The Last Healer

Chapter 53: Ariella

Chapter 53 Ariella

"So wait, he kissed you?" Shanae demanded. Her mouth hung wide with surprise as approval and confusion danced in her eyes. She fell limp on the couch, her head falling backwards and hung over the top of the couch so she could stare at the ceiling. Shanae and Cora had arrived about an hour after I had woken up.

"Well, now that he has permission, he's getting a little too confident." Cora shook her head and smiled softly. She leaned forward, her brown hair falling down on the right side as her eyes twinkled with merriment. "And how did you take it?"

"W-well I was surprised." I mumbled, glancing away and stared down at my fingers. Would they understand how I felt, the feelings inside of me better than I understood them?

"Well, obviously. What about after?" Shanae leaned forward, her hands slipping around mine and encasing them. "Once the surprise wore off, how did you feel?"

"It felt..." My cheeks flushed and I tried to slip my hands from Shanae's to cover my face.

"I think we have the answer right there." Cora laughed as she waved to me, a bright smile on her face. "You enjoyed it and you didn't want it to end, did you?"

I tried my hardest to not look at her, at either of them. It was true, I did enjoy it. Being that close to him, having him to myself, I loved it. I knew it sounded weird and it was something that I had never felt before. I didn't understand and I wished I did. What was wrong with me, with how I was feeling?

"So what's gonna happen next?" Cora's voice had a mischievous tone to it and I looked over to watch as she fought off a smile.

"I don't know." I mumbled. "You see, Alexander told me that it was up to me. It was my choice at what I wanted to do next."

"Well that's easy, isn't it?" Shanae squeezed my hands gently and smiled when I glanced at her. "I mean, if you love him, shouldn't you just give him permission to court you now and be done with it?"

"Court?" I blinked at her and then the realization set in. I knew what courting was, growing up, then men had to court the women they wanted to be with and they would either be accepted or denied. Generally, once they were accepted, they'd be married and I wasn't sure if I was ready for that. I wasn't even sure if I loved him.

"Yes, court, silly!" Shanae giggled again and then leaned closer. "You see, he would spend all the time he could, you two would get to know each other as much as possible and then you two would decide if you wanted to go further."

"Like marriage." Cora stuck her tongue out teasingly and then laughed as I flushed and glanced away. "Oh come on, it's obvious you love him!"

"It is?" I questioned and turned to look at her. Her face turned blank as she stared at me. Cora shook her head before leaning back and collapsing in the chair.

Shanae smiled and leaned into me, her arm wrapped itself around me. "Ariella, my dear, you have so much to learn." She poked my cheek with her other hand and then turned to Cora. "I'm afraid our poor Ariella has no idea what's going on inside of her."

"It's so sad, isn't it?"

"Just a little." The two of them smiled mischievously. Shanae squeezed me around the shoulders, her eyes twinkling brightly. "This will be a lot of fun, won't it?"

"More than you could imagine." Cora laughed before pushing herself up into a standing position and then stretched. "Well, shall I go make something to eat or will we just starve?"

"Food would be a good idea. Then after that, we can walk Ariella to Alexander's and then get to work." Shanae shrugged as she stood as well.

"Papa wanted me to stop off at the hospital and get a check-up first." I glanced up at Shanae and she nodded.