Gifted Connections 1

“Drake,” Jax called out, and I could feel a cool cloth on my face. I could smell Jax distinct scent of sandalwood and cinnamon.

“No way!” Troy exclaimed in astonishment. “He loves Rose. I would have sworn he would be the most reluctant and last one to make the connection.”

Drake snorted. “You’re on speaker. I can hear you. Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence.” I felt another hand stroking my mine, and I knew it was Drake’s. His hands were soft.

“Where is she? She’s not answering the phone,” Jace said heavily.

“She passed out,” Noah said, fear creeping in to his voice.

“She what?! Drake, I swear to-” Remy roared.

“No, no. It’s not what you guys are thinking.” Jax said hurriedly. “All he did was kiss her.”

“Bull. Shit.” Troy snapped. “You don’t make a connection with a kiss. He must have been intimate with her.”

&n

bsp; “No man, no,” Noah said. “We swear it. We were all downstairs when Drake told us he was coming up to…apologize to her…to talk to her. He was gone five minutes tops. They’re both fully clothed. We got up here so quickly; there was no way they could have gotten dressed before we got up here, and we saw it. We saw their connection. Well, not the actual act of it, but we saw the threads that Drake saw.”

“What did he need to apologize to her for?” Remy said, deadly quiet.

“Look, that’s not important,” Drake snapped. “What do we do? She’s deathly still and ice cold.”

“Put her in her bed, cover her up, and share your body heat,” Jace said level headedly.

“What happened?” Noah asked as I felt my body being moved, and then I felt this instant warmth spreading through me as I felt the hardness of two warm bodies pressed against my back and my front.

Jace sighed heavily. “Who knows. Maybe all she needs is to feel any heightened physical contact and a connection is made. This is all new to us. It’s not like we can ask anyone. We don’t know anyone who has had more than one nucleus and two connections.”

“What about Brian, Heather, Caitlin, and Harry,” Noah suggested.

“No,” Remy stated. “Brian and Heather are connected. Caitlin and Harry don’t really have a connection. They just made their situation work for their desires.”

“Well, let us know when she’s awake,” Troy said. “A kiss?” he asked skeptically.

“Yes, man,” Drake said with exasperation. “Just a kiss.”

“Damn,” Remy muttered.

I heard no more.

Chapter 13

After a slightly awkward morning of seeing the guys off to school, Jemmy gave Ella and me a grand tour of the house. Will told us to make ourselves at home before he left to go to some meetings. During the tour, Jemmy gave me several questioning looks, but I was unwilling to divulge what transpired the night before. I still couldn’t wrap my head around it.

I couldn’t believe I had already made a connection, and it had been so easy. Well, almost easy. I now felt this other presence within me. It was similar to, but not quite like, my silent conversations with Jax. Intuitively, I felt like it was Drake. I now felt Drake’s emotions; I could feel his anxiety this morning. I didn’t think he could feel me like I could feel him. He looked like he struggled to talk to me several times this morning. He was back to the silent Drake of the past. Not the impassioned guy that confessed his feelings for me and confided in me about his girlfriend’s indiscretions.

When I woke, I was sandwiched between Drake and Jax. Noah had been sleeping across the foot of the bed. Snippets of conversations raced through my head, but I wasn’t sure if I had imagined them or if they had actually happened. I didn’t remember anything accept the kiss, Jax and Noah barging in my room, and then the immense fatigue once the connective yarn had faded.

I noticed several missed calls from Remy, Jace, and Troy, but I hadn’t returned any of them. I didn’t feel like talking to anyone.

Jemmy and Ella wanted to spend a day by the pool before we went to take a tour of the school. It had been so tempting, especially after I saw how inviting it all looked. Three sets of French doors opened to the side yard where there was an expansive stone patio with a large round fire pit. An outdoor kitchen area was beneath wooden beams, and several options for seating was strategically set around.

Beyond the inviting outdoor area Will had installed an all-weather, Olympic sized inground pool. Jemmy said it had been for Drake after they found out he qualified for the Jr. Olympics. He had given up any dreams of competing in the Olympics, but he still swam four or five times a week. The pool was enclosed in glass walls, a roof retracted in the summer time, and was heated for cooler weather. It came complete with changing rooms and bathrooms.

After seeing the music room, I told Jemmy I was going to stay there. She looked like she wanted to argue with me and convince me to spend another ‘girl’s day’ with them, but she must have sensed the tension in my face and eyes.

I fell in love. She was a beautiful mahogany Hamburg Steinway Model S-155 baby grand piano. As my long fingers ran across her smooth keys, the lovely sound that emanated from her was the sweetest sound I had ever heard. Never had I touched or seen anything so beautiful. Growing up, the piano I had learned on had a quality sound and the school’s piano was subpar, but this…this was beyond anything I could have ever imagined.