Chapter 19
1399 Words
19
“Hello, Pickles.” I scooped the dust bunny up from my pillow and fell down on my bed. The springs creaked, the feathers fluffed, and I was home. “Ahh, it’s good to see you.”
“I’m talking to you,” Ryoko scolded, sitting down on the foot of the bed. “Where were you? Did you stay over in Flavia’s room again?”
Irritated, I sat up and placed Pickles on my lap where she happily nibbled on my shirt. What was the Dragon’s fascination with Flavia? Did she have a crush on her or something? Why did she keep asking about her?
“Well? I thought you said you were going to explain.” Fire flickered in Ryoko’s eyes, but it didn’t scare me. In fact, it was kind of adorable.
I relaxed against the wall as I stared at her. “You’re cute.”
Her expression changed and her cheeks flared up. “What?”
“You heard me.”
She tilted her head, confusion wrinkling on her forehead. “Are you… flirting with me?”
“Yes! And this time, I’m aware I’m doing it,” I joked, earning a chuckle.
“Now that’s progress.”
“I thought so.” I shuffled along the wall so I could be closer to her. “Are you impressed?”
“Very.”
Carefully, I walked my fingers along her arm and up to the nape of her neck. “Is it working?”
She bit her lip as she leaned in. Her breath hitched, her voice light. “You could use some practice.”
We met in a soft kiss, one that coiled my stomach tight and unleashed the butterflies in my chest. She was the sun on my face, the heat in the cold, the solace in my storm. It was everything I wanted from a kiss and so much more.
I tangled my hand in her hair and she grazed hers along the side of my face. Her lips were plump and soft, pink and inviting. They just begged to be kissed and I couldn’t resist. I shifted so I could be closer to her and accidentally tipped the dust bunny off my lap.
“Pffff!” Pickles hissed, flashing her spikes at me.
I gasped and broke away from Ryoko. “I’m sorry!”
The dust bunny shot me a glare and wobbled back to her cage where she demonstratively kicked the door shut.
“Now that’s a mood.”
Ryoko exploded into laughter and threw her arms around my neck. We fell into the bed, hugged by the sheets and blankets. Her thighs clamped around my hips, her hands intertwined with mine. A strange expression grazed her face, one I didn’t have words for, but still understood.
I reached out to brush a stray lock of hair behind her ear. Her skin was soft and smooth, and every touch sent little sparks through my body. There was fire in her eyes, dancing and crackling with the same intensity as the most beautiful storm. Behind her dark irises, there was magic. She was magic.
I pulled her into me, catching her with a kiss. With every breath, every passing moment, electricity sizzled and crackled. The tension between us build, only adding to the joy in my heart. Now this was a welcome home.
Ryoko chuckled against my lips, her smile infectious. “Where is all this coming from?”
My face heated up. “I don’t know.”
“I thought you weren’t into me.”
“Now, that’s not what I said.” I pushed myself up, which incidentally brought me closer to her.
“Yes, it is,” she teased.
“No, it’s not.”
She captured me in a kiss. “Yes, it is.”
My arms fell on her hips as I answered her. “No, it’s not.”
“So you are into me?”
My face turned red. “I—I. Whaaaaat.”
She shot me a triumphant smile, looking rather proud of herself. “Oh, you’re blushing.”
“No, I’m not.”
Ryoko pressed herself up and tickled my cheeks. “I can see it. Tomato, tomato.”
“I’m not a tomato!” I laughed, trying to push her away. “You’re tickling me!”
She giggled and kept waving her fingers over my face.
“Aaah, it tickles!” My words came out in filled with the summer she breathed into me.
The way her eyes lit up was like a hug from a warm breeze. “You’re so cute.”
“Hey. You stole my line.”
“Gasp. How dare I?”
“So mean!” I teased. More laughter bubbled up from my gut, brightening my heart, lightning my soul. There was something special about Ryoko, something that I missed from my life. Maybe it was the sun within her or the heat from her touch, maybe it was the way she looked at me or the sound of her voice.
“Tomato, tomato,” she teased. Her dark eyes were filled with light, her voice soft with affection.
I snaked my hands onto her hips and pulled her into me. “I’m not a tomato.”
She squealed, laughter erupting from her chest, the sound music to my ears.
“I dare you to call me a tomato again,” I fake-threatened.
“Or what?”
Ryoko looked at me, the adventure and joy drawn on her face. Excited fire burned in her eyes, brighter than the sun. The gold drew me in, seducing me into a sweet silence.
She was so beautiful, it made my heart ache. How had I not noticed this before? How had I misunderstood the way she made me feel wasn’t friendship?
I pulled her into me. “Just shut up and kiss me again.”
“If you wish,” she whispered, her breath tickling my lip. Warm like the sun, hot like fire, she gave me a taste of summer. And I’d never wanted it more.
“Hffff!” A hiss emitted from under the bed.
“No, Pickles, not now. We’re busy.”
“Pfff.” She scratched at the mattress, clearly not taking no for an answer.
The Dragon turned bright red. “No, shhh.”
“Sexy.”
“I’m sorry, she wants her breakfast.”
I burst out laughing. “You look so guilty.”
“I can’t believe Pickles is being so insistent. She’s not usually this grumpy.” She hid her face against my collarbone. “I’m so embarrassed.”
“It’s okay.” I pressed a kiss on her temple, hoping to reassure her. She had a weird habit of apologising for things that weren’t her fault.
“I’m sorry.”
I couldn’t keep the smile out of my voice. “You’ve said.”
For a moment, the young woman just stared at me and I stared at her. Her dark hair fell around her porcelain face like a frame holding the most beautiful of pictures. She was unlike anyone I knew, unlike anything I thought I wanted.
“You’re looking at me,” Ryoko noticed, her voice barely a whisper.
“Am I not allowed?”
She visibly swallowed. “Do you like what you see?”
My chest tightened, my breath abandoning me. “I do.”
“Really?”
I never thought one word could hold so much vulnerability, so much fear. The tension crackled in the air as she waited for me to say something. Anything.
“I think so.”
As soon as the words left my mouth, I knew they weren’t what she was hoping for.
“You think so?” Like rain, her voice fell and the moment was broken.
“What I mean is…”
Argh, why was this so hard? When we kissed and I stopped thinking, everything was so simple. She was with me, things felt right. But then the distance came and the overthinking started. And my stupid mouth just ruined things.
“Hffff!” Pickles jumped up on the bed and flashed her spikes.
“Yes, I’ll feed you!” Ryoko exclaimed. She climbed off of me and flopped off the bed. The dust bunny shot me a grumpy look and shook her spines demonstratively. Once she was satisfied that I understood, she jumped down and waggled to her feeding bowl.
“She’s in a mood,” I noticed. “And when did she start making that sound?”
The Dragon filled Pickles’ bowl with cotton balls and paper shavings. “In the week you were staying with Flavia.”
“Ah, f**k! I wasn’t staying with Flavia!”
She turned around, her eyes spitting fire. “Then what happened last week? What happened last night? You said we would talk. Did we talk? No, because you weren’t here.”
“Yes, but I can explain.”
“So you keep saying.”
I rolled my eyes and gestured to the bandage around my head. “If you hadn’t noticed, I’m going through something.”
“I did notice, but I didn’t want to be rude.”
“Why would noticing it be rude?”
She shrugged. “Maybe it was fashion?”
“What? Why would it be fashion? No.” I ripped the cloth down, exposing the cursed mark. “I’m hiding this.”
“You got a tattoo?”
“I got cursed!”
Satisfied Pickles had all the food she needed, Ryoko walked back over to me. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, just…” My professor instructed me not to tell anyone, but how could I keep this a secret from Ryoko? I wanted her to like me. I wanted to like her. And that meant being honest with her, right?
I took a deep breath, throwing caution in the wind. “I’m a Shadow Walker.”
- Writer
