Calix took me to his and Damien's place first. "Damien is going to want to ask you some questions, okay? If you want time, you just tell me, and I will tell him to give you space. Just tell me."
I nodded, and felt the lightness of our conversation turn dark and heavy. Now we were back to the reality of what had just happened, and although I greatly appreciated Calix's ability to make me forget about the bad things and actually be able to smile, it felt wrong to be able to be happy after what had just happened.
We pulled into the garage, and Calix jumped out of the car, coming over to the passenger side to open my door for me. He took my hand, helping me out, and I landed softly on my bare feet, my boots in my hands.
Calix took them from me and led me inside, and I was immediately engulfed in Damien's arms.
"Are you alright? How are you doing Akina?" He asked. "Do you need anything?"
"Fresh air," I wheezed, and Damien let me go. "Thank you."
He had an odd look on his face, and so did Calix. They were looking at each other, and I could tell they were speaking.
"Akina, why don't we go upstairs and relax for a little, okay?" Calix offered. "You can change into something else, if you'd like."
I nodded, and looked over at Damien. "We can talk later," he said softly, squeezing my shoulder. "Go ahead and go with Calix and have a hot make-out session."
"Why does everyone keep saying that?" I cried, turning to walk up the stairs. "We aren't like that!"
Damien chuckled behind me, and I heard him and Calix talk under their breath before Cal followed me upstairs. When I stepped into his room, everything was like it should be; the bed made, the books put away, the closet doors closed and the hamper with its lid shut. I took a deep breath, breathing in the smell of his scent; the woods, the wolf, the evergreen shampoo.
Calix came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and pressing his lips to the top of my head. "Come on in," he said, and took a step forward, pushing me into the room. "I won't bite."
"Aha, ahahaha," I said emotionlessly, stumbling into the room. Calix closed the door behind him, and I made my way over to his desk, sitting on the chair and pulling my knees up to my chest.
"You know you don't have to sit there. You can sit on the bed there if you want. I will be right back," Calix said.
"I've heard that before," I said.
Calix froze, and turned to me. "Well, would you like to come with me to change?" He said with a smirk.
"Oh," I blushed and shook my head. "No, that's alright."
"Really, Akina, go sit on the bed. It's fine, and it is more comfortable. I can sit there, if you would like. I can give you your space."
I looked up quickly. "No, Calix, that isn't it," I told him, and shook my head. "It isn't you. You aren't the reason I won't come close."
"Let me guess, it isn't me, it's you," Calix said, but he looked amused. "Akina, what's going on?"
"I just... I feel..."
Calix knelt in front of me. "What? You can tell me."
"I feel dirty," I whispered. "And gross. And I smell like him."
Calix's eyes softened, and he stood up. "You aren't dirty or gross, Akina. But you do sort of smell like him, so why don't you go sit in the bathtub for a while? You can take your time, and I'll just wait for you out here, okay? Go relax, baby."
"I don't know..." I said. It felt oddly intimate to bathe in his house, in his tub, to use his soaps.
"Come on," he said, and stood up. Calix walked over to the door, and opened it to reveal his huge, cavernous bathroom. "I'll start the water."
I stood in the doorway, looking around, and felt my body melt as I laid eyes on the huge, deep tub. Calix sat on the edge of it, and was reaching over to turn the heat higher as the water flooded in, steaming and clear. He dumped soap in, and it instantly began to bubble. I waited as it filled, and Calix sat there, one hand in the water to test the heat.
As it filled as high as it should, and he shut the water off, I walked over and set one hand on his shoulder. "Thank you," I said.
"No problem," he said, grabbing my hand and sitting me beside him. "Whatever you need, I'm here for you."
I looked at the tub, and saw that, for sure, two bodies could fit in there...
I set my hand on Calix's shoulder, and pushed him in. The water splashed up, and he looked at me with an instant smirk. "You little brat," he said, grabbing my handle and tugging me in beside him.
I squealed, closing my eyes as the water soaked up into my clothing, into my skinny jeans, and making them even tighter and heavier than they were before. "You're the brat!" I cried, and splashed him. Calix laughed, and grabbed my hand, pulling me into his lap.
"You don't mind it," he said. "You quite like it, actually."
"Don't be too sure of yourself," I giggled, but wrapped my arms around his neck. "One thing I cannot stand, is cockiness."
Calix winked, and I slapped his arm, rolling over and nodding my head. "Get out of here and let me bathe in peace."
"Are you sure you don't want me to stay?"
"Calix," I warned, grinning, and he put his hands up in surrender, dragging himself out of the tub and grabbing a towel. He dripped gallons of water as he made his way into the bedroom and closed the door behind himself.
I peeled my socks off, and then the scarf, setting them both in the sink, and then shimmied out of my too tight jeans, dropping them on the floor and then trying to free myself of the prison my shirt had become. I peeled off my underwear, and added them to the pile in the sink.
I soaked for a while, letting the hot water burn into my skin, trying to get the gross feeling away, trying to feel clean, but after who knows how long scrubbing my hair with Calix's shampoo, using a washcloth to lather my skin in his soap, I still felt dirty, so I gave up and pulled the plug in the tub, letting all the water drain out and grabbing a towel from the basket.
I wrapped in it quickly, shivering against the cold, and looked around, realizing I had no clothes to change into. "Cal?" I asked, opening the door and peeking my head out.
"Here," he said, looking at the floor and handing me a pile of clothes. "They'll be big, they're mine... but they're better than nothing, right?"
"Thank you," I said quietly, and took the soft clothes from his hands. In the bathroom, I quickly changed into the gray sweatpants, pulling the drawstring as tight as I could and rolling the bottom a million times, and then pulled on the black t-shirt. There were a pair of black socks, and I yanked them onto my feet before using the towel to dry my hair as much as I could, and then braiding it down my back loosely.
I opened the bathroom door to find Calix laying shirtless on his back on the bed, with the TV on in front of him. I stood in the doorway as he sat up, and said, "I'm sorry, I can go put a shirt on if I'm making you uncomfortable."
"No," I said quickly. "I mean, um, if you want to, you can, but... I don't mind, if you don't."
"Get over here, cutie," Calix said, scooting over and patting the bed. "Come sit."
I obeyed, walking over and crawling up into the bed. I remembered the last time I had been in the bed, the first time it had been confirmed that the werewolves were real- that I had been attacked by wolves, that Calix was a wolf, and that I was the Cure to the disease that was lycanthropy.
I curled up beside Calix, resting my head on his hard, warm chest. He wrapped his arm around my back, pulling me close, and I set my hand on his abdomen, looking up at Calix's sharply defined jawline. I pulled myself up, and pressed my lips to his jaw.
"Hmm," he grumbled, his hands tightening on my back. "I like this."
I giggled, and pushed his face towards me, reaching up to kiss him lightly on the lips. "I thought you would."
He rolled over, bracing one hand beside my head and the other on my hip. Calix leaned over to kiss me, but the door flew open.
"Hey, Calix, I-" A young man began, and then cut off as Calix snapped up to look at him, his hands falling from my waist and my hands dropping from his hair.
A blush spread over my cheeks, even darker than it had been, and Calix just grinned. "Can I help you, Niko?" He asked.
"Aw, shit, sorry man," Niko said, scratching the back of his neck. "I uh, I didn't know you had a girl in here." He looked up. "Hello, I'm Niko."
"Hi Niko," I said quietly, pushing Calix off of me and sitting up.
"Oh, there's no need to be shy, baby," Calix said, leaning down to nuzzle into my hair. "It isn't anything he hasn't seen before."
"Calix," I hissed, pushing him back. "Cut it out. I'm Akina." I said to Niko, flinging my feet off the bed and standing to walk over to him.
I held my hand out to him, and Niko's eyes got wide. "You're... You're her, aren't you? The Cure?"
I dropped my hand, and looked curiously over at Calix. His eyes were narrowed as he looked at Niko, and then he stood up off the bed, walking over to us.
Niko looked at him, and they spoke in silence, and then Niko gasped. "I would never, Calix! I just was shocked and curious, is all," he said, ashamed. "And I didn't know that you were involved. Calix, I swear, I just was surprised. I wouldn't ever-"
"What did you come in here for, Niko?" Calix asked, as I went and sat back on the bed, pulling the comforter over my legs.
"Oh, right," Niko said. I looked him over, and decided that he was about sixteen years old. He would be cute, hot, maybe, but in my eyes, there was no one but Calix.
They stepped out of the room, and I immediately felt deprived of my safety and comfort.
Just a few weeks ago, I had told myself that I didn't want to move too fast, that I wasn't ready for anything too serious. I wanted to take things slow. But now, now I wanted everything. I was falling fast, and I was falling hard.
A/N: I'm so happy 😊 1500 reads!
Cannot thank you all enough!
Keep reading, keep voting, and PLEASE comment and promote! I would greatly appreciate it.
<3, Libbi Lace