They walked through the winding hallways and Freya found herself trying to catch glimpses of the art on the walls. The whole house was so opulent and dramatic, she couldn’t believe that her easy-going friend had a background like this, or that Kellan seemed totally besotted with her… She was just an ordinary girl, from an ordinary family… and here she was with Julie and Kellan, two people so interesting and removed from her own world that it was almost bewildering.
“Everyone’s outside,” Kellan said as he led her through a kitchen that could easily have been bigger than the entire bottom floor of her parent’s house. It was all marble and the ceilings were high with three massive chandeliers swinging from them. On the opposite side of the kitchen were two big double doors that opened to an outside terrace. A fire pit raged in the middle and all around it were big comfy couches and tiki torches. Julie was draped across one of the couches and two guys drinking beers were on another.
“Guys,” Kellan called as he led her out to them. “I’d like you to meet Freya. Freya this is Joe and Max.”
The two other boys got to their feet and came to shake Freya’s hand. She smiled meekly and greeted them before looking down at Julie and giving her the look that meant she wanted to talk to her. Julie smiled and looked away as if she was ignoring her request on purpose. She was definitely up to something and although Freya wanted to shout to her and ask, she couldn’t keep the smile from her face. She couldn’t believe her luck to be there at the incredible house with such a lovely group of people.
Kellan motioned for her to sit on one of the couches and Freya took up his offer and made herself comfortable. He sat next to her and slipped his arm discreetly along the back, around her shoulder.
“So,” Joe said, “how did you have the pleasure of meeting these two, Freya?”
“We go to college together,” Julie answered for her. “We met in our dorm’s communal bathroom,” she laughed.
“Yeah, and we just clicked straight away,” Freya added.
“And I had the pleasure of bumping into them both at the diner the other night and said Freya would have to come over and see us here at the house.”
“And I’m glad I came,” she smiled as she turned to Kellan and their eyes met.
Max and Joe got up and picked up a soccer ball. They jumped over the wall of the terrace and went down onto the perfectly manicured and sprawling gardens. As they kicked it and messed around, Julie leaned up on her elbows and whispered, “They’re pretty juvenile, but they’re harmless.”
“How do you know them?” Freya asked.
“Old family friends,” Kellan answered.
“Okay, guys,” Julie said as she got to her feet, “I’m going to head up to my room and root through a few things that I want to take back with me… I’ll leave you two to get better acquainted.” She raised an eyebrow and winked. As she walked past Freya, she squeezed her shoulder lightly and Kellan gave a low laugh and ran a hand through his hair.
Freya’s heart was pounding, and she was so nervous she didn’t know where to look. Kellan’s arm was still around her shoulder, and she could feel his heat oozing into her. She felt so safe in his arms.
The tension between them was mounting, and she could sense his eyes on her. She wanted to turn to look at him but knew that if she did, he would either kiss her or break her heart. She stared dead ahead and noticed another statue of a big grizzly bear in the trees.
“Your family like bears,” she whispered.
“Something like that,” Kellan said softly as he swept a strand of hair away from her eye.
Unable to stand it any longer, Freya turned to look at him and their eyes locked. It was as if she had known him forever and they had an unbreakable bond. It had come out of nowhere, and it was shocking her to the very core, but she knew that there was something between them that was bigger than anything she had ever experienced in her life.
“Freya,” he whispered. “How much did Julie tell you about me?” He was twisting her hair around his finger and staring at her deep in the eyes.
“What do you mean?” she asked, confused.
“I mean, did she talk at all about our family?” he asked, moving closer to her.
“Not really,” Freya cast her mind back and tried to remember their conversations. When she thought about it properly, Julie hadn’t really told her much about her life with her family at all. Except that their father was strict and generous with the money.
“I’d love to tell you about us,” he said. “But I’m worried it will change things.”
“Change things?” Freya asked as she shuffled closer to him. “I don’t think anything could make me feel any different about you guys. I love Julie like a sister and it’s only been a week,” she let out a loud laugh and so did Kellan.
“Let’s go for a walk,” he said as he got to his feet and held out his hand for her to take. She slipped her palm into his and he pulled her up to meet him. Their chests bumped up against one another and Freya resisted the urge to wrap her arms around him and kiss him. The tension between them was too perfect, and she didn’t yet want to break it. She liked the feeling of not knowing.
Kellan walked down the stone staircase into the gardens, and Freya held onto his arm as she walked with him. She looked back over her shoulder at the house and as the lights were turning on and lighting it up, she really couldn’t believe how amazing it all looked.
“This house is unbelievable,” she sighed. “It must be incredible living here.”
“It has its moments,” Kellan smiled coyly. “It gets lonely though… Especially now Dad’s gone.”
“Gone?” Freya asked as she looked up at him.
“Yes,” he said as if he was about to confess something. “Dad died last year. Since then it’s just been me and Julie here, until she went off to college two weeks ago.”
“But…” Freya began, “you said your parents were away for the weekend?”
Kellan smiled as if he was recalling a fond memory and squeezed her hand.
“Yeah, that’s kind of a game Julie and I play… takes us back to our childhood, I suppose… Makes us feel less abandoned.”
“And your mother?”
“She died when Julie was ten and I was twelve.”
“Wow,” Freya said, “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be,” Kellan said, more upbeat. “It’s just life… We’re doing okay now and we have each other.”
Freya looked up at him again, uncertain of what to say. She had no idea that they had been through such traumas. She had assumed they were so lucky and privileged that life must have just been easy for them.
“That’s why Julie didn’t go far for college,” he said. “She wanted to stay close by, help me with the house and things.”
“Yes,” Freya said. “That makes sense.”
He smiled and stopped walking. Because of the conversation, she hadn’t realized that they were now in the middle of a forest. She looked around at the tall, high trees and at the moon rising high in the sky.
“It’s lovely here,” she said. “I’d love to live out somewhere so quiet and peaceful… Did Julie tell you about my dorm room? Officially the worst in history.” She was babbling to stop herself from looking at him. They were facing each other, and he was running a hand through her hair.
“Shh,” he whispered with a light laugh.
She looked up and her eyes met his. They glinted in the twilight, and Freya couldn’t look away.
“Kellan,” she began but he shushed her again gently.
He leaned forward and kissed her powerfully on the mouth. He wrapped his big, manly arms around her and pulled her closer to him. His tongue slipped against hers and his heat filled her completely. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been kissed—it had been so long. And the feeling of being in a man’s arms was so warm and loving, she never wanted it to end.
Kellan ran a hand up the small of her back and squeezed her gently. The stubble on his chin was rough and wiry. Freya couldn’t help the smile creeping over her face.
“You’re so different,” he whispered. “When Julie said she’d found you I couldn’t believe it.”
“What do you mean?” Freya asked him as she opened her eyes and saw his again, boring into hers.
“I need you Freya,” he said seriously. “You’re perfect and I need you more than you could ever imagine…”