Insight (Web of Hearts and Souls #1)(16)

Drake walked over to Josh and Chase. Monica peeked through the cab of the truck where she was to gauge my expression. I quickly changed it from perplexed to boredom. She then smiled and turned forward, stretching out and posing, as Drake got closer to her. Through my dark glasses, I followed Drake as he walked, checking with my senses each person that he passed. With him, it was empty. First time for everything I guess.

“What do you suppose he did to his arm?” Olivia asked.

I had not noticed the brace on his right arm; it was very white against his tan skin. He was wearing a black sleeveless shirt and white swim trunks. He looked so strong, so… so familiar.

“Come on, let’s go watch Monica make a fool of herself,” Olivia whispered.

“No, I want to stay here.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I just…I don’t know.” My stomach was tying itself in knots. I had never felt so uneasy around anyone.

“Okay, I can look mysterious, too,” Olivia said as she pulled down her sunglasses, opening her book again.

Chase and Josh were very different from Dane. They were teenage boys who were only interested in one thing. I’d managed to dodge Chase’s annoying emotions throughout high school. When Dane was around, Chase behaved, but when he wasn’t, Chase took every opportunity to annoy me, so I would have to suffer until Dane got here. Fantastic.

Chase stood on his tailgate, looked me up and down, and yelled in my direction, “Willow, baby, would you like to join us sometime today?”

I was glad I couldn’t read minds. His was sure to make me sick to my stomach. Olivia rolled her eyes and threw her book through the open window of the car. She knew she’d have to play Dane’s part until he got there.

“So, have you talked to Dane since they told you that you were leaving?” Olivia asked with a hint of disdain in her voice.

“Yeah, he’ll be all right. And so will you,” I said, still staring at Drake, trying to figure out why he was blank.

“Come on, one day you might miss being annoyed by Chase,” Olivia said, pulling my arm toward the others.

I could feel how excited Chase was. He whispered something to Drake as I walked closer. Drake just stared at me as if the others had disappeared. I felt my heart beating through my chest. I could barely breathe. The gift that had brought me so much grief was instantly missed around this Drake guy. I felt blind. Not a good feeling to have. Not at this point in my life.

“Baby, this is Drake,” Chase said as he put his arm around me.

I pulled my sunglasses on top of my head so Chase would get the full effect of my glare. I heard the girls giggle. Chase let his arm drop and looked at Drake.

“I told you she was feisty, didn’t I?” Chase said to Drake.

Drake walked over to me, and I questioned his every step. He stopped inches from me and stared into my eyes. Monica was right—he was magnetic, though I didn’t find it appealing the same way she did. This was not a boy. This was a man. A man who knew what he wanted and how he was going to get it. I knew one thing, I’d better not be on that list of wants. Didn’t have time for any of this.

“The good doctor’s daughter. We meet at last,” he said smoothly, still staring at me.

“Seems you aren’t having any trouble making friends here,” I said blankly. I didn’t really care for the fact that he and Chase had been talking about me.

Drake didn’t say anything. He just stared at me with his dark eyes, pulling me in and smiling confidently. Oh this boy was dangerous. I bet he had a warning label tattooed all over his soul. I’d also bet every sketch I’d made that this boy knew the effect he had on girls and played it to his advantage.

“Now, that’s a new approach. I don’t think any of us have ever tried staring her down,” Chase said sarcastically.

Everyone laughed out loud. I took advantage of the distraction and broke eye contact, then slid by him onto the tailgate next to Monica and Jessica.

Josh called Drake and Chase out to the jet skis. Drake glanced back at me as he walked away, smiling cunningly.

“When do you leave again?” Monica asked, teasing me.

I rolled my eyes and pulled my sunglasses down. Monica hopped down and walked over to where Drake was. I could feel how flirtatious she was. She wasn’t joking. She really liked this guy. Monica managed to talk Drake into taking her out on the jet ski. I felt a sense of relief as I watched them in the distance. This guy had really weirded me out. The further away from me he was, the better.

I leaned back next to Jessica, who was lost in a magazine article. “Hey, when did you get that done?” she asked. Out of the corner of her eye she had spotted the star inside my Ankh.

“The other day. It’s no big deal. I went alone,” I said, avoiding details.

The last thing I wanted to think about, though, was how it got there. Instead, I lay down and drifted into a peaceful afternoon nap as the sun warmed my face.

Dreaming always came quickly to me.

That was a gift.

I opened my eyes in the field again. This time, I was closer to the beautiful home that I’d seen in the distance last night. I say home because it felt like my home, only I’d never been there before. The home was a rustic red brick with white porches that wrapped around both levels of the house. There were beautiful plants hanging on the wide porch, just as beautiful as the ones in the field. I could feel a warm breeze flow through my hair. I smelled the sweet flowers.