True Fate (13 page)

Taking her left hand he placed his over the blue
stone and looked deeply into her eyes. Her wrist got so hot she was surprised
it didn't burn but she couldn't look away from those seas of pale blue now
staring at her. "I am bound to you on earth as in dream and I will protect
you always.” he quickly whispered brushing her chin with his fingertip.

Nia blushed and he smiled that brilliant smile
lighting up his features and reminding her why she had nearly kissed him
before, showing off the crinkling scar over his cheek. The urge to kiss him was
like a gravitational pull that she couldn't resist. All it took was focusing
her eyes on what or rather whom was in the background as Aaron nodded while
Darragh spoke to him.

Eric spoke a bit louder than before, "I will
not be far from you at any given moment. If you place your hand over that stone
and whisper what you need from me, I will hear you every time." He gave
her tingling hand a squeeze, "Be safe Nia. This will help you to block any
thoughts you don't want to share.” he said handing her a necklace with an amber
stone in it.

She smiled full on, clearly happy about that.

"You will have to specifically direct a
thought at Aaron to get it to him when you have this on." He backed away
not losing eye contact.

Nia smiled a big smile, "Thank you Eric,” he
just nodded.

Glancing at her and Eric, Avery was clearly
trying to figure out what was going on.

Coming to Nia's side with the dagger firmly
secured to his waist Aaron swung his arms up to put his hoodie on while Nia
stared marveling at his tattooed flexing arms and the way his shirt moved over
his chest. He zipped it partway up over his black t-shirt and stood close
enough for Nia to feel a spark at his proximity.

Avery came to talk to them both. "I will be
in touch. Oh and act casual if I approach you on the street. We are supposed to
be friends. And Dar... I mean Sean too." she chuckled.

Nia and Aaron voiced an echoed, "Okay."

"I will send you any details you will need
on the communicator." Darragh said, all business.

"It's called a cell phone Sean...” Avery
teased him glancing at Eric again.

"Let's go,” Nia said as she turned smiling
at Aaron.

"Okay.", he said giving the group a
final wave.

They walked quietly to the car and got their
stuff out of the trunk. They got in her car and left.

Nia started driving towards town.

"Where to now?” Aaron asked.

"Umm… I don't know really, what time is
it?" Nia asked looking at the dash and the time read, six thirty p.m.

"Wanna see something awesome?” she asked and
he smiled then.

"Of course.” Aaron sighed and grabbed her
free hand "Let's enjoy the rest of what may be the last normal day we
have. What do you think?"

Nia thought for a moment. Things were about to
drastically change, they already had really. So they may as well enjoy this
less chaotic time. "Might as well!” she agreed enthusiastically.

Promising herself to enjoy the rest of their day
or date or whatever this was turning out to be while they still could Nia
smiled and decided to shake off all of her shock and confusion for the time
being.

Glad to have her close, he couldn't believe how
this was turning out, all drama aside. Their feelings were mutual, he thought
as he laid his head back on the seat and closed his eyes as Nia put the windows
down. The sun was still shining right before twilight. Aaron sighed content and
happy for now.

Meanwhile Darragh and Eric were loading the van
as Avery was packing up the last case. She bit her lip as everything came
flooding back just seeing him here in the flesh. How she'd wanted to tell Eric
some things before he left for good and now she had her chance but she'd find
out why he was here first and what his attachment to Nia was.

If Aaron was her Guardian perhaps Eric was her
Protector.
'Not that his name was even Eric.'
she thought smirking.

"This one's ready", she said tapping the
case she'd just latched. Eric came over to get it himself as Darragh was
loading.

"I know you have questions... But please not
around Darragh. Okay?” Avery nodded not being able to make her cracking voice
work.

'This is going to be a long ride....’ she thought
taking the driver’s seat.

Chapter 6

"Are you hungry?" Nia asked pretty much
knowing the answer to the question.

"I could definitely eat, we did skip lunch,"
he pointed out as she smiled at him.

"Okay, I know the perfect spot to pick something
up," she told him happily. "And Aaron?”

"Yeah?” he turned in his seat towards her.

"Let's not talk about all of the crazy crap
right now. Okay?” she asked sincerely.

Aaron knew this was a lot for her if it was
overwhelming him. "Okay. Promise.” was his response.

 
They
stopped by a rickety white building that looked like an old house and smelled
like heaven. A sign hung crookedly above the door and it said 'Dirty's'. They
went in and she laughed as the screen door squeaked all the way open. Ordering
their food they were given a felt tip pen to write on the wall. The hard part
was finding a spot!

Aaron spotted the perfect spot where he was sure
their names would fit. Nia snagged the pen. She wrote,
'Nia + Aaron'.
She
giggled drawing a circle around it. "So they know we were here
together!"

That made Aaron smile and he pulled her into a
hug and buried his face in her neck. They waited only minutes for their food
then they were out of there.

"So is our next stop a secret?” he nudged
Nia lightly before parting ways to get in the car with their bags in his hands.

She laughed, "Not so much a secret as a
surprise. It's pretty epic actually.” Nia said while he was getting his
seatbelt on. She grabbed the drinks she'd set on the roof and put them in the
cup holders then they were on their way, driving a small ways and pulled up to
the corner of Memorial and Waugh.

They were at the northeast end of the bayou in
Buffalo Bayou Park. Nia cut the engine and got out, grabbing the drinks.
"Well, come on then." she said to a confused looking Aaron.

He got out with food in hand while she was
getting a large bag out of the trunk.

They walked a small ways down a slight slope and
she undid the Velcro on the bag. It was in fact a large blanket that folded into
what looked like a bag. She sat Indian style and patted the spot beside her. He
quickly complied. "Picnic huh?” Aaron asked.

She smiled the cutest smile he'd ever seen.
"Something like that."

"So this is something we have to wait for
but you can't miss the signal.” she winked.

He was looking at his chicken fried steak in awe
and Nia couldn't help but laugh. "Dirty's has THE best chicken fried steak
anywhere!"

Without further hesitation he dug in with a
plastic fork and knife. Nia unwrapped her Dirty's Burger and took a big bite
practically moaning as she chewed while Aaron grinned at her with his mouthful.

That was too cute, she thought.

They ate and talked and hashed out some plans for
possible future daytime excursions together. Finally the sun started to really
go down changing the hue to purples and oranges. The thick humid air clung to
Nia and she caught herself taking in Aaron’s cologne that now mingled with his
sweat creating a heady scent that she was enjoying a little too much.

Gathering their trash and stuffed with good food
a screech startled Aaron.

"There's the signal. It will be soon
now." She said rubbing her hands together excitedly.

"What was that?” he asked wide eyed.

"Oh that's what we came here for, silly.
Just wait, you'll see soon enough."

The screeching picked up and was joined by more
and more of the shrill sounds. Nia got up and stood facing the Waugh Bridge,
she smiled a huge smile as Aaron joined her and she said, "Watch."
pointing to the bridge.

Aaron stood close beside her and she glanced at
him and then they looked up together. The air sizzled between them where they
nearly touched.

A few at a time, bats emerged and then like a
flood they came out in droves. They flew overhead just to the left of where Nia
and Aaron were standing.

Aaron laughed, "Wow!" He exclaimed
grabbing Nia's hand in the excitement, "This is amazing!"

She laughed and said, "I absolutely love
coming to see this. There's so many of them this time of year."

They stood and watched until the sun fully sank
and the light was all gone. "It's The Waugh Bridge Bat Colony, its Texas'
second largest." Nia said proudly.

"How many do you think there are?" he
asked, helping her fold up the blanket in the dimness of the dingy yellow streetlight.

"They say there's about a quarter million.
They’re Mexican Free-Tailed Bats." She couldn't get rid of the smile on
her face she was happy that he was happy and that he didn’t think she was crazy.

"That was awesome. Thank you for showing me
that. The food was amazing too.” he said closing the distance between them
placing his hands lightly around her waist.

"I have had a lot of fun today, even throughout
the scary parts, at least we were together in it." He told her then leaned
in and Eskimo kissed her.

She took a deep breath shivered in delight and
smiled. "So it's a little after seven. Why don't you come with me to
Rhea's so she can meet you and we can get desert on the way?"

He graced her with the smile she couldn't get
enough of and said, "I am your hostage, right? I will do
whatever
you want." The way he said it all loaded like that made her cheeks heat
and flames flicker through her belly.

Nia leaned into him, "I like the sound of
that."

Aaron smiled again, "I kind of hoped you
would say that." she couldn't believe she could be so lucky in the middle
of the drama that's been plaguing her life. She giggled nervously.

This was really happening, she was scared and it
was fast but who was she to deny fate....

He closed the distance and tilted up her chin,
'I'm
gonna to kiss you.'
he thought giving her an uncertain heads up. Searching
her eyes for any sign of rejection Aaron took a step closer and hovered an inch
from her lips as his breathing picked up. Feeling brave Nia slid her hands up
his chest. The trail of fire that followed in their wake was spectacular to
Aaron who was unable to hold out any longer when his lips found hers.

Time and space was set on pause, worries and
cares cast aside as all felt right in the world. Nia was certain she had never
felt anything like it, a million words and countless days couldn't convey what
their souls were exchanging in that moment. She belonged to him and he belonged
to her, she just knew it, it was like nothing she could have imagined.

Like fate and destiny intervened and saved her
years of searching for her soul mate. She was scared he'd heard her but maybe
she really was blocking him, thanks to Eric.

Two people never fit together so perfectly. Nia
was sure this was what swooning was because her breathing was so heavy she felt
like she might pass out, her breath came out in short breathy bursts. One of
his hands moved to the small of her back making her shiver. His other hand made
its way to the back of her neck and she melted.

Mercifully he pulled away out of breath and just
stared at her. She bit her tender lip and giggled, "That was amazing.” she
told him.

He smiled, "Let's go before I pull the
blanket back out.” he added with a lopsided smile. She thought about it for a
second thinking it sounded great to her, but Nia didn't want to push it. She
was sticking to her boundaries and no amount of swooning would change that.

Fate may have been on their side but anyone knows
going too hot and heavy too fast causes a fire to fizzle out before it's time.
Even with the bond she wasn't willing to take that chance. That's definitely
not what she wanted. They headed to the car holding hands and she glanced at
him still feeling the shyness. She didn't think that would get old anytime
soon.

They stopped at Sonic to get desert right before
getting to Rhea's and she texted Rhea from there.

Nia: I am close by and have Aaron with me. Wanna
meet him?

Rhea: Uh u do know who u texted right???? OF
COURSE I WANT TO MEET MR. BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nia: LOL! You have to promise not to get crazy
with the inquisition. We aren't staying all night

Rhea: OK fine, I swear! I just got here though
need to eat! So hungry. Fading fast.

Nia: Am at Sonic crazy -_- I will bring
sustenance! Be there soon.

Rhea: K TYYS N Thanks!! <3

She got Rhea's food, their deserts and drinks for
all three. Aaron pulled out the phone Darragh err.... Sean gave him and sent a
message.

Aaron: Going 2 her best friend's going to tell
her Eric's going with us. And that I am too

Darragh: Tell her he is your cousin. A familial
relation is less likely to raise suspicion.

Aaron: Will do. Over and out.

"Okay so Darragh or Sean rather says to tell
Rhea that Eric's my cousin," His jaw worked at the mention of Eric's name.

"Oh, okay that'll work," Nia had been
having such a great time she forgot they had business to attend to.

"It will be okay,” he tried to reassure her.

But she couldn't help but dread what she was
dragging Rhea into. As if that wasn't enough she was going to have to say
something about the bracelet and the tattoos if she saw. She sighed feeling
deflated. "Let's get this over with."

They were at Rhea's door when she turned to him,
"I'm going to need a minute with her if that's okay,” Nia said quickly.

 
He smiled
and kissed the hand he was holding. "I have no problem with that,” he
answered. Nia's giggle was back as Rhea opened the door. "Hey girl! And
you must be Aaron! It's so great to meet you!” Rhea said wrapping him in a
quick bear hug.

"And you're Rhea.” he responded with a wink.

 
"Guilty!" she exclaimed.

'Oh brother.'
Nia
thought, unblocked. Causing Aaron to chuckle.

"Rhea I need to borrow a shirt could you
come get me one.” Nia asked with a sugary smile. Rhea quickly composed herself
and thought,
'Oh boy! Something had to be up if she was asking to borrow her
own clothes...'

Rhea responded non plused, "Of course. Aaron
please put my food in the micro, we'll be right back. Thanks!" She smiled
and hurried upstairs after Nia.

"Okay what the heck was that all about? And
don't you dare say nothing," Rhea bombarded her as soon as the door
closed. Nia took off her shirt and went into the bathroom checking her makeup.

"Rhea you need to sit and listen. I have a
lot to spill and a little time to do it in. So no questions,” she said turning
on Rhea and wagging her finger in the air, "Rhea....... Promise me!"
Rhea sat on the bed, seemingly defeated and crossed her heart lifting her hand
and saying, "I swear."

Nia sighed in relief. "I'll sleep here
tonight or you can sleep over or call me or whatever. But I promise you can
bombard me later. Okay?” Nia added.

Rhea pretended to zip her lips and mumbled a
muffled. "M'Okay."

Nia sped through as much as she could starting with
recapping the dream, soul, bracelet and Eric who she had to be surprised was
joining them on the road trip. She told her about Darragh or Sean and Avery
too, along with new possible leads on what the heck is up with creepy dreams
and crazy haunting poems. She told Rhea it was bigger than they could've imagined
and about Lilly and not being sure who to trust. Fate and Aaron, tunnels, bad
guys, bats and kisses.

Nia showed her wrists and Rhea said, "Wow
Nia that is serious!"

She quickly explained the Guardian and Protector
bonds while she changed her pants next and added a different hoodie. "Okay
we’ve got to go back down there quick.” Nia said finally and Rhea nodded saying
“I’ll go keep him company while you finish up,” then turned to leave the room.