Chosen (The Last Guardians Book 1) Read online

  “No!” Mia said irritably, but her lip twitched. “We’re just going to Ruby’s.”

  “When are you going to tell him?” The other girl asked in an exaggerated whisper even though there was no one near enough to hear.

  “Tell him what?” Mia turned back to the cash register.

  “Duh! That you’re in love with him!”

  Mia shot her a sidelong glare, but Tanya grinned. Mia couldn’t deny what she’d already admitted. “You need to lock that down girl before someone else does.” Then almost like an afterthought, Tanya added, “Maybe I should date him, what do you think of that?” Mia didn’t rise to the bait, knowing without having to look that her friend had a mischievous grin on her face. “Oh look, here’s my chance.”

  Mia looked up from the register, eyes locking on Jake’s tall figure even before he pushed open the shop door. His eyes met hers, and he smiled, flashing perfect teeth that had never needed braces.

  “Hey, Mee!” He said as he walked towards them.

  “Hey,” Mia chirped and flushed with pleasure at the sight of him. His short hair was still wet from showering, and he’d combed it back from his straight hairline. He wore her favorite pair of holey jeans with a casual scoop-necked t-shirt that showed off his arms. Mia let herself out from behind the bar and walked around to meet him. He enveloped her in a hug that crushed the air from her lungs while he lifted her off her feet.

  “Whoa, there big guy,” Tanya said from behind the counter and laughed. “Try not to break her; we need her to open tomorrow morning.”

  Jake laughed and put Mia down so he could look at her. “Mind if I steal her from you, Tan? Mia and I have a date.” He said this last bit with a grin that made Mia’s heart clench within her chest.

  “Honey, you could steal my heart if you asked,” Tanya quipped, and Mia rolled her eyes.

  Jake chuckled; this sort of exchange was a common occurrence. “Good to know,” he said giving her a wink over Mia’s head. “Are you ready to go?” He asked Mia.

  “Yeah, just give me two minutes to change, and we’ll go.” She answered and stepped around him.

  “I’ll take good care of him!” Tanya called as Mia pushed through the door to the staff room.

  “I’m sure you will,” Mia murmured under her breath with a small shake of her head at her friend’s antics.

  With practiced motions, Mia twisted the dial of her lock until it sprang open with a click. She gathered her bag and street clothes from the depths of her small locker and slammed the door shut. Then she headed for the staff bathroom. She was out of her uniform in moments, pulling on a pair of dark-wash jeans and a long white tank with her favorite denim jacket over top.

  Mia yanked the green Starbucks cap off her head and pulled the elastic out of her hair. Then she whipped her head forward and backward before combing her fingers through the long auburn strands. When she was ready, she chanced a look at the mirror and grimaced at her reflection. The elastic had kinked her hair, and no amount of cursing or combing would change it. Mia made an irritable sound in the back of her throat and gathered her hair together, pulling it up and away from her face in a high ponytail. She ran a finger under each eye rubbing away the few flakes of mascara dotting her skin, checked her teeth and bit her lips to bring some color into them. Satisfied, if not entirely pleased with the face in the mirror, she looped the thin strap of her purse over her shoulder, picked up her discarded uniform and let herself out of the bathroom.

  “Sup?” Dave was sitting in a chair by the door; looking up as he pulled on black Keds.

  “Not much,” Mia said after a beat, he’d caught her by surprise. “You?” She headed for her locker.

  “Same old, same old,” Dave answered in singsong. Mia smirked as she stuffed her work clothes into her locker. “How is it today?”

  “Slow,” She replaced her lock and spun the dial. “It’s been dead for the past half hour or so.”

  “Shit.” Dave ran a hand through his hair, stylishly short on the sides and long on top. Mia found her eyes drawn to the tattoos covering his arm in a sleeve of ink. She picked out an owl and something that might be a watch or a compass; she’d never asked.

  “Yeah,” Mia said with a sympathetic shrug of her shoulders, “at least Tanya’s working with you.”

  Dave made a sound in agreement and dropped his arm, meeting her gaze with eyes so brown they were almost black. Mia’s stomach fluttered, he was rather attractive. Dave got up from the chair with a grunt. “Guess I’ll see you tomorrow then,” he said with a twist of his lips and opened the door, standing back to let her out first.

  “Thanks,” Mia slipped past him, getting a pleasant whiff of his cologne as she went.

  Jake was leaning against the counter talking to Tanya as Mia walked into the shop with Dave on her heels. His eyes slid sideways, finding her as if he’d sensed her. “There she is,” he said pushing off from the counter with a goofy grin, “gorgeous as ever.”

  “Shut up,” Mia grumbled, rolling her eyes for effect. It didn’t mean anything. Jake was always saying stuff like that; he knew how uncomfortable it made her. “Are you ready?” Her eyes moved from him to Tanya on the other side of the bar, “I mean, only if Tanya can stand to let you go,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

  Jake was about to answer, but Tanya cut him off, “Now that Dave’s here you can have this one,” she said with a wink at Jake.

  “Ouch!” Jake with an injured look, placing a hand over his chest.

  “You heard the lady,” Mia said with a laugh and turned for the door, “let’s go.”

  Chapter 3

  “Still want to go to the park?” Jake asked her when they were out on the street. It was colder than it had been earlier in the day and Mia shivered, pulling her jacket closer around herself. She could practically feel Tanya’s curious stare through the store window.

  “Do you?” Mia asked, looking across the street toward the Coach Time Warner Building. Columbus Circle was visible through the open walkway beneath the building, cars chasing one another around and around the outer circle.

  “Oh no,” Jake said with a grin, “you’re in charge tonight, where do you want to go?”

  Mia made a face, and Jake laughed. She looked back toward the statue of Columbus and the park beyond it, thinking. “I’m pretty hungry actually,” she said after a beat. “Wanna just head to Ruby’s?”

  “Sounds good to me.” Jake agreed, and they turned toward the busy intersection at the end of the street. The sun had only just started its descent, but between the tall buildings, the light was dim with growing shadows. A few wispy clouds dotted the blue sky, tinged with a faint orange light that outlined the tall apartment buildings further down. From here Mia liked to think she could see all the way down West 58th Street.

  “So tell me about the interview,” Jake said, draping a heavy arm around her shoulders in a casual embrace as they walked past the windows of restaurants and shops lining the sidewalk. Mia knew they must look like a couple to anyone who bothered to look their way and wasn’t sure how she felt about it. Part of her liked the feel of his strong arm around her, but it warred with the other part that wanted it gone. They were not a couple and this thing he did, however well he meant it, was one of the reasons she had a hard time letting go of her feelings for him.

  “What do you want to know?” Mia asked lamely, giving in to the weaker side that wanted to keep hoping for more. She lengthened her stride to walk more comfortably alongside him and resisted the urge to wrap her arm around his waist.

  “Everything,” He gave her a little squeeze meant to encourage her. Mia looked up and found him smiling, waiting. She didn’t know what to say about the meeting, it had all gone so fast, and the main detail was that she was going to Africa. How to describe it, that moment Cam had told her the meeting was a formality? A broad smile stretched her lips and a giggle of pure excitement burst from her.

  “I’m going to Africa,” A warmth that had everything to d
o with the insanity of that statement spread through her.

  “Yeah you are!” Jake flashed a big goofy smile Mia knew mirrored hers. Deep dimples cut into his cheeks, stubbly with new growth, and Mia couldn’t help but think of the small boy he had once been. She was suddenly very glad to be there with him; Mia hadn’t realized how much she’d missed hanging out with him. The past week had been impossible with her work schedule and his final exams, they hadn’t been able to do more than talk on the phone. Now with him here beside her, his arm around her shoulders, she felt like she was on top of the world.

  Mia filled him in on the details of the trip as they turned down 9th Avenue; when she would be leaving, how long she’d be gone, what exactly she’d be doing there. Now that the floodgates were open, Mia couldn’t shut up about it but Jake didn’t seem to mind. He listened to every word, asking questions and making her feel like she was the only person on earth besides him. He had a way of doing that; making her feel like she was the most interesting person he’d ever met.

  “Have you heard from the University yet?” Jake asked, slowing down so she could go ahead of him through a narrow construction tunnel.

  “No, not yet,” Mia answered, coming down a little from the high she’d been on for most of their walk. She should have heard by now if she’d gotten in to the University of British Columbia but her daily trips to the mailbox-sometimes more than one-had come up empty. She could still see the picturesque image of the Okanagan campus in the brochure on her desk; God she hoped she’d get in. It was so open and green, so vastly different from what she knew in New York. A new place with new people to meet.

  Mia loved her corner of New York. The bustling streets of Hell’s Kitchen were as familiar to her as the lines on the backs of her hands. She knew every crack in the pavement; every pothole and every sewer grate. If she were to go blind Mia had no doubt she would be able to navigate her neighborhood with ease. But it was a city of steel, glass, and concrete with very little in the way of green things and there were so many people you couldn’t help but feel isolated. Or maybe Mia was crazy. She was definitely the only person she knew who felt this way. Both of her parents had a hard time understanding why she would want to pack up and move to Canada, leaving her home and her family and friends behind. Her father had been so upset the night she broached the subject with them. Mia had taken great pains to prepare for that conversation.

  She’d done her research hoping to convince them that this wasn’t a spur of the moment decision; that she’d put some real thought into it. Mia had made sure to have brochures for them to look at, documents detailing the impressive engineering program and all the services and amenities the campus had to offer. She’d even cooked dinner in the hopes of softening them up.

  Things had started out well; over a plate of grilled chicken and potatoes, Mia had told her parents she was thinking about going to school in the fall. This met with pleasant surprise and interest, which was a good sign. If her decision to pursue a future in engineering had surprised them then they had done a good job of hiding it. Dad was probably worried if he said anything, it might change her mind while Mom would be happy if she wanted to remain a barista for the rest of her life. Sometimes Mia couldn’t quite believe it herself; she would never have picked engineering as the subject that spoke to her.

  It wasn’t her idea exactly; Jake was the one who’d suggested it after stumbling upon one of her drawings. Mia was by no means a creative person, but for whatever reason, loved to draw buildings. The clean lines and sharp edges both mesmerized and inspired her. She had three sketchbooks filled with her sketches-some in pencil, more in ink-of prominent buildings on the island. She took ideas from there and tried her hand at designing her own functional but straightforward structures. Mia had so many plans for sustainable housing and Eco-friendly buildings; Jake found one of those and was quick to urge her to look into engineering. He’d wanted her to join him at NYU where he was already in the faculty. Jake was about as thrilled by her plans to go to British Columbia as her parents had been.

  “Mia.”

  “Hmm? Oh,” Mia said with a frown, her mind still stuck in the past, “Sorry.”

  “I know you’re worried, but you shouldn’t be,” Jake said leaning toward her a bit so she had to meet his eye. “You’ll get in.”

  “Thanks, Jake,” Mia smiled and thought how different this supporting Jake was from the one who’d made her feel stupid for wanting to go to school in Canada. “I guess I just hate waiting and not knowing.”

  “Do you want to stop in at your place quick and check?” Jake asked in a tone that made her feel he hoped she wouldn’t take him up on the offer. Mia was tempted to say yes and see what he would say. She thought better of it.

  “Nah,” she declined with a nonchalant shrug, “I can wait.”

  “Okay,” he said lightly, content to leave it. Mia smiled to herself; not surprised that he didn’t ask if she was sure. It amused her that he was so predictable.

  He hadn’t always been this way or perhaps he had, and she’d only just started to notice. There was a time when he would have insisted they go by her place even if only to put her mind at ease. That had changed at some point in the past few years when he’d started dating. He was no longer willing to go out of his way for her. It was sad because Mia knew she would for him. She had her suspicions that their friendship intimidated the girls he dated. Not that she could blame them. Mia wouldn’t have been crazy about the idea of her boyfriend texting and hanging out with another girl either. It didn’t do much to curb the disappointment she felt.

  It was a bitter pill to swallow the day she realized he cared more about the opinions of strangers than he did hers. But like the stupid girl she was, Mia kept hoping that one day he would realize he wanted her. This secret hope was the main reason she never dated. Jake made it hard to think about any other guy when he kept up a constant stream of texts and snapchats and showed up at her work or the homeless shelter out of the blue. And then there was his nasty habit of running to her after every breakup, showering her with attention and fuelling the hope that burned inside of her only to throw a figurative bucket of cold water on it when he found someone new. You’d think a girl would learn, but Mia never did. To this day, despite making her peace with the truth that she would never be more than his friend, a small part of her kept the flame burning. Being very honest with herself, Mia knew the bruised condition of her heart had more than a little influence on her desire to get out of New York and find a new start with new people. She was pathetic.

  “Have you gotten any of your marks back yet?” Mia asked as they maneuvered their way through a line of impatient people waiting to order food from the hot dog stand taking up much of the sidewalk. The smell of beef sausages sizzling on the hot grill was enough to make her stomach grumble in accusation. She’d been too hyped up with excitement about her trip to eat anything.

  “Ya,” Jake answered, cramming his hands into the pockets of his jeans and looking down at the pavement.

  “And?” Mia probed when Jake didn’t say anything more. She chanced a look at him and found him grinning smugly.

  “A plus for Design, A in E. and C. and B plus for Stats. I’m still waiting on Thermal, but I feel pretty good about it.”

  “Holy,” Mia exclaimed, impressed if not at all surprised by his high marks. Jake had always been an excellent student. She bumped him with her shoulder pushing him off center, “Genius over here.”

  “You bet!” Jake said and laughed as he went around a couple holding hands. He returned the playful gesture in his usual fashion, twice as hard, and Mia barked a laugh as she stumbled to the side. From previous experience, Mia knew not to let it escalate further, not unless she wanted to end up with scrapes and a bruise or two. Jake played rough; almost as if he forgot how much smaller she was than him. At five foot six Mia was taller than most girls but Jake was a full six feet and solid. Mia had always been on the thin side with very little in the way of muscle and was no ma
tch for him when he got going. She smiled, how the tables had turned. Mia remembered a time when Jake was the smaller one.

  Jake wiggled his thick brows, challenging her to retaliate but Mia laughed and shook her head. “No more,” she fell into step beside him, allowing herself to lean into him. He chuckled, the sound vibrating against her shoulder. He looped an arm around her waist, pulling her closer and she relaxed. Mia leaned into him because it felt natural to do so, forgetting to mind that it didn’t mean anything.

  Chapter 4

  Mia stumbled into the dimly lit bathroom of Ruby’s to find two ladies ahead of her waiting to use the facilities. She straightened, pulling herself to her full height and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Mia smiled thinly at the plump, red-haired woman who made eye contact with her. The woman gave a small nod before staring at the closed stall doors. The other girl, tall with a mass of black curls and ebony skin looked to be about Mia’s age. She leaned against the sink, studiously ignoring them. Mia looked around the small space with its burgundy paint and the Tiffany lamps hanging from the ceiling over the sinks. The battered walls with messages and names scratched into the plaster added to the rugged charm of the place.

  Tracing a seam in the scuffed hardwood floor with the toe of her Converse Mia swayed on her feet and grinned, pleasantly buzzed after two beers downed on an empty stomach. Mia drank very rarely- about as often as she went out- but she’d let Jake buy her the beer because he was adamant they were celebrating. Neither one of them was of legal drinking age, but like most of his friends they each had a convincing fake I.D. A toilet flushed, and seconds later one of the stalls opened, the woman exchanging places with the curly haired girl. Mia shifted her weight from one foot to the other impatiently. She really needed to pee.