Intrigue: The Night Muse Trilogy, page 25
Chapter 24: Housekeepers and Cooks
Just when I wanted things to slow down, time actually sped up. And Rafe was everywhere. Every car ride, every class, every study hall, every extracurricular activity. He would have followed me into the bathroom if he could have gotten away with it. In study hall on Tuesday, I finally had to tell him to give me some space. “You are aware that you are totally hovering right? It’s like you are constantly waiting for me to bolt. You need to relax and back off a little.”
His eyes twinkled with amusement and a little smile played across his lips as he replied, “Call me a tad bit overprotective, but I feel like the threats of my world are closing in on us, and I want to make sure you are protected.”
“Fine, but you gotta give me some more space. And frankly, I am less worried about the threat of Thrace’s harpies and more worried that you are just going to hand me over to Apollo. If you are equals, what is the deal?”
His amusement faded in an instant, and he became serious for once as he entwined our hands on top of the library table. “I defer to him when it comes to you because you are most likely his Muse and that relationship must be honored. However, I would never give you up unless you asked me to.”
“I wouldn’t anticipate that happening especially for Mr. Johnny-No-Fun. Promise me that I won’t be doing the intense squint soon.”
He laughed in a low voice and winked at me in his light-hearted way as he assured me, “I promise no overabundance of squinting. I don’t even think your eyes could squint like that for any amount of time.”
“Now I am going to ask for an act of faith on your part. I want Thrace to drive me to and from class tonight. And as a reward for your trust, I will allow you to drop by this evening and hang out. My dad is on shift tonight, and my mom has her book club, so all will be clear from 7 to 9.”
His hand grabbed a strand of my hair and played with the tip of it as he pondered something. “I will give you one better. I will skip class tonight and Thursday, so you can have your space, and I can coordinate with Apollo. Of course, this is only if I get a real date night on Friday. This includes officially meeting your parents, Calli. As much as I adore being your boy toy, I think it is time you updated my status.”
I groaned and looked down at our hands, “Rafe, I would like to keep you on the down low status, so I won’t be constantly interrogated by my parents. The first month that I date anyone is constant drama with them.” I, however, added with a flirty gaze when I looked up, “although I do like you as a boy toy.”
“Time to go Prime Time drama, darling. You gonna take my deal or would you like me to hover a bit more?”
“You don’t think I have enough drama heading my way? I need to add in parental drama?”
“Parental drama will take your mind off the other drama, and you will not have any drama when it comes to the rescue. We will take care of that,” he said in a stern manner.
“You think me doing nothing isn't going to be stressful when my boy toys are in harms way? I’m sorry, have we met before,” I said with a slightly raised voice, which I immediately regretted, but luckily no one was paying attention to our table.
“Crunch time, Calli.”
“Fine. I will take the deal. But if something happens to a hair on your perfectly tousled head, or if Thrace has one bruise on him, there will be flockin hell to pay. Got it?”
A smile lit his face and the twinkle in his eyes was back and threatening to turn me into mush. “Understandment. And if you weren’t so totally against PDA, I would definitely be rewarding you for your good behavior.”
I caught Thrace in the hall outside his next class and asked for a ride to karate. He seemed surprised and pleased. I told him that I would meet him by his car after school. Unfortunately, Jazz and Key caught the exchange and thought I had lost my mind.
Jazz questioned, “I thought things were starting to get interesting with Rafe. What gives?”
“Rafe has to skip class this week, and I thought it was about time to mend some fences before Rafe and I go out on our first date.”
Key looked at me suspiciously and inquired, “What haven’t you told us, girlfriend?”
I sighed deeply and confessed, “Rafe has finally convinced me to go on a date with him on Friday, and he has demanded to meet my parents and everything.”
Jazz and Key both squealed at the same time causing most of the remaining students in the hall to look our way. Luckily for me the bell rang, and we all had to book it to our next class.
In journalism, Thrace seemed agitated and wanted more information about the harpies, the plan, and the mystery people that were suppose to help him. I dodged, weaved, and evaded like it was my job. Karate class was less awkward with less tension since Rafe was not around. Thrace immediately filled in Rafe’s place next to me. It almost felt like old times as Thrace and I walked to his car to head home. The memories of previous car rides with Thrace were starting to suffocate me, and I needed to bolt.
I went inside and immediately ran upstairs to grab a shower before Rafe would arrive to hang out. I got ready quickly as I mentally tried to decide what one wears while hanging out with a Greek god. Would normal teenage hanging out stuff bore him? I started to get really nervous and panic started to set in just as I heard the doorbell ring.
Of course, it was exactly 7pm, and he was right on time. I answered the door like a nervous wreck and barely got out, “Hey and Welcome” without tripping over my words. Flock, I’m a geek.
Rafe seemed to sense my nerves and gave me an amused smile, “You promised me a tour, if I recall.”
I gave him the downstairs tour and started to babble and blush. “The house is a point of contention between my parents. Mom fell in love with Rosendale Park’s tree-lined streets and this Tudor-style house. Dad thinks the neighborhood was too fancy, some of the neighbors really put on airs, and old houses are money pits. I think he didn’t like it that her salary was paying for most of it.”
Of course, Rafe saw my blush and asked, “I would gladly give my entire fortune for the thought that just made you blush.”
I ignored his comment and asked, “Have you had supper yet? I’m starving. Do you mind if we make something to eat?”
He shot me his trademark mischievous grin as he replied, “I am famished, but it is not necessarily for food.”
“Sorry, the Edonides blood bank is closed for the evening.”
His gaze practically scorched me as he backed me against the kitchen island and placed one hand on my blushing face. His other hand entwined in mine as he whispered, “I don’t want your blood, Calli. Never that. I just want permission to kiss you.”
I swallowed loudly as I nodded my head. I was sooooo out of my league. His kiss was sweet and electrifying. Although he cut it short, he sent shockwaves to my toes.
I finally heard him say, “Now, I’m hungry. And, I think I should probably cook. My guess is your idea of cooking has something to do with Spaghetti O’s and the microwave.”
I looked up at him and remarked, “What’s wrong with Spaghetti O’s? It’s practically its own food group.”
“Exactly. And that food group would be processed foods from a can. Let me get the lay of the land, and I will let you know what I’m cooking.”
I laughed as I watched him look in every cabinet and drawer in the kitchen, “What exactly are you looking for? I can at least point you in the right direction.”
He finally looked at me when he was done with his inspection and said, “I think we will do baked pasta. I don’t have enough time to make my own sauce, so unfortunately, we will have to go with sauce from a jar.” He started to pull out the ingredients he needed. He gave me some small tasks to keep me out of his way. He threw the timer on for 30 minutes for both the pasta and homemade garlic bread.
I told him that Thrace wanted to drive me to school on Thursday as well as to practice. “I suppose I can be reasonable since I get Date Night on Friday.”
We debated once again on the logic of planning two stressful events on two days in a row. Rafe finally said he couldn’t compromise on Friday because he needed my curfew to be later for our First Date activities. My stomach flipped as I stuttered, “Ok. Exactly what do you have in mind?”
Rafe’s eyes twinkled and his grin was wicked as he huskily promised, “A night you will never forget.”
I think I literally jumped out of my chair as the timer for the oven went off. Rafe laughed at me and went to take care of our dinner. He brought me over a plate, but he actually made me try the pasta from his plate. It was delicious.
“Rafe, you are going to make some woman a fine wife one day.”
“Can we say the same for you?” Rafe asked.
“No. I probably won’t make some woman a fine wife,” I teased.
Rafe laughed so hard he actually snorted, which made me laugh. “How about some man or some god?”
“Sorry. My plan is to make enough to be able to hire a housekeeper and cook.”
Rafe smiled at me suggestively as he inquired, “Can I apply for the position? I have excellent references.”
“I thought you were more of the bodyguard type rather than a housekeeper.”
“I do what I need to do, Calli. As you can see, my skills come in many different forms, which should come in handy since you tend to take a lot of looking after.”
I sputtered, “A lot more than when I only resided in the human world.”
“True, but those days are gone, Calli,” Rafe replied solemnly.
I sighed and lost what was left of my appetite. “I better do the dishes, so mom doesn’t see two sets and wonder who was over.”
Rafe caught my chin in his hand and forced me to meet his gaze, “I’m sorry my world has intruded on yours, but I am not sorry I met you Calli. My world was a much lonelier place without you in it. I know that is selfish to say, but you have set my world aflame, Siren. I can’t stop myself from becoming addicted.”
“Would you stop yourself if you could?” I asked in a shaky voice.
“Yes. When you come of age and if you are Ares or Apollo’s Muse, it is going to rip me apart.”
“Even when I still choose you over them?”
“It’s not that simple, Calli. You will still have a strong bond with your Olympian. In some ways, a part of you will always belong to someone else. I’ve been there and that knowledge will torture me.”
This time I pulled his chin back up to face me, “As long as you are honest with me, we can face whatever your world throws at us together. I have your back, and you have mine.”
Of course, my statement made guilt flash across his face. “I will always protect you, Siren. I promise. Now, we better speed through the dishes because it is almost 9pm.”
“Flock! We need to move.”
He gave me his impish grin as he replied, “Consider this my tryout as your housekeeper.”
I stepped back and in under a minute he had the dishes washed and put away and the leftovers in the fridge. He was going to make a damn fine housekeeper/cook for me one day. He was kissing me goodnight at the door at 8:50. When he kissed me, I wanted to take all the chances I could, but he wouldn’t let me. He broke away and kissed me on the forehead at about 8:55. “Sleep tight, Siren.”
My mom came home five minutes later. We discussed the neighborhood gossip and how much she won because her “book club” was actually Woman’s Poker Night. She said I could not play with them until I was 18: Getting to vote, learning poker, and having an Olympian’s soul awaken in me. Flock! Mom raided the fridge and actually tried some of my leftovers, even though she was clearly skeptical of my cooking. She was really impressed with Rafe’s baked pasta, and complimented me, “Wow, Calli, when did you learn to cook?”
I improvised, “Well, I have had some extra time on my hands, so I decided to try this recipe I found online.”
Mom looked at me with concern for the break-up again, “Well, it was an excellent recipe. Sweetie, you know if you ever want to talk, I’m here.”
I sighed and smiled at her. “I know, mom. Speaking of that, I am going out on a date Friday with a boy from school. He’s a junior like me.”
This time, it was my mom’s turn to sputter, “What? Who?”
“When? Where? How? His name is Rafe. You have already met him. He was the one that got me involved with the DUA stuff. His dad is a retired Air Force Colonel. And you can meet and interrogate Rafe on Friday.”
My mom finally regained her senses and replied, “I don’t know if that is enough time to prepare your father.”
“Well, it better be. All he has to do is get out his hunting rifles, and he’s ready.”
“True, but this is definitely going to shock him. I think he hoped that your pining was going to last all the way to college. Now he’s going to have start the intimidation routine all over again.”
“I’m sure he missed the routine. Now, I am off to bed.”
