Lina 37
“What. In the Hell. Was that?” I asked, hanging my jacket up on the coat rack. I stormed into the living room, pouring myself a healthy glass of something disgusting but strong. I coughed and sputtered the entire time it made its way down. “What in the hell is this?”
“Scotch,” he answered with a smirk.
“Don’t smile like that,” I said. “Explain what went on back there.”
“I wasn’t the only one doing it!” was Telor’s defense. Fucking really?
“Oh, my mistake!” I yelled back, pouring another glass. “I totally forgot it was okay to act like an immature asshole as long as the other guy is also acting like an immature asshole.”
“I didn’t say that.” The more he tried to defend his actions, the more I wanted to scream. “I-he’s the one who punched me!”
“You’re lucky that’s all he did. I was half expecting him to shoot your ass,” I scowled. “You saw that he was on edge and what did you do? You kept picking at him and taking any and every jab you could. Could you not be the bigger person and just let it be?”
“So, what you’re really saying is that I’m better than Gavin and should have acted accordingly,” he said, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me toward him. I tried to remember that I was still angry, but it was hard when his hands and his lips were on me like this.
“No, that’s not what I said.” I didn’t sound as strong as I had hoped. How could I when I was breathless? “Don’t do anything like that again.”
“Never again,” he answered, urging us both onto the couch.
He kissed me, long and hard. My fingers nimbly unbuttoned the front of his shirt, Tracing the contours of his chest, his arms. As his shirt fell to the ground, he ridded me of mine, tossing it aside. Everywhere his hands touched, my skin burned with desire for him to touch me again. I made short work of his pants and mine landed on top of them quickly. There was next to nothing separating us. The rapid beating of his heart pounded against my chest.
“Cariad,” he said, his voice thick with want, “slow down a little.”
“You just let me strip you down to your boxer briefs in less than three minutes and now you tell me to put the brakes on?”
“Maybe I’m worried about my virtue. Maybe I’m afraid you’ll take advantage of my vulnerable state,” he said, as his hands slid behind my back and unfastened my bra.
“I promise to be gentle,” I whispered as my bra went flying into his kitchen.
“Glad one of us will be.” He bit my bottom lip a little harder than needed, and God, if it didn’t make me want him more.
Chancing my luck, I slipped my hands down the back of his boxers; he immediately tensed and moved so my hands were on his back.
“What do you fear most?”
“What?” I faltered in my kiss, taken aback by his out-of-the-blue question.
“Mind and soul, Catalina,” he reminded me. “I want to know both. But I’m willing to give a little to get a little.”
My biggest fear? I didn’t even know how to answer that. I wasn’t really ‘scared’ of anything. I didn’t like a lot of things, and there was a long list of things that I would really like to not happen to me: buried alive, burned alive, being possessed and nobody noticing until it was too late and they had to kill me. I guessed the only thing they all had in common was death. I was not sure if it was the act of dying or the finality of being dead that frightened me most.
“Death,” I said. I expected my answer to cause him to tense or for him to give me some type of encouraging words. Instead, he moved up my body so my hands went below the waistband of his briefs again.
“Do you want to know mine?”
I was just about to answer, when the front door banged open, eliciting a high-pitched girly scream from me, followed by a low groan from Telor.
“Ever hear of knocking, Cheyenne?” he asked an empty spot by the front door. My breathing was coming out in little pants.
I didn’t see her at first, only the barren blue wall, and then slowly, like the last time at Oasis, the air around her wavered slightly before she appeared. She had shed the yellow sundress and now rocked a little gray sweater dress with black leggings and red ankle boots. An outfit that would have had Jilsey drooling.
She spared a brief look at me and smiled at Telor. It was obvious that this wasn’t a social call. “Yep, I’ve heard of it.”
He returned her smile but had grown tense. I didn’t blame him, that little firecracker had an attitude and seemed a little pissed off. Not to mention the fact that we were both half naked—me more than him—but luckily his back was shielding most of my body.
“Is everything okay, Cheyenne?” he asked, sliding the afghan over me. He stood and put his pants back on, leaving his shirt off.
“Just peachy,” she said, and I wondered if she was always this much of a brat. Telor spoke of her like she was the greatest thing since sliced bread. “Except for the fact that shit hit the fan with Tori. She’s noticed”—she flicked her wrist toward me in annoyance—“that her soul is not where it’s supposed to be and neither is yours.”
“When?” Telor asked, his shoulders tightening.
“Recently.” Cheyenne and Telor seemed to have some silent conversation as they stared at each other. Telor finally looked away, face to the ceiling, and let out a long breath.
“Cheyenne will stay here with you; I need to make a phone call,” he said, exasperation filling his voice.
“Why? What aren’t you telling me?” I asked, the tart smell of secrecy and deception filling the air around me.
He could see that I knew something was wrong, he knew that I knew. Still, he continued with his “nothing” story.
“I just need to talk to Denny for a moment.” He gathered his shirt and slipped it back on.
He wasn’t going to just leave without telling me anything. We were in all of this together, we were a team, and that wasn’t going to fly.
“Why are you insisting on lying to me when you know I can tell?”
He at least took a moment to think before he answered. “I’m not doing it on purpose. I just need to talk to Denny before I do anything else.” He sighed heavily and cupped my face in his hands. “Please?”
It was difficult to deny him anything when he seemed so desperate. “Ten minutes,” I said, hoping I wouldn’t regret it.
He smiled and placed a chaste kiss on my forehead. “I only need five.”