Strange Love

The air was extremely bitter when I left Seth's apartment that evening. I took it as a bad sign of what was to come. Even though I had only known Seth for a few days, my heart had grown so heavy for him that I knew I was in love, even if I didn't want to admit it to myself.

He walked me to the door and the goodbye kiss that he placed on my lips was soft and lacked sensuality. At least in the way it had been the whole day. It was a sad kiss, and we both knew it meant goodbye.

He stood in the doorway in his gray and blue flannel pajama bottoms, his copper colored hair tousled in a sexy reminder of what our day was like. His gray eyes looked sad even from the distance of my rental. I wanted to run back into his arms and kiss him silly all night, but I knew I had to get home and pack.

And Anna still needed me. Apparently Nicholas had been calling her all day. She had been ignoring his calls—of course, but I knew it still hurt her.

As I shut the door to our rental car, Anna remained silent in the driver's seat. Her heart was broken. She felt used and betrayed. But she was still my best friend and she knew that I was hurting in another way that she couldn't fix either.

When Seth shut the door to his apartment, I uttered a sigh that couldn't be repressed any longer. There were tears behind the sigh that I managed to hold back.

"Hungry?" Anna offered in a mouse of a voice.

I nodded. After all, I had never gotten a chance to eat that breakfast. Or lunch for that matter. All day Seth and I treated it like it was our last together. And it was.

"So what did you do all day?" I asked biting back the throb that had formed in my head from fighting off the tears.

"Slept in, went down to that stupid bar again. I ran into Angie again."

Angie, how did I know that name? "Who?"

"I knew you weren't listening to me the other night. Angie is the girl from the book signing. She belongs to that club. She wanted to hook me up with her brother..." She drifted off waiting for my response.

Right. Now I remembered. The weird cult girl. "Oh yeah. I was listening, I just was slightly preoccupied."

"Mmmhmm." She didn't believe me.

"Doesn't she live around here? Why was she hanging around the hotel again?" As we pulled onto the expressway I forced myself not to glance at the set of apartments we had just left.

"I don't know really. She just keeps appearing out of thin air. It's kind of weird." She paused, "but she's really nice. She wants to meet you too. She said any friend of mine must have an amazing spirit."

I nodded. I tried to pull my thoughts from Seth back into the car, back to this conversation. This Angie girl just seemed to be one sandwich shy of a picnic. "Did you ever find out what kind of club she belongs to?"

"She said it's very exclusive and their headquarters are in a manor down by the water. It sounds kind of like a country club."

I nodded. If their headquarters was in a manor I suppose they'd have to at least be a rich bunch of whacks.

"So anyway, I invited her to meet us for dinner when you called and asked me to pick you up." I shot her an appalled look. Who said I wanted to meet this weirdo? "I kinda hoped you'd be hungry after your day with Seth."

"Yeah, okay." So much for packing and wallowing in my own self-pity tonight.

"So how'd it go with Seth?" She asked very quietly, sensing the tears behind my shaky voice.

"He told me to call him when we get back home. He suggested maybe coming to visit once the filming is over."

"So he wants to stay in touch?" I nodded. "So are you two... like an item now?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I guess."

Anna lifted herself up in her seat with a squeal of delight. The sound set my nerves on edge. That was unexpected.

"What?"

"I'm so happy for you. You really seem happy with Seth." Her grin was wide and I could see the sparkle of her blue eyes as she glanced at me.

"Yeah, I am." I slightly chuckled. "But I won't be seeing him."

Anna scoffed. She smacked my thigh which felt bruised from the morning accident. I gasped and lifted my casted arm up to remind her that I was in a delicate state.

"Oh please." She rolled her eyes, "I bet the fractured wrist and bruises didn't keep you and Seth apart today." She took my silence as proof that she was right and continued, "and I do not feel sorry for you. I know you're devastated that you and Seth will be apart, but he wants to see you. Come visit you. You are seeing a very sexy celebrity and he's crazy for you."

"Yeah but someone like me with him—" I faded off, she knew what I would say 'we're not meant to be together'. With my abundant curves and the high pressure to look perfect in Hollywood, we would never be able to go out in public once this movie hit the screen. Women would be beating down his door, and I could never compete.

"But he wants you. Not another girl, you." When I didn't say anything she sighed, "Besides, he's Irish and European men look at women differently. He obviously has liked you since he first laid eyes on you, and his mind has been on no one else." I could sense the hesitation in her voice. She was thinking how unlike Nicholas he was.

I noticed a tugging at the corner of my lips. Then the strain of a smile. She was right, Seth wanted me. He wanted to still see me. Maybe there was something there that could withstand the test of distance. I agreed with her and settled against the seat. The outside of my body might be aching from the accident and a strenuous afternoon with Seth, but my heart no longer hurt and my stomach was no longer in knots. Maybe we could work this out.

We pulled into an extremely elegant looking restaurant. I glanced at what Anna was wearing. My clothes from church were classier than hers, however mine had blood spatters on it. She couldn't be serious.

"Um, we look a little under-dressed for this place."

"Angie said that one of the club members owns this place so don't worry about it. She knows about your accident." Anna said backing into a spot near the door.

"How does she know about my accident?" I wondered how quickly the paparazzi had splashed the news.

"I told her about it." Anna said as if it was the most obvious answer.

"Right." I unlatched my seat belt and felt assaulted by the wind. We were closer to the lake—maybe only two blocks away—and the wind was colder and stronger here. The air felt good on some of my aching parts, however chills immediately set in and the aches just traveled through my body.

I was pleased to see that the restaurant wasn't very busy. It was late; I hadn't called Anna until eight, so it was now past nine. Most dinner patrons had finished eating and gone home.

The smallish woman waved to us from the corner. She was standing with a tall—maybe normal height given how short Angie was-- dark haired man. He was extremely good-looking and well dressed. He glanced at us with a smile when she waved, and escorted her to a round booth near the back.

Anna led the way weaving between tables towards Angie and the dark-haired man. "Think that's her brother?"

I shrugged, "When you mentioned her brother I assumed you meant the guy at the bookstore."

She shrugged in return as we reached the booth. Angie had seated herself facing the front of the restaurant and I instantly felt animosity towards her. She seemed to relax me at the bookstore, but suddenly I felt bitter towards her for taking my seat. I always sat facing the door. I needed to see who came and went, it helped with my anxiety. Now I would be seated with my back to the door and the eerie feeling of the watchful eyes returned.

"Anna, I want you to meet a fellow society member, this is Vittorio Badoera." Angie remained seated but gestured with her hand towards the dark-haired man.

He placed his hand to his heart and bowed at the waist. His hair was slightly curled in the back. Before straightening he looked up at us with resilient green eyes, "It is an extreme pleasure." His voice was smooth and accented slightly Italian accented.

Anna smiled and looked nervously to me. "Nice to meet you." She held out her hand for him to shake, but instead he turned it over and placed his lips on the back of it.

"Cut it out V." Angie rolled her eyes.

"He's a charmer isn't he?" She smiled at me.

"That he is." Anna swooned.

"Angie, Vittorio, this is my friend Sandy Belfour." Anna removed her hand from the man's and threw me into the fire. His eyes turned to me and I could've sworn that the color in his eyes was moving and swirling as he considered me. He in turn took my hand and kissed it.

Anna, knowing my eccentricities, allowed me to move to the center of the booth so that I was at least facing the rest of the dining area. Once I began sliding into the booth, Anna sat across from Angie and asked Vittorio. "Will you be joining us?"

"No, I regret."

Angie cleared her throat, "Vittorio is the owner of this beautiful establishment and he must get back to work."

I caught a dominant sound to her voice that made me wonder who was really in charge. He might be the owner, but was Angie a financial backer? Either that or there might be ranks in this secret society she was attempting to recruit Anna for.

"Yes, I must. But it is a sincere pleasure to be one of the first to meet the great Anna Tillman. Dinner is on me tonight ladies; please do enjoy the best of what we offer." He bowed once more and turned before we could say thank you.

A waitress immediately brought over menus and complimentary red wine. While looking over the menu at the pricey meals I heard Angie asking Anna if she had given any thought to meeting her brother.

"Well, I'm just coming from a messy breakup." Anna sighed quietly behind her menu.

I could see Angie nodding from over my menu. She looked sincere enough, but I questioned how much she really was.

"Besides we leave tomorrow." I mentioned as I sat my menu down. Farfalle with a lobster alfredo sauce. My mouth was watering just reading the description.

Anna hadn't told her that. Angie's mouth parted slightly and she looked wide-eyed to Anna. "But you mustn't."

"Well, my tour has ended, and I really just need to go home for a bit before I begin working on my next novel." Anna shrugged. I noticed that Angie almost looked frantic. Maybe there was a quota to getting people into the club.

"Why is your club so interested in Anna, anyways?" I asked. When the waitress came to take our order she brought hot crusty bread and butter.

"Because, she has a beautiful soul, and we would be honored to have her as part of our family. Besides, I need her to meet my brother." Angie bit her lower lip as if she had given too much information.

"Your brother. Is he like some sort of fan of mine?" Anna asked tearing off a piece of the bread.

"No, he doesn't even know you exist yet." Angie frowned.

"Well that's flattering." Anna chuckled and handed me the piece of bread. She had already buttered it for me too. Between Seth and her I was going to begin feeling like a princess. Just because I had a fractured wrist didn't make me completely incapable. I kept my mouth shut though and bit into the warm yeasty bread. It was delicious.

"Well you see, he just—he isn't—"Angie was stopping herself over and over. She didn't want to give too much away. But neither Anna nor I were buying it.

"Why do you want Anna to meet your brother so badly?"

Angie looked across the table to me, and for the first time I noticed the violet hue to her blue eyes. They were an extraordinary color. They had to be those colored contacts.

"He's lonely. And lonely is never good for our people."

"Your people?" I asked. "Wealthy? Short?"

Angie rolled her eyes at the short comment. Anna did the same thing anytime I picked on her about being short. She shook her shaggy dark hair and bit her lip, "his true love died in a fire and he hasn't been the same since. He's so lonely I'm afraid he may die."

"You can't really die from a broken heart. It's only an expression." Anna whispered.

"Yes, it's only an expression. But going mad from loneliness and killing yourself is not." Angie truly looked frightened. I felt for her. How lonely could a man become before killing himself? I thought of Seth and my heart twisted in pain. We had only known each other for a few days, but the idea of a lifetime without him really did seem excruciating.

"I could never live up to his girlfriend." Anna sighed, "And besides, why me?"

Angie seemed to gather herself from a sad place and smiled, "I've read your work. You're a romantic. I believe you have the soul he is looking for."

Anna opened her mouth and took a bite of the bread, covering whatever she wanted to say with the soft dough. How do you react to someone asking you to save their brother's life?

"I'm sorry. The pressure is too much. Forget I brought it up. Fate has a way of working things out." Angie shook her hair back from her face and took a long drag from the wineglass. When she set the glass down I watched the liquid that remained on the side of the cup. The residue seemed thick and I instantly needed to taste the wine in my glass. The wine was bitter and a tad vinegary tasting, like it usually is to my taste buds. As I set it down I watched the remnants slide down the cup, it looked like blood, and for some reason my mind drifted back to the night Seth was sick.

"We leave tomorrow Angie. I'm so sorry I can't be more help." Anna sighed. She felt guilty. Just what she needed on top of her guilt of making me leave Seth and her heartbreak from Nicholas.

"Honestly, it's not as big of a deal as I make it sound." Angie chuckled. "I'm just an overactive sister. I want to fix all his problems."

"What's he do?" I asked.

Angie looked at me as if it was the strangest question she had heard. "He doesn't really do anything, I suppose."

"He doesn't?" Anna and I both asked surprised.

"Well, our older brother runs the society." She paused as if checking her facts, "and since our family is very wealthy he hasn't actually done much work over the past—few years." The last part seemed like a lie, and both Anna and I caught it. Odds were, her brother was a lazy leech and never bothered to work. Angie was probably as much of a hard worker in the business as her older brother and therefore wanted to give her other brother a purpose to work—someone like Anna.

Our food came piping hot. The plates had been set in the oven to keep the food warmer longer. The velvety texture of the alfredo sauce was as delicious as I had hoped. It was loaded with lobster hunks. There was no skimping in my dish.

Angie ate slowly. Most likely watching her weight, I assumed. And half way through she pushed it away claiming she was full from a late lunch.

Angie told us more about the society. Apparently only a very select number of people were welcomed in. Sometimes years would go by without a new initiate. Angie really seemed interested in everything Anna and I had to say. She asked about my work with Anna, and if I had ever considered branching out to write my own work. She asked about Seth, and I assumed Anna had bragged on my part about him. She seemed to know him despite no knowledge of his previous movies. I hadn't realized he was more of a household name than I originally thought. And for some reason, despite the lack of entries into this club, Angie really wanted Anna to join.

I couldn't tell if it was because of her brother or not, but she seemed to take an interest in Anna for more than a ploy to get her brother off the couch and back to work.

"Of course if Anna wishes you to join us, we would be more than happy to consider you as well." Angie promised me. Fat chance, like I'd want to join some hoity-toity secret society in Olympia. No. Thank. You. I think I'd rather stick to staying at home, doing my work, and fantasizing about Seth.

"That'd be nice." I lied through my teeth.

Angie's eyes flashed a darker violet as if she could tell I was lying. Her smile didn't falter though.

Desert was a tiramisu that tasted like a sweet coffee cloud on my tongue. It was the perfect finish to our last meal in Olympia, and I thanked Angie sincerely for inviting us.

On our way out, Angie slipped Anna a card and told her to call her the next time she was in town. "It was a pleasure to meet you Sandy."

"Same here." I waved with my casted hand and felt like an idiot as I looked at the stiff movement. I climbed into the cold car and wished like hell I was being driven back to Seth's warm house where I could climb into his unmade bed and rest my face against his chest. But my heart sank when I realized I would be going back to the now unfamiliar hotel and packing my bags to go home.