The Bewitching - Book 1

Chapter 5 - A Touch is Just a Touch

The sun broke through the curtains and slowly crept up her face. It was early morning when Elyssa's eyes first fluttered open. The sun had just recently risen above the horizon. Surprisingly, she found it was her first night of peaceful sleep in awhile, particularly considering last nights events. She stretched out across the bed and let out a deep sigh.

She didn't normally find herself to be the morning type, but this morning seemed different even though she didn't quite know why. She just had a feeling about it, a feeling of excitement and optimism that something amazing was in store for her. It didn't hurt that she wanted to return to the cove to explore a bit more while there was more light, but first she had to survive an afternoon of shopping with her friends.

It wasn't so much that she disliked spending the afternoon with her friends, other than their insistence that they find her someone to date. She cringed at the thought of the previous disasters some of those attempts had turned into, and the embarrassing predicaments she sometimes found herself in as a result of their actions.

Her last date was so horribly embarrassing for her that if there had been evidence of that night she would have seriously contemplated changing her name and moving to another country. Somewhere far, far away. The farther the better at that point. Preferably somewhere without internet access, or any other possibility of that situation ever being seen by the locals.

She shook her head as she realized that as bad as that date was, it barely cracked her top five list of bad dating experiences. But today she thought, for whatever reason, it would be different.

It didn't take long for her to get ready. She quickly found herself driving down the curving road alongside the ocean, the wind whipping through her hair and music blaring. Things flowed so smoothly for her that she had more than enough time to grab a quick snack and make it down to the nicer area of town with some time to spare.

While she strolled around the streets along the beach she couldn't help but be consumed with thoughts of the cove. It had almost become an obsession in her mind since the night before. She continued to check her watch, like a child waiting for Santa Claus, awaiting for a time that she could steal away and return to the cove.

By the time her friends arrived she had already visited most of the shops on the main street. Erica was the first to spot her, the bubbly blonde who was always the most vocal when it came to Elyssa's love life. She also happened to be the most fashion conscious of the group, always wearing the latest styles and the most expensive of accessories.

She was followed closely by Shannon, who oddly enough was the complete opposite of Erica, and could well be considered the "hippie" of the group. She dressed very plainly on most occasions and always seemed to be going off on some tangent about the wildlife, or animals, and natural cures for everything. It was always a struggle when they went to lunch together. Shannon's taste in food forced them to choose between vegetarian restaurant A, or vegetarian restaurant B, which served the exact same foods, at least as far as Elyssa's taste buds were concerned.

And finally there was Amy who was....Elyssa scrunched her face for a moment, not really sure how she would describe Amy, other than the fact that she was quite mysterious and she really didn't know much about her. There was an odd contrast with Amy, as she dressed quite loudly, maybe a bit on the alternative side, yet her demeanor was rather reserved on most occasions.

Elyssa couldn't help but laugh to herself at the oddity of their group. And Amy, being a fairly new addition thanks to Shannon, made the group even stranger. Shannon had the most interesting luck when it came to meeting the strangest and most contradictory of characters. She always ended up dragging her newly acquired friends out to meet Elyssa and the others, and most of those dragged out never showed their faces again. Amy was the exception. She somehow had lasted a bit over a month with the group and seemed content to continue.