chapter SEVENTEEN
After a short drive, Ian and Kallos pull into a parking spot in front of a coffee shop called Java Lava Brava. Ian gets out of the car and runs to her side before she can open the door. He opens it for her and puts out his hand to help her out of the car. She smiles up at him. She has only seen these kinds of manners on movies and read about them in books.
“Do you want to get something to drink first?” Ian asks and looks at Java Lava Brava. Kallos really doesn’t like coffee, but maybe they have something else.
“Sure,” she said with a smile. Ian tightens his hold on her hand, and they walk toward the coffee shop. When they walk in, it smells so wonderful. She loves the smell of fresh coffee, even though she can’t stand the taste. There are about ten people in here, and three people are in line. Ian still has a pretty good grip on her hand, and she doesn’t mind. She looks up at the menu, and they have way more than just coffee. They have shakes, teas, and every kind of coffee.
Since it isn’t the warmest outside and they are going to be walking, she decides that she is going to get a hot tea.
“So, have you decided what you want?” She looks over at Ian, and he is smiling at her.
“Yeah, a black tea.”
“Welcome to Java Lava Brava. What can I get you?” A pretty brunette behind the counter asks. Once she sees Ian her face changes. When they came in, she looked like she hated the world, and now, she's smiling like a fool at Ian. Kallos raises an eyebrow at her; she cannot believe that this girl is checking out her boyfriend right in front of her. Kallos can’t really blame her; he is very attractive. Kallos looks at Ian to see how he is taking this attention; he just smiles at the girl and lets go of Kallos's hand. He puts his arm around her shoulders and pulls her closer to him. Kallos looks down and smiles.
“Can I have a large mocha java, and a large hot black tea?” Kallos looks back up at the girl as she smiles and types in their order. Then she grabs two large cups and writes on them.
“Can I have your name?” She only asks Ian.
“Ian for the mocha and Kallos for the tea.” She finally looks at Kallos and her smile drops. Kallos knows that the brunette saw her before, but now she knows who Kallos is and that she’s with Ian for sure.
“Okay, it will be done in a few minutes. Just listen for you names.” The tone in her voice changed. Kallos could sense this girl doesn’t like her. She turns around and starts making Ian's and Kallos's drinks. Ian leads them to an empty table, and he pulls out a chair for Kallos. He is laying it on pretty thick, and she loves it. She sits down and he pushes the chair in a little. He sits across from her and grabs her hands.
“You don’t want any sugar in your tea?”
“I do, but I like to add my own. They either add too much or not enough.” She glances over to the girl that took their order, and she is whispering in another girl’s ear. They both turn and look at Ian, and then they start to giggle. Kallos just rolls her eyes. If she was out with one of her friends and they noticed a good-looking guy, they wouldn’t make it look so obvious.
“Ian.” The girl that took their order called. He squeezes Kallos’ hands and gets up to get his coffee. The brunette hands him his coffee and a napkin; he takes it and goes to the counter with sugars and creamers on it. He looks over his shoulder at her and smiles, but his smile isn’t the same. It is one that told Kallos he has something to tell her.
“Kallos,” the other girl says. Kallos stands up, and the girl doesn’t wait for her to take the tea before she turns around. She leaves her tea on the counter without a napkin. She walks over to Ian, and he is throwing away a clean napkin. She grabs his hand before he reaches the garbage. He crumbles the napkin into a ball. She grabs the napkin and unfolds it. The name written on it was Rose along with a phone number. Kallos starts to walk back to the counter, but Ian puts his hand on her arm to stop her.
“I promise to be nice,” Kallos says with a huge smile on her face, and Ian just sighs and shakes his head. He lets go of her, and she walks up to the counter. “Rose?” she asks politely, and the pretty brunette turns to look at her. Rose puts on a fake smile.
“Can I help you? Is there something wrong with your tea?” Kallos smiles at her and hands her the napkin. Rose looks down at it, and her face turns a bright red.
“I think you dropped something. You wouldn’t want it to be found by some freak that could stalk you.” Then Kallos turns around and walks back to Ian. She knows that he heard every word she said, and she doesn’t care. She was nice to Rose, but she wanted to say so much more. She didn’t because she promised. Kallos opens her tea and adds two packets of sugar. “Are you ready to give me my tour?” Ian starts to laugh, and he nods. He reaches for her hand, and she gladly takes it. She takes a sip of her tea and it's perfect. Before they walk out, she glances back over her shoulder; Rose and her friend are glaring at her. Kallos is sure they won’t be the only ones to hate her because of one of her boyfriends. Sean and Ian are both really good looking.
“You handled that pretty well. I had to hold back my laughter. I’m sorry that she did that.”
“I’m sure that it won’t be the only time it happens. You know that it might happen to me. What would you have done then?”
“I wouldn’t have been so nice,” Ian responds with a smirk.
Kallos is looking around at the town, and it's beautiful. All the small shops are welcoming, and the little restaurant that’s called Momma’s looks nice. When they walk by, the smell that is coming out is wonderful. It almost makes her want to eat now, but they keep walking.
“Can we go there for lunch?” She asks and looks back at Momma’s. Ian follows her glaze and then looks at her.
“Of course, it’s the best in town. I’m sure you’ll eat there a lot.” The main part of town is small, but Kallos loves it. The last place she called home was a huge town and had lots of shops and restaurants. She thinks she likes a small town better. Her mom said that Kallos would love how she will know everyone in her class, but so far, she could do without everyone knowing about her. It’s just strange how most of the people at school know all about her already, and she just found out. They are walking to a small park, and Ian is leading them toward a table.
“Do you mind if we sit here for a little bit?”
“That’s fine,” she smiles at him.
“Does it still feel strange to you that we both love you?” She looks away from him. She never thought she would find someone she could love and never thought it would be two boys.
“It is, and I still need to get used to it.” Kallos looks at Ian. They need to know what her plans are going to be. She isn't going to be with both of them, well not forever at least. “You know it’s not going to be the three of us forever, don’t you?” Ian smiles at her and takes her hand.
“Kallos, we know that isn’t you. You are made for one, and we also aren’t meant to share.” Looking into his eyes, she can’t see her life without him or Sean. It is going to break her heart when she picks just one. “We won’t make things harder for you either, and when you do pick, then that’s it. You don’t get a second chance. Yes, you will be breaking one of our hearts, but we can only take so much.” She knows that he isn’t trying to be mean, but it still hurt to hear him say that.
“I know, and I don’t want to hurt either of you. It kills me to know that I will, and it will break something inside of me, too.” He looks down at their connected hands and smiles.
“You aren’t going to choose now are you?” She shakes her head. “Good, now that we had a serious talk. Do you want to have some fun?”
“What do you have in mind?” She raises an eyebrow at him teasingly.
“How about a walk in the woods, and then lunch at Momma’s?” She smiles; Ian would do anything to make her happy.
“Sounds great.” He let’s go of her hand and stands. He walks over to the garbage to throw his coffee cup away. She sips her last drop of her tea and does the same. They start to walk into the woods, and when their hands brush against one another, they intertwine their fingers. Kallos loves how his hand is always warm and open for her. Walking in the woods has always brought her peace, and she feels more at home here. She can hear a stream not too far away from them, and the birds all around them are singing happily. Ian is leading them somewhere. Kallos wants to ask, but decides that she won’t ruin any plans he may have. She looks over at him, and he is smiling but isn’t paying any attention to her. She can tell that he is trying to keep something from her, and truthfully, she doesn’t like surprises.
“Close your eyes,” Ian says softly, and she does. Kallos can feel some soft fabric pressing against her eyes as he ties it behind her head. She feels him lean in against her back. “I want to make sure that you can’t see where we are going. I want to surprise you,” Ian whispers to her. “Now, hold on to both of my hands; I will make sure you don’t fall.” She feels him grab both of her hands, and he starts walking. She knows he said he wouldn’t let her fall, but she isn’t too sure about this. Kallos doesn’t like the dark as it is, and being blindfolded makes her panic a little. She can hear some water, like maybe a stream. “Okay, now we are going to stop and you have to stay here. Don’t move I’ll be right back.”
Ian kisses her lips lightly, and she can hear him walk away. Being alone and blind makes her heart speed up; she is terrified. She starts to breathe heavily, and she feels like she is going to pass out. Slowly, she sits on the ground and is trying to get her breathing back to normal when she can feel the blindfold being untied. “Kallos, are you okay?” She sluggishly turns her head to the side to look at Ian. His hand comes up to her cheek, and his thumb is rubbing her cheek.
“Yeah, I just freaked for a minute. I’m sorry.” Looking around them, she becomes speechless. They are in a clearing and everything is so green. Right in front of them is a small stream and a waterfall. He brought her to their own little Eden. Kallos stands up, and Ian helps her. “Ian, this is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” Looking at him and his smile, she wanted to take her words back because he was the most beautiful thing she has ever seen. Him, standing here, the blue of his shirt bringing out the blue in his eyes and the black scarf around his neck made him look like a god. She doesn’t think she'll ever get over the fact that he is hers and that he loves her. She pulls him into a hug and squeezes a little tighter than she probably should have.
Ian quickly wraps his arms around Kallos and holds her just as tight. “Well, this is part of your surprise, and I take it you approve,” he whispers in her ear. She smiles because this is the Ian she loves; she nods her approval. “Good there is one more thing, but I want you to be facing me.” Smiling, she looks up at him. He looks down, and she can tell that he is nervous. Then she sees a little red box. She quickly looks up at his face, and he is still looking down. She swears that he is trembling. He opens the little red box and it's a bracelet. It's beautiful, silver with red and white stones. The only red and white she knows are rubies and diamonds. “When I saw this, I thought of you. Can I put it on for you?” She nods.
What harm can it cause if she wears it once? Ian takes it out of the box and puts it on her wrist. It's a perfect fit, most times a bracelet is always too big, but this one is perfect. Now, Kallos can see the problem; she'll never want to take it off. Moving her wrist from side to side and watching it sparkle in the sunlight makes her smile. She looks back up at Ian and her smile widens.
“Ian, this is beautiful.” He smiles at her and takes her hand.
“I’m glad you like it. I was hoping that it wasn’t too much.” He looks down at her wrist. So, that means it’s real. “Do you want to know the meaning?” She looks at Ian, and the confusion must have shown because he starts to laugh. “Well, rubies are known to help with love and passion. And diamonds are known to heighten other gems’ powers. So, I thought that this bracelet is perfect for us. I know that you have to choose between my brother and me, and it won’t be easy for you. But no matter what, I want you to always have a part of me with you.” He turns the bracelet over and there is a diamond with a ruby-shaped heart inside of it.
It reminded her of the rock Apollo gave her. She looks up at Ian, and he is grinning like a fool. “You know that I don’t have to tell him anything; he just knows. I can say that he copied me. I had this bracelet for a while, and he wanted to outdo me.” Kallos burst out laughing; there is no way that a rock could outdo this bracelet. She doesn’t think anything could be more stunning.
“Ian, I love it, and trust me, the rock Apollo gave me, doesn’t come close to this.” She holds up the bracelet, and it is sparkling. He kisses her hand with the new bracelet.
“I’m glad you love it. Now, do you want to get some lunch? Our day is almost over.” He said the last part like it was killing him. Ian stands up and turns away from Kallos. “How much time do we have with you? You know before you choose?” She walks up behind him and puts her hand on his shoulder. He is breaking her heart, and he doesn’t even know it. Maybe he could tell with the necklace, but he isn’t acting like it.
“I don’t know. I know it’s not easy on you or Sean. I’m sorry, Ian; I don’t want to hurt you.” He turns around so fast he almost knocks her over.
“Kallos, you don’t have anything to be sorry for. No one knew that Sean and I were going to be your soul mates. We always knew that it was one of us, but not both. It is hard on us because we have to share you. Sometimes knowing that he is kissing you makes me want to rip his head off.” For a second his eyes changed to his stormy dark blue. “But it has nothing to do with you. I know it’s hard for you, too. You weren’t planning on getting two boyfriends when you moved here, and you did. But knowing that you will choose between Sean and me scares me. I don’t want to lose you when I just found you. I’m the one who should be sorry. Today is supposed to be perfect, and I’m ruining it.” He looks down at his feet, and Kallos puts her hands on his face. He looks at her, and she sees all the hurt on his face.
“It breaks my heart knowing that I’m going to lose one of you. It kills me knowing that I’m going to hurt one of you. Like I said, I don’t know when I will choose, but I know it won’t happen anytime soon. I want to get to know you guys first.” Kallos leans in and kisses Ian. It doesn’t take him long to wrap his arms around her. He pulls her closer so there isn’t any space between them. She wraps her arms around his neck, and he deepens the kiss. When he pulls away, he rests his forehead on hers, and their eyes are even with each other. Smiling at him she says, “I love you, Ian.” He kisses her nose.
“And I love you, Kallos.” Kallos moves her head to his chest, and he just holds her. It feels so nice to be here in his arms and not to worry about her change or have her parents’ questioning looks. She knows they are worried about her and the change, but she isn't a baby. She doesn’t need them watching her like she's going to disappear.
“We should get to Momma’s. I saw on the news that it might snow today.” Kallos doesn’t care about the snow or the cold. All that matter is them and what’s going on now. She does want to try Momma’s, but she doesn’t think food will pull her away from him. Ian starts to laugh. “Beauty, you need food just as much as I do. Trust me, I wish we didn’t have to leave, but we do.”
“I know, but can we stay here a little longer?” Kallos looks up from his chest at him, and he smiles down at her. His smile always gives her butterflies.
“Yes, a little longer. But not much, we have to be back at your house soon.” Kallos isn’t aware that they have a set time to be back. Maybe that is what her dad made Ian agree to in order to take her out. She puts her head back on his chest, and he holds her again. They are only like that for a few minutes before he pulls away. He offers his hand to her and she takes it. “I know, but we have to go now.” They start walking the way they came, and she looks back one last time. This place is so beautiful that it could almost beat Mount Olympus. It doesn’t take them long to get out of the woods; maybe it is because she isn’t blindfolded. They are back in the small park where they had their drinks. She can hear and feel her stomach growl. “I think it’s time to eat.” Ian says as he’s laughing.
“Yeah, I might be a little hungry.” Kallos knows that she is blushing. He pulls them to the sidewalk, and they start to walk towards the restaurant. She's noticing that there are a lot of people out and most of them are teenagers. They walk into Momma’s, and it is crowded.
“Welcome to Momma’s; will you two follow me?” A woman says to them. She had the cutest southern accent. She walks them over to a small table, and it said Ian Hunter. She looks at him and he smiles. “Here are the menus, and your waitress will be over soon to take your drink order.” She winks at Ian and walks away.
“Why did our table have your name on it?” Ian helps Kallos sit down, and then sits in his seat.
“Well, my grandma owns this place. So this is always my table. Usually, I eat alone, but today is special.” He winks at her, and she just shakes her head. Looking down at the menu, it has so many choices. Meat loaf and chicken fried steak are the ones fighting for her attention. She looks up at Ian to find him watching her.
“What?” She asks.
“Nothing, it’s just that you look beautiful when you’re trying to figure out something. Do you need help? I have had everything on this menu here and at home.” Kallos shakes her head because she already knows what she's going to get. A girl that is just a little older than they are walks up to the table. She is wearing black pants, and a tight, red shirt with a nametag that says Cindy. Her blond hair is in pigtails, and it curled into ringlets at the ends.
“What would you like to drink?” She manages to get out in between chewing her gum. Ian clears his throat, and she rolls her eyes. When her eyes meet his, she freezes. “Mr. Hunter, I’m sorry I didn’t know it was you.” She must have swallowed her gum because she suddenly isn’t chewing on anything.
“I think that we are ready to order, too.” He looks at Kallos, and she nods. She hasn’t seen this side of him before. “I’ll have the meat loaf meal, with extra gravy. Oh, and a Coke.” She quickly writes it down and then turns to Kallos.
“Um, the same thing please.” She nods and writes it down.
“I’ll be right back with your drinks.” She is almost running away, and Kallos looks back at Ian.
“She seems scared of you.” Kallos observes, and he looks in the area where the waitress vanished.
“The workers here know what my family is. Some think its cool, and others are scared. Cindy is scared to death, and if she didn’t need this job, I’m sure she wouldn’t work here.” Ian looks down at the table, and Kallos reaches across to his hand.
“She has no reason to be scared of you. You are the sweetest man I know. You would never hurt anyone.” He squeezes her hand.
“I did yesterday,” Ian murmurs so low that Kallos almost doesn’t hear him.
“We have talked about this. That wasn’t the real you, and you need to forget about it. I am here, and that is all that matters.” He nods but still looks miserable. Cindy comes back with their drinks; she sets Ian’s down first and then hers. Kallos smiles at her, “Thank you.” But Cindy doesn’t stay long enough to respond.
“Thank you, Ian, for today; it was a lot of fun.” He smiles at her.
“For your first date you mean?”
“No, just being with you. And, for a first date, it isn’t too bad.” Ian starts to laugh, and Kallos sees Cindy bringing their food. Cindy stops moving when she hears him laughing. Ian stops and looks behind him; then he sees what she is looking at. She is moving again and coming toward them. Once again, she set his food down first and then Kallos’. She doesn’t ask if they need anything; she just leaves. The smell from the meat loaf is amazing. Kallos’ mouth is watering, and she looks at Ian who is already eating. He looks at her and grins. The flavor is so good; she can’t explain it, but it's nothing like she has ever tasted before.
“So, it’s a good guess that you like it.” Kallos looks up and glares at him. She has to swallow quickly so she can talk.
“Better than good; it’s amazing.” The meat loaf came with gravy, mashed potatoes, and corn. Everything tasted remarkable, and she wanted more. An older woman stops at their table and Ian lights up. She is taller than Kallos and almost as tall as Ian. She has jet-black hair and baby blue eyes. She is wearing faded jeans and a white shirt that says Mamma’s on the left breast. Kallos has only seen Ian light up like this with her, so she wonders who this is. Ian jumps up and Kallos rises next to her chair.
“Grams! What are you doing here?” Ian asks as he is hugging her. She laughs and hugs him back.
“Ian, this is my restaurant. The real question is ‘Who is this beautiful girl you are with?’” She let’s go of Ian and looks at Kallos.
“Gram, this is Kallos. You have seen pictures of her for years.” Gram walks over to where Kallos is standing. She looks Kallos up and down, and then a smile spreads across her face. She pulls Kallos into one of the tightest hugs Kallos has ever had.
“Pictures do not do you justice, Kallos. You are more beautiful in person.” Grams pulls away enough so that she and Kallos could look at one another. It’s still a little weird that Ian and Sean’s family know her so well, and she doesn’t know them at all. “So how did you like my food?” Gram nods her head toward Kallos' empty plate.
“It is amazing Ma'am.” Kallos says and is proud of herself for keeping an even tone.
Ian's grandmother rolls her eyes at Kallos and shakes her head and pointer finger at the same time. “That will not do. You call me Gram. You ARE family.” Then Gram smiles at Kallos and turns around to walk to Ian. “Now, I better get going. I’m going to go see your parents.” She leans in, and Ian kisses her cheek.
“See you later Gram,” he says as she walks away. He looks at Kallos and smiles. “So, now you have met the whole family.” She gives him a little smile and sits back down.
“So I have. And I take it that they all know me.”
“Yes, but we’ve been waiting for you forever.” They don’t say anything else for a few minutes.
“Are you ready to leave?” Kallos looks up at Ian and nods. He gets up first and then comes to help her. She takes his hand and squeezes it. They walk out holding hands. Just before they walk out the door they see Nikki and Karissa. Great just what they need, and their day was going so well. Kallos knows that things happened with Karissa and Ian. Ian stiffens when he sees them.
“Hi, Ian,” Nikki pipes up, and Karissa smiles. Kallos can feel Ian’s whole body tense up, and she is sure that he knows that she isn’t too happy, either.
“Hello, excuse us please,” Ian says as he rushes past them. When they are outside, he leads them to the car. He opens the car door for Kallos and quickly gets in. “I’m sorry about that, Kallos. I thought that we would be out of there before they got here.” She turns to face him.
“What do you mean?”
“They come here every Saturday afternoon and I was hoping that we would be done before they got here. That’s why I wanted to be in Cindy’s section; I knew that she would serve us faster.”
“Ian, its fine. It’s not like we can hide from either of them forever. I don’t know if you have noticed, but this is a small town?” She smiles to reassure him. Seeing Nikki and Karissa isn’t Ian’s fault, and she doesn’t blame him about what happened yesterday. He smiles back, leans in, and kisses her. Even his quick, little kisses take her breath away. Ian starts the car, and they head back toward her house. On the way home, they didn’t talk, and Kallos is fine about that. She is in the mood for some silence and doesn’t know what to say right now. A part of her wanted to know what happened with Nikki and Karissa, but another part of her is yelling at her not to say anything. They pull into the driveway and park; neither of them moved.
“Thank you for today,” Kallos says and looks at him. “I had so much fun and thank you for my bracelet.” Ian looks down at her wrist, and she does the same. The bracelet is catching the sun’s rays in every stone and sparkling back at them.
“I’m glad you had fun. I want to be able to be alone with you more. I know that Sean wants the same thing. Would you be willing to go on more dates with us?” She smiles at him and brings her hand to his face.
“I love one-on-one time. I think alone dates is a great idea.” He smiles and turns his face into her palm to kiss it.
“Good, now we better head inside. I don’t want to make your dad mad on our first date.” She shakes her head at him and opens the door herself. She starts walking to the door when she feels pain exploding through her body. She gasps for air, but she can barely get her breath. Kallos feels strong arms catching her from either side of her. She knows that both of her soul mates are there. She can hear voices but barely can make out what is being said.
“Kallos, can you hear me?”
She can, and she also can see Sean talking. She tries to say that to him, but her mouth isn’t working. “Ian, help me! I’ll carry her inside, and you grab her stuff.” Kallos has never seen or heard Sean take charge before, and despite her suffering, she kind of likes it. The pain feels like it's coming from her heart and spreading throughout her body. Kallos can hear herself gasping for air; Sean picks her up, and she can feel her body go completely limp. He looks down at her and tries to smile, but it doesn’t work. “Hold on, Babe! We’ll be in your room in no time. Then, we will take this pain from you, and you’ll be fine. I know that you are hurting, but please, don’t pass out yet.” He leans down and kisses her forehead. When he moves away, she can see the worry in his eyes.