Chapter Eleven
“What do you mean you have to be in the Fourth of July Parade?” Legacy asked Calli while they were testing out shades of blush at the mall.
“Our squad is doing a float, so I’ll be cheering and throwing out candy. But I still want you to come and watch. Zach’s going to be there. You can meet him,” she said and winked at Legacy.
“Fine.” She didn’t want to go and watch a parade by herself, but she was her best friend. She could suck it up for one afternoon.
“When the parade’s over, we can get a funnel cake and play some of the games until the fireworks display.”
“No, I’ll leave after the parade. I don’t want to be a third wheel.”
“You don’t have to be a third wheel. You can ask Adin to come with you.” She said as she tested more blush.
“I don’t know about that.”
“Legacy, come on! You are dating Adin. There’s nothing wrong with you asking him to go with you to the Independence Day Celebration.”
“I’ll think about it.” But she really didn’t want to think about asking him out. She liked it better knowing Adin was doing all the asking at this point.
Calli wiped colors of blush on the backs of each of Legacy’s hands.
“Wow. You have one hot hand and one cold hand,” she said, amused. “Which color do you like best?”
“I was holding my iced latte in my right hand,” she explained, “and it’s a million degrees outside.” She looked at the samples. “I like the one on the left.”
Calli looked around for an attendant, so she figured this was as good a time as any to bring up yesterday’s events.
“I talked to River yesterday at work.”
“What about?” she asked, but her attention was directed elsewhere. “Excuse me, can I get these two shades, please?” she asked the girl behind the makeup counter. “I like them both.”
“About his family and my family.”
“What did he say?”
She explained to her the entire conversation. Even the details about how protective he was of her. She had paid for her products, and they were back in her car by the time she had finished with the story.
“What do you think about all that?”
“From everything we’ve learned, he makes sense.”
“It seems weird, though, that he didn’t want you telling anyone about this. I mean, I get what he said about his family, but still, you have a right to tell whoever you want.”
“I know. I don’t think he meant it that way. I just think he was worried what people would say about him.”
“People like Lissa.”
“And people like Adin.”
“Adin?” She frowned.
“Yes. Adin told me his family didn’t get along with River’s family.”
“Why? You don’t think Adin is like you and River, do you?”
“No. River called him mortal. Besides, there’s that whole prophecy thing. Apparently, gods can be destroyed, but the way River talked about Adin being the key player, he sounded as if Adin was an innocent bystander, unaware of his involvement in this. If I’m with River, then Adin can live a blissful life without me. If Adin dies, then River and I can’t be together. It doesn’t make sense to me. River thinks Adin is the link, but that that is the extent of his involvement.”
“So why does Adin’s family not like the Gorgos family?”
“I don’t know. Adin thinks they’re evil. But there are many evil people in this world that are not part of Greek god ancestry. Maybe they were wronged in some way. It’s possible since Ms. Gorgos is controlling. There’s no way Adin’s family could connect that evil behavior to her being a descendent of monsters created by Greek gods,” she said, shaking her head.
“Really? That’s the first thing I would’ve thought,” Calli teased. “So are you going to keep this from Adin?”
“I don’t want to. He came over last night after I got home from work, and I wanted to tell him. But after the way he acted the last time we’d talked about River, I think I should wait until everything makes sense to me before I try to explain it to him.”
“So when are you seeing Adin again?”
“Tomorrow. He’s taking me to his house to meet his mom. She’s finally back in town again.”
“Wow. That’s a big step.”
“Not really. I’ve already met her, but I think he wants to introduce me to her as his girlfriend. Besides, he’s already met Lissa. I mean, since we’ve started dating.”
“Your mom’s priestess,” she laughed.
She stuck her tongue out at her. “It’s not like we can put off this introduction. I have already been to his house, so I guess it is appropriate.”
“I guess you’re right. I haven’t met Zach’s parents yet, but I haven’t been to his house either. Maybe he’ll kiss you tomorrow. You know, a big, sloppy kiss.” Calli wagged her eyebrows as she pulled into Legacy’s driveway.
“He’ll do that when he’s ready. Right now, I’m really enjoying the little kisses his gives me.”
After Calli dropped her off at home, Legacy stayed inside the rest of the afternoon. The weather was hot and sticky, and the next morning, it was still just as hot and miserable. Morning time did not bring a break from the sweltering heat.
She got up and got ready for her day with Adin. She was nervous about seeing his mom, so she looked for something nice to wear that would keep her cool. She didn’t need to be sweating bullets because of the heat and nerves. She settled on a coral skirt and white top. Jeans would have been way too hot, and shorts were a little too casual to wear for this encounter. This would be the second skirt that Adin would see her in. Hopefully, he’d be able to contain his desires a little more successfully than the last time. She giggled to herself as she got dressed. She really didn’t want his mom to see him like that.
She fixed her hair in a loose up-do. If she’d left it down, it would’ve frizzed up before she even got to Adin’s house.
She slipped on some flat shoes and accessories and headed down to the living room. She heard Adin pull in the driveway and didn’t wait for him to come to get her.
She opened the door, saw his car, and stepped onto the porch. She turned to face the door to lock it since Lissa and Olive had left to run errands.
“What are you doing?” Adin said, and she jumped.
“You scared me!” She turned around, and he was walking up the porch steps.
He laughed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” He put his arms around her waist and hugged her while watching her eyes. “You should have waited for me to come get you,” he said, raising his eyebrows.
“Don’t be silly, I heard you pull in.” She shrugged and turned back to the door to make sure it was locked.
“But it could have been someone else.”
“I saw your car. I knew it was you,” she said as she turned back to him.
“Next time, will you please wait for me to come to you if you’re here alone?” he asked, his eyes concerned. He was obviously bothered by the fact that she was home alone.
“Fine,” she conceded.
He took both her hands into his. “You look ravishing. That color is beautiful on you,” he said and bent his head down to kiss her cheek.
“Are you sure I look okay? I am in a skirt.” She laughed.
“You can wear a skirt every day. I promise, I won’t mind at all,” he said as the corners of his mouth twitched, fighting a smile.
She rolled her eyes. “Let’s go,” she ordered, dropping one of his hands and keeping the other.
He followed her to his car, letting her in first and then getting in the driver’s side. She leaned facing him with her knees together—the left one higher than the other since she was leaning toward her left—slanting toward the gearshift. She rested her arm casually on the middle console, so he could hold her hand if he wanted without having to reach for it on her bare legs. She wanted to make sure he didn’t have a reactio
n like the last time. Even though he did recover by the end of that date, she knew they didn’t have time to wait out his reaction before she would see his mother today.
Her preparations weren’t necessary. Adin didn’t grab her hand. After he pulled out of her driveway, he reached over and put his hand on her left knee. She suppressed a gasp, but she couldn’t do anything about her racing heart. Her breathing sped as she looked down at his big, strong hand resting gently on her knee. He moved it softly from side-to-side, stroking her skin, and it felt absolutely wonderful. Her leg tingled at his touch, and her mouth fell open for the air to come more easily. She was breathing much too fast at this point, unable to concentrate.
She was worried about his reaction to the skirt, but she was the one falling to pieces! She needed to pull herself together. She took a deep breath and looked up at him. He looked smug.
Smug? Fine, two could play this game.
Adin had on light tan shorts and a white shirt. His shorts were loose and longer than her skirt, almost covering his knee, but that wouldn’t stop her. She shifted slightly so that her weight was off her arm on the console.
Adin kept his eyes on the road while she set her plan into motion, but she decided she should first distract him in case he suspected her plot. She lifted her hand and stroked his arm that rested across the console to get to her knee. She kept her eyes on Adin, and he sighed at her touch, but his smug expression didn’t completely dissipate.
She rubbed his arm a few more times, and then she was ready to make her move. She slipped her hand from his arm, moved it over to his right knee, and pushed back his shorts so that her hand was on his bare leg. His shorts fell back over her hand, which was now only partly exposed. She gently stroked the inside of his thigh with her fingertips.
Adin’s expression went from smug to tense. She could tell he hadn’t expected her to touch his leg. Good. His breathing picked up, and it looked like he was trying hard to concentrate on something. A distraction, she guessed.
She didn’t realize at first—since she was enjoying her little victory—that her breathing had, too, expedited again. She found herself caressing the inside of his leg more than she originally had planned. It felt so good. It obviously felt good to Adin too. He tried to control his reaction, but this time, he was letting himself enjoy the touch a little rather than trying to ignore it all together.
She kept her eyes on him, watching his expression. His mouth was open, and she could hear the quick breaths he was taking in. Every now and then, when he exhaled, he’d shut his eyes in a long blink. Just watching how he reacted made her heart pound in her chest. She felt flush all over, and even though the air conditioner was on in his car, it was beginning to feel very stuffy in here.
She couldn’t feel his hand anymore on her knee. He was now stroking higher up on her leg, and she could feel him inching a little more toward the hem of her skirt. She relaxed into her seat and glanced at his hand. He didn’t stop. He kept moving his hand back and forth and side-to-side. His hand felt hot against her leg, like he was burning to touch her, and her leg was the only relief his burning hand would get.
She knew she was still stroking the side of his leg. She wanted to look at his face, but she couldn’t trust what her eyes would show him since she was enjoying his hand on her leg way too much. She kept her gaze down as she looked in his direction. To her surprise, she noticed her hand was no longer visible on his leg. Without the confines of tight clothing and because of the relaxed angle she was now in, she hadn’t realized how far her hand had slid up under his shorts. Her eyes shot up to his face, and he was no longer controlling his expression. His eyes were burning.
Adin stopped the car suddenly and looked at her. She felt like the heat of her face was radiating off her. Her ears burned and throbbed. He stared at her intently for several seconds. He was breathing so hard that she could smell his sweet breath as it brushed against her face.
She wanted him to kiss her, passionately, and she wondered if he thought about it. He had never kissed her like that before. She wanted to know what he tasted like and hoped she was about to find out.
She realized that she was still stroking his leg and that she needed to stop. But Adin’s intense gaze was making it very difficult for her to think clearly. She grasped the side of his leg to keep her from moving her fingers. His breath caught, and his eyes shut. When he finally exhaled, he spoke.
“Legacy, we should probably go inside,” he whispered.
“What?” she turned to look out the windshield. She was so caught up in the moment that she hadn’t realized where they were. At his house. “Oh. Okay.” She slipped her hand away from him, and he took his hand off her leg to turn off the car. She didn’t wait for him to come around to her door. She needed the fresh air. She hoped it would help clear her head because she needed to collect herself, quickly. She opened the door and stood up, stretching and taking a few deep breaths. Adin took his time coming over to her side. She figured he was trying to get himself together, too, before he took her in to see his mom.
When he got to her side, he didn’t even comment about her opening her own door. He just shut the door and put his arm around her to lead her in the house.
They stopped at the front door, and she turned to look at Adin. “How do I look?” she asked breathlessly. She still hadn’t pulled herself together.
“Like an angel,” he whispered, closing his eyes. Great, he hadn’t pulled himself together either.
She took a deep breath and turned back to the door. There was no point in putting this off. Adin turned the knob and stepped in, holding it open for her. She walked in, and she could smell food cooking in the kitchen.
“Mom?” Adin called out. His voice cracked. He grimaced and then cleared his throat.
“In here, honey.”
He took Legacy’s hand and led her to the kitchen. His mom walked out, wiping her hands on an apron. She stuck out her hand toward Legacy, and she shook it.
“Mom, you remember Legacy. Legacy, this is my mom, Myrha Sheppard.”
“It’s a pleasure to see you, Legacy,” she said, shaking her hand.
“It’s a pleasure to see you, too, Ms. Sheppard,” she responded, letting go of her hand.
“Please call me Myrha.”
“Myrha,” she corrected.
“You should hear the things that Adin says about you.”
“All good, I hope.”
“Of course,” Myrha said, looking at Adin. “I’m going to finish cooking lunch. You kids should go have fun, and I’ll call you when it’s ready.”
“Are you sure you don’t need any help?” she asked.
“No, thank you.” Myrha smiled at her.
Adin led Legacy to the living room, and they sat on the couch right beside each other—their sides and bare legs touching. He turned on the television as a distraction, and she turned her head to face him.
“Does your mom know I’ve been here before?” she whispered.
He turned his head to look and her and nodded.
“How does she feel about that? That you brought over a girl when she wasn’t home?”
“She doesn’t care.” He shrugged. “I explained to her what happened.”
“Okay,” she said, turning to face the TV. But Adin put his lips to her ear.
“Technically, I’m an adult now,” he murmured, “so what could she say about it?” He laughed, and his hot breath tickled and caused a slight shiver to shoot through her. He didn’t turn away, and she could tell from the increased speed of his breath that his teasing tone was gone. “You smell so good,” he whispered, not making a move to turn his head back away.
She figured she should joke with him rather than let herself fall completely into this moment like she had in the car. His mom was in the other room and could walk in any minute.
She turned to face Adin, his face just inches from hers. “Do you want me to put my hand on your leg again?” she dared, raising one eyebrow.
&n
bsp; He sighed. “Maybe right now isn’t the best time for that,” he said with a half-smile.
“Then quit whispering in my ear,” she said, smiling back at him.
“Am I making you uneasy?” he teased.
“Yes. So if you don’t stop, I’m going to find great pleasure in making you squirm. We both know I can handle you touching me,” she said, putting her hand on her chest, “more than you can handle me touching you.” She took her hand off her chest and placed it onto his.
“Hmm, I don’t know if I agree with that completely.” Adin lifted his hand and stroked her cheek.
It felt wonderful, but she knew what he was doing, and she wasn’t falling for it. She stared at him with an even expression. She was up to this challenge. She slid her hand up from his chest, along his neck, and to his left ear. She stroked his ear gently between her fingers. His eyes fluttered shut and his head leaned back a little.
“That’s…not…fair,” he panted softly.
Adin’s eyes were still shut, so as she caressed his left ear, she leaned her cheek against his so that her lips were at his right. “I know,” she whispered, dragging out the last word so that her breath blew into his ear.
He groaned.
“Are you going to behave?” she asked very slowly, still blowing the words into his ear.
He nodded and tried to say, “Yes,” but the word didn’t completely come out.
She moved so that her lips were now against Adin’s ear. “That’s a very good boy,” she said as she traced her lips down his ear and then kissed his earlobe.
He gasped and then suddenly took her face into his hands and pulled her back to look into her eyes.
She looked at him with her eyebrows raised, waiting for him to say something.
“Okay. You’re right. You can handle me touching you better than I can handle you touching me.”
“See, I told you,” she said, laughing.
Adin dropped his hands from her face and took one of her hands into both of his. “Yes, but I’m not touching you the way you’re touching me. We’re supposed to be taking things slowly, so what you’re doing really isn’t fair.” He laughed.
“Maybe that’s true. Maybe I don’t want to take things as slowly as we have been.”
He stopped laughing and stared at her with intense eyes again.
It was true. They had gone out several times, and Adin hadn’t tried anything beyond chaste kisses and hugs. And she wanted him to kiss her kiss her already. What was his hold up?
“Lunch is ready,” Adin’s mom called from the kitchen.
Adin glanced toward the kitchen, releasing her from his gaze. She sighed and looked down to get up off the couch.
He stood up beside her and put his arm around her waist to lead her into the kitchen.
The food smelled wonderful. Myrha made salad and lasagna. And from everything that was on the countertops, she could tell it wasn’t the frozen kind.
“What have you kids been doing?” she asked as Adin pulled out a chair for her.
She looked at Adin as she sat down. She didn’t want to answer that question. What was she going to say? The truth? Oh, I’ve been teasing your son in inappropriate ways… Not!
“We were watching TV,” Adin said smoothly.
“Anything interesting?” she asked.
“No, not on TV,” Adin said as he sat down, and his eyes flashed to Legacy to make sure she caught the real meaning of his answer.
“This looks wonderful,” she said quickly to get the conversation off what Adin and she had been doing in the living room.
“It’s a family recipe,” Myrha responded.
They sat and ate, but it was difficult to eat her lunch quickly. Most of the conversation had been centered on her with Myrha asking her open-ended questions that required long answers. A few times, she caught Adin giving his mom an exasperated look. She tried to maintain eye contact with Myrha, but she looked at Adin when she could. He was trying to pace himself so that he didn’t finish his meal before she could. Even though that was such a little thing, it still made her smile, and he caught her.
“What?” he mouthed.
She shook her head and looked down at her plate. He realized what she was smiling about and shrugged, keeping his expression playful.
She continued eating and answering questions until she was finished. Adin did finish before her, but just barely.
The conversation was painless. It was really easy talking to Myrha. But the last question she asked had thrown her off her game.
“Did Adin tell you his dad is moving to Texas?” Myrha asked as they all cleared the table.
Shocked, she looked at Adin. But he didn’t look at her. He looked at his mom through narrowed eyes.
“Um, no, he hasn’t mentioned it yet,” she said, trying to keep her voice even. What did this mean? Why was she telling her this?
“I was going to talk to her about it tonight,” Adin muttered.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said, but turned to look at Legacy, not Adin.
She smiled and shrugged her shoulders. She didn’t trust her voice to speak. For some reason, she felt this topic had been very deliberate, and she didn’t want to think of the reason why. She continued clearing the table, hoping no one could read the fear in her eyes.
But Adin did.
He walked over to her, but looked up at his mom. “Will you excuse us?” he asked her, and it sounded like he was trying hard to be polite.
“Sure, honey,” she said as she continued to cover up the leftovers, not looking at him.
Adin turned her shoulders so that she was facing the door and pushed her forward. She felt like she weighed a ton, and her legs did not want to work. He helped her through the kitchen, up the stairs, and into his room. She was too shocked to feel nervous about being in his room when he sat her down on his bed. He sat beside her and took both her hands into his.
“Legacy,” Adin said softly. “I’m really sorry about that. I really did plan on talking to you about this tonight.”
She just nodded, staring past him at his wall. She felt the moisture in her eyes and didn’t even care if the tears spilled over.
“Sweetheart, look at me, please.”
She was not too shocked to get butterflies in her stomach at his term of endearment. She shut her eyes to force her gaze to his and tears leaked over before she opened her eyes.
Adin reached up to brush her tears away. “My dad got offered a promotion if he transferred to a new office,” he started slowly. “Now that I’m eighteen, there really isn’t a need for him to live in the same town as my mom. I’m old enough to live wherever I want, regardless of where my parents live.”
She just stared at him. She still wasn’t sure if she could talk without breaking down. What he said made sense. But for some reason, this didn’t feel right.
“He called me last night. He wants me to come over for a couple of days while he looks at houses. I’m supposed to leave in the morning, but will be back Friday night.”
“Why…” she started, but her voice cracked. She looked down, cleared her throat and tried again, leaving her eyes on their hands. “Why did your mom bring it up?”
Adin sighed. “Because my dad wants me to go to school out there,” he said solemnly.
Her head snapped up, and she looked at Adin with pleading eyes, shaking her head. She felt like someone had just punched her in the stomach.
He released one of his hands and held her face. “That’s why I’ve decided to go tomorrow,” he whispered. “I need to explain to him why I want to stay here, and I need to do that in person.”
She took a jagged breath and nodded. “But he thinks you’re going out there to help pick out a house…because he thinks you’ll be living with him.”
“He knows I want to stay here, but I’m sure he’s hoping I’ll change my mind. He’s already registered me for the fall term—just in case.”
“But you’re staying here, right?” Gods, she hated sound
ing this pathetic, but the thought of Adin leaving…
“Yes. I don’t want to leave. I want to stay here. With you.”
She nodded again, and leaned her head against Adin’s shoulder. She felt exhausted. The stress of this knowledge was almost too much for her to bear. He put his arms around her and squeezed tightly. “So you’ll be back by Saturday, then?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“That’s the Fourth of July.”
“I know,” he said, rubbing her back.
She remembered telling Calli she didn’t want to ask Adin to the parade, but after this, those silly fears disappeared. “Calli is in the parade, so she asked me to come and watch her and then hang out afterward. She’ll have a date, though, so she suggested I ask you to come with me.”
“I’d love to go to the parade with you,” he whispered.
“Good,” she breathed into his chest.
“In fact, on Sunday, I’m having a party over here. I’ll be cooking out on the grill, and everyone will be eating, swimming, and playing games. I’d like for you to come.”
“That sounds like fun.”
“Is that a yes?” Adin asked softly.
“Of course,” she said with a half-smile.
He held her for several more minutes. “Are you okay?”
She didn’t know how to answer that question. She wasn’t sure if she was okay. “I will be.”
“I hate it that you were upset,” he whispered. “I never want to see you like that.”
“I just got a bad feeling when your mom mentioned it. I don’t like the thought of you leaving,” she murmured as she lifted her head to look at him.
“Please don’t be sad. I couldn’t bear it if I thought you were still upset while I’m away.”
Adin misunderstood what she meant about not liking the thought of him leaving. She meant leaving for good, not for two days, though she knew she’d still miss him when he was on his trip.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.” she tried to reassure him.
“I’m going to worry anyway. There’s nothing I can do about that. But it’ll make my trip easier if I know you’re okay.”
She smiled up at him. “I promise. I’ll be fine. Let’s not talk about this anymore.”
“Sounds good to me,” he whispered as he swept a strand of hair out of her face.
They spent the rest of the day enjoying each other’s company. Myrha had left to do some shopping, so Adin and she had the house to themselves. It was too hot to really do anything outside, so they stayed in.
They got comfortable on the couch while they watched a couple of movies. They took off their shoes. Adin had his feet on the coffee table; she had hers on the couch beside her. She leaned into his side with her knees pushed against his leg. While she snuggled into Adin’s side, she put her hand on his leg—on top of his shorts. He put his arm around her shoulders and put his other hand on her knees, holding them in place. He was touching her bare skin, but it didn’t faze him, not visually anyway.
This day was beautiful, and she wasn’t thinking about the weather. It really didn’t matter to her what was going on outside this house. All that mattered to her was that they were spending time together.
And as this day came to an end, she knew her feelings for Adin were solidified.
She was in love with him.