Dreams of Eden (Ace of Queens # 4)

CH.7 Strawberry Frappe

"Alec," Eden took his face into her hands once more and held it up to look into his eyes. "Who we are in this moment is not defined by where we have been......all that matters is how we chose to live in the present because it's all we really have."

Alec stared into Eden's eyes as he felt her words take some of the pain from his shoulder. He reached out and pushed back the strand of hair that kept poking her eye.

"Eden?" Alec said after a while.

"Yes, Alec?"

"I'm sorry about Charlotte."

The bright light slowly began to dim in her eyes. Alec felt as he was struck by lightning when she jumped away from him and began to run. He was up on his feet just as quick, but every time he took a step, he felt as if his body weighed a ton. He couldn't move an inch without stumbling or falling. Her mind wanted to go in one direction but his body took him towards another.

"Eden!" He called out. "Stop!"

He watched helplessly as she ran towards the hill. Her blonde hair flew behind her like wings as she pushed through the wind.

"Stop!" Alec called out. "Don't go there!"

When Eden didn't listen, he felt a growl rise to his lips.

"Stop!" He demanded as he pushed with all his might.

In a flash, Alec sat up in bed. His heart pounded wilding in his chest as he tried to catch his breath.

"Babe?" Grace's sleepy voice came from behind him as she placed a warm hand against his bare back. "What's wrong?"

Alec took several long deep breaths as he tried to shake the strange feeling from his insides. He was rattled by all that he had let himself confess in that dream.

"Are you okay?" Grace began to sit up.

"Yeah," Alec nodded in the dark. "I'm okay. Go back to sleep."

"Are you sure?" Grace yawned.

"Yeah, yeah," Alec nodded once again. "I'm fine."

"Come here," Grace tugged at his arm.

Alec laid back down next to her as she placed her head on top of his chest. He felt her relaxed muscles against his body as she slowly fell back asleep. His hand held her firmly against his chest as he traced letters and shapes over her skin.

After a long while, when sleep became a distant memory, Alec realized he had been tracing the same letters over Grace's shoulders over and over again.

E....D....E...N.......

____________________

The next morning, Alec was in a daze.

He couldn't focus, couldn't eat, couldn't sit still, couldn't breath.....

Everything seemed to be in his face, demanding his attention when all he really wanted to do was just sit somewhere quietly and not think about anything.

"Would you like another coffee?" Grace asked gently as she played with his hair.

"No," Alec sighed as she looked over the papers in front of him.

"You didn't sleep much last night."

"No, no really."

"We can take the day off," Grace suggested. "Just you and I. Maybe we can go catch a movie or go out for dinner."

Alec paused for a minute to think about her offer. A change of scenery could be good for him.

"That sounds like a good plan," Alec smiled. "Yeah. Let's do that."