Almost Cursed || Completed

Chapter Twenty-seven: Smell Ya Later

The next morning I woke up before Evander. We lay naked, legs entwined, in the large bed. The clock on the night stand read ten-thirty. I snaked a little further into the covers and nuzzled my face into Evander's throat.

He shifted slightly to pull me up closer, his eyes barely opened but a smile on my face. He kissed me gently and hugged me close, breathing in the scent of my hair. His smile grew.

"You smell so.." He stopped and his eyes shot open. He buried his head into my chest and took another deep breath.

When he looked back up to me, his smile was replaced with lines of worry.

"What's wrong?" I asked, pulling the covers closer around my body. "Do I stink?"

"No, it's not that. It's just... I need a drink." He got out of bed and slipped on a pair of boxers. I discretely tried to sniff my arm pits, and smelt sweat.

Uh, I do stink.

I slipped from the bed as Evander stuck the glass bottle in the microwave, following my naked body with his eyes as I slipped into the bathroom. I unzipped my bag and pulled out a pair of clean underwear, black leggings, and a plain white t-shirt. Sitting them on the counter, I turned on the shower and hopped in.

My body was sore from the activities of last night, and I took a moment to replay it in my head as I washed my air. Smiling, I hopped out of the shower. I quickly brushed my teeth and pulled on my clothes, and entered back into the bedroom.

Evander was speaking on the phone In a language I wasn't sure I knew, and as he saw me he quickly said his goodbyes and hung up.

He was dressed in his favorite jeans and a gray t-shirt, but his hair was still tousled from sleep. He gave me a sly smile and took two steps towards me, enveloping me in a hug. I hugged him back, leaning into his frame for comfort and support.

"I want to ask you something." He said, pulling away and making me meet his eyes. His expression was serious, and I nodded.

He pulled me to the bed and we sat down.

"I want you to reconsider this trip." I already had my mouth open to protest but he continued on, "Not because I don't think you're ready. It's just... things have changed. I don't want you to be in any danger."

I didn't understand what he meant. Things had changed? Because we had sex, he cared more for my safety?

"I don't understand? What's changed?" I asked, confusion lining my features.

He looked like he wanted to say something, but instead he pulled me into a hug. I hugged him back for a moment, but then pushed him away so I could look back up at his face. He wore an unreadable expression.

"What if I went instead? You could stay here at the hotel." he finally asked.

I pushed back from him. We had been prepared for this trip for weeks, and now he wanted to persuade me to not go? He must have went completely bonkers during the night.

"No, Evander! I'm going!" I shot back.

His face dropped in defeat, but he finally nodded his head and then smiled back up at me.

"I knew you'd be stubborn." He said, giving me another hug.

"Let's go get some breakfast." Another kiss landed on the top of my head.

Finally I returned his smile. Food sounded like the perfect peace offering in that moment.

"Yeah, let's go find a waffle house." I replied, already pulling Evander off the bed.

We packed our bags and checked out of the hotel room. We didn't have to drive long before finding a pancake house. I ordered the mother of all omelets, stuffed with ham, cheese, mushrooms, and other goodness. I watched as Evander picked at his bacon and eggs, not really eating much of anything.

"Evander, is something wrong?" I asked, eyeing his uneaten food.

He looked up to me and tried to conceal his worry with a smile. There was definitely something wrong.

"Is it because of last night?" I whispered across to him.

"No! Last night was perfect, Brenna. It's just... do you remember the magick? Did you feel that too?" He asked. His nervousness was beginning to rub off onto me, and I put down my fork.

"Yes, but I don't think it was anything bad, do you? Maybe it's like that for all witches? I don't have much knowledge on the matter, though." I replied, crinkling my brow in thought.

Nothing in the book taught about witch virginity, but I had a feeling maybe that was something I should have tried to look up.

Evander went back to picking at his food for a bit longer, and then looked up like he wanted to tell me something. Instead, his head lifted to something behind me. His expression hardened.

"Brenna, we need to go, now." He whispered to me behind clenched teeth. I turned my head to look for whatever had startled him, and my thoughts dried up and were replaced in fear. There was someone standing outside the diner windows, wearing a hood. He was staring at us, and after I looked back, he slowly waved before disappearing. It was the creepiest thing I had ever seen.

"Yeah, I think we probably should."