“Perfect. Even more vague.”
I tossed the note and envelope onto the coffee table and opened the box. When I opened it, I found that there were two outfits nestled inside. Small cards on top said “first” and “second”. I hadn’t expected the box to arrive at my house, thinking that it was more likely that it would arrive once I had gone back to the retreat, then it occurred to me that I wouldn’t have known which Friday to arrive if I hadn’t gotten the box. It was still the middle of the week, but that meant I only had a couple more days until I was back at the retreat and preparing for another date. I went back to my stretching, feeling more optimistic and excited than I had felt in several days.
Chapter Twelve
Snow
Saturday afternoon I stepped out of the cottage and saw the limo already waiting for me. I was wearing the outfit that had been indicated as being first, a pair of tight jeans and a tank top with the name of a band that I had heard of in passing emblazoned across the front along with a pair of black boots. I had worn my hair down straight, not knowing what I was going to be doing so not having another idea of what to do with it. I had nearly brought the second outfit with me, but Fawn caught me in the front room of the cottage and told me to leave it in my room, that I would be returning to the retreat to change if I chose.
Even though I had only done it twice, the chauffeur helping me into the limo felt normal now and I settled back against the seat comfortably, reaching for one of the bottles of chilled sparkling water that were waiting for me. We drove in nearly the same direction this time that we had when he was bringing me to the stadium, but we took a turn that led us further into the city rather than skirting around the edge. We zig-zagged our way through some of the small streets until we reached a low building. There was a crowd gathered outside and the people in it seemed to perk up when the limo approached. I could hear women screaming even through the doors and my curiosity increased.
The chauffeur opened the door and leaned down to look in at me.
“Are you ready for this?” he asked.
I wondered if he was going to ask the same question at the beginning of all of my dates, but right then, it felt highly applicable. The screaming was only getting louder and I still had no idea why. I finally drew in a breath and reached for the hand that the chauffeur offered. He helped me out of the car and I straightened the hem of my shirt, looking over the crowd as they continued to scream. I could see a door on the building through the crowd and looked at the chauffer.
“I think that’s where you’re going,” he said.
“Any tips?” I asked.
“Act like you’re supposed to be here and walk.”
I turned back to the door and straightened my shoulders, lifting my chin to try to exude as much confidence as I could. The crowd was louder now, but the screams no longer seemed excited. Instead, they were shouting questions, demanding the presence of the band on my shirt. I felt nervous, suddenly unsure of myself, but I refused to step back. I took a step forward. I almost immediately ran into a person’s back, but I didn’t give up my space.
“Excuse me,” I said, raising my voice up loud enough that she would be able to hear me above the chaos.
She looked over her shoulder and saw me. To my surprise, she stepped out of the way. I continued this way, forcing my way through with declarations that I was expected, and by the time that I reached the building the crowd had parted ways and allowed me through easily. I knocked on the door and it opened a few inches.
“Snow?” a man I couldn’t see said.
“Yes.”
The door opened just enough for me to step inside and then the man slammed the door, nearly catching the arm of someone leaning from outside.
“What in the living hell is that all about?” I demanded.
The man who had let me in, a massive man that reminded me of a stone wall, expressed absolutely no emotion.
“They’re here to see the band.”
“The band?” I looked down at my chest and saw the name on my shirt again. “Oh. The band. I’m not really familiar with them.”
“That doesn’t surprise me.”
I wasn’t sure what the man who I could only assume was a bodyguard meant, but I knew that I didn’t like the way that he had said it. There was a long silence and I didn’t know if I should say anything about the date. The secrecy that seemed to hang over The Enchanted Woods made it seem that I should probably not mention it, but at the same time I didn’t want to think that this man might be my date and all that he had planned for us was listening to the muffled screams of apparently frantic fans while watching over a band that played a type of music I would never voluntarily listen to. I had prepared myself to come up with a creative way of asking when another door opened from across the room.
“Did she get here yet?”
The bodyguard gestured toward me without saying anything. I looked at the man who had spoken and smiled.
“I’m Snow,” I said.
“Sam,” he said. “I’m glad you got through the crowd alright. I would have met you at the car, but I would probably still be out there signing autographs.”
He had started walking toward the door that he had come out of and I fell into step behind him.
“What exactly is it that’s going on out there?” I asked.
“Somehow the location of our practice space got leaked online,” he said. “Those are some of our more rabid fans. They’ve been camped out there all day waiting to see us.”
“How did you get in without getting mobbed by them?” I asked as I stepped through the door and into a listening booth.
“There’s a secret entrance,” he told me. “It’s all very secret agent.”
He leaned toward me conspiratorially and I felt an immediate attraction to him. He wore a pair of form-fitting dark jeans and a white button-up shirt untucked over them, the first three buttons unbuttoned. Several woven thread bracelets encircled his wrist. It was something that I never would have said that I thought was attractive, but I was oddly drawn to him, as if the fact that he was something so different was what made him interesting.
“I promise I won’t tell,” I said, mirroring his lean.
We laughed for a second and then he straightened, gesturing at the large glass panel in between the listening booth and the rehearsal space beyond.
“These are the guys,” he said by way of introduction. “We’re rehearsing for a show tonight. Want to sit down and have a listen?”
“Sure,” I said, even though I was less than excited about listening to his music.
Sam guided me to one of the stools near the listening booth counter and handed me a pair of headphones. I was genuinely surprised to find that the music was more enjoyable than I thought it would be and even found myself dancing slightly throughout the last song. When it ended, Sam came back through the door into the listening booth and looked at me expectantly.
“So?” he asked.
“I liked it,” I said.
“Good,” he said. “I hoped you would. Does that mean that you would be interested in accompanying me to my show tonight?”
I considered it for a second and then nodded.
“Absolutely.”
Sam wrapped his arm around my waist and yanked me up against him, crushing his mouth against mine in an almost startling kiss.
“I’m sorry,” he said as he pulled back from the kiss. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“It’s alright,” I told him, my mind spinning a little from the kiss.
He had said it as if he thought that he was going to break me, that I was delicate in some intangible way. I appreciated the apparent respect, but his hesitation was too close a reminder to who I was before I agreed to all this and I wasn’t interested in letting that continue if I had anything to say about it.