Chapter 20: Enigma, Part 2

"Stop!" I shouted, startled, not daring to look at the speedometer.

"What?"

"Please stop!" I'd been completely sidetracked.

"Are you feeling faint?" He stopped the car and released his seatbelt, shifting towards me.

"Not exactly." I sighed. "I have a...problem with speed," I said opening my eyes, my heart's frantic rhythm slowing down.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize..."

He was one of those speed demons. "It's okay...just, please, keep your speedometer under a leash."

He smiled. "Don't worry. I'll keep it in mind from now on."

"Thank you."

He paused and said, "Is this why you don't drive?"

I flushed red-hot.

"I'll take that as a yes," he said with a soft chuckle. And he paused once more. "Why are you so afraid of speed, though?"

I turned away, looking at the steady trees lining the road. "I don't know. I'm just afraid."

"I know that," he said with a smile in his voice. "But there has to be a reason."

Yes, there was. But I didn't know if I trusted him enough to tell him right now. I still doubted him. "My mom died in a car accident when I was five years old," I finally said. Why? I had absolutely no clue. I turned to look at him. His face was serious. "Ever since, speed petrifies me-fear of crashing into another car, I guess. That's why I don't like driving. My dad wants me to, but I can't." My voice wavered a bit. "I don't remember my mom that well, but the one thing I do remember was the sound of her voice when she used to read me fairytales-I guess that's why I like them so much."

Tenderness softened his features. "Which one is your favorite?"

I smiled. "The Beauty and the Beast."

"Villeuneuve's La Belle et la Bête?" he asked, with a charming French accent.

"Yes!" I said, astounded. "How did you know?"

"I didn't. That's the only version I've read actually."

My eyes opened wide.

"What?" he asked.

"I feel like I'm in the twilight zone."

He smirked. "It was about time for you to realize it."

"No, really," I continued, paying no attention to his weird statement. "Do you have any idea how weird it is to find someone like you likes to read fairytales?"

"Well, it's not that I enjoy reading that type of literature. No offense." He raised a hand in apology. "But when you have a lot of spare time, reading is one of those things that fills those empty spots in one's life."

"I bet you have a lot of books."

"Pretty much."

"No wonder why you have straight A's on everything."

His lips twitched into a smile. "It helps." Besides from being gorgeous, he was smart as hell. How unfair.

"Why do you like that tale so much?" he asked, intrigued.

"I'm not sure. Maybe it's because it shows us that love goes beyond the eye. That it doesn't matter how you look or what you are."

He looked at me, his eyes suddenly intense. "Do you believe that?"

"I-I do," I stuttered, unable to ignore the strength of his gaze.

"So...if you happened to be in Belle's position, could you love a...beast?"

"No," I said, immediately.

He looked away, disappointed for some reason. "Good, that's...very wise," he said, fixing his eyes on the windshield.

"I would love his heart," I confessed.

He turned to stare at me, a sudden spark igniting in his eyes.

I gave him a small smile, embarrassed. "I have a ridiculous degree of sentimentality, I know."

His breathtaking smile returned. "I definitely like that."

My face flushed even deeper.

He started the engine once again, this time driving slower. The trees lining the road weren't a blurry green now. It surprised me how easily I'd convinced him to slow down. Perhaps he was a nice person after all and I was the one making a terrible misjudgment.

"Kalista...I'd been wondering about something you said."

I waited.

"What did you mean by me stepping out of my boundaries, yesterday?"

My mind blanked. I wasn't expecting that. "Well, I...don't know, it just came out." I stumbled nervously. What could I say to him? Definitely not the truth. I would make a fool of myself.

"But it came out for a reason," he insisted.

"No, it didn't."

"Tell me."

"It meant nothing."

"Please," he pressed, his voice melting me.

Ugh. That honeyed tone was impossible to resist! "I...the thing is that..." He waited. "That I'm not stupid, okay? I know you belong to another world."

He snapped his eyes at me, as if afraid of something. "Explain?"

I paused for a moment. "You're kind of the most...wanted guy in school and...and I'm just me, you know. I mean, I belong with the others, not with your VIP, super exclusive world, so, when you come and talk to me it just...confuses me. And it confuses the others, too. It would be better if you just stayed on your side and do your thing because...because..." I looked down at my hands."...if you somehow decided that it was time to pay attention to people outside your elite circle, then let me tell you that I'm the wrong person to start with. I'm pretty boring."

The car stopped. We were in front of my porch, the house resting peacefully behind it. He turned his head and stared at me. "Look, I know I'm not the most sociable person, and that I tend to stay away from people. But if I want to be friends with you, I don't see why it would be wrong, or why the others should care-unless you're the one who cares."

"I don't." I shook my head. Didn't I care, though? If not, why was my throat suddenly clogged? Why did the idea of being his friend make me so nervous? How in the world had this happened? Why did he want to be my friend?

"You're a great girl," he said, answering my unspoken question. "You don't even come close to being boring. Actually, you're one of the most interesting people I've ever met. So why wouldn't I want to be your friend?"

"You're an enigma," I said in a blur. He frowned, confused about the abrupt direction the conversation had taken. "One day you're totally cold, you ignore me, and you even hide from me..."

"You were looking for me?" he asked.

I rolled my eyes.

"I'm sorry, go on," he said, hiding a smile.

"And then...you behave really nice, talk to me, offer me a ride to my house, and you want us to be buddies? Why?"

He hesitated, pensive. "I'll keep that to myself."

It didn't surprise me. "You keep a lot of things to yourself."

"It's part of being enigmatic."

I laughed. I couldn't help it. The way he was looking at me, and turning my whole body into a pool of warmth, told me he couldn't help to stare either.

"It's good to see you laugh," he said.

"Well, if you want to see it more often, you'll have to cut your rollercoaster behavior."

He laughed. "I promise. And I apologize."

"Apology accepted," I said, raising my chin.

"Thank you." He bowed gentlemanly and stared at me for a few more seconds-long, heart-racing seconds.

I wondered what he was looking, what he was thinking. Was his heart beating as fast as mine?

He cleared his throat. "Sorry, but I need to get going if I don't want to find myself with the Aqualogix people in the pool."

Oh, the sight of him in a Speedo. Lucky people.

"Sure." I pulled open the door in a flash. "Thanks for the ride." I slipped out and snapped the door shut behind me.

"Kalista?" Tristan called, skidding me to a halt. He leaned across the seat. "Don't you think it will be easier for your father if I bring you from school henceforth?"

My stomach tightened. "Do you think?" I asked him, holding back a yes in my throat.

"For your father's sake."

"Good enough."

He smiled his incredibly sexy smile, pulled back and drove away.

I stared dumbfounded, anchored to the ground.

I spent the rest of the day glued to the couch. I forgot about all the things I'd said I would do to keep my mind busy. I was so deeply engrossed with the conversation I'd had with Tristan that thinking about anything else was hopeless. His beautiful face was stuck in my head, every word, every gesture, every smile-everything. . He was branded onto every single neuron. What was happening to me?

I'm just...surprised by the whole being-friends-thing, just surprised.

My dad, though, didn't agree with me. "What's the matter? You look stupefied again." he said, scanning my face with his brown eyes. He'd come home a bit later than usual and was trying now to catch up on his writing. He used to write in his studio all the time, claiming it was the only place he could concentrate and build all that creative energy. But since the one here was a still a huge mess, he'd migrated to the living room.

"Nothing." I shook my head in denial. "Busy day, huh?"

"Yeah, a lot of things with the theater, and I still have to finish this play." He took off his glasses and pressed his eyes with his fingers. "Good thing Tristan offered to take you here."

My smile disappeared. "What? You didn't ask him to do it?"

"No. I was going to pick you up, but Julian told me Tristan offered to take you, and I thought it was a good idea. Saved me a lot of time."

I scowled, confused. Didn't he say my dad had asked him to bring me home?

"Honey?" he asked, noticing my expression.

"I'm hungry," I said, dodging the real qualms in my head.

"Let me see what I can cook," He leaned forward to stand up.

"No, Dad." I held up my hand to stop him. "You're tired, leave it up to me. I'll make delightful sandwiches for both of us."

And I'll definitely kill someone tomorrow.