?WINGLESS AND BEAUTIFUL?
?EPISODE 38?
“Oh, seven,” she said. “There are two more guestrooms
upstairs and then the library and the game room. I would
like to take you there, but lately the game room has been
Hunter’s territory.”
“Why? What’s in there?”
“A snooker and pool table. Big LCD screens where you
can play video games. Hunter spends more than two hours
a day there… playing pool and… I think chess. No one in this
house could match him in a game of chess anyway so no
one bothers to play with him. I think he plays with the
computer or he joins online tournaments.”
Hunter Vaughn, chess master at age fifteen.
I remembered him saying that during our first date.
Even when he couldn’t see, Hunter was unbeatable. I
wonder how I would fare against him now that he didn’t
have to just imagine our chess pieces in his head.
Denise’s room was huge. She had a princess bed, a
couch that was big enough to be a day bed, a huge plasma
television screen and a huge walk-in closet. Her bathroom
was covered in light pink tiles and there was a huge Jacuzzi
in the center.
“Come on, let’s try out the Jacuzzi. You look tired. It will help you unwind.”
As long as we’re staying within the confines of her room,
I wouldn’t argue with her. I dressed in a pair of two-piece
suit and then I joined her in the Jacuzzi.
“So… what’s up with you and Chaise?”
I stared at her blankly. Then I shook my head.
“Come on, Alice. Chaise is absolutely crazy about you.
At first, I was skeptical because it seemed abrupt that he wanted to be your friend.
But over the last few weeks… he
seemed genuinely into you.”
“I feel bad about it though. I can’t… return his feelings.”
“Because of him?” she asked, pointing at my chest.
My hand went to my necklace again. I still hadn’t
stopped wearing Hunter’s necklace. I couldn’t. I felt like removing it and never wearing it again would mean saying goodbye to the old Hunter… the blind Hunter who fell in love with me… the wonderful Hunter that I fell in love with.
I gave Denise a slight nod.
“Where did you meet him?” she asked. “What’s his
name?”
I couldn’t answer that. I couldn’t tell Denise that the
person she was asking about was just in a room above us.
Hunter couldn’t even remember me… or refused to
recognize me. How could I tell his cousin that he was the
one I was waiting to come back to me all this time?
“Let’s just call him H,” I replied. “He went away.” I had
to keep my responses to the minimal. I couldn’t keep lying
to Denise. I wasn’t a good liar to begin with.
“Does Chaise know there was someone else?”
I nodded. “I told him why I couldn’t bring myself to fall
for him. I don’t want to hurt him. But I am. And the least
that I could do is be honest with him. I owe Chaise a lot.
Kindly When I first started working for Alibri… I was ignoring him,
being rude to him even. But he didn’t stop showing me that
he cared.
“He even followed me home at nights. I got so scared, I
thought somebody was stalking me. And then one night
some potheads thought to have fun with me, I couldn’t be
more thankful to Chaise for saving me.” I sighed. “Chaise is my guardian angel, my protector… my dear friend. But even though I wanted to try being more than that, I just… can’t.
Maybe it isn’t time yet.”
“But don’t fall for him just because he’s your guardian
angel and that you owe him a lot, okay?” Denise said. “You
deserve to be swept off your feet and fall head over heels in love without a sense of reason or logic. That’s what love should be all about.”
I stared at her for a moment and I thought she looked
dreamy. Suddenly, I realized that since I met her, I haven’t
seen or heard her date anybody from school. There were
many guys interested in her, but she just shot them down.
But now… she looked like she was over the moon.
“Denise…” I started. “Are you in love?”
She snapped back from her dreamlike state and stared
at me. A blush crept over her face so fast she didn’t have
time to hide it.
“Oh my God!” I breathed. “Who is it? I didn’t even know
you were dating anybody.”
“It’s umm…” she hesitated. “You know Arthur Buckley?”
I scanned my brain for the reason why that name was so
familiar. And then it hit me. Arthur Buckley was the new art
professor.
“Denise, he’s… what? Twenty-five?”
“Twenty-four. He’s smart, he graduated early.”
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