This Never Happened (Olympus Drive Chronicles)

Part 6.5 - Halfway there

Juno did book us the Hilton. Two rooms, one I assumed for me and Ian, one for her. We get a late dinner and watch the growing news coverage of a guy who got eaten by his own horses, and is now being investigated for multiple deaths including mine (since I was supposed to have died years ago, mind).

I put Ian to bed, which shouldn't need to be done because he's a teenager, but he's a teenager related to me so I don't trust him not to sneak out or something, so I wait in the room generally until he's settled down.

"You okay? Gonna sleep?" I ask, sitting on the other bed.

"Yeah," he says, slumped down under the white comforter.

"I know we don't talk much----" I sigh, "You know I'm here for you."

"Yeah, whatever."

"Ian," I sigh, "Just tell me why you're pissed at me, all right? I know I suck as an Uncle and your dad and I--,"

"You know you and dad both would be ten times better if you'd quit spending all your time thinking you're screwing me up," he says, "I don't care, you know. About any of it. And I know your kids died so I have to be the one who doesn't have anything bad happen to me but you two stressing out about it doesn't help, okay?"

"Okay," I say, almost laughing, because of course he's right, "You can die if you want to."

He starts laughing.

"Seriously though. I know, we project a lot of shit onto you. And I'm sorry about that. But it is because we're kind of invested in you surviving, all right?" I ask, standing up.

"Yeah," he smiles now too.

"You gonna tell your dad?" I ask, squeezing his knee.

"About your cannibal horses?"

"E."

"That I think I might be gay?" he mumbles.

I nod.

"I told you," he says.

"He's still your dad," I say, "He knows about me. And he's accepted that that is not the weirdest thing about me."

"How did you know?" he asks.

"That I'm gay?" I ask.

He nods.

I sigh, "I was about your age. I guess. I realized I thought about guys and girls---the way the other guys talked about just girls. That's kind of it."

He nods.

"Do you like girls?" I ask.

He shakes his head, no.

"Cool, good for you. If you don't want to tell your dad, that's fine. If you do, I'll be there if you want, all right?" I ask, ruffling his hair.

He nods.

"Now get some sleep. I forget what we're doing tomorrow, but it's something dumb."

"I think it had to do with livestock."

"Shit, probably," I sigh, "Now get some rest. I'm gonna talk to  Juno a minute, okay?"

He nods, looking at his phone.

I don't find Juno in the next room (they were connected). So I check the hall, and the lobby. Then it occurs to me to call her. But by then I find out she was standing outside in the rain.

"What are you doing?" I ask, laughing.

"Enjoying the rain. Sorry. I forget normal people don't do that," she says, soaked to the skin, looking up at the dark clouds.

"It's fine, we're weird people," I say, smiling, "I just—I can leave you alone. I thought ---I wanted to talk to you about the other night."

She sighs.

"What?"

"When people say 'talk about the other night' they usually don't mean anything good," she says.

"Don't girls like to be talked to about kisses? I am trying here. I never pretended to be good with girls, or boys for that matter," I mutter.

"Is that what you know about girls?" she laughs.

"No. I also know girls like chocolate, and being asked before they are kissed, and being clean, and small fuzzy animals, and food in general," I say, folding my arms.

"That's fair," she laughs.

"So. Would you like to be kissed right now? Or would you like me to never talk to you again?" I ask.

"No, definitely the first thing," she says, putting her arms around my neck.

I kiss her and pick her up, easily putting my arms under her legs as she crawls onto me, kissing my face more fiercely than I thought she knew how.  There was so much wrong that night. So much wrong with me. So much wrong with the world and my life and if I was going to survive it. But there was nothing wrong with her warm lips that tasted like milk and honey. There was nothing wrong with her thick thighs in my hands as I held her up to kiss me. Nothing wrong at all.

We progressed inside and up the elevator at some point. I don't remember when or how. I remember melting into her kiss and not bothering to put her down until we got in the room and I needed to lock the doors.

"I don't want to think," I whisper in her ear as doubts (namely that she could be my half sister) crept into my head.

"Are you sure?" she asks, hands on my face.
I nod.
"You aren't worried about anything tonight." Her words, sweet like silk, dispel all doubt and guilt and anxiety from my mind. And I'm simply in the hazy bliss of having her in my arms.

"Are YOU sure?" I ask, sliding my hands underneath her dripping shirt, which wasn't doing much anyway.

"Completely," she kisses my lips after each syllable.

I slide off her soaking shirt. She's wearing a lace light blue bra, and when slides out of her tight jeans, underwear that matches it. Petals in the lace. I kiss her neck then breasts as I take off the bra, my shirt already discarded somewhere. She puts her hands down the muscles of chest before taking off my also soaking jeans.

"You're very sure?" I mumble, knowing my mind is well too free of doubt or fear.

"Yes, I am, very sure," she says, snuggling against my chest. She's much shorter than me, but she fits well in my arms, her body soft and thick, I put my hands down the fat on her back, counting her ribs, as I run my fingers along them, doubting this moment will go on but memorizing it almost the same.

"You know you're halfway there? Six down," she whispers in my ear.

"I don't know what I'm halfway to," I say, "But remember, I don't care tonight. I don't want to care about anything remember?"

"I remember," and this time she makes me forget with a kiss.

I make love to her until she trembles in my arms, and is fulfilled. Then I go to sleep with my face in her dark, lemon scented hair, my face to it, arms around her soft, naked body. My finger runs along a scar on her arm, then my arms settle around her chest, holding her to me, safe in the night. Safe where nothing can part us, if only for tonight.