Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
PRETTY
ORIE
“You admitted that you have been following him?” Orian gawks, following me around the store.
He’s been on that detail all morning. Imagine if he knew what else I admitted to Carson last night when I emerged from the shadows.
It wasn’t my plan to reveal myself last night, but that daydreamer had wandered so far off the path, I had no choice. I mean, what was he thinking about that had him totally zoned out?
Turning around, I stop walking and face Orian, who looks utterly bored. “You are here for training—to work for me—or have you forgotten?”
“Fine, fine.” Orian sighs, waving one hand for me to continue on.
As I open my mouth to continue explaining the products and how to help customers, my senses feel flooded. Carson is nearby, his proximity causing everything to turn on inside me.
Excitement. Worry. Suspicion. Attraction of all kinds, on all levels.
All swirling around and conflicting with one another, battling to be the primary emotion. My gaze gravitates to the front windows, and I suck in a small breath as I see who’s on the other side of the glass.
Carson—and he’s coming in here.
As the bell above the door dings, I whip my head back to Orian, blurting out loudly, “For sure, you can go on your break now.”
“Huh?” Brow raised, Orian’s lips curl downward. It’s not long before he realizes who’s walked in, shooting me a smirk.
Through slightly gritted teeth and a forced smile, I more sternly instruct him. “You asked to go on break, so go on break.”
Much to my dismay, Orian turns toward Carson, plopping his hands onto his hips. “Carson, right? So cool to see you again.”
Oh, he is so dead later.
“Nice to see you again too, Orian,” Carson greets, his eyes darting over to me. “Orie.”
Hearing my name roll off his tongue makes me hotter than the hells I came from. Now that I’ve admitted my attraction to him, it’s like I’ve opened a door that I can’t close. The things I ignored and stifled can no longer be contained.
“Hey.” What the fuck is the matter with me? I don’t think I’ve ever been so lame in my entire life. Is this what being a human is truly like?
Orian breaks the awkward silence I’ve created. “Nice bracelet, it matches Orie’s.”
I blink, and everything seems to slow down.
I look down at my bracelet. It’s amethyst. I look over at Carson’s bracelet. It’s amethyst.
Oh my Gods, we do match.
Why does my heart feel…warm?
“We do,” Carson says in his chipper way, with maybe the sweetest smile I’ve ever seen plastered on his face.
“So cute.” Orian shakes his head and lets out a sigh that mocks dreaminess. “Well, I’m hungry. Break time for me.”
Confirmed, he is definitely dead later.
He walks off, leaving Carson and I alone. It’s as if I can feel my heartbeat in every part of my body, and my tail moves involuntarily behind me.
“Who’s stalking whom now?” I raise a brow, trying to keep my emotions hidden beneath the surface.
He narrows his eyes, the smile still on his face. “I won’t report you if you don’t report me.”
Is he flirting with me? I mean, that’s what it seems like…or am I wishfully thinking? Gods, why do I want him to be?
No, he must be flirting. He asked to take me out when we were in the woods. But that could’ve been because I saved him from being a bobcat’s meal.
Or maybe this is a tactic to distract me from whatever he’s truly doing here in Harmony Glen. That’s a possibility.
“What’re you doing here? Surely your essential oils haven’t run out already.” I study him closely, taking in the set of his shoulders. How his hands look so gentle hanging at his sides, his cuticles stained with paint from his last artistic creation.
To put it simply, he exudes charm without even trying, and the more time he spends near me, I’m not sure I’ll be able to resist.
His cheeks gain a rosy hue, the warmth seeming to spread to my face.
“I wanted to see you again. Y’know, not in the woods. I’d like to get to know you more.”
“Well…” I shake my head, looking around me for any excuse to get him out of here. “I’m at work. I’m busy.”
He raises a brow, smiling as he looks around the store. The very empty store. “You sure you don’t have a few minutes to spare?”
Before I can protest, those piercing eyes find mine and instantly make their way past my defenses. There’s a genuineness in them that makes me feel like maybe, just maybe, I’ve been a bit paranoid up to this point.
There might be a chance that Orian is right, and Carson isn’t here to cause me—or Harmony Glen—any issues. Maybe our paths were meant to cross.
Maybe I can feel his presence for a reason beyond something bad.
Maybe our souls are tied together, some invisible string connecting us. Our paths were meant to cross, and I’m glad it has happened. Even if the reason is still unknown. His heart is calling to me, and mine him.
“I might have a few minutes.” I release the breath I was holding, letting my shoulders fall into a more relaxed position.
He grins widely, showing off those perfect, porcelain teeth. They’re more rectangular than my own, which have a pointiness to them. Another thing that will always separate me from being completely human.
“So, how long have you been in Harmony Glen?” he asks, wandering around the store, looking between me and the displays.
I cross my arms, keeping my tail movement as minimal as I possibly can. “A long time now. It’s home.”
He nods along. “I can understand why you’d choose to settle here. It’s breathtaking in a lot of ways.”
His eyes seem to linger on me when he says the word breathtaking, and it makes my heart-rate pick up. My tail no longer listens to me, swaying at its own will behind me.
I just shrug, trying to keep my eyes moving rather than stare at him. “Where are you from?”
“Everywhere and nowhere, it feels. My family moved around a lot my entire life. I never really got to settle anywhere, make connections.” He tells me so easily, like sharing a part of himself is no big deal. “That’s why art is so important to me—it’s all I’ve consistently had.”
There’s something new in his eyes as my attention darts to them. Something that seems to dim their normal brightness. A sadness, a longing.
Whatever it is, it makes me want to reach out and give him some sort of reassuring touch. If he weren’t across the room, I think I would.
I open my mouth, choking on air for a second before finding the words I want to say. “That makes sense for you—the art thing, I mean. You’re very talented. I wondered how long you’d been honing your craft.”
“Thank you. This—” He gives me a gentle smile, adjusting how his glasses are sitting before waving his hand around the store. “Makes sense for you, too.”
Raising a brow, I dare to ask, “How so?”
“Everything in here is so pretty and carries so much depth and meaning, like you.” He shrugs, that stupidly cute smile still across his lips. “And you’re so calm, a wellness store seems like an obvious choice.”
He doesn’t know me well enough to say that I’m so calm. I haven’t felt calm since he got to Harmony Glen, for fuck's sake.
More importantly, though…did he just call me pretty?
My cheeks flood with the heat I feel inside of me, so I do the only thing I can think of—I cross my arms and turn away, looking at my crystal display. “I thought you said you weren’t familiar with crystals. Can you name any of these, or tell me their meaning?”
His laugh returns my attention to him unwillingly. “I’ll admit I don’t know a lot about crystals, but since the first time I was in here, I’ve been reading up on them, and I’m pretty sure that pink one is called rose quartz.”
“That only answers one of my questions.” I scoff, realizing instantly that I am also quoting him from last night in the forest.
He doesn’t seem to notice, or at least, doesn’t let on that he does.
“If I’m not mistaken, it’s the crystal of love,” he says, taking a few steps toward me until he’s only a couple of feet away. “If I’m wrong, though, I’m more than happy to learn.”
Standing my ground, I look up at him, trying to control my tail that’s whipping behind me. “You’re not wrong, so seems like you don’t need a teacher.”
“Isn’t the purple one called obsidian?” he asks, looking past me at the display.
I roll my eyes. “No—amethyst. Everyone knows that. And didn’t I already tell you that when I gave you the bracelet you’re wearing?”
“Silly me, how could I forget?” His gaze moves from the display to his wrist before meeting my eyes again, his smile growing. “Maybe I do need a teacher after all.”
My mouth opens, but I’m stuck. He really just used my own words against me. What an annoyingly clever trick. Especially since it’s really not all that annoying.
“Well, when should I be back for my first lesson?” He takes a few steps back, heading toward the exit. “Tomorrow?”
His hand is already on the handle as I call out, “Hey, I never said I would teach you.”
“What? I can’t hear you…” His voice becomes muffled as he exits and the door closes, leaving him smiling at me through the glass. “I’m already outside.”
With a wave, he disappears from my view, leaving me standing alone, gobsmacked. Who does that? Who does all the things he just did?
And why am I kind of excited to argue with him again tomorrow?
His smile, Gods, it’s annoying—and it’s always there. He’s so cheerful, and my verbal jabs just seem to bounce off him. The coldness I’m trying to exude? It’s immediately neutralized by the warmth he radiates.
I’m doing everything in my power to push him away, yet I feel like it’s doing the opposite. It’s drawing him in.
And maybe, just maybe, that’s not such a bad thing.