Bound to Earth

17: Spicy Gingerbread Man

"Token, I come bearing gifts." Valentino knuckles rapped against the door.

They'd given up an hour ago when I wouldn't respond to Brynjar or Alistar's attempts to enter my room. It would take them no more than a push to get through, despite the lock, but they respected my privacy enough to leave me be. 

It seemed as if my alone time was up if they were sending Valentino to check on me. I should jump out the window, escape before they noticed I was gone. I could climb to the roof, take the staircase down. "I don't want anything."

"I have your favorite," he sang. 

"Alcohol?" Hell, I could use a good drink right now. There had to be a restaurant or two serving some hardcore liquor this early.

"Okay, second favorite. I brought you some hot chocolate." I ignored him, shifting through my closet, unsure of what to pack. He could leave it at the door and leave if he really was only here to bring me a drink. "I put marshmallows in it and lots of whip cream, then I sprinkled flakes of chocolate on top." 

I stopped and cracked the door open enough to smell the chocolate. Now that I could smell it, I really wanted some. "It's spring."

Valentino pushed on the door, testing the limits. "So? The weather never stopped you before." 

"You don't know how to make hot chocolate." I should've grabbed the hot chocolate and locked him out. He wouldn't push me past my limits, would accept it and move on. And then I could enjoy my hot chocolate by myself.

As if reading my thoughts, he pulled the mug out of my reach. "Okay, Alistar made it and I'm delivering." I almost closed the door right then. "It's an I'm-sorry-for-pushing-you-when-I-knew-you-weren't-ready gift. Can I come in? The others don't need to." Even if I was angry, there was no denying his charm. Especially when his green eyes were pleading for me to say yes.

I sighed and opened the door wide enough for him to step through, locking it behind him. If you let one in, the others were to follow shortly after. "Hot chocolate." I held out my hands waiting for the cup to appear.

"A thank you would be nice," he teased, handing me the mug. While there was a smile on his face, a sliver of fear—more nerves than fear—coated my tongue. He wasn't sure what I'd do. "You've been cooped up here for hours and still haven't finished packing?" He eyed my empty duffle bag.

I crossed an arm under my breast, sipping at the chocolate. "No. I decided to take a hot bath and masturbate, work out all that tension since I can't drink or fuck someone right now."

"Liar." His green eyes sparkled. "But you can do whatever you wish, you know? Brynjar is only worried about your health. But if you really wanted to drink, leave, or even fuck someone else, he wouldn't stop you. None of us would."

"I know." I sighed. None of them have ever forced me to do anything. They only gave me blunt, aggressive suggestions. And threw temper tantrums. "But that shot of Gold left me with a headache, so I decided not to drink or fuck myself."

He hummed and shuffled through the clothes tossed on my bed. "You're lying a lot today. I think you're trying to quit your bad habits." He clicked his tongue and tossed aside an old shirt. "Do you have any sweaters?"

"In my closet." I was starting to dislike his lie detecting skills. "Masturbating isn't a bad habit."

"It may not be, but you still didn't masturbate your frustration out or drink it away. You're trying to quit the excessive drinking, slowly. But you're trying, nonetheless." He rifled through the clothes in my closet, pulling out a piece, examining it, and either put it back or tossed it on my bed. "You're not even as angry as the first time we met." I hissed at him, but he ignored me. "Which is good, it means you're warming up to us."