Fire - Betrayal (27 page)

I
looked at Matt, and then my eyes shifted to Nic.

“Please
Cate, we really need your help!” pleaded Matt.

“Well, considering you did come to work on my house on Saturday, I will return your good deed by coming along as a team member – I must be crazy !”
I conceded.

Matt yelled out YES! while Nic simply smiled at
me and then lowered his head.

“Okay, give me details – where, what time, how do I dress for this crazy occasion, do I need a weapon to protect myself?”
I asked, looking seriously at the boys.

Nic and Matt looked at each other.

“I’ll pick you up Cate,“ suggested Nic, “7pm, and dress casually you know jeans, that kind of stuff.”

I
raised my eyebrows and nodded my head.

Then
Nic walked me to the car.  He inserted my address and phone number into his cell phone, and promised to pick me up at 7pm sharp!

Driving slowly in the traffic,
I recalled the events that led to me promising to become a team member with the boys tonight, and I laughed at myself.  Then I vowed to enjoy whatever it was that I was going to.

Complete Strangers

The doorbell rang at 7pm sharp
, as he promised. I quietly opened the door.  A tall dark haired guy was standing with his back facing the door. He was looking at the sight of the full moon in the night sky.

“Nic?”
I asked, unsure if it was Nic who was standing there.

Nic turned around to face
me. He was wearing a light jade collared t-shirt that hugged his physique, emphasizing his well developed arms, shoulders and chest muscles.  His blue jeans were torn in places, revealing shapely muscular legs.  He looked at me with his deep blue eyes through his fringe of very dark brown hair which was styled as the classic college cut.  His face was strong and masculine, yet gentle and peaceful.

“Madame, it is I!” Nic said smiling shyly at
me, “Are you ready to go out with a total stranger, who could realistically be leading you to a place of danger….Madame?”

“Monsieur, I am of course.  I come prepared with a dagger and, my own cooking – that is enough to kill off anyone!”
I replied.

“Then, we must go and see what awaits us Madame.”

Closing the front door behind me, Nic led me to the car, opening my door for me, before racing around to the driver’s side himself.

We
arrived at a large community hall, filled with young people everywhere.  I was trying to follow Nic, but kept getting separated from him.  Nearly every time that he turned around, I was in amongst the crowd searching for him.

And then I
nearly bumped into Nic as I fought my way through the crowd.

He
looked into my eyes. I saw him catch his breath.

“Hold my hand
Cate.  That way, we won’t get separated.  Besides, I don’t want anyone stealing you away from our team,” he said.

Nic gently reached for
my hand and held it in his.  He breathed in deeply as our hands touched.

I
felt nervous about touching another man again.  His hand was strong, yet gentle, and warm, and occasionally, our hands would part a little, connected only by our fingertips.  I felt guilty about enjoying the feel of my hand in his.

We
arrived at a table that seated eight.  We were the last to arrive.

“Team, this is
Cate.  Matt talked her into helping us out.  We only met her on a building site today. Yes, he asked a total stranger to help us out. Cate assures us that she is not dangerous!” Nic said.

The team members
let out a cheer and clapped, welcoming me to the team, many commenting on my bravery at coming to the competition, with unknown strangers.

Nic sat at the opposite end of the table to
me.  He looked relieved to be apart from me.  And to be honest it really disappointed me.

I
socialized comfortably with the team.  I was charming, polite and genuine in my interactions with them.  But, Nic sat very quietly at the other end of the table observing me. I didn’t know whether he liked me or not.

7:30
pm was kick off time for the Hey Hey It’s Saturday! Tournament.  And I was very glad that the night was starting.

The events were many and varied.  There were individual duels, team relays, comedy, challenges, trivial pursuit, and
Pictionary, just to name a few.

One of the many events that
Nic’s mates entered him into, was the Torture Statue Challenge.  It required that he stand, in the waltz position with a female person on the team.  The last couple standing would win points for their team.

I hoped that I would not be the one chosen for this particular challenge.  It was quite obvious that Nic did not like me for some reason.

In the end, us girls worked out who would be his partner by playing paper, scissors, rock.

And then noticeably to Nic’s disapproval, I
was the last one left. I saw him close his eyes, and talk himself.  I saw his brief but obvious negative reaction to being partnered with me, and I was very apologetic to him as we walked to the stage with about thirty other couples.

“I’m sorry Nic, I shouldn’t have come.  You would have been more comfortable if I weren’t here,”
I said remorsefully.

Nic turned to face
me, his eyes looking into mine.

“It’s not you
Cate, it’s me.  I feel…” He looked down, “I feel…. We can do this together and win a mass of points for our team.  Are you in Madame?” asked Nic trying to sound enthusiastic, and trying to cover his emotions at how I had made him feel.

I
smiled at him and nodded, wondering what he was trying to say, trying to figure him out.

“This is called the Waltz Statue Torture Challenge.  Aptly named because, once you are in the waltz pose, you must remain as if a statue.  Talking to each other is allowed, but our heads, arms and legs must not move.  Let’s find a comfortable position before the start of the challenge,” Nic explained.

Nic looked down at my hand and breathed out as he gently took it in his.  He placed his other hand gently around my waist and then moved it up to the centre of my back, breathing deeply.

I
placed my left hand onto Nic’s shoulder, slowly. I loved the feel of his muscles under his shirt.  I felt protected.  I looked up into his eyes. They were deep blue, and very beautiful.

“I’m ready.
We can do this Nic. Now let’s become statues of rock, and win this challenge!”  I said assertively, trying to help Nic feel at ease. I knew that he was struggling with this challenge, but did not know why.  Perhaps he had a girlfriend who could not come tonight, and that’s why I was here with him?

Nic dropped his arms and looked around at the competition, who
m were also planning their statue pose.

“
Cate, we’ve got some tough competition here,” Nic said.

“Don’t worry Nic, I’ve got my dagger, and they have already tried my cooking, they’ll start dropping like flies at any moment now,”
I said with a dry sense of humour.

He
chuckled to himself, and smiled shyly at me, then the countdown began. Nic and I once again adopted the waltz pose for the statue challenge, feeling a little more comfortable with each other this time.

We
stood silently for the first ten minutes or so, but then I spoke to Nic.  It was impossible not to talk to him.  He intrigued me.

“The girl who couldn’t make it tonight, is she your girlfriend Nic?”

“No, I don’t have a girlfriend at the moment, Cate,” Nic answered.

“How could you not? You would melt any woman’s heart Nic!”

He looked into my eyes.

“I’m very picky with my girlfriends
Cate. Not just anyone will do.  I am prepared to wait, however long that takes, until she comes into my life,” he explained.

“Ah, then you are a very good catch Monsieur!”
I smiled.

“And Nic, how long have you been in the building industry for?”
I wanted to fire as many questions as I could at him, to make him feel at ease with me.

“Oh gee, it’s not my real job.  I only volunteer my time to help out a friend, and it keeps my feet on the ground. I actually get paid to do the job that I love,” Nic conversed.

“And that would be????”I enquired.

“I’m a professional athlete, if you must know.”

“Mmm, a pro athlete…. darts maybe, no no snooker, I got it…ping pong!” I suggested to amuse him.

Nic smiled at
me.

“Yeah! All of those,” he added.

“Seriously Nic, what is your sport?” I asked.

“Guess! It will make the time go quicker.  You are doing a good job at distracting me,” insisted Nic.

“Okay, let’s see…..your face is way too pretty to be an ice hockey player or football player, yet, your muscles are well defined.  That narrows my choices down to something to do with cycling, running, swimming maybe?” I waffled on.

“Mmm
Cate, I’m impressed with your powers of observation and deduction.  I am primarily a cyclist, but I also compete in triathlons – the elite sportsman’s choice,” stated Nic.

“An individual sport Nic.  You have to be very strong emotionally and physically to compete, you only have yourself to rely on.  It takes a huge amount of discipline to succeed in your sport of choice,”
I pointed out.

“Yes,” agreed Nic, looking into
my eyes.  I was highly attracted to him, even though we had just met, and it scared me.

“So, aaah… where’s your beau this evening
Cate?” asked Nic.

“We split….about six months ago.  I called it. His job required too much of his time, and our relationship wasn’t working because of that,”
I explained, my heart aching a little, but it was good to speak openly about Ben, it would help in my healing.

“Six months ago? So why hasn’t somebody else attached themselves to you?” asked Nic seriously.

“I’m picky too.  I don’t just go out with anyone.  So Monsieur, you are very privileged to have my company tonight,” I joked.

“En effet
, Madame!” smiled Nic.

Nic forced his eyes away from
me, and looked around the waltz floor, not moving his head of course.

“
Cate, how many couples can you see from your direction?”

“Three, no make that two couples Nic, and you?”
I asked.

“None, “ replied Nic, “just a little while longer, and then we’ve blown away the competition.”

“Then do I get to dance with you Nic.  I would like that,” I commented.

“I will dance with you anytime
Cate, “ responded Nic.  I felt his heart skip a beat. Had I affected him in a major way?

He looked into
my eyes for an immeasurable time, and I looked into his.  Nic’s eye colour was deep blue and delicious.  He made me feel tingly, or was that just the lack of circulation from standing as still as a statue for so long?

“Nic, the lactic acid build up in my right arm is killing me,”
I commented.

“Relax your arm
Cate, and let me support you, I am more than capable of endurance, I can ignore muscle pain extremely well.  You are awesome for lasting to the end.  To be honest, I didn’t think you had it in you,” Nic said.

“I am much stronger than you think Nic, mentally and physically,“
I commented.

The loud sound of applause and wolf whistles broke out as Nic and
I remained as the final couple to be standing on the stage.

I
smiled warmly at Nic, and he held me close to his body and lifted my feet up of the floor and swung me around.  Then he gently placed me down and whispered thank-you.

He brought his lips close to
my ear.

“I’d kiss you, but we have only just met.”

I hugged Nic warmly.  He was a
really
nice guy.

The competition went well into the night, and finally Nic and Matt’s group were victorious. 
I had had a ball with the strangers that I had met at my new house. They made me feel fantastic.

Nic
again held my hand as we walked through the mass of people after the event.   I was very good at being separated from him, and I think that he felt very protective of me for some reason.

After the short drive to
my parent’s house, Nic walked me to the front door.

Before opening the front door of the house,
I turned to Nic.

“Nic, thank-you for talking me into going to the competition, it was the best night that I have had for quite a while….thank-you,”
I said sincerely from the bottom of my heart.