A sleek black muscle car of some sort waited in the saturated car park. Brenna had never been big on car names, but she liked the heck out of it. Ronan opened the passenger door as Brenna excitedly jumped in. Ronan whirled around to the driver’s side and hopped in.
“This is a great car.” Brenna marveled at the smooth interior and ran her hand over the dashboard.
“Thanks, I knew you’d like it,” Ronan said, as he started up the car.
“Oh, so if my favorite car was say, a Diablo Lamborghini you would’ve shown up in one of those?” she asked, looking at him slyly.
“Well, you’ll never know now, will you?” Ronan laughed as he pulled out of the car park. For the whole drive, Brenna stared out the window, trying to hide a wide smile.
After driving for nearly ten minutes they came to a stop outside The Hot Pot, making Brenna cringe, remembering they only served spicy food and she didn’t want to be gassy or unladylike when she was in Ronan’s company. Not yet anyway. He hopped out of the car and rushed to Brenna’s side and opened the door for her. Chivalry was alive and well tonight.
They rushed arm in arm into the crowded restaurant, engulfed by a rush of hot air. Brenna shook her head, which had gotten more than a little damp from the short walk from the car. She just knew the stuffy air in her would cause havoc with her hair, sending it into fizzy chaos. Meanwhile, the rain had made Ronan’s long dark hair, which was neatly tied back, shine.
A waitress approached them smiling sweetly. “Table for two?” she asked, batting her eyelids at Ronan.
“Yes, thank you. We don’t want to be greedy.” Ronan replied.
The waitress chuckled and walked briskly toward a free table in the back of the restaurant.
“Now, see this button here?” The waitress pointed to a button on the wall. “Because you guys are out of view, press this and somebody will be over to take your order.”
She pulled a pad and pencil out of her apron. “Would you like any drinks?”
“Bring us a bottle of your best champagne,” Ronan said, smiling at Brenna. The waitress nodded, scribbling something on her pad then passed them a couple of menus and walked away, her long ponytail flicking from side to side. Brenna and Ronan took a seat opposite each other. They flipped open their menus. Brenna read the word spicy in every meal description. Ronan looked at her from over his menu.
“Sorry I couldn’t take you somewhere nicer. This is the best place in town.”
“Oh, this place is great. I’ve been here once before. I know there isn’t much selection here in Oakwood. But it’s a nice place.”
The smiling waitress returned with a bottle of champagne, an ice bucket, and two champagne flutes. She placed the glasses down and popped open the wine, poured them an equal glass each. Ronan thanked her as she placed the remainder of the wine into the ice and sashayed away.
“Have you decided what you want yet?” Ronan said as he took a sip from his glass.
“Yeah I’m going to have a burrito and some chili fries,” Brenna said, shutting her menu. She picked up her glass and gulped it a little fast.
“That’s an interesting choice,” Ronan said. “I’m going to have the chili with rice.”
“Good choice,” Brenna said, smiling, “I had that the last time I was here.”
Ronan pressed the button to signal the waitress. A few minutes later she appeared holding a pad and pen.
“Ready to order?” she said, trying to mask the stressed tone in her voice with a smile but not quite succeeding. There were so many people in the restaurant, their loud chattering was beginning to give Brenna a headache. They both gave the waitress their orders and waited for her to leave.
Ronan poured Brenna another glass of wine. She stared at him and found herself settling in his presence. He exuded calm. “So, you said you were going to explain everything to me.”
“Yes. I thought you’d want to eat first.”
“Why’s that?”
“You’ve been asleep the whole day, you must be hungry.”
“How do you know that?” Brenna’s cheeks burned.
“Don’t be embarrassed. When you have what you think of as dreams, your body doesn’t get any sleep.”
“You’re serious?” Brenna pursed her lips.
“No. Because you aren’t dreaming. You’re being shown something that you need to see.”
“I figured that by now. But where are they coming from?”
“Hawthorn.”
“I received a strange message from Hawthorn, it must have been written hundreds of years ago. How did she know that I was going to exist?”
“She could read the future.”
“How could you be alive back then?” Brenna leaned in close to him. “Are you a ghost?”
Ronan laughed. “No. It’s a bit of a long story.”
“That’s okay, they take ages to bring you the food in this place.” Brenna needed to hear his story. Now.
“I’m actually from your time. Our time. Not too long ago I was walking near your forest and I heard a voice. It was telling me to walk in a certain direction, telling me off when I went the wrong way,” he recalled, laughing. “Eventually the voice led me to the pond. The day was sweltering. The water irresistible. When I stepped into the middle of them, I was transported to another time.”
“Wow,” Brenna said, not doubting him. “Do you know whose voice it was?”
“I found out later it was Hawthorn. I asked her why she picked me. She said it was because I had a gift. You see, not everybody can use the pool, or there’d be plenty of trouble. Can you imagine children going missing in front of their parent’s eyes because they decided to take a dip?” Ronan took a drink, gently shaking his head. “It wouldn’t be pretty. My skill had just developed when Hawthorn gave me the message. She said she’d been waiting for a long time for me to be ready, saying she needed my help, and yours.” Ronan finished his glass of wine. “She told me about the situation she was in. Whole villages were being raided and burnt. She said she needed you to be ready when the time came.”
“The time for what?” Brenna poured her and Ronan another glass of wine.
“For us to destroy the evil force that has trapped all of the witches’ spirits in the forest.”
“Hold on, you’re going to help me?”
“Of course. But only somebody descending from Rowena is powerful enough to perform such magic.”
“I’ve never been too good with spells. I’m a witch, but I forget my lines during rituals. I prefer to make it up as I go along, you know?”
“That is what makes a real witch, Brenna. You are a natural. There’s no one quite like you.”
His words sent her heart fluttering. He started to talk again but she was staring at his striking dark brown eyes not hearing a word he said. “Brenna? Are you listening?” He leaned in close to her, studying her face which she knew would be blushing.
“Sorry, you were saying?”
“I have to tell you, Brenna, I know we haven’t known each other for very long, but I can’t help but feel connected to you.”
I feel the same. But that’s crazy! Lust. That’s what it is.