What Is Love?

Chapter Twenty-Five

Danny Dare

I don't know exactly what I expected when Slen called and told me his cousin wanted to meet me - someone just as dark and elegant as him perhaps. My confusion, then was evident when I finally met the man in question.

Just after noon, the black corvette pulled into the drive and Slen came to greet me at the door.

"Where's your cousin at?" I asked, trying to squint through the tinting to see if he remained in the car still.

"He'll met us there," was his only reply.

"Where's 'there'?" I prodded, but received only silence. Another mystery date today apparently.

'There' turned out to be the Sunset Grill over in Port Saint Joe.  As Slen lead me through the restaurant to a table in the back corner of the sun room, I had to make a large effort not to let my surprise show all over my face.

A dark-skinned man with shaggy black hair and a ripped jean jacket vest leaned against the wall, his long legs leisurely stretched out into the isle. In one hand he nonchalantly played with the loose purple tie around his neck and the other hand rested on the back of the chair next to him. He turned his head from looking out the window over the ocean towards us as we approached, but dark sunglasses hid his eyes from my view.

"So you must be Miss Dare," he greeted quietly.

I smiled politely and nodded, "That's me."

He nodded as Slen pulled out a chair across from his cousin and gestured for me to have a seat before, gracefully taking the seat beside me himself. "Danny, this is my cousin, Indy."

I couldn't help myself. "Indy? Like Indiana Jones?" I asked.

I swear, I almost jumped when Slen started snickering. Indy didn't so much as flinch, however. "Yes... Let's go with that," he said slowly, and I blushed in embarrassment at my lack of a filter.

Slen cleared his throat. "Indy is staying with me for a little while, until the rest of my family makes an appearance," he told me, and my eyes widened. Hadn't he said last night that he didn't get along with any of his family? Actually... come to think of it, hadn't he also said that one cousin was MIA and the other was in Cali? Where the hell did Indy come from? Slen continued, "apparently they're making plans to come visit at the end of the month - God help us all." I laughed at his grimace and patted his shoulder reassuringly.

"I'm sure it won't be nearly as bad as whatever it is you're envisioning," I said. Slen just gave me a woeful look.

"You haven't met them."

"Yet," Indy interjected, and Slen cringed slightly.

"Yes... Yet."

"Indy doesn't seem too bad," I joked shyly, smiling at my new acquaintance. He offered just the ghost of a smile in return. Like his cousin, it seemed, Indy had to warm up to you some before he showed any emotions.

Slen chuckled darkly. "Indy's the only one of the lot I actually tolerate."

"Just tolerate? Why cousin, I'm touched," Indy said, and I realized he was teasing Slen.

Our food had arrived by this point: my oyster PoBoy, Slen's tuna tataki, and Indy's steak. Again, I saw the similarities between the two men as this was just about the rarest steak I'd ever seen.

We ate in an awkward quiet for a little while, and I grew increasingly more uncomfortable with every silent bite. Suddenly, Indy spoke up. "So how much has my cousin actually told you about himself?" he asked.

Slen went instantly stiff beside me and I almost choked on my food. "I beg your pardon?" I squeaked.

Indy gazed at me through his shades for a moment before replying. "Our family is very private. Very secretive. I'm just curious how much you know of what you're getting yourself into."

"I fail to see how this is any of your business, Indy," Slen growled, and a strange chill settled over the table that moments ago was bathed in the sun's warmth.

"He told me a little bit about your family," I pipped up nervously. "He said his brothers are both in Europe and that he had two cousins - on who was MIA and another who was here in the states... Which one are you?" I asked.

"I'm the one that always hides in the shadows," he said mysteriously.

"Sooo the missing one. Got it," I replied and Indy made a slight face.

"To be fair, Off- er, Fin lurks in the shadows quite a bit himself," Slen commented to Indy.

The shaggy-haired man raised an eyebrow, but shrugged after a moment. "That's different."

Meanwhile, I sat there completely lost, and undecided as the whether I should push for explanations or not.

"Fin is your other cousin?" I hedged, and Slen nodded.

"That would be my disappointment of a brother," Indy sighed.

"Black sheep of the family?" I asked curiously, and he let out a quick laugh.

"We're an entire family of black sheep. If you're trying to ask who doesn't fit in though, that would be your boyfriend's brothers actually."

I reddened slightly when Indy called Slen my boyfriend, but the man in question didn't seem to notice the comment. "Yes, they're definitely the 'white sheep.'"

The conversation from there developed into small jokes tossed back and forth between Indy and Slen, but nothing more about family was discussed. I sat back as the men talked and mulled over all that had been said. Indy spoke in a lot of riddles, and I was trying to make sense of what he was trying to say. One thing was for sure though...

Something wasn't quite right.

There was something that didn't make sense, and I couldn't even quite put my finger on what it was! But I had a strange feeling in my gut I was missing something...

After lunch when Slen drove me home, he left me on my door step with a light kiss on the cheek. I watched him drive off before letting myself in and closing the door behind me.

Funny, the power was out apparently. My light wouldn't come on, but the weather was nice as could be outside...

"Hey there, kiddo!" I heard a cheery voice say right in my ear as someone grabbed me from behind and one hand covered my mouth, cutting off my scream of terror. "Time for you to take a little nap!"

Before I had any time to react, pain seared across the back of my skull, and then everything went dark.

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A/N: So... Hi there guys. I know I've been MIA for a really long time, and I just want y'all to know I haven't forgotten about you guys or my stories. For those of you who don't know, I'm studying pre-med at my university right now and it's proving to be very demanding. When I do have free time, it's usually being spent with friends and family. That being said, I'm sorry for leaving you guys hanging for so long.

I do still plan to finish this story, but because life gets in the way, my updates my have very large gaps in between. Please just bare with me, and we'll get to the end eventually :)

Thank you all for your patience and continued support of me. I appreciated all the messages asking about where I'd gotten off to, and even the nagging for the next update ^^ with out y'all's support, I may have given up on the story.

I hope you don't hate me too much for the cliff hanger here, but I can promise you're gonna start seeing some action in the coming chapters!

Have a Merry Christmas everyone (or whichever holiday you celebrate) and a happy new year!

- Erin