3.

Aira didn't know why she was trying so hard to spruce herself up. She wore high-waisted acid washed skinny jeans and a black low-cut body suit with long sleeves. She was slipping on her black vans when she heard the knock on her door. Her heart hammered with excitement. She couldn't remember the last time she was so excited for a date, and with a man no less. She scurried to her door and opened it to see Duke standing there smiling.

"You look amazing." He said. "I feel under dressed."

"Oh stop, you look fine. Come in, I was just about to dab then grab my purse." She led him inside. "So where is this lunch you were so vague about."

He gave her a smirk. "It's on the house at my restaurant."

"Is this your way of paying." She laughed.

"Maybe." He flirted. "Since the weather is nice we can sit outside and look over the water."

"That sounds nice! I feel spoiled." Aira said. She let down her long hair, mesmerizing him as it cascaded down her back. She spritzed perfume on herself then headed to her bong that was sitting on the kitchen counter. She dabbed quickly then turned towards Duke. "I am ready." She beamed as she grabbed her purse.

"Then your chariot awaits." Duke smiled. Aira could see that smile more often, it was a sweet smile. Like someone who never means any harm, but that was a dangerous thing too. People who smiled like that tended to hurt others the most sometimes. "How are you enjoying your stay here in Haven?"

"Sadly, I have spent most of my days researching, and I found out there's a house my family used to own. I was thinking of talking to Dave or Vince about how to go see it. You know, maybe some answers to my curse, how deep it goes." She fiddled with her hair nervously. "Sorry, it seems I am always talking about these…troubles." She whispered. "Anyways, how did you get up here without a key?"

"The bellboy recognized me and let me up." Duke said. They entered the elevator together, and she instantly felt the pull to stand near him. The magnetic pull was outstanding but she managed to just lean against the wall and try to act normal, which was very hard.

Aira hated the attraction she felt for Duke. The last man she ever loved drove her insane, so naturally she believed all men would be the same, but here she was, going on a date with a man. "I'm surprised it's so warm today, so random."

"It's always like that here in Haven, it never knows what it wants to be." He said as he ran his fingers through his curly hair. "But this just means a nice view over the water for us." They stood in an awkward silence for a few moments. Aira couldn't stop herself from fiddling with her dreads. Making braids and untying them. "To be honest, I thought I was about to receive a text saying you couldn't make it."

"Does that happen a lot to you?" Aira asked, catching him off guard.

"Usually by the pretty ones." He chuckled.

"Then you should stay away from the pretty ones." She smiled, unaware he was calling her pretty. "I know the feeling though. Give a pretty girl your heart…." She sighed. The elevator dinged and the doors opened. Aira led the way out of the elevator, grateful for the change of atmosphere. She didn't know why she was making things so awkward. She also couldn't help bringing up Mia, not by name but just by presence and it was driving her insane. Mia, who had called her all this week, kept leaving messages in tears saying she still loved her. If she loved me she wouldn't have cheated on me and tried to lie about it.

"You talk as if you aren't beautiful." Duke said, and Aira instantly felt like a deer in the headlights. He looked down at her as they crossed the lobby and he seemed to realized his words didn't comfort her. "I'm sorry, was that to blunt?"

"Oh, I-I." she stuttered. She had no idea what to say. "Sorry, I'm not used to people saying that to me…so truthfully."

"What do you mean?"

"My friends are mainly women, and women always say other women are beautiful but it's usually a sarcastic or a friend thing to say, and the men…I don't know, I can't tell if they are flirting or being nice. They tend to all look the same to me."

"Wow."

"Don't worry, you don't look like any other man." She laughed.

"That makes me feel better actually." He laughed.

Aira was glad she couldn't blush, she hadn't realized she blurted an inner thought. Duke led her to his car, and opened the door for her. She smiled awkwardly, not used to the gesture. Once in his car she took a deep breath, willing herself to calm the hell down. Duke hopped into the driver's seat and took off. Nirvana came out of the speakers and she opened her mouth to sing along then clamped her mouth shut. She didn't want Duke to suddenly cover himself in mud and to douse himself in bleach. She wished the urge to sing wasn't so powerful still. "I have this album on a record." She said.

"You like Nirvana? Nice." Duke said. "I like this song."

"Me too." She said sadly.

"I can turn the radio off…if it's too hard."

"No, don't worry." She smiled but it didn't reach her eyes. Duke turned the radio down anyways, she felt bad for making him do something she was sure he didn't want to do.

Duke managed to salvage the conversation after the Nirvana song ended. He never had such a hard time being confident with a woman, especially one he wasn't even sure liked him because he had a penis. He also couldn't help but glance over at her. Her clothes fit her like a perfect glove and flaunted all of her delicious curves. She looked like a teenage boy's wet dream, and only the heavens knew how many he had this week about her. He ended up asking her about her other hobbies was surprised to learn she sewed most of her own clothes and had clothing store in Los Angeles and Long Beach, California, as well as in Miami and Orlando, Florida. He loved how she perked up when it came to her hobbies. She also turned out to be a giant nerd who taught herself Japanese and Korean so she didn't have to read subtitles.

Duke parked in his normal spot at his restaurant. Aira hopped out and stretched and smiled at him when he walked around to wait for her. He took the time to look at her chest piece, and then he realized he shouldn't have been staring for so long because he noticed there was no way she had a bra on because her piercings were very obvious and made his thoughts turn hungry. If she hadn't of spoken, he was afraid he would have done something stupid, because for some reason he felt like he couldn't control his actions.

"Still can't believe how pretty it is up here." She said.

"Yeah, I can't seem to stay away from this place, no matter how many times I leave." Duke said, tearing his eyes from her body, back to her amber eyes, which were just as lovely. She darted her eyes away, and he felt bad for making her uncomfortable. Never have I ever me such an insecure woman who didn't realize she was stunning.

"Shall we, milady?" he outstretched his arm and she took it with a smile. He walked her inside where waved at his friend, who was also the waitress, to let her know that they were there and heading to the outside tables. Aira looked around, taking in the scenery of the restaurant. When they got to the table he had reserved or them she looked like she was taken by surprised by the water view.

"Beautiful." She whispered to herself.

"Glad you like." He said pulling out her chair.

Aira sat down and set her things on the table. A woman appeared almost as soon Duke had sat down, "Hi Duke." She said cheerfully then looked at Aira. "You must be Aira?

"Yes." Aira smiled. "Pleasure to meet you."

"I'm Denise. Pleasure is all mine." She said, which caught Duke by surprised. Her tone was extremely flirtatious, and Denise was the type of girl who was always gushing over her new boy toy of the week. "What would you like beautiful?" she asked.

Aira smirked at the girl. "A lemonade would be perfect." She said.

Denise looked to Duke. "Whatcha want Duke." She asked him plainly.

"Uh, a Hidden Cove, on tap please." Duke said, trying to not laugh at how bored she seemed of Duke.

Denise scribbled down his order then looked straight back at Aira. "Want anything else, Aira?"

"Lemonade is perfect, thank you." She smiled. Denise winked at her then shimmied away.

"Wow…." Duke said out loud.

"Does she normally come on so strong?" Aira laughed.

"I have never seen her do that…to a woman." He laughed.

"She's curious that's for damn sure." Aira laughed. "Curious ones always lay it on thick. They don't know how to flirt with women most of the time."

Denise promptly came back with their drinks, and it a minute for her to leave again. She seemed disappointed Aira wasn't ready to order yet. Duke chuckled to himself then drew his attention back to Aira. "So, you dance, sing, play instruments, speak Korean and Japanese, what else." He smiled.

"Wow, make me seem like super woman." She laughed then took a sip of the lemonade. "Um, I speak Spanish as well."

"Really?" Duke aske. "Learn that in school?"

"My father is Cuban and white." She explained. "my mother was black with a little Choctaw Indian. I only seemed to get my father's eyes." Aira grabbed a menu on the table. "Spanish was my first language. What about you, you look Native American, am I right?"

"You have a good eye. My grandfather was Indian. Irish too."

"Exotic." She said. "So how is your pasta at this place of yours?" Her eyes scanned over the menu.

"Everything is pretty good. You like seafood."

"Understatement, love is the word you meant." She smiled when Duke laughed. "That shrimp linguini is calling my name."

"You should get it, it's one of my favorites. Add bacon, it's the best."

Denise popped up with a large smile. "Are you guys ready."

Duke looked up slowly, surprised by her promptness. "Uh, I would like the Chicken Alfredo."

"And for you dear?" she beamed at Aira.

"I'd like the shrimp linguini, with bacon." Aira eyed Duke. "As the owner requests." Duke had to keep himself from saying something perverted. She was going to be the death of him, and he loved it. Thy continued their conversation, and Aira began to loosen up, and be herself. Soon their lunch arrived and the smell was wonderful. Aira stuck her face in the aroma of her food and exhaled with excitement. As she went to stick her fork into the pasta the ground shook. She paused to look around her. Her eyes met Duke's and he looked just as puzzled as she did. "I take it earthquakes aren't normal here, right?"

"No…." Duke had a sinking feeling this was another trouble. He began to hope that Nathan or Audrey wasn't about to call him. "Hopefully that won't happen again." He tried to laugh.

"Well, I'm used to earthquakes. No problems here." She swirled her fork in the pasta then took a large bite. Her eyes closed as she expressed her appreciation of the food. "Oh my…this shrimp is crazy good, and you were right to say to add bacon. Fucking delicious." She said as she swirled another large helping of pasta on her fork.

"Told you." He began to eat, still hoping another earthquake wasn't about to happen.

Aira looked up at the water. "This is so nice. Places by the water are so expensive in Long Beach."

"There is so much water here." He laughed. "I actually live in a boat, on the water." He said right before putting food in his mouth.

She looked at him, eyes wide. "Really? That's so cool! Is it like one of those yachts?"

"It's more of a large fishing boat that I inherited."

"Oh my GOD! I really have to see that one day!"

"I'd be glad to take you one day, if you'd like."

"Oh definitely." Aira looked at him then smiled. "You have sauce on your face." She giggled.

Duke reached for his face. "Did I get it?"

She laughed. "Here," she leaned forward and reached for his face. She rubbed her thumb on the corner of his mouth and then brought it to her mouth. "Mm, I'm getting that next time."

Duke struggled to control his breathing and was extremely grateful that the table wasn't glass. He shifted in his seat, trying to rid himself of the partial erection he had just gotten. The ground shook again, stronger thus time. They both gripped the table making sure the whole building wasn't about to fall on them. When it ended, Dukes phone rang. He stifled a sigh, even though he was glad for the distraction from the bombshell in front of him. "Hell…." He was cut off by a shouting Audrey. "Whoa, calm down, what?" he paused to listen. Aira's eyes were boring into him. "Yes, she is here with me…what's happening?" When Duke mentioned Aira she reached for her purse and dug out her phone. "Well how do you know she wants to even use her trouble?"

"If you need my help, I will help." Aira said.

"We will be there in five minutes." Duke said then hung up. He looked up at her with a smile that said 'I'm sorry'. "I'll have them save our food." He got up from the chair at the same time Denise came out. "Good, Denise, wrap these up and put them in the fridge, we have something to do."

"Oh…." Denise said.

Duke and Aira rushed out of the restaurant and to the vehicle. Aira had never felt so confused in her life. At first she was having a great date, then they were running out of the place like a fire had erupted. She wanted to ask him what was going on, but as they raced down the road, she noticed the closer they got to their destination, the asphalt was cracking. Her heart hammered in her chest, were they about to die? Soon she saw police cars and bright lights. There was a crowd of people in the street. Duke came to a halt.

"What the fuck…." He said as he leapt from the car. Everything told Aira to just leave but she said she would help but she had no idea how. She got out of the jeep as well and jogged behind Duke. Nathan saw them and waved them over. Audrey was standing five feet from a little girl who was crying loudly, and looked very angry. "What's happening?" Aira stood next to Duke. The ground around them rumbled, but they could all still stand.

"She wanted a new bike." Nathan said.

"What?" Duke said as he tried to brace himself.

"She is mad because her dad won't buy her new bike. Every time she stomps she causes an earthquake." Nathan explained. The little screeched and began stomping her feet on the ground. Aira was lurched into Duke, who caught her while he tried to keep his own balance.

"What did you need me to do?" Aira asked as she stood straight up after being caught. "I don't know what to do." She panicked.

"Will you sing to her?" Nathan asked.

Aira felt her throat dry. "You want me to sing to her…like what?"

"Anything, please, this is our last resort. Please, I wouldn't ask if it was important." Nathan pleaded. The little girl screamed again.

Aira took a deep breath and walked over towards Audrey and the small girl. The girl looked at her with a teary face. "Hi, sweet heart, what's the matter?" she said as calmly as she could.

"Daddy won't buy me a new bike! He broke my old one!" she went to stomp.

Aira put her arms out to calm her. "No, no, no sweetie." She racked her brain for anything to sing. She landed on something, but to make sure no one else would sleep she had to know her name. "What's your name honey."

The girl stared at her. "Stephanie."

"Goddess above, queen of the night help Stephanie sleep in your healing light." Aira sang softly at first. She was aware of all the eyes on her. "Restful sleep come to her, relax her body and let her mind be free." The little girl had stopped crying and began to rock on her feet. Aira sped towards her to catch her. "Grant Stephanie calm and peace right now and let her wake in The Gods golden light." When she finished the girl laid asleep in her arms.

"I'll take her now." Audrey whispered. Aira gratefully handed the girl to her. She began shaking soon after, riding out her emotions of what just had happened.

I can't believe that just worked. It worked, and I just put a little girl to sleep. She felt guilty and she didn't know why. She hopped to her feet, and began to walk towards Duke's jeep, walking faster with every step. She could feel a panic attack creeping up on her. She whizzed by Nathan and Duke, wanting nothing more than a joint that was in her purse. She practically ripped the door open to the jeep and began rummaging through her purse. Her hands were shaking so badly that she ended up dumping her purse contents on the passenger seat. She grabbed her glitter lighter and a tube that held a perfectly rolled joint. She struggled to open the tube but eventually popped it open. She flicked the lighter and it just refused to light. Dukes hand reached from behind her to grab the lighter. She let him take it from her. She placed the joint in her mouth and waited for him to light it for her. She inhaled deeply.

"Are you alright?" Duke asked her. She gave a sarcastic laugh.

"I just willed a six-year-old to go to sleep. A little girl who can cause earthquakes." She said. She inhaled on her joint once again. "A little girl who had no control over what I just did to her." Tears pricked behind her eyes. Duke reached out and brought her in for a tight hug. She didn't fight him.

"I know these is a bit overwhelming. I am sorry they asked you to do this. She will be calmer when she wakes up."

"Hopefully." She said. "I'm good, I'm calm." Duke released his hold on her. She brought the joint to her lips. "There has to be an answer for these troubles. People could die from this. I have never seen anything like this in my life, and I thought my trouble was bad. That girl is gonna have to go to counselling for anger management." Duke laughed at her words. His laugh was infectious and she ended up smiling.

"There's that smile."

She smiled even bigger. "This is some date you brought me out too."

"Yeah, sorry about this."

"It's only fitting I ask you for another one." Aira smirked. Duke looked surprised she even wanted to see him again. "Hopefully without drama?"

"Sure!"

"Dinner, on me, tomorrow?"

Duke raised his eyebrows. "Sure."

"I can find a place, hopefully yelp won't let me down."

"I can pick you up tomorrow."

"Sure. Make sure to dress nice." She said.

"Sure thing." He smiled.