Chapter 12
I spotted Xander as soon as I pulled into a parking lot marked by familiar golden arches.
He was leaning against the same Range Rover he’d driven to Soul Harvest, his nose buried in his phone, and my lips curled into a smile at the sight of his costume.
He wore a moss-green jerkin with a matching cloak, which was fastened at the neck by a silver brooch in the shape of a leaf.
His forearms were covered by black bracers, and on his feet were decorative leather boots.
The best part, however, was the long platinum wig.
Or the pointed ears. It was hard to choose.
“Oh. My. God,” I said, stepping out of my car. “You didn’t!”
Xander looked up at the sound of my voice and grinned. “I did. You’re the one who said you pictured me as Legolas, so I figured, who am I to deny you that particular fantasy?” He pushed away from the SUV and, holding out his hands, turned in a slow circle. “What do you think?”
That you’re a dork. A freaking adorable dork.
“You look like you belong on a movie set,” I said, moving forward to get a better look. Up close, I could see the intricate vine-like pattern stitched into the garment. The costume was clearly custom-made, not some mass-produced piece of crap anyone could buy off . “I love it.”
When I invited Xander to the Halloween party, I told him he wasn’t required to dress up because I didn’t want to give him a reason not to come.
Most people did, but as long as he was there, I’d be happy.
Xander, however, insisted he would find a costume.
With that being said, I never expected him to go all out.
Not like this. That he had put so much effort in made my chest feel warm and light.
“I’m glad you approve.” His mouth quirked as he scanned my outfit. “So…what exactly are you supposed to be?”
I laughed. Besides the tailcoat Sofia had altered for me, I was wearing black leather shorts, knee-high boots, and a pair of chemistry goggles on my head.
Around my wrist hung a bracelet made of wine corks and hex nuts.
I’d also used a temporary dye to color my hair the same deep blue as my jacket and glitter gel to add some sparkle to my roots.
“A character from Lady Phoenix called Kelina Stardust. She’s a time-traveling alien who has zero understanding of Earth fashion. ”
“Wow,” he said, looking me up and down again. “I need to start reading pronto.”
“Why’s that?”
He blushed but said, “Because this Kelina character is kinda hot.”
Holy. Freaking. Hell. Was Xander hitting on me?
Thank the Lord for the thick layer of foundation I was wearing, because my cheeks went up in flames. “Do you really think this looks okay?” I asked, tugging at the tailcoat, “or are you just being nice? Because I ran into Violet before I left, and she told me I look silly.”
“It’s Halloween. You’re allowed to look silly,” Xander said, “but I don’t think you do. Quirky, sure, but in an intriguing, let’s-take-a-ride-in-your-spaceship kind of way.”
“Was that a sexual innuendo involving aliens?”
“Maybe,” he said with a grin, and before I could come up with a clever reply, he jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. “Come on. There’s something I want to show you.” He retrieved a long, flat case from the back of his car and steered me in the direction of the sidewalk.
“What’s in there?” I asked, trying to get a better look at the plastic box as I fell into step beside him.
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
“Ugh, you suck.”
Tuesday night when I asked Xander to come to the bonfire with me, he eagerly agreed.
His only caveat? We meet up before the party.
Much to my frustration, he wouldn’t tell me why.
All he said was that he had a surprise for me, and despite my endless pestering, he remained tight-lipped.
I hadn’t even managed to pry a hint from him.
The anticipation had been driving me up the wall ever since.
When he’d texted me an address this morning, the first thing I’d done was look it up on Google Maps, only to discover our rendezvous point was a McDonald’s.
And I highly doubted my surprise was a Happy Meal dinner date.
Xander probably chose this meeting spot to throw me off whatever his surprise was.
Where in the world were we going?
I received my answer five minutes later.
After walking a few blocks, we crossed the street to where a building that looked like a luxury log cabin loomed over us.
The architecture felt out of place in southern California until I read the sign on the wall and everything finally made sense: STONE CREEK ARCHERY RANGE.
Xander stopped underneath the entrance overhang, which was held up by two massive river rock pillars, and cleared his throat.
“The other night, you mentioned you were interested in learning archery,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck.
“I leave Monday morning, so I figured today was my only opportunity to squeeze in a lesson. You game?”
“Absolutely,” I replied, mainly because Xander looked unsure of himself, like he was suddenly second-guessing his decision to bring me here.
What he didn’t know was that my insides had instantly twisted up at his question.
I was willing to bet that archery wasn’t my sport, and the last thing I wanted to do was make a fool of myself in front of him, but I couldn’t tell him no.
Not when I remembered how nervous I’d been to ask him to the party.
What if he was feeling the exact same way?
“Cool.” Xander’s relief was evident in his smile. “Follow me.”
The inside of the archery range looked like a sporting goods store, but Xander blew by the rows of equipment and led me to a back counter where a lady in her midforties was reading a paperback. She glanced up at the sound of our approach.
“Hey, Carol,” Xander called.
She squinted at him—he probably looked unfamiliar in a wig and without his glasses—before breaking out into a grin. “Xander, it’s so good to see you,” she exclaimed, marking her page and closing the book. “It’s been ages since you’ve stopped in. I was starting to think you’d forgotten about me.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” he told her. “I could never forget about you.”
“Oh, stop.” She waved him off. “You’re always such a sweetheart. You here to get some practice time in before your next big tour?”
“Actually, I’m teaching today. Carol, this is Indie. Indie, Carol. She’s the owner of Stone Creek. I’ve been a member here ever since I moved to LA.”
“Teaching, huh?” She turned to me and put her hands on her hips. “So, Indie, have you ever shot a bow before?”
I shook my head. “No, never.”
“Then you’re in for a treat.”
Carol wasted no time getting started. First, she had me do an eye dominance test to see which one I naturally aimed with, because apparently that determined whether I needed a right-handed or left-handed bow.
Next, she tested my draw length, a number she used to figure out my bow size.
Finally, she measured my arrow size before giving me arm guards and a finger tab to protect my skin from the bowstring.
After Xander paid for my rental equipment, Carol allowed us through the door next to the counter, which led to an indoor range.
Black lines painted on the floor created ten shooting lanes, each one ending in a target.
The space reminded me a bit of a bowling alley but without ball returns and the sound of crashing pins.
Xander set his case down on the table near the closest lane and motioned for me to do the same.
“So where do we start?” I asked, bouncing on my toes.
Despite my earlier hesitation, I was itching to draw the string back and let an arrow fly.
Something about holding the bow made me feel badass.
I doubted I’d even hit the target, but I was no longer afraid of embarrassing myself.
Had I been teaching Xander how to play violin, I’d never think less of him for not being perfect at the onset.
I was confident he wouldn’t judge me either.
“Well,” Xander said and scratched his head. “I’ve never actually taught anyone before, so I’m not sure.”
“Maybe with a demonstration?”
“Good idea.” Xander unlocked the plastic case on the table and lifted the cover, revealing his bow.
He unlatched the straps holding it in place and gently picked it up.
I watched as he inspected the weapon and explained that before shooting, he always checked to make sure the string and screws were tight and that there weren’t any cracks or splinters in the limbs and risers.
Then he moved over to the black line that indicated the start of the lane.
“The first thing you need to think about when it comes to proper shooting technique is your stance,” he said, getting into position.
“You want to stand with your feet roughly shoulder distance apart. Your hips should be pointed at the target, and your shoulders should be straight over the center of your body, like so. You also want to make sure you’re not leaning too far forward or backward. ”
Xander went on to illustrate hand placement, how to hold the bow, and coming to full draw, but his explanation was lost on me, unfamiliar terms filtering in one ear and out the other.
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to listen, but I was too distracted by the way his body moved in confident, effortless motions.
Clearly, something was wrong with me. How was it possible that someone dressed as an elf looked so hot?
A loud thump startled me from my daydream. Xander had finally released an arrow, and at the other end of the room, it was buried in the center of the target.
“Did all that make sense?” he asked with a hopeful expression.
I shook my head slightly to clear the daze. “Ah…I think so?”
“Okay, time for you to try, but just with the bow for now. I want to make sure you have the technique down before you start shooting.”