All the Devils are Here

Meet Smith and Chase

We're in the car driving towards Sam's house. I don't know the way there so he directs me as I drive. Taking a cue from the awkward drive with Trinity, Willow and Dothan, I turn on the radio hoping a fun tune will come on. Although Sam doesn't strike me as the singing type, it's worth the try.

I turn on the radio and rather than a pop or happy tune, I get some hard-core rock song. It's so loud and aggressive, I slap it off. Not that I don't like that kind of music but, I've been craving an adrenaline fix, and listening to music like that just makes me want to let all the rage building up in me out;

"I was enjoying that, Smith", he attempts to turn on the radio but, I swiftly slap his hand away.

"Are you just going to call me Smith from now on, Chase?", he laughs a little at my comeback;

"Everyone calls you Hera so yeah, I think you're Smith to me from now on",

"Danny calls me new girl",

"Who's Danny?", I might be wrong but, I could have sworn I just heard a hint of jealousy in his voice.

"I thought you're a regular. How don't you know Danny? I thought you knew everyone", I say instead of directly answering his question.

He doesn’t say anything but, just leans back in his chair. He continues giving me directions but, other than that we spend the rest of the drive quietly. It’s not awkward, it just feels like he’s punishing me for saying the wrong thing. Sometimes I feel like we’re actually getting to be good friends and then some other times he just switches off and becomes almost completely cold.

I can see the tall building that houses his apartment now and I pull up on the side of the road instead of parking in the lot. This building looks like it’s at least 20 stories high and Sam stays on the top floor; the penthouse. I can’t deny that no matter how edgy and rascally he carries himself; he’s certainly rich.

“Thanks for the ride”, he says and opens the door, stepping out. The last time we were in a car together, we shared a kiss that I’m yet to forget but, clearly, he has. He gets out of the car as if he can’t wait to be away from me. Cold Sam.

I’m about to drive away when I notice an item on the chair where he sat. A wallet. s**t. He forgot his wallet. I look out, hoping he’s still outside and I can call him back but, I see he's already stepped into the building.

I make my decision in a matter of seconds. I turn off my engine and hop out of my car all but sprinting towards the building. Once I step in, I see that he’s standing outside the elevator doors waiting for them to open up.

Just as the elevator doors open and he steps in, I yell his name almost dramatically and hurry towards the elevator doors. Against all odds, the doors should have shut close before I made it in but, by some divine intervention - they don’t. And as soon as I step into the elevator, the doors shut close behind leaving us alone. Again.

My breathing is accelerated from basically running here and this time when his eyes glance towards my lips, I forget the reason why I’m here and I rush in to kiss him. I was wrong. I was wrong to think he had forgotten about our last kiss because he kisses me with even more intensity than the last time.

He’s much taller than me and I have to stand on my toes and pull him closer. His hands rummage everywhere and finally gently wrap around my throat as he kisses me and leans me against the elevator walls. Just then we both hear the ding and know the doors are about to open so, he smoothly pulls away.

We’re not yet on his floor, so four other people step into the elevator. I try to look calm and collected but, both our breathings are a little rapid and I know that they know but, I don’t care. A small smile creeps on my face as we spend the next minute with them before they reach their stop and leave.

“I feel played right now. Did you leave this on purpose? Because I swear I’ve never seen you carry a wallet”, I say as soon as those people leave.

“When I left it, I certainly didn’t anticipate you chasing me and kissing me”, he admits smugly.

“I knew it! You left it on purpose”, just then the elevator doors open and we’re presented with the hallway that leads to his apartment door. I don’t move and he says;

“It’s 4 am, Smith. And I just don’t think it’s safe for you to be driving home right now. Don’t worry, you can crash on my couch. For free”, this is his idea of persuading me to come in? He’s lucky I like him.

“Did you like plan this whole thing out?”,

“I’d like to take all the credit but, I’m not that smart”, he says and we both share a brief laugh. He holds his hands out to me and says c’mon and I take his hands and we walk to his door.

He unlocks it and lets me walk in first. I take a one over of his apartment as he locks the door. It looks much more different without all the hormonal young adults inside. Now there are just two hormonal young adults inside.

I’m standing a few feet in front of him as he turns around from locking the door. We stare at each other for what feels like a whole minute and at the same time, we move towards each other and this time, he picks me up and wraps my legs around his waist as we share deep, slow kisses. This is the first time we’re kissing where it feels like it’s not going to end. There’s no reason for it to end.

We’re both so lost in each other, it barely feels like we had to move to get to the couch. He’s seated and I straddle him. As much as I want to do this, as much as I want him, I just can’t. I keep thinking about my relationship with Rainer and how most of it was revolved around s*x and I don’t want to repeat that. Because I actually like Sam. I don’t want to reduce the way I feel about him to just a s****l attraction.

“What’s wrong?”, surprisingly he pulls away and asks me this. He’s so in tune with my body already that he could tell I was lost in my thoughts. His thumbs brush over my cheekbones gently as he asks;

“I’m not sure I’m ready to -”, he’s already nodding before I complete my sentence;

“We don’t have to”, he says and plants a kiss on my forehead before I slide off his legs and seat beside him. It’s a bit awkward for a few seconds then he breaks the ice by saying;

“I would have put on a movie but, I only have cartoons. They help me fall asleep”,

“I haven’t watched a cartoon since I was in middle school”, I confess making him gasp in fake horror;

“No wonder you’re so stoic all the time. We’re fixing that right now”, he says and gets up to set it up on the Tv. I’m about to reply and say he’s stoic many times too but, I remember how he reacted when I told him he had a bit of the devil in him and I keep my mouth shut. He may be cold sometimes but, many times he’s teasing and he says whatever he feels like and he’s so annoying and almost child-like. I like both Sams.

“What are we watching?”, I ask excitedly as he returns to me on the couch;

“Bigfoot Vs the world”, it’s so calming seeing him like this. Sam with the all-black clothes and sexy smirks and hair that is almost always unruly. Sam likes cartoons.

We seat there and watch and laugh and at some point, we even grab popcorn because neither of us wants to be the first to fall asleep. Eventually, I start to yawn and I’m not sure when I give up and give in to the sleep. All I know is at some point, I feel Sam lift me up from the couch and the next thing, I’m being placed very carefully on a soft mattress.

I open my eyes faintly to see he’s at the door and he’s about to leave when I call his name softly in my sleepy voice;

“Sam?”, he looks back at me and this is the softest expression I’ve ever seen on his face. I don’t want him to go.

“Please stay”, my voice is merely a whisper and I’m scared I sound pathetic and he’d leave but, he crawls into the sheets beside me and I place my head on his chest and I’m not sure when he falls asleep but, I fall asleep immediately.