I hung up and finished the little that was left of my drink.
With only two cocktails sipped slowly throughout the day, I wasn't drunk or even close to tipsy, but it was one of those days in which boredom had enveloped my brain like a blanket of fog, numbing it and so, I'd decided to mess a little with the Sentinel.
I contemplated making another cocktail, but was in no mood for one. Still sprawling on my couch, I looked about the room in search for Luca and discovered him sleeping on the stool in front of my piano. The sight immediately brought up a frown to my face as I remembered playing earlier today. I'd started with some classics, but my mind for some reason conjured up images of Adrian. And that was when I realized that my fingers were moving, producing an original piece, the notes and the melody they formed echoing the Sentinel's personality. It had been as if I was creating the piece for him and the notion had me getting up and making my first cocktail.
The thing was, that the melody had personified kindness and strength and that in turn had me thinking about Vika's words when we left Bolek's mention about a week ago.
"If we'll be exposing anyone to our family, we need to make sure that person is strong enough to handle it and that we are good enough to them to be worth the trouble."
She hadn't meant physically strong, but while Adrian's Gift was supernatural strength, there was also some non-physical power that he possessed, some inner force to do right by people no matter what it caused him - a trait that seriously ticked me off.
"Is there anyone there who can take care of you?"
I snorted. As if I needed taking care of!
But he'd said it with so much genuine concern that for the second time today, I'd been reminded of him being dead set to do good.
Did he really think he could save everyone?
Probably not - he couldn't be that naive - but he'd still try.
He'd even offered to come over because he'd been worried about me.
That notion had a strange effect on me. I didn't want to call the feeling it provoked happiness, but I couldn't figure out a better word. Which, of course, was just one more Adrian-related annoyance from which I needed to clear my head. With that in mind, I got up and walked to the terrace, leaning on the fence.
The early August air would've been refreshing with its barest hint of coolness if it didn't carry the scents of a polluted city. Maybe I needed a vacation somewhere in the country. Somewhere with a lot of trees and clear, fresh air.
The land on which my father's pack lived was such a place. At the very edge of town, the Silver Bullet's houses were right next to the forest, part of which they owned.
If only the Silver Bullets themselves weren't there.
There were some members I wouldn't mind meeting. My Uncle Kennedy and the Alpha - Keri, were two people who I could argue with and be entertained by that. My Uncle Rhys was easy; all I had to do was manage to fluster his mate - Riley, and Rhys would get riled up. That had its charm. I could even go visit my half-brother - it's been a while since I'd seen the slobbering little beast - but then I'd have to talk to my father... Unless I waited for Everett to go to work before I headed to his home.
Yes, I just might do that.
Or I could just go for a run in their forest and skip the chit-chat.
However, that didn't sit quite right with me. As irritating as it was, I had an itch to see the little beast. I could even bring him some ridiculously expensive toys to annoy Everett. Then again, I'd done that before, but I couldn't remember Everett protesting about me buying something for Ollie... Except for that time the things I sent over to my father's house had been so many, they'd needed to be delivered by humans in several trucks, thus disturbing the pack. I could head back inside right now and do some online shopping, but...
I didn't feel like it.
I didn't feel like doing anything.
Apart from the Adrian-related irritations I'd gone through today, I'd felt numb.
Turning around, I leaned my back on the fence and looked up at the night sky. Even though the city was polluted, you could still see some stars sparkling brightly against the dark background.
Boring.
My gaze then fell to my pool. I barely ever used it, but it was clean and full. I pushed myself off the fence and strolled around the edge, dim lights illuminating the water. It should be cool inside it; I had some gadget installed to regulate the temperature and I made sure it was lower than that of the summer air. It cost a lot to keep it that way, but damn it, I could afford it.
Holding my breath, I closed my eyes and took a step forward.
The sounds from the street below disappeared as the water enveloped me.
It was dark... Cold... Peaceful.
That was how I felt: peaceful.
Until the water started filling my lungs, slowly replacing the air that was in them.
Not yet. I could hold on a little longer, I thought, even as my body began to spasm. Why couldn't the enchanting feeling of peaceful nothingness last longer?
The need to breathe was yet another annoyance. As my body began to convulse more harshly, I realized it was time to get out. Just as the thought crossed my mind, something slammed against my nape, took hold of the collar of my shirt and I was lifted out of the water.
"Alec!" Someone shook me and a familiar voice rang out in my ears as I coughed. It and the sounds of a night in the city.
So much for my peace and quiet.
"Alec, are you alright?"
I wiped my eyes and looked at the figure crouched next to me as I was sitting at the edge of my pool, my feet still in the water.
"Did you fall? Did you hurt yourself?"
"Don't they teach you guys to stay cool and collected when others are in danger?" I asked of an obviously distressed Adrian.
"You are in danger?" He actually looked about as if searching for an intruder who might've pushed me.
"Only if I go to the deep end of the pool," I replied calmly, pulling my legs from the water and getting up. "I can't swim."
The Sentinel gaped at me, blinking stupidly as he tried to process what I've just said.
"You can't swim?" He asked slowly, also rising to his feet.
"I'm a man of many talents, but that's not one of them," I explained as I got inside, leaving a trail of water behind me.
"But you have a pool?" The unbelieving voice and the man it belonged to were right behind me. "Why?"
I wasn't in a mood to share that I'd purposefully ignored learning to swim, but made sure the pool always had water in it, because the idea of having something that could kill me so close to me brought a certain excitement, even though realistically, the risk was low. I could always just walk to the shallow end and my head would be poking out of the water.
When he got no answer, Adrian grabbed my shoulder and spun me around, my wet clothes squishing as he did so.
"Alec, are you still drunk? Is that why you fell into the pool?"
"I didn't fall, I jumped," I corrected him. "And I was never drunk to begin with. Speaking of which: would you like a cocktail?" I smiled up at him as he did his best fish out of water impression. Apparently, that was the face of the night when it came to Adrian. "No? Me neither."
He opened his mouth as if he wanted to speak, raising his arms, before they limply fell by his side, their owner with an expression of someone who was completely lost.
"What happened to your finger?" I asked, noticing a band aid.
"I cut myself," he said in a dismissive tone, as if it was no big deal, and yes, a little cut wasn't anything to fuss over.
"Italian, Thai, Chinese or something else?"
"What?"
"What would you like for dinner? I'm kind of hungry and what host would I be if I didn't offer you food." I picked up my phone. "Sushi?"
"Alec, we need to talk," Adrian said sternly.
"Over dinner," I replied. "Pizza?"
"Whatever. I don't care." His arms rose up and fell again. A sign of confusion, helplessness or both?
I'd have to keep an eye out for that.
I dialed a Chinese restaurant and ordered rice with vegetables and bamboo, some nuggets, bread - its dough was fried - and a couple of sauces. Then, I headed for my bedroom. As I reached the door, I turned my head and looked back over my shoulder.
"Are you coming?" I purred.
Adrian was rooted to the spot, his eyes rounded and his breathing heavy. I smirked. This was all that was needed to fluster him?
I wasn't even trying.
Granted, this had been the room in which I'd fucked him the only other time he'd been in my apartment.
"We are not sleeping together," he said, fists clenched to give himself courage.
"Who said we were?" I asked innocently. "I'm all wet and I need to get out of these clothes. I'm not shy so we might as well talk while I do it."
He shook his head slightly, then more vehemently - as if to convince himself he didn't want to follow me - and then turned his back on me.
"I'll wait for you here," he stated, sitting on my couch.
My grin became larger as I walked into my room and took my time stripping and drying up. I was sure there were plenty of things the Sentinel wanted to ask me about, but I had a few questions of my own and one of them was 'What the fuck are you doing in my penthouse?'
So, yeah, I ended up splitting what I had in mind for this chapter in two. We already have a full chapter here and we are only halfway through the notes I took so the rest of the content will be posted as Chapter 21.
What did you think of this chapter though?
What of Alec's mood switching between annoyance and emotional numbness?
What about him having a pool when it could literally kill him?
And what of his annoyance when he realized that he'd unconsciously created a melody about Adrian?
Does Alec even deserve Adrian's worry? After all, every time Alec thinks of something good about the Sentinel - other than Adrian being sexy - he gets irritated.
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