Free Unfaded by Sarah Ripley Page A

But I also like the idea of growing old with someone and having that passion turn to comfort. Who wouldn’t want to spend their life with their best friend?”
                  “Love throughout the ages,” Kian said. “I like the idea that there is one person in the world that is your soul mate. The one person you can’t live without. You live and die and breathe only for them. Even if you lose them in this life, you’ll find them again later on in the next.”
                  “There are a lot of people in the world. How would you know if that person’s the one? What if they’re on the other side of the world? You might live your entire life and never meet them.”
                  “That’s what fate’s about,” Kian said. “And that’s what I’m doing my paper on. People are destined to find each other, no matter what the odds and consequences.”
                  “Do you believe in fate?” I asked.
                  “Yes. Do you?”
                  Staring into his blue eyes I wanted to nod my head. How could I not look at him, thinking about how familiar he was and how I was completely positive I’d known him before? Was this what he meant? Were there people out there we’d met before that we were bound to recognize even if we’d never known they existed until that very moment? Would that be destiny? But what if fate had come knocking on my door but I had made my choice? Did that mean I would be destined to be unhappy for the rest of my life?
                  “You’re really thinking about that,” Kian said with a slight grin.
                  “Sorry,” I said. “And yes, I am. I guess it makes me curious. You seem so familiar to me. I’m wondering if what you’re saying is true.”
                  “Perhaps we are soul mates,” he said and my stomach nearly pulled itself right out of my body from the flip flops and aerobics. The blood in my body spread into my cheeks. I reached out and picked up my book to try and distract myself but my fingers were shaking and in my haste I knocked the copy of the Canterbury Tales to the ground. Both Kian and I reached out to pick it up at the same time, our fingers brushed, and an electric shock burst through my body, making me gasp. The fluorescent lights above us flickered and went out. The small corner of the library grew dim and shadowy.
                  Kian picked up the book and put it back on the table. I rubbed my fingers self consciously.
                  “You’ve got a lot of energy,” he said. “It’s just pouring from your body. Let me see your hand.”
                  “Huh?”
                  Placing his hand on the table, palm upwards, he waited. “Come on. Take my hand. Let me show you something.”
                  I reached out and placed my hand charily in his. Although there was no second spark, it was almost as if I could feel the electricity running underneath his skin. His hand was warm and strong, relaxed and powerful, comforting and sensual. As his fingers closed over mine, my senses buzzed and all the hair on my head vibrated and my skin went goose bumpy.
                  “This is a big secret,” he said. Turning my hand around in his, my palm faced upwards and he ran a finger along my skin.
    I shivered.
                  “Our bodies are full of energy,” he said. “We can use that energy to do amazing things. We can heal ourselves and others. We can understand emotions and read thoughts. Just by simply sharing energy.”
                  I swallowed hard. “How do we do that?”
                  “Like this.” Placing his other hand over mine, he ran his fingers over my wrist and palm. At first I didn’t feel anything except the gentle touch of his skin. But suddenly it was there. It was as if something