CHAPTER SEVEN
Alice
After Luka is gone, Alice just cries. Sinking to the ground, she leans against the cupboards below the sink and sobs into her hands. The feeling of it stings.
The empty house feels so much emptier now. Even worse is that she can feel the tingle of Luka's hands holding his own. She wishes she had kissed him. Why can't anyone ever care about her like she cares about them? Is she even worth anything?
She returns upstairs. Craig drove back to the city for tonight to pick up the rest of his things, so it's just her and the empty space until tomorrow night. She tries to keep writing like she was when Luka got here with Naomi, but it doesn't work. She's far too depressed to write.
Alice gnaws on her lip, trying to cry again. It doesn't work. Instead, she just sits there with her knees to her chest in her swivel chair, feeling empty.
When that gets old, she takes a shower. The hot water doesn't help as much as she had hoped it would. Instead, she's just standing in the shower feeling empty instead of sitting in her desk chair feeling empty. Well, at least she'll be clean.
At some point, she collapses into her bed to sleep, not bothering to pull the covers over her body. The next day is mostly humdrum. Left alone with her thoughts, Alice finds herself stuck in a place of internal conflict.
Craig loves her. If he doesn't love her, he at least likes her. Right? He's a safe person to marry. Alice doesn't need an over-the-top romance. As long as the guy can deal with her issues, he's fine by her terms. If he can't, he's not fine. It's a pretty low bar, she thinks, but it's been hard.
Her mind won't stay away from Luka. Every time she closes her eyes, she sees him pleading. Did she make him leave too fast. Should she go to him?
He lied to her. He lied to her about a few different things, actually. Alice gets the impression he cares about her now, but is that true or just another facade? He seemed genuinely upset. Alice doesn't suppose he's much of an actor—it doesn't seem his style.
By the time Craig gets back, she's been through the mental loops of this situation over and over until they've been beaten in like stakes.
Walking outside her office, smiles at him over the indoor balcony. Hanging his coat in the coat rack, he carries a box up the stairs. "How was it?"
"It was fine," he says, shrugging. "The city is nowhere near as nice as here. Though, admittedly, I wish they had more gas stations in Port Murmure. Most of the places they have here are at least twenty cents more expensive than in major cities."
"S-small towns, you know. You get used to it." Alice smiles.
Craig just rolls his eyes and laughs, bringing the box into Alice's bedroom and plopping it down on the bed. "Oh, don't pretend. You don't even drive enough to be bothered by it."
Somehow, that stings. Alice goes pale for a moment then gets the hint and laughs awkwardly. "I-I guess so."
She glances to the box. "I'll help you get more from the car."
"No need." Craig waves her off, unfastening his tie and hanging it inside of Alice's closet. "This is the only one."
Alice can't help but wonder why he didn't take this box with him initially. She nods along, but even as he keeps talking about his trip to the city and running into a coworker outside the apartment complex, suspicion grabs hold of her. She doesn’t suspect him. It's just . . . he had empty room in his car when he got here a few days ago. Why didn't he bring the box then? Did he need an excuse to go back to the city?
"Alice?" Craig's voice calls her back to reality. "Are you alright, honey? You're lost in the clouds."
"O-oh, of course. I just zoned out," she says, smiling softly. "Don't worry about it."
Patting her on the shoulder, Craig grins and moves past her. As he does, Alice is reminded of how he looked in college when they met. He wasn't that different then than he is now. Is that a bad sign? She thought of him as mature then, a few years older and wiser. Now, though, she doesn't know.
Sometimes she worries he views her as stupid. She worried six months ago, before he left, and she worries now. Maybe that's all Alice is: worrying. Still, if that were true, would she really mind? Is that a problem?
Opening the box, Craig unpacks some clothing and various chotchke. She sits down on the bed and watches him do this. All the while, Craig keeps talking about his old business and his friends and the flaws of his ex-girlfriend. Only lasted a few months with her, huh? Of course he came back. Alice and Craig dated for three years before he left. She used to think that was because of some sort of perfect connection, but the more she listens to Craig talk the more she doubts that.
When he's done, he tosses the box off of the bed, into the corner. Alice is about to ask him to take it to the recycling bin, but she's abruptly cut off by him pressing her to the bed and kissing her neck.
"I've missed you, baby," he breathes into her skin, leaving dragging, wet kisses up to her jaw. Alice shivers, shifting underneath him and breathing in sharply.
"Craig—"
"Shh," he murmurs. "Just let it happen, love. I'm gonna make you feel real good."
When he calls her ‘love,’ Alice can't help but remember Luka's voice. "See, that's not fair, honey. It's got to be fair share. Did he expect oral?" She shivers, but not because of Craig.
Unzipping his pants, he helps Alice to her knees on the bed and gets off the bed, standing in front of it. Pulling his length out of his pants, he gently cups Alice's cheek. "C'mon, love. Show me that magic mouth."
An ugly feeling tumbles around her stomach as she slides forward. Alice starts to suck him off but pulls away and looks up at him. "Can we try something different first?"
Craig looks confused and irritated. "Like what?"
She smiles at him, trying to pull out the kind man she remembers six months ago. "I was thinking you could . . . try to give me oral first?" Hastily she adds, "That's fair, right? Sharing?"
Silence. Craig furrows his eyebrows. Even though he tries to hide it, Alice can see as irritation flashes over his expression. Shrugging, he pretends not to be frustrated and roughly pulls Alice's hips toward the edge of the bed. He starts to kiss up her thighs, underneath her skirt, but as he gets close to her intimate areas he pauses.
After a moment of hesitation, he pulls away and gets on the bed on top of Alice. "I don't think I can do that, love. Besides, I hear it's overrated. Most girls say just sex is better."
The blatant lie feels like a slap in the face as Alice watches the words come out of his mouth. Her face falls a little. She manages to force a tiny smile and nod before he gets back to sucking on her neck like some sort of leech.
Alice stares up at the ceiling. Luka ate her out—she knows it's not overrated when the one giving it is good at oral. Craig's just making excuses because he doesn't want to do it, and she knows that.
Biting her lip, she thinks for a moment as Craig gropes her tits underneath her shirt with no level of grace at all. "Hey, Craig?"
"Mm?"
"What do you like about me?"
He looks up and creases his eyebrows. "What do you mean, baby?"
"I mean," she says, making eye contact and pursing her lips a little. "Why do you want to marry me? What about me is likable to you?"
He thinks for a second, then another second, then another. "You're really nice. You're just so gentle and nice."
Alice thinks about how she almost slammed the door on Luka when he first arrived. She thinks on how she can barely speak to a barista without stuttering. She thinks about how she stood up to Luka and demanded personal info from him even when it wasn't needed. Even at her most assertive, even then, Alice knows she isn't the nicest person around. Clara? Maybe. Alice? Not so much.
Alice finds that the knowledge that she's just sort of nice and not super nice is something she's fine with. She doesn't need to be nice all the time to be a good person.
"OK," she says, trying to get more info. "What else?"
Craig struggles. "You're a wonderful writer. You're talented and so good with words." He goes back to sucking on her neck.
With every second he speaks, Alice gets more irritated. What the hell does he think he's playing at? He hasn't read any of her writing since they were in college, and that was two years ago. The more she thinks about it, the more it makes her mad.
Alice snaps. She shoves Craig off of her and sits up, righting her clothing. He's looking at her with confusion and his own brand of irritation. Not letting that phase her, Alice meets his irritation with some of her own.
"Wh-where are you getting th-this shit from?" She gestures wildly, her hair a messy mane around her head. "Is it really that hard for you to think of even one genuine th-thing that you like about me?!"
"I named two things!" He insists, standing up on the opposite of the bed. "You're overreacting. I love you, Alice."
"What do you love about me?" She demands, incredulous. "Love d-doesn't come from nowhere. It comes from things at first. People who love each other have reasons for that and all the ones you're naming are just things that any stranger who's met me for ten minutes could name."
Searching for reasons, he throws his hands up. "I can't help it if the reasons I love you are common ones."
"Those aren't even reasons! You just grabbed whatever b-bullshit y-you could think of," Alice snaps. Grabbing the engagement ring off of her finger, she walks around the bed and shoves it into the back pocket of his pants.
As she does, she feels fabric that doesn't match the material of his clothing. Furrowing her brows, Alice pulls it out and holds up a lacy red thong. As she does, her mouth just gapes. He went to the city and came back with one singular box. It's just as she thought: he wanted an excuse to go back to the city.
Craig tries desperately to explain. "Alice—"
"Hm?" She raises an eyebrow. "Let me guess. You're still with your bitch-actor girlfriend," she mimics the tone he used earlier to refer to her. "But you're low on cash. Easy to get money from marrying a famous novelist, right?"
Shaking his head, Craig tries desperately to find an explanation that isn't there. "That's not what it's like."
"Yes, it is." Alice speaks firmly this time. It's as if the fog has been cleared from her vision. Looking at Craig, she can't help but be repulsed by how she was going to settle. She shoves the panties back into Craig's hands.
"You know, all you had to do was think of o-one reasonable, unique thing you like about me. You c-c-couldn't even do that." Alice shakes her head, an epiphany coming to her in waves. "I don't need you to love me to know that I'm interesting and worthy of love. I don't even n-need you. I love myself."
Craig sighs and rolls his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Honey—"
"Don't." Calmly, she stops him and shakes her head once more. "Pack your bags and get out. I already gave you your engagement ring back, so you can sell it off if you're s-so desperate for cash."
Going to the door, she grabs her jacket off of a hook and shoves her phone and wallet into her pocket. "I've got cameras on the premises. If you take anything, I'll know. I-I've gotta go. When I come back, you better n-not be here."
Craig tries to call after her, but Alice has somewhere to be. Running down the staircase, she throws the front door open and jogs down the road toward the entrance to National Park lands. Alice hops the fence and runs down the side of the forest, toward the beach.
No one's here right now—it's late and the park roads are long-closed. Alice is left alone with the sound of her breath and the waves slowly getting louder as she runs onto the sand.
She doesn't see him at first. Eventually, though, Alice catches a glimpse of him. Far off in the water, there's a polar bear swimming. Swallowing, Alice slows to a halt. She just watches him from afar for a moment. It's hard to connect the bear and the man—she supposed she'll have to get used to it. Eventually, she sticks two fingers in her mouth and wolf whistles, catching his attention.
She waves as Luka turns and starts swimming back toward shore. Slowly, he walks across the sand toward her. As he approaches, Alice suddenly feels very, very small. Seeing him in this from a distance was one thing, but seeing him up close and personal is another. He's huge, his body large and muscular and nonhuman in every way.
Every way, that is, except his eyes. Those, gold and brown and beautiful, stay human. They stare her down with a blank expression, but Alice finds she knows what he's feeling anyway. Reaching toward him, she runs her hand over his wet fur. Shivering, she steps closer and leans into his body.
"I left Craig," she murmurs. "He was cheating, but I was going to leave him even before I realized that." Sighing into the fur, she continues. "This was never about me choosing between the two of you. It's about my own insecurity, and I know that. I don't need the love of either of you to know that I'm worth loving. If it isn't you, if it isn't him, it's always going to me from here on out."
Choked up, she shivers from a sea breeze. He smells of the ocean; of salt and wind and water.
Before she even knows it, she's being held in the arms of his human form. Luka pulls her close, breathing shakily. His touch feels desperate and almost nervous as he leaves a kiss on her forehead. She tries to look up at him, but his face is buried in her neck.
Luka half sobs, leaving Alice feeling shell-shocked by his display of emotion. After a moment, he calms down and breathes slowly into her skin.
"I-I think," he says in a murmur, "that I've come around to humans."
Alice can't help but laugh at that, pulling back and brushing the wet hair out of his eyes. "I should hope so." Her face falls a little and she smiles awkwardly. "I know I'm a little strange. I'm sorry about that."
He shakes his head, cupping Alice's face in his hands. His touch is warm, even after being in the cold ocean water. "You make me wonder sometimes, Alice." Flicking his tongue against his teeth, Alice smiles. "Why would I, of all people, be concerned if someone is strange? If you're strange, we're strange together."
Alice's smile grows. "But if we're both strange, doesn't it cancel out the weirdness?"
"I don't know about that one." When Luka smiles, it's a genuine smile that lights up his face. It takes a few seconds for Alice to realize she's grinning, too. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see."
This time, Alice initiates the kiss. Falling into him, she melts into his body and wraps her arms around the back of his neck for support. Their mouths mold together like they've been fit specifically to do so. Heart thumping in her chest, Alice flicks her tongue against his.
She doesn't really realize when they fall to the sand until she's on top of him. Grinning, Alice stares down at Luka. Her hair has fallen all over, surrounding his face in a veil of blond.
There's a sentimental look on his face that makes Alice melt. Biting her lip, she breathes quietly. "What's so interesting?"
He reaches up and runs his thumb over her lips. It's intimate, so much so that Alice finds herself unable to breathe in the feeling of it. "You."
Gently, he drags her head down to him. They meet in the middle for another kiss. Alice swears, with his breath on her skin and his tongue flicking against her teeth, that she's never felt an everything like this.
His body is warm. It's always warm, and it was before, but right now it feels even more so. Alice swears she can feel his heartbeat breathing into her body with every moment, every pause.
After what feels like forever, she pulls away and breathes out into his lips. Her quiet gasps make him laugh, a low and throaty thing that makes something tingle between her legs. Luka kisses the skin of Alice's neck, following that up with a series of nipping bites below her jaw all the way to the edge of her shoulder. Shuddering, she melts into him.
Carefully pulling her into his arms, Luka stares down into Alice's eyes. He breathes out softly, once again staring so deep that all of her soul feels laid bare.
Luka softens, breathing out. The air feels warm on her face. Alice closes her eyes as Luka leans in and leaves a gentle kiss on the top of her ear. He’s shaking—Alice can tell that he’s nervous, for once. He stays there, lips hovering, and whispers to her.
"Do you want me now? Are you comfortable with that?"
Before answering, she nudges him so that he pulls his head back. Luka looks almost concerned, like he's worried he's done something wrong. Holding the sides of his face in her hands, Alice looks up at him and just takes in everything. She runs her fingers over the curve of his lips and his cupid's bow.
She tries to memorize the shape and texture of all of him. Alice transcribes this moment into her mind: the salty air; the soft hush of wind; the lapping of waves; the feel of his breath on her skin. If there were ever anything that would inspire her to write about love, this might be it.
It might be too early to call it love, but Alice allows herself to anyway—in her head, at least. She's not sure she's ready to tell him that yet. She knows what she's worth, but it will take time and self-love for her to make the changes that finally allows her to tell other people how she feels.
Luka will be the first step. She's sure of that.
"Yes," Alice breathes. "God, yes."
A gorgeous smile breaks across his face, making his teeth flash white. He grins at her. "I was hoping you'd say so. I've been thinking about your thighs for days."
Drifting his way down her body, Luka helps strip her. First, the jacket and shirt. Then, her shorts. Lying on the sand in her underwear, Alice finds that this doesn't bother her at all. It's not really a risk—no one is out here this late, not in Port Murmure. Still, Alice knows that if anyone had suggested this to her a few months ago, she would have said they were out of their mind.
His touch drives her crazy, tingling on her flesh in tandem with the wind around the two of them. Breathing out shakily, Alice closes her eyes as he kisses over her chest and hips with a degree of intimacy she's never had with any other man. When he gets to her thighs, he leaves dragging, nipping kisses that she's sure will leave marks.
"When you look in the mirror," Luka says, his voice a low purr, "I want you to see these marks and know that you and I are linked."
Blinking open her eyes, she looks down at him. "What kind of link?"
"I don't know." Luka smirks, narrowing his eyes. "That depends on you, love."
He kisses closer, bringing his mouth between Alice's legs and pulling her panties to the side. Flicking his tongue against her clit, he swirls and works his magic from before. Alice's eyes shut again, abruptly, and she gasps out loud. "Fuck—"
Laughing into her skin, Luka swirls his tongue in a teasing manner. "That's what I like to hear." His murmured words against her groin seem to vibrate, bringing her into a place of pleasure.
She arches her back, shivering. Going into that familiar, sexy possessive streak, Luka shoves her hips down and nips at them. "Be a good girl and stay where you are, love," he teases, his voice dropping to something low and so tantalizing that Alice almost comes right there.
He edges her, pushing her close to the edge and then back. She's not sure how he does it, but Luka knows just how to work her body. They've only been together once before this and he's already a master. Bending her legs, she reaches between her legs and weaves her fingers into his hair.
Getting an easy lock on his soft curls, she encourages him to dip deeper. Laughing into her skin in a way that makes her shiver, Luka obliges. Right when she thinks she's finally getting close, he pulls back and sits up, flicking his tongue against his teeth and smirking.
The wind blows some of Alice's thick hair into her face. He brushes it out of her eyes, expression going tender. Alice pouts, biting her lip at him. "You know you're being a jerk."
"It'll be better if I make you wait." Luka leans in and kisses her neck sweetly, tenderly. "I promise."
He unclips her bra and kisses the valley between her breasts. Shivering again, Alice closes her eyes and tries to lose herself in his touch. There's an ache between her legs that won't go away, and it's a relief when Luka unzips his pants.
Alice sits up abruptly "N-no, let me—"
Reaching to his pants, she grinds her palm into the hardness between his legs. The way he gulps when she does is satisfying. Grinning, she sits up and gets on her hands and knees, still in only her panties. She rubs her hand into his crotch, teasing him in punishment for his edging, before she drops his pants and helps him out of them.
Kissing over the thin fabric of his boxers, Alice listens to his soft breaths. After a moment, she drops those, too.
Kissing along the side of his length, she takes into account his pleasure in a way she knows she's never done with Craig. Alice runs her tongue along the side. When she gets to the tip, she flicks her tongue against the slit. Luka moans quietly, just motivating her more.
She takes him into her mouth. First, just the tip. She bobs down slowly, turning her eyes up to stare at him. His eyes go wide, moonlight glinting off of their golden-brown sheen. He looks surprised, his usual confident smirk dissolving into a shaking moan of pleasure.
She dips down, taking him in deeper. Bobbing her head down and up, she pumps her hand along his length at the same time. The best part about it, really, is that it's fun. The fact that she can make Luka moan is probably one of the best feelings she can possibly imagine.
Luka forcefully pulls back and just breathes. "No, you'll make me come. I don't want to wait through the refractory period."
Biting her lip, Alice grins up at him. "That good, huh?"
He exhales forcefully, raising his eyebrows and kneeling down to her level. "I'll say. Craig's goddamn loss."
Alice laughs as he pushes her back to the sand. Leaning down, the two of them kiss again. It's passionate and warm and sexy. Deep in her chest, Alice's heart is beating a million miles a minute. It's not just from the sex, either—there's an emotional intimacy in this that's tangible. She can feel it dancing on her skin, making her feel alive in a way she hasn't experienced before.
Eventually, Luka sits and looks down at her. He doesn't hesitate long. Straddling Alice's chest, he smirks down at her. "Can I try something?"
Alice raises an eyebrow, skeptical. In any case, she's not that concerned. She's got a good enough perception of Luka to know that whatever it is, it won't be bad. She nods, flicking her tongue against her teeth. Luka looks satisfied, pushing her hair out of his eyes and gazing down with possessive lust.
He presses her breasts together, creating a space between them. Alice has written enough romance to know what he's doing, despite her own experience. She breathes in slowly and bites her lip, focusing her eyes on his expression. He presses his length to the space created between her large breasts before pushing between.
The sensation is strange. His length is lubricated from her mouth earlier, so it glides smoothly. His expression is concentrated, but his breath hitches a little as he moves his hips. Thrusting deeper, he pushes in and out slowly.
His movement and touch leave her flustered. The moment feels intimate and quiet. All she can hear is the sea and his quiet breathing.
Alice is pretty sure the sound of Luka moaning is one of the best sounds she's ever heard. Letting her lips part slightly, she looks up at him with an expression she's sure comes off as either extremely awkward or extremely lewd. From the expression on his face when he sees her, she assumes it's the latter.
"Oh, my God," he breathes.
She nervously smiles. She slowly runs her tongue over her top teeth and tilts her head. "I like watching you come undone."
That does it. Letting go of her breasts, he dives in and kisses and nips at her neck aggressively. Growling into her neck, he sits up and pulls her into his lap. Alice gasps, clinging to him as he leaves more marks to remind her who she's with.
She doesn't mind. It's sort of silly and stereotypical, but a little cute.
Luka backs off once he's thoroughly satisfied with his hickey artistry. At this close range, Alice can see flecks of maroon in his gold eyes. Gorgeous.
"Are you ready?" Alice asks first when he hesitates, raising an eyebrow and waiting for his consent.
When he nods, she lifts her hips and wraps her arms tightly around his shoulders. Slowly, she sinks onto his length and rocks back and forth in his lap.
Luka moans into her neck. It's lower than anything she can recall hearing come from his mouth, a deep vibrating pleasure that seeps deep into her core. Continuing to cling, she latches onto his neck with her teeth and sucks. If he gets to leave marks, so does she.
The two stay like that for a while, with Alice slowly rocking her hips as they adjust. She pushes it as long as she can, feeling him shift underneath her with a desperate need for release. He breathes into her skin and she does the same to him, making the two of them feel like one being. She feels an intimacy with him, right then, right in the middle of things, that she's sure that she's never felt with anyone else.
Alice starts moving. Arms still firmly wrapped around his torso, she moves her hips up and down in slow, languid strokes. His head inside of her is pulsating and intense, making her shiver. She expects him to take control as usual, but he doesn't. In the absence of that possessive, dominant streak on his part, Alice finds herself enjoying the chance to move things to all of her own specifications and pace.
She rocks her hips faster, moving her body to a rhythm with his. Luka's hips strain, pushing deeper inside of her. When he moans into her skin, his breath feels hotter than Hades. She wonders, in the midst of pleasure, if he feels the same.
"A-Alice, I'm close—" His voice breaks as he clings to her, nails digging into the naked flesh of her back.
The wind picks up, blasting them with a chill that just intensifies things. She moves the pace faster, pushing the two of them closer and closer to release. She cries out from the scratches he leaves on her back, but the pain of it isn't unpleasant the way she once would have expected it to be. Instead, she finds herself yearning for it, yearning for the sensation that tells her she can influence him this way and make him moan.
There's something powerful in that, Alice thinks.
"I'm—" Gasping out, she clings to him and comes, muscles tightening and hips clenching. That seems to spill Luka over the edge, too—he comes inside of her, moaning into the skin of her shoulder before biting down to mute himself.
The two of them take a few minutes to come down. During that time, they just hold onto each other for dear life. Alice's legs are wrapped around Luka's body like he's her life line. She tries to catch her breath, panting into the crook of his neck.
"That . . . was amazing." Luka speaks first, in awe. "Have you done that before?"
She thinks back to Craig, and a couple other college partners. Every many she's ever dated was pretty boring in bed, so she had to bring the excitement to the relationships. She breathes slowly and shakily into Luka's skin. "A bit, y-yeah-" A lighthearted chuckle spills out of her throat.
He tsks. "You're incredible."
Slowly, carefully, he pulls out of her. Luka grabs Alice's clothing and gently helps her into it. All the while, her skin is tingling, making her feel alive. She's still coming down from that climax, even as Luka helps her put herself together again. He gets himself dressed, too. Alice is almost disappointed when he pulls his shirt on again, covering up his chest. She wonders if he works out regularly or if that's just a shifter thing. She reminds herself to ask sometime.
A genuine smile on his face, Luka reaches a hand out and helps her to his feet. He dusts off her ass and legs before stepping in and embracing her, leaving soft and overly tender kisses on her cheeks and neck. The feel of them is so new, so different from his usual manner of speaking, that she finds herself quietly laughing. She pulls away and gives him a confused look.
"What's wrong? Y-you're acting different."
His emotions seem so much more open. It's like she's broken through a shell that had been just cracked before. He bites his lip. "I'm just . . . " A tiny flush shows in his cheeks and he drops his gaze to the ground between their feet. Despite the blush, he doesn't look embarrassed—just sentimental. "I'm glad you chose me."
Alice kisses the side of his mouth and brushes curly, golden-blond locks out of his eyes. "I'm glad you chose me over your morals. After that, it wasn't really a choice for me. Once I thought about it for a minute, it was obvious. There's no reason I would have picked Craig if I was trying to make a good, healthy choice for myself."
An amused look crosses Luka's face. "He's stable, though. Don't you want that?"
"He's not stable." Alice shakes her head. "He's boring. I'd rather have a relationship that isn't a flatline, thank you very much."
Laughing genuinely, Luka leans his face into her shoulder to hide his blush. It's too late, though—Alice definitely saw it, and she doesn't intend to forget the sight.
She runs her fingers through the back of his hair. It's soft and silky, more so than her own. With their bodies pressed together, her skin still tingling, she stares past him. The moon is high in the sky above the cold Nova Scotia sea. It's probably a fitting setting for a polar bear shifter to find his grounding.
She's not sure how far this will go. She's not sure if Luka will stay with her or if things will work the way that she hopes they will. Some of that familiar anxiety still broils and burns in Alice's stomach, but she lets it fade into the background.
There's no real way to gauge what exactly the future holds, but she's got a good feeling about it and she's ready to find out.
Luka detaches after a few minutes and kisses her forehead. "What do you think? Want to grab a warm shower?"
"Yes, please."
Grinning, Alice nods and leans into him. They start to walk back together, but halfway through the walk, Luka swoops her up into his arms, bridal-style. When she shrieks in surprise, Alice finds for once that she doesn't care if anyone hears her. If they don't like it, it's not her problem.
She likes him, and she likes herself.