistled. “Damn, Evie.” His eyes seemed to darken. “A hot girl in a hot car. You don’t know what you’re doing to me.”

My mouth slid into a girlish smile. I looked down, shifting the car into reverse and trying to hide the blush flaring in my cheeks. Truthfully though, I was giddy he thought I was attractive.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said.

I waved and drove off to get some homework done. If Emil and I were going to spend a lot of time together, I needed to make sure my schoolwork didn’t fall behind. When I got home, Zach was watching TV in the living room and drinking a Pepsi.

“Hey!” I said. “Where’s Jasmine?”

“Changing her clothes for the tenth time. Who knew going to a movie required so many costume changes.”

I laughed. “You’ve been with her for over a year now, you should be used to it.”

“The longer we’re together, the less it makes sense.”

I put my bag down on the table and started taking my books out. After a minute, Zach put the TV on mute and turned around. “How are your classes going?”

I shrugged. “Good. I need to get some homework done.”

Zach seemed pensive. I could tell he wanted to say something but was holding back.

“What’s on your mind?” I asked.

His eyebrows knit together like he was trying to figure out how to phrase what he wanted to say. Finally, with a look of worry, he said, “Alex seemed like a nice guy until he hurt you. Emil
seems
nice too, but who knows. Be careful, Evie.”

I pulled my eyebrows together, confused. Zach had never given me relationship advice before. “I know Emil is forward, but it’s one of the reasons I like him,” I said.

I thought Zach would at least smile, but he didn’t. “Evie, I know you were hurt and this feels like a good idea right now. I know you think this is a rebound relationship but . . .” he inhaled deeply. “I don’t want you to get hurt again.”

He was acting like some sort of big brother. I understood his concern, but wasn’t about to stop dating Emil because of it. I gave him a sweet smile. “I know you’re looking out for me, Zach. I won’t get in over my head, I promise.”

Jasmine came bounding down the stairs at that same moment. “Hey, Evie!” She turned to Zach. “How does this look?”

“Like the outfit you put on the first time you changed,” he replied.

She looked at him like he was the most unobservant person in the world. “You’re such a boy. This time the necklace is different and the shoes are red.”

He snorted. “How could I have missed that?”

“We’re going to be late,” Jasmine announced. “Do you want to come with us, Evie?”

I motioned to my books on the table. “I have a lot of homework to do. Have fun though.”

“Okay, see ya later.” Jasmine grabbed her purse and bounded out the door.

Zach started to pull the door shut. “Don’t forget what I told you, Evie.” He closed the door and for the next fifteen minutes, all I could do was think about Zach’s warning.

Over the next two days, my schedule with Emil remained consistent. As long as neither of us had class or work, we were at the pool table and my billiard skills were gradually getting better.

Thursday afternoon, Emil met me outside my class and he casually grabbed my hand as we walked to the College Center. We got to the pool table for our afternoon game, but the table was already being used.

“There are other pool tables in the dorms,” I said. “We could sneak in and borrow one of those.”

He thought for a moment. “I have a better idea.” He led the way, pulling me to the cafeteria. Unlike most schools, Western State’s food court was pretty diverse in the food it offered. Emil grabbed some plastic silverware, drinks, sandwiches, and apples. “Is there anything in particular you want?” he asked.

“Um, no, not really,” I answered. “What are we doing?”

He just grinned.

“Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise,” he said, still acting sneaky.

“I’m not a big fan of surprises,” I told him, wincing as I remembered Alex’s surprise earlier this summer that had been the catalyst for me having serious feelings for him. Really, I hate surprises in general. I like knowing what’s going on, it makes me feel more in control of things.

My expression wasn’t lost on Emil, but he attributed it to my comment about surprises. He grinned again. “I
like
surprising people, so get used to it.” He paid for the food. “Come on,” he said, holding the bag in one hand and slipping his fingers through mine with the other.

We walked across campus, making a familiar turn toward the botanical gardens. I followed Emil to a secluded grassy area surrounded by climbing roses and trees with leaves so thick they almost formed a canopy over our heads. The creek splashed over rocks a few feet away and the air smelled like honeysuckle and freshly turned soil. I sat next to Emil while he took food out of the bag.