Do you believe in destiny? That even the powers of time can be altered for a single purpose?
Bram Stoker's Dracula by Francis Ford Coppolla, 1992
Chapter 4 - Fire
I followed him. I really didn't want to walk home; but it was cold. He wasn't some random stranger. Granted, I didn't know him, but I would be working with his brother in law on a regular basis.
He wouldn't try anything inappropriate.
Would he?
Did I want him to?
Why was I even thinking this way?
I cupped my hands over my mouth and blew on them in an attempt to distribute some warmth. Trying to buy time. What was I doing? I wasn't drunk. I'd only had two pints.
I don't do crazy things like get in cars with random strangers.
But right now, all I could think of was this gorgeous, infuriating man who was offering me a ride home. Maybe it was time I start listening to Rose. It wasn't quite dancing on a table, but it was the first step.
And he was British, after all.
Edward stopped in front of a sleek black car. He deactivated the alarm, opened his door and stood as if waiting for me. Crap, I am in England. That's the passenger side.
He looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to get in. "Where am I taking you?"
Why did everything that came out of his mouth sound like either an insult or an innuendo?
I gave him my address and slid into the car. I hadn't realized how cold I was.
"Seat warmer is on the console if you'd like. There is blanket in the boot if you'd like me to get that for you."
"I'm fine, thank you." My arms were wrapped around my torso in an attempt to stay warm.
"No, you aren't. You are freezing. My word you are stubborn. Is this a Yank thing to always be rude, or is it just you?"
"I am not rude!" I shot back. "You are the one who's rude! You've been snarky since the moment we met. Did I do something to insult your sensibilities? Am I disturbing the cosmic balance for you or something?"
When I get agitated, I talk with my hands. By the time I got done with my mini rant, I was gesticulating wildly. Edward reached out and grabbed my right hand, dropping it onto the gear shift.
"No, you don't insult my sensibilities. I enjoy baiting you. You aren't pushed often, and it shows."
It was a simple statement. He was toying with me, trying to get a reaction.
It made me wonder what kind of reaction he wanted.
"Do you know how to drive a manual transmission?"
"Excuse me?" The question was so far out of left field, I was totally caught off guard.
"Simple question. Do you know how to drive a manual transmission?"
"Yes." I responded, confused at to his line of inquiry.
His smile grew a bit as he started the car. "Very well. You shift. It will give you something to do with your hand."
I was unsure whether it was meant as innuendo or commentary on my wild gesticulating. Either way it made me blush.
"Ah, I see there is something that can get you ruffled after all." He looked back over his shoulder, and then pulled out into traffic. "Second."
I pulled the gear shift down, feeling the lever catch.
"What makes you such an expert on what I do or don't need? We've had all of one conversation, and I don't think that many of my life secrets where revealed."
"Third, please." I moved the lever up to the third position. "You reveal more than you realize. Would you like the short summation?"
We stopped at an intersection. I instinctively moved the gear shift back to first.
"Please do. I am curious how you stretch your medical degree into the realm of psychiatry." The words were more cutting than I intended, but I couldn't help it. The man was infuriating.
"Very well. You don't take risks. Ever. Your life is predictable, structured, dare I say it, rather dull. You are running from something, although of what, I am not sure. Second, please."
I slammed the lever into second, maybe a bit more forcefully than I should have.
"Shall I proceed?"
When I didn't respond, he continued.
"I find it ironic that you are writing a dissertation on Dracula. It's about human nature, passion, instinct. I'm not sure if you have any experience with those concepts. Third, please."
I didn't even think, just moved the gear shift.
"Gentle. This isn't some low end Chevy that you can abuse." He paused and shot a look over at me. "Did I hit a nerve?"
"What makes you say all that? What makes you think that you know me so well?" I was seething. His words had struck a cord, but I didn't know why.
"It's easy. Part of it is in the way you talk. What you say, how you say it. It's also in the way you act and react. Aside from my provocations the closest you came to fire tonight was when that bloke approached you at the pub. I saw the fist you made. You were ready to drop him if you needed to, weren't you?"
I drew in a long breath. I hadn't realized he had been watching me.
"Yes, if I needed to."
He slowed to a stop in front of my flat. "I believe this is you?"
He placed his hand over the top of mine, and moved the gear shift into neutral, then released my hand to pull up the parking break. The contact sent a shock wave up my arm. I hadn't anticipated him touching me.
Edward shifted in his seat to look directly at me. "You spend all your life mapping things out. Planning, analyzing. You don't know how to live in the moment."
I couldn't move. I was mesmerized by him. He was only a few inches away. I could easily reach out and touch him.
I wanted to touch him. And he knew it.
He leaned a little bit closer.
I shifted in my seat so that I was fully facing him. I imagined that if I moved just a bit, I would feel his breath on my face.
He laughed and stared directly into my eyes. "You have no clue what to do when life is not planned out. You need to learn how to live on the edge, to take chances."
He stayed there, still, looking directly at me, that same self satisfied smirk on his face. I was waiting for him to do something, anything. My eyes darted quickly to his lips, then back to up. He saw it, and the smile broadened.
He reached up, and traced the edge of my lower lip with his thumb.
"It doesn't work that way. If you want it, you have to be willing to go after it." He could sense my indecision. "You are waiting for me to kiss you, or to touch you again. I am not going to. If you want something, you'll need to figure out a way to go after it on your own."
My eyes must have gone wide, as Edward laughed. "Oh this is going to be fun. You don't take risks, and you've never been pushed. I am going to enjoy getting to know you, Isabella."
It was the first time he had said my name since we met, and the sound of it gave me a chill. The man had barely even touched me, and I was ready to spontaneously combust.
"Goodnight, Isabella."
He was waiting for me to leave the car.
"Aren't you going to get my door?" I scrambled for something. He had opened the door for me to get in. I had to assume that he would do the same thing for me now.
Instead, Edward laughed, and stated simply, "No."
"Why not?" I cringed as soon as it was out. I sounded like a petulant child.
"Because you expect it. While I may be chivalrous, I won't be your foregone conclusion. Good night, Isabella."
My blood was boiling at that point. I threw open the door, snagging my boot heel as I clambered out of the car. I refused to let him see me embarrassed or flustered. I slammed the door and stomped towards the building.
"Isabella?" I heard him call behind me. "I'll see you soon."
Before I could say anything he pulled away from the curb.
"Of all the insufferable, pigheaded, arrogant…" I started to rant.
"Whoa. Who pissed in your cheerios?" Rose asked as she came up the sidewalk carrying her laptop case and a brown paper bag.
"Stupid….just…GAH!" I threw up my hands, disgusted that I couldn't even form a coherent sentence. I was mad, I was frustrated. And I was totally turned on by the arrogant jerk that was Dr Edward Masen.
"That good, huh? You sound like me today. Come on, I picked up some wine." She opened the building door, and we climbed the steps to the second floor.
"So what has you all wound up? I thought you were meeting the guy at Kings College."
I threw my coat over the back of a kitchen chair and sat down to pull my boots off.
"I did. He's a nice guy. Really young. He invited me out to dinner with his wife. We were hanging out talking when his brother in law showed up."
I pulled in a long breath, trying to collect my thoughts. "His absolutely gorgeous, totally infuriating brother in law, who succeeded in pushing buttons I didn't even know I had! Even worse, he's a freaking hematologist. Can you get any more ironic? He got me so fired up that I called him a modern day bloodsucker!"
"Ahhh, so that explains the hot Aston Martin pulling away. You have to make some serious money to afford one of those." Rose placed the wine bottle on the counter and dug through the drawer, looking for a cork screw. "Do you want some? I had a day, and could totally use a drink."
I waved her off. The last thing I needed was more alcohol.
Once the bottle was open, she poured a glass and sat down in the chair opposite me.
"It must be in the water today. There is a new guy at work. He's not supposed to start until tomorrow, but he popped in to say hello and check in. He wasn't there ten minutes and he was questioning my direction." She paused long enough to take a drink of wine. "He has all the women in the office swooning over him. Flashing the dimples and the down home charm. It was absolutely obnoxious!"
I had never heard Rose rattled over a guy before. He must have really done something to piss her off.
"So, what happened?"
She pushed her hair back from her face, and let out an exasperated sigh. "He starts looking over some of the design specifications that we had been working on, and pointed out a few errors. It isn't even his area of expertise! Not on the job yet, and he's already a pain in my ass."
Nothing pissed Rose off more than a man questioning her. All too often, she complained about men were so hung up on her looks they assumed she was stupid, and deferred to the men around her, regardless of level. The inference being that she wasn't capable of doing her job because she was attractive. I can't imagine working in such a male oriented, ego driven field. But Rose was a brilliant electrical engineer, and she ultimately proved them all wrong.
"So what did you do when he told one of the guys to change it?"
She paused for a second, taking in my question.
"He didn't. He told me where the errors were, and that was it."
"So why are you pissed? He didn't disrespect you; he just pointed out errors. Yeah it might be a bit presumptuous, but wouldn't you rather know they were there?"
Rose threw her hands up in the air. "I don't know, he's just so…so…"
"Insufferable? Infuriating?"
"Yes!" She exclaimed. "And even worse, he's really hot."
"Welcome to my world. Aren't we a fine pair?"
We spent the next hour talking about 'The Redneck,' as she had named him, and how the women in the office had gone all gaga over him. The more she spoke, the more I could see that Rose was just as affected as they were. But I knew better than to call it out.
"Oh, I almost forget, I ran into the airport Samaritan tonight. He seemed to be rather disappointed that you weren't with me."
The change in conversation from her nemesis at work to an interested male lightened Rose's mood significantly.
"Really? What did he say?"
"Nothing much." I reached into the pocket of my coat, producing the business card. "But I did get this for you…"
I waved the card around, just out of her reach.
"Give me that!" She all but lunged over the table to grab the card away.
"Jeez, Rose. Eager much?"
She read the card. "Royce King. Sounds like a proper British name, doesn't it? He may be just what I need to get 'The Redneck' out of my head."
"Be nice, Rose. Don't go eviscerating a man just because some poor schmo pissed you off."
The smile I got was down right angelic. I knew better.
"Rose…"
"I am just going to have a little fun. Follow a little of that sage advice I have been giving you. Why should you be the only one to kiss a Brit?"
Why did I have a feeling I was going to regret this?