THORN | a paranormal romance

4: ROSE

ROSE POV

"Two hot guys, six o clock," says Lexi through the corner of her mouth, "walking across the bar towards us..."

"Real subtle..." 

I raise an eyebrow at her then peer over my shoulder.

And my stomach clenches.

It's him.

The guy from last night.

Jack.

And he's coming over.

He's not wearing his leather jacket anymore and his arm muscles bulge under the short black sleeves of his T-shirt. In his hand he carries a beer bottle which he takes a swig of as he chats to the other, more slender, guy walking beside him. As I'm watching him his jaw seems to tense. He doesn't look at me but he knows my eyes are on him, I'm sure of it.

Hurriedly I turn back to Lexi, my heart pounding.

Seeing him has caught me off guard, though I don't know why it would. He's just a random guy - one who basically ruined my evening plans last night. Yet my mind flits back to that feeling of familiarity that flooded me when I first saw him, the unexplainable pain in his eyes, the way my body reacted when he took my hand in his.

And somehow, I can't steady my pulse.

Lexi wiggles her eyebrows at me.

"Pretty hot, huh?" she says, "Which one do you want? I can't decide. Mr Rugged, or Mr Trendy Hipster? I think I'll go for the hipst...hi!" she says suddenly, looking up over my shoulder.

I don't move, keeping my eyes fixed on my friend. I can feel him stood there behind me, though -smell the light scent of aftershave, see his shadow looming over me. No-one speaks for a moment. Then the two of them move around so they're visible to both of us, creating a small semi-circle around our area of the bar.

Jack still doesn't look at me and I think notice a hint of discomfort in his posture. His friend however grins.

"I'm Matt," he says – his blue eyes glinting as they lock onto Lexi's. "This is my friend Jack. Do you mind if we join you?"

"Please do," says Lexi, a devilish smile forming on her face. "I'm Lexi, this is Rose."

Matt takes her hand, the shake lasting a moment too long, his gaze unmoving from hers. And as they have their moment Jack looks at me; and behind the green of his irises, just for one moment, I feel like I'm staring into his soul.

And there's darkness in there.

And it calls to me.  

I breathe in sharply.

Then he raises an eyebrow and the connection is severed. He takes a swig of his beer.

"You again," he says. "Are you stalking me or something?"

Lexi's eyes jump onto the two of us – a wicked glint in them.

"The last time I saw you, you were literally lurking in the shadows," I say. "I think the stalker here is you."

The corner of his lip tugs upwards.

"Yeah, you wish..."

"Yeah...I so very much wish for my own stalker... You don't know a lot about women, do you?"

He laughs, raising his arms in mock surrender.

"Hey, I've been told women find me quite charming..."

"Dude," says Matt. "No-one has ever said that."

He leans past his friend to shake my hand.

"Nice to meet you, Rose. So...how do you two know each other?"

He looks at Jack and something unreadable passes between the two. There's almost a taunting challenge behind Matt's eyes. Then Jack grins and the tension disappears.

"Oh, me and Rose go way back, centuries in fact. Old, old friends. We had good times, bad times, drove each other crazy for a while, estranged for a few years. But now ecstatic to have finally re-united once more."

He takes a swig of his beer but his eyes don't move from mine; amusement dances behind them. Lexi looks at me and raises an eyebrow in question.

"We met last night on campus," I say. "We were both out late, walking."

"Oh really?!" she says, not trying to hide the hint of suggestion in her voice.

As she's grinning at me I catch Matt shoot a curious look and Jack's gaze hardens. I'm guessing Matt is jumping to the same conclusion as Lexi – that there's something going on between us. 

There definitely isn't.

Is there?  The thought flickers into my mind, unbidden, and I push it away hurriedly.

Matt turns his attention back to us.

"Well, can we get you two ladies a drink?"

Lexi looks at me – asking if it's alright. Part of me wants to tell them to go away - I feel strange, on edge. My thoughts are muddled with feelings I can't explain. But another part of me is curious; curious about the boy with pain and darkness hidden behind his eyes.   

I slide my gaze over to Jack – feeling again that strange inkling that I know him from somewhere. As I do I think I see him subtly shake his head – as though he wants me to tell them to leave. 

When he drags his gaze away, though, I'm sure I must have imagined it.

In front of me, Lexi's questioning look turns into more of a desperate plead. And so I cave. She would do the same for me. I give her a half nod then turn to Matt and smile.

"We can buy our own drinks, thanks, Matt," I say. "But you're welcome to join us for one."