Enslaved By Him

Chapter 5: In His Arms

"You sure you have everything, mom?" Hex called out from her bedroom as she finished hooking in the coffin nail earring. It dangled just over her shoulders.

"Yeah. Lucy really needs a bigger diaper bag though, sweetie. I wish you'd let me get that one at the mall." Her mother complained for the dozenth time.

"I told you mom. If you want to get it for yourself when you look after him, I won't stop you. But I don't want to lug that thing around. Mine works for me." She leaned into her mirror and worked the liquid lipstick slowly to make sure she didn't streak or make the line uneven.

"Yeah, well, Lucy deserves so much more! Don't you little man?" Hex smiled when she heard her mother coo over her son's rage of giggles.

Lucy, short for Lucifer, was now going on two months old. He was not only a happy baby who seemed to not understand what a frown was, but he was constantly laughing. Her mother had told her that she had been the same way when she was little.

Many people could never hide their shock when she told them her son's name, but her mother found it hysterical. She had said, "Only you would name your child after Satan." The woman was a blessing from whoever was above watching. Always supportive.

The doorbell rang.

"Oh, I think Keith is here. I'll get the door. Are you going to come with Gammie? Yes, you are!"

Hex laughed, shaking her head and stood to give herself a once over. The skirt she chose gave the illusion of wispy transparent cloth, like you'd expect a witch to wear. The leather corset hugged her waist, slimming her down and pushing her breasts up. She had added hair charms to her wavy curls and a gaudy amount of jewelry to her neck, wrists, fingers and ears. She wore boots that would put her an inch taller than Keith, though that didn't bother him. And the curled witch hat completed her outfit.

It was October after all and they were going to a haunted maze. Though she was excited, this would be her first night without Lucy and it pained her to be without him. Her mother had insisted though.

"What are you? A pirate?" She heard her mother say as she made her way to the living room.

"Captain Jack Sparrow specifically!" He said proudly just as she turned to look at him and by god, he did look like it. So much that she had to do a double take.

"Wow, Keith! You could be a stunt double!" Hex gawked.

He blushed and those dark eyes found the carpet as he smiled. Everything from the charms in the dreads to the clothes and eyeliner looked like Johnny Depp. "Thanks, Hex. You look fantastic yourself."

He held out a decorative hand to her, the movement making his jewelry clank together. "Shall we, fair maiden?"

Hex laughed and accepted his hand. It put her directly in front of her mother and Lucy who had him swaying on her shoulder. His dark eyes glittered at her when he saw his mother. She handed him a finger that he happily guided into his mouth.

"You take care of my baby boy, Gammie. I won't be out terribly late, so if you don't want to keep him, you bring him right home." Hex leaned in to kiss his head that was already starting to grow a mane of glossy black hair.

"I think that you need to stop worrying about us and get out of the house with your friends! We will be fine! I'll bring him home first thing tomorrow." Her mother waved her off. "Go on! Your friends are waiting for you!"

Hex hesitated, debating about canceling everything just to keep holding her boy, but knew she was being stupid. She allowed Keith to escort her out of the house.

Though Keith usually drove a van when he worked, he did have a much nicer vehicle which he drove tonight. It was newer than her Honda and one of the higher trim models so it had heated seats. She always used them even if it was smoldering outside.

As she watched Keith close the door after she got in, she couldn't help but draw a parallel between him and Dimitri. Keith had always been sweet, helpful, respectful. This was indeed the kind of man she wanted her son to be influenced by. Not some rich egotistical jerk who thought he could treat people as if they were less the moment he got something from them.

Despite the ominous threat that he was going to come see her, she hadn't heard from him or the two goons he sent to her job. Not that she was complaining, but it did make her feel uneasy about his change of heart. Why did he suddenly decide to believe her and why had he had people track her down? She didn't like it one bit.

"If you're not ready to go out we can wait for your mom to leave and you can stay home, Hex." Keith said beside her. She hadn't even heard him get inside the car which meant that she was wearing her 'scary' expression. The one her friends coined "Queen Resting b***h Face".

"Oh, no. Sorry. I was just thinking too hard. I really do want to go. I can't promise I'll be out super late, but I do need to get out of that house. You've been wonderful, coming in to watch after Lucy so I can nap and such, but I need to start getting back out there. I've been on hiatus for almost a year. I'm going to lose sponsors soon if I don't." Hex gave him a true smile and was relieved when he smiled back before putting the Accord into gear.

"Alright then. Let's get going. Susie and Tom are already there waiting for us. They said the line is starting to get long so if we don't go now we'll likely wait for hours." He tossed the dreads over his shoulder as he drove. "I don't know how women deal with long ass hair like this. It's so heavy."

Hex chuckled, "Your hair is long too, dork."

"Not this long. And do you know how long it took me to get the damn charms and beads in there?"

Hex fluffed her hair so her own charms clinked together. "It takes practice, my man."

The rest of the drive they made bets on which horror serial killers and monsters they'd end up seeing in the maze, laughing at the possibility of Chucky. Keith had an unnatural fear of dolls so the thought made him a little green.

When they pulled into the parking lot, that was more of a field than anything, they could see the line already was starting to curve around the back. Susie and Thomas were standing in the front waiting for them. They did a couples costume of Gomez and Morticia. It was something Hex had always wanted to do herself, but she didn't have a significant other.

Keith was wonderful, but he always seemed to make heated moments awkward. One time, she thought he was going to kiss her and he ended up head butting her with enough force for her to see the planets. She knew he liked her, but for whatever reason, he was scared of taking that leap. When she had tried to take that initiative, he'd find some excuse as to why he had to unexpectedly leave. It was frustrating as hell.

Hex had met Susie and Thomas the same night that she slept with Dimitri, so though she didn't like thinking about it, she was glad to have met them. They were both pretty easy going, though Susie had a habit of being a bit too...flirty for Hex's taste.

"Hey guys! Let's go!" Susie said as they approached, taking Hex's hand and dragged her into line. The boys followed, chattering with each other about things they never seemed to be interested in. Susie leaned in close enough for her to smell her perfume and the tad bit of alcohol on her breath. "So has he made a move yet?"

Hex glanced back at Keith before she sighed and shook her head. "No. I don't understand why either."

"This is beyond ridiculous. Don't worry, we'll get you some alone time with him. I didn't realize how...delicious he was until tonight." She giggled and peeked over her shoulder at him.

Hex gave a small smile. She wasn't entirely hopeful, but she appreciated the thought. Surely, if Keith wanted to deepen their relationship, he would have by now. For f***s sake they had known each other for six months already and he hadn't so much as tried to formally hold her hand.

While the line moved pretty fast, Hex was thankful for the woman who came by with a tray of complimentary hot chocolate. It wasn't cold just yet, but it definitely wasn't as warm as it had been and with the wind chill, it pricked her skin with goosebumps.

"Are you cold?" Keith asked from behind her. Thomas had apparently gone back to snuggling his busty wife. Busty might be an understatement because that woman was packing. How that dress held those things up was beyond Hex.

"Oh, yeah. It wasn't supposed to be too bad tonight so I didn't wear a jacket." She huddled around her small steaming cup, unprepared for him to pull her to his side.

The transfer of warmth was immediate and she actually sighed with relief at the contact. "Ahhh, yes! Give me your warmth!"

Keith laughed and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "You should have said something sooner. I would have grabbed my jacket for you."

Hex looked at him over her shoulder and smiled when she met and held those dark brown eyes. "Then I wouldn't have you right here."

His eyes widened at her words and at first she worried that he was going to get offended. Then he finally laughed. "Wow. I guess I'm at a loss for words."

They had to shuffle together closely as the line and she liked the feel of his chest at her back. He wasn't muscle bound like the other men I've dated, but he wasn't soft either.

"You could say, 'I like being your jacket too, Hex.'" She lifted the cup to her lips and sipped. It was a standard hot water mix but she wouldn't complain.

He sat his chin on her shoulder, smiling from ear to ear and whispered, "I like being your jacket, Hex."

Her heart fluttered behind her ribs and she couldn't help but share his stupid happy grin. Finally. A breakthrough.

She caught Susie sneaking photos of them and she didn't care. She was happy.