Ultimate you

She woke and stretched in the confines of the fluffy blankets. Cocooned in the plush duvet, she smiled and slowly opened her eyes. The sunlight was peering through the sheer curtains of her room. Pushing the blankets off of her, slipping out of the bed wearing her purple polka dotted pajamas. She scratched her head and ruffled her loose, springy curls. Bed head, always pleasant.

Walking over to the door that adjoined their rooms, she gently opened it to see if he was awake and saw him still asleep. Closing the door back, she grinned and was happy that she would be able to do her morning routine. She did it every morning and even Rajat had joined her a few times. She always did it when Tij was out, Tijgerian wouldn’t get it.

Grabbing her ipod, she put her headphones in her ears and selected the shuffle button. The song that came on was upbeat and one she knew. She bobbed her head to the sounds of the drum and her smile grew really big. Slipping the ipod into her pajama pant pocket, she began to make up her bed and sang.



“You're the kind of friend who always bends when I'm broken, Like remember when, You took my heart and put it back together again.” She banged her head to the guitar, her hair flying around.
“I've been wasting time with clueless guys. But now it's over, Let me tell you why I'm through, I've met someone new…Who's just like you.” She jumped three times to the beats and tossed her pillow back on the bed, hopping around and having fun. This was her morning jazzercise and it pumped her up for the day.

She grabbed her brush and used the handle as a mic as she closed her eyes and sang along with the song in her ears while dancing and jumping up and down to the beats. “You're it, You're the ultimate. It's automatic, I'm sure of it. No lie, So don't even try, to tell me that you're not the guy. Cuz I've been waiting all my life for someone just like you. But you're it, You're the ultimate you.”
She jumped on her newly made bed and tossed her head back, “You're the kind of guy who's hands in mine send shivers up and down my spine. You took my heart and put it back together again.” She jumped on her bed and giggled as she continued, “You're the kind of guy that blows my mind, But now it's my turn. You've been right in front of me. Everything I need, Why didn't I see?” She pointed her finger as she held the ‘mic’ and sang to no one.

“You're it, You're the ultimate. It's Automatic. I'm sure of it, No lie. So don't even try to tell me that you're not the guy. Cuz I've been waiting all my life, For someone just like you…But you're it, You're the ultimate you!”

When the guitar solo came on, she played the air guitar and continued to bounce on the bed to the beats of the drum her head banging as she did so. Falling to her knees on the bed, she brought the microphone brush back up to her mouth and began the last chorus.

“You’re it, you’re the ultimate….it’s automatic I’m sure of it, no lie. So don’t even try to tell me you’re not the guy…cuz I’ve been waiting all my life, for someone just like you….” She pointed her finger as if she were pointing to someone and opened her eyes to see him standing there. She dropped the microphone and tumbled back a little, falling off of the bed with a thud. She was close to the edge and hadn’t realized it. “OOF” She said after tumbling to the floor in a very unladylike way. Blowing her hair out of her face, she pulled herself up and peered over the edge of the bed. Pulling her ear buds out, she smiled nervously and darted her eyes a bit. All that was visible to him was her eyes. “Umm….good morning?”

Tolvin woke to her voice...she was singing. He could hear her though the vents, along with a lot of movement noise. He quietly climbed out of bed, looking in the mirror for a moment while her voice filled his mind. He began to recognize the song and smiled. Once he was dressed, he quietly slipped into the main room and made his way across to her room. The door was open a crack and he pushed it open more. Her eyes were closed and she sang and 'danced' to the song. He saw the lines from her headphones going to her pocket and grinned. He simply leaned against the doorway and watched her.

When she opened her eyes and saw him, he could not help but grin. Then he saw her tumble from the bed. She she blew the hair out of her face, he saw how red her face was and made an effort not to smile.

“Umm….good morning?”

He laughed as he helped her to her feet, perhaps holding on longer than needed once she was up. He looked in her eyes and smiled.

"Indeed it is. Should I call for breakfast? They make a wonderful Eggs Benedict here."

He brushed her hair from her face and placed a small kiss on the tip of her nose before turning an walking back toward the main room. He called back over his shoulder...

"Tea or coffee this morning?"

She stood with his help and cleared her throat, pulling her headphones out of her ears. Her butt was sorta sore from the fall but she'd live. She gave a small nod of her head, accepting the breakfast offer. "Eggs...sound great. Yeah, sure. I uh..." He kissed the tip of her nose and she smiled with delight as he walked from her to the main room. She looked around and pulled the ipod from her pocket, running her other hand over her face. Could she be any more...ridiculous?

When he asked tea or coffee, she perked up and called out her answer. "Coffee, please." She put away her ipod and blew out a breath. Well at least he didn't laugh at her. Did he always look so delicious in the morning? Probably so.

He smiled and nodded.

"I'll see you at breakfast then. Good morning, Rochelle..."

He pulled her door shut and chuckled to himself. He walked over, calling room service and ordered a breakfast spread with a large pot of coffee. As he hung up the phone, he looked back over to her door and smiled. Last night was fun, but today should be far more interesting. He walked back into his room and pulled the gift box from his bag, smiling and walking back into the main room to wait for 'room service' to arrive.

He tucked it in a corner of the desk in the room and moved to the door when he heard a knock. Looking through and seeing room service, he opened the door and let them roll the cart in. He watched as they laid out everything on the table in the corner and slid the cart back out the door. He tipped the staff and closed the door behind them. Smiling, he walked over and poured a coffee for each of them, then walked to her door, knocking lightly.

"Rochelle....breakfast is here."

She smiled really big and nodded as he walked back into his room and was too busy staring to say it back. The door closed and she said softly, "Good morning indeed." She shook her head and blinked, laughing at herself. She went over to her dresser and began to try on different shirts, grumbling in frustration because she couldn't decide. Finally she just slipped on a blue t-shirt and jeans, walking barefoot along the soft carpet. She heard him call her name and tell her that breakfast was ready, smiling as she headed for the door.

When she opened it, her eyes lit up and widened at the set up. It looked so fancy and...perfect. She walked around and looked over at him, smiling big. "This...looks almost good enough not to eat." She looked at the table and brightened, her voice full of excitement. "Oh french toast! My favorite!"

He smiled at her comment about how the food looked.

"One of the perks to staying here. Professional chef available at all hours of the day."

He pulled out one of the chairs for her and then took a seat in the other. He lifted his cup, inhaling the scent of the coffee as he looked over the cup at her, smiling.

She smiled and took a seat in the chair he pulled out, her eyes scanning the various foods. "I almost don't know where to start. No, I do actually..." She said as she picked up a piece of french toast and pulled a piece off. She chewed and looked at him through hooded eyes as he inhaled the steam from his coffee. He went from delicious to scrumptious in under a minute. Even his 'relaxed' look was...oh the heavens blessed the world with this one here. He really, really had a nice butt and they looked great in those jeans. She realized her thoughts were inappropriate and shifted in her seat, lifting her own coffee mug to take a careful sip. Setting it back down, she looked over at him.

"You look tense...you should jazzercise. It helps loosen you up. Pumps you up for the day...
it's...it's what I was doing. I swear I'm not...crazy or anything." She chuckled. "Sorry if I woke you though."

He smiled as she explained what he had seen.

"Don't worry about it. Waking up to your singing was very pleasant...even relaxing..."

He took a sip of his coffee, setting it back on the table. He reached to the fruit tray and picked out a plump strawberry, holding it out to her.

"You really should try the fruit. They get it in fresh every morning."

She smiled more and blushed at his compliment. "Thank you..." She heard his suggestion about fruit and wiped her mouth, chewing the rest of her toast.

Her brows went up in contemplation and she nodded. Leaning to the side a bit, she opened her mouth and bit into the strawberry. Juice ran down her chin and she giggled with a mouth full of strawberries. Covering her mouth, she nodded as she chewed. "Very fresh...and sweet." She smiled with her eyes and continued to chew.

Tolvin's eyes went a bit wider when she ate the strawberry from his hand. He had not expected that, but tried to recover quickly. He set the rest of the strawberry down, and handed her a napkin. He grinned as she smiled at him. Without looking down, he grabbed a slice of apple, biting into the fresh fruit and looking in her eyes. Her words repeated in his head...

"Very fresh...and sweet."


In his mind, her own words described her as well. He took a slow breath and smiled.

"Yes...very sweet...."

She finished chewing and had a thought. "OH!" She jumped up from her chair and disappeared into her room. When she came back out she was carrying a book. She moved her chair over more and licked her fingers from the strawberry juice. "So are you ready for your first lesson in Sudoku?" She looked up at him with her doe brown eyes, smiling and obviously excited to show him how.

He grinned at her question.

"Of course. Where do we begin?"

He held out another strawberry, this time inches from her lips, and grinned.

She looked at the fruit and leaned forward to take another bite, watching him as she did so. He liked feeding her and she had to admit, she liked it too. Running her tongue over her lips, she smiled at him and looked over at the book. She just knew her cheeks were turning red again, and began to explain as she looked at the book. Her hand trembling slightly as she opened it to a puzzle.4

"Well you see, it's all about numbers...haha obviously, yeah...uh so you see there are lines and boxes. The point is to get all these numbers never to repeat here, here or here." She ran her finger across a vertical line, and a horizontal line then around the small boxes to show him. "So if you can figure out the ones with less numbers first, it makes it easier for the others..." She chanced looking at him and bit her bottom lip for a moment. "Does...that....make sense?" She asked softly.

After she bit into the strawberry, he smiled as he ate the other half. He listened to her explain the puzzles and smiled. He reached over and rested his hand on hers over the book, looking in her eyes.

"Oh yes....things are beginning to fall into place now. The puzzle seems to make more sense now."

She looked down at his hand on hers and then back up at him. Unable to look away from their locked gaze, she swallowed nervously and smiled bigger when he said it made sense. "G-Go-Good." She cleared her throat to speak and looked down at the book. "You...you should try an easy one. Here..." She looked up at him and realized how close they were. His lips would probably taste like strawberries and...and his cologne...it was hypnotizing. She closed her eyes and attempting to regain herself.

He stood up, moving to stand next to her as she walked in through the puzzles. He continued to feed her strawberries and bites or french toast as they worked on the puzzles for most of the morning. He would refill her cup when she emptied it and would occasionally pick up a snack himself, but they both tried to focus on the puzzles on the paper, knowing they were both thinking of the puzzle of themselves. About mid-day they took a break and decided to order in.

"It's so simple, really. I never thought about it but they have so much in common with 'crosswords' and I overlooked the connection. I would never have noticed it without your help."

He kissed her cheek and picked up the room service menu.

"so...what sounds good for lunch?"

She smiled and giggled with him as he would grow frustrated with the numbers, but then he finally got it and she cheered for him. Agreeing to take a break, she sat back and removed her glasses that she had put on for the sudoku lessons. "It really is isn't it? Crazy what you can accomplish with two brains." She giggled and looked down. He kissed her cheek and picked up the lunch menu.

"Lunch? Is it already? Oh! I lost track of time. Did you still want to see your friend? We could go out for lunch...maybe get a bite in the city?" She suggested as she looked into his eyes, itching to kiss him but restraining.

He smiled when she suggested going out for a bite.

"Oh, yes...we are not meeting him until 3 o'clock. I guess we can go out."

He took her hand, helping her up and walked with her to the balcony window. He looked in her eyes, seeing the question there and smiling. He leaned in, kissing her tenderly. When he ended the kiss, he looked in her eyes again, smiling as he spoke.

"It's a big city. Any certain kind of food you wanted?"

"Oh, okay...if you--" He helped her up and she smiled, forgetting what she was saying. He led her to the window by the balcony and inched closed to her. Her breathing halted and then he kissed her so softly, so tenderly, she melted into him, literally...she fell forward against his chest and her knees went all weak. He pulled back but still held her up thankfully. She just broke into a bigger smile and shrugged, speaking as if she were in a daydream.

"Not...food really....could you....do that again?" She asked shyly with a daydreamy look in her eye.

He smiled as she melted into his arms. Then she spoke, her voice timid...

"Not...food really....could you....do that again?"

He grinned and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him. He turned slightly, pinning her against the glass door of the balcony before leaning in to kiss her again. This time he was patient, enjoying the taste of her lips, the warmth of her closeness.

She wrapped her arms around him, her fingers running through the shortness of his hair. She found herself pulling him down to kiss her, as she tilted her head again and one hand slid down his shoulder to his chest, tugging at his jacket. The kiss began to grow in intensity and she felt the biggest surge of something, it caused her whole body to shiver. She pushed him back and shook her head, attempting to catch her breath.

"I...I am sorry...I...we shouldn't...well, I mean I shouldn't have....it's not...." She couldn't breathe and she felt like an electric current was going through her body. What...the heck?

He was a bit confused when she pushed him back. He listened to her stammered apology.
"I...I am sorry...I...we shouldn't...well, I mean I shouldn't have....it's not...."

He was trying to figure out what was wrong when he thought of how reserved she normally was. He held her face in his hands, looking in her eyes, smiling.

"If you want to back off for now, we can. I am in no hurry, Rochelle. If you just want to be friends, I'll be your friend. I just need you to tell me what you want. I can't read your mind, as much as I'd like to."

She looked into his eyes and listened to his plea to know what she wanted. She closed her eyes briefly and placed her hands on his, lowering them from her face. She linked her fingers in one of his hands and pulled him towards the love seat. She took a seat and pulled him down to sit by her, looking over at him as she shifted to face him. "I'm just plain me, I'm simple...and well, I'm...a bit weird. Not everyone gets me but you seem to. I haven't had that since Nikolas. He..." She smiled briefly and looked away from him, but still held his hand. "He was my everything. We met in college and he was my best friend." She looked down at her lap, her fingers absentmindedly drawing little doodles on his hand, just like she used to with Nik. "My world flipped the night he was killed. I blamed myself for a while. We left the library from studying late...and he...he insisted walking me home. This was a few months after vampires came out in the public. I let him walk away and on his way home...he was..." She pressed her lips together, tears beginning to well in her eyes as she turned to look at him.

"I've never had a connection so strongly with someone else before...not since him. It scares me and I'm not really sure if you feel the same way. I...I just..." She shrugged and chuckled so she wouldn't look silly for crying. "I'm sorry. It's not you, please don't think it's you."

He took her hands in his as he looked in her eyes. He had guessed wrong and listened as she told him about her loss. He knew he had to make this right. He knew he had to tell her about Talia. He closed his eyes for a moment, gathering himself. This was never an easy thing to think about but she deserved it.

"Rochelle, I understand about loss and pain. My sister, Talia, and I used to love going for night hikes in Kisatchie. That's a local woodland area. We loved the night bird songs and would spend hours just climbing in the woods."

He swallowed hard, a tear falling down his cheek as the pain came like it always did.

"Well, one night we were climbing like normal and all the birds fell silent. We didn't know why and figured it was a sign to leave. We dropped down to the forest floor and saw a strange looking man in the distance. Something felt off, but this was before the vampires had come out, so we just figured it was a local who live close by."

He had to stop for a moment, taking a breath and closing his eyes before continuing. He could still see the vampire's face.

"We tried to leave, but he was on us in a flash, throwing me like a rag doll to bounce off a tree a few meters away."

He stopped, rubbing his shoulder, feeling the pain again.

"I tried to get back over to him, but Talia didn't stand a chance. This was not like in the movies, though I wished it had been one. He didn't make a little bite mark to drink from, he...I'm sorry...I can't even say it out loud. She didn't survive his attack. He turned toward me next, seeing that I was on my feet. He charged me and I knew I had to do something. He was so fast, I barely had time to think. I pulled down a branch, trying to block him and his speed carried him onto it. The look in his eyes...I will never forget it. Such hatred. Thinking back, I remember feeling...nothing. It was like my emotions were shut off. I just stood there and watched as he exploded. When I let the branch go, what was left of him went flying. I didn't care that I was covered with blood. I went to my sister and tried to wake her. Some part of me knew though. I enlisted a few days later. I just needed to get away from things. Ever since then, it has been...difficult...for me to let anyone inside my guard."

He took a breath and spoke more slowly now.

"That is why you confuse me so much. We are so alike in so many ways that my defenses just fall away when you are around. I was not sure how you felt until the other day, but I hoped..."

He lifted his hand to her cheek, tears in his eyes.

"I hoped you would feel like I do. Like there is a connection between us."

She listened as he spoke, continued to doodle on his hand with her finger. Slowly tracing the lines of his palm as she held onto his hand with her other. His story about his sister Talia was sad and made her understand him a little better. He always seemed so serious, so very focused when he was working...well, until they started hanging out and she distracted him. The pain in his voice made her heart hurt for him and she squeezed his hand as he continued. Her eyes widened when he spoke about his own attack and how he inadvertently killed the vampire who had killed his sister. "I'm...so sorry. Really, I am."

"That is why you confuse me so much. We are so alike in so many ways that my defenses just fall away when you are around. I was not sure how you felt until the other day, but I hoped..."

His free hand came up to cup her cheek and she looked into his own blurred eyes, seeing his pain. She bit her bottom lip and looked down for a moment as he spoke again. When she looked up at him again, she released her lip and nodded.

"There is undoubtedly something..." she chuckled a bit. "But like I always say, we can't dwell on the past. I am sure Nik would have wanted me to get on with my life...and I'm sure he'd tease me about my lack of coordination around you." She blushed a bit. "Talia is a really pretty name, I bet she was too. Pretty I mean." She gave his hand a squeeze and stood, tugging on his hand to stand.

"How about....we have this fun filled weekend you promised me and we can save the serious talk for when we're old and gray?" She wanted to lighten the mood and change the subject from earlier. He made her feel things she hadn't felt in a long, long time every time he kissed her. Hormones sucked sometimes...and being so close to this yummy man hunk...well, it made her even more clumsy than usual.