Stay with me, always.

Chapter 7. Begging & Pledging

This isn't the first time we've kissed. And I'll be damned if it's the last time. The first time we ever kissed was at Clemensia's birthday party where we ended up playing spin the bottle. A wonderful way to pass along diseases if you ask me but who's asking? Now I don't wanna brag, but I've always been good with the ladies. Always knowing what to say, when to laugh, it comes naturally to me. I really only agreed to play for a chance to kiss her. I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to order an airstrike on Clemensia's apartment when I saw my classmates eyeing up Soarynn. There's no question that she's attractive, and there's also no question that she's spoken for. When it was finally my turn I sent a quick prayer up to whoever was watching over us and spun the bottle. And that was our first and last kiss. 

But this is different. This is eager, hungry, and desperate as we find familiarity with each other's lips. I feel her hands break from my grasp as she runs her fingers through my golden curls. I grab her waist with one hand and prop myself up with the other, pushing my knee between her legs. We settle into a rhythm familiar to the both of us, and I begin to make my way down her neck leaving a trail of soft butterfly kisses to the base of her neck. I pull away and stare into her eyes wanting to burn this moment in time forever. She smiles and leans forward and I follow her until she's seated in my lap allowing me to run my hands all over her body. 

I reach to pull my sweater off her and she complies, helping me tug it off as I throw it to some dark corner in my room. I feel her small hands running under my shirt over my abdomen. I'm not one to brag, but I run a tight ship when it comes to my body. I may not be the strongest or bulkiest in the group, but I'm well-trimmed and sculpted. Someone a girl like Soarynn truly deserves. I smile into the kiss and feel her return my smile, feeling whatever tension lay between us dissipate within an instant.

Soarynn has so many freckles dotted across her face. I wish I could memorize every single one as I watch her sleep. I'm supposed to be working on the mantra for my Father and reasoned with her that I could do it lying next to her. As long as I kept my hands to myself. You're all Victors in the eyes of the Capitol! No, twenty-three of them are losers, that doesn't make sense. Groaning, I sit myself up and slide off the bed, I need to change my shirt before dinner considering how wrinkled it's become. I picked out a nice black one that will go well with my slacks. I pick up my hairbrush and ever so carefully restore my curls to their original beauty. Some of us are burdened with everlasting beauty. 

I hear the clock strike six at the same time I hear Soarynn waking up. She trudges over into the closet and takes in her current appearance in the mirror. Her hair sticking up in all sorts of places, her mascara is smudged and her lip has a bruise. She's never looked better. "Were you trying to eat me Coryo?!" She asks as she touches her bruised lip, "Of course not, although I'm sure you taste delicious," I say winking at her as I hand her a new sweater from my collection. Giving me the stink eye she slips it over her own shirt and smooths out her skirt to the best of her abilities. "Are you excited to move back in tomorrow?" I ask her as she attempts to style her hair in a presentable manner. "Hmm, oh yes, it'll be good to be closer to–" "To me," I say, finishing her sentence for her with a triumphant smile. She rolls her eyes and sets the brush down, "Yes, closer to you and to Mother, you diva," she says poking me in the chest. I grab my chest pretending to be wounded, "You used to love spending the day with me," I tell her, and it's true, we used to be inseparable. 

"And you used to enjoy pulling my hair to tease me so I guess we both grew up," she says walking out the door, I take long strides to catch up to her and wrap my arms around her. "And now I get to enjoy pulling your hair in an entirely new way," I whisper into her ear. Before she can come up with some smart-ass reply there's a loud knock at the door. We both wait for a beat, maybe whoever it is will leave and I can continue annoying her. The knocking persists. "Coryo?" A voice calls from the other side of the door, "It's me Sejanus, I've come to apologize for the way I acted earlier towards you and Soarynn," she looks up at me and starts towards the door. When she opens it I don't think Sejanus expected both of us to be together. 

"Well lucky for you, we're both here," Soarynn says, offering him a small smile, as I come up behind her. "Oh, are you two a packaged set now?" Sejanus asks, raising his eyebrows at me, "Haha," I say dryly leaning against the doorframe. "Is that a yes or a no?" He says looking quizzically at Soarynn who's a blushing mess for the fifth time today. "It's an, I'm working on it," I say resting my chin on top of her head. "Aren't you supposed to be begging for forgiveness and pledging your undying fealty towards me?" I ask, to which Soarynn scoffs and jabs me in the ribs with her elbow. "Well I can't promise any begging or pledging, but Ma sent over some fresh gingerbread," he says, reaching into his backpack. "Consider yourself forgiven!" Soarynn declares grabbing the gingerbread.

"So...nothing happened?" Sejanus asks me. "Define nothing," I say watching all the birds fly back to their nests for the night. Sejanus stayed for dinner and now the two of us are taking a leisurely stroll around the gardens. "You know..." He says making some obscene gestures with his hands. "Oh God no!" I say shoving him for good measure. "Well you need to be better at explaining things then," he says, shoving me back. What's there to explain? "We kissed and she fell asleep, that's it," I said definitively. I won't mention her bruised lip or the way we felt each other in an entirely new way for the first time. Love is in the details. And Sejanus doesn't need to know all of them.