Sanctuary

Chapter 9: Happy birthday princess

Brielle: July 29th 2017

I've spent the last few weeks working every single day with Cain. As hard as it is to admit... things have been slightly awkward with us. It's like we both know I'm leaving so we are just avoiding each other so we don't get anymore attached. At least that's what I've been doing. Cain is being nice, we eat dinner together every night in comfortable silence, we work side by side every day with no arguments but something has obviously shifted between us.

It's currently 1030pm on a Friday night, it also happens to be the night before my 19th birthday... I'm planning on just skipping the day completely. A birthday with no loved ones is depressing as fuck so I might as well spend it in bed. After tossing and turning for another hour I decide to go get some fresh air. I walk out onto the balcony and the cool summer air hits my face, I take a deep fresh breath in and close my eyes for a few minutes, just leaning on the railing.

"Brielle", Cains intoxicating voice breaks my meditation, "hey sorry I couldn't sleep", I say over my shoulder. "Me either", he grumbles sleepily as he stands right next to me lighting a smoke, he hands me the first one and then lights another one for himself. He's standing so close that our shoulders are brushing, he is shirtless and I'm only wearing a tank top, the subtle feeling of our skin touching leaves me breathless. So much so that I find myself moving over slightly breaking the connection. "What's up? You look sad..." he asks me furrowing his brow. "I miss my family", I simply tell him. "Where are they now?" He asks me softly, "back home in Ontario", I tell him.

We stand in silence listening to the soft hum of traffic and the beautiful sounds of nature on a calm summer night. "It's my birthday tomorrow", I whisper so quietly I'm kind of hoping he doesn't hear at all. I don't even know why I'm telling him in the first place. He looks down at his gold watch, "actually it's your birthday now", he shows me the time which reads 12:03am. "Happy birthday princess", he gently wraps his arm around my shoulder and gives me a soft hug from the side. "What was the best birthday present you've ever received?" He randomly asks me after another moment of silence. "Thats easy, for my 12th birthday my parents got me my first camera and my sister got me a purple case for it. I was so excited! I took pictures of absolutely everything for years with that camera", I grin up at him.

"You like taking pictures?", he asks me, "I love it. I actually had a small photography business going on but Daniel ruined it like everything", I look down sadly. "You will have to show me some of your work sometime", he says sounding intrigued. "I would love to! I have my own website that should still be up and running", I boast. He just smirks down at me for a few seconds making me blush, "what?" I finally ask, "oh nothing, I just love the way your face lights up when you talk about photography", he says shyly. That simple statement warms my heart completely, damn this boy for being so damn sweet sometimes. "Let me take you somewhere tomorrow", he says before we head inside for the night. "Where?" I ask curiously, "it's a surprise", he winks at me.

After I agree to go with him tomorrow we head to our bedrooms, we both freeze outside my room and stand there awkwardly for a second, "have a good sleep", he mutters. "You too", I say as I back up towards my door, "happy birthday", he whispers as he now takes a step closer to me. He reaches his hand out slowly and wraps his fingers around mine and pulls me into his hard body, giving me a hug. This doesn't feel like a regular birthday hug though... this hug is packed full of sexual tension, after a moment he releases me. He bends down and rests his forehead on mine, "Goodnight princess", he breaths out.

***

I get woken up by the sweet smell of pancakes, I roll over and check my phone, 1130am wow I slept in. I roll out of bed and throw on one of Cains hoodies and then head out to the kitchen towards the mouthwatering smell. "Morning", I say to Cain who has his naked back to me, "hey birthday girl", he turns around and gives me a killer smile. I sit up at the island and watch him finish cooking, my god he is so sexy, it doesn't matter that I see this man shirtless every day, I still drool over him every damn time. His perfectly chiseled body is covered in detailed tattoos, so many that it's hard to keep track of them all. They all suit him perfectly though.