Midnight Serenade

Chapter 4

I was in the mountains somewhere, a wall of dark trees behind me and a sea of darker trees below the rock cliff I stood on. The moon was huge - a perfectly beautiful golden circle hanging low in the night sky. I smiled at it for a moment before turning instinctively as he approached.

His bright blue eyes were fixed on me as he moved closer. Vaguely I knew something wasn't quite normal, but I couldn't put my finger on it. As he came to a stop, towering over me, I decided I didn't care. Nothing mattered but that we were here together. It was right. Completely perfect.

I didn't realize I'd made the decision to move, but suddenly my hand was in his dark hair, and I loved the silky feel of it. He mimicked me, threading his fingers through my hair as he stared into my eyes. After a moment, he gripped the back of my neck and pulled my face to his.

That same part of my mind that knew something was strange spoke up again, but the kiss was amazing and I quickly silenced the thought. I slipped my hands behind his neck and pulled him closer, rising up on my toes as his strong arms encircled me. Nothing else in the world existed in this moment. I finally felt as if things had clicked into place. I could happily stay pressed against him forever.

I pulled back an inch to see his gorgeous eyes again. I wanted to say something, but I didn't seem to have the ability. Not that words were really needed. Somehow it was like we could read each other's minds. Not specific thoughts or even images. More like our souls just understood one another.

I moved to close the minuscule distance again, and-

"Riley!"

Startled, I shot up in my bed and blinked against the blinding sunlight.

"Huh?" I said intelligently as I squinted at my mom in the doorway of my bedroom.

"You're still in bed?" she asked with raised eyebrows. "No wonder you didn't hear me calling you." She walked over to me. "Are you feeling alright? It's almost one."

Surprised, I looked at the clock beside my bed. Sure enough, it was five minutes till. I never slept this late. Not that I minded for that dream...

Mom felt my head and frowned. "You're a little warm, and you're flushed."

Embarrassed, I shook her off. "I'm fine," I said, throwing the covers off and hopping out of bed. "Guess I just needed extra sleep."

"I suppose," she allowed as she moved to give me space.

"Did you want something?" I asked, wondering why she felt the need to come check on me. It was summer and the weekend, and she didn't even act as my wake-up service during the school year.

"I'm going shopping. Do you want to come?"

"Shoe emergency?" I teased. We just went shopping yesterday.

She smiled at the remark. "Actually it is. I've been asked to speak at a convention in Colorado, and I need few things."

It was obvious that she was proud but didn't want to brag. My instinct was to ask why on earth someone would want her speaking at a convention, but I knew that would hurt her feelings. I did wonder though. She didn't have a job or a college degree, and she wasn't any type of community leader.

"A convention?" I went for the less judgmental follow-up question.

"Mmm hmm." She nodded. "It's a health seminar or something. Staying youthful and healthy...avoiding stress." She waved a hand, indicating that she didn't care much what the purpose was. "The woman organizing speakers saw my blog entry about 'putting the you in youthful' and asked me to come out."