Sera’s arms are pumping. Her heart racing as her legs struggle to get away. A small town is zipping past her, she glances around, nothing looks familiar. Her legs can’t go fast enough, because she can feel it gaining on her. Something is chasing her, something big. A brick building labeled General Store with a large bush out front comes into view ahead of her. She whips behind it, hiding with her back against the brick wall. Her lungs struggle to catch her breath, but her fear is winning. A cold wind bristles through the bush causing her to take off into a run again. She’s attempting to navigate through the narrow cobblestone streets of the strange town, but she can’t seem to find a place to hide. It seems like no matter where she turns it knows. It’s as if it could feel her. She can’t explain it, but she knows it’s going to catch her. No matter how fast she runs, the darkness seems to match her speed. Rounding another corner, her eyes meet his. He stands there waiting for her, like he does every night in her dreams, his blue eyes gleaming at her approach. Sera opens her mouth to scream for him to move, but the words are stuck in her throat. He stands his ground, even when she begins to wave her arms. Instead, his hands outstretch for her pulling her to him.
Her arms reach for him, too. They extend trying to push him out of harm’s way, but to her surprise, he pulls her into a warm embrace. His strong arms lift her swiftly and place her behind him.
She chances a peek around his back. The cloud of darkness quickly approaches creeping across the cobblestones like morning fog. He never falters, his feet planted firmly in the middle of the street. Sera stands there amazed. How could he be so confident? Can’t he feel what’s coming? The stranger’s arms rise out forming the sign of the cross. He seems to be… glowing. A flutter of wind tickles her cheek. Surprised, she topples backward onto the cold stone street staring up at his back. It’s unlike anything she could have ever imagined, before her stands the man of her dreams, and he has sprouted wings. Huge, white, glorious wings extending from the V of his shoulder blades past the tips of his fingers. Her fingertips extend, too, reaching out to them, when her attention is drawn elsewhere. The glow around him increases, slowly at first, but before long, it envelops him in light. The light being strongest at the palm of his hands, but it surrounds him like a bubble. All at once he draws back and pushes it forward. The bubble of light forms a shield of some kind gliding across the street, meeting the darkness creeping upon them. The darkness retreats, shriveling behind the curtain of light until neither are seen again. The blue-eyed stranger turns to her, still lying on the ground, his wings retreating back into his torso. He extends his arms to help her up.
Sera hesitates slightly, finally realizing the man that visits her in her dreams may not be a man at all. Regardless, he did protect her. She places her hands in his and he lifts her to her feet again. His eyes peer down into hers trying to communicate something with her or maybe he is trying to gage her reaction to the real him. Sera opens her mouth to ask him one of the million questions circulating in her mind when hands grab her from behind. Then something covers her eyes, there’s a shout from a familiar voice, and everything turns black.
*
Opening her eyes, it takes Sera a few moments to realize where she is. The shape of Amanda’s living room furniture comes into view. That’s right. She slept at Amanda’s place last night. Rolling onto her back, she gives herself a minute to reminisce about her dream. This mysterious dream-man grew wings, angel wings. He didn’t have a halo or a huge valiant sword, but he glowed with a power she felt the entire Earth react to.
“Wow.” Shaking her head, she moves to her feet, bracing herself for a monster headache. One second, two, three—still nothing.
“How the hell did I get away with that?” she mumbles, tiptoeing her way down the hall to Amanda’s room. She knocks once to no answer. Creaking the door open she calls, “Amanda?”
Her best friend is still face down in a pool of her own drool fully dressed, heels still strapped to her ankles. Why do I feel fine? We drank heavily for a Rolling Stone let alone twenty-four year old girls. What was it that Amazing Anna had said? Don’t internalize, live your life? She’s paraphrasing of course, but this is what she had meant. Sera decides not to dwell on the fact that the amount of liquor used to sedate an entire fraternity has no effect on her and instead focus on something productive—like maybe some work. Amanda’s homework emails to her have been piling up, and she’s been a little distracted. She should really get going, but first, she wants to get cleaned up. With one last glance into Amanda’s room, she borrows a towel from the linen closet and takes a quick shower.
Amanda still hasn’t moved an inch since she left her when she walks back into her room, although her snoring has gone down an octave. Sera takes the time to peruse her open closet. Dresses and blouses scatter the floor in front of it from last night. A sweater catches her attention, blue like the sky and soft, too. She plucks it off the hanger and pulls it over her bra; it fits perfectly.
“That looks good on you.” Amanda’s voice is rough, like someone who had been screaming at the top of their lungs all night. Sera turns to see her friend wiping her mouth. “You should keep it.”
“No, I’ll give it back.” Her eyes glance down at it again; it’s the perfect hue for her complexion and hair color.
“Don’t worry about it, I owe you one. Maybe two.” She mutters, rolling onto her back and rubbing her head. “Now, what the hell happened last night.”
“You don’t remember?” Sera sits on the edge of her bed.
“Just flashes of light and the guy with the hat, and… was Jack there?”
Sera laughs, “Yeah Jack was there. We drove him home.”
“Oh, did you guys…”
“Um, no, but you practically did it with the hat-guy on the dance floor. Where did you find him, Rent-a-Tool. com? Like seriously.”
“He was pretty cute, from what I remember.” She hides a sly smile.
“Well, you don’t remember much. Let me get you some water.” Sera disappears, traipsing back down the hall to the kitchen and grabbing a water bottle from the fridge.
“Where are you going anyway?” Amanda calls out.
“I was just going to read through your homework at the coffee shop.”
“Oh, the coffee shop, huh?” She takes the bottle from Sera’s hand before winking at her.
“It’s not going to work between me and Jack.”
“Why?” Her swig cut short with disappointment.
“I don’t know; it just doesn’t feel… right.”
“Sometimes you need a little wrong.” Amanda gulps down more water before propping herself onto the pillows.
“Nah, I’ve spent too much time with Mr. Wrong, I’m looking for Mr. Right.” Sera turns to leave.
“Well, when you find him, tell him I’m looking for him, too.”
Sera turns in the doorway. “You? Ms. Promiscuous.”
“Hey, you wouldn’t buy the car without a test drive,” Amanda screams after her retreating figure.
Sera shakes her head and grabs her jeans from last night. Shimming into the jeans, she buttons them before her fingers reach for her neck to find her necklace isn’t there. Reaching into her bag, she pulls it out and places it back around her neck. She releases a breath. She didn’t realize how much she missed it was back where it belonged.
“Yeah, but you don’t have to test drive every car in the lot!” Sera chimes back, stealing a pair of Amanda’s tan boots from beside the couch.
“Prude,” she calls back.
“Whore,” Sera returns in jest before adding, “I’ll talk to you later, sleep it off.”
“Bye, love you.”
“Bye.”
*
Pulling into her parking spot right out front of Jack’s Coffee Bean, a sigh escapes her lips. With one swift motion, she swings out of the car and waltzes inside. Finding her favorite green chair in the corner available, she plops down and pulls out her laptop. Reaching for the charger, she plugs in before getting up to head for the counter.
As soon as she lifts her head up, her eyes meet Jack’s. He’s behind the counter, hands in his jean pockets. His curly golden hair is a little messy, and there are bags under his eyes. The long night is apparent on him, yet there’s something about the look that works.
Sera wears an awkward smile and makes her way to the counter. In an attempt to look anywhere but in his eyes, her gaze falls on his arms. His biceps flex under his shirt, as she grows closer to him.
“Hey, Jack.”
“Hey.”
“Listen, about last night—”
“Thank you for driving me home last night, Sera, you were a life-saver.”
“Oh, it was nothing, but what I wanted…”
“It was a crazy evening. I hope you had fun, despite it all.”
“Um, yeah,” she lies. Thoughts of the bathroom incident and the creepy cabdriver flood her mind, and she blurts out, “Did anything weird happen to you last night? Like I think I remember some weird things… and I wasn’t drunk at all.”
“You weren’t drunk?” he laughs, covering his mouth. “Are you sure you weren’t drunk?”
“Yeah.”
“How can you be sure?” he tries again.
“I saw everything clearly, and I drove us home for Pete’s sake.”
“You know, Sera, people who are drunk never really think they are.”
“True,” she admits, knowing it doesn’t make sense to normal people. Thing is, Sera knows the things that have been happening to her aren’t normal. Nothing about last night is fuzzy or impaired. She remembers everything with vivid detail; including the eyes of the man from her dreams, which is why she nods, dropping the conversation.
“That’s when I realized—”
“Jack,” Sera butts in, ignoring the fact that he is still talking. “There’s something else I want to talk to you about.”
He blinks. “Go for it.”
She glances around making sure that no one is listening. “I… I think we should just be friends.”
He peels back; smile fading. Even his eyes lose some of their shine. “Oh.”
“I just don’t think I’m ready for a relationship.” She stumbles through her words and continues, “I’m just going through a lot right now, and I don’t want to get anyone else involved.” She saves herself from giving away too much. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think, I didn’t mean…”
“It’s okay,” Jack finally says. His hand covers hers on the countertop comfortingly.
Saving her from further embarrassment, the door chimes with the entrance of a young couple. His entire appearance changes as the two patrons arrive at the counter. His smile returns, but Sera can feel the fakeness. It’s like an actor putting on a show. “So, Sera, the usual?”
“Yes, and extra whip cream please.”
“Oh, it’s an extra whip cream kind of day?” He winks before his back turns and expertly crafts her latte.
“You have no idea.” They share a chuckle, dispelling some of the awkwardness between them. Once he turns back around, he hands her the steaming, caramel latte with extra whip cream, and she notices some of the warmth has returned to his eyes.
Thanking him, she returns to her spot and begins checking her emails. There are only five total. Plugging in her headphones, she gets lost in the music and dives into the onslaught of Amanda’s nursing homework.
A half-hour later, Sera is so deep into correcting the jumbled mess of Amanda’s homework, she barely notices someone standing over her. When she finally glances up, her heart stops suddenly in her chest. The eyes looking back at her are ones that she never thought she would see again, conscious at least. They are the ones that haunt her endless dreams. The mystery man she can picture with such vivid detail, is standing before her in an exact replica of the man that makes her weak in the knees. Every. Single. Night. His eyes are warm, blue, and limitless like the deep sea. His hair falls in wisps across his forehead until he slides his hand through it. Sera swallows. His lips are moving, but her mind can’t seem to comprehend anything at this point. It’s like the whole encounter is happening to a soundtrack of some kind, and she can’t seem to get her ears or her mouth to work. The song stops. That’s when she realizes her headphones are still in her ears. Embarrassment fills her and her cheeks redden as she pulls the ear buds out.
“What?” Awesome, Sera, very graceful.
He smiles, his teeth forming a perfect, slick smile across his lips. “I was just asking if this seat is taken.” His voice is just as smooth as she’d always dreamed it would be.
“Oh, um…” She takes a look around the coffee house, which did seem to fill up while she was deep into Amanda’s mountain of work. “No, go ahead.”
The stranger takes a seat in the chair across from her; the proximity of him to her is doing something different to her insides. Her heart is beating like the drums in a rock song, a strange song that only her insides can relate to. Her pulse is racing to this song as well. Her mind can’t focus on anything but the fact that he looks exactly like the man from her dreams. This man has stepped out of her mind and into reality like she had always wished for. What the hell is this supposed to mean?
He pulls out a book from somewhere behind him and leans back in the chair sipping a cup of coffee. Sera can’t seem to take her eyes off him; maybe she’s afraid that once she does, he might disappear like always. Hiding behind her laptop, she continues her assessment. The black shirt he’s wearing is the same as what she thought she had seen him in last night. His eyes, the inhuman blue that ignites the fire inside her, are just as perfect in real life. His perfect strong jawline and shapely lips from her dreams are once again on hers.
He brushes his hand through his hair again taming an unruly stray. His hair is a dark chestnut brown that’s long for a guy, but not long enough for him to put behind his ears. It keeps endearingly falling onto his face. It seems he’s not quite used to it yet, his fingers reach for the strand every few minutes tucking it back, only for it to fall again. A smile plays across his lips. Can he feel her eyes on him? He never lifts his gaze from his book. The book with no cover, no title, and absolutely no indication into who this guy is, or what he’s all about. There’s something in the mystery of him that intrigues her. It gets her heart racing in a way that she thought would never ever happen.
Breaking her out of the trance, Jack places a cup down hard on the table between them.
“Hey, Sera, thought you might like a fresh one. You look busy there.” He leans on the arm of her chair.
“Oh, thanks, Jack.”
“What are you writing?”
“Oh, you know the usual Amanda jumble.” She reaches into her purse to pay.
“Don’t worry about it, my girl drinks for free.”
Sera glares at him. Didn’t they just have this conversation? It’s almost like he’s doing it on purpose. As the thought comes to her, does she notice his eyes lock on the mysterious stranger. He’s trying to mark his territory. The stranger doesn’t even give him the satisfaction of looking up. A faint smirk plays on his lips, but his eyes remain on the pages of his nameless book.
“Thanks again, Jack.” Her tone is dismissive as she turns back to her laptop. Her fingers deftly fly across the keys, but none of the words on the screen make any sense. Jack remains for a few seconds, then finally takes the hint and returns to the counter. Sera blinks, trying to re-read what she wrote, but it is just a mess of gibberish.
“Wow, they sure are friendly over here.” His eyes never glance up, but she’d know that voice anywhere—as if it were tattooed on her heart.
“You have no idea,” she mumbles under her breath, but he hears and laughs.
Finally, he lowers his book and peers over her way. Shyly her gaze returns to her computer screen.
“I’m Nate,” he introduces. Nate.
“Sera,” she murmurs as he reaches his hand out for hers. The moment their two hands connect, she feels a current of fire shoot straight up her arm and into her core. From her heart, the heat spreads its way slowly, out to the edges of her body. She quickly recovers, pulling her hand away and nods in the hope he didn’t catch the way that touch affected her.
“Sarah, that’s a really pretty—”
“No,” she interrupts, “Sera with an E, short for Seraphina.” You would think she’d be used to people getting her name wrong by now. It’s only been twenty-four years, but to this day, it still bothers her.
“Oh.” He looks taken back.
“Sorry,” she apologizes, not meaning to come off rude. Without warning, a smile crosses his face, and he shakes his head to himself, allowing his stray hair to slip back over his eye. “What?” Sera asks, desperately wanting to be a part of this inside joke.
He looks up, “Oh, it’s nothing. “It’s a really pretty name. Where did your parent’s get it from?”
“To be honest, I have no idea.”
“Do you know the history behind it?”
“No, I can’t say I do.”
“Well, Seraphina comes from the term Seraphim, which are the highest-ranking Angels in God’s court. They are said to be fierce and brave, characterized mostly by their fiery red wings.”
“Angels?” she snickers, but he no longer looks amused. He’s serious. “Um, no. I didn’t know that. I, um… I don’t really like my full name, that’s why I go by Sera.”
“It’s a shame, Seraphina is a beautiful name. You should be proud of it.”
She’s full on blushing now. “Thank you,” she finally gets out. Surprisingly, when it comes out of his mouth, she likes it, too. It rolls off his tongue like a Spanish accent rolls the R’s. It’s like a dialect she’s unaware of.
“So is that your overprotective boyfriend over there?” he interrupts, stopping her from recounting his voice saying her name.
“Who?” she looks up, “Oh, Jack? No, we are just friends.”
“Oh.” He smiles. “Does he know that?” They both glance over to notice Jack glaring at their interaction, while he pours someone’s coffee.
“I thought so. We just talked about it less than an hour ago,” she mentions, returning her gaze to Nate.
“Well then, Sera with an E, what are you tapping away at over there on your computer?”
“I’m just correcting a paper for my friend.”
“Correcting? It sounds like you’re writing it for her.” He smirks.
“Well,” she says, hiding a laugh, “It needs a lot of work.”
“Your friend or the paper?” The smirk turns into a wide grin, like he knows something.
“Both.” She returns his smile. “My friend, Amanda, has been trying to get through nursing school. It’s been her passion for years. However, she’s not a school person. So, I’m just helping her out.”
“That’s very nice of you. I admire that in a person.”
“What exactly do you admire?”
“It’s the culmination of everything, the loyalty/love/friendship/encouragement/willingness to forgo your needs for theirs. They are all admirable traits.”
“Wow, uh, thanks.” Just when she thinks her cheeks couldn’t get any redder, they do.
“Anytime, Sera.” He keeps saying her name like he’s trying to remember it. Maybe she was too harsh in correcting him.
“So, what about you? What brings you here?” She dives into questioning this mysterious man, desperate for more.
“I’m just catching up on some reading.” He lifts his book for emphasis.
“Are you from around here? I’ve never seen you before,” she implores further.
“I’ve just moved here from up north.” He smiles indicating his answer is another inside joke before sitting up in his chair and leaning closer toward her. “Your chest is—blinking.”
“Wha—” Before the rest of the word has escaped her lips, she glances down to notice her vial-necklace nestled under her sweater slowly pulsing an eerie white color. “It’s never done that before,” she mutters, slipping it over her head and into the palm of her hand.
“What kind of necklace is that?” He hovers over the table to get a closer look. Sera glances up at him, his face is millimeters from hers. His scent lingers, reminding her of Christmas—pine, and maybe something else. His eyes return to hers when she allows the necklace between her fingers to slip into her bag. She becomes entranced by his blue eyes. She thought they were beautiful at night, but the way the afternoon sun currently glimmers off of them shows that they are breathtaking.
A phone begins to ring, breaking their eye contact. She blinks, and he leans back into his chair. “I think that’s your phone.” He points to her bag on the floor.
“Oh.” Flustered, she pulls it out from the pockets of her purse. “Hello?” she answers.
“Sera, I’m dying.” Amanda’s hoarse voice on the other end informs her.
“No, you’re not. Just drink the water I left you.”
“I did. I tried to get up for more, but the room’s spinning, and I almost puked.”
“You might feel better if you do.”
“How long are you going to be?” She coughs dramatically.
“Well, depends on how badly you need this homework.” Hopefully, she needs it really bad, Sera would love an excuse to stay here just a little longer.
“Homework can wait, I need my friend.” Amanda knows just what to say to get to her. “And I want a bacon, egg, and cheese.”
Sera laughs, dispelling some nervous energy when she realizes Nate’s blue eyes are still on her. “A bacon, egg and cheese? I thought you felt sick.”
“Bacon cures everything.”
Sera chuckles again. “Okay.”
“You’re the best, Sera.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be right there.” Sera clicks the phone off, placing it on the table and closes her laptop. “I have to go. My friend is sick.”
“Sick?” His face calls my bluff.
“Okay, she’s totally hung over, but I have to help her.” Placing her laptop back in her oversized purse, she glances over at him one last time. Damn you, Amanda. She hoists her bag onto her shoulder and climbs to her feet. He hands her phone back.
“I took the liberty of entering my phone number.”
“Oh, that was fast.” She places the phone in her back pocket and pauses, hesitant to actually leave. They stare at each other for a moment. His perfect blue eyes peering up at her willing her to stay longer. Is she seriously going to drop the mysterious guy she’s been dreaming about for months to care for her friend? Of course she is, that’s just what Sera does. “Okay, well—bye.”
“I-will-call-you,” he states. The sentence sounds rehearsed.
She smiles, the blush heating her cheeks. “Good bye.” With that confirmation, she finally gets the courage to leave the man of her dreams in the coffee house. She glances back only once before opening the front door. His gorgeous eyes still follow her.
*
Sera walks into Amanda’s apartment with a few bags, shuffling her way inside. “Sera! Is that you?” Amanda screams from down the hall.
“Yeah,” she responds, wiggling around to shut the door behind her.
“I’m dying.” The background noise sounded like she threw a pillow.
“You’re so dramatic.” She walks into the bedroom placing the bags on the floor. “Do you know I had to leave a very hot guy at the coffee house for you?”
“Jack?”
“Uh, no.” Sera looks away.
“Oh?” Amanda looks intrigued now.
“I told Jack we are better off as friends.”
“And you already met someone new? Do tell!”
She props a pillow up, leaning back, waiting. Sera pulls out a gigantic bottle of water and a bacon, egg, and cheese on a sesame seed bagel (her favorite).
Amanda’s eyes go wide. “Oh my God! I love you!” She tears open the foil and has half of it in her mouth before Sera can begin.
“Well, some handsome stud sat across from me as I was doing your homework.”
“Fixing,” she butts in.
Sera raises an eyebrow, “Doing,” she repeats. “Anyways, we just started talking and then exchanged numbers.”
“No.” Her mouth gapes open, showing half eaten egg.
Sera glances away. “Can you at least try to be a lady?”
“Okay.” She snaps her mouth shut.
“So, yeah. He said he’d call me.”
“Ah, my little Sera is all grown up getting digits and stuff. I have taught you well, my student.” Amanda nods to Sera.
“I am older than you.”
“You may be older, but I have more experience.”
“Work experience?” Sera gets out between giggles.
A phone chimes, breaking them out of their laughter. Amanda immediately dives for her phone; lord only knows who may be calling her. With a roll of her eyes, Sera takes a bite of her bagel.
“Its not me.” Amanda almost sounds disappointed.
“Hmm,” Sera mumbles, pulls her phone out of her back pocket, and sits back down. The screen lights up with a text message. Her heart practically stops when she sees the caller ID. “TheGuyFromTheCoffeeHouse.”
“Well, who is it Sera?” Amanda smirks, noticing the way Sera’s eyes are wide.
“It’s the guy from the coffee house.” Sera half laughs.
“Ooo, isn’t he desperate.”
Ignoring Amanda, she unlocks the screen and opens the message:
Hey Sera with an E, it’s Nate from the coffee house. I think you left your necklace here.
Sera blinks, reading the text over and over again. Her necklace? She thought she had put it away. She practically jumps up to snatch her purse and empties the contents all over Amanda’s bed.
“What’s going on? Sera?”
“Shh,” Sera hushes her as her hands explore the folds and pockets—it’s not there. Her fingers fumble over the keys as she texts him back. Oh my, really? I must get it back!
Her necklace has been a part of her since she was eighteen; she can’t bear to part with it. She needs that necklace back.
I took it with me. We can arrange to meet up if you would like.
With a smile Sera replies. Okay, sounds good.
“You’re killing me with suspense, what are you smiling about?” Amanda brings her back into reality.
“Oh, it’s the guy from the coffee house. I left my necklace, and he wants to meet up to return it.”
“You left your necklace? Nice one, I have to give it to you, that was smooth.”
“I didn’t do it on purpose,” Sera justifies and takes another bite of her bagel, she happened to be a little distracted.
“Sure.” Amanda rolls over cuddled onto her side, shoving the last of the breakfast sandwich into her mouth. “Thanks for breakfast, it hit the spot.”
“Anytime. Now get some sleep, we have work in the morning.”
“Okay.”