Between (7 page)

“
I want to memorize every part of you. I want to remember the smallness of your hand to the gentle touch it carries. I want to memorize how complete I feel when I’m with you,” he said, guiding my hand flat against his. He slid his fingers to intertwine with mine and brushed his lips against the back of my hand as he whispered, “Perfect.” He continued as my eyes held his.”I want to remember the softness of your hair.” His hands ran through my hair, all the while giving me chills. “I want to remember the delicateness of your face.” He lightly caressed it, making my heart skip a beat. “I need to memorize every part of you. Memories of you are the only thing I will have after it’s…”

I could see anguish in his eyes. His face became long and pale. He didn’t need to finish his words; I knew what he meant. Sooner or later, this would all end, and memories of each other would be the only thing that remained.

“
When you leave me?” I finished his sentence, trying to make it seem like it was no big deal.

He stood up, unable to make eye contact. “I don’t want to, but I should leave now. But before I leave your world, I have to take care of something,” he said, deep in thought, looking upset.

“
Where are you going?” I asked, knowing he had something up his sleeve.

“
I told him never to lay a finger on you. He didn’t listen.”

“
It’s okay, Michael. After tonight, he’ll be too embarrassed to even look at me or come near me.” Then I thought,
why am I sticking up for him
?

“
Don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt him. I’m just going to teach him a lesson.” He winked. “After tonight, he’ll never lay his hands on you again.”

It was out of my hands. He did deserve it, after all. And who better to teach him a lesson than my guardian angel?

“
But before I go,” he said, cupping my face, “a kiss to remember me by, until we meet again.” His eyes pierced through mine, luring me to him. He slowly leaned in closer and closer, taking his time. The tingling sensation was building up inside of me as I eagerly anticipated his lips on mine. Then our lips met, and I was pulled into the heaven of his embrace. His lips were warm and soft, molding perfectly onto mine. I could tell he wanted more; his kisses seductively ran down my neck, making my heart hammer faster.

Playfully, he tugged my nightgown, slowly, pulling me closer, then pressing his body against mine. I was completely lost in his embrace and I melted into him. His lips traveled tenderly, kissing all over my face. And when his lips finally met mine again, I pressed in deeper and kissed him back with desperation, and the agony of not knowing when I’d see him again. He tasted so sweet and rich that I longed to taste all of him. I trembled as his hands glided from my back, down to my thigh, caressing every inch of me. As the heat of our passion grew, we fell on the bed, with me atop of Michael.

“
You drive me crazy. I can’t be with you and I can’t live without you,” he murmured.

How true,
I thought, and my body quivered when I felt his warm hands on my bare skin. Somehow, my night gown had pushed up, leaving my underwear exposed. I flushed with exhilaration, wondering which underwear I’d worn. I wanted more of him. The tips of my fingers found their way inside Michael’s shirt, and I ran my hands across his picture perfect, ripped chest. He took in ragged breaths and I heard him mumbling something, but I didn’t care to listen. Gently, he rolled me to my side. He moved lower and kissed my exposed navel. Ever so slowly, his kisses slid higher and my back arched from the exploding pleasure.

“
Claudia,” he murmured, still kissing me. “pull…away…too…dangerous.”

I understood what he wanted me to do as I put his words together, but I didn’t want to, nor did I do as he asked. It didn’t matter, because we were interrupted by the sound of my mother’s car door shutting. He released me, his hand in mine, and we lay there in silence, catching our breath. I was dazed, floating in heaven, and needed some time to come back to reality.

“
Did you tell me to pull away?” I asked, still catching my breath.

“
Yes, I couldn’t stop from wanting you.”

“
What makes you think I could?”

He didn’t get a chance to answer. Michael stood both of us up when he heard Mom opening the front door. “I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he said, gently touching the beaded butterfly crystal necklace he had given me on my birthday and then my cheek.

“
I know,” I said, trying to sound cheerful.

“
I need to find out more about why I didn’t know you were in danger, but I believe one reason I didn’t know you needed me was that there were no fallen involved. The only other reason I could think of would be if you were in the presence of another angel. But how could that be? Impossible, I am your guardian angel.” Michael looked confused and extremely frustrated with this new dilemma.

“
I guess I wasn’t in all that much danger. I just wanted you here,” my voice low.

He placed my hands onto his chest and kissed them both. “Te Amo,” he said.

“
I love you more,” I replied.

Just as he disappeared, I called out, “Wait.” I wanted to tell him about the T-shirt and the strange hot feeling that shot through my hands, but it was too late. A sly smile crossed my lips; I couldn’t help but wonder how he was going to teach Ryan a lesson. I was a bit worried, but I let it go quickly. I guessed I’d have to wait to find out.

Chapter Five

I stood in front of my locker with it partly opened, drowning out the noises of the chatting and locker doors slamming. I was there to pick up my book and head to my next class, but my mind was occupied with thoughts of Michael and what took place between him and Ryan. Hoping to avoid Ryan, I hid behind the locker door. I also couldn’t stop thinking about the girl with the same name as me, who had gone missing.

“
Hey, Claudia,” Kristina greeted.

“
Kristina!” I jumped, startled by her appearance. I suddenly realized I was supposed to go to my literature class. I grabbed a book and a notebook, closed the locker door, and gave her a hug. “You never walk to my locker and walk to class with me. What’s up?”

“
Jumpy are we?”

“
I was just deep in thought.”

“
I guess I would be too if you were thinking the same thing I was thinking. Did you hear the news about that girl named Claudia Emerson, who is missing? I knew it wasn’t you for sure when they said her boyfriend, Ryan Weber, was missing too. I mean, not that I expected you to be missing, but I knew it wasn’t you so I wasn’t worried. You know what I mean?” she said, trying to be sensitive to the situation.

“
I know what you mean. Kind of creepy.”

“
Talk about creepy. That’s already two Claudia Emersons that died or went missing recently. First it was your friend and now her.”

“
There must be a curse on the name,” I joked, then kicked myself for saying something inconsiderate and stupid.

“
It better not be, for your sake,” Kristina replied.

We started walking, waving hello to our friends as we passed them by; campus was busy with students on their way to their next class. In less than a year, this place would only be a memory.
How quickly time flies
, I thought. It just seemed like yesterday that I was a freshman.

“
How’s Michael?” Kristina asked, grinning, breaking the silence.

“
Gooood.” My heart started to beat faster just from the sound of his name. “I just saw him two days ago.” It was nice to be able to tell her some part of the truth.

“
What’d you guys do?”

“
The usual; some of this and some of that.” I giggled, thinking about how I fell on top of him on my bed.

“
That’s it? Not much detail in what you are telling me.”

I didn’t respond to her question. I froze at the site of Ryan’s friends, but Ryan was nowhere to be seen. My anxiety disappeared, but I was still hesitant. I wondered where he was and what he would do when he saw me.

“
Claudia, you okay? Who are you looking for?”

I didn’t want Kristina to worry and I didn’t want to tell her about that night. “It’s nothing. I thought I saw someone,” I lied.

“
We can talk after class. I want all the details about your date, but only if you want to share.”

We were already in front of our literature class. “After class,” I said, finding my seat. But I didn’t know what parts I would share. It wasn’t a “normal” date–a dinner and a movie kind. We were flying across the sky, appearing in different countries. How could I share that information with her? My stomach began to flutter as I recalled seeing all that I had with Michael that night–breathtaking.

My thoughts were broken when a strikingly handsome man appeared in front of the class.

“
Good morning. My name is Mr. Cain, and I will be your teacher for the rest of the school year. Mr. Moore had to take a leave of absence. I also want to remind you to sign up for the team project. You must at least be in groups of three, no less.”

Mr. Cain had sandy blond hair with sky blue eyes. He wore navy slacks and a blue and white button down shirt that was neatly tucked in.
What happened to Mr. Moore
? I thought. Kristina and I looked at each other, angling our brows, perhaps having the same thought. Then Kristina mouthed, “He’s cute.”

I shook my head and giggled.

“
Claudia Emerson,” Mr. Cain called.

“
Yes,” I answered, wondering if I did or didn’t do something I was supposed to do.

Instead, he called another name. Then I realized he was taking roll. I stopped turning to Kristina because she was distracting me. After Mr. Cain was finished, we were asked to get our books out.

“‘
To be, or not to be, that is the question’,” Mr. Cain said, holding his book. “The question for today; think about Hamlet’s relationship with Ophelia. Does he love her? Does he stop loving her? What evidence can you find in the play to support your opinion?”

“
Great,” Jeff, who was sitting behind me, mumbled sarcastically.

I wasn’t paying attention to what other students were grumbling about. I was too busy in thought about the question Mr. Cain had asked. It reminded me of Michael. Would Michael love me forever? Was it even possible for Michael and me to have forever? Hoping Mr. Cain wouldn’t call on me, I tried to sink a little lower. In an attempt to be invisible, I hid behind Jackson, one of the biggest football players on our school team, who conveniently sat in front of me.

“
Jackson,” Mr. Cain called. “What do you think?”

Jackson was silent and his body stiffened. Maybe he was in shock that he got called on. Whatever the reason, he seemed fine after the initial shock and started rambling about how he thought Hamlet wouldn’t love Ophelia forever.