Part 11 (1/2)
”Yeah?”
”I know this might sound a bit weird,” he said. ”But it's Sat.u.r.day and my brother and I have a sort of ritual. Would you mind being a part of it and spending the day with us?”
”Thorne-”
”Look, I know my brother can be a bit annoying at times but that's just the hormones talking. He's actually a very nice person to hang out with, I a.s.sure you.”
”That's not...Thorne...”
”Elena. It would mean a lot to me.”
If he only knew how much I wanted to do it, despite my better judgment. ”Sure, what the h.e.l.l.”
THORNE.
”So what kind of movies do you watch?” that was Lane.
Unbelievable.
Not only had my brother not freaked out or teased me about Elena staying the night, he actually seemed like he was having a good time talking to her over brunch, which we were having at one of my favorite places for a change. In every way, he looked different. He was more alert, less irritated, and he wasn't constantly asleep. He was even picking up his books to study once in a while. By any sense of the word, that was progress. I think he may have given Elena more reason to be friendly than I might have. To be honest, I was freaking out just a little. I felt like this was a big deal, but I was supposed to make light of it and that was never easy. At first when there had been too much silence at the table, I had been worried Elena was getting bored but ten minutes in, even she looked like she was enjoying it.
”I watch pretty much everything,” Elena said. ”But I love sci-fi and superhero movies.”
Lane looked at her, a little surprised. ”Yeah?”
”Oh...did you watch the new Avengers movie?”
”It was awesome, right?” Lane said. ”Any Marvel movie is pretty much a favorite of mine.”
”I love the CGI. So good it just pulls you right into that world, doesn't it?”
”True.”
”What kind of movies do you watch, Thorne?” Elena asked.
”He doesn't watch movies,” Lane replied for me. ”He's an incredibly boring guy who works and sleeps and then works some more.”
”That's not true,” I said. ”I watch movies all the time.”
”Oh yeah?” Lane said. ”What was the last one you watched?”
I tried to remember. ”I don't know that one with the G.o.ds...Loki and Thor with the Ice giants or whatever.”
”Frost Giants Thorne,” Lane said. ”And that was the first Thor movie and it was released some four years ago.” He turned to Elena. ”You see what I mean?”
Elena grinned. ”I'm sure he's busy,” she said.
The c.o.c.kiness in her voice was a treat. I had never seen her that way. It showed an uninhibited side of her that I had never before seen and it gave me a nudge in the pants. I smiled and tried to ignore it. ”So where are we going next?” Lane said, setting his plate aside and going back to the phone that barely ever left his hands.
”I don't know,” I said. ”Maybe we could go see a movie?”
My phone rang before I could hear their response and I picked it up. It was Cyndi. Strange, her calling me in the day time. I answered.
”Hi, Thorne.”
”Hi.”
”Am I disturbing you?”
”Of course not. Tell me what's going on.”
”Thorne...there's something...something I need to talk to you about. It's kind of important. I don't think I can talk about this on the phone so I need to see you.”
”Give me a couple of hours and I'll call you back, okay?”
”Thorne. I really appreciate it.”
”No problem.”
I placed the phone aside and interrupted a conversation Elena and Lane were in the middle of. They didn't look pleased. ”So, what should we watch?”
ELENA.
Everything changed after that one evening and that entire day with Thorne and his brother. Well, at least everything inside me, changed. The rest of the world and the people in it, Penny and even my coworkers were entirely unaware of it.
But then there was Thorne.
Despite the constant warnings, and frequent arguments from the sane side of my brain, I constantly felt as though Thorne was taking this whole thing just as seriously as I was. At first I thought I probably sounded like one of those people who make up entire love affairs inside their heads and act like it's actually happening, but all my doubts were confirmed the day he offered me a ride back home in the limo. Stanton was driving and I was tired, everyone had already left and I was used to working late most days so it was just us. Accepting a ride didn't seem that much of big thing.
That was until I stepped inside.
At first we smiled a lot and we were polite, but I could feel the tension inside that cramped place like it was some actual thing that surrounded us. I felt feverish, and the feelings of immense desire that I had felt after drinking too much at the club came rus.h.i.+ng back, even though this time I was completely sober. I tried to concentrate on other things, not on the way his hair sat a bit wavy on his head; not on the way he had knotted that tie; and certainly not on the way his s.h.i.+rt seemed to flatter the contours of his chest.
Certainly not that.