~ Chapter Nine ~
T he bed was too soft and Saturday morning came too quickly.
Regan’s shower did little to bring him to life, except for his penis.
Suddenly his member was more alive than he had seen in some time—one would think he returned to his teens or early twenties.
Not that his state of arousal was a bad thing.
This current level of excitement was a pleasant reminder that there was still life in him and that that part of his life wasn’t over.
Pushing the urges of his body away, he concentrated on preparing for his day of training with the Twins.
I doubt they are going to go easy on me.
By the time Lutin arrived at Regan’s door, he had managed to throw some toast together and he secured a dinner reservation at La Fondue in Saratoga.
Given they were in Boulder Creek, they had a bit of a drive, but the food would be worth every minute they spent in the car.
Luckily, the traffic on a Saturday night shouldn’t be too bad.
Regan couldn’t remember the last time he had been there.
The food and the atmosphere were incredible and different from the places he typically ate.
Especially these days. Having a quiet dinner with Lutin would be pleasant and there was nothing that the Twins could put him through to make him pass up on their date.
Short of putting me in the hospital, that is.
As they walked, the quiet between Lutin and him made Regan’s hands sweat as his breath came quicker.
“Is everything okay?” Regan asked as they moved along the path.
“Hmm? Oh, sorry.” Lutin glanced at Regan, his lips pulling up slightly. “Yes. Everything’s fine. Are you excited for your training time with the Twins?”
“I’m a bit nervous at what they’re gonna put me through, but I keep focusing on our dinner tonight.” Regan playfully nudged Lutin’s shoulder.
“Right, dinner.” Lutin offered another smile, but his expression of joy didn’t reach his eyes.
Regan focused back on the path as they walked. I hope everything’s okay.
With a thud, Regan met the hard ground… again. Not only had the Twins aged a few years since yesterday’s session, the overall training ramped up in difficulty. The energy bolt missed him but left him open to a surge of water landing square in his chest, knocking him to the grass.
“What the hell?” he barked as he clawed his way to his feet. “Are you trying to kill me?”
“No,” countered the Electrical Twin, their dark eyes sparking.
The Water Twin chuckled. “Definitely not kill you.” They pushed their blond hair away from their eyes.
Regan rubbed his chest, trying to breathe. “Can we take a moment and talk… now that you’re older?”
The two shared a look and nodded their agreement, then walked over to meet him.
“How is it you’re aging? Even since this morning, you’ve grown.” Regan sighed. “Lutin mentioned something about you being in a holding pattern… and if it’s because of me, ignoring you”—he stood taller and met their gaze—“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
Again, the Twins glanced between each other. Even now they seemed a bit older.
The Electrical Twin’s gaze narrowed. “The more you learn, the older we become.”
“The more time we spend together, the closer to your age we’ll become,” the Water Twin added.
“That doesn’t seem fair to you.” Regan’s gaze dropped. “What kind of life are you going to lead? Because of me you’re being forced to rush to catch up.”
“Don’t worry.” The Water Twin reached out, touching Regan’s arm softly. They were definitely the more sensitive of the two.
“We’ll live much longer than you,” the Electrical Twin added. “You’re human, after all.”
Regan didn’t like the sound of their comment, but from the little he read about Elementals and Fae, they weren’t wrong, even if the Electrical Twin was a bit more brass about their longevity. “What happens to you when… when I’m gone?”
The Twins watched him a moment, then faced each other.
Regan couldn’t be sure, but the way they focused on each other was almost like they were having a private conversation he couldn’t hear.
When they were done, they turned back to him.
“We’ll continue on. Maybe move on to another, or possibly explore and see what else the universe has to offer. ”
Regan’s heart dropped. “You’re not bound here? You can go to different places?”
“Different worlds.” The Electrical Twin offered a nod of agreement.
“Yes,” the Water Twin concurred.
“Jesus.” Regan raked a hand through his hair. “And why are you here with me?”
The Water Twin pushed their blond hair from their blue eyes. “We all have to start somewhere, and you are where we started.”
“I… I’m not sure I understand.”
“Yes, you do,” the Electrical Twin countered with a zap to prove their point. “You’re our… hmm… parent?”
“Yes. Parent,” the Water Twin agreed. “That is the best word for it.”
Regan rubbed his forehead. “How can that be?”
The Twins laughed. “Come on. You need more practice and I’m getting bored with all the talking.” The Electrical Twin raised their hands, shooting off sparks. “There is still a lot for you to learn.”
“But I have?—”
The Twins peeked at each other with raised brows.
Regan barely had a moment to respond to their combined attack.
For a brief moment, he thought he did well countering and redirecting their joint strike—however, as with all their other assaults, and given their raw talent, the Twins managed to have him flat on his back again.
At least this onslaught took longer for me to hit the ground than before.
By the time their training for the day concluded, Regan felt pretty good.
He now possessed the ability to control both elements and had less difficulty accessing the raw power and bending the elements to his will.
He even managed to blast both Twins off their feet, which, by their collective surprise and laughter, pleased him.
However, the Water Twin had to hold back the Electric Twin from blasting Regan in retaliation.
There was definitely a fire in the Electrical Twin and not only were they not as patient, but they were also quicker to anger and didn’t always think, preferring action over thought.
The Water Element seemed the calmer of the two, though where electricity could be destructive and angry in short bursts, water could be way more destructive and dangerous over time.
I think of the two, I’m more frightened of the Water Twin because beneath the calm seas, a major hurricane could be forming. And that is something I don’t want to see.
Before he left the Twins for the day, he made a note of their age. Even though they wouldn’t tell him how old they were, they appeared to be thirteen or maybe fourteen. They were definitely teenagers now and he wondered if that meant he would have to deal with the teenage mentality.
God, I hope not.
“Who knows how old they’ll be tomorrow? Maybe I’ll miss all that.
” He chuckled to himself. As for now, at least, the Twins seemed to be good teachers.
He huffed at the idea. They were teaching him and yet according to them he was their…
their parent. He still couldn’t wrap his head around the idea.
He needed to dig around Max’s office and see if he could find anything more on Elementals.
There were several books he hadn’t even touched yet, so perhaps he would get lucky.
Once back on the human realm, Regan didn’t want to bother Lutin, so he made his way home to get cleaned up for dinner.
He appreciated the training today as the activity kept his mind off of their meal tonight.
Not only was he looking forward to a wonderful meal, but he was excited to spend some time with Lutin and hopefully get to know him better.
He knew that he couldn’t ask all the witchy questions he wanted to ask, but there were many other questions and having a pleasant conversation was something he looked forward to. Well, at least with Lutin.
By the time he was all cleaned and dressed, he made his way to the front of his cabin.
Finding his smartphone, he checked the time.
He was early and didn’t want to rush over to Lutin’s home, so he figured he’d go back to the office and see if he could find other novels on Elementals.
Searching the books would be a good way to kill the next twenty minutes.
Though this would be the last time he would try to do something simple like glance through books.
By the time he checked his watch, he had only a couple minutes to get over to Lutin’s cottage.
Lucky for him, it was a quick trip. The time wasn’t wasted and he managed to find a couple of books that had information on Elementals that he would need to go through.
Regan reached Lutin’s cottage two minutes late, but in the grand scheme of the universe, that wasn’t too bad. He tapped on the door and waited. He didn’t hear anything on the opposite side of the door so he tapped again. Nothing. This time he knocked louder.
“Lutin! Hey, it’s Regan. Everything okay?” he called out.
No response.
His lips pinched together as a frown grew. His free hand started to tap the side of his leg as he knocked again.
“Lutin, you home?”
Again, nothing.
He decided to walk around the house—maybe Lutin was out back and couldn’t hear him.
Maybe he’s hurt.
An image of a passed out Lutin filled his thoughts as he hurried his pace, making two full circles around the house.
No Lutin. In fact, everything appeared fine. “What the heck?” He pulled out his phone and checked to see if there was a message or a missed call.
Did I give Lutin my number?
Nothing. A few messages from work, but nothing more.
He stuffed the phone back in his pocket and figured he would check the rest of the grove just in case he was missing something.
After finding nothing, Regan’s heart and head were a mix of worry and confusion.
He remembered their conversation in the morning and how Lutin didn’t seem right.
Something seemed off about him. Did I scare him off? What did I do?
Instead of talking himself over the ledge, he thought perhaps Lutin decided he would meet him at the restaurant.
Regan hadn’t mentioned the location, but still Lutin was a Fae so maybe he knew, or figured it out.
He wasn’t sure, but he was going to be late if he didn’t move.
He was going to give Lutin such a ribbing for this.
He forced a bit of a smile to his face, pushing down any other emotions like hurt and annoyance.
I’m sure everything is fine.
He made his way to his Jeep, started the engine, and headed off to Saratoga.
The drive to the restaurant took longer than Regan wanted, but he did his best to not rush or drive too fast. The cops in these small towns didn’t mess around, and the last thing he wanted to do was get into an accident.
After he found a parking spot, Regan checked his reflection in the mirror and took a breath.
The shower and shave always made him feel better.
He knew some people liked the scruff, but when he wanted to go out and look his best, he always liked a clean-shaven face.
He was here and he was certain that Lutin would be waiting for him outside the restaurant.
They would have a good laugh and then enjoy their dinner.
Regan got himself checked in at the host stand and asked if he could wait a few minutes for Lutin to arrive.
He stared at his phone, watching the minutes tick by, and no Lutin.
Finally, the host said he could wait at his table.
Regan hated dining alone, but eating alone was something he was becoming more and more familiar with.
Guess this is my life now. Eating by himself was why he never went out unless the meal was with friends.
As time marched on, Lutin not showing up was clear. As much as Regan didn’t want to admit Lutin ghosted him, here he sat alone. Regan accepted Lutin wasn’t going to magically appear.
I suppose I could leave. Or should I just eat?
Regan avoided all eye contact with the waiter and barely spoke at all except to place his order. Despite being alone, he wasn’t going to leave. He came for a good meal and he at least was going to have a good dinner. To hell with Lutin and anyone who might judge him for being alone.
The meal was quick, as fast as he could work through the dining experience.
Despite how good the food was, he barely ate.
Worst, he didn’t remember what he ordered.
He left most of the meal untouched and by the time the bill arrived, he paid his tab and left a hefty tip for the server, wanting nothing more than to forget this whole event.
Regan toyed with the idea of driving home, but unlike others, he followed through with his commitments.
He had told the Twins he would see them the next day and he had every intention of keeping his promise.
By the time he reached the cabin, he was ready to build up a nice fire and crawl into bed. He was done with the day and the world.
Parking, he stopped with his hands on the steering wheel, breathing and taking a moment.
He heard each of his breaths and his heart beat.
The cabin was so quiet he might think being here nice if he wasn’t so alone.
He grabbed his keys and opened the car door to the cool damp air surrounding him.
Facing the sky, all he saw was cloud cover and coldness.
“Another beautiful night in the mountains.” He huffed.
This is why I don’t get my hopes up. This is why I don’t let people in. The minute you do is the minute they fuck you over.
Regan didn’t bother with the books, and at some point in the night when there was a knock at the front door, he ignored the intrusion, just like he had been ignored.
The next morning, he threw himself together and instead of heading to the grove, he figured he would connect with the Twins here at his cabin. No need to rely on anyone else. If he wasn’t important enough to even get a call or a note, then clearly, he would and could manage on his own.
I’ve been on my own this long. No reason to expect anything different.