First off, thanks to Lija for writing such a WONDERFUL sweet story. You are a very talented writer and I am humbled by the efforts you went to, in finding real St Louis hot spots you knew I would enjoy. How well you know me amazes me sometimes. You most certainly succeeded in surprising me, my forever friend.
On the official stuff: I don’t own the rights to any characters to recognize. Zane and Caleb belong to Laurell K Hamilton. Lija, Luna, and Conor belong to themselves. Maggie belongs to anyone who will take her, LOL. Oh and Patrick belongs to Conor who created his character. His appearance here is done with Conor’s informed consent and support. Thanks for the idea and permission to run with it my fine Fey Friend!
Like you probably care, but I was very happy to find it.
Thanks for talking me into going with an oriental style outfit Looney Tunes!
Okay, enough with the preamble…on with the show….
Hugs,
Maggie
It had been a roller coaster week for me to say the least. Easter week and holidays in general were a difficult time for me. Things had been difficult in the lab as well. I was going crazy with the constant guards Noah had babysitting me because of some recent revelations.
Luna and Lija were bickering over some issues related to his old pard and I was about ready to lock them in a room together until they agreed to renew their truce. I really didn’t understand why Luna couldn’t get along with the with my druid friend. Granted, when she had first met him, he was on a mission to find his old friend. He had his bad ass Tore persona firmly in place. But I knew my soul sister was smart enough to see beyond the side he presented to those he had no reason to trust. Underneath, he was such a sweet, wonderful guy.
Smiling, I reflected that not all the roller coaster stops had been down hill. I found out Luna was engaged to our absent but most definitely never forgotten Fey friend. As if that wasn’t enough good news, I was going to be the maid of honor. Just when I thought the week couldn’t get any better, who should walk down the hallway to greet me but my future brother in law himself. Conor was home safe. I had to tell myself that at least once a day, in the hopes I might believe it eventually.
Conor, Luna and I had been making some plans for the wedding when I could get the both of them to come up for air. We were nowhere near finished with sorting out the details yet. I still had lots of plotting to do with the best man too. Lija, I guess I had forgotten him mentioning he knew Conor when he first hit town. I knew he and Patrick were very close friends. In fact, considering what they endured to protect each other in their old pard, you could say they were blood brothers. Being a natural blonde, it didn’t occur to me that if Lija was that close to Patrick and Liam he was probably a close friend of Conor’s too.
Smiling, I remembered the best part of the week was yet to come. I had an evening of surprises to look forward to tonight. At least that’s what Elijah’s invitation had said. Looking over at the clock, I saw that I only had two hours to get ready and figured I better start getting my act together. Luna should be arriving at the lair to help me any minute. Fortunately, I was guaranteed her undivided attention while I got ready. Her fiancé had his own errand to run this evening.
Conor had called me and told me to expect Luna soon. He was headed over to Dead Druids to pick up his brother Patrick. He was going to help him throw a quick suitcase of clothes together, then personally take him to the airport and put him on the first available flight to Ireland. The official story was that some family business had come up back home. Since Conor just got back from there, it was Patrick’s turn to help out.
I wasn’t so sure that was the real reason though. My personal best guess was that Conor got to back to town, and found out that Patrick’s old Nimir Ra had tried to send Elijah after him. I knew they were afraid if Lija didn’t bring him back, she would send others or come herself. Conor, being as protective of those he loved as ever, most likely called home to find a crisis that needed Patrick as soon as he found out. I bet that the crisis would keep Patrick away for quite a while. After all Conor was back to run Dead Druids assuming Liam hadn’t completely taken over the place in his absence. Patrick had really only stuck around town for Luna and she had chosen his brother in the end.
We hoped Patrick would be back to be a groomsman at the wedding, but none of us would blame him if he stayed away. Lija had promised to take care of the problem with their old Nimir Ra if she showed up, but there were no guarantees. I couldn’t blame the boys for wanting to make sure Patrick was protected from being hurt by a sadistic self-centered female like her. You never knew what those types of women would do.
I was drawn out of my musings by the lab door slamming out front. I heard Luna holler, “Okay Kitten, I’m here to help ya make the Druid drool. Where are you?”
Giggling, I answered in a conversational tone to myself, knowing she would hear, “If she would follow that were nose of hers she would know I’m in the back changing room I keep for the occasional patient.”
Walking in the door to the room, Luna planted a kiss on my forehead, “I knew where you were Kitten. I just didn’t want you to get startled when I walked in the room.”
Smiling, I looked from her to the clothes, hair and makeup products laying on
the table and proceeded to panic, “Looney Tunes HELP! I don’t know what the
heck I’m doing here or why I’m even so worried about this. He didn’t tell Conor
where we’re going did he?”
Laughing, “Breathe. I told you I’m here to help. No, I don’t know any more than you do. I think you’re just worried because he’s a good friend and you want to impress him. Relax and go with the flow.”
After using our mental link to help calm me, Luna and I got to work. An hour and half later, I looked in the mirror and I had to say even I was pleased with the results. Luna had talked me into going with an oriental dress. She had wanted to put me an ankle length full dress but I was worried I would trip on the seam so we compromised on a knee length Cheongsam. It was navy blue with a light floral design. The halter style Mandarin collar left half my back as well as my arms bare but we decided to forgo my usual body glitter in favor of a classier look for the evening. Luna had put my hair up in a French twist and even managed to get the lockets she kept out, to curl right to frame my face. Light make-up and high-heeled sandals completed the look.
Luna, looking up and down whistled, “You look incredible if I do say so myself.” Laughing she couldn’t help adding “But are you sure about those heels Kitten? I’d hate to have to explain to Noah how you got a broken ankle while out with the Druid.” Getting a little more serious, “What did you tell him anyway?”
Smiling, I could feel the heat rising on my cheeks at her compliment, “Thanks and thank you for the help. As Noah, I told him the truth. I am going insane being locked away with guards. I need a night out and since he is busy with Micah, I am going out with someone he can count on to protect me. As for the heels, I have been practicing walking in them all week. I will be fine.” At Luna’s disbelieving gaze, I added, “Give me a break. He’s taller than god. I need all the help I can get.”
Laughing she hugged me and got ready to head out the door. She was afraid she would say something to piss Lija off. She had already given him the sister speech about behaving and such when he met her and Conor for lunch earlier. So she was heading home to wait for Conor to get back from sending off Patrick. I had twenty minutes to wait alone and get worried over whether Lija would like the look we had gone for. I paced the lab, practiced walking in the heels and rechecked my hair and make up at least twenty times in the mirror. Looking up at the clock, I saw it was almost seven and I still had the maze of hallways to manage to get out the door.
Walking as quickly as my high heels would allow, I got to the front entrance about five minutes late. Lord, I was being such a girl. What would he think? Walking out the door, I saw a beautiful white stretch limo. I had always wanted to ride in a limo and thought white ones looked much classier than black. I wondered if Jean Claude had some special plans with Anita that night. If so, I hoped Lija got me out of here before the blood sucker headed out the door.
Zane walked over to say hi, and told me that Caleb had been given a spare key to the house because Noah was working all night. He would be waiting there to take over guard duty when Lija got me home. He teased me a bit about how fancy I was dressed for an evening with a friend, then smiled and told me I did look beautiful. Zane could be a bit trying but he wasn’t all bad.
Noticing the limo driver walking around to open the passenger door, I looked back toward the lair entrance expecting to see Jean Claude sneaking up behind me. No one was there. Looking back to the limo, I couldn’t help my surprised gasp. Lija was standing there. Just as I was registering the implications of the driver standing there holding the door for him, my eyes shot back to take a second look at the druidic Tore. Lord he always looked handsome but tonight I couldn’t stop my heart from racing. He was wearing a dark blue high collared shirt and black pants. The look was completed with a nice London Opera coat.
Hearing a chuckle from beside me, I looked over at Zane and wondered if I was drooling. Belatedly remembering weres can scent desire, I tried to slow my heart rate down, and quietly whispered, “Not a word Zane. Please.” Giving me a big grin, he put his arm out for me to take and walked me over to my date. Lija thanked Zane and we were off.
Looking around the spacious interior of the limo, I tried to calm my nerves, and failed miserably. I didn’t know where we were going and was worried that I would do or say something wrong wherever that turned out to be. My friend was always doing sweet things that impressed me. I wanted to impress him for a change.
I heard Lija ask me if I had eaten and I panicked. Eaten? I always forget to eat. Was I supposed to? No Zane said not to. How Zane knew was beyond me. When Lija told me our first stop was dinner and that he had ordered ahead for us, I smiled. I remembered then that was my dear forever friend. He was the one that seemed to know my thoughts before I did and believed our souls had been connected in a past life. He knew me well enough to know what sorts of places I would and wouldn’t be comfortable in. So I was going to follow Luna’s advice, relax and just go with it.
Arriving at a posh restaurant, we waited for the driver to open the door. Lija stepped out then took my hand to help me out. Walking in, I noticed the stares of several patrons but on Lija’s arm, I didn’t worry. I knew they were most likely just envious that I was the one escorting my handsome friend into the candlelit restaurant rather then them. I was grateful he had picked a quiet spot where I wouldn’t have to worry about us making our way through a horrible crowd. Sitting at a secluded corner table, I relaxed and forgot about everyone in the building except my sweet friend.
We talked about a lot of things. He told me Conor called him right before he picked me up and told him Patrick’s plane had left on schedule. I think Lija was relieved that with Patrick out of town, the responsibility for protecting him was off his shoulders for the moment. We talked a bit about Conor and their long-standing friendship. I got him to reveal a few things about my future brother by letting Elijah know what secrets Conor had told me about him, including at least one Luna didn’t even know about.
We talked about my work in the lab and all the new people that seemed to be wandering around the lair. Smiling it amazed me how easily we fell into conversation and could switch topics without either of us missing a beat. Connected souls, there was no other way to describe it.
Our dinner arrived and Lija had made some great choices for our meal. Everything was wonderful. I told him so and was rewarded with one of his trademark grins. He winked and told me, “Of course I did. It’s that druidic wisdom.” Giggling a bit more than was warranted for his joke, I thought maybe I had had a bit too much wine and slowed down to enjoy the conversation.
Gazing into the swirling depths of his amazing blue eyes, I found myself completely relaxing, and opening up about what I saw my future to be. They were secret hopes I didn’t feel safe sharing with anyone, even my closest friends but I knew he would understand. He always did. Before I realized what I was doing, I was sharing a bit of my past with him, explaining its effect on my plans. Shaking my head, I stopped. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust the Tore. I trusted him, sometimes so much it scared me. But he had obviously put a lot of thought into making this a special night and I didn’t want to ruin it discussing the horrors I left behind.
Having no clue what lie ahead, I took Lija’s hand as we exited the limo at our next stop and headed into The Have a Nice Day Café. Walking inside the club, we were greeted by a hallway covered in smiley faces. Looking from the painted walls to each other, we burst out laughing at a shared memory. The last time we went out with Luna she had dressed me up. After much arguing, she had gotten me to wear leather pants and a black t-shirt with a big yellow smiley face on it that said “I’m just one big ray of merry fucking sunshine!” It was so not something I would have wore on my own. Touching one of the yellow smiley faces on the wall, I looked over at Lija and told him, “Looks like Luna found a way to tag along on our date after all.” Shaking his head, he chuckled, took my hand and led me into the club.
Sitting in the center of the club, we were surrounded by the music. It was great. It was crowded but I felt safe with Lija beside me. I looked over at my friend and hoped he was having fun. I knew he would have preferred the music at Dead Druids but he had certainly impressed me by finding this place. In the 10 months I had lived in St Louis I hadn’t heard of it and I am something of an 80s music freak. Hearing a Rick Springfield song come on over the speakers, I couldn’t stop a small squeal from popping out. Sure I had the music on cd at home, but it was always exciting to hear someone else play it. The best part was they were playing something other than Jessie’s Girl. Actually, it was the quiet opening strains of Souls and I practically jumped into Lija’s arms as he took my hand to lead me onto the dance floor. He looked a bit concerned, probably about the shoes but hey I had been practicing. Besides I trusted him to catch me if I fell. Smiling more than I had in a long time, I focused on the wonderful sweet man dancing with me, completely ignoring the crowd around us. They played several more Rick songs before Lija told me we had one more stop and led me out of the club.
Walking into the Hard Rock café, I was grinning from ear to ear. I couldn’t have picked a better final stop myself. The Hard Rock was one of my favorite places to unwind but I never got to see all the displays. I was too shy to walk up to them with people around and really look at them as much as I wanted to. With Lija safe by my side, I was really getting to look at everything I wanted to see, like it was the first time. But that pretty much described how my friend made me feel sometimes, like I was seeing things for the first time. He made me look at things differently. I even saw myself differently when he was around.
There was a great Beatles display with some John Lennon memorabilia that we stopped to look at. I remembered that Lija was not an avid Beatles fan to say the least. So I couldn’t help teasing him a little “Come on Druid. It’s JOHN FREAKIN LENNON’S SIGNATURE! Even you have to be impressed.” Laughing he took away my Hurricane and told me perhaps I had had enough. The twinkle in his eyes told me he was just teasing.
The one display we could agree on was the Eagles. The centerpiece of it was a poster from their “Hell Freezes Over” tour autographed by all the members of the band. We talked about the great sound on the live CD that was released after that tour and how we both loved the first cut “Get over It.” Some mention was made of wanting to dedicate the song to a few thorns in our collective side and we laughingly moved on.
I felt myself becoming more and more comfortable with my friend as the night wore on. I wondered why I had ever been so nervous about going out with him one on one to begin with. I caught myself leaning into him more often as we stopped at various displays, being a little less quick to move away from casual touches. All too soon closing time arrived and we headed out the door.
The limo was waiting for us, but I didn’t want to get in yet. I wanted to stay close to Lija and found myself wishing the night would never end. Looking up into his handsome face, I knew I was one step away from asking him to take me back to his hotel with him. This was so not good. I wanted him so bad my heart ached but giving in would complicate so many lives. Thinking perhaps a nice walk in the cool night air would clear my head, as well as delaying our goodbyes, I asked him if we could walk for a bit. Lija told the driver to meet us a few blocks away and we headed off.
We walked in a companionable silence, comfortable enough to not need constant chatter. I thought about how Lija said we were connected in some way. We had been together in our past lives and that’s why we understood each other so well. I couldn’t help wondering what might have been if I had met Lija before I met Noah. I loved Noah, but considering the overwhelming attraction I felt for Lija and the way we seemed to understand each other so well, would Noah have won if they both had an equal shot? Coming to a halt, I realized I didn’t have a good answer for that one, but that wasn’t the situation we faced. Playing out the possibilities of the past would get us nowhere and wasn’t fair to any of us. We needed to deal with where we were now.
Looking up, I realized Lija had stopped to quietly watch me. Afraid he would ask me what I had been thinking, I went for a preemptive strike and asked him first. As his lips, lightly brushed mine I closed my eyes, savoring the sensation. Opening my eyes, as he said “what might have been”, I noticed his eyes seemed to be as full of regret as mine were. I couldn’t help reaching up to trace a finger over the lips that had just touched mine, wondering if they still held the warmth of my lips as mine held the warmth of his. Smiling that they did, I was at a loss for words. When Lija announced he promised to Luna to get me home early, I sighed and realized our night was truly at end. He wouldn’t use my soul sister to get me back on track for heading home unless he really meant it.
We got into the waiting Limo and headed for the cottage. Caleb had come out to stand on the stoop as Lija walked me up to the door. Grinning at us he asked “Late Night?”
I was way too happy with how well our evening had gone to get annoyed. Laughing, I told him, “No, an early morning. Go wait inside.” Smirking he shook his head but still went inside as requested.
Stopping at the door, I thanked Lija for an incredible evening. I couldn’t remember when I had had so much fun. Leaning into him, I felt his arms wrap around me and I stood there lost in our embrace. Breathing in his scent, I tried to lock it way with my memories of the night. Looking up into his handsome face, I couldn’t help myself. I reached up to pull him close and captured his lips in a kiss, one not as quick or as chaste as the one on the street. It was a soul stealing kiss that left us both breathless and wanting more. Sighing as I pulled away, I knew I shouldn’t have done it, but I couldn’t regret it. What was one kiss for what might have been?
Smiling, I looked up and told him, “Thanks for the surprises. I couldn’t help giving you one of my own. I’m so glad you’re a part of my life. Good night my forever friend.” I ran in the door and closed it before he could say anything else. I wanted him to have the memory untarnished by any spoken regrets.
Walking into the living room, I saw Caleb had decided to be nice and make himself scarce. I headed into the bedroom and changed for bed. Lying alone in the room as the rising sun slowly painted a myriad of colors over our bedroom walls, I couldn’t help going over all the events of the evening. I wanted to imprint every precious moment and the way my sweet Druidic Tore made me feel in my memories for all time. I was still happily replaying our last dance in my mind when I drifted off to sleep to rejoin Lija in our dreams.