Page 14 of Sunflower Persona
“Kori.” For the first time, his lips curl into a genuine grin. “I’ll see you around.”
Alone again, I’m finally able to breathe—and think—but none of what just happened makes any sort of sense. That might have been my princess moment. Is there a fairy godmother hanging around somewhere too?
I think he wants to see me again. He wouldn’t have said what he did otherwise. With our threads tangled, I don’t think we have much of a choice either way. That doesn’t mean I have to sit around and wait for a higher power to intervene. I’m taking my fate into my own hands.
The tab with his gym, Double Teep, is still open in my phone’s browser. I pull it up, click the button to request more information, and fill out the contact form. Now all that’s left to do is wait.
Chapter 6
Gage
Bright sunlight radiates from the cloudless sky, blinding me with its brilliant rays. It should be hot, but the sun’s kiss against my skin is nothing more than a faint tickle. I shield my face with my hand and take in my surroundings through squinted eyes. Sunflowers in endless rows over rolling hills paint the landscape all the way to the horizon in every direction, stranding me in the middle of a yellow sea.
Yellow.
The lone word sends sparks of awareness tingling down my spine.
Why? And why is the aroma of sweet citrus drifting off the blooms? Why is that scent familiar?
“Hello?” I shout into the dazzling void, but nothing returns my call.
Idling will get me nowhere, so I step deeper into the field. The stems grow taller as I pass—impossibly so—until they tower over me like a forest of trees. The thick petal canopy blocks out the sun, draping the ground in a blanket of shadows.
Cold fingers of unease claw down my spine, standing the hairs on the back of my neck on end.
Beyond the edge of my vision, something watches. With every step I take, it follows. My pace quickens with the rapid beating of my heart, but even then, the gloom never loses ground. Darkness closes in around me as it stalks closer, but it never comes into view.
I’m going to die.
That thought paralyzes me where I stand. The shadows peel away from the trees, morphing into cursed specters that dance around me in a threatening display.
“Gage,” an ethereal voice calls to me on the breeze.
The sound is so familiar, yet entirely unplaceable. I search for its source through the shades, but I’m blinded by the cyclone of night.
Then there is light.
With a golden flash, my demons are banished, and she remains. I understand now why the sun’s heat was dulled—sunlight is nothing but a cheap imitation of her aura.
Her gaze finds mine—those large orbs the same golden-brown hue as her skin—and she extends a hand to me with a smile. Buried within the depths of my mind, something churns. Recognition. A name. It flitters through my head like a hummingbird on a breeze, not staying still long enough for me to pin it down.
“Who are you?” The words spill from my lips like molasses from a jar.
“I’m—”
“Asshole, wake up. Your appointment’s here.” Karis’s sharp command yanks me from unconsciousness.
If I wasn’t already awake, the two striking pads that slam into my chest a second later would do the job.
“I’m up. Jesus, woman. Has anyone ever told you your bedside manner sucks?”
The pads fall to the floor with athudas I uncurl from the cramped confines of my makeshift bed. A stack of spare mats in the storage closest isn’t exactly five-star accommodations, but after a rude wake-up from campus police this morning, I’ll take sleep where I can get it. It took over an hour for me to convince them I wasn’t crazy or on something, just desperate. By the time they finally decided I wasn’t a threat, it was already time for me to go to work, cutting my two hours of planned sleep in half. At least I’m allowed to drink as much coffee as I want at the Bean Bar. I don’t think I’d have survived otherwise. The only thing getting me through today is that when I leave here, I get to go back to my apartment and sleep in my own bed.
“There’s a reason I didn’t go to med school. Now, if you want to keep napping, I’ll let Morgan get the commission,” she snarks as she walks away.
No fucking way am I about to let that happen. I love the guy, but it’s every man for himself out here. He at least has his stipend to hold him over, plus I know his girl will never let him go hungry.
Ignoring the pins and needles in my legs, I follow my friend and try to shake off the remnants of that bizarre dream. What the actual fuck is wrong with me? I have no right to be thinking about Kori like that—fuck, I shouldn’t be thinking about her at all. That sunflower comparison was dead on, though. Her roots have embedded themselves deep within my brain, whether I want them there or not.
