"Wake up sleepy head."
Lilly stirred for a moment and realized she fell asleep in the car. She looked over at Jake who seemed amused.
"I wanted to let you sleep since you seemed to have such a restless night last night What with all the dreaming and visions." Jake looked over at her.
Lilly seemed deep in thought and then asked, "Who is the other person who knows about the whole warlock thing?"
Jake seemed to hesitate and she feared the worst. "Do you have a girlfriend? A wife?" She asked.
"No it's not like that. I don't have either. I have always felt that I would have a mate so I have held off in the relationship department. I have a good friend and mentor who knows. He is also a part of the magic community and so I trust him. You will meet him shortly."
"Shortly?" Lilly asked. The she noticed they were pulling up to a very nice hotel. "Is there where we are staying tonight?" She looked over at Jake seemed very pleased with himself.
"This is where we will be staying for the next 6 weeks, actually," he explained to her. "I have booked several parties and events and so we will be calling Asheville our home until after Halloween is over." Jake was parking the car out front and Lilly was surprised that they were staying in such a nice place.
"The rest of the crew will be directly across the road. I couldn't get enough rooms at one place so they volunteered to take the less nicer hotel and few extra dollars in their paychecks." Jake lead Lilly into the lobby and checked them both in. The desk clerk handed Jake two keys with the same number on them.
"We're sharing a room?" Lilly asked very surprised at this.
"It's a suite. And yes, we are sharing it. I have found my mate, which means you have to be powerful so people will eventually come looking for you and I need to protect you as well as teach you to use your powers."
Lilly seemed satisfied with that answer and she followed Jake up to their suite.
Jake let her pick the bed she wanted before claiming the other as his own. He had told her she would be meeting the crew at dinner but she had a little more than an hour before then so she had time to freshen up and change. She wanted to make a good impression on the crew and she already knew Jake was wearing a suit so she figured it was a safe bet to wear something nice.
After she slipped into her favorite dress and put a little makeup on, she went out to the living area to meet Jake.
When Lilly walked in, Jake was already waiting on her. They both stared at one another as if really seeing each other for the first time. Lilly was drop dead gorgeous in her simple black dress and heels, with her blonde hair falling around her shoulders. She was the epitome of natural beauty. Jake looked amazing in a fitted Armani suit that looked as if it were made just for him.
"Wow." Jake almost couldn't find a word to say. He had never seen such beauty in all his years. "Wow yourself," Lilly replied. They smiled at one another and he offered her his arm and escorted her down to the car so they could meet the crew for their dinner reservation.
Lilly couldn't help but be a little nervous since she felt that she sometimes lacked in people skills and didn't have a lot of friends. Jake seemed to pick up on this and reminded her not to worry because they were nice and would love her.
The finally arrived at a restaurant that was so pretty, it almost looked like a museum. Jake opened to door for her and escorted her inside and towards a table at the back with several people already seated around it. As they walked over to their table, Lilly couldn't help but notice people's stares. She wasn't sure what they could be staring at besides Jakes incredible good looks. By the time they arrived at their table she realized that the entire crew was staring at them as well.
"Holy wow." She looked over to see one particular female with her mouth hanging open. She was also the one speaking. "Jake, I have no idea where you found her but she is drop dead gorgeous and the two of you look absolutely amazing together!" Looking directly at Lilly she said, "Hi. Names Ginger. I am beyond pleased to meet you."
Lilly blushed a little and knew that her and the kind girl with the pretty red hair would be fast friends. Jake smiled at Ginger and then went on to introduce the rest of the crew:
Ginger
Vincent
Claudio
Sam
Victoria
There were smiles and handshakes all around and Lilly felt comfortable knowing that the hard part was over with. She didn't get any visions shaking their hands, which she was very relieved about, and she didn't get any strange feelings about any of them, either. That happened sometimes in the T-shirt shop and she usually realized it was because people were stealing.
Dinner was easy and the conversation was light. She learned a little about each member of the crew. Ginger wanted to be an actress but hated California so she decided she would find something else that would make her happy, and became a performance artist using her singing and dancing skills whenever she could squeeze them into a show. Vincent seemed to have a crush on Ginger. It was very obvious to Lilly but no one else seemed to pick up on it. Claudio was super smart. He could outwit anyone and was amazing at trivia. Sam and Victoria were madly in love. They were like the parents of the group. Sam was strong and Victoria was agile. They did some pretty amazing acrobatics together that people seemed to really go crazy for.
Lilly could see how close they all were. The newest member, besides herself, was Claudio and he had been with them for 2 years already. They were all super excited to add a fortune teller to the group. Ginger and Victoria were already busy discussing costumes and outfit changes for different scenarios. Jake simply sat back and watch everything unfold. Lilly found herself wishing she could hear what all he was thinking and it all suddenly popped into her head like he was saying it out loud. It scared her a little.
"Beautiful, intelligent. Great with other people. Gets along well with the girls in the crew and doesn't even realize how she outshines them all..."
She looked at Jake but his mouth wasn't moving. Did she really just read his thoughts? Is this really happening right now? She kept a good poker face on but inside she was freaking out just a little. She decided to try it on Ginger and she if she was just making this all up. She concentrated on her and willed herself to hear Ginger's thoughts.
"Great. Like the sister I never had. I hope Victoria doesn't get jealous and run her off, too. Maybe Sam won't have such wondering eyes this time. She's so pretty. Her hair is gold like the sun..."
Ok. She just heard all that from Ginger's thoughts but on the outside Ginger is looking at Victoria and discussing colors for new costumes for the Halloween Haunt in just a few weeks. This is real. This is part of her powers. She wondered if Jake possessed the same powers as she did. She looked over at him and raised an eyebrow, thinking hard about how she could ask him. She saw his eyes grow wide and then he smiled and nodded at her. He can read her thoughts as well.
"It's getting late so I feel we should bid you all farewell until tomorrow," Jake said as he looked around at the rest of the crew. "We have much to plan and discuss and I want us to meet bright and early."
Everyone said their goodbyes and hugged Jake and Lilly before they exited the beautiful restaurant. Once again, people seemed to be staring hard at them as they walked out. Once they got in the car, Jake began talking. "We must be very strong mates. We draw a lot of attention from others and your powers are surging forth rather quickly. More quickly than I have ever seen in a young witch with no background or upbringing in magic."
Lilly nodded at this information. She was still surprised that she could read others thoughts. Jake must have read hers because he continued, "You have the most important and rare gift, as do I. Reading thoughts is a very sought after trait and one witches typically don't pick up. It is rare even among the most powerful of us."
She wasn't sure how to respond to this information. They were already back at the hotel and Jake was leaving her alone thoughts. When they walked into the suite Lilly looked over at Jake who was already removing his jacket and shoes. She wanted desperately to ask him not to leave her alone. It wasn't that she was scared, she was feeling so many different emotions and she didn't even want to begin to sort through them.
"You don't have to ask. I know you've had a confusing and stressful day." Jake smiled at her when he spoke and Lilly felt relief that she could relax and fall asleep in his arms without the worries of what would happen next.