After a frantic search through my things and a very embarrassing conversation with my mother about a 'personal massager' that Stella came across (thinking about it makes me shudder so I ended up throwing it away, it was only an old one) time passed quickly and it was almost 6, just over an hour before my date with Adam. I frantically jumped into the shower and turned the water to cold, the heat of my body craved the cold. The cold water ran down my face in droplets stinging my eyes. The soapy suds falling down my back as I rinsed my body in the large, spacious shower, muscles tensing at every contact the icy water had with my skin, breath sharpening while my thoughts became loud behind the monotone drips of the shower. My hands travelled to the space below my waist and fingertips traces the red and purple swollen marks that had appeared earlier today, the skin aching at the touch causing me to suck in a sharp breath.
After continuous thoughts I think the most likely cause is the lack of 'consummation' between Adam and I. Even when we used to hook up we never had sex. I always thought it was because sex was a kind of mating ritual reserved for soulmates and that we were saving it for them but knowing that Adam knew we were mates confused me. Why hadn't we had sex yet? Of course the idea of having sex made me nervous like everything you do for the first time does but why not? We would have to at some point and although we had not had sex yet, Adam and I had done some things that could be considered 'dirtier' or more taboo than having vanilla sex on a bed.
The idea of Adam's rough hands exploring my body, his kisses on my thighs and his cock slipping into my pussy made me wet and brought butterflies to my stomach. I brushed my hands over my breasts and felt my hard nipples as my hands brushed over them. My eyes close and I fall deeper into the fantasy.
Rudely and suddenly I'm pulled out of the euphoric trance by a fat bone-headed idiot who yells in his squeaky woman voice while knocking on my bathroom door "Reine hurry up mom wants to talk to you."
"Go away ass-face," I yell. "I'm busy."
"Don't shoot the messenger."
I grab my shampoo bottle of of the shower shelf, lean out the shower and hurl the bottle at the door making a loud thud noise.
"Shit." A high pitched yelp comes from the other side of the door and I smirk. After I hear his footsteps becoming more faint, I sigh and turn the shower from lukewarm to freezing cold and shudder under the artic temperatures, bringing me back to reality.
I step out the shower, wrapping myself in my fluffy, dry towel and look at myself in my bathroom mirror. I was never exceptionally skinny, but I was looking more skinny than usual. My cheekbones appeared more hollow and my stomach and waist felt strained like my body was eating itself from the inside and my skin was tightening. Gruesome I know but it's the most accurate description of how I felt.
I stepped out of my bathroom and sauntered over to my drawers, picking out the sexiest lingerie set I owned. Matching sheer bra and black lacy thong were accompanied by black stockings lined with lace and suspenders. I slipped into the underwear and headed into my wardrobe to pick out a Burgundy layered midi dress with a sheer layer of Burgundy over a silk black dress.
I sat down at my vanity and stared at my paled complexion. I'd always thought tanned girls were beautiful and always felt insecure without one but staring at my white skin contrasting against the Burgundy dress and my dark brown hair, seeing the blue in my eyes shine I felt pretty and was determined to feel beautiful after applying my makeup. I blowdried and diffused my curly hair after adding leave in conditioner, leaving it looking wild as I liked it that way. I fetched a pair of black jewelled earrings from my jewellery box that I'd 'borrowed' from my mother and applied light natural makeup with dark long lashes and a Burgundy lip to match my dress. I fetched black closed toe heels and a leather bomber jacket from my wardrobe and stood in front of my full length mirror admiring myself, for the first time since I arrived home, I felt beautiful. I felt like a woman.
Before I realised it, a small tear made it's way down my cheek as I looked in the mirror. I tilted my head to see from a different angle and finally tore my gaze away from fear that if I look too hard the feeling might subside.
I hear Jude scream up the stairs "RIENE ADAM'S HERE!"
I take a deep breath in and try to detach my feet from my bedroom floor but they won't move. I'm scared that if I go, I'll have to move on from this moment and time will go forward. So I stay still, Jude's words become a blur in my mind and I refuse to move but I hear a gentle knock at the door.
I don't look but as I look in the mirror, two large arms wrap around me and Adam's head buries itself in my neck.
"You look stunning," he says. "And you smell amazing," he breathes in my scent from my neck and I smile and I feel him laugh against my skin.
"You ready to go?" He asks sliding his hand around my waist."
I nod gently and he guides me away from the stiff spot I stood in. He leads me down the stairs and my mother keenly waits at the bottom, staring at me with love. "You look beautiful honey," she says.
"Thank you mum, did you need to talk to me?"
She looks at Adam and says "It can wait."
"Okay well I'll see you tomorrow." I kiss her on the cheek and Adam grips my waist harder and pulls me closer to him as we walk to the door.
"Tomorrow? Lucky me, I get you all night," he whispers in a flirty tone with a cocky smirk on his face that made me smile.
As he guides me out the door, I see a limo waiting for us. "What are we, teenagers on prom night?" I ask sarcastically.
"If we are, I'm looking forward to tonight."
I smile thinking we have the same idea about how tonight will end.
He opens the limo door for me and helps me in saying "Milady," jokingly and climbs in behind me and the limo began to move.
For the first 15 minutes of the drive, all that was visible was woodland until we reached the pack gate and began to drive into civilisation. I'd spent the last 4 years living amongst humans and even though they disrespect nature, some of the things they create instead of nature are incredible, especially at night. The dim glow of lights from the buildings and the colourful strobes from billboards. The fairy lights strung through streets and the glow of cigarettes lit by the socialising people. The roar of the crowd from the local bar and the loud guitar riffs belting from the concert hall. Every bit of city evenings was allusive and alluring.
After about 30 mins in the limousine with Adams large palm gripping my thigh and my head resting comfortably on his chest, the limo slows next to a quaint, romantic Italian restaurant and Adam gets out of the limo and opens my door for me, holding out his arm, helping me out of the limo as my ankles threaten to buckle balancing on my stilettos.
He guides me to a table in the empty restaurant, candles lit on all the other tables and a bottle of wine and a rose waiting for me on ours.
"Did you rent out the restaurant for us?" I ask, staring at him wide-eyed.
"The owner owed me a favour," he whispers while tucking my chair in.
"This is amazing," I say, looking around at the incredible amount of privacy. The details amazed me, the petals scattered on the floor, the roses and candles draped across the tables and bar, my favourite champagne on ice. It was perfect.
"I wanted our first date to be perfect."
I laugh. "I can't believe this is our first date."
"Yeah that's pretty weird to think about."
He grabs my hand from across the tables and starts rubbing his thumb across my palm.
"Are you okay?"
"Okay?"
"I mean with all of this, with us? Suddenly finding out I'm your mate and finding out you're the future Luna can be overwhelming. I mean you were literally overflowing with anxieties."
I laugh cautiously as Adam could never know the extent of my worries.
"I'm fine, I promise." LIE.
"You know in my experience, it's impossible to hide true emotions, they always find a way to surface in the end." He looks deeply in my eyes and I stir slightly in my seat under his gaze.
"Let's talk about something else."
And we did. He asked me about me, he wanted to know everything and anything that he wasn't there for. He listened when I told him about Philosophy stuff that others had told me was 'boring', he listened to descriptions of new shows I'd watched and books I'd read, people I'd met and things I'd done. He listened so much I became embarrassed with the amount I'd been talking and was glad when the waiter delivered our food, but he never seemed bored. He was the kind of guy to do more than passively listen and it all felt so genuine. He was my Prince Charming and the way he smiled when I got excited or laughed when I told jokes was the companionship I'd longed for my whole life. No wonder people are miserable without mates.
When our food arrived my attention shifted, hadn't eaten since tea with the Luna.
I decided to ask about Adam, his mother had told me alot earlier but I wanted to hear it from him.
"So what about you? How was uni?"
"It was fine just studying and partying."
"Did you make a lot of friends?"
"Yeah some."
"Did you meet a lot of girls?"
Adam stops eating and I immediately feel embarrassed that I asked.
"No Peaches, there's never been anyone else for me except you." He looks into my eyes to show me he's genuine and another wave of guilt rushes over me because I've not only been with his brother and lied to him about that but I hooked up with a couple people while I was at uni and dated a few others.
"What about Raph and Jude, I imagine they had lots of lady friends." I cringe inwardly at my phrasing.
"No actually they were pretty vanilla like me, as far as I know they both wanted to save themselves for their mates."
Bam, another twinge of guilt for taking away Raph's moments with his mate.
"Oh," I say.
Adam resumes eating but suddenly stops. "Did you not? I mean I guess I kinda assumed that I was the only one you'd been with in that way but maybe I shouldn't have assumed," he stuttered awkwardly.
"No no.. I mean yes...I mean I don't know?" I stumbled over my words.
"It's okay you don't have to tell me, you didn't know and I knew the whole time so." His face looked a little pained but he covered it well and I just stared at my food for while in shame.
He lifts my chin so my eyes are on him again. "Don't do that, don't feel like that, you did nothing wrong." My stomach took a nauseaous turn at his words.
I look into his sweet and caring blue eyes and smile. I can't help the comfort I feel looking into them, easing my worries.
I change the subject back to his interests and hobbies. He tells me all about how he worked for the university newspaper drawing their weekly comic strips for fun and how he was on the universities rugby team with Raph and Jude until his dad found out and made them quit because 'They were a risk to the safety of the other players' direct quote from his dad he says. He tells me about everything, visits to other packs and people he's met. He tells me all about the last year, waiting for me to come home and starting Alpha training with Raph. The way his face lights up when he talks of his pack and his duties as Alpha ignites something in me and I stare at him in awe of his love and compassion and his strength and power.
We finish up our desert and I revel in what a perfect first date this had been, minus the awkward moments. We finish up our second...maybe third bottle of wine between us and we're both floating on ear, the ambience and the alcohol drawing us closer and closer. He helps me back into the limo and says "There's one more place I want to take you."