Dream of Us
Chapter Six

Denali’s POV.

In my dream, I see them again. Their visions blur to Dyani. She’s older this time, perhaps because my mind has acknowledged the time that has past. She’s wearing a tight vest and a pair of small shorts. Her curls are tied up in a high ponytail, although some have gotten loose and hang around her face. She laughs as she throws a frisbee. A park develops in the background, showing her throwing the toy back and forth with her friends. An older woman sits on a picnic blanket, unpacking various food items from a wicker basket. I don’t recognise her, but she must call out to the group because they stop playing and run over to her.

I watch as Dyani gracefully takes a seat on the blanket, folding her tanned legs underneath her and brushing stray curls back from her eyes. She talks animatedly, a wide smile on her face. I am unable to move any closer from the path that I am standing on, watching them with my hands in my pockets. Dyani senses my presence because she suddenly looks up and over at me, a frown marring her beautiful face.

I wake from the dream the same way I did on the plane, with a jolt that makes my heart race. I’m breathless as I look around the room, trying to get my bearings. It takes a moment for me to remember where I am, but the cheap carpet and curtains that don’t quite meet in the middle remind me.

It’s 5AM. It is probably too early to be getting up, but I’m awake, now. I might as well get out there, looking for her. I grab a bagel at a 24-hour corner shop and eat as I wander up and down the nearby streets, waiting for it to be 6AM, when the first bus arrives that takes me to the area I have chosen.

Aside from two commuters, I am the only one on the bus. I get off at the sixth stop and resume my wandering, taking each street one by one. I keep my headphones in, listening to various podcasts that update me with everything I may have missed in the world in the last ten years.

It’s just before 8 o’clock when I catch her scent in the air. It makes me stop in my tracks, my muscles tense and my spine turns rigid. I look around, scanning the street in desperation. My heart lurches in my chest and I stumble forwards, eager to find where she is.

I round the corner, following the scent as it gets stronger. My feet take me to a halt as I lay eyes on her from across the road. She’s outside a simple building. Flats, no doubt. She’s wearing a uniform of a white shirt and black skirt, a handbag on her shoulder.

A smile starts to make its way onto my lips. She’s just how she looked in my dream, older but still so very beautiful. Her curls are piled up on her head in a haphazard bun. They’re the same they’ve always been, thick and wild, the colour of milk chocolate.

She presses a button on her car keys and a Ford flashes its lights in response on the street. I watch her round the car and open the driver door. The skirt she is wearing emphasises her round butt and long legs. She’s a walking fantasy and I feel my knees weaken at the sight of her.

I take the first step forward, wanting to close this distance between us. My fingers are twitching at my sides in desperation, I need her in my arms again. It has been so, so long. Waiting for this moment has been killing me slowly, but I’m finally here.

“Annie!”

A man’s voice distracts me, and I look over at the building, where a man has just emerged. He’s wearing a smart suit, has a slight stubble and plain brown eyes. He runs over to Dyani, holding a phone in his hand.

“Don’t forget this,” he says hurriedly and hands over the phone.

I frown at the exchange. He called her Annie. Her name is Dyani.

“Oh, as if I forgot it! Thank you so much for bringing it out. What would I do without you?” She asks with a laugh.

My heart stops and then sinks, plummeting to my feet as I watch her lean up on her tiptoes and peck the man on the lips. It’s like someone has just stabbed me in my back, right between the shoulder blades. The pain that I feel is indescribable.

The woman I have spent years praying to see again, to escape and be with, to track down so that I can love and protect her…is with someone else.

How is this possible? She’s our mate.

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Ani’s POV.

I rush to work, knowing already that I’m going to be four minutes late. Well, I’m not actually going to be late, because I always like to arrive about fifteen minutes before shift starts. It bothers me, though. I’m one of those people that likes to be early for everything, it drives Jaymie nuts when we have dinner reservations and I’m dragging us to the restaurant fifteen minutes before our time slot.

“Morning, sugar. You’re late for you,” Sian comments, a smug smile on her face. She loves to wind me up when I’m not on time, she knows how much it bugs me.

“Shush. I forgot my phone at Jaymie’s flat.”

She sighs. “He’s still around, huh?”

“Yes, Sian,” I sing back to her and walk away, not in the mood to get into a conversation about how much she doesn’t like my boyfriend.

I always tell her; it doesn’t matter if she doesn’t like him because she’s not the one dating him.

I tie my apron around my waist, I usually wear it for the breakfast and lunch shifts. Once I’ve slipped a couple pens and notepad into the front pocket, I start checking tables to make sure they’re all set, ready for opening time.

The door opens and Gwen sneaks into the diner. She knows that she should be using the staff entrance at the back. She puts her fingers to her lips when she sees me and rushes into the staff room before Michel can spot her.

“Opening in two minutes,” Sian shouts, her loud voice filling the restaurant.

Michel must hear her in the back because a few moments later, soft music replaces the quiet clanging of the chefs working in the kitchen.

“Phew, I got away with it,” Gwen says breathlessly as she appears next to me, tying on her apron.

“Just,” I smile. “How are you on this lovely morning?”

She eyes me suspiciously. “What’s got you all perky?”

“I’m in a good mood, is that a crime?” I ask as I wipe down a table.

Two customers come in and Sian is on them immediately. I turn my eyes back to Gwen.

“No…but there’s something different about you.”

I shrug off her comment. “I’ve got a good feeling about today, that’s all.”

“Okay, I won’t pry.”

“Unlikely.”

She pouts and whips me with the tea towel in her hand. The door opens again, and I feel Gwen slip by me in a rush. I roll my eyes at her eagerness and continue setting the table in the corner.

“I’d like this one, if that’s okay.”

The deep timbre of his makes me tense up. My spine turns rigid, and my hands freeze where they are, straightening the cutlery. I rub my lips together, wondering if it would be too obvious if I turn around now. Gwen saves me.

“Oh, are you sure you don’t want one of these tables? This one is still being set.”

I let out a breath of relief and wait for the man to go. I can feel how close he is behind me. Not enough to feel the warmth from his body, but enough to feel his presence, his shadow.

“No, thank you. I’d like this one. This position is just what I want.”

“Uh, sure. Ani? Want to finish up the table for this gentleman? I’ll grab you a menu, Sir. Please, take a seat.”

I slowly move my hands back; they shake a little as I reach for the condiments rack and straighten it. The man takes a seat as I lean back and square my shoulders. I find it in me to finally look at him and I’m not ready for his appearance. My mouth parts ever so slightly and I inhale quickly, trying to draw some oxygen into my suddenly-deprived body.

He has the most intense eyes, they’re army green and draw me in. Even though he is sat down, I can tell that he is incredibly tall. His skin is beautifully Black, the colour of dark kobicha brown. His hair is braided back in corn rows that fall to his nape. He is unbearably handsome.

I manage to recover and find my words. “I’ll give you a minute to browse the menu and then I’ll come back over,” I tell him chirpily.

As I rush away from the table, eager to put distance between us, I hear him saying something under his breath. Something that sounds a lot like ‘I’m looking forward to it’.

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