Dark Matter: The Secret Revealed

Chapter 4: Belinda

"You never change," Damien said.

He was standing in his driveway with open arms.

I got out of my car and walked towards him anticipating with delight the feelings I was about to have when Damien took me into his arms and held me against his strong and wiry frame.

I had decided to visit Damien before our graduation ceremony that evening. Damien lived in a beautiful old heritage home that was on the outskirts of Coriander. His home was at the end of his street where there was never any traffic. The lilac trees in the front yard were in full bloom. Their intoxicating fragrance was making my head spin as I marvelled at the splendid front garden that Mrs. Garant was notorious for in the town. Her homegrown geraniums were coveted among Coriander's garden nursery owners. She had a talent, indeed, for creating beauty, all around her, including her greatest work of art—her son.

I approached him standing in the driveway. He opened his arms, and I fell into his embrace full of love. His long, lean frame topped with a mop of naturally curly brown locks down to his shoulders melded around me, covering me with his sweet heat and smell of ripe melon.

He reached for my face, and his lips found mine quickly, and urgently we kissed. The passion between us was strong now, and I knew we both wanted each other completely.

"I adore you," he whispered.

My eyes filled with tears at the sound of these words. It was all too much sometimes—what I felt for him.

I had resisted my feelings for Damien from the first moment I had met him almost two years ago and I had been successful in fending off his interest in me until one evening in early January, when consumed by my attraction to him, I had decided to drive to the coast and take a sobering walk along the frozen beach at sunset. I was determined to stay focused on my healing work with Michael and remind myself that I was in Coriander to rest and do nothing else.

I had worn my winter jacket, hat, gloves and my mukluks for warmth. There was not a soul on the beach—just a light dusting of frost on the dark brown sand that made me think I was walking on hard packed brown sugar.

Deep in thought, I started when I felt the hand on my back. I turned around immediately raising my arm ready to strike.

"Whoa!" Damien said taking a step back.

"Damien! What are you doing here?"

He wore a dark, tight-fitting wool hat with his black sunglasses perched on top of it just above his forehead. He had on his big black puffy ski jacket and black jeans with black military style boots.

"I followed you," he said matter-of-factly.

"You followed me?" I asked stunned by his easy confession.

"Creepy eh?" he smiled.

"Why?"

"To be honest, I was worried about you."

"Why?"

"You have been very...well...very sullen these days and when I saw your car in town I started to follow you to ask you out for a cup of coffee, but then I realized you were headed for the coast, and well, it's freezing so I wanted to make sure you would be all right."

"It is true people perish on the beach in winter all the time," I said sarcastically.

"Okay, I deserve that, but you're a little offbeat like me and sometimes I don't think you think things through, so I figured I'd follow you."

"Are you up for a walk?" I asked.

"I am up for being with you, Belinda, anywhere, anytime," Damien said.