Enchant Me by Anne Violet

understanding.
     “I am not going to let anything happen
to you,” he stated, his eyes hard and intent. “Honestly, it
isn’t so much me I am worried about.”
    He stared at me for a moment like he was
considering his next words. His eyes kind of shuttered like he was
hiding something from me. Finally he looked away, out over the
field. “I can take care of myself.”
    It took all the self control I had not to
shudder a little. The way he said it was like --he knew it for a
fact. That it had been tested and he had come out the victor, but
was almost sorry for the knowledge? I felt confused. I trusted my
intuition and there was no inkling that he would be a danger to me
or anyone else. Maybe he had fought some bullies in the past or
something. Remembering my vow to keep him happy and content
always, I decided a change in topic was definitely in order. I
leaned over and placed a soft kiss on his cheek which seemed to
help pull him from wherever he was. 
    “Christian, what plans do you have for after
graduation?” I asked while grabbing seconds of his delicious potato
salad. He looked surprised by this particular change of topic
but he smiled and relaxed which was my goal in the first
place. 
    His eyes regarded mine warmly, “I don’t know,
I wasn’t planning on going to college, not to sound cocky, but I
don’t really need to. I’ve been selling my paintings since I was
about 15 years old. My finances are already secure for life pretty
much. What about you?”
    I was stunned. No college? My whole family
was college graduates. It was drilled in since birth. “Um,” I was
still caught a little off guard. “I am planning on going to a well
known photography college in Santa Barbara.”
    “Really? I love that town. They have some
great subjects for painting, although it is hard to go wrong in
California.”
    I smiled in response. “My feelings
exactly.” 
    As I admired him sprawled out on my towel, I
considered how to ask my next question. I didn’t want to scare him
off but it might be better off to know what to expect than get my
hopes up. “So… you would possibly consider moving back to Cali?” I
asked, as casually and offhand as I could. His brown eyes were
soft as they looked at me.
    “Yes, I would consider it,” he murmured and
leaned in towards me.
    My eyes dropped to his perfect lips as I met
him halfway. As always his lips were warm and I melted into them.
And I forgot that we were out in the open on a field, that Cody was
sniffing at our plates deciding what was palatable to him, and the
fact that some of his friends had noticed our absorption and were
yelling at us ‘to get a room’. At last he pulled away, I don’t
think I could have, and packed everything up again. I rubbed my
stomach. “That was so good, thank you.”
    He smiled, “I have a feeling I am all that
stands between you and malnutrition.”
    I practically choked on a laugh. “Hey, I said
I eat oatmeal. That’s good for your heart right?” 
    He laughed and patted me on the head like I
was a toddler and jogged away to drop off the cooler at his
car. I glanced down as Cody butted his head against my arm and
peered up at me like he was trying to tell me something. His golden
eyes in the afternoon sunlight were so bright they were almost
blinding.
     “Do you want some food and water?” I
asked him, petting his little head.
    I pulled out his food and water bowls and
filled them up. I must have guessed right since he devoured both.
Completely content now, he curled up his little body as close to me
as possible and took one of his many catnaps of the day, his loud
purring filling the air. 
    When their game recommenced, I pulled out my
camera and started taking shots of their game, more pictures of
Cody sleeping, and even some great shots of the Olympic Mountain
range that could be seen clearly from the field. My eyes couldn’t
seem to help themselves though, they always returned to
Christian. 
    While I watched him a