Chapter 24 Fireflies #3
Her Mediterranean blue eyes scanned the estate and finally parked on Tommy, still trying to keep his balance. The mysterious meadow bird fixated onto him, and walked in his direction. Except that she floated.
Tommy was inclined to say hello but the arrow lodged in his heart prevented him from even breathing.
Imprinted.
Fated.
Shellshocked.
“What the hell is that? Is that a fucking fairy?” Tommy managed to whisper to himself.
He glanced down but there was nothing there. He removed his hand from his chest, but there was no blood. No rip in his shirt.
The phantom arrow disintegrated.
He looked back up.
She was standing directly in front of him now, effervescent and glowing below the steps. Her watermelon-pink lips uncovered a soft smile.
“Hi, I’m A—”
“I know who you are,” Tommy said, reaching out his hand, stepping down the steps, almost tripping.
“You must be A—”
“APPLE!” Nicki shouted from the side of the house.
“Nicki!”
“AAAAAH!” the girls both screamed, crashing into each other’s embrace.
“Nicki, oh my God! Look how gorgeous you look! Congratulations!” Apple exclaimed, handing Nicki the lilies.
“What the fuck is happening?” Tommy whispered.
“I’m so glad you made it!” Nicki exclaimed. “Have you met my new brother-in-law yet?”
Tommy—now more confidently after taking a minute to recalibrate—approached Apple with his hand out.
“Hi, I’m Tommy. You must be Apple, the uh, the dreamcatcher. I mean, that, that sunset… roommate,” he managed, dimples fully deployed.
Apple shot a weird look at Nicki before turning back with a smile.
“It’s nice to meet you, Tommy. Nicki actually told me about her husband’s really cute brother. That must be you,” Apple teased, shaking his hand.
Tommy glanced over at Nicki with the most grateful of eyes. A melted puppy.
“Apple, that’s the most beautiful name I’ve ever heard,” he offered, stunned by her beauty, still holding her hand. She didn’t seem to mind; the energy between them was electric.
She was everything an apple represented: sweet, bright, wholesome, delicious. With the body of a beach goddess in her flowy sunshine dress, some long draped colourful beads and bracelets, and… a small tattoo of a horse on the inside of her upper arm, just above the elbow.
Tommy studied every inch of how she stood, how she moved, how she spoke as her and Nicki caught up.
He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating.
“So, are you back from India? For good?” Nicki asked.
“Yeah, I missed the love of my life too much. Couldn’t be away from him any longer,” Apple said sweetly. “India was amazing. So was Indonesia and Bali! But I missed home.”
“Love of your life?” Tommy asked blatantly. The sooner he learned about him the sooner he could eliminate him.
“Yeah, my horse, Charlie. He’s in Arizona.” Apple motioned to her arm.
Tommy’s fingers shot up to his temples as he tried to process it all. “Give me a second,” he muttered.
Nicki glanced over at Tommy and gave him a covert wink as she pulled Apple ahead and put her arm around her.
“Hey, how about I introduce you to my new husband, my best friend Tanisha, and then Tommy can go get you a nice drink, huh?” Nicki suggested.
“Sounds great,” Apple said, glancing back at Tommy flirtingly.
The two old college roommates giddily headed to the party together with Tommy trailing behind.
Apple reached out her hand discreetly behind her and Tommy rushed to graze it with his.
It was over. They were done. Mated.
Vinnie’s music kept the party lively with Nicki dancing with her family on the dance floor and having a blast. Tyler and the crew were at the bar tent for a much-needed crew shot.
“Alpha! Congratulations my brother!” Tico said to Tyler and the group. “You did it. Don’t forget, family is most important. And you made yourself a beautiful one.”
They all took a shot and shook Tyler’s hand.
“There she is, my wife! Look how gorgeous she looks!” Tyler shouted as Nicki came down from the dance floor with Zana and over to hug Tyler.
“Hi, baby!” she said winded, reaching for a bottle of water on the bar.
Tyler took it out of her hands and poured it into a glass for her.
“Drink, baby. Keep my boys hydrated,” he teased.
Zana joined Tico in a sweet embrace and then dragged him onto the dance floor to join their daughters.
“Hey, where’s Tommy?” Tyler asked.
The crew looked over to the lawn and spotted him and Apple dancing together in a soft sway on the far end of the grass, while the fast music continued.
Vinnie stopped the music to announce the cake cutting over at the lit-up tent.
The guests gathered around for the cake excitedly, especially the kids.
“Hey—”
“Aw, leave them, they’re so cute!” Nicki said, pulling Tyler with her toward the cake.
Tommy and Apple continued dancing to the sound of the trees, alone on the lawn, oblivious to the fact that the music had stopped. Fireflies emerged from the lake and danced among them, adding to the magic. Tommy held Apple’s hand close to his chest and stared back into her eyes.
The lone wolf snared in the dreamcatcher. The sunset chaser burned, having finally caught up to the sun. There was nowhere left for either of them to run.