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I’d much
rather be out looking for Lev, Jimmie has made it perfectly clear
I’m not going anywhere until he agrees.
    So, until then, I guess I’m beach-bound. I
never thought I’d say this, but school is supposed to be starting
in a few days, and I’ll be grateful for the reprieve from what
Jimmie lovingly refers to as peace. Shaking my head, I trudge to
the sandy spot, grateful for the momentary isolation. Although the
sand is warm from the sun, the heat radiating from it certainly
isn’t unbearable. I’ve always loved the extra warmth against my
skin, and while it would probably bother most people to lie in the
sand without a blanket, it’s not so big a deal to me. I’ve gotten
quite used to being ill-prepared for most things in my life.
    There’s a small break in the clusters of
cattails opening into a shallow area of the lake, and while I
figure I might test the water later, right now I sit on the beach,
ignoring the way the sand splashes up into my shorts as I lie down
and soak up the warmth washing over me. My sunglasses block most of
the brilliance, but I still close my eyes, feeling the nosy tug of
sleep washing over me.

    In a flash Lev is here, standing with his
back facing me, his large, white wings spread wide in the sunlight.
His skin glistens, and his hair appears as spun gold in the light.
I want to call his name from where I lie against the bleached sand,
but my voice won’t come. Still, he must sense my thoughts, for he
slowly turns, one hand toying with a large conch shell. Grinning,
he ambles toward me, the wings slowly disappearing until they have
been completely hidden, allowing him to kneel beside me.
    “ Don’t tell me you’re
sleeping.” He lifts a palm full of sand and sprinkles it on my
leg.
    “ I was.” As always, I feel
diminished next to his beauty and purity. “Why are you putting sand
on me?”
    He winks at me. “Because I can.”
    “ Don’t you have something
more important to do?”
    “ Than spending time with
you?” He shifts to lie next to me, where I can rest my head against
his chest. “I don’t think so, Elizabeth. Not in this
life.”
    My breath catches, and all I can do is stare
into his blue eyes. I tug off my sunglasses to take in his full
beauty and reach to take his hand. “I’ve missed you.”
    He shakes his head and smiles. “I’m never far
away. Never.”
    My stomach cramps, and I twitch, feeling
unnerved by his words because even though they sound comforting,
something is definitely wrong with them. “It feels like you
are."
    He slips the sunglass from my hand and puts
them on my face. “You should go back to relaxing.”
    “ Will you stay?” Each breath
shudders through me.
    “ What do you think?” He lies
down with me.
    “ Lizzie?”
    I hear the voice, but it’s not coming from
Lev. His mouth isn’t moving, and the timbre is lighter, less
ethereal. The sky and world around me ripple, distort.
    “ What’s happening?” I ask,
my arms cinching around him desperately.
    “ You’re waking up.” He
kisses my forehead. I try to hold onto him, but then something
prods my shoulder.
    My eyes fly open, but even with the
sunglasses, the light overhead is blinding and I keep blinking,
unable to recognize the guy leaning over me. As I struggle to sit
up, I see the conch shell from my dreams half tucked in the sand
beside me.
    “ Did you put this here?” I
ask, my trembling fingers latching onto it, and I keep staring,
knowing it wasn’t here before I drifted to sleep.
    “ No, Lizzie. I
didn’t.”
    I blink and take in the dark hair, the nice
pink polo and khaki shorts, the dock shoes. A gold watch glitters
in the sunlight. Griffin. He looks different, his jaw covered with
a few day’s growth of facial hair. It makes his face longer and
leaner.
    “ How long have you been
here?” I crane my neck, looking for someone else.
    “ That’s a nice greeting,
Lizzie. No ‘hi’ or ‘how are you.’” He offers a hand to help me
stand. “I’ve