***Iris***
Weeks had gone by since we had gone to The Black Doves concert. Ginger's spirits had lightened since she too found a similar note in her bag as had been in mine, from Matteo. Unlike me though she decided to leap at the chance and call him. Since then, they had been in constant communication.
I wanted to ask her if she could find out how Noah was, but I didn't. The one time I hinted at the suggestion she told me to pick up and call, but again, I didn't. I felt like I couldn't. It frightened me how much I thought about him, how every little thing made me think of him. I didn't even really know him, but not a moment went by since we met that he wasn't on my mind.
I kept telling myself that it was just a crush, that it would fade away over time, but I knew in my heart that it wasn't true. This, whatever this was, it felt like it was more than just some measly crush. It felt like some long-term connection that I would never be able to shake, the kind that a person could never forget.
So, instead of constantly asking her how he was doing, where they were, what he was up to etc, I decided to try taking a different route. So now, instead of torturing myself further I just asked Ginger to avoid bringing up anything that had to do with them while she was around me.
Currently, we were both in school, English class to be more specific. Ginger, even though she was seated right next to me, had her attention elsewhere, as she ogled at her phone. There was no need in guessing who she was talking to.
"Miss Guyette." The teacher called. I looked to Ginger who was still preoccupied with her phone. Nudging her to get her attention she looked up, finally acknowledging the teacher that stood directly in front of her.
Mrs. Burns was an African American woman with Large brown cat-eye rimmed glasses and neatly braided hair. Today she decided to where a bright olive-green t-shirt and black dress pants, better than her usual floral attire.
"I assure you Miss Guyette, that whatever is on your phone can't be more intersting than this lesson." Mrs. Burns told her, pointing to the whiteboard reading :The Elements of Literature. I pursed my lips, trying not to laugh. Ginger didn't offer as much restraint.
"Yeah, if it wasn't for my phone I'd probably be sleeping already." She retorted, rolling her eyes.
Mrs. Burns held out her hands, clearly irritated with Ginger's comment. "Hand it over." She demanded. Ginger shook her head. "Hand it over and you can get it back at the end of the day, or else you can stay after school for detention." She dropped the dime on her, causing a scowl to make its way on Ginger's face, as she handed Mrs. Burns her phone.
"I swear she has it out for me." Ginger went on as we exited the classroom, all the way to lunch. "I mean who does she think she is?"
"Uh. The teacher." I chuckled, knowing very well that before the phone incident Mrs. Burns was one of Ginger's all-time favorite teachers at the North County High School.
All throughout lunch she was fidgeting with anything that she could get her hands on. I knew it was because of the lack of device that was usually in the palm of her hands. She hadn't gone without talking to Matteo for more than a couple hours these past few weeks.
"You'll get it back at the end of the day." I assured, but it didn't seem to ease her.
It wasn't until the last class of the day when she finally stopped pouting. We were in art class when a knock at the door sounded, answered by our teacher, Ms. Cabot. The graceful long haired Native American teacher offered a friendly smile as she was handed a bouquet of flowers, setting it down in front of Ginger.
"Looks, like you have an admirer Miss. Guyette." She said, returning to her demonstration at the front of the room.
I already had a good idea whom it was from, but still found myself leaning over her shoulder, curious as to what the note said.
"I saw these while walking in town today. They reminded me of you. The only exception is that they're not even half as beautiful as you, and might I say you look very beautiful today, Ma chérie ."
- Avec amour, Matteo
The bouquet was full of variants of orange and purple flowers, bejeweled with dark green, almost black artificial leaves to add to the decadent arrangement.
Ginger's eyes lit up as they wandered to the door where the gift had come through. To both of our surprise, a familiar face was next to the door, looking into the classroom from the large glass side windows. Through the glass we saw Matteo's smiling face waving towards us, well towards Ginger.
A quick gasp was sounded from beside me, and she looked over to me, as if in confirmation that I was seeing the same thing.
"What is he doing here?" She whispered, but obviously excited to see him again.
"Well, obviously he's here to see you." I said, rolling my eyes.
In my subconscious I wondered where Noah was. If Matteo was here did that mean Noah was close? The possibility of seeing him again both excited me and sent a shiver of nervousness down my spine.
My heart nearly jumped in my throat when I saw the back of a tall I dark figure lingering next to Matteo. I didn't see his face, but I knew it was him. His black slicked back hair was ascue, the tattoos that decorated his body peaked from beneath his black long-sleeved shirt. His back remained facing me through the glass during the remainder of the class.
It should have just ended there, no matter our attempts to remain focused and get back to working on our art projects, we couldn't. How could we when the two men that we had been fantasizing about for weeks were just outside the door?
"Is that...?" She turned to me, and I nodded my head.
It was when the bell rang, signaling the end of the school day did he turn. Goosebumps jumped at my skin as he looked at me, the same look that haunted my dreams these past few weeks. He looked just has handsome as he did the last time that I saw him.
We gathered our bags, putting away the art supplies. A part of me wanted to bolt out the door, too excited to wait to see him again, the other part was holding me back, prolonging the encounter.
Ginger didn't wait for me as she ran out the door, throwing most of the supplies she had been using in a random heap on the table. I took the liberty to put them away from her, all too aware of the man lurking outside.
I was partly terrified of the chance that I might miss seeing him, all the while unable to consider what I might say if I did.
Everyone left the room, including Mrs. Cabot as she had to go run some errands before her after school program started. It was a few minutes after everyone left, when I was still contemplating what I should do, did I hear the sharp sound of footsteps heading my direction. My eyes rose from the materials I was still putting away, but I did not turn.
Maybe it was my apparent sixth sense, but I knew that it was Noah that stood behind me. His presence radiated a type of alluring aura that I was incomparable with all others.
"Iris." His low sultry voice caused the pounding in my heart to increase.
"Little dove." He said, using the pet name he had given me all those weeks ago.
I turned, looking into the dark brown eyes that had been reappearing in my dreams, otherwise unsure if I would ever see again.
"If you're done here, why don't we go for a walk." He suggested, holding his tattooed hand out for me to take. He enveloped his hand in mine, leading me out of the room, down the high school hallway. There were some students lingering in the building, each one of them stopped what they were doing to study us, the hands that were connected, observing the gorgeous man at my side.
We made our way outside, and in the distance, I saw that Ginger and Matteo had already headed to the black Mercedes parked in the back of the parking lot. I went to turn towards them, but Noah led me away.
"Come on, they'll be fine. I brought my car today." He told me, and sure enough were making our way to a 2023 black BMW.
"This is your car?" I asked, noting the high-end detailing and the newly upgraded features.
"What do you think?" He asked, opening the door for me. I looked to Ginger from across the parking lot, who was already offering me a wave of goodbye as her and Matteo climbed into her car. With a sigh I got into the vehicle, debating whether of not this was a good idea or not, I mean I didn't really know much about Noah, just that for some reason I was undoubtedly obssessed with him.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"Well, I was hoping I could get that date we missed out on. But for now, why don't we just go on a little drive." He said, before speeding off to God only knows where.
It might not have been the wisest decision, taking off with a man I barely knew, to a destination I did not know. But for some reason I felt comfort in his prescence, an unnatural type of safety coming from our proximity.
I looked to his hypnotic eyes, his pale skin, his neck and hands that teased at his multitude of tattoos, the artwork making him all that more alluring, to his pearly whites that were put on display as he smiled towards me.
"What was the worst that could happen?"
The question surged through my mind as my eyes finally landed on the jewelry in which he wore around his neck. The silver medallion becoming all too familiar in my memory. The ornate tree carving at the center of the pendant, hanging just above his heart. The same symbol that kept reappearing in places that it shouldn't have been.
"What did it mean?" That question would be the most damning one by far.