IncuBUST

Numb

It was a little after noon. I had brushed my teeth and combed my hair and now I was staring at the outfit Sissy and her friends had picked out for me the night before. After a moment I shook my head and tossed aside the sequin tank top with fishnet under shirt. I kept the distressed black skinny jeans and paired them with an oversized sweater plastered with colorful cartoon donuts.

I looked in the mirror and pushed my glasses up on the bridge of my nose thinking, welp, that's as good as it's gonna get. I pulled on a pair of thick socks and my ratty Converse, grabbed my phone, wallet and keys and left the apartment making sure to lock the door behind me.

I arrived at the Iceplex around a quarter to one and noticed that unlike on Saturday night, there was no line. I took a deep breath and stared out the windshield for a few seconds. It occurred to me that I wasn't really accustomed to doing these sorts of things alone. Sissy was usually there to encourage me or more often the one dragging me along. The fact made me feel kind of lonely.

There was a knock on my window, and I nearly jumped out of my skin. Barapha was on the other side, nearly bent double to look through the window. I exhaled slowly and opened the door exclaiming, "By the Gods, Barapha, you nearly gave me a heart attack." He laughed and took my hand drawing me out of the car.

"What are you doing out here? The session's getting ready to start," he said shutting the car door and setting his hands on his hips. He smirked and asked, "You weren't thinking of standing me up, were you?"

My cheeks grew warm, and I shook my head replying, "Of course not. I was just...mentally preparing myself." I looked down at my shoes and mumbled, "I don't really do things like this very often." Barapha stared at me for several seconds before a wide grin spread across his face and he cried, "Ugh! Could you be any more adorable?!" My face flamed and he sighed reaching down to cup my cheek in his hand. I closed my eyes and leaned into him feeling the coolness of his skin against mine. It suddenly felt like I hadn't eaten in weeks.

Barapha moaned softly as glowing red heat travelled up his arm. I reached up, grabbing him by the collar and gasped, "Can-can I?" He nodded vehemently and leaned down to press his lips against mine.

We kissed for several seconds before I curled my hand around the side of his neck flooding him with even more heat and reaching for the ice-cold thread of his life. The kiss deepened and his hand slid up the back of my sweater causing goosebumps to erupt along my spine.

Soon, I had taken my fill and I pulled away blinking glitter from the edges of my vision. His mouth moved to my neck, and I tilted my head to one side feeling his teeth nip affectionately at my skin. Several seconds later I was numb from the cold. Just as the furnace within flared to life he pulled away murmuring, "Have you had enough?" I gazed up at him as the feeling slowly returned to my limbs and asked, "Have you?" He smirked and replied, "For now." He took me by the hand and lead me towards the front entrance of the Iceplex. 

"Srstikarta!" a female voice shouted as we entered the building and Barapha visibly cringed. A hulking woman nearly a tall as Barapha approached with a furious expression, and she snapped, "The session has started. Why aren't you behind the rental desk?" She jabbed her thumb at the desk where a whole four people were lined up.

"Apologies, Sasha. I was taking a call," he replied, and the woman glanced at me with shrewd brown eyes muttering, "I bet." She turned back to Barapha and snapped, "Now get your ass back there." He rolled his eyes and grabbed my hand pulling me across the lobby and behind the rental desk. He supplied the few patrons with skates then spent several minutes choosing the perfect pair for me.  

"I can do this on my own, you know," I said watching him kneel down to lace my skates. He chuckled and replied, "You did it wrong last time." My brow furrowed and I asked, "How did I do it--aahh!" He pulled the laces so tight several of my toes went numb. I kicked him with the foot that only wore a sock and exclaimed, "You're cutting off my circulation."

He looked up at me and laughed saying, "Trust me on this, Chase." I frowned, but let him continue.